Curious Productions London

Author: Zoe Brooks

  • 5 Curious minutes with Adam Hinton

    5 Curious minutes with Adam Hinton

    Adam Hinton is a highly acclaimed commercial photographer and photojournalist. He has won awards at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Creative Review Photography, AOP and Creative Circle, his work has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum and the Photographer’s Gallery, and has delivered talks all over the world. It’s safe to say, he has had a pretty amazing career.

    Adam is currently exhibiting a selection of his photojournalist images at the Curious Gallery

    We had 5 Curious minutes with Adam

    Who or what inspired you to be a photographer?

    I got into it when I was young. Some of my friends were doing it, and experimenting with photography, so my Dad bought me my first camera and it all went from there really.

    The Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado was my biggest inspiration. Him and Nick Hedges.  It was their images that really influenced me to take up photography.

    What is your favourite piece of your own work? (visuals required)

    Probably my first big project – shot in Donesk in the Ukraine between 1990 and 1994. It was the end of the Soviet Union and I documented the events around that and the effect on a mining community. It became the blue print for the rest of my work.

    What photo or series of photos do you wish you’d taken? (visuals required)

    Paul Lowe’s work from the Romanian revolution and Chechnya, the fall of Grozny. I really thought that was a great piece of work.

    Your portfolio suggests a passion for reportage style of photography, where did your interest in photojournalism start?

    I originally wanted to do photography for advertising, in commercials. Then I started studying Soviet Politics A Level and became interested when I did a photo journalism exercise and went to a demonstration during the miners strike of 1984. I realised could combine my interests and beliefs with photography. So it all started from there really.

    Some of your photos have been taken in what some might consider a high-risk environment, have you ever feared for your safety?

    Mainly no actually!

    My images will tell a story of a situation or event that perhaps looks dangerous but when I’m physically there, it isn’t. Sometimes it’s possible to read the signs when things would happen so I can get out of the way and come back when danger is gone.

    But there were some hairy situations at the end of the first gulf war in Iran. There was a Kurdish refugee crisis and Sadam Hussein’s regime attacked the Kurdish people. I went to the Iranian border and into Iraq. I was a very experienced photographer at the time, but there in that situation it did cross my mind that there was a chance we were going to get executed.

    How do you think some of the events you’ve experienced in your photojournalism have altered your view on the world?

    What has impressed me and driven my work is how resilient people are and no matter what is going on around them, in the face of severe adversity, they will try and live as normal life as they can. They will try and make a home for themselves; they want to get on with their life and look after their family. That’s why my approach to the Favelas was on the families. All the residents wanted was peace and security, an education for their kids, a home and a job.

    You come across as a very calm person. Do you think this is essential for the photojournalist?

    I might look calm on the outside! It’s actually really important to assess a situation in a calm and collected manner, and have an awareness not to put myself in situations that are dangerous, or make me vulnerable. I need to know exactly what’s going on around me, so being calm and thinking rationally is absolutely essential. Yes, I would say so.

    What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

    I can’t recall exactly who said it to me now, but someone once said to me to make sure I’m always doing my own personal projects.

    Who is your hero?

    In general, it’s people who manage their own lives in the face of adversity. They are my heroes without a doubt.

    In terms of a specific person, it would have to be Antonio Gramsci. He was an Italian Marxist who wrote about political theory, sociology and linguistics. I like his philosophy and he was the biggest influence on my political beliefs.

  • 5 Curious Minutes with Nicky Goulder, CEO Create

    5 Curious Minutes with Nicky Goulder, CEO Create

    Create is a UK charity which harnesses the power of creativity in bespoke projects to help a wide range of disadvantaged people such as teenagers with mental health issues, young carers, disabled children and incarcerated parents.

    We had 5 Curious minutes with CEO Nicky Goulder to find out more about their work and how the creative community can get on board.

    Starting a charity must be challenging. What made you do it?

