Boasting a rich cultural history, laden with tradition and innovation, South Asian aesthetics and design have left an indelible mark on the world of fashion. In recent years, a growing number of diasporic designers have gained attention from the industry, using fashion as a way to explore and celebrate their heritage by blending and reimagining…
Now in its 14th year, hybrid art-fair-come-festival Independent returns to New York from 11-14 May 2023 at Tribeca’s Spring Studios, with an artistic programme selected by founding curatorial advisor Matthew Higgs and co-produced in collaboration with leading galleries, non-profits and museums worldwide. This year, 66 participating organisations are included in the fair’s roster, 16 of…
As the need to tailor, repair and reinforce cloth birthed diverse sewing techniques, the decorative potential of these advancements led to the art of embroidery. Variations of the practice grew in prevalence as so-called Folk art, using materials that were accessible to non-professionals. Examples include Hardanger from Norway, Merezhka from Ukraine, Mountmellick embroidery from Ireland,…
Architects have long looked to nature for ideas, with biomorphism, design which takes inspiration from natural elements, developing since the existence of manmade environments. A more nuanced concept, biomimetic architecture is an offshoot of the relatively new science of biomimicry explored and popularised by Janine Benyus in her 1997 book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature….
Open now and running until 7 May 2023, the Hayward Gallery presents Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons, the first major survey exhibition of large-scale installations and sculptural works by the internationally acclaimed British artist. Curated by Yung Ma, who joined the Hayward Gallery from Centre Pompidou back in 2021, the psychologically charged and atmospheric presentation takes…
The 1960s heralded an experimental time for architecture in Africa, with the birth of Afromodernism seeing the incorporation of local building staples such as adobe bricks and thatch employed alongside modern materials, like reinforced concrete, to forge a new type of modernist architecture. The movement paved the way for some of the continent’s most impressive…
Lina Iris Viktor is a British Liberian multidisciplinary artist who works between Italy and the UK. Her work weaves together performance, photography, painting, water-gilding and sculpture to create rich, lavish works featuring mythical and majestic looking female figures. Through these sensuous and visually loaded works, pattern becomes a ‘pre-verbal language connecting to that which is…
Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey’s impactful works, spanning installation, performance, painting and sculpture, frequently utilise found materials from the artist’s hometown of Accra to forge meaningful dialogues with the city’s cultural history and identity. Resourcefully embracing everyday objects such as discarded Kufuor gallons, car tyres, and recycling boat wood as his canvas, among other materials,…