Twin Picks: Frieze London

08.10.2024 | Art | BY:

This year feels like an extra huge bumper Frieze Week. Every single gallery,
institution and numerous project spaces are opening shows to coincide. Aside from the obvious visit to Frieze, Frieze Masters and the freebie option Frieze Sculpture Park in Regents Park, here are eight things to check out courtesy of our arts editor Francesca Gavin:

Onyeka Igwe, a so called archive, 2020, HD Video still, c. the artist & Arcadia Missa, London

Frieze Film X ICA
The ICA have teamed up with Frieze for a second year of artist film screenings projected in a continuous loop. There are some incredible people in their year but keep a special eye open for Sung Tieu, Onyeka Igwe and Jacolby Satterwhite. And if you cant make it the films are also free to view on line for the duration. (The Guemhyung Jeong performances at the ICA on October 8 and 9 will also be unmissable.)
Oct 8 – 13, ica.art

Sung Tieu, One Thousand Times (Gehrenseestrasse), 2023
Super 8 transferred to HD video, colour, sound, 8 min 51 sec. Courtesy the artist and Emalin, London; Sfeir-Semler, Hamburg / Beirut; Trautwein Herleth, Berlin. © Sung Tieu

Seb Patane at Maureen Paley
This is the most welcome return pairing of the year. Seb Patane made his name on Maureen Paley’s roster with incredible drawing work, sound performances and graphic installations that touched on photographic history, the memory of war and the echoes of time. ‘In the Sharp Gust of Love’ is Patane’s return to the gallery in Paley’s Studio M offshoot. If you’re East, go see.
Until Nov 9 Seb Patane at Maureen Paley, Studio M, Rochelle School
maureenpaley.com

Seb Patane, There is always one real love in every man’s life, 2022
Ballpoint pen, pressed flowers, acrylic, collage and enamel on printed paper, 28.2×20.3cm
© Seb Patane, courtesy Maureen Paley, London. Photo: Stephen James

Magdalene Odundo at Thomas Dane
This is cult favourite Odundo’s first London exhibition in over two decades. Inspired by diasporic ceramic and vessel sculpting techniques, her pieces are unforgettable (and have fans including Jonathan Anderson and Nadege Vanhee). The pieces on show here are described as fusing British studio pottery, ancient ceramics, ceremonial vessels from Kenya and Nigeria, and modernist sculpture.  
PV October 8 6-8pm
Exhibition runs until Dec 14

Magdalene Odundo, Untitled, 2023, Ceramics, terracota, 60 x 32 x 32 cm
© Magdalene A.N. Odundo. Courtesy the artist and Thomas
Dane Gallery. Photo: David Westwood.

Mire Lee at Tate Modern
In case you thought a Mike Kelley retrospective wasn’t enough, the Turbine Hall is being given a dose of Berlin-style cool from Mire Lee. The young artist who is showing in the UK for the first time is known from abject and absorbing sculptures that drip, twitch and shudder. (Schinkel Pavilion paired her with great success with HR Giger). Imagining her neo-gothic liquid techno oddness supersized is VERY exciting.
Oct 9-Mar 16
Tate Modern, tate.org.uk

Mire Lee, Landscape with Many Holes: Skins on Yeongdo Sea, 2022.
© Busan Biennale Organizing Committee. Photo: Sang-tae Kim.

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
Somerset House’s regular is always a thankful respite from the market machine of Frieze itself. This is a the fair where you will discover artists – Lina Iris Viktor and Anya Paintsil for example both had their breakthroughs here. Looking at artists in the broadest sense from the African diaspora, keep a special on their special projects from people like Nigeria Art Society UK.
11-13 October, Somerset House, Strand, WC2
1-54.com

Zanele Muholi, Khayalami, 2023, Baryta print, variable dimensions. Edition of 8 + 2 Aps. Courtesy of Galerie Carole Kvasnevski

Yayoi Kusama at Victoria Miro
You can’t help but love a bit of Kusama. If the lines for Tate have been to painful, quickly book to go see her latest works at Victoria Miro. There is a new Infinity Mirror Room with a tech edge that looks delicious as well as a series of intimate new paintings entitled Every Day I Pray for Love. Sounds like a good thought for today.
Until Nov 2, Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Road, London N1

Bloomsbury and Farringdon
The explosion of emerging and fresh galleries in the Bloomsbury and Farringdon area is so good they even printed their own postcard sized map. If you want a taste of emerging London now, go to Hot Wheels Athens, Union Pacific, Brunette Coleman, A Squire, Phillida Reid, South Parade, and book a place to view the solo show by British painter Lewis Hammond at the incredible The Perimeter and finish at the hottest space in town, Ginny on Frederick.
theperimeter.co.uk

Minor Attractions
The is the second year for the parallel fair Minor Attractions founded by the burst of energy that is Jonny Tanna (Harlesden High Street) and Jacob Barnes. Focusing on non-profits and emerging galleries, this year it takes place in Fitzrovia’s Mandrake Hotel and is a place to see some killer spaces like Tblisi’s Artbeat and Salford’s Division of Labour (plus some late night programming for those looking for something after.)
Oct 8-13

Special mentions (because its insane not to highlight some of the amazing shows out there!): Lauren Halsey, and Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, at the Serpentine, Haegue Yang at Hayward and the Chronoplasticity show curated by Lars Bang Larssen at Raven Row, Nicola L and Jack O’Brien at Camden Arts Centre, Olivia Erlanger at Soft Opening, and Stanislava Kovalcikova at Emalin.