    I dream of a society that is fair, caring and inclusive and started Create from my dining room table in July 2003. I had been running an orchestra and seen the incredible impact of taking music-making into the community to reach those who were missing out. But as an orchestra, our focus was necessarily on music. My vision in 2002 was of a charity that would take individually designed creative arts programmes – dance, drama, music, writing, sculpture, film making, animation – to the communities that needed them most across the UK, enabling the most marginalised children and adults in our society to build skills, connectivity and self-esteem. Create was the result.

    What is Create aiming to achieve in its work?

    As the UK’s leading charity using the creative arts to empower lives, this is really simple: we believe that everyone should have the chance to experience the benefits of being creative. Some people are exposed to creativity from a young age but many are not due to the circumstances of their lives. Children and adults living in areas of deprivation, people who spend much of their time caring for a loved one, people who are sick or disabled, homeless or in prison, and many other of the most vulnerable people in our society often miss out on the incredible opportunities that being creative can bring. That’s where Create steps in.

    Made by fathers in prison to help them reconnect with their children

    What kind of results are being achieved right now?

    Last year we ran 48 creative projects/850 workshops across the UK. Completely free of charge to the participants, each was designed in discussion with the vulnerable children or adults who took part, ensuring their interests and views guided what we did. Collaborative creativity enables people to be expressive, explorative and have fun. It empowers, connects, upskills, inspires and motivates. It reduces isolation, raises aspirations and builds self-esteem.

    Imagine being a nine year old carer who spends 30 hours a week looking after your mother who has MS. You worry about her constantly. You’re bullied at school because you’re often late and perhaps don’t wear the “right” trainers. You miss out on sleep, and on sleep-overs with your friends. Your holidays are times of increased caring not leisure. You do much of the shopping, cooking, cleaning.

    Then you are given the chance to take part in a photography project with Create. Over a series of workshops, working alongside our professional photographer and a group of other young carers who understand your life, you taking an amazing set of photographs during trips to the zoo and a local park. You display these in an exhibition visited by friends, family and the local community. And you take home your favourite picture.

    One such young carer told me: “Being creative always calms me down. By taking a picture I don’t have to speak, read or write and worry about spelling or saying things wrong. I can just let the picture speak for me.” Another said: “Creativity makes me think positively and improves my mind-set. The project made me feel like I was the one being cared for.”

    Projects like this enable our participants to focus on their wellbeing, giving them the space to be creative, learn new skills, make friends and enjoy some leisure time.

    How can the advertising industry help create?

    Those who work in the ad industry are often super-creative and the industry is a perfect partner for Create. Each of our projects is carefully designed to meet our partners’ objectives – both the recipient organisation and the funding partner – and we’re looking to collaborate with more creative organisations to enable us to reach more vulnerable participants. So we can work with the ad industry to co-create projects to the budget that they have available, which meet their social responsibility objectives, make a real difference in their community and involve their staff. Employees from our charity partners report improved job satisfaction, new skills and pride in their company. And by working alongside corporate volunteers, our participants’ self-esteem and aspirations increase too. It really is a win-win situation.

    We are fiercely ambitious as a charity and are partnering with a growing number of companies that are committed to doing good. LIDA, Uncommon and VCCP can all tell you the impact of partnering with us.

    What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

    My father taught me from a very early age to value everyone equally. That has fundamentally impacted how I have lived my life, most importantly in setting up Create.

    Who is your hero?

    That is such a tough question. So many people! In the arts world, David Hockney and Nil Frahm currently stand out: I love the way David Hockney has embraced technology into his work and remained contemporary and relevant throughout his long, inspiring career. From his early photo montages to his recent films, he sees things and captures them in ways that surprise, delight and challenge.

    Nils Frahm blends classical and electronic music in a way that really speaks to me. Bringing together different styles has shaped the way I run Create. Our projects blend ideas from our team, artists, partner organisations and participants to ensure these are fresh, inspiring and relevant. And we run many project that bring together our professional artists from different genres (eg: world and techie musicians) or artforms (eg: photography and dance) to enable our participants to experiment and explore. Nils Frahm’s incredible music epitomises that approach. 2+2=5.

    createarts.org.uk

  • Platinum Graphis Award for Photography

    Platinum Graphis Award for Photography

    We won platinum at the Graphis Photography Annual for our work with Purdey & Sons.

