Jorge and I (@dividedbyonefilms ) recently visited designer @erwanbouroullec at his home in the french countryside for @wallpapermag 's *The stuff that surrounds you.
Alongside making a film in the most beautiful light and setting, I also made some photographic stills that along with some segments of the film I will be sharing over the next few days.
Thanks you @sjordahn !
I'm starting a new way of posting, something a little different where I look at collections of my work, finding connections and talking a little about why, I suppose this is a way to share a broader selection of my work and delve a little deeper into these repetitions.
In this case it was intentionally out of focus portraits. Why have I chosen to do this? Describing a sense of place is really high up on the list for me even when making portraits I'm often making these kind of portraits alongside what you'd probably call traditional portraits. It works to draw you deeper into their surroundings and makes you think a little more about the subject as well, prompting a little intrigue about their character and who they may be. There's also this kind of sculptural quality to the shape of an out of focus subject that I like.
It's always great to see my photographs realised on the printed page, recently my photographs Olivetti's Ivrea were recently be featured in print for @sabatomagazine .
Ivrea, an Italian town purpose-built by the now subsumed typewriter manufacturer, once a model for workers’ rights and progressive design.
Here Italy’s best architects were commissioned to design state-of-the-art factories, canteens, offices; airy palaces of glass curtain walls, flat concrete roofs and glazed brick tile. Now, it is both a cautionary tale and a vision of a utopia. An eerie spellbound nothingness prevails.
I've just returned from a trip to make work across landlocked Bolivia travelling across the border to Chile. 🌊🇧🇴🇨🇱
10+ years ago I visited my father in his homeland of Bolivia, with him as my tour guide. This was the origin of my project The Bitter Sea. Since then, this work has sat unresolved on the shelf waiting for the right time to be picked up again, and as things aligned and more space and time put between me and the project, it felt like the right time to go back, this time accompanied by good friend and author Laurence Blair (@printsofblair ).
This body of work started as an exploration of Bolivia's loss of their coastline, researching and investigating their maritime history and national relationship to the coastline taken through conquest by Chile in The War of The Pacific. Since my father's death, it has consequently enveloped my personal loss and connection to Bolivia becoming as much an exploration of self as it is that of the national mood. This trip was heavily research based, we visited countless archives, libraries and institutions, following the trail left by the war of two neighbouring countries now focused on diplomacy, peace and prosperity.
Sharing a behind the scenes look at @dividedbyonefilms and @wallpapermag 's recent visit to @erwanbouroullec at his Burgundy countryside estate. Over Two days we delved into Le Grange, the farmhouse transformed by Bouroullec, observing the objects and designs that he has either made or collected, these made up a central part of the film as well Bouroullec’s philosophy of design objects being most beautiful when “shaped by their user".
Some final stills taken on @dividedbyonefilms recent trip to the Burgundy countryside to visit La Grange, the home of designer @erwanbouroullec
You can watch the full film for @wallpapermag 's *The stuff that surrounds you through the link in my bio.
"Part sanctuary, part laboratory, the space he has created – known as La Grange – is a hive of design experimentation. Tractors, tools, woodwork, even the grass – everything becomes a ‘toy’ to explore, manipulate and learn from, says the designer. ‘When I’m here, I’m building quickly, roughly, but always looking for truth in the roughness,’ he reflects. ‘It’s grounded, necessary and playful.’"
Thanks for such a memorable visit @erwanbouroullec
On the road pt.2! Just crossed the Bolivia/Chile border off the back of visiting
Archivo y Biblioteca Nacionales de Bolivia calling up documents relating to the War Of the Pacific.
Look forward to sharing some of the work I've been making whilst out here, for now here's some behind the scenes and a video of me and @printsoflblair crossing the border on foot.
On the road with @printsoflblair making work for my project The Bitter Sea, been wanting to get back to Bolivia and Chile for a good while to carry on my exploration of Bolivia's national sense of loss, focusing on The War of The Pacific and the loss of their coastline to Chile.
A good time to return, Bolivia's Day of the Sea was in full swing and lots to visit around La Paz and El Alto. Looking forward to crossing into Chile!
Flocking Forward. @birdnerdeem photographed by @nickballon for You Can Now *Magazine*.
Commissioned for a leadership profile of Nadeem: youth mentor, broadcaster and @flocktogether.world birdwatching community builder.
Nadeem describes a quiet mode of leadership, with the intentional act of noticing — and of inviting others to notice — at the heart of it.
Magazine Design and Art Direction by @alexhuntingstudio - Read in full, link in bio.
I'm off tomorrow on a long awaited trip back to Bolivia and Chile to work on my long-term project The Bitter Sea with friend and writer @printsoflblair - the project delves into the national mood and identity of Bolivia and its connection to its lost Coastline through The War of The Pacific with Chile.
I look forward to sharing more when I arrive!