Images: © Leon Chew, The Call, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst with sub, Serpentine, 2024

Text by Francesca Gavin

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Twin Picks: Daria Blum at Claridge’s ArtSpace

29.09.2024 | Art | BY:

Daria Blum, Drip Drip Point Warp Spin Buckle Rot (film still), 2024
Photo © Daria Blum

Daria Blum’s art star has been rising since her graduation from RA schools in 2023. In this solo show brilliantly titled Drip Drip Point Warp Spin Buckle Rot at Claridge’s Art Space, she develops her well-honed performance practice into a slick installation well worth a visit.

Blum won the inaugural £30,000 Claridges RA Schools prize selected by judges Yinka Shonibare CBE, RA and Eva Rothschild RA. The prestigious award was presented by performance artist Marina Abramović and introduced by actor, author and co-host of Talk Art Russell Tovey at Claridge’s last September.

Daria Blum, Drip Drip Point Warp Spin Buckle Rot (film still), 2024
Photo © Daria Blum

This impressive site-specific installation in the subterranean Mayfair space evolves the artist’s research into the relationship between physical space and muscle memory, choreography and embodiment, and notions of institutional power in relation to dance and architecture, influenced by her own background as a ballet dancer.

A central three-channel video work follows Blum’s fictional character as she moves through rooms and corridors of a deserted 1970’s office building and discovers a collection of documentation and ephemera including portraits of her late grandmother Ukrainian ballerina/choreographer Daria Nyzankiwska, archival recordings of dance rehearsals and footage of a 2022 performance by Blum herself. Through a series of live performances, the artist further inhabits a live character who “disrupts and criticises, pointing fingers at the bodies on-screen and the voices offstage”.

Daria Blum at Claridge’s ArtSpace
Photo © Julian Blum

Blum’s multi-layered, constellatory work blends pop and classical in referencing both the online circulation of popular dance trends and influential theorists such as Arabella Stanger and Beatriz Colomina whose sociopolitical assessments track gender, violence, and power across bodies, dance and architecture.

The artist discusses classical dance as an ‘archaeological site’, and questions what it means to re-perform choreographies that contain a range of misogynistic and colonial tropes, including how French ideals inspired Imperial Russia and in mapping her family tree tracks how choreography “travelled via bodies across state lines”. One to watch, this will no doubt be the first of many solo presentations by this thoughtful and captivating artist.

Claridge’s ArtSpace Café
Brook’s Mews London,
W1K 4DY

Monday – Friday: 8am – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 5pm
Admission to the exhibition is free.

Daria Blum
Photo © Shaun James-Cox

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Twin Loves: Boo George

29.09.2024 | Blog , Culture | BY:

Image © Copyright Boo George 2024

Right In The Eye, is the new book from acclaimed photographer Boo George that spans his fifteen year career and includes figures like Emma Watson, Helen Mirren, Eddie Redmayne, and Kim Kardashian. He has risen to prominence working with top publications and brands including Moncler, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Range Rover, Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, and Louis Vuitton.

This book dives into Boo’s journey, which leads from rural Ireland to an international, star-studded career, framed through anecdotes and BTS insights into his world.

Image © Copyright Boo George 2024

After his father gifted him his first camera, Boo would go to Wicklow Mountain in Northern Ireland to take pictures of individuals that fascinated him and document a community that lived on the outskirts of the outskirts.

The juxtaposition of subjects has become his signature, as he explains, “wherever I go around the world I am a spectator, I never claim to be the same as the people I am shooting. I’m inquisitive as to who these people are and what their story is. In my photographs, their story is written on their faces.”

Image © Copyright Boo George 2024

Boo grew up by the sea and spent countless hours aboard boats and trawlers, documenting fishermen and divers which became some of his favourite images. As such, the proceeds of the profits are donated to Bantry Inshore Search and Rescue Association (BISRA) who protect the waters near his home in Ireland.



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Twin Loves: SS25 Highlights from London Fashion Week

17.09.2024 | Blog | BY:

London Fashion Week marks its 40th anniversary this year, with thousands of city venues being transformed into fashion show spaces for one-night-only events. Stylish crowds have been out in full force for the Spring/Summer 2025 collections, showcasing both established and emerging talent for the upcoming season.

Here are some of Twin’s highlights.

Chopova Lowena

On Friday evening, Chopova Lowena invited guests to the derelict basement of Shoreditch Town Hall, and combined  playful references like the Wild West, can-can dancers, and Victorian Halloween costumes. Their signature carabiner clip kilts were ever-present, along with whimsical charm details. Titled “Chuckaboo,” the show had models racing through abandoned rooms accompanied by heavy metal soundtracks.

Photography Filippo Fior

The English-Bulgarian duo debuted two collaborations: one with Asics, reimagining the GEL Quantum 360 VIII sneakers with butterflies, rhinestones, and flowers; and another with Hellmann’s Mayonnaise.  A version of the brand’s leather “Margaret” shoulder bag was designed to carry a jar of the much-loved condiment, complete with a Victorian silver spoon and Hellmann’s blue charm.

