Urban aesthetics artist Fin DAC is becoming a highly collectible artist, with recent rocketing sales of his Belloloha screen print and other unique original artworks being the key ingredient on show at the recent launch of Beautiful Crime vs Love Hate Social Club. The first is one of the first art brand of its kind, acting as a gallery, online art news platform and also collaborating with a series of different brands and venues. Love Hate Social Club is the contemporary tattoo parlour in Notting Hill run by Huey Morgan of Fun Lovin' Criminals and Ami James of Miami Ink fame. The launch night of London's first tattoo studio-meets-art gallery saw Fin DAC's works gain much attention, with the likes of Luke Evans, Zara Martin, Zara Xavier and Huey himself enjoy the evening amidst cocktails provided by Red Bull Editions.
Never did art and ink for the skin mesh so wellā¦ and word on the street is that there are still a few Bellolohas leftā¦ click here for more information on purchasing one or contact info@beautifulcrime.com. You can also visit the Love Hate Social Club in Notting Hill at 5 Blenheim Crescent, London, W11 2EE.
Belloloha limited edition screen print (30 in each colour) by Fin DAC, available in pink, turquoise, gold and silver, Ā£125 - Ā£150 each, available at BeautifulCrime.com/shop/fin-dac.
Huey Morgan, Ami James and Fin DAC
Manchuria (pale gold) by Fin DAC; Zara Martin and Luke Evans at the event, goody bags in tow.
post a commentWhilst tattoo fanatics and urban art fiends are falling over themselves on hearing about the collaboration between Love Hate Social Club (a re-modernised tattoo parlour and venture between Miami Inkās Ami James and Fun Lovin Criminalsā Huey Morgan) and innovative art company, Beautiful Crime, Glass thought it would track down designer of the new Notting Hill tattoo parlour ā which is a far cry from the usual digs tattoo studios find themselves in. Oh yes, we're talking Victorian apothecary-style features, a comfortable-meets-stylish vibe and a clever meshing of old meets new.
Glass meets Rebecca Morgan, designer of the Love Hate Social Club, which is now, in conjunction with Beautiful Crime, the UK's first tattoo studio-cum-art gallery, which will feature artists work there and private view nights on a regular basis.
The LoveHate Social Club is a bit different from your stereotypical tattoo parlour... what was the brief for its interior design and decor?
A cool curiosity shop in-keeping with the Victorian period of the build. I had to try to make it work with the new tattoo furniture!
Tell us about some of the key features in LoveHate Social Club and what eras / trends / cultures it takes inspiration from?
When I first saw the shop, it had dirty white walls and was completely open plan so it offered a good blank canvas to turn into something beautiful. Ami (James) loved the idea of old London being the theme and I added the curiosity shop with the slightly sinister edge of an apothecary shop era to the pot ā all Victorian with a bit of vintage thrown in for good measure. The logo was then sent over from the States and it set the tone from there. It has Victorian circus written all over it!
I was very much inspired by all the dark colours of that period that are also very popular at the moment. We have a cool wall covered in vintage circus posters which give some quirks and colour, large antique French champagne holders with L and H (for Love and Hate of course) and light bulbs all quite vintage circus-looking and one of my favourite things, the three large globe light bulbs with a burning filament ā definitely a popular lighting source in the commercial market right now, but so beautiful and very Victorian. I also love the steam punk lights in the front part of the shop, which Iāve not seen used anywhere else yet.
How does the culture and art of tattooing mesh with the interior design of Love Hate Social Club?
Tattoo art goes back over 1,000 years although it was around the Victorian period when travellers were visiting lands with tribes more often and brought the art back to Britain, often on themselves ... Queen Victoria had a cousin covered in them! And the apothecary side of things definitely fits well with all the bare skin and needles in a tattoo parlour!
Whatās your favourite aspect of LHSC in terms of design / colour palette / lighting, etc?
The distinguished look that sets Love Hate Social Club apart from other tattoo shops in the city is the dark blue green palette that took me a couple of months to get right.
What do you think about the LHSC collaboration with Beautiful Crime?
I love the idea of bringing art into the space of body art. There is a great tie-in with the fact that Fin DAC paints body art on the women in his artworks and Iām excited about who Love Hate Social Club will exhibit next ā Beautiful Crime have some amazing new and current artists to offer.
What projects are you working on now / next?
I'm currently working on a Victorian house in Queens Park for which the owners have dug down below ground level to create a basement which mirrors the house above. Itās incredible to see this being done.
Links:
Huey Morgan and Ami James at Love Hate Social Club
Images courtesy of Mick Ackland
ChinaWhites recently introduced Libertine to the London scene, which Glass got a sneaky peak of last week. Hootan Ahmadi has joined forces with the Chinawhite team to offer a very modern twist on the traditional West End nightclub, whilst still maintaining its key attributes of glamour, fun and a great crowd.