    Art Directed by John Fairley, with photography by Dan Humphreys we are looking forward to adding it to the collection.

  • 5 Curious Minutes with…Danny Pallett and Charlotte Hugh

    5 Curious Minutes with…Danny Pallett and Charlotte Hugh

    Dark Horses creative team Danny Pallett and Charlotte Hugh’s admirable side hustle working with the Young Creative Council (YCC) takes them all over the country sharing advice with students who are trying to get their foot in the creative door.

    The Badass.Gal initiative, which celebrates female creatives that are going above and beyond, was launched after realising the noticeable difference between the number of young women studying creative subjects verses those working in full time employment within the creative industry.

    Here Danny and Charlotte tell us about how it all started, where it might go, and how you can help.

     

    Tell us about Badass.Gal and how it came about

    Through our work with The Young Creative Council (YCC), Charlotte and I spend a lot of time visiting universities across the country, sharing advice to creative students on how to get a foot in ad-lands’ doors. From doing this, we realised the majority of students we were speaking to were female, yet the industry we were working in day to day was lacking female talent.

    A stat from Creative Equals states that 60% of classrooms are female but when entering into the industry it drops by over half.

    So, on International Women’s Day, we set ourselves the rather ambitious challenge to shine a light on a different, young, female creative every single day for an entire year. To introduce ad-land to the incredibly talented women we were meeting across the country, and inspire the industry to not just celebrate women for one day a year, but 365 of them.

     

    How do you think the initiative is helping creative women?

    In this industry, only 12% of creative directors are women (in London), and more women are dropping out before they’ve even signed their first contract. We created Badass.Gal to celebrate the female creatives that were already going above and beyond despite their lack of ‘years experience’ and give them a platform to be recognised for the incredible work they were already doing.

    The site has now become a place to source talent, inspiration and find opportunities for collaboration. We’ve had a number of agencies and recruitment companies get in touch to say they use our platform to hire. Friends and ex-colleagues use the platform to find freelance positions, and we’ve even had Badass Gals collaborating on projects together. 

But what we have ultimately learnt from the community over the past year, is that for many young women, having a platform or a community that thinks you’re “Badass” even when you didn’t think it yourself is really valuable. It’s so important for everyone to have a cheerleader, and Badass.gal aims to support and elevate creative young women to help boost their confidence.

     

     

    What next for Badass.Gal?

    We feel that we’ve only just got started and we’re really looking forward to year two of Badass.Gal.

    We decided going forward we won’t be posting everyday but rather once a week or once every two weeks, so we still encourage people to keep nominating amazing women that they know who are out there owning it in the creative industries.

    But our main focus will be on producing value for the community. To do this we want to focus in on up-skilling our community through collaborating with brands to host talks, events and workshops.

    We’ve been very lucky to have such amazing support from Adobe and back in February we hosted our first workshop with them, and we’re pleased to say that this is the first of many.

     

     

    How can the advertising industry do better with bridging the gap between educational courses and vocational experience?

    We all have to remember that we once were knocking on those ad-land doors ourselves. Whether we went to uni or not, we’ve all felt the struggles of trying to get hired. So, the easiest and most valuable thing to do is to go and visit schools, colleges and universities and talk to the students. Inspire them, look at their work, invite them in to your office for a day to shadow you, just give up an hour a month to mentoring a young creative.

It’s so valuable for young creatives to hear from industry experts, not just their tutors. So we’d urge everyone to get in contact with their old uni, or a local uni to their office and get in front of the students. It’s as inspiring for you, as it will be for them – we promise you.

     

     

    How do you fit your work with the YCC into your daily full time careers?

    We’re very lucky to have the support from our agency, Dark Horses. They understand the importance of what Badass.Gal and the YCC does and help and support us to be able to do this.

    We also massively believe if you really care about something, you’ll find the time to do it.

     

    What made you work in advertising?