JW Anderon

At JW Anderson, restriction is liberation.

Grounded in just four materials—cashmere, leather, silk, and sequins—  Anderson’s SS25 collection featured echoes of previous designs, including optical illusion fastenings, buttery leather, liquid dresses, and oversized Argyle knits. 

Photography Morgane Maurice

The Irish designer’s typical absurdity shone through in structural dresses with exaggerated hems and oversized pullovers mimicking sleek bomber jackets.

Nensi Dojaka

Photo courtesy of Nensi Dojaka

Albanian-born designer Nensi Dojaka returned to the runway after a two-season break, unveiling her collaboration with Calvin Klein and launching her e-shop on the same day. Since her rise in 2019, including winning the LVMH Prize in 2021 and dressing celebrities like Beyoncé and Dua Lipa, Dojaka has quickly become one of fashion’s most sought after brands.

Her signature lingerie-inspired designs were on full display, featuring stretch tulle layers, micro-drapes, and intricate strapwork. Models also were seen sporting body-clinging knitwear dresses, and leather bustier dresses. 

“I think femininity is about embracing the contrast that lives within us: the balance between softness and strength,” Dojaka said in the show notes. This balance was undoubtedly at the core of her SS25 collection.

Twin Picks: Vienna Contemporary

17.09.2024 | Art | BY:

Last weekend Twin’s very own Francesca Gavin helmed the new look Viennacontemporary art fair. The biggest edition in recent years featuring 98 galleries and 6 institutions from 24 countries, Gavin is putting this art fair firmly on the Autumn pre-Frieze map and as she describes, “the aim was to create a fair with it’s own identity that showcases some of the incredible emerging talent coming out of Central and Eastern Europe … I wanted to curate a pan-European fair that had a sense of curatorial excitement”.

43 Austrian galleries, 33 Eastern European galleries and 22 galleries from the rest of the world showcased a wide range of works, with a focus on emerging artists.

The CONTEXT section presented 20th century masterpieces by artists who continue to influence Austria today, and ZONE1 curated by Bruno Mokross presented artists living or working in Vienna.

Sustainability and Energy were a key focus of the fair, explored in the curated section VCT STATEMENT: The Color of Energy, curated by Mirela Baciak and two VCT STATEMENT Talks at the intersection of art and energy production and the fair’s Talks program features the coming together of leading artists, designers, gallerists, industry leaders, patrons, and market specialists, sharing insights into the latest trends of the art world alongside a new Open Call prize, ‘Art for Stronger Democracies’, which honored artists whose work confronts the challenges and opportunities facing democratic societies. 


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Twin Reads: Dictionary Story

03.08.2024 | Literature | BY:

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston.
Photo by Walker Books.

Twenty years ago, artist Sam Winston discovered a room of unused words in the Oxford University Press (home of the Oxford English Dictionary). Penny Silva, Dictionary director at the time, gave Sam a tour, “she was showing me around when she took me into a small room full of index cards and declared… ‘this is the room where all the words that aren’t in The Dictionary are kept’.” Since that first spark of interest in 2004, Winston has gone on to create exhibitions and artworks inspired by this unseen words room and the creative potential of the dictionary.

This unique linguistic inspiration now forms the spine of a lyrical picture book created in collaboration with New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers. A call to kids and adults alike to create, to question, to explore, and to imagine, their magical project is intended to prompt young readers to ignite their love of language and discover where their words come from, and how we all have a story to tell.

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston.
Photo by Walker Books.

In 2007 words like almond, blackberry and crocus in the Oxford Junior Dictionary made way for block graph and celebrity. In 2012 the edition maintained those changes, and further removed catkin, cauliflower, chestnut and clover, and now instead features cut and paste, broadband and analogue. The authors noted a pattern in which the natural world and external play-based childhood inferences are being replaced with internal, digital and sedentary past-times.

Winstone reflects, “It’s a book that I wish I had as a kid. When I was young I didn’t understand words, my imagination was crazy and reading seemed like torture. This book is for that person. I hope it inspires a reluctant reader to pick up a book and smile. Because when someone realises how powerful the spell of words can be, a new world of opportunities opens up for them.”

Definitions

ghost /ɡəʊst/ Believed to be the spirit of someone who is no longer in this world. Ghosts can appear as shadows, strange shapes or just silly people with bedsheets over their heads. They sometimes scare people, which means it is hard for them to make friends. Fortunately, puddles don’t get scared; puddles make friends with everyone.

puddle /ˈpʌd.əl/ A small pool of water. Puddles are often made by rain and they love to look at the sky. They will make friends with anyone who takes the time to say hi to them. Puddles are the friendliest things in the universe.

apple /ˈæp.əl / A hard round fruit with green, red or yellow skin. Some apples can send princesses to sleep or give people all knowledge. Other apples fall to the ground to help explain complicated laws. (See gravity.) If we leave apples alone, they turn themselves into trees. (See amazing.)

artist /ˈɑː.tɪst/ A person who spends a lot of time with new ideas – drawing, writing or acting them out. Some of these ideas turn out to be funny, some sad and some beautiful. Lots of colour and a few surprises are often involved. (See art.)

dream /driːm/ A word for things people see while asleep. Dreams are the brain’s way of showing you that you’re a lot more imaginative than you think. In the day, we fill our heads with sensible things, but dreams prefer to create strange things, for instance, glow-in-the-dark marmalade and inflatable chicken’s teeth. We’ve been studying dreams for hundreds of years and we still don’t really know what they are. That said, Martin Luther King Jr had a really great one.

heart /hɑːt/The organ that pumps blood around an animal’s body. It’s also the part of the body that helps people recover from trying to think too much. (See headache.) Hearts help heads make good decisions. When things are going well, the heart feels full; not so well, it aches.

