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Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Waterfalls Spill Across the Dramatic Lush Landscapes of the Faroe Islands

A waterfall gushes over a rocky landscape

All images © Jennifer Esseiva, shared with permission

Steep cliffs, narrow passes, waterfalls, and wide, sloping hills are fixtures among the ocean bound landscapes of the Faroe Islands. The archipelago in the North Atlantic is a cluster of 18 individual islands, a few of which Swiss photographer Jennifer Esseiva (previously) visited last April. On Vágar and Kasloy, she documented the dramatic vistas, peering out from summits and across vast swaths of land and sea.

Esseiva shares that reaching her destinations required a significant amount of hiking, made extra difficult due to intense wind and rain. She explains:

The rain comes in whenever it wants, often accompanied by a strong wind! We’re in a wild environment where the weather changes rapidly…Suffering from vertigo, this trip was a real challenge for me, especially on the island of Kalsoy. On its northern tip is the small lighthouse of Kallur, nestled in a spicy setting and surrounded by sheer cliffs. The best photographic compositions require you to get close to the cliffs, which are battered by the wind.

In the coming weeks, Esseiva plans to share photos from Eysturoy and Streymoy islands, so keep an eye on Instagram for updates. Prints are available on Etsy.

A lush landscape next to a sea

A lush landscape next to a sea with fog in the air

A lush landscape and ridge with fog in the air

A lush landscape next to a sea

A lush landscape next to a sea with a waterfall gushing into it

A lush landscape next to a sea

A lush landscape next to a sea with fog in the air

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Waterfalls Spill Across the Dramatic Lush Landscapes of the Faroe Islands appeared first on Colossal.

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The 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Zeros In on Threats to Avian Life Amid the Climate Emergency

Liron Gertsman, Rock Pigeons, White Rock, British Columbia, Canada. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Grand Prize Winner. All images courtesy of Audubon Photography Awards, shared with permission

About two-thirds, or 389 species, of birds native to North America are at risk of extinction due to the effects of the climate crisis. Rising global temperatures are predicted to force adaption or migration to new territories, two consequences of human-caused change that imperil avian survival. Some of the most threatened species include the dunlin, short–eared owl, and Baltimore oriole, all of which are featured in this year’s Audubon Photography Awards.

Selected from 2,200 entries, the winners of the 2023 contest spotlight a mix of avian antics. A rock pigeon sweetly grooms a mate, a reddish egret snaps up a tiny fish, and a chinstrap penguin dive into frigid Antarctic waters. While not all species photographed are in immediate danger, the images together showcase birds’ vast diversity and its potential loss amid climate disaster.

The Audubon Photography Awards are now in the fourteenth year, and you can find all of the top entries from 2023, along with previous winners, on its site.

A bright yellow female Baltimore Oriole with thin light strands of grass held in her bill perches at the end of a branch and faces to the right in the frame. The strands billow around her, slightly out of focus, in front of a blurred green background.

Sandra M. Rothenberg, Baltimore Oriole, Warren, Pennsylvania. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Female Bird Prize Winner

A Reddish Egret stands in shallow water against a blurred yellow background, its body facing left and its wings open behind it. A small fish and water droplets are suspended in the air in front of the bird’s open bill.

Nathan Arnold, Reddish Egret, San Carlos Bay-Bunche Beach Preserve, Fort Myers, Florida. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Amateur Honorable Mention

Linda Scher, Verdin and cane cholla, Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, Arizona. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Plants For Birds Winner

Thousands of Tree Swallows sit on two cypress snags in a swamp, looking like leaves. One tree is larger in the foreground and the other is smaller in the background. More birds fly around the trees, their dark forms in contrast to the purple and blue sky.

Vicki Santello, tree swallows and bald cypress, Atchafalaya Swamp, Louisiana. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Plants For Birds Honorable Mention

A Chinstrap Penguin, wings outstretched, dives from an iceberg. Head down, its bill is nearly touching the water’s surface. In the background, a white and blue iceberg is capped with fresh white snow. Deeply etched lines on the iceberg’s sides appear like hashtags behind the black bird.