    Well that’s two different stories… Charlotte’s story started when she watch an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. The one where Chandler decides to switch jobs and become a copywriter. “Cheese….it’s milk that you chew” and “grapes, because who can fit a watermelon in their mouths” were Charlotte’s first insight into copywriting, and that was it. Charlotte then found an advertising course, and joined the following September.

    And for myself, at college I loved photography and design, especially print and movie poster design. It was then suggested I should study advertising, so I did and learnt fast that advertising isn’t just creating posters!

     

     

    If you weren’t working in Advertising, what else would you be doing?

    Good question, I guess there are a few answers to this… If we didn’t work in advertising but still worked together we’d probably have to start our own company of some sort as we’ve both got a very entrepreneurial spirit.

    Charlotte: I would be a teacher. I absolutely love the work we do for the YCC. Speaking and inspiring students is super rewarding, so I think I’d love to do that every day.

    Danny: For me, I would probably be figuring out how way to travel around the world and make it pay. I love cultures and just experiencing new worlds.

     

    What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

    Charlotte: “In order to be brave, first you have to be scared”
    Danny: “For love, not money”

     

    Who is your hero?

    Within the industry there are many people we look up to for so many reasons but picking out two of them we’d say Dave Buonaguidi for his entrepreneurial mind and his ‘get shit done’ attitude. And Pip Jamieson; She’s a badass solo female founder, who is absolutely killing it and probably one of the most inspiring people we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.

    Then personally we’d probably say the same thing; our parents. Because without them we wouldn’t be where we are now.

    Young Creative Council

    Badass.Gal

     

     

  • The Curious Gallery…Mark Denton

    The Curious Gallery…Mark Denton

    The Power of Puerility comes to Curious

    Last night, the Curious Gallery hosted Mark Denton’s Kickstarter campaign for his new book, ‘The Power of Puerility’.

    The great and the good of Adland came along to (hopefully) pledge some funds, have a drink (or three) and a chat (and lots of laughs).

    Here’s some pics.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    To find out more about the Curious Gallery, please contact zoe@curious-productions.co.uk

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 5 Curious minutes with…Savannah Finestone

    5 Curious minutes with…Savannah Finestone

    Earlier this year, Curious Productions became a proud sponsor of the Creative Circle Foundation (CCF). Along with other key industry organisations, we collectively assist students in disadvantaged circumstances to study advertising.

    Savannah Finestone was helped by the CCF and tutored by the infamous Tony Cullingham of Watford College. She’s now completed her course, met her hero Trevor Robinson, secured a place at Mother London and is determined to make her Mum proud with her self-proclaimed weird and wacky ideas interspersed with some much missed humour.

    We had 5 Curious minutes with Savannah…

     

    How did you come across the CCF?

    When I was applying to Watford. The Foundation had the same creative test you have to complete to get an interview for Watford. So, I completed my creative test and submitted my answers to both Tony Cullingham and the Foundation. I then had further correspondence with Jeremy Green directly to find out how the Foundation could help.

     

    How has the CCF helped you?

    They funded my Watford tuition, and without them I wouldn’t have been able to attend. They’ve put on invaluable workshops with industry greats and enabled me to meet some of my advertising heroes like Trevor Robinson and Peter Souter. To be mentored by great creatives like these, is a rare opportunity.

    They have also provided myself and other students with resources like Awards annuals, Lurzer’s Archive magazines, photography books, stationary and heaps of other goodies that I would never be able to afford. All are great sources of inspiration and tools to help my creativity.

     

    During your training, who has been your influence?

    Tony Cullingham. He is a titan in this industry and has shaped me into the Creative I am today. Tough love is the name of the game but it works and you soon learn he’s got the biggest heart, really cares about the creatives he sends out into the industry and the work they make.

    Mother and Wieden & Kennedy are the agencies which produce work which is matched to my personality and creative style so they are a big influence on my work and remind me to embrace my wacky ideas and style.

    Also, Trevor Robinson who I’ve worked closely with, and have been mentored by, has been such a great influence. He gave me my first job and a spring board to jump into this industry headfirst. We are continuing to collaborate on future projects and he’s a great supporter of my ‘out-there’ ideas! Working with Trev is not work, it’s joyous! What’s not to love about chatting about wacky ideas, and delving into the truth of a big idea that has a true human connection to it?