Sam Winston’s Dictionary Story project, inspired by and in response to dictionaries and the stories they can tell, 2001 – 2024. Image courtesy of Sam Winston.

Book tour dates
Saturday 17th August: London, Sunday 18th August: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Monday 19th August: Glasgow,
Tuesday 20th August: Manchester, UK

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Twin Loves: Serpentine Summer

29.07.2024 | Art , Culture | BY:

Judy Chicago, Woman with Liquid Smoke from Women and Smoke, 1971-1972 © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo courtesy of Through the Flower Archives Courtesy of the artist

As well as the annual summer party, the stunning Nan Goldin fim staged in the former church above Below Stone Nest, the pavilion opening and Serpentine Ecologies, this gallery has been in our diaries more than most this Summer.

The major exhibition is by trailblazer Judy Chicago, and surprisingly presents the first major interdisciplinary, immersive institutional exhibition in London of her work. As well as drawing, new and lesser-known works are on display alongside preparatory studies, and the expected audio-visual works.

Judy Chicago, Smoke Bodies from Women and Smoke, 1971-1972; Remastered in 2016 Original Total Running Time: 25:31. Edited to 14:45 by Salon 94, NY 2017 © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo courtesy of Through the Flower Archives Courtesy of the artist

Revelations, a moniker taken from an unknown illuminated manuscript by Chicago, was created in the early 1970s and now published for the first time with Thames & Hudson. The manuscript details the stories of women that have been persistently subjugated in the socio-political imaginary, in a radical retelling of human history.

Judy Chicago: Revelations, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Jo Underhill. Courtesy Judy Chicago and Serpentine.

With never-before-seen sketchbooks, films and slides, video interviews of participants from her iconic work The Dinner Party (1974–79), audio recordings, and a guided tour of The Dinner Party by Chicago herself, this exhibition is not to miss.

REVELATIONS is on view at Serpentine North from 23rd May to 1st September 2024

Judy Chicago, Woman Creating Fire from Women and Smoke, 1971-1972; Remastered in 2016. Original Total Running Time: 25:31. Edited to 14:45 by Salon 94, NY 2017 © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo courtesy of Through the Flower Archives Courtesy of the artist

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ME IBIZA: ANCIENT FUTURES

08.07.2024 | Culture | BY:

ME Ibiza Celebrates 10 Years of Style, Sustainability and Spirituality 

As the white Isle continues to be a summer destination for luxury and party crowds alike, this year marks the tenth anniversary of ME Ibiza, the iconic five-star design hotel nestled in the heart of the legendary Balearics on the shores at Santa Eulalia.

Over the last decade, ME Ibiza has become a must-visit destination for artists and connoisseurs that find themselves drawn to the magic and energy of Ibiza, seeking a conscious community for artists and creatives. Offering more than the expected luxury F&B offering, ME has earned its status by creating a space for a conscious community of artists and experience-seekers. From hosting intimate Tanit Gatherings with local artists, to sponsoring the island’s film festival to showcase up-and-coming creatives, ME Ibiza is committed to fostering reflection and dialogue and contributing to the creative spirit of the island.

Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, the man behind ME by Meliá, has been attached to the spot since childhood, and watched the island’s legend grow along with the tree under which his dreams first took root. This magnificent coastal tree remains a landmark of the architecture, and a timepiece encapsulating generations of guest memories past, present and future.

To celebrate a successful decade in the sun, ME presents the programme Ancient Future, including the blessing of the ME tree by a local spiritual elder and a curated cultural programme showcasing local painters, photographers, and artisans, alongside holistic wellness experiences. ME Ibiza has been offering avant-garde design and high-end holistic wellbeing for the past decade, thereby maintaining its status as a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.


Rates at ME Ibiza start from £570 per night on a B&B basis. Exclusively for 2024. To book and for further information, visit: https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/spain/ibiza/me-ibiza

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Dover Street Market Paris, Westfall & Sorry Thanks I Love You

08.07.2024 | Art | BY:

The Dover Street Market x Westfall x Sorry Thanks I Love You collaboration.
Photography by Andrew Sheppard.

A unique installation by artist & designer Brett Westfall, longtime collaborator of Comme des Garçons & member of the Dover Street Market Paris umbrella, lands at Sorry Thanks I Love You (STILY) in Sydney this July over four weeks.

So-Cal born Westfall is a multi-disciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, assemblage, installation, fashion, video, film, music and photography. His brand WESTFALL began with the idea of extending his ideas into clothing design that would read like poetry.

