The surreal sculptures, installations, and photographs of Dutch artist Guda Koster subvert fashion and create entirely new worlds with its elements. Considering herself more sculptor than photographer, each of these images begin with a live experience that has been constructed, cut, sewn, posed, and then photographed with a timer, as the artist is often present in the pieces.
On an interview on her website, the artist addresses why she’s using the medium of textiles: “Clothing doesn’t just have a function but also conveys a message,” Koster says. “In our everyday lives we communicate identity and social position primarily by means of our clothing. Clothing can be seen as a visual art form that expresses the way we see ourselves and our relationship with the world around us.”
While the works can be both absorbing and harrowing, there’s also a lighthearted quality to much of Koster’s work. Each fabric and pattern becomes its own, separate personality when manipulated by the hands of the artist. Along with the disciplines of design, architecture, photography, there’s a theatrical quality to the work that makes an in-person experience a necessity for some of the works.
With “Sorayama Space Park by AMKK” at Central Embassy in Bangkok, the futuristic creations of Hajime Sorayama fill the space, including a lifesized aluminum Tyrannosaur. The immersive installation focused on the dinosaur-themed work of the celebrated illustrator, who rose to prominence in the 1980s for his “sexy robots” representing the timeless male gaze theory. The project marks the 5th anniversary of Central Embassy.
Artist/architect Mohamad Hafez uses found objects and scraps to craft politically and socially charged Middle Eastern streetscapes. His "UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage" series adds an audio component, with the sculptures of homes and other structures existing inside open suitcases. The narratives offered are of real people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Congo, and elsewhere.
Originally from Brazil,