Tom Sachs's mission to Mars launched last night at the Armory in Manhattan.

 
His latest full-scale works are truly awe-inspiring in their detail; a unique blend of technical mastery and humour. Mission control patrol the area on skateboards, doing stunts on the Mars rocks. The lunar module is has 2 floors and a fully stocked bar at the top.

The two female astronauts who are living on Mars for the duration have a strange love-hate relationship. Their mission includes digging up the surface of Mars to plant opium poppies, the seeds for which are scraped off poppy-seed bagels.

In Tom's first piece of architecture they perform a tea ceremony in a hut built for the purpose.

There are demonstrations taking place weekly until mid June including an endurance demonstration of everything in there on June 7th. 

This is a major mission which you shouldn't miss. The whole crew have been training in space camp for weeks now. I just want to have a go at driving that Mars Rover!
 

Related Pops:

• POP 875 Thursday 29 March 2012

If there’s one thing more luxurious than the thread count of the sheets at Russell’s B&B in Clapton, it’s hopping from my flat south east of the Thames to stay for the night. Monday morning doesn't feel as painful when you're waking in a minimalist haven. It’s easy to forget there’s a high street just outside the front door.

Realising that there are no places of accommodation in Hackney – “No nice places, anyway" – Annette established Russell’s of Clapton in early 2011: a cosy 5-bedroom B&B in a house on 123 Chatsworth Road. A stay at Russell’s is like stopping over at a friend’s. The atmosphere is colourful and filled with the faint sounds of a full house and Annette's whippet Reggie, following the wafts of breakfast cooking downstairs.

Before this new bout of life the building was divided into three separate, rather sorry flats. “It was covered in woodchip wallpaper and carpet tiles and it was just really dirty and unloved,” she explains. Now, it tells a different story. The rooms, on different levels, are stripped to the bare bones – exposed brick, white washed wall and polished floorboards. It feels like home, but the primped and polished editorial version, without the trajectories of mess and belongings.

“I still see that scrubby old house!” Annette says, sipping pink grapefruit juice after fixing me a plate of sausages and eggs at the table in the communal area downstairs, a room with heavy velvet sofas and an extensive magazine and book selection. The furniture is an accumulation of hauls at antiques fairs and car boot sales, and some of the soft furnishings were made by friends of friends in the area – "It’s all a bit of a mish mash – that’s the fun part.”

Before Annette opened Russell's, she worked as a manager in the music industry, and the B&B she frequented in Williamsburg on her routine trips to America became a massive inspiration. It was an old lighting factory run by an Argentinian couple who had converted it into a guest house. “It was really basic," Annette explains. "They’d obviously found a lot of furniture literally on the streets of New York – you know, the rich people who were chucking their stuff out." When she decided that her ties to London kept her torn whilst travelling, she decided to inject Hackney with a place of her own.

A Clapton local for nine years, Annette has spent a long time sourcing local and independent suppliers, for taste as well as to offer "a bit more of an interesting story" to her guests. The sausages are from local East End butchers, the Walthamstow Sausage company, and the coffee is roasted in my (not quite) local Camberwell, by up and coming barista Jack Coleman.

Annettte is friendly,  low-key and self-deprecating: when I complement her heavy-framed glasses, she tells me their predecessors were NHS frames from a car boot in Liverpool for £1, which came pre-chewed… She also feels like the perfect host: you only need to ask to get a reel of personal local eat recommendations (Venetia's, Cakey Muto) or if you want to grab a quick pint (Biddle Bros, The Elderflower).

“It can be really sociable at breakfast here. You’ll get a real eclectic mix of people sitting down and they’ll just start chatting, " Annette says. She still gets all sorts of music industry heads staying the night, too – bands, their crews, DJ's and producers. Last week Chairlift stayed for four nights. After Shirley Manson of Garbage visited last year, she went straight to the Internet to proclaim her star review. “She said if you’re ever in London, on her Facebook page, go and stay at Russell’s, it’s really cute. So some of (her fans) are coming to stay next week for her show.”

It is the perfect antidote to those wanting to stay East but avoid Shoreditch. "At weekends it just feels so full on… pink limos and all that kind-of scene – it’s really bizarre. You read in the newspapers all the celebrities that are hanging out in Shoreditch house and you’re like, ‘Really? They go to Shoreditch House?’ It’s so entrenched in the media and celebrity consciousness now that that’s like the cool part of London.”