For this installation, canvas paintings and wooden pallets feature as walls, interlocking bicycles make up the roof and each hand-painted artwork incorporates Westfall’s signature motifs, hand-crafted and distressed style. “FRESH”, strawberries, and Westfall’s daughter’s version of “Snoppy” add a personal touch to the mix of eclectic found objects. STILY’s adjacent cafe is also in on it, serving a Westfall-inspired menu including custom-made treats from Tokyo Lamington and Gelato Messina in exclusive flavours.

Installation design by Brett Westfall in collaboration with Dover Street Market Paris and Sorry Thanks I Love You. Photography by Andrew Sheppard.

The launch coincides with Westfall’s inaugural art showcase in Australia and to complement Westfall’s FW24 collection and mark the project, STILY and Westfall have co-designed a custom t-shirt, available exclusively in- store at STILY.

Sorry Thanks I Love You has an ongoing partnership with Dover Street Market Paris Brand Development and in addition to Westfall, STILY also offers DSMP BD labels Sky High Farm, Honey Fucking Dijon, and the recently introduced New York-based, Vaquera at their Westfield Sydney store.

The Dover Street Market x Westfall x Sorry Thanks I Love You collaboration.
Photography by Andrew Sheppard.

The Dover Street Market x Westfall x Sorry Thanks I Love You collaboration will run at Sorry Thanks I Love You from 1 July – 28 July 2024.

K1006/188 Pitt Street, Level One Westfield, SYDNEY NSW 2000

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TWIN LOVES: Isle Skateboards

20.06.2024 | Blog , Culture | BY:

Artists: Liam Gillick, Paul Purgas, Claudia Wieser, Appau Jnr Yiadom-Boakye

This week we’ve been excited for the launch of Isle Skateboard’s limited-edition line Tweaked Modernism. Curated by Twin’s art editor Francesca Gavin, the artist produced decks are accompanied by a printed publication by Birmingham design studio An Endless Supply.


The four specially created skateboards unpick the aesthetic and conceptual ideas of modernism, meta modernism, and off modernism.

Founded by Isle Skateboards is the skateboard label founded by artist Nick Jensen and Paul Shier. Past collaborations with artist have included boards from Kira Freije, Oliver Laric and Christian Hidaka.

As curator Francesca reflects, “there are fascinating connections between skating and modernism. Both have rethought what the human physical relationship is to form and space. Street skating approaches architecture in a way no one would have imagined. I was interested in bringing together four varied artists who all tweak modernist ideas or aesthetics in their work. I liked the urban slang take on tweaking as getting high – it felt apt for addressing how artists rework history.”

The Artists:


Liam Gillick studied at Goldsmiths and lives and works in New York. His work, ranging from small books to large-scale architectural collaborations, explores the aesthetics of the constructed world and dysfunction of modernism.

Paul Purgas is a London-based artist and musician working with sound, performance, and installation. Originally trained as an architect, he has presented projects with Tate, Spike Island, Glasgow Tramway and Kunstverein Gartenhaus. He is one half of Empyset, and has performed at Berghain, Serpentine Gallery, CTM and Atonal.

Claudia Wieser is an artist based in Berlin known for creating geometric installation, sculptures and wall works that unpick the legacy and aesthetics of modernism. She has had solo shows Hamburger Bahnhof, The Drawing Center and has collaborated on projects with Hermes and Musée Yves Saint Laurent.

Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom is a London-based multi-disciplinary artist working with found materials and objects, sculpture, photography, sound, performance, archive, and self-produced moving image. He has exhibited at National Portrait Gallery, Jerwood Space and Southwark Park Galleries.

Boards available from skate shops across the United Kingdom, United States, Holland and Japan.

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Celebrating 10 Years of Charles Jeffrey Loverboy

10.06.2024 | Blog | BY:

Scottish designer Charles Jeffrey has marked a significant milestone in his career, celebrating the tenth anniversary of his brand, Loverboy, by taking over Central London’s Somerset House. In a turbulent period for the UK fashion industry, Jeffrey’s infectiously joyful brand offers a beacon of innovation. 

Loverboy originated as a queer club night in east London, and has since evolved into a celebrated fashion label with a dedicated following.  Jeffrey has dressed notable figures like Tilda Swinton and Harry Styles.

Image by Thomas De Cruz Media

The SS25 showcase was a testament to Loverboy’s signature queer-meets-punk identity, presented with unapologetic flair. Models, as if struck by Cupid’s arrow, tumbled down the runway in a captivating display. The collection featured oversized jumpers, shirts with arrows shot through, reimagined army and sailor uniforms, paired with Loverboy’s distinctive animalistic headgear, with peeling banana boots adding a playful touch.

Image by Thomas De Cruz Media

Somerset House, which has housed his studio since 2016, was a fitting venue for this celebration. The event also inaugurated The Lore of Loverboy, a retrospective exhibition in the Terrace Gallery, chronicling the brand’s evolution from a queer club night at Vogue Fabrics in Dalston to a fashion powerhouse.

