Hey pals! 👋
Instead of waxing about one particular subject of interest, I felt like this post could be an opportunity for a re-introduction of who I am, through the loving act of show and tell.
These are a few things that have made or re-made me, in a ‘lately’ sort of way.
01 - Personal Project
Putting personal work out into the world right now feels like busking on the street corner at the intersection of the entire world. Everyone is going about their busy lives, everything going on is also pretty damn awful, and small acts of self-expression amongst all of that are so easily dismissed. Algorithms are specifically tuned to show us a process rather than it’s result. And the process itself must be beautiful, because the cover of a books matters when there are a thousand being beamed into your eyes every minute.
I mean to say; what a challenge it can be to matter. Artists’ statements used to make me roll my eyes, though over the past few years I have understood more clearly their purpose. A clear expression of why something matters is in now in direct conflict with the ubiquitously transactional way that most of us interact with art. Image served, likes exchanged, next.
All of those thoughts are what has kept me from just straight up postin’ many of my Japan photos. I made a lot of cool, good work on that trip. When I thought about how I wanted to present the work, putting them into a slideshow of ten or whatever, and getting a few likes - well that just wasn’t good enough. It didn’t feel like it mattered. So I taught myself some Javascript, and some CSS, and spent a few weeks tinkering with a concept before it felt right. I didn’t post at all about the process. My intent was always focused on the statement of the work and the viewer’s relationship to it. You can find out more about the project at the link above, or play with the gallery, here: japan.mackiec.xyz
Here’s a few full-screen favourites that are featured in the project:
02 - Simplicity in Design
Staying with Japan here for a second, lately I’ve been very interested in great design languages, and through collecting sources of inspiration, I found the reductionist design studio of Nuevo.Tokyo. Initially it was their VWFNDR camera project that caught my eye, but then I fell in love with their Japanese Gradients for UI packs, and started having fun with their Lightroom presets too. When it came time to polish up my personal project, I think it’s fairly obvious that I uh, ‘borrowed’ let’s say, the vibe from these great people. Check ‘em out.
03 - Beautiful Everyday Objects
‘Functionally disorganised’ is how I’d describe myself, in a general sense. I know what’s going on day to day, but the ‘why, when, where’ of it all constantly eludes me. Separately, when I’m packing for a trip (which naturally has snuck up on me, because I’d have forgotten it was that week), I spend a greater amount of time trying to pack beautifully than I do deciding what to actually bring along. A big factor with both of those concepts is that when I don’t feel good about what I’m using to complete a task, I just simply don’t do that task. Write down an important event? Sure - let me get my ‘good pen’ and my ‘good journal’.
I’ve largely resolved some of that disfunction by absolutely buying out as many Penco and Hightide products as I could. I started with the ‘Les Agendas De L’Année’ that I found at The Journal Shop in London. Then I bought a ton of containers for my desk, and even converted their hardshell travel cases into a small custom case that fits my Leica M bodies, for extra-light travel purposes. I love all of it, and that makes me want to use it, so I do. It’s so satisfying to know that someone’s making products for specifically my wavelength.
04 - Old friends
LONG ARM - KELLION, STORIES OF A YOUNG BOY
I’ve been trying to get away from Spotify as a means of interacting with my music, and to that end, have taken to uncovering some favourites from years past to remind myself of my own taste. There’s so much to gain from revisiting the things you’ve left behind over the years. The properties of everything changes when it’s observed. Over time, the observer changes too, all of it resulting in a chaotic mix of qualities seen and unseen - for better or for worse. Kinda like how you hated olives as a kid, but now you love a bit of olive.
Long Arm is an artist that I’d forgotten to check in with for probably… almost a decade? I remember absolutely loving his first album ‘The Branches’ so much that I made it a part of my broody teenage personality. Now coming back to his work, it’s his second album I’m drawn to the most, with it’s wild imaginative storytelling devoid of lyrics, but all the same lyrical and evocative. “The story of a young boy who was born into a mysterious world he explores with his curious eyes, ears and hands. Every new experience lets him grow as a person and also expands his knowledge of the world that surrounds him.” Just stunning. Also you can find him on Spotify, so I’m not doing the best job of the first thing I said here.
05 - Bright, bold, fun
Been really enjoying giving myself over entirely to the love of colour. I flirted with monochrome for a while in photography, and I still think it has it’s place as a medium. But I’m at a point right now where nothing satisfies me more than bold, juicy artwork that just screams itself into the world. Brandon’s work above is so retro chic and fun, then I was also lucky enough to run into Animal Press at the recent ‘Offprint London’ zine event in London.
‘Animal Press’ is a studio run by a couple Baptiste and Jinhee, and there’s something about their work that brings me back to old 90’s video games and TV. An unabashed use of colour in everything, paired with a freedom that speaks directly to the inner child. Just really big and fun in a way that feels comforting. ‘YOU ARE MY BEST FROG’. I mean, come on - I had to buy it. It was the last one. When someone offers you happiness for a dime, you take that deal, any day.