     

    Happy Passover Porky – Savannah Finestone

     

    What do you love about Advertising?

    I get to come up with crazy ideas for a living which then becomes reality. I’ve found the perfect balance of my bananas personality, love of art, design and writing combined with problem solving. There’s no limit to creativity, and I am using my ideas to find creative solutions and make people laugh.

    I also love that advertising has the power to change behaviour and influence culture. “You’ve been tangoed!” Is a perfect example! Creatives have their ideas seen by the world, and have the chance to make a change, and with advertising I have this opportunity.

     

    Is there anything in the industry you would like to change, or anything you’d like to see more of?

    I’d definitely love to see agencies being braver and going for more humour in their approaches. I think in these difficult times people have forgotten to have fun which is what this industry is about!

    I love humour and weirdness. It’s what I aim for in all my work. John Heggarty said “fight for the stuff that doesn’t make sense”. And although I do believe logic makes creativity, when I see an advert that’s bizarre and a total assault on the senses, it’s so refreshing and a welcome break from the wallpaper! From Paul Arden’s series of abstract Silk Cut posters to all the Tango ads AND Flat Eric for Levi’s! A little yellow puppet as the guy’s best friend? Completely random but absolutely brilliant! The madness in the method!

     

    What campaign/s made you want to work in advertising?

    Water in Majorca Heineken advert. Had me in stitches, proper vintage gem of advertising. Saw it and knew this is what I need to do! Just pure simple genius!

     

    Heineken – Water in Majorca – Lowe

     

    How important do you think awards are to creatives?

    This is tricky because I’m very competitive and the thought of winning awards spurs me on to do well. I like acknowledgement of my work, maybe that’s wrong of me to seek approval for my ideas but I think that’s human nature. I was always told to seek criticism, not praise as that’s how you improve but I’m my own worst critic and super hard on myself anyway, so when someone else appreciates what I do it’s a welcome boost. However, I remind myself not to get hung up on awards and the politics behind them. It’s easy to seek peer approval, but for me it’s more important what the general public think, and about how my work affects everyday lives, changes behaviour and culture. I want people to feel moved by something that I’m passionate about and have put my heart into making. I want to make work that my Mum is proud of too, that’s a huge factor!

     

    Tell us about your art

    I make sculptures of prawns and screen prints of tentacley creatures – as you do!

    I love graphic design and especially 80s graphics. The use of clashing colours and shapes is right up my flamboyant street. Vintage Japanese graphic design is crazy brilliant! The artists have incredible imagination.

    However, I do have eclectic taste and also love anatomical drawings, vintage school posters and am a sucker for embroidered artwork.

    I wouldn’t say I have a defined style as my taste is constantly changing. I go through different phases of types of graphic design I’m drawn to, learn as much as I can and how to achieve my own interpretation, and then move on to my next project.

     

    What are your plans for the future?

    I want to run my own agency one day and make work that cuts through the norm, changes culture and has a touch of madness in every piece we create. Risk taking will be high priority!

    I’ve also been working on illustrations for a children’s book and an adult comic book about mental health issues so watch this space.

    But for now, I’m focusing on securing a job and making Mumma proud!

  • 5 Curious Minutes with…Andy Lo Pó

    5 Curious Minutes with…Andy Lo Pó

    Andy Lo Pó is an award winning photographic artist hailing from Melbourne, Australia. After graduating from the University of Arts London, he settled in our nation’s capital and now creates images for editorial and commercials. Impressively, some of his work is due to go on display at the National Portrait Gallery, and we are excited to say, one of his personal pieces is hanging in the Curious gallery.

    Andy is known for his portraiture work, and collaborated with Curious most recently on a campaign for MTV.

    We had 5 Curious minutes with Andy Lo Pó…

     

    Who or what inspired you to be a photographer?
    I’ve always been fascinated by visual mediums – I think the nice thing about photography is that you can pick up any camera and start shooting and you have your results very quickly; whether shooting on film or digital.

