WIGGIN' OUT: YOUTH IN TROUBLE

Yoshi Sodeoka has created a wigged out video clip for The Presets pulsating new track Youth in Trouble.

RESONATE @ LUMINALE 2012

From Dithyrambalina to Resonate, reinvention is where it's at. Luminale 2012, Frankfurt. Image: Martina Pipprich.

PLAYLIST: COVER COMEBACK

We're not sure if anyone can claim credit for the recent popularity of cover versions, but we do know there are some incredible reinterpretations of great tunes out there. Lana del Ray's heartbreaking Video Games has already been covered by brave boys John Mayer and Boy George. In 2007 Aussie male musicians grouped together to release No Man's Woman, a tribute to the contribution women have made on the international music scene, and it's still a top spinner around here. Inspired track reworkings form Triple J's Like A Version, a segment where bands cover tracks they love, always give surprising aural pleasures. An earlier work from Christian Marclay, he of The Clock recently adored at the MCA, is another take on reworked covers (above).

THIS IS: MIRROR MIRROR

We've been reflecting on the inventive use of mirrors ever since we spied The Architect's Eye at Milan Design Week, an over-sized sculpture by Moscow architects SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov.  The eye gave the appearance of looking up and down as well as out to adoring crowds who were left agog as imagery was displayed in its dilating pupils.

With the countdown to the London Olympics well underway, Italian artist Monica Bonvicini's Run sculpture has us on our feet. Gargantuan scale has been put to epic effect, perhaps suggesting the astounding feats of skill we're about to see hit the fields, tracks and pools up north.

Copenhagen's kindergarten kids have a cool place to hang out in with MLRP's Mirror House. We bet there are a also few parents who wouldn't mind releasing their inner child in this fun house after a long day.

Before we go, here's one for the adults. Tina Mogensen and Marilyn Manson fuse perfectly in Noam Griegst’s seductive short Go Go 6: Light Dance, see for yourself. And if you missed our previous Mirror roundup, then look back here.

SNAP: TAMMISAARI 1.52PM

THE LOCALS

 

We're lucky enough to be spoiled for choice when it comes to eating and drinking in our hood. Vini is practically on our doorstep, and their Tuesday night taste sensational regional dinners are feasts we can vouch for. If only for a few hours, Vini transports diners to the selected region of the night using the finest ingredients from both near and far creating a perfect fusion of food and mood weekly. When we leave work each day it's hard not to pop into 121BC to grab a fine bottle of Italian wine or a seasonal tasty morsel or two from Enoteca. With Italian covered, we're getting ready for the Spanish as word on the street has it that Melbourne MoVida are slated to open downstairs in October. Our  tastebuds are chomping at the bit already.

FLASHBACK: CLAIRE AHO

Finnish photographer Claire Aho's work is showcased in Builders of the Future, an exhibition charting Finland's significant contribution to design post World War II at Helsinki's Design Museum — think Iittala, Marimekko and the ubiquitous orange handled scissors for starters. Claire's photographs from the 1950s depict domestic life around Finland and we found these shots instantly captivating. Throughout her illustrious career she turned her attention to a diverse range of work from magazine covers to advertising, including Fazer one of Finland's mouthwatering chocolate manufacturers. All images © Claire Aho courtesy Design Museo Helsinki.

TOP UP

Old plastic bottles are not usually teamed with the words elegance and grace, but if Shari Mendelsson has anything to do with it, it may be a pairing we hear more of. Collected plastic bottles and jars are spliced and stacked to form charming votives with their own quirky personalities.

 

Down under our bastion of reinvention of the most inspired kind is Sharyn Storrier-Lyneham who has been championing glass votives for some time. Covetable and collectible you can grab them at Edit or visit their new shop within a shop at Orson and Blake in Surry Hills.

CROSS-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS

Our senses have been excited by cross-cultural crafts both near and far. Indian designer Roopa Pemmaraju has been working with Aboriginal artists from Desert Designs, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery and Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation. Her Spring/Summer 2012/13 Collection launched at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in May wowed with her fantastic fusing of Aboriginal painting and Indian fabrics. We're looking forward to seeing these remarkable remote fashions in urban centres soon.

Bringing another cultural tradition into new territory are Pepa Martin and Karen Davis aka The Shibori Ladies. We missed the Shibori workshops that they recently led at Koskela, but are inspired to give it a try next time round. We're loving how Koskela are keeping it local and are making a solid effort to showcase tradition and craftsmanship in many other ways too, including the Tili Wiru one-of-a-kind lamp shades made collaboratively Tjanpi weavers.

SNAP: HELSINKI 2.23PM

DECO-RATE

There's a buzz in interiors circles with news that Catherine Martin has teamed up with Designer Rugs to launch a new collection. Inspired by the 1920s, and featuring in the Great Gatsby (see trailer preview), these rugs are made for the spotlight. Catherine Martin's Deco Collection launches June 6 in Sydney.

SNAP: FISKARS VILLAGE 9.25PM

DARK TO LIGHT

Sade Kahra's photographs of vegetables herald the beginning of the northern summer. Finnish winters are long and dark, and with that in mind Sade looked at how root vegetables take shape underground. The vegetables, some with peculiar forms, stand in for the Finnish people and how character is influenced by darkness. The images may be dark, but the internal beauty is bright.

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

We're not big on winter here, so it's some consolation for us that Sydney marks the cold season with stellar festivals designed to keep the cockles warm. We mentioned Vivid last week, but this week it's the Sydney Film Festival that steals the limelight. This year's film program is packed with delights from all quarters of the globe, screening long players to quick takes. We're bemused by the quirky cat-captured Cat Cam filmed by the adopted stray Mr Lee. And we think the circus theatrics of Rauch and Spiegel (pictured) by Melbournian Nick Moore looks intriguing, if not mesmerising. So many excellent excuses to retreat indoors.

SNAP: SYDNENHAM 11AM

LOVE BIRDS

While the ringing of wedding bells is still in the distance, wedding invitations and RSVP cards have rolled off the press for Rachel de Sain and Matthew Lewin's upcoming nuptials. We took Kiwiana iconography head on with our letter pressed kit soon to drop in letterboxes of lucky invitees.