Sweetibition

Australian artists, Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schultz, better known as Pip and Pop, create installations using sweets, sugar, glitter and miniature plastic toys that result in seemingly infinite psychedelic landscapes. Looking at them closely you wish you could take a trip to Charlie's Chocolate Factory to be shrunk so you could spend the rest of your days in this fairy-tale sweet land. These meticulous creations of sugar peaks send you to the dreamy nostalgia of youth. Pip and Pop recently created a neon lit installation for Smart Illumination and are currently exhibiting in Australia, hopefully  Silverspoons will sponsor them with a donation of sugar and the sweet kingdom will come to England.

Matt Corby

Over the past year, all things Australian have caught my eye, including blue-eyed, 22-year-old singer Matt Corby. His sensational voice led me and my friend Jack to one of his gigs in Shoreditch, London where he silenced the intimate crowd with his thrilling 'Brother'. Read on to hear Jack's review of the evening...

'The wolfman has jumped ship to tour the UK and I have to be honest, after being invited to see Australian folk singer Matt Corby at trendy bar Queen of Hoxton in London I had no idea what to expect, even forgetting his name at one point. However I found myself mind-blown by his raspy and distinct tone which is a rarity only shared by the likes of Jeff Buckley. Not to mention his insane vocal ability as he tore up the stage in Shoreditch in front of a small crowd of 200 – max.

There’s something about an acoustic guitar that makes a live gig more intimate for the audience. He performed tracks from his latest album ‘Into the Flame’ which was a huge success in the Land of Oz and now us Brits have been privileged enough to get a taster of what this truly original artist has to offer.

After some tuning issues and a moment of humour after confessing ‘that sounds f*****g sh*t’, Matt Corby belted out arguably the best performance of the night with his track ‘Brother’ accompanied by a sing-along audience, including Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton who has since publicized the wolfman on his unforgettable gig.

After seeing Mr. Corby, I couldn’t help but head to the online source of music hype YouTube to check out some of his covers for bands such as The Black Keys, particularly his cover of their hit song ‘Lonely Boy’. As a Black Keys fan it’s safe to say the original is a tough one to beat and anyone who dare challenge to ruin this powerhouse tune should go f**k themselves, however Matt Corby did the impossible and put his own unique spin on the alternative track, captivating once again with that insane vocal ability and of course his much-loved guitar, which by the way was made for this man. I was also thankful to hear that his stint on TV talent show Australian Idol resulted in him placing second, which was enough to generate publicity but not enough to destroy the outstanding musician that he stands for.

The future is bright for Mr. Corby and I pray that he returns to the UK soon to share the stories of those who influence his powerful music.' (Published XYZ Magazine)

That pretty much sums up the night, apart from that we nearly missed our train because I was insistent that we couldn't leave without meeting him... Unfortunately we left just before our chance, but I feel privileged to have been there that night because Matt is something special.

Paul Alexander Thornton

I came across English artist Paul Alexander Thornton's artwork a while ago and was instantly drawn into the beautiful colours and photo-realist approach to his pieces. Intrigued to find out more, I read that most of his pieces were created using ball-point pens and was amazed at the depth achieved using a medium that we use so casually every day. Intrigued to find out more about how Paul achieved such effects, what his fascination with skulls was and where his other creative talents lay, I emailed him with questions and was happy to receive a responding email...

1. How and when did you become interested in drawing?

'I have been drawing all my life, as far back as I can remember. I think this is due to the fact my Mum was an art teacher so she always encouraged me to draw, paint and things like that.'

2. What is it about ballpoint pens and felt-tips that make you like to use them?

'What I love about ballpoint pens is the way the end product looks, I really love the way the lines show up. When used properly I really think ballpoint pens are one of the greatest tools for drawing. They are very versatile, and they also force you to draw in a particular way building up layers which gives the shading a lot of depth in the end. Felt-tips are OK, I'm not as crazy about them as I am ballpoint pens but there are some amazing uses of felt-tips. They are best when they are running out of ink, the faded appearance on the paper is very interesting. I really love to use coffee stain and watercolours when adding colour, marker pens are good too for drawing on the back of the page and letting it bleed through.'

3. What has been your most favourite piece of yours so far?

'This is very hard for me to answer. I really don't know. I have made so much work already in my life, I can't even remember all of them. If a piece of work is successful then I feel it has its place in my body of work and ultimately they all compliment each other.'

4. What is it about skulls?

'Skulls are very interesting to me, not just for their symbolism but also because they are complex. Drawing them is a lot of fun.'

5. Have you studied art at any point in your life?

'Yes. I studied art GCSE at school, I took art AS level at college and then moved onto studying Art Foundation, again at college. Later I went to University in London where I studied Surface Pattern Design.'

6. Who and what has influenced you?

'Aphex Twin, David Hockney, Tupac Shakur, Leonard Da Vinci, Picasso, Modigliani, Thom Hooper, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen, Ludovico Einaudi... all sorts of people ranging from musicians to painters, fashion designers and tattoo artists. I suppose everything you see/hear just goes into a big melting pot of inspiration and later on ideas come out. I like to just go with the flow and see how my work evolves and changes, and it makes sense that different outside influences will always be steering me in one direction or another, but it's not always easy to pinpoint the exact causes for ideas.'

7. Apart from art, what are some of your other interests?

'I write and play guitar, most the videos of my work are soundtracked by my own guitar pieces (click here). I also like designing clothes, furniture, wallpaper.'

From Paul's life-like skulls, flowers and birds it's no wonder that his plans for the future include more sculpture work! I really look forward to seeing more of his wonderful creations. If you have not already liked his facebook page click here and check out many more of his pieces!