An Offshore Wind Farm in England Hosts Hundreds of Potential Nests for Endangered Kittiwakes

All images © Ørsted and Red7Marine, shared with permission

The name kittiwake, which describes two related species of seabird that are common along the shores of Europe and North America, comes from its distinctively shrill call that sounds like, “kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake!” The coastal breeding birds are reliant on a steady diet of small fish and crustaceans, but overfishing and rising water temperatures due to climate change have contributed to shrinking colonies. As a result, scientists are rushing to research and monitor the remaining populations.

Kittiwakes typically nest on steep sea cliffs, while at least one colony has adapted to an unusual inland location in Newcastle, bedding down on the corners of buildings and under the Tyne Bridge. The RSPB estimates a global drop in the birds by more than 40% since 1970. Some of the most alarming decreases have been seen in the U.K., particularly in the northern archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland, where numbers have declined by 87% since 2000. St. Kilda, an island in Scotland’s Western Isles, has lost a staggering 96% of the breeding population.

With a little help from unique collaborators—wind farm maker Ørsted and marine engineer Red7Marine—the avians can now make use of three new structures installed just off of England’s East Coast. These installations, placed along one of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe, provide shelter for the seabirds while simultaneously producing clean and renewable electricity.

Off the shores of South Beach, Lowestoft, and the Minsmere Nature Reserve, Suffolk, each of the artificial nesting structures provide hundreds of small ledges designed to mimic the birds’ steep cliff dwellings. Every year, a team will monitor how many nests are occupied and how productively the kittiwakes are able to breed. The studies will be shared with local wildlife trusts like the Lowestoft Kittiwake Partnership, which just opened a series of bird hotels. (via designboom)

 

Left: Underside view. Right: Interior wall view. Photo by NEUBAU

Photo by NEUBAU

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Music, Magic, and Machines: Exquisite Details Unfurl From Chris Millar’s Phantasmagoric Sculptures

Detail of “ADIT 42” (2019), brass, aluminum, resin, electronics, and glass, 42 x 38 x 16 inches. Photo by Jacques Bellavance. All images © Chris Millar, shared with permission

Worlds within worlds emerge from the kaleidoscopic visions of Canadian artist Chris Millar, whose meticulous sculptures encompass a range of materials, mechanisms, and sound. Using clockmaking components along with cast resin, electronics, styrene, acrylic paints, and other materials, he constructs science fiction-inspired microcosmos in which enigmatic narratives unfold.

Through painstaking attention to detail, Millar creates each piece entirely from scratch. “Eclipse at Arc Valley,” the artist’s first exploration into work accompanied by music, took one-and-a-half years to complete and includes a handmade music box, bells, and gongs. “‘ADIT 42’ was started when I moved to Montreal and took two-and-a-half years to complete,” he tells Colossal. “It’s a kinetic sculpture that opens a vault door to reveal an entryway to a phantasmagorical otherworld.”

Spurred by ideas around portals and secret gateways, magic, and non-linear storytelling, Millar describes his approach as “kenophobic,” or characterized by an aversion to empty spaces. He densely fills tiny vignettes, platforms, and compartments with gem-like shapes, cameo portraits, architectural features, lighting elements, clocks, dials, and miniature landscape paintings. He says, “My practice has evolved into a highly detailed, high-craft process that pushes materiality and an excess of imagery to the limits of saturation.”

Millar recently moved his studio to Delson, Québec, and is currently working on two new pieces. While one is fashioned like a giant, ornate book inset with tiny paintings and sculptures, the other incorporates sound and clockwork with a music machine that is even more complex than “Eclipse at Arc Valley.”  The artist is represented by TrepanierBaer, and you can explore more of his work in detail on his website.

