Realistic Garnishes Top Sushi and Other Fishy Sculptures Carved Entirely from Stone

All images by Mari Kohei, courtesy of Mari Hamahira, shared with permission

Mari Hamahira’s sushi appears like tender slices of tuna and creamy sea urchin, but its texture is nothing like the soft, rice-based bites. From rough slabs of stone, the artist carves lifelike nigiri and rolls of gunkan-maki that are assembled into deceptively realistic sculptures and garnished with scallion rings, wasabi, and tiny mounds of roe. The coloring of each work is derived entirely from the material’s natural pigments, whether through smoothing and polishing or combining powdered granules into new hues.

Mixed within the delectable offerings are more unsettling pieces that include human body parts like fingers, brains, and ears. A critique of consumption and wastefulness, the series is in response to the artist’s work in the seafood industry, where he witnessed creatures harvested for their meat and then subsequently thrown away without being eaten.

Hamahira’s sculptures are on view through February 27 at Joshibi University of Art and Design, and you can see much of his stone-carving process on Twitter. (via Spoon & Tamago)

 

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Boinggg! Ceramic Vessels Undergo a Playful Remix with Coiled, Undulating Handles

All images © Kuu Pottery, shared with permission

Miami-born Kassandra Guzman diverges from the sleek, straight lines of minimalism in favor of squiggles and waves. She’s the ceramicist behind the Seattle-based studio Kuu Pottery, where she creates wide-mouthed vessels and playful vases mimicking bananas and other fruits. Part of her Boinggg! collection, many of the amphora and mugs have classically shaped bases with atypical handles that coil in lengthy runs and create undulating bows.

Guzman has a few projects in the works, including an illustrated series and a new body of ceramics printed with decals. See a larger collection of the artist’s pieces and browse available vessels in the Kuu shop. (via design milk)

 

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Whimsy and Vintage Illustrations Merge in Colorful Stippled Tattoos by Joanna Swirska

All images © Joanna Swirska, shared with permission

Amidst delicate black lines and stippled shading, Polish tattoo artist Joanna Swirska (previously) inks splashes of bright pigments. Her works blend fanciful elements with elegant illustrations of flora and fauna, like her signature ferns and detailed monsteras colored with bright green gradients. Often covering an entire upper arm or calf, the tattoos are whimsical in both subject matter and style, depicting raccoons dressed in orange hooded capes, birds perching on berry-studded branches, and cheerful cats riding retro cruisers.

Swirska, who’s known as Dzo Lama, lives in the Karkonosze mountains and works between Jelenia Gora and Wroclaw, where she runs Nasza Tattoo Shop. Her books are closed until July, but keep an eye out for future openings on her Instagram. You can also pick up prints, mugs, and other goods adorned with her illustrated characters on Etsy.

 

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Dense Fog Shrouds San Francisco’s Streets in a Spectral Haze in Joshua Singh’s Photos

All images © Joshua Singh, shared with permission

Photographer Joshua Singh wields the unrelenting fog that hangs over San Francisco to veil his shots with a dreamy, eerie quality. The Bay Area city is notorious for the dense weather condition that thwarts visibility and leaves pockets of reprieve among its hilly landscape—it’s so iconic that some residents have even named the weather event. Often working after sunset, Singh captures everyday activities like soccer practice and commutes that turn mysterious when illuminated by street lights or glowing store signage that peeks through the atmospheric haze.

Head to Instagram to see more of his street photography and to his portfolio to shop prints. (via Peta Pixel)

 

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Vibrant Tiled Mosaics by Ememem Repair Gouged Pavement and Fractured Sidewalks

All images © Ememem, shared with permission

Lyon native Ememem, aka “the pavement surgeon,” examines the streets of European cities and checks for splintered pavement and sidewalks fractured in pieces. Using tiles and stones, he patches the gouged wounds with vibrant mosaics, which nestle into uniquely shaped outlines in walkways and walls. The street-based interventions brighten the otherwise gray asphalt and cement with radial patterns and color-coded stripes that the artist describes as a “free and spontaneous surgical act, which repairs as much as it beautifies.”

Since 2016, Ememem (previously) has restored hundreds of potholes and cracks in the streets across Norway, Scotland, Germany, and Spain, many of which he shares on Instagram. Some of his smaller works will be on view with ErbK Gallery from March 10 to 13 at Lille Art Up Fair, and this summer, he’ll travel to festivals in France, Italy, and Ireland and to Valparaiso and Santiago in September. Ememem is also launching a residency this fall for artists interested in learning his techniques.

 

Ememem’s collaboration with artist Jan Vormann, whose LEGO piece constructs part of the wall

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Decorative Papercuts in White and Gold Compose Patrick Cabral’s Meticulously Layered Sculptures

All images © Patrick Cabral, shared with permission

Patrick Cabral re-envisions the intricate veins striping the tail of a fish and grooves in a pangolin’s scales with delicate, lace-like flourishes. The Manila-based artist is known for his sculptural portraits of wild animals and fantastical creatures that layer hundreds of paper cutouts into stunning three-dimensional works. Primarily composed with white, Cabral’s most recent pieces utilize gold for trimming a hippo’s facial features and heightening the depth and texture of the coiling, intertwined bodies of a dragon and its rival. The metallic material also adds contrast to a pair of koi swimming in a circular yin and yang formation.

Currently, Cabral is finishing a few works that will be exhibited from March 18 to 20 as part of Xavier Art Fest, a group exhibition raising money for victims of Typhoon Rai that devastated the southern Philippines last December. Check out his Instagram to see a variety of commissions and personal projects, in addition to a short video detailing his painstaking hand-carving and gluing process.

 

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A Deep-Sea Montage Unveils the Fantastic, Bizarre Creatures Swimming in Monterey Bay

A compilation recently released from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute (previously) invokes the old adage that reality is stranger than fiction. Featuring dozens of otherworldly sea creatures, the footage highlights some of the most bizarre animals spotted during the organization’s ROV dives, which range from the water’s surface to its 4,900-foot-deep floor. The montage includes a diverse array of species from aptly named strawberry squid and the elusive psychedelic jellyfish to the pacific viperfish. The institute’s partner organization, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is also hosting an exhibition dedicated to the mysterious creatures living in the region, which opens this April. (via Moss and Fog)

 

Peacock squid

Swimming sea cucumber

Feather star

Vampire squid

Strawberry squid

Barreleye

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