Libertine pays tribute to the decadence of its Fitzrovian past, in to a scene which offers expert mixologists, huge captivating video walls and a speakeasy-style den in the form of Reason and Mankind which offers inventive drinks and velvet banquettes. You can literally enter a world within a world here, and you'll certainly find it hard to leave.
The launch was a stylish affair, with lots of champagne and cocktails on offer and appearances from Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin Criminals) Ami James (Miami Ink), radio presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford and models Pips Taylor and Lilah Parsons.
That's your next night out sorted then ā¦
After many legendary parties, Le Baron is back, this time where The Scotch used to be. Night owls' disappointment in hearing The Scotch had closed its doors in the venue where Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones have both played, will be quashed as they learn that Le Baron is moving in.
Vincent Darre is behind the new design of the venue, which will aim to maintain the type of music traditional to the place, yet adding a darker, sexier and naughtier atmosphere. Expect Nu Disco and French resident DJs to inspire your moves and French maids in uniforms ready to serve you cocktails.
Kate Moss and Beth Ditto at Le Baron in 2008.
Glass caught up with Andre Saraiva, founder of Le Baron, about what Londoners can expect:
How do you plan on meshing the Parisian ways of Le Baron to the London scene?
We will bring in our friends from Paris but also work with the music scene in London to create a balance between the two.
What do you love the most about Le Baronās new home?
I love the history of the space. It has a similar story to Le Baron in Paris which also used to be a brothel.
Why does everyone love Le Baron?
People like Le Baron because we always try to keep it avant garde and have a cool environment with people we love.
Revellers at Le Baron and its iconic logo in neon form.
Glass has already looked at the V&A show 'David Bowie is', but now we trace how one man from space fell to Earth and conquered the world with his music, in light of his chart-topping album, The Next Day...
In January this year, on his 66th birthday, the world was dumbfounded to hear that rockās greatest musical shape-shifter had been covertly nurturing an album for the past three years. The twinkling keys and fleeting synths that preceded the meditative vocal on lead single Where Are We Now? dispelled the illusion of a decadeās worth of apparent inactivity: David Bowie, thought to be content enjoying his departure from the limelight, was back.
The Next Day is a magnificent album, and it had to be: in an era when the term "aging rock-star" has become a cultural in-joke, nothing except brilliance would have sufficed, and a lesser effort might have meant an ignominious end to a monumental and expansive career. Thankfully The Next Day shines and this vibrant, bold and stylish fourteen track piece of music- with its fantastic narrative and dense lyrical imagery- is arguably the greatest rock and roll comeback in the history of music. From the whirlwind of scorching guitars that announce the opening title track through to the haunting dystopian gloom of the final song itās an album thatās at once innovative and self-referential, a testament to the supreme creativity that Bowie has always strove for.
The Thin White Duke was christened David Robert Jones in Brixton in 1947, but changed his name to David Bowie in the first of a series of artistic reinventions that would come to characterise and continually reinvigorate his career. His commercial breakthrough came with the release of Space Oddity in 1969, a song which saw the introduction of the first of the characters which he would cloak himself in to deliver his music to Major Tom. The title of the song alluded to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey whilst the lyrics made a smart satirical swipe at the failed British space programme; it all hinted at the depth and intelligence which would typify the narrative of much of his future work.
continued below...
Major Tom was only the start of a creative crusade that would see Bowie become the most important music icon of consecutive generations, something he achieved by elevating the concept of art-rock to a whole new level. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars was the chief instance of this - the perfect concept album, structured like a musical. It showcased the sexually ambiguous and wonderfully androgynous Ziggy Stardust as the greatest of a series of varied and intricate personas that Bowie used as a prism to reflect his meld of music, fashion and art to the world. Ziggy would leave an enduring impression for many generations of musicians to come
The artistic reinventions continued: Aladdin Sane was the conduit for the glam-rock overtones of his sixth studio album before passing on the mantle to āvery nasty character indeedā the Thin White Duke who, on tenth studio album Station to Station, channelled the next stage of the funk and soul sound that heād begun on Young Americans. Ironically his most critically acclaimed work, The Berlin Trilogy, came without the outward faƧade; the mask had cracked, chipped away by the claws of the demons that haunted the nightmares of his much publicised battle with cocaine.
For all the flamboyant costumes and turquoise eyeliner though, the key to unlocking the secret of Bowieās iconic status understands that the personas were only ever a vehicle to add vivacity to what was already a body of fiercely intelligent songs. To the masses he expressed the unconventional via the conventional, using the accepted and established means of rock and pop; his charisma and androgynous appearance were vital too, helping convey to a post-war generation of men that they could express their femininity without losing sight of their sensuality and sexuality.