So what next then, I ask Annette – would she like to expand? "I would like to if I could find another building that could also have a restaurant in it," she says. "A destination restaurant within a guesthouse, or restaurant with rooms, however you want to brand it." If Russell's is anything to go by, she's probably on the right track. 

russellsofclapton.com

Related Pops:

• POP 893 Weekend 21-22 April 2012
• POP 888 Monday 16 April 2012

Following a stint in Copenhagen last year, Peter Jensen is taking his critically acclaimed exhibition Peter Jensen’s Muses to The Museum of Art at Seoul’s National University.Featuring the chorus line of weird and wonderful women who have prompted each of his collections in an ultra-literal sense, the show provides a priceless juxtaposition. Jodie Foster circa Silence of The Lambs stands in close proximity to Cindy Sherman, who is within waving distance of Jensen’s Aunt Jytte. If only mannequins and walls could talk.

Forays of imagination aside, the show provides an unprecedented retrospect of the evolution of Jensen’s work. From the designer’s Spring/Summer 2005 collection inspired by figure skating champion Tonya Harding, to his latest Autumn/Winter 2012 protagonist Thelma Speirs. Ensembles from a total of 18 collections are on show, accompanied by additional didactic and imagery per muse. POP caught up with the Danish Designer two days ahead of the opening to talk WOMEN.

Why Seoul?
I'd never been to Seoul and was curious, it's a good market for our brand so I thought it would be a good choice, and when the Museum of Art offered the space it seemed perfect. It's an amazing building designed by Rem Koolhaus, it's so exciting to see the exhibition there.


Are your muses born out of actual obsessions of yours or are they chosen for their idiosyncratic appeal?
Some of them are obsessions of long standing, and some are recent discoveries, but they're all women I love. I can't imagine a muse who wasn't idiosyncratic- she wouldn't excite me.
 

Do you have a favourite muse?
Right now it's Thelma (Speirs), she's the most recent and she's a good friend. But it's always changing, I'm a fan of so many women – I'm watching the Leveson enquiry right now and can feel an obsession with Rebekah Brooks coming on!

Motifs play a large role in your collections. Do you use them as key signifiers of the stories behind your collections?
Yes, I think that's right. I like the collection to have a narrative whilst remaining easy to wear. Motifs are a part of that.

Your fit has been described as ‘slightly wrong’. What is your thinking behind this?
I'm not sure who said that first, but it is definitely something I've played with. I like the ‘slightly off’ in general. I like the idea of imperfection, that the viewer's not quite sure how they're meant to see the clothes.
 

Tell us a bit about the curation of the show- was it a simple process?
The exhibition was shown first in Copenhagen last year, but we've updated it and adjusted it to suit the space. I chose outfits I felt captured the essence of each collection I guess.

Who is the Peter Jensen girl for you?
She's very diverse apparently, she can be any age or size, I think it's more an attitude than a type (that sounds a bit pompous but can't think how else to express it). I think she loves clothes as clothes as well as the way she feels wearing them, if that makes sense. She's probably got something in common with my muses.

Peter Jensen’s Muses is on show at The Museum of Art at Seoul’s National University until 8th July 2012.

Related Pops:

• POP 910 Friday 11 May 2012
• POP 412 Wednesday 29 September 2010

Just in time for the Cannes Film Festival (yep it is the time of the year again!) – Mr Armani released his new Frames Of Life campaign video which was filmed nowhere else than in St Tropez!
Let's say the story is a little bit of when Romy got a hair cut like Jean and met Alain and what could have happened if there was a happy ending…
Some of us were lucky to be on set of this little movie and enjoy a few days of St Tropez' at its best… Miss Tui, when do we go back?

armani.com/framesoflife

Related Pops:

• POP 847 Tuesday 28 February 2012
• POP 755 Thursday 17 November 2011

POP loves all things China and all things Prada.

Word is Hangzhou's MixC Mall – the city's luxury shopping centre – has just welcomed Prada as its latest addition.