 

“ADIT 42.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

Detail of “ADIT 42.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

Detail of “ADIT 42.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

“Eclipse at Arc Valley” (2021-22), resin, acrylic paint, brass, aluminum, steel, and glass, 57 x 19 x 14 inches. Photo by Jacques Bellavance

Details of “Eclipse at Arc Valley.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

Detail of “Eclipse at Arc Valley.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

Detail of “Eclipse at Arc Valley.” Photo by Jacques Bellavance

“370H55V” (2011), acrylic paint, styrene, ABS, brass, glass, and wood, 68 x 40 x 31 inches

Detail of “370H55V”

Details of “370H55V”

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Amanda Cobbett Embroiders Realistic Likenesses of Fungi and Flora in Stunning Detail

All images © Amanda Cobbett, shared with permission

With a keen eye for detail and a passion for nature, Amanda Cobbett embroiders hyperrealistic fungi, mosses, and lichen with painstaking precision (previously). Taking between one to two weeks to complete, each piece is inspired by flora found around the U.K., which she collects, studies, and recreates with fiber in her Surrey Hills studio. Most recently, the artist has focused on samples found in the Scottish Borders for an upcoming exhibition, which she says is “the result of a year’s worth of work, and includes even more intricacy than previously made embroideries…It is a snapshot in time but includes a huge amount of variety in colour, texture, and new forms.”

Cobbett complements an array of mushrooms with soil-coated roots and carpets lifelike pieces of bark and twigs in diverse lichens. Over time, she has developed techniques that allow her to work on a minuscule scale, often putting specimens under magnification to detect the tiniest characteristics. “I mix the weights of the sewing threads from the bobbin and the spool, often using a 75 to 100-weight thread to enable me to get the finest detail,” she says.

You can see more of Cobbett’s work on her website, or follow updates on Instagram, where she often shares images of her process.

 

  

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Pi Cheng Hsiu Traverses Taiwan to Document a Disappearing Population of Elephant Slides

All images © Pi Cheng Hsiu

Through the parks and schoolyards of Taiwan, a dwindling herd of vintage elephant slides trudge alongside ball courts and buildings. Popular in the mid-20th century, the slides no longer adhere to local safety regulations, and as parks are redeveloped, they have been gradually disappearing. In an ongoing series, Pi Cheng Hsiu (previously) captures the herd’s diverse expressions and ornamentation, some retaining their original gray appearance, and others the recipients of vibrant makeovers.

Pi has also generated an interactive map featuring all of the locations documented so far, and you can explore more on Instagram.

 

 

 

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Against the Ream: An Expansive Exhibition Invites Thirteen Artists to Explore the Vast ‘Possibilities of Paper’

Charles Clary, “Memento Morididdle” (2023), hand-cut paper and found frames, 96 x 240 inches. All images courtesy of the artists and the Torggler Fine Arts Center, © the artists, shared with permission

From intricate, laser-cut tendrils to vibrantly patterned collages, a new exhibition at The Torggler in Newport News, Virginia, explores the vast potential of a conventionally utilitarian material. Possibilities of Paper brings together thirteen artists from around the U.S. and Canada who have developed practices centered around experimentation and precision, employing a diverse range of techniques and styles that transform an everyday medium into elaborate works of art.

Wall works, freestanding sculptures, and large-scale installations comprise the comprehensive look at paper-based art being made today, including a monumental piece by Michael Velliquette suspended from the ceiling, Samuelle Green’s immersive sphere made of thousands of petals, and Roberto Benavidez’s piñatas inspired by the frenzied characters of Hieronymus Bosch. Many of the artists begin their compositions using pristine, new sheets of paper, while others reinterpret objects like books, maps, and paper plates into woven or carved forms. You might also recognize work from Myriam Dion, Matthew Shlian, and Eric Standley, among others.

Possibilities of Paper continues at The Torggler through October 15, and you can learn more on the gallery’s website.

 

Jaq Belcher, “All in Good Time” (2023), hand-cut paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy of Jayne H. Baum/JHB Gallery

Left: Detail of Charles Clary’s “Memento Morididdle” (2023). Right: Roberto Benavidez, “Bosch Beast No. 4” (2017), paper, paperboard, glue, crepe paper, and wire, 36 x 22 x 12 inches

Michael Velliquette, “Deva Realms” (2023), 90 hanging forms of Bristol paper and string, approx. 1,500 components, dimensions variable

Samuelle Green, “Marshmallow Polypore II” (2023), paper, wire, glue, and wood, dimensions variable

Detail of Samuelle Green’s “Marshmallow Polypore II” (2023)

Detail of Charles Clary’s “Memento Morididdle” (2023)

