Water - precious medium for many cultures in the Pacific as highlighted in Oceania

An intensely blue 11-metre installation ‘Kiko Moana’ (made in multi-layers of polyethylene and cotton), which hangs in the opening room of the Oceania exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London's Piccadilly, sets the mood for what to expect.  It's displayed in the centre of the room with on one wall an imposing map showing the great stretch of water of the Pacific in which cultures in island groups have lived throughout the centuries.

Photos © Lucia Carpio

The shape and colour of water as well as deep tones and intimate hues serve well to take visitors on a journey in the Oceania exhibition to explore a treasure trove of some 200 artefacts, exceptional art and amazing crafts -   materials that various cultures and island civilisations in the Pacific used covering "shell, greenstone and ceramic ornaments, to huge canoes and stunning god images."

Spanning 500 years. Oceania showcases impressive techniques and provides insights into the life of the indigenous populations encountered by Captain James Cook on his voyage to the unknown lands in the vast ocean.  

Impressive to view is New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana's in Pursuit of Venus (infected ) -2015-17 single-channel ultra HD video set up in a room of its own.  It presents in a continuously running screen scenes of encounters between Polynesians and Europeans, acknowledging "the nuances and complexities of cultural identities and colonisation."

And John Pule's Kehe te Hauaga foou (To all new arrivals - 2017) is a fascinating painting to round up the exhibition.   It serves as a map of the Pacific ocean providing a perspective "onto the nature of worldwide reality.  

Look intensely closer, and study the images. depicted on the painting  You will find images of various representations of our world today, "bombs and nuclear testing are contrasted with pollution and global warming. 

All photos © Lucia Carpio

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The Salamander Devours its Tail Twice launching at Gallery 46

By Various Artists

Show Runs: Sunday 18 November – Wednesday 5 December 2018

Venue:  Gallery 46, Ashfield Street, London, E1 2AJ

An upcoming event organised by Londonewcastle is  The Salamander Devours its Tail Twice (17 November - 5 December 2018), an international group exhibition at East London’s Gallery 46 that brings together 26 established and emerging artists who will explore what it means to be human.

Curated by New York-based artist Ashley Middleton, the showcase will feature a diverse collection of works across a variety of mediums including sculpture, installation, performance, video, photography, painting and print. 

The Sweet Stench of Sulfur, 2018 by Michelle Gevint 

Londonewcastle has created developments in London for the design-conscious for the past three decades. Their core belief is to bring outstanding architecture to mixed-use developments, delivering the highest quality buildings, public realms and cultural destinations.

From left to right: Spinning Wheel, 2018 by Kawita Vatanajyankur and A Bigger Splash, 2018 by Alexander Glass

Gallery 46, housed in a pair of renovated Georgian houses in the grounds of Whitechapel Hospital and set over 3 floors and 8 rooms, is a kaleidoscopic addition to Whitechapel’s burgeoning gallery scene and its artistic heart, the nearby Whitechapel Gallery.

Shallow Leaning, 2018 by Aaron Hegert 

Photos from Gallery 46.

The Salamander Devours its Tail Twice  will feature work from the following artists: Yambe Tam, Adeline de Monseignat, Chantal Powell, Thomas Kuijpers, Katie Ellen Fields, Alice Irwin, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Thomas Adam, Saskia Fischer, Michelle Gevint, Sarah Howe, Jan Dams, Alexander Glass, Stewart Hardie, Andrew Hart, Aaron Hegert, Stuart Jones, Dominic Till, Victor Seaward, Ashley Middleton, Brett Wallace, Luca Bosani, Patrick Gallagher, Ella Belenky, Seungwon Jung, and Chris Klapper. 

The title The Salamander Devours its Tail Twice is taken from a passage in Fahrenheit 451 (1953), the award-winning dystopian novel by American author Ray Bradbury. The story explores a futuristic society where books have been prohibited and specialist ‘firemen’ have been instructed to burn all physical literature. Written during the McCarthy era, Bradbury was said to have used the novel to express his own fears of book burning in the United States at the time.

The passage refers to the conceived annihilation of a cultural system, and served as a curatorial guide to selecting artists for the show. The artists participating in this exhibition were selected for their curiosity and understanding of the world through their sensed experiences, each artist oscillating between self-understanding and cultural expectation. Located somewhere in the middle, they create an extension of themselves, a mirror from which they may better understand their position in the present, relation to the past, and anxieties around the future.