    What is your favourite piece of work?
    I’d say right now it’s my piece: “Girl outside the Pizzeria at Night”. It was a spontaneous portrait I took in Sardinia after a long and trying day at an ancient horse race. It’s just been selected as part of this year’s Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

    Girl outside the Pizzeria at Night – Andy Lo Pó

    Funniest moment on set?
    I’ve seen both funny and scary… Ricky Gervais lying on the floor holding a banana to his head was quite funny I suppose.

    What photo or series of photos do you wish you’d taken?
    I’m going to say Avedon’s “In the American West” as it’s just such an incredible body of work over a very interesting period in time. It also contains the beautiful and otherworldly portrait of Beekeeper Ronald Fischer, which was quite an influential image early on for me and really piqued my interest in photographic portraiture.

    Beekeeper from In The American West – Richard Avedon

    What was the best piece of advice you were given?
    Not advice really but one of my lecturers when I was studying always gave me a lot of encouragement – it’s nice when someone believes in your work.

    Your use of light and colour really makes your work stand out, and is mainly captured in camera. Do you think post production can devalue photography or does it add a level?
    For me, you can’t recreate the mood captured in camera and you can’t recreate the lighting either. When I’m shooting a portrait it’s about finding that fraction of a second when you get just the right emotional response from the sitter at the same moment that the light is perfectly falling on them. Now, obviously, post production may be able to enhance what you’ve already achieved and if we’re talking commercial work then it really can add the final polish that the client is after. It also takes quite a talented retoucher to really understand a photographer and how they like to work with post production.

    Your portfolio suggests that your favourite subject is the human form. Where did your passion for this originate?
    Like all of us growing up, we’re surrounded by the human form, so it’s there and it’s fascinating from a very young age. Then in time you start being introduced to the human form in art, in film and music video. I still remember seeing different things on the telly when I was quite young; various music videos, horror films etc. Some of these images stuck with me and I guess they all contributed.

    What have been the most memorable moments in your career?
    There’s been a few. It can be a gradual process but then you can also have bigger moments that tend to speed things up. Those very first editorial and advertising commissions can be quite pivotal moments that perhaps you don’t fully recognise at the time. The same with awards. But there’s still nothing like the feeling of knowing you’ve got a shot that you feel really happy with.

    What have been the moments you’d rather forget?
    Not many really. The odd person that’s just not interested in being photographed…

    What are you most grateful for?
    I feel privileged to be able to work in a competitive industry with a medium that I love.

    Andy is represented by Wyatt Clarke Jones

  • 5 Curious Minutes with Emma Witter

    5 Curious Minutes with Emma Witter

    Sculpture artist Emma Witter creates beautiful artworks from the slightly less conventional material of small animal bones.

    That’s right. Small animal bones.

    The sculptures and installations are created from hundreds of bones salvaged mainly from Emma’s own cooking. She then meticulously cleans, bleaches, and categorises each bone before creating her pieces.

    Emma is a old friend of Curious Productions, having previously collaborated on the delightfully crunchy project, Crisp Flowers, a unique floral arrangement created entirely from crisps and photographed in the Dutch Masters style.

    Below, Emma speaks to us about becoming Hix Art’s first Artist in Residence, her influences and not least, where her unusual interest in using animal bones in the name of art originated from.

    Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
    I was always going to do something creative for sure. I loved nature and thought I was going to be a gardener, or mix perfume, or study insects. When I was a kid I wanted to be an archeologist or a paleontologist – I wanted to dig up remains and discover special treasure.

    Who or what was your childhood inspiration?
    I have this amazing great aunt and uncle whose house and long twisting garden I’d love to visit. He played percussion in a folk band and she made little stained glass windows. They were great at drawing, and my sister and I used to spend hours with them in their conservatory making pictures.