We think China + Prada is almost as good as Bowie + Iggy…

Related Pops:

• POP 909 Thursday 10 May 2012
• POP 863 Friday 16 March 2012

Last week on a rainy Thursday, a crowd of 500 congregated at the I.P.H. space on Wadeson Street for Haw-lin’s first exhibition. For those out of the know, Haw-lin was initiated by friends Nathan Cowen and Jacob Klein in 2008, to enable some casual image sharing. Part Revivalist, part taste-shaping visionary, the image-based website has since grown into an untouchable source of inspiration for simpatico creatives and design purists.

In the age of the JPEG, the exhibition serves as the perfect backlash. With just seven works on show, this ultra-curation is light-years away from the mechanical scanning of online images that has become as second nature to us as copy-paste. Ensuring we don’t transmute into robots just yet, POP caught up with I.P.H Directors Christopher Gray and Chris Read to chat about the importance of taking it s-l-o-w.

Huge congratulations on the show. What triggered the idea of collaborating with Nathan and Jacob?
Thank you. We started a dialogue with Nathan and Jacob about an idea to takes images off the web and put them into a curated environment. We wanted a place where viewers were able to spend time to appreciate each individual piece without the constant distraction of other interesting imagery.

How well do you think this concentrated collection of works reflects the Haw-lin aesthetic?
We would hope really well. They are clearly very talented curators though on some level we can only comment on this as existing fans of their website. We gave them an opportunity to select a core set of imagery, which they believed represented Haw-lin in a way that a gallery audience would appreciate.
We think people had expectations of the show being loaded with wall-to-wall content, which we decided to move away from in the very beginning.

In your opinion, what is it that makes Haw-lin so noteworthy?
For us both there are a few reasons. Firstly, there is the dedication to producing and maintaining a quality website for years without it becoming stale or updated infrequently. So much of their content isn't purely re-blogged and comes from a source or an artist or photographer etc. The blog was started as an effort for them to share imagery that inspired them both privately which naturally grew over time through word of mouth and gives it credibility.

How heavily were you involved in the curation process?
Not at all. After they agreed to the show they were completely entrusted with selecting the artists and guaranteeing delivery of work for the exhibition. We believe this worked, as they didn't need us to meddle with their selection process and we could focus our efforts on all the other aspects of the show.

You mentioned the importance of transferring online images to a curated physical space. Do you think the onslaught of constant imagery posted online has a negative impact on creative voyeurism?
This is an argument that could go on forever. There are positive and negative aspects of online and offline content. We all are inspired by images we see online but of course being able to see something in person, in a physical space, allows you to appreciate the history and the craftsmanship of an object or art piece. This is something that appeals to us greatly. There is so much online content that it's difficult to constantly digest everything; we all dismiss so much of it without allowing it any time to breathe or have an impact on us. In a lot of ways this is unfortunate. There is also the argument of scale; seeing compressed small images online is never going to carry the weight of a 2 metre painting.
 

The selection of artists could be identified as a ‘mixed bag’, yet the curation remains seamless. Can you identify one binding theme that links all seven works?
For us that is the indefinable talent that Nathan and Jacob have which they brought to our space. The reason their website has been so popular is that they manage to maintain a contemporary collection of imagery which is carefully considered yet seems so effortless. Listening to them discuss and arrange the space was incredibly interesting throughout the hanging of the work, as so much of their thought process depended on the idea of a collection rather than an individual stand out image.

Which piece resonates the most with you?
For me (Christopher Gray) it's the Nathalie Du Pasquier painting. It is such a wonderful painting and my appreciation has also been influenced that she was so sincere about the exhibition that made me warm to her and her existing work. I'm really proud to have such a piece in the studio and hopefully we can keep it here for a sometime. I'll be sad when it goes or if someone decided to buy it.
 

For me [Chris Read], although I would have initially said the Maurice Scheltens and Liesbeth Abbenes piece, I think the Benjamin Vnuk is what I would most like to own. Even after having the work up in the space for a few days, my eyes are always drawn to Benjamin's piece. The skin tones are so balanced and composition wise I can't really fault it.