And there were his creative contributions outside of music which added to his myth: his under-rated work in film (as a powerful and often mesmerising screen presence in The Man Who Fell To Earth, Labyrinth, and The Prestige); the Broadway portrayal of The Elephant Man which established him as a serious actor in the eyes of many critics; and his work as a producer: on acclaimed documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, and The Idiot for Iggy Pop.
The most astounding thing of all is that Bowie remains entirely relevant today. The Starman entered the album charts at number one in a host of European countries, and secured his highest ever chart position in America. In an era when manufactured pop and X-factor style talent shows are said to herald the demise of innovation in the music industry visionaries and game-changers like Bowie are necessary: to show acts that music can transcend the barriers that we often impose upon it, and, like The Next Day, can be intellectual and literary whilst remaining anthemic and bold.
Words by Ben Taylor
ME London the new hotel which launches on 1st March, is the epitome of style, culture and fashion. With the building's exterior taking a cool simplistic monochrome approach, this hotel emanates chic. Take your pick from 157 stylish guest rooms and 16 suites. The shining star of this establishment is the two-storey penthouse in the turret of the building. no expenses is spared with luxury bedding and bathrooms equipped with sensual rain showers. Room rates start at Ā£340 p/n excluding VAT.
The on-site fitness centre is a must-see asset on site. It comes complete with top range Power Plates and they also offer relaxation rooms and spa treatments for the chilled out experience. Another enticing attraction is the Radio roof top bar, offering a magnificent panoramic view of the capital.
View from the Roof top Radio Bar
View from penthouse Suite
Inside of Penthouse Suite
One Billion Rising is the cutting edge global campaign geared towards empowering women to stand up to violence. Important figures across the globe have joined the international language of art to join activists, with the protests against violence towards women and girls.
There will be an impressive line-up of exhibitions and various other extravagant performances in a number of different museums and galleries across the UK, encouraging people to get involved. We also suggest you check out Conway Hall to see the exhibition, 'I Dream of Congo: Narratives from the Great Lakes.'
Words by Charlotte Hurley
Arguably, one of our most influential and innovative photographers of recent times. The talented Juergen Teller's, Woo exhibition provides an odyssey of his influential fusion of fashion together with the collision of commercial photography work.
Originally starting off in the music industry, the iconic image of a young SinƩad O Connor with her shaven head provided an important landmark in his career.
From the early ā90s his work has continually provided the impetus to project an ironic, amusing and often erotic image of the fashion industry. The antithesis of the conventional has led him to head the fashion advertising for Marc Jacobs āproducing campaigns for the past 14 years, one notably starring a weirdly unnerving Victoria Beckham, engulfed, legs spread eagled, in a giant Marc Jacobs shopping bag. This image was quite the reverse to her public image at the time.
The exhibition at the ICA over three rooms provides a journey through his career over the past 20 years. The first of three galleries features a triptych of large nude portraits of Vivienne Westwood, which, taken three years ago, depict her in a rather remarkable way. Although the poses could be perceived as shocking showing her with her legs apart and fully displaying her pubic hair, the then 68 year-old is portrayed in the way Teller does best ā showing an emotional attachment to his subject, the story to be told and empathy together with the amusing. Striking this tricky balance has allowed him to capture some of our most well-known celebrities in a stripped and pared down way. Indeed, some pictures in the show, which are well known provide the viewer an opportunity to become reacquainted with them as one may not have realised before that they were by Teller.
Vivienne Westwood, No 3, London, 2009
Elsewhere, in the exhibition the more familiar is on show. The photograph of Kate Moss piled fully clothed, but yet still seductively draped into a wheelbarrow and of Lily Cole lying naked in a rat-infested rubbish heap in India, being the most recognisable.
This seamless experience of fashion and commercial photography is a must-see for anyone with any artistic, fashion or commercial interest in photography.
Juergen Teller: Woo is at the ICA, London from 23 January ā 17 March 2013.
Kate Moss, Gloucestershire, 2010, by Juergen Teller
Kurt Cobain, Berlin, 1991, by Juergen Teller
by Charlotte Hurley
In the heart of Istanbulās fashion and art district lies the new Frankie Istanbul, a restaurant and bar combo which offers a unique dining experience and spectacular views of one the worldās largest cities. Situated on the rooftop of the Sofa Hotel, Frankie Istanbul combines great food and impeccable service with a dynamic and internationally diverse atmosphere.
Enjoy the taste of the Mediterranean from the specially designed menu, sample drinks from the bar and then retreat to the smoking lounge where the city is laid out before your feet. And if that isnāt exciting enough, state-of-the-art technology is able to transform the entire venue into an open-air terrace at the touch of a button.
Frankie Istanbul
Address: Tesvikiye caddesi 41-41/A K.8, Nisantasi 34367 Istanbul, Turkey
Opening hours: Monday ā Sunday lunch from midday-3pm, dinner 7pm until late
Words by Jo Gilbert
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