    What inspires you now?
    Other artists inspire me – old and new – and I go and look at shows as much as I can. When I see something good it makes me feel refreshed and excited and wanting to make some new work. I love sculptural / assemblage work by Eileen Agar, Marcin Rusak, Phoebe Cummings, Susie Macmurray, Kate McGuire, Ken Price, Ron Nagle …

     

    (L-R) Pieces by Eileen Agar, Susie Macmurray, Phoebe Cummings

     

    How did your interest in creating sculptures with bones start?
    Quite passively actually – I had a general interest in creating sculptures out of food, and then started making some tests out of bones I had collected from meals. I held on to them because I thought the shapes were so soft and beautiful and it felt like a shame to throw them away. Then I gradually became more obsessed with the material.

    What would be your ideal commission?
    I would love to do something very site specific and create bone flowers, plants and nests which would inhabit corners of the room, grow out from the walls and twist around the pipe work.

    Who is your hero?
    Sounds cheesy but it’s my Mum. She’s worked for the last 20 years with severely special needs children and for that I think she’s being a hero every single day.

    What piece/pieces do you wish you’d created?
    I get a huge pang of jealousy over the Dali Menagere Cutlery set. It is six pieces comprising of two forks, two knives and two enameled spoons. Specifically and wonderfully named:

    Fourchette 4 dents à manche poisson (Four tooth fork with a fish handle)
    Fourchette-éléphant 3 dents (Elephant fork with three teeth)
    Couteau escargot aux larmes (Snail knife with tears)
    Cocteau feuille (leaf knife)
    Petite cuillère-artichaut (small artichoke spoon)
    Cuillère-artichaut (artichoke spoon)

     

    Salvador Dali Menagere Cutlery Set

     

    How did you feel when you were invited to be Hix Art’s first Artist in Residence?
    Absolutely thrilled! I’d had this in mind for a long time as something I really wanted to do. I was also really looking forward to having a three month project where my mind was only on one outcome – it felt very cleansing on my hectic brain.

    What are you most grateful for?
    Flukey, unexpected meetings with fantastic people and stimulating friendships.

  • Curious Collaboration with Emma Witter for BLOOM

    Curious Collaboration with Emma Witter for BLOOM

     

    We’ve collaborated again with sculpture artist Emma Witter, this time for her Artist in Residence commission for HIX ART. The body of work entitled BLOOM launched at Tramshed on 27th March to an audience of Mark Hix’s artist and creative community. A film created by Curious was projected alongside the pieces to complement the work by highlighting the intricacy and colour palette of the sculptures.

    The film, directed by Curious’ Dan Humphreys, shows how science meets nature and the level of detail that goes into crafting the pieces and the process behind it: the boiling, bubbling and bleaching.

    See the film here:

     

    BLOOM derives from Emma’s insistence of the beauty of bones, which she salvages from her own cooking, and in the case of this launch, from the restaurant. 
After meticulously cleaning, bleaching and categorising the bones she assembles them into ornamental and floral forms.

     

     

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  • Behind the Lens… 5 Curious Minutes with Todd Antony

    Behind the Lens… 5 Curious Minutes with Todd Antony

    Todd Antony captures characters from diverse contexts and far-flung locations. His work has featured in numerous awards, including the AOP Awards and American Photography Awards, as well as included in Luerzer’s Archive ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide’. His work has been exhibited in London, the USA and France.

    Who or what inspired you to be a photographer?
    I remember my dad bringing a camera home from his office one day when I was about 10 or 11, a Canon EOS 650. I started taking photographs of anything and everything. The camera never made it back to his office, and it just continued from there.

    What photo or series of photos do you wish you’d taken?
    Edward Burtynsky’s ‘Tailings’ from his ‘Manufactured Landscapes’ book. Arresting images, both visually and emotionally, when the viewer stops to think about what it is they’re actually viewing and appreciating.

     

    Tailings, Edward Burtynsky

     

    You’re known for the fabulous locations you shoot in. Do you have a favourite place and why?
    Oh man, so many. Had a pretty amazing shoot in Iceland last year, where the brief was to  shoot an ‘ice surfer’ paddling out at sunrise. It was February, and the day before we landed they had their heaviest single snowfall since 1951. So there we were pre dawn, wearing dry suits, walking through 2ft of snow down to a black sand beach. The snow hadn’t settled on the sand because of the tides, so there was a sharp line where pure white snow met jet black sand and crashing waves. We headed out into the 3 degree water (which was 7 degrees warmer than being out of the water) for a cloudless sunrise accompanied only by a friendly local seal and a snowy mountain range rising up behind the black sand beach. Doesn’t really get much more special than that.