For this show, Curator Ashley Middleton examined her personal experience of living between two locations, London and New York, and all the objects, relations and comforts acquired and lost along the way. This fractured style of living forced Ashley to confront the exchange  between the two lives she was living, encouraging her to become more mindful about her place in the moment, instead of focusing on what the moment should bring to her. 

Mintel announces three global food and drink trends for 2019

At this time of the year, food and drinks are very much on our minds, as we’re deciding on the menu for our Christmas lunch, or even the venue that offers the best festive food options for our company Christmas party.

Whatever we plan to do, will issues of sustainability, health and wellness,  one way or another, guide our decisions?  Recent reports point to the growing popularity of a Vegan lifestyle and that millennials are going teetotal.  Definitely festive celebrations are not as straight forward as it used to be.

Co-op Winter Dessert Collection.  The Co-op was the first, and continues to be, the only UK retailer to have 100% Fairtrade chocolate bar range. This winter they’re going all out with some spectacular festive flavours including sticky toffee pudding, double chocolate fondant and Christmas pudding chocolate treats.

According to Mintel, a leading market intelligence agency, three forward-looking trends which will lead the momentum of global food and drink innovation in 2019 and beyond in that issues of sustainability, health and wellness, and convenience will inspire formulation, packaging, marketing and more in the years to come:

In Mintel’s 2019 Global Food and Drink Trends report, the three trends revealed are as follows:-  

Evergreen Consumption: A circular view of sustainability that spans the entire product lifecycle requires action from suppliers to consumers.   

Through the Ages: Food and drink will build on today’s dialogue about wellness and transition into more solutions for healthy ageing. 

Elevated Convenience: To match the premium expectations of consumers in the on-demand age, convenience food and drink will get an upgrade.

La Riojana Tilimuqui Fairtrade Organic Malbec available at Waitrose. La Riojana’s Tilimuqui wine is grown in the remote north of Argentina where arid soils give rise to grapes bursting with ripeness. This is an intense Malbec that is a great accompaniment to any Christmas dinner, or to savour over cheese on a wonderful winter night!

Looking ahead, Jenny Zegler, Associate Director, Mintel Food and Drink, said: 

“In 2019, support of and demand for more corporate sustainability programmes will grow as consumers better understand what’s required to get closer to achieving a truly circular food and drink economy. These sustainability efforts will include not only improving access to recycling, but creating products with ingredients that are grown in accordance to regenerative agriculture practices.

“Expect to also see food and drink manufacturers look to the beauty and personal care industry for inspiration for healthy ageing product development. More food and drink will address longevity-related health concerns, be marketed with positive language that rejects terms like ‘anti-ageing’ for its negative connotations, and appeal across ages.   

The All Dark Vegan Chocolate Hamper Collection from Hotel Chocolat this Christmas.

“Finally, we predict the rising segment of consumers who are often on-the-go, yet want to spend more time at home will increase demand for upscale, ‘speed scratch’ solutions and restaurant-quality, ready-to-consume products. As meal kits and foodservice-inspired beverages lead the way, there will also be more opportunities for brands to develop healthy, flavourful, customisable, and quick premium convenience products for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert occasions.”

TO KICK OFF BRITISH SUGAR AWARENESS WEEK, SPLENDA LAUNCHES A GIANT SUGAR PYRAMID IN ST PAULS, LONDON

With the festive season fast approaching, supermarkets and Christmas shops are promoting all the goodies for this time of the year:  cakes, pies, chocolates, cookies, shortbreads, and the list goes on and on.
But do you know how much sugar you are really eating?

It's British Sugar awareness Week and Splenda sweetener brand has launched a giant Sugar Pyramid in St Pauls, London to raise awareness that Brits are eating twice the amount of annual recommended sugar.  Photo: Splenda.

Ethical brand From Belo launches new Eko collection

There is no doubt that reports of plastic pollution have made headline news in these two years and consumers have been awaken to the global problem that has caused environmental devastation.

Two ladies who were upset by such reports decided to take matters into their own hands and launch a handbag and accessories collection made from recycled and sustainable materials. Thus the ethical brand From Belo was born, set up by school friends and long-distance business partners Maria Costa, 28, who lives in Brazil and Charlotte Bingham-Wallis also 28, based in the UK.

Although 5,000 miles apart, they are united with an aim to have a brand centred on being kind and fashioning kindness. 

From Belo launches the EKO Collection

The new collection will be available from 17/11/18.  From Belo will also be celebrating on Saturday November 17th at the Cambridge Sustainable Fashion Festival at St Banabas Church (11am to 4pm) and then Sunday November 18th in London at the Bricklane Up market (10am – 6pm).

