Phenomenal Skies and Animals in Action Top This Year’s Nature TTL Photography Contest

“The Astonishing,” Godafoss, Iceland, Mauro Tronto

The annual Nature TTL Photographer of the Year contest garnered more than 8,000 submissions this round, with some of the most impressive images focusing on fauna in the wild and stunning light-based phenomena that illuminate nighttime skies. Taken around the globe, the winning photos demonstrate both acts of stealth and moments of serendipity. Images range from Matt Engelmann capturing an unaware dog fox as it creeps over a Swiss mountain to Mauro Tronto framing a rainbow shooting upwards from the misty Godafass waterfalls in Iceland, the glowing northern lights overhead. See some of our favorite photos below, and visit the competition’s site to view all of the top entries.

 

“A Moment of Wilderness,” Mountains of Switzerland, Graubünden, Switzerland, Matt Engelmann

“City Hare,” Kassel, Germany, Jan Piecha

“Sunset Ray,” Tuna Factory, Maldives, Andy Schmid

“Vantage Points,” Hosanagara, Karnataka, India, Achintya Murthy

“Pretty in Pollen,” Mutter’s Moor near Sidmouth, Devon, U.K., Tim Crabb

“The Top of Australia,” Kosciusko, Australia, Josselin Cornou

“Nature Fights Back,” Loxton, Northern Cape, South Africa, Bertus Hanekom

“Ice Bear,” Klukshu, Yukon, Canada, Geoffrey Reynaud

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An Enormous ‘E.coli’ Floats Through the National Museum of Scotland at 5 Million Times Its Actual Size

“E.coli”. All images © Luke Jerram. Photo by Neil Hanna, courtesy of the artist and National Museum of Scotland

In the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, an enormous single-cell organism floats among the Victorian iron colonnades of the cavernous Grand Gallery. Bristol-based multidisciplinary artist Luke Jerram often explores the nature of scale and perception in his pieces (previously), and the latest installation of his inflatable sculpture “E.coli,” which has been displayed in locations around the U.K., spans 90 feet, representing the bacterium at 5 million times its actual size. (If humans were to scale up just as enormously, they would be about 5.5 miles tall!)

Escherichia coli (known as E.coli) is a group of mostly beneficial bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and humans. Some types can occasionally cause severe illness, usually transmitted on food. Jerram’s sculpture prompts visitors to re-examine their relationship with “germs,” elevating and celebrating the importance of bacteria for both health and science.

“E.coli” is on view as part of Edinburgh Art Festival through August 31. You can find more of Jerram’s work on his website.

 

Photo by Luke Jerram

Photo by Luke Jerram

Photo by Neil Hanna

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Delicate Lace Patterns Overlay Facades in Ornate Large-Scale Murals by NeSpoon

Yffiniac, France (2022). All images © NeSpoon, shared with permission

Polish artist NeSpoon (previously) continues to add to her expansive collection of murals that merge local craft traditions and street art. Having traveled around Europe in recent months, she’s completed pieces in France, Spain, and Italy, to name a few, and each oversized motif recreates a lace pattern sourced from a museum or resident at a massive scale. The resulting works, which are spray-painted in white, are intricate studies of the region’s florals, ornamental styles, and tatting methods and how they differ throughout cultures and eras.

NeSpoon, who is based in Warsaw, generously shares in-progress and production photos on her site, and you can follow her latest pieces on Instagram.

 

Montpellier, France (2021)

Corsica, France (2022)

Brescia, Italy (2022)

Penelles, Spain (2022)

Montpellier, France (2021)

Detail of mural in Montpellier, France (2021)

Mendicino, Italy (2022)

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Glass Pitchers and Vessels Encase Architectural Paper Sculptures by Ayumi Shibata

All images © Ayumi Shibata, shared with permission

Tucked inside clear glass vessels are Ayumi Shibata’s regal architectural vistas and layered cities enveloped by trees and vines. The Japanese artist is known for her elaborately constructed paper sculptures that fill small spaces like books and jars or occupy entire rooms, all of which are alluring and immersive as they draw viewers in to the enchanting, dream-like environments. Because the artist uses solely white paper, each sculpture highlights the intricacies of her cuts, and the details are enhanced even further when illuminated. That soft light source creates depth and shadow, as well, and Shibata describes the latter as adding a spiritual dimension to her works.