How was it meeting the artists at the opening?
Everyone we met was incredibly positive about the show. Andy Rementer surprised us when he mentioned that he had not come from the US just for the exhibition but it was certainly one of the main reasons. It was also Bruno's second time exhibiting with us, which he was very gratuitous about. We hope these working relationships can hopefully bring more interesting exhibitions to the space in the future.

What's next for I.P.H?
We have a series of on-going projects at the moment as both of us continue to collaborate on new things involving film, product, art and photography. We have such a talented network of people around us that for the moment whichever direction we take the I.P.H we have the best support.

In the next few months we will be starting a new commission, which involves a move to Paris and then Berlin for a short film series, and a solo exhibition, which will hopefully end with the launch of a line of shirts for a winter men’s collection. It is still so new for us so we are allowing ourselves to grow slowly without an unnecessary push in a certain direction. As for the space we have such freedom to do whatever we like here without the restraints of what is expected of a gallery. There have been talks of hosting food events and film screenings but we are always open minded about ideas of how to use the studio in interesting ways.

Photographer Sanna Helena Berger & Christopher Gray

Related Pops:

• POP 913 Monday 14 May 2012

A year after the widely acclaimed Alexander McQueen retrospective, the Met's current Costume Institute exhibition explores the work and philosophy of two iconic designers from different eras.

Inspired by caricaturist Miguel Covarrubias' 'Impossible Interviews' for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, 'Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations' surrounds the very words of these two fascinating Italian women, and encourages us to view their work in a new light.

Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the videos of simulated conversation between Schiaparelli (played by Judy Davis) and Prada over a dinner table run throughout the exhibition and explore themes such as 'Waist Up / Waist Down', 'The Surreal Body' or 'Ugly Chic'. Both amusing and insightful (while Miuccia and Elsa do not always agree with one another), the conversations draw parallels between their conceptual and creative approaches to challenge conventional ideas of beauty and glamour, whether in their unexpected use of materials and imagery, surrealistic strategy or sartorial provocation.

The exhibition features approximately ninety designs and thirty accessories from the Costume Institute's collection, the Prada archive as well as other institutions and private collections, with highlights including Schiaparelli's tear dress, pieces from her Circus collection, Prada's S/S 1999 dresses embroidered with broken mirrors and S/S 2008 pieces featuring fantastical illustrations by James Jean. Prada shoe lovers and Schiaparelli millinery fanatics will not be disappointed!

Related Pops:

• POP 828 Tuesday 14 February 2012
• POP 161 Friday, 20 November 2009

I decided to organise a fundraiser for Somalia when I'd realised there had been fundraiser club nights (or several) for Haiti, Japan and Pakistan, yet none for what was the first famine of the 21st century. How can a famine which affects 4 million people happen in the age of social media, GPS, and the ubiquitous mourning of Steve Jobs? I think it's obvious that it would be ethically impossible to have such a thought, and then do nothing about it. So I called my friend Zainab, a promoter and fundraiser who is also a second generation Somali Londoner, and decided to organise Love Dance – Somalia. The DJ's are our really talented friends who will be playing a combo of house, garage, hip-hop, maybe some RnB and I don't fully know what else, but I can't wait.

As I studied media coverage of Somalia I encountered not only my own but the scepticism of others about the British government's recent display of interest in Somalia. So I decided to contact the British Office for Somalia, and last Friday interviewed the UK Ambassador of Somalia, Matt Baugh. Baugh told me 'There is no military answer to Somalia. Security is part of the solution but it's not the answer, it can't be'. He insisted that Somalia will 'absolutely not' be the next Afghanistan or Iraq'. I will publish more of the interview shortly.

We want this event to be a celebration of the Somali people, so Zainab and I gathered a selection of Somalia music. I couldn't stop listening to the mix-tape yesterday; it provided sorely needed vibes of sunshine. Check it out.

So please come and join us tomorrow night at Corsica Studios. We're starting really early for those who prefer their ETB's on a school night. Oh, and it looks like we're gonna be having some rare Burial white labels for sale…

Random Posts

• POP 598 Thursday 26 May 2011
• POP 371 Wednesday 18 August 2010

From Louis Vuitton's exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs to Christian Louboutin at the Design Museum later this year, 2012 is set to celebrate the great fashion houses of our time. One of which will be the elusive House of Hermès, displaying their six-decade long history with Leather Forever, an exhibition opening today that celebrates the maison's renowned craftsmanship. After 175 years, Hermès is still, by far, one of the greats in leather goods, due much to their understated luxury aesthetic. It all started as a harness and saddle brand and later responded to popular demand by adding leather accessories. Soon after the brand the established itself amongst The House of Goyard and Louis Vuitton as one of the world's most elegant Fashion houses.