Image by Thomas De Cruz Media

As the music dimmed and models exited backstage, American icon Beth Ditto returned to deliver a rousing rendition of Patti Smith’s “Gloria.” The 41 looks then danced up and down the runway, honoring Charles Jeffrey Loverboy’s decade-long journey. The SS25 collection celebrated bright, queer identities, encouraging bold self-expression and cherishing life’s fleeting moments.

Image by Thomas De Cruz Media

Visitors can view The Lore of Loverboy exhibition from 8 June – 10 September 2024 at Somerset House. Tickets operate on a pay what you can scheme to ensure accessibility.

TWIN Picks: Julija Zaharijević

29.04.2024 | Art | BY:

Physical Cabbage, 2022
Materials: Print on silk, laser print on paper, acrylic, synthetic resin varnish
60 x 54 x 23 cm
Photo by Giulia Baresi

MiArt New Talent: Julija Zaharijević by Twin Art Editor Francesca Gavin

Julija Zaharijević exhibited wall sculptures with Eugster from Belgrade at Miart.. The gallery was in the emergent section of the Milanese fair  – in a great section in the fair which happens each April, curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini.

Detail of Physical Cabbage, 2022
Photo by Giulia Baresi

The Cabbage series depicts realistically recreated cabbages – complete with faked insect nibbles and decay. Each cabbage subtly varied in colour so it was clear they are the real veg on the wall. Pyschadelic, emotive and beautiful, the works play with the art historical tropes of beauty, decay and the sublime. They are stand ins for roses or flowers. Part of what makes her cabbages so engaging is how that question what is real, what is beauty, what is meaning.

Julija Zaharijević was born in 1991 in Serbia and lives and works between Vienna, where she studied, and Berlin. Still only a recent graduate, Zaharijević’s practise has incorporated performance, collage, text, that touches on the experience of class, gender and reality.

Highlights value systems that are innately built into the purchase and visual consumption of beauty and art in a wider sense. They are mirrors to our heads, emotions and performative selves.

www.julijazaharijevic.com; miart occurs April annually miart.it

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TWIN LOVES: Seana Gavin – a decade of free parties (eclipse theme)

08.04.2024 | Art , Culture | BY:

Portrait of Seana Gavin. Mother Free Festival, Lincoln 1994.
Spiral Baby (1994) © Copyright Seana Gavin

On this solar eclipse in Aries, we celebrate Seana Gavin’s archive that serendipidously includes the eclipse free festival, photographed by Gavin below.

A group of friends wear protective glasses at the eclipse free festival. Hungary 1999
Build up to the Solar Eclipse (1999) © Copyright Seana Gavin

Following on from her phenomenally successful book “Spiralled” published by Idea Books, the artist and former raver opens her new exhibition Hidden Tracks at Gallery 46. This exhibition continues her exploration of the legacy of sound systems that put on illegal raves in the UK and across Europe in the nineties, and acts as a document of the creativity, vitality and community of the underground party scene in which Gavin features heavily. From 1993-2003 she spent long periods of time travelling in friends’ mobile homes, in convoy with the sound systems, living in nomadic communities, attending raves and parties in France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Berlin, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

“It was more than just a night out. I wasn’t a photographer or journalist I was part of this world and these people were my family. We were un-materialistic and survived with minimal funds without limitations.” – Seana Gavin

Whilst the book is aesthetically and nostaligically pleaseing, it also serves as a reminder about the radical potential and rebellious energy of the free party movement, which emerged as a rebellion against the over commercialization of Acid House that had developed in the UK at the time.

Even today we are left with the legislation that became ‘The Criminal Justice Act’, catalysed by the police response to Castlemorton festival – a week long free unlicensed rave which took place in the British countryside and was shut down by the police. As an underage teenager the artist’s adventurous spirit led her to other like minded wanderers as news spread before mobiles and the internet, and 20- 50,000 people came together by word of mouth alone.

Behind the decks of Hekate Sound system. Czech Teknival (free festival), 1999
Legs (1999) © Copyright Seana Gavin

The exhibition which opens this week, includes Gavin’s personal documentation including flyers, ephemera, diary entries and a large body of photographs that capture the build-up and aftermath of the raves across Europe alongside the characters and friends who defined this scene, and demonstrates the ethos and spitit of community and freedom.

Exhibition runs  10 – 28 April 2024

Gallery46, 46 Ashfield St, London E1 2AJ

www.gallery46.co.uk

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Twin XXX

Twin Issue XXX

15.03.2024 | Blog , Twin Book | BY:

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Now that we’re into the swing of 2024, the new issue of Twin lands just as the smell of spring and the thrill of summer start to come into sight. 

In this issue, we take a deep dive into the role of women in fashion and celebrate the names you know, as well as those you may not have heard of – yet! Tony Glenville’s fashion foray into history is rich and insightful. Meanwhile, we also spotlight three names to know among a new wave of Polish artists; Tishan Hsu talks organic technology; and the author Natasha Stagg – whose third book Artless came out at the end of last year – talks writing in the real world. 

Plus, a look at modern craft and a delve into the role of women in the ever-evolving world of ceramics, by Madeleine Ringer in conversation with six contemporary ceramicists. 