Not only did the two partners start an ethical brand that offers practical, responsibly-made products which fit with their values, they also made an effort to ensure they offer ethical working conditions, fair wages and employment for their artisans based in Brazil, as well as providing an opportunity to give back to Casa De Maria  - an organisation which helps feed the homeless and those in need in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

From Belo is no stranger to the jet set lifestyle either. Earlier this year they were finalists at the prestigious Handbag Designer Awards in the Most Socially Responsible Handbag category.

And this autumn they have launched the EKO Collection,  a vegan range using seatbelts and plastic bottles once destined for landfill and reincarnated into beautiful things and given a second life.

The range includes coin purses to tote bags, as well as a bucket bag which can be worn four ways, a clutch bag, a wine holder, a market bag and a make-up bag - all handmade with recycled materials, carrying their signature hummingbird motif - a symbol of the enjoyment of life and the lightness of being.

Each item is named in honour of the kind volunteers that work at the Casa De Maria charitable organisation.  

Maximum colour, bold patterns, warm scents.

As temperatures start to drop and the nights are drawing in, we take refuge in our home.  According to design houses in Europe and the UK, interiors should be filled with warm colours, rich patterns and great textures.   Think artfully arranged vibrant colours and wallpaper so patterned to make your heart feel warm.  And what better place to get inspiration than to take cues from nature.

The Swedish brand Boråstapeter Scandinavian Designers 11 wallpaper collection is a timeless range of designs for wall decor.  From geometric functional designs style of Arne Jacobsen to the decorative fairytale designs of Stig Lindberg.  Sketched foliage by Viola Gråsten . All the patterns in the collection have a natural, colourful and imaginative touch that make them a perfect compliment to the understated, clean Scandinavian interior scheme. Classic and contemporary have never been more on point.

Also just launched are scented candles from British designer Tom Dixon to bring luminosity and comfort to your interior this season.

"The more I get to understand the designing of spaces as well as objects, the more I realize that there are a series of intangibles that can be just as important as the usual interior-design armoury of colour, light and shape." Tom Dixon.

Tom Dixon Fire candles:  Scent Notes: Cypriol oil, black suede accord, guaiac, wood oil, vertiver oil, amber, musk. 

FIRE is part of the Elements collection. A complex assemblage of Cypriol oil, musk and amber to construct the scent of smoky scorched timber and hot dry tarmac.

Stone on the other hand is part of the Materialism collection. A set of heavy, generous, smooth containers made from forest green marble and turned by hand in India. Each rocky, rounded heavyweight container is unique due to the particularities of each individual block of marble. This forms the optimum vessel for the dry exotic fig and sandalwood essence.

Most shoppers would be tempted back to the high street if retailers offer original and British made goods

Shoppers are bored with the current offering on the high street ... 

... according to Matthew Hopkins, founder of retail sourcing specialist The Great British Exchange following a survey that  revealed 91% of British shoppers would visit high street stores more frequently if they could buy items that are hard to find anywhere else. 

Hand screen-printed Christmas sack from The Handmade Christmas Co.
founded in 2012 by Louis Porter and Tom Coleman
to offer a modern alternative to the traditional Christmas stocking.
All products hand-finished in the UK in a London-based studio.
Photo: The Handmade Christmas Co.

At a time when bricks and mortar retailers are finding it challenging to compete with online businesses as we enter the crucial Christmas shopping season, Hopkins said it has never been more important for retailers to find a point of difference that sets them apart from the store down the road.

“Even more critical is the need to give consumers something they can’t find online,” he added in response to the findings that almost all shoppers questioned would use bricks and mortar stores more often if it meant being able to find something “unique” and two thirds said they wanted more locally made and British manufactured products on the shelves.

The Great British Exchange study found that 20 per cent of the shoppers surveyed did more than half of their shopping online. 

However, when asked about their priorities when buying food products, 82% said the least important factor was online availability. One in 5 valued provenance and the fact that the goods were locally produced above anything else when buying food products and gifts.

Special occasion shopping was one of the biggest challenges faced by consumers, according to the research, with more than half of those questioned demanding easier access to unique and British made gift products.

Shoppers also said flexible opening times, including late night opening and in-store events, would encourage them to shop on the high street more often.

Hopkins of The Great British Exchange added: “People often say bricks and mortar retail is dead but I disagree. It just needs to be done well and that means injecting some excitement and originality into a pastime that has lost its soul.”