the paper cinema

The first time I saw The Paper Cinema was at in 2008 Toynbee Studios in East London where they performed East with live music played by Roger Eno - I'd never seen anything like it before. Founders Nicholas Rawling and Imogen Charleston manipulate cut out, intricate and beautiful illustrations in front of cameras creating a live animation that is projected onto a screen.

Last might I went to see The Odyssey, their new show currently playing at The Old Market in Hove. It's incredible and it feels more developed. They now use two cameras to create a multi-layered effect and employ clever techniques to create a sense of movement, speed, and distance, not to mention an incredibly effective atom bomb-like explosion. It's impossible to watch what is happening on screen without taking sneaky looks at what Nicholas and Imogen are doing in front of the camera to achieve the effects.

I can't conclude without mentioning the wonderfully inventive soundtrack performed live by musical director Christopher Reed along with Hazel Mills and Quinta. A violin cleverly mimics the sound of an outboard motor, a drill is a motorbike and gravel in a tray is the sound of walking. All alongside music beautifully composed specifically for The Odyssey. You can listen to some of the music here, and scroll down for a video clip.

shoreditch street art tour

I spent a day in London with my mum last week. We do a London day together every year and, aside from a bit of shopping, we're always looking for something new and different to do with our day. This year we went on a street art tour around Shoreditch. It was epic! It was brilliant! We spent 3 hours pounding the streets and alleyways of Spitalfields, Bricklane and Shoreditch. Our tour guide Dave recently set up Shoreditch Street Art Tours but has been into the scene for ten years (he is also a world renowned street art photographer), so he was super knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. We saw work in hidden corners as well as prominent pieces. What's really surprising is the amount of work that is in plain view but seen by so few people - we don't spend enough time looking up or looking down to the ground! I took a plenty of photographs - here are some of my favourite ones:

illustration friday: hidden

ale giorgini's movie posters

I can't get enough of these awesome movie posters by Italian illustrator Ale Giorgini. I love this style - simple lines but incredibly clever composition and the films are captured beautifully in a single image. Below are some of my favourites. Now, please excuse me while I go and have a look around his online shop. What's this? A credit card in my hand already?!.....