The exhibition positions itself appropriately as Hermès nears its 176th year and loyal fans will no doubt be profoundly impressed by the extensive backlog of bags on show – including four celebratory pieces respectably named 'England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' all of which will be sold to support The Royal Academy of Art. But what makes this exhibition so relentless to indulge is the exclusive look into how production takes place, as several craftsmen from the Hermès workshop in Paris will be whipping up the finest leather bags live at the exhibition – for visitors' eyes only. As a Kelly fanatic myself, I have to give Hermès kudos for the ultimate demonstration in a retrospective. You can't get closer than this.

Leather Forever opens today, 8 May, at 6 Burlington Gardens, London.

Related Pops:

• POP 573 Weekend 30th April – 1st May 2011
• POP 445 Tuesday 9 November 2010

The May bank holiday weekend now always marks London's finest musical festival, the Camden Crawl, where every bar and pub within a square mile open their doors for two days of black denim indie noise heaven. This year there was a London team in the FA Cup Final and the reissues of every My Bloody Valentine record ever to add to the mix. On that score, Chelsea sadly scraped an unjust win, but Kevin Shields / Belinda Butcher proved they still provide the recipe for melodic noise pop magic (noise CD remastered!)… and that Camden is a spiritual meca for blood, blooded valentines and bloody mary's at the Hawley come Monday afternoon.

The POP team always seems to end up at The Black Cap. Why? Because its a gay pub with kitsch chandeliers and camp pin-up posters. And because the Moshi Moshi label always puts on one startling performance every year. This year it was Kwes on Saturday, the London producer proving he's got the kind of talent and originality that comes along once in a blue moon. Kwes offers gentle urban sentiment over dramatic aural backdrops, all backed by a charismatic female drummer who needs to be seen to be believed. I could pretend we went and interviewed her afterwards for the next POP. We should have, but we didn't. We just argued about her tribal print leggings and how she managed to play so passionately for an hour in chic knitwear.

SATURDAY – POP STAR: Kwes
Why? Best female drummer since Prince sacked The Revolution.
Runner-up: Veronica Falls at The Barfly.
Why? Great female singer let down by happily average indie guitarist.

Sunday was a strange day. The POP pop team agreed to meet to see Willy Moon at The Monarch. Then half the team decided Willy Moon was total rubbish and how could another record label be peddling some snappy Elvis with a contemporary twist schtick. Half the team stayed at The Lock Tavern and made a list of every "the new Elvis" ever. And The Lock Tavern is of course not an official part of The Camden Crawl, but we like it on a Sunday.

It got worse. Or probably better. Willy Moon didn't turn up. Or played somewhere else. Maybe Vegas in tight leather…

Fortunately, everyone agreed, band of the weekend by a mile was Toy, who kind of sound a bit Can, a bit Magazine, a bit early Simple Minds, a bit zoned-out Lou Reed, but actually don't sound like anyone but Toy. They look great, they filled the Purple Turtle with beautiful noise and they have a female keyboard player who could also grace the pages of POP… hell, the whole band will soon be over every other fashion glossy. Karl Templer will be dressing these guys in the new Hedi Slimane YSL menswear for 'Interview' before you can say "no, it's Warhol, as in holes…"

SUNDAY – POP STAR: Toy
Why? Hair 'em, scare 'em plus a handful of great tunes.
Runner-up: Arrows Of Love at The Black Heart.
Why? Re-read that. Arrows of Love at the Black Heart. Their fans call them "The Arrows". Scuzzy rock and all the boys in eye liner. Camden must always remain a cliche.

P.S. Did I mention that the My Bloody Valentine reissues hit the shops after all these years… Belinda singing "Angel". Boom. Thank you Kevin Shields…

P.S. 2. Thanks to Jamie in the press office for more passes than the NME got…

Related Pops:

• POP 905 Weekend 5-6 May 2012