England Art And Culture

This year’s graduate shows are nearly upon us so what better way to kick off the new season than with a reminder of some of the brilliant talent that I discovered last year. (And failed to blog about back then, due to the demanding needs of a very small baby. Now I just have a slightly larger very demanding baby, but at last I’ve found the time to catch up.) Mixed Special was the great name given to the show from Camberwell College of Arts illustration graduates, many of whom have gone on to create new collaborative projects. Since it’s been so long in the making this review will also pick up on what’s been happening for some graduates in the year since their show. First up, the fun work of Lewis Wade Stringer, who created an ‘added value’ burger out of silicone, acrylic and plywood. Shown vacuum packed as a finished object, I imagine that in it’s separate pieces it would hold great appeal for small children. The burger theme continues to be strong in Lewis’ life – you can purchase his burger tote bag, delivered in a disposable carton with bespoke sticker, over here on Burgerac. I wonder if an obsession with the 80s will continue to be a major influence amongst the graduates of the more progressive illustration courses this summer. Aaron Ziggy Cook is a member of the Day Job illustration collective, who showcased a stunning array of goodies at Pick Me Up in April. His love of 80s iconography and painterly pastels is evident in a series of interior themed designs. Charlotte Mei is another member of Day Job, as happy playing around with clay as she is with a paintbrush. A sense of humour is a key component of her wonderfully tactile clay creations. At Pick Me Up I was particularly taken with her human and vehicle sculptures; and a plethora of editorial jobs undertaken since graduation testify that her unique creations are in demand. She was also part of the marvellous Jiggling Atoms exhibition that took place last October. Completely Unexpected Tales by Holly Mills are a series of illustrations based on short stories by Roald Dahl which combine delicate swathes of watercolour, fine line detail and integral typography. Holly won the V&A student illustrator award in 2012. Confusingly, there is another Holly Mills illustrator, based in Melbourne (also well worth checking out). Hasmita Hirani was inspired by the Mahabharata epic poem to doodle a series of narrative scenes across large sheets of paper – read an interview about her process here. Hasmita has recently collaborated with old friend Hana to create Rolled Paper Pencils featuring beautiful abstract designs in bright colours, available at the brilliant Poundshop. Ellie Denwood’s End of the Line are a series of eery atmospheric monochrome prints based on trips to the end of the Underground Line. Emily Jane McCartan is another illustrator who made use of the ceramics facilitates at Camberwell, covering clumpy clay shapes with big daubs of paint; her gouache prints for What the Moon Brings feature the same painterly splodges as her ceramic glazes. Her mission, to encourage a 70s craft revival. I like it! You can buy some of Emily’s wonderful creations on Etsy here. Phoebe Stella Garrick Summers‘ modern take on medieval maps features pubs rather than churches at the centre of daily life. Her interests lie in art psychotherapy. A strange bandaged man accompanied by foxes hovers by the bin bags outside a closed shop: The Tumbleweave Series by Sarah Wharton is based on the invention of a modern folklore. I’d love to know what Sarah is up to now. I like the simplicity of mushrooms by Katie Johnston. More recently I admired her stuffed rocking horse head, on display at Pick Me Up with Day Job. Miranda Sofroniou created Arctic themed wallpaper which she also decoupaged onto a chair frame. She is currently working on her third children’s book. The Infinite Space by Acktarr Khe

Along with Wagner, Verdi, Britten, the Royal Philharmonic Society and heaven knows what else, the Chelsea Flower Show has a double-zero anniversary this year. It launched in 1913 (just like Britten). And as it’s my annual, unmissable, non-musical indulgence, I’ve just been to press day – where, as always, I was captivated by the fantasy [...]

Jessica Peace (@poetryinboots) takes a walk around Leeds looking at some new art exhibitions guided by Pavilion

Lisa Farrell enjoys the menu relaunch at Chino Latino - great choice of Pan-Asian dishes, an extensive range of cocktails, a great view and a "Chinopedia".

TV Surprising a few of us, Doctor Who has finally been confirmed for an eighth season and another Christmas special with Steven, Matt and Jenna a lock. Whether that means Christmas 2013 or 2014, I'm a bit confused about but at least there's some forward direction on this, even if also we don't actually know when it'll be broadcast. I've seen reports of Autumn 2014, which seems a looong way off. My hunch is it's one of the reason Merlin's left us -- to allow Who to finally have a full thirteen weeks in Fall and Winter because frankly I think we'd all be a bit cheesed if it was another split season across the closing of the year, because if it was another split season across the closing of the year that would mean we're been reduced to having one full run of episodes every two years in real terms. Which, yes, I know is more than was broadcast in the 90s but still looks a bit pokey for what's supposed to be one of the BBC's flagship dramas. Anyway, to celebrate BBC America have uploaded the moment from The Name of the Doctor with all the Doctors so we can enjoy Murray Gold's vague cover version of the Field of Dreams piano theme once more: "People will come Doctor, they'll come to Trenzalore and they won't know why..."