Karen Blackwood, Chinstrap Penguin, near Esperanza Station in Cierva Cove, Antarctica. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Amateur Winner

Kieran Barlow, Dunlin, Barnegat Light, New Jersey. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Youth Winner

Left: An Atlantic Puffin sits on the edge of a craggy cliffside, its head turned to the left, its white breast in sharp contrast to the gray background. Lime green algae and small purple wildflowers drape the cliff, breaking up the otherwise dark image. Right: A Brown Pelican at the top of the frame sits in the water, its wings pulled behind its body. In the dark water below is the crescent silhouette of a shark, its snout nearly touching the pelican.

Left: Shane Kalyn, Atlantic Puffin, Westman Islands, Iceland. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Professional Winner. Right: Sunil Gopalan, Brown Pelican, Galapagos National Park, Ecuador. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Fisher Prize Winner

A Northern Hawk Owl looks directly into the camera as it perches at the tip of a frost-covered tree. Dark pine cones on the bare branches stand out against a white background, mirroring the pattern of the owl’s dark breast feathers.

Liron Gertsman, Northern Hawk Owl, Thompson-Nicola, British Columbia, Canada. Audubon Photography Awards 2023 Professional Honorable Mention

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article The 2023 Audubon Photography Awards Zeros In on Threats to Avian Life Amid the Climate Emergency appeared first on Colossal.

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Playful Hues and Plump Lips Adorn Tatiana Cardonas Expressive Ceramic Vessels

A mug sculpted with lips and a tongue sticking out.

All images © Tatiana Cardona, shared with permission

Glistening glazes highlight voluptuous lips and cheeky grimaces in ceramics by Tatiana Cardona, who runs the shop Female Alchemy (previously). Based in Miami, the artist draws on a love for vibrant colors with an emphasis on pinks and reds, creating functional sculptures embellished with expressive facial features. Inspired by the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s when donning bright red lipstick was used as a form of protest, she focuses on creating lively objects that are as empowering as they are enjoyable.

Cardona regularly collaborates with well-known brands like Adidas and Fenty Beauty, and she tells Colossal that she is excited to begin exploring and experimenting with new themes. She occasionally releases batches of new work on her website, and you can follow updates on Instagram.

Ceramic vessels sculpted with lips.

A ceramic mug with lips.

Ceramic vessels sculpted with lips.

A ceramic flower pot sculpted with lips.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Playful Hues and Plump Lips Adorn Tatiana Cardona’s Expressive Ceramic Vessels appeared first on Colossal.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Eight Humanoid Forms Congregate in a Glowing Gathering Space in Taipei

A metal pavilion with a flower-shaped opening glows at night

“Gathering Pavilion.” All photos by BlackBird Imagine Studio, JL, © Ling-Li Tseng, shared with permission

Evoking the supple curves of the human body, an installation by artist Ling-Li Tseng (previously) explores the power of connection and community. Created in collaboration with Serendipity Studio for the 2023 Taipei Lantern Festival, “Gathering Pavilion” is comprised of eight figurative forms that lean together with shoulders touching to establish a space with a flower-shaped opening. Each module is made of laser-cut metal with a baked enamel finish, with lights embedded near the base to shine upward and reflect on the material’s surface.

When on view earlier this year in Four South Village, Xinyi District, Taipei City, viewers “would instinctively walk into the artwork, engaging in a visual dialogue with the humanoid geometry or using the eight modules as frames to catch a glimpse of Taipei 101, the iconic skyscraper,” Tseng told Colossal. “The involvement of viewers completes the artwork, embodying the original intention behind the creation of the ‘Gathering Pavilion.'”

Explore more of Tseng’s organic forms on her site and Instagram.

A person walks through a metal pavilion with a flower-shaped opening glowing at night

A metal pavilion with a flower-shaped opening

A detail image of metal slats forming three modules

A person looks up through a metal pavilion with a flower-shaped opening

A detail image of metal slats forming various modules

A person walks toward and open-air metal pavilion

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Eight Humanoid Forms Congregate in a Glowing Gathering Space in Taipei appeared first on Colossal.