There is also fashion that invites new-season thinking. Be gone jumpers and coats, instead welcome dreamy vacation (or staycation) vibes for out-of-office looks; clothes to move in, go out in and party-with-your-pals in. Shed those layers and indulge in the styles you’ve been thinking about all winter long. Plus, day to night takes on a new, more plausible, meaning. Spring and summer is here. 

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REFIK ANADOL: Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive

01.03.2024 | Art | BY:

Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.

Artist, technologist, and pioneer in artificial intelligence arts, Refik Anadol presents his new exhibition of eye-candy works at London’s Serpentine Gallery.

Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.

Anadol’s collaborative generative process with AI plays here manifests to present “years-long experimentation with visual data of underwater landscapes and rainforests”. This large scale digital work features Artificial Realities: Coral (2023), which immerses viewers in an Al’s imagination of underwater landscapes. Made by training a unique AI model with approximately 135 million images of corals openly accessible online and generating abstracted coral images, “the AI then constructs new visuals and colour combinations based on the dataset.”

Refik Anadol, Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive, 2024. Installation view, Serpentine North. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studio and Serpentine.

This is also the UK premiere of Living Archive: Large Nature Model which was first introduced at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. To make this, Anadol worked with the data of major institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution and London’s Natural History Museum to create the model, “centred around archival images of fauna, flora and fungi, will expand over the coming years.”

As far as spectacular exhibitions go, this is a sure fire crowd-pleaser.

Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive

16 February – 7 April 2024

Serpentine North

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Dilara Fındıkoğlu’s Femme Vortex

25.02.2024 | Blog | BY:

In her Autumn/Winter 2024 show, Dilara Fındıkoğlu unveiled 36 captivating looks, weaving a narrative of feminine allure and sensuality. Titled “Femme Vortex,” the collection was showcased within the unlit confines of St Luke’s Old Street Anglican church, a powerful setting for a collection aimed at dismantling patriarchal structures.

The runway spectacle featured a concoction of deconstructed tailored jackets, form-fitting corsets, and avant-garde accessories. Actress and style icon Hari Nef opened the show, dressed in a sheer white corset paired with a button-up shirt and blazer cinched together with a bold safety pin, accentuated by lace-up chokers and eye-catching belts.

Nodding to a lack of pockets in womenswear, the look, entitled “Female Territory” saw objects like a pen, lighter and watch stuffed in the bra cups.

Another look titled “Man License,” featured disheveled business attire juxtaposed with sheer corsets and latex opera gloves as the model carried a handbag cleverly crafted to resemble folded newspapers. On it read “OMG Dilara is doing a satanic orgy at a London Church.”

Each ensemble, meticulously curated by Dilara, exuded an aura of subversive elegance. In her show notes, the Turkish-British designer elaborated on her vision. “This is a manifesto for a world order born of an unrelenting vortex of femme energy; a way of being and feeling that transcends the parochial strictures of conventional masculinity.”

Amongst the stunning cast, notable personalities such as Richie Shazam and Lana Rhoades made appearances on the runway.

Dilara’s distinct aesthetic, characterised by its ethereal beauty tinged with an edgy and provocative undertone, evoked memories of fashion icon Alexander Lee McQueen’s groundbreaking work. Again, Dilara Fındıkoğlu has succeeded in crafting a collection that not only captivates with its aesthetic brilliance but also serves as a poignant reflection of societal norms and values, urging us to reconsider our perceptions of beauty and the feminine identity.

Twin Loves: ALL LIFE LONG by Kali Malone

17.02.2024 | Blog , Culture | BY:

© Stephen O’Malley

TWIN LOVES the harmonic resonances of “All Life Long”, the long anticipated album from Kali Malone following a tour that included her performing in iconic venues including Gedächtniskirche as a part of Berlin’s CTM festival last week. She toured historic pipe organs at Église Saint-François in Lausanne, Orgelpark in Amsterdam, and Malmö Konstmuseum in Sweden, with additional accompaniment from Stephen O’Malley. 

Kali Malone performs »Organ« at Gedächtniskirche, Berlin as part of CTM 2024
© 2024 Camille Blake

The album, featuring four different organs dating from the 15th to 17th centuries, represents experimental reinterpretations of pipe organ, choir and brass quintet polyphony in a temporal layering across sound, structure, and introspection. 

The album includes a brass quintet performed by Anima Brass at The Bunker Studio in New York City, and vocals by Macadam Ensemble recorded at Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-L’Immaculée-Conception in Nantes. It is the first release of organ compositions since her highly acclaimed album “The Sacrificial Code” came out in 2019.

Kali Malone performs »Organ« at Gedächtniskirche, Berlin as part of CTM 2024
© 2024 Camille Blake

Throughout the album, the artist presents a rich tapestry of recurring harmonic motifs and evolving patterns, crafting an intimate sonic landscape across its twelve pieces. Her music builds from “evolving harmonic cycles” that evoke profound emotional depths. Her music invites listeners to relinquish expectations of time, opening doors to spaces of reflection and contemplation. 

The main piece “All Life Long” is featured twice on the album: initially as an extended canon for organ and later combined with the poem “The Crying Water” by Arthur Symons. The poem is imbued with themes of mourning and eternity, expanding on the album’s sense of spiritual transcendence.

A timeless journey that invites listeners to discover themselves within its intricate musical tapestry. “All Life Long” is out now. 