Eric Standley, “Drift” (2022), 48 compositions of laser-cut paper and 23k gold leaf, 12 x 9 x 1.5 inches each

Left: Detail of Eric Standley’s “Drift” (2022). Right: Detail of Eric Standley’s “Llull” (2020), laser-cut paper, wood, and 23k gold leaf, 48 x 16 x 5 inches

Foreground: Elizabeth Alexander, “Welder’s Daughter: The Waiting Room” (2020), iron filings from parents’ steel work, rust made with filings, graphite, face shield, paper, cast paper, and wood, 144 x 120 x 40 inches. Background: Charles Clary, “Memento Morididdle” (2023)

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Luciano Polverigiani’s Ceramic Toys Explore Material, Function, and Movement

All images © Luciano Polverigiani, shared with permission

From his workshop in Villa Elisa, Argentina, Luciano Polverigiani (previously) creates small and medium format ceramics that teeter between traditional sculpture and toys. Currently fascinated by the relationship between form and function, the artist often reflects on how his materials are inextricably linked to each piece’s use. “We generally associate ceramic material with fragility; ceramic objects break if they fall on the ground or are handled roughly,” he tells Colossal. “I am interested in reflecting on the ‘use’ that we will give to ceramics. In this sense, I begin to work with the idea of a ceramic toy.”

The artist brings the contradictory idea of the ceramic toy to life through a curious menagerie of creatures, each radiating with personality. And while many toys feature some kind of moveable aspect or configurable parts, Polverigiani embraces the incongruity between clay’s rigidity and the inherent action of play. By incorporating wheels and creating small figures that are meant to fit inside others, the artist pushes the boundaries between ceramic sculpture and movement.

In the past few years, Polverigiani has cultivated relationships with other ceramicists during his travels, and he is currently working on organizing a collective exhibition. You can follow him on Instagram for updates, and find more work on Behance.

 

 

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Exuberant Patterns Bring Ceramic Creatures to Life in George Rodriguez’s ‘Mexican Zodiac’

“El Chapulin.” All images © George Rodriguez, shared with permission

Antennae spring from the crown of a grasshopper, and an alert expression characterizes a cacomixtle’s beady eyes in George Rodriguez’s vibrant portraits of Mexican fauna. In his ongoing Mexican Zodiac series, the artist takes inspiration from the Great Race myth and the birth of the Chinese zodiac. “I wanted to continue to explore themes of protection, inclusion, and sanctity using the Chinese zodiac as a framework,” he tells Colossal. “I was also inspired by Ai Weiwei’s ‘Circle of Animals’ sculpture recreating the 12 animal heads of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing.”

Rodriguez initially made all of the Chinese zodiac animals in homage to the original stories, then landed on the idea of bringing the narrative closer to his own home and creating a parallel Mexican version. “Instead of the Year of the Rat, it would be el Año del Chapulín (grasshopper),” he says. “Instead of Year of the Tiger, it would be el Año del Jaguar. I have fun translating the different animal characteristics into animals that would be found in and around Mexico.”

 

“El Cacomixtle”

Mexican Zodiac has taken numerous forms, including a sprigging style—a kind of low relief decoration—that Rodriguez employs in much of his work, followed by a version brightly colored like Alebrijes, a style of small, vibrant wooden animals traditionally made in Oaxaca. The artist finished a third version in a metallic glaze that mirrored Ai’s originals, a fourth utilized a style of illustrated pottery known as Talavera, and the most recent involved collaborating with 13 other artists for a project titled El Zodiaco Familiar. Rodriguez has also translated animals of the lunar calendar into a series called Lunar Vessels, some of which are also shown below.

An exhibition of the artist’s work opens at West Virginia University’s Paul Mesaros Gallery on August 24, and another solo show opens in Denver at Visions West Contemporary on November 9. El Zodiaco Familiar is currently on view at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens through September 10, and you can find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

“Toro.” Collaboration with Marilyn Montufar

“El Venado”

“Venado Azul.” Collaboration with Carolina Jimenez

“La Cabra”

‘Lunar Vessels’

“La Iguana”

“Ox”

“Ram”

Left to right: “Snake,” “Dragon,” and “Rooster”

“El Quetzalcoatl”

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