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In Biophilia Pippa Dyrlaga Carves Space to Marvel at Natures Ethereal Intricacies

A cut paper bluebird with wings spread and flowers nearby

“Bluebird,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper and acrylic, 20 x 21 centimeters. All images © Pippa Dyrlaga, courtesy of Heron Arts, shared with permission

Through exquisite cut-paper motifs, Pippa Dyrlaga (previously) evinces the principles of biophilia, the theory that humans are predisposed to connect with nature and other life forms. This hypothesis grounds the Yorkshire-based artist’s first solo show in the U.S., which opens this week at Heron Arts in San Francisco.

Encompassing a range of Dyrlaga’s works from recent years, the exhibition is named after the theory and features meticulously carved compositions that meld flora and fauna. Patterned mesh backdrops surround entire ecosystems with avian and aquatic life, as in “Summer” and “River,” while smaller pieces focus on single creatures like a bluebird or swan as they take flight. Layered with acrylic paint, the works are nostalgic and full of reverence, evoking the immense, insatiable wonder of childhood and the joy of discovering the beauty of the natural world for the first time.

Biophilia runs from June 22 to July 21. Find more of Dyrlaga’s pieces on her site and Instagram.

Two spheres filled with intricate organic cuttings surrounded by a gingko-like motif in the backdrop

“A Strange and Beautiful Place,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper and acrylic

A blue and orange bird with intricate feathers perched on a branch

“Kingfisher,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper and acrylic, 20 x 22 centimeters

Two works, a white paper flower on a pink backdrop on the left, and on the right is a lush, layered work in blues, greens, and white that looks like moss and other botanical growths

Left: “Foxglove,” hand-cut paper, approximately 55 x 28 centimeters. Right: “Moss,” hand-cut paper and acrylic, approximately 120 x 45 centimeters

A white bird with spread wings above a tangle of thing white lines

“Swan,” hand-cut paper, 40 x 30 centimeters

A cut paper scene with a goose with intricate wings flying near the top, with a small bluebird at the center,r, and koi near the bottom. The backdrop is heavily patterned with botanicals surrounding

“Summer,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper and acrylic, 90 x 70 centimeters

Four images, each includes a printed black and white photograph of a woman or two women at the center, surrounded by vivid trees and flora and fauna in vibrant color

Top left: “Dandelion,” printed image, hand-cut 36gsm washi paper, and acrylic. Top right: “Gaia” printed image, hand-cut 36gsm washi paper, and acrylic. Bottom left: “Memory Fruit,” printed image, hand-cut 36gsm washi paper, and acrylic. Bottom right: “Tera Mater” printed image, hand-cut 36gsm washi paper, and acrylic

Two alligators face each other with mouths open. A gold orb appears overhead with sprawling blue branches and red blossoms

“Seeds,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper and acrylic

A square paper cut scene with herons, koi, and flowers

“River,” hand-cut 36gsm washi paper, 40 x 40 centimeters

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Biophilia,’ Pippa Dyrlaga Carves Space to Marvel at Nature’s Ethereal Intricacies appeared first on Colossal.

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Sergiu Ciochină Captures the Dance of Sunlight and Shadows in Textural Vivid Oil Paintings

A landscape painting of sunlight through trees.

“Shadow and light are the most stable and perfect tools of creation: they unite colors, shapes, and dimensions,” says Moldovan artist Sergiu Ciochină, adding that “shadows move us through diversity, enhancing our perception, while light fills us with the joy of discovery.” In saturated hues, he captures dappled sunlight as it filters through the trees and the rich tones of the golden hour as it casts deep bluish-purple shade onto the sides of houses.

Taking cues from the Impressionists, Ciochină focuses on the nuances of light and its ability to reveal outlines and forms. He works in thick, impasto oil paint on board, emphasizing the shapes of windows, doors, and stoops and transforming otherwise ordinary buildings into compositions glowing with the patterns of foliage, architectural angles, and the texture of brushstrokes. “The symbiosis I create between nature and architecture is intended to evoke a love for space,” he says.

Ciochină’s is preparing to move his studio to France and exhibit in Italy for the first time later this year. His landscapes comprise part of a broader painting practice, which you can explore more of on his Instagram and website.