Digital Download from Ideologic

Record vinyl and CDs available from Bandcamp

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DIOR S/S 2024 HAUTE COUTURE

30.01.2024 | Blog , Fashion | BY:

SCENES FROM PARIS FASHION WEEK’S MOST ANTICIPATED SHOW

© DIOR

Artist Isabella Ducrot’s installation, Big Aura, adorned the walls of the room hosting the presentation of the Dior haute couture collections in the Rodin Museum gardens. For the set design of this Dior haute couture spring-summer 2024 show, twenty-three oversized dresses up to five metres high created a composition reminiscent of weft and warp. Designed to echo the dresses of Ottoman sultans studied by Isabella Ducrot, here she hones in on an abstract symbolization of the garment and revisits details of dresses from the Dior archives to recreate contemporary looks.

© DIOR
PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 22: Rihanna attends the Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Christian Dior)

The Dior concept is woven together across artforms that encompass Ducrot’s detailed vision for the environment, and even a poem:

Rag or brocade
every women textile thus results
from this enforced embrace, a grand design that only human minds are meant to grasp and execute; and thus a marriage that could not in nature ever find its place.
Take the spider, poor thing. It dupes.
The spider doesn’t weave; the spider glues.

  • extract from TO WEAVE IS HUMAN for Isabella Ducrot by Patrizia Cavalli – 2008.

A stalwart in the world of textile research and art, Ducrot is also a collector with her own extensive archive of rare textiles amassed over her long and distinguised career. Born in Naples in 1931, she travelled extensively and as such brings her unique eye on fabric to this runway. In 2002 at a lecture in Naples, she described, “my creative work goes hand in hand with the search for new fabric uses. Its aesthetic qualities continue to inspire me, as does its historical importance within human civilization. I have dedicated my work to textiles. ”

Dior note on the design, “the use of this particular, intentionally irregular and imperfect square pattern, obtained using the ancient artisanal technique of block printing, bears the artist’s signature of sorts. She often uses this type of geometric pattern not only for aesthetic purposes, for the simple pleasure of getting lost in the weave of vertical and horizontal lines, but also with the political intention of honoring the checkered fabric, considered lowly in the history of Western fashion, mainly used and worn as it was by workers, such as farmers, pruners and masons, doing manual labor outdoors.”

The elevated silouettes and crafted detail of the materials both on the runway and embedded in Ducrot’s design did not disappoint.

Reebok x Aries

30.01.2024 | Blog | BY:

Reebok and London-based fashion label Aries have cast their creative forces together, unveiling their first footwear collaboration. 

 Since its founding in 2010, Aries has been renowned for its bold, genderless design philosophy and nostalgic nods to ’80s and ’90s culture. This January, the homegrown streetwear brand seamlessly joins forces with Reebok, a hallmark in global sportswear. The collaboration pays homage to the timelessness of the Classic Leather, a quintessential symbol of British style.

Drawing inspiration from mystics, wizards, and magicians, the Aries x Reebok Classic Leather features the Mystic’s Shoe tinted with Aries’ signature aqua and adorned with gold. Premium leather, nubuck accents, reflective features, and Aries’ gold foil wizard graphic are just a few of the design elements that make this collaboration truly mystical.

Packaged in an exclusive custom shoe box with additional gold detailing, the Aries x Reebok Classic Leather invites wearers to embrace the mystique and craftsmanship of this iconic collaboration.

Aries Creative Director and Founder Sofia Prantera expressed her excitement, stating, “Reebok’s Classic Leather is such an important symbol of British style, so it was very flattering to be asked to interpret it.” The challenge, as she sees it, is to infuse an Aries twist without compromising the shoe’s inherent simplicity.

The Aries x Reebok Classic Leather is available January 19 exclusively from

Aries (ariesrise.com) and the Aries flagship store followed by a wider global release on January 24 from Reebok.com and select specialty retailers.

Chase Tha Worst: London’s Artist on the Rise

04.12.2023 | Blog | BY:

East London-based rapper Chase Tha Worst has been catching the internet’s ear with a stolid and infectious flow. Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, he’s carved his own distinct aesthetic and sound; an intoxicating blend of hip hop and funk, challenging conventions and offering a fresh perspective. That same spark is on display on No Friendz, his new single and video out now.

Last week, the rapper and producer released his debut album Tha Worst Mixtape. Tongue-in-cheek lyricism and effortless delivery can be heard drifting across his 10 self-produced songs, crossing into different genres. In No Friendz, Chase channels an energetic and laid back flow, coupled with striking visuals shot in London. 

“I think in current times, music alone is not enough. I wanted to use all the creative fields I love- music, creative direction and comedy to bring the project to life and create a world around it,” says Chase.

Speaking further on his debut, “I hope that it inspires others to do the same. I hope to bring some originality and craft to not just the music but all that surrounds it – the promos, the videos, the visual identity. I think that a lot of people are caught up with trends and numbers. How do I get famous? How do I make my next song blow up? A lot of people are trying to use a formula but it’s killing the art form. I hope to inspire other artists to stop trying to feed algorithms, stop jumping on trends, and make what they really want to make.”

You can watch the official No Friendz video here, out now.

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