Nature Wow, this is grim. From an ABC News affiliate in Arkansas: "In recent months our Seven-On-Your-Side office got several complaints that we had never heard before. People were voluntarily giving their horses to what they believed would be a "forever home," only to now have serious second thoughts about the wisdom of their decision. We went to Johnson County... where these horses should be living out their days. The real story is not what we found...but what we failed to find. We didn't find a lush 60 acres. We didn't find plenty of hay. And most importantly...we didn't find any of the horses in question." I think you can tell that this doesn't end well. Poor horses.

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History Four days before he met his fate, John F Kennedy visited Tampa Bay. It was an unremarkable stop, and if the President hadn't lost his life a few days later would have gone unremarked. But a researcher, Lynn Marvin Dingfelder, is determined to illuminate why it was important for the people of Tampa with a new film: “I want this to be about the joyous time he spent in our city,” Dingfelder added. “I don’t want this to be about mourning and conspiracy theories.” She's researching and collecting recollections of the visit for a documentary. The response has already, apparently been excellent, but on the off chance that someone in the area does read this blog (you never know) (I fail to be surprised by anything these days) the full details of how to make contact are here.

Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle, Brighton seafront. Photo by Roberta Mataityte I closed my report of the exhibition The Air Itself is One Vast Library on the promise that i'd come back to my last visit to Brighton with a few words about the crime scene-style outline of a drone that James Bridle painted on the city seafront. Under the Shadow of the Drone, commissioned by The Lighthouse, is a one-to-one representation of one of the military drones piloted remotely to strike targets in distant areas of the world. The aerial attacks they conduct leave hundreds of people dead, many of them innocent civilians. The controversy surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles has been recently intensified in the UK with the news that pilots at Waddington (Lincolnshire) are now working in relay with the military in the US to remotely operate American Reaper drones in Afghanistan. For Bridle, what matters is not so much the drone in itself but the 'black box' side of contemporary warfare technology. "I have a political interest in drones as well, but beyond that, they stand for all aspects of these invisible technologies that have a great effect on the world but are kind of largely hidden from view," he told the Creatorsproject. Installing Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle. Photo by Roberta Mataityte Installing Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle. Photo by Roberta Mataityte We might read about drones, get horrified by the way they monitor, gather intelligence, destroy and kill but we still cannot fully understand them, simply because we don't see them properly, even people who are directly affected by them hardly ever get a chance to see UAVs. Under the Shadow of the Drone suddenly brings drones into our daily life. I had intended to write down the notes i took during a talk that James Bridle gave last month in Brussels for The Digital Now series of events but The Lighthouse has recently uploaded on youtube a similar talk that the designer gave to the Brighton audience. I highly recommend it. It is both entertaining and chilling. Bridle explains in detail his research into drones and more generally his investigation into the way we perceive and understand technology. He analyzes how the most reproduced 'photo' of a Reaper drone is actually a photoshopped image that first emerged in a forum for 3D modeling hobbyists, he discusses the Disposition Matrix and the escalating assassination program which tracks and kills suspects militant terrorists in other part of the world, etc. He also illustrates his research by explaining briefly some of his own projects such as Dronestagram: A Drone's Eye View which collects images of locations of drone attacks along with a description of the carnage they incur and A Quiet Disposition, a software system that is constantly scanning the web for news reports on Disposition Matrix and drones and finding links between them. James Bridle - Meet The Artist presentation on 9 May at The Lighthouse in Brighton This much shorter video brings the spotlight on Under the Shadow of the Drone: The most reproduced image of a drone firing a missile is actually the work of a 3D modelling hobbyist Protesters hold up a burning mock drone aircraft during a rally against drone attacks in Pakistan (Credit: Reuters/K. Pervez) Image Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle, Brighton seafront. Photo by Roberta Mataityte Installing Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle. Photo by Roberta Mataityte Installing Under the Shadow of the Drone by James Bridle. Photo by Roberta Mataityte Under the Shadow of the Drone remains on view on the Brighton seafront, five minutes' walk east from the Brighton Wheel (do stop by The Lighthouse, they'll hand you a map with the location of the shadow) until May 26, 2013. The work was produced by Lighthouse and Brighton Festival. Previously: The Digital Now - 'Drones / Birds: Princes of Ubiquity', The Air Itself is One Vast Librar

Howie Payne, Paul Thomas Saunders, & Ellen (from Ellen and the Escapades) Live at Munro House, Leeds, 25th May