The artist recently finished two large commissions, one to accompany singer Ryoko Moriyama on stage and another for the KITTE shopping mall next to Tokyo station. You can follow updates on those in addition to other pieces on Instagram.

 

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Balloons Inflate Around Copper Forms in a Playful Reinterpretation of the Enigmatic Venus Figures

All images © Reddish Studio, shared with permission

Although research suggests the ancient Venus figurines were created as totems of survival amid a changing climate, the enigmatic forms continue to puzzle historians, their exact cultural context and relevance unknown. The mysterious statues, with exaggerated physical features like large, distended bellies and generally plump appendages, recently inspired a playful project by Naama Steinbock and Idan Friedman, the designers behind Reddish Studio based in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

Titled “Venus of Jaffa,” the series interprets the prehistoric sculptures as lighthearted, impermanent forms. Each figure is structured with a thin, copper frame designed to hold a balloon. Once inflated, the latex—the studio used neutral tones to evoke both flesh and the original earthenware—puffs around the armature to form the supple curves of a female body. In a statement, the studio describes the works, which were originally shown at Jerusalem Design Week 2022:

This project is meant to spark curiosity while referencing both the archeological finds and the way they take part in our current culture with their bespoke museum displays… While the archeological Venus statuettes have survived tens of thousands of years, the new addition to their dynasty is only ephemeral and has the lifespan of a party decoration.

For more from Reddish Studio, visit its site. (via designboom)

 

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Painted with Mesmerizing Precision, Innumerable Dots Cloak Stones in Hypnotic Patterns

All images © Elspeth McLean, shared with permission

Concentric circles in bold gradients, spiraling lines, and bright radial motifs by Australian-Canadian artist Elspeth McLean transform stones into endlessly hypnotic designs. Impeccably arranged on the flat, round objects, the patterns are comprised of countless individual dots in varying sizes and hues. Having veered away from the stippling technique she used in her earlier paintings, McLean refers to her style as “dotillism,” which is similar to pointillism in the shapes it relies on, although the artist prefers to work with exact colors rather than layer them to produce an illusion of specific tones.

McLean’s stones sell out quickly, so keep an eye on her Instagram for shop updates.

 

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Amorphous Ceramic Vessels by Julie Bergeron Merge the Shapes and Textures of Organic Matter

All images by Alain Delorme, © Julie Bergeron, shared with permission

From her studio in Paris, artist Julie Bergeron hand-builds amorphous stoneware vessels that mimic a wide array of creatures and lifeforms found in nature. Hollow ducts and pointed spines cover the surfaces of the cavernous forms, ambiguously evoking seed pods, tropical fruits like rambutan or durian, and small marine organisms. “I have fun mixing types, blurring the tracks… Are we in the vegetal, animal, microscopic, or human world? The borders become undefined,” she tells Colossal.

Inspired by the biological illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, Bergeron uses a coiling technique to shape the initial bodies before engraving or covering the forms in repeating patterns. She leaves the works unglazed so that the minerality and organic textures of the clay remain intact, the final steps of a process she explains in further detail:

When I start my pieces, I don’t have a specific idea. Gradually the sculpture takes shape, and I let myself be guided by its curves and its irregularities. The name of the piece comes to me when it is finished depending on what it evokes to me or the emotion felt. Often the sculptures seem alive to me.

The Quebec-born artist has a few pieces available from Suzan in Paris, and her Instagram features a trove of vessels and glimpses into her process.

 

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