     

     

    What is your favourite piece of work?
    That’s a tricky one, as from my perspective its not just about the image, but the experience behind getting a particular shot. The shot for Skyr Yoghurt of the surfer in Iceland I mentioned above, I really love for exactly that reason. As far as a whole body of work goes I think my favourite campaign I’ve shot was for Finlandia Vodka. We spent 2 weeks traveling all over the world with an amazing team, shooting ordinary people who lead extraordinary lives. A gay, drag, Luche Libre wrestler in El Paso, a funeral dancer in New Orleans, a guy who looks after 4 grizzly bears in Lapland, one of which I got to feed strawberries to. It was a long list of incredible people and we all came away feeling massively fulfilled experiencing a small window into each of their lives.

     

     

    Was pre-visualising the RDG ‘Britain Runs on Rail’ project in CGI prior to the shoot an effective process? Would you use that approach in the future?’
    I can’t emphasise just how effective and beneficial it was. I wouldn’t hesitate to use that approach again on any relevant projects in the future. I’m not sure a couple of the shots in the campaign would have even been possible without having the pre-vis. It allowed the set builders to prefabricate certain elements ahead of time and to exactly the size and scale we needed, eliminating any guess work or having to correct it in post production.

     

     

    Does image post production de-value photography?
    Overall I don’t think so, no. When it’s implemented poorly then yes, it can. But done in the right way I think it works symbiotically with photography. Like anything, it’s about using the right tool for the job. If you’re a documentary photographer, then balancing out your levels and colour should be the fullest extent of its application in order to maintain editorial credibility. At the other end of the scale you can have can a highly conceptual advertising shot which requires extensive post production, and the idea may not be achievable without it. Staying within the real world rules of photography when using post is the key.

    If you could give any advice to emerging photographers, what would it be?
    Shoot as much as possible. And shoot what you enjoy the most. It’s the only way to develop your style, and find out what avenue you want to take in the long term. There’s so many different genres within photography. You’re always going to be more invested and motivated if it’s a subject connects with you.

    Can you tell us a funny on-set story?
    There’s been a fair few. But I think the award for the most surreal, goes to a shoot in Moscow. It was -20 degrees, and we were shooting 3 Ferrari’s in Red Square, with St Basil’s cathedral in the background. Cue a bridal party having their own photoshoot, strolling into the middle of our shot and deciding to use the cars as their own backdrop, posing elaborately in front of them. I only had 20 minutes before we had to clear the cars and my batteries (along with pretty much every part of my body) were struggling in the cold. My exasperated pleas for them to get out of our shot were met with a tirade of abuse from the Russian bride, who helpfully and not so subtly pointed out to me that “you in Russia now!!” in case I wasn’t already very aware of that fact. To this day I’m still not entirely sure what bridal party goes out for a photoshoot at 8am in -20?

    Who is your hero?
    After wracking my brain it’s occurred to me that I don’t actually have one. Slightly concerned what that might say about me as a person! Of course I greatly admire what alot of people do, but I guess it stems from back in my sporting days. My squad had the ethos that if you give someone hero status, you’re in some way implying that the level they’re are at isn’t achievable.

    What are you most grateful for?
    It likely sounds a bit corny, but that I get to do what I love for a living. The majority of people aren’t able to do that as their day-to-day. I’ve always said if I won the lottery tomorrow I’d still keep doing what I’m doing… I’d probably just end up buying an unnecessary number of cameras.

    Todd is represented by Wyatt Clarke Jones

  • Behind the Lens…5 Curious Minutes with Andy Glass

    Behind the Lens…5 Curious Minutes with Andy Glass

    Andy Glass began his career as a purist landscape photographer and is now a leading talent in blending pure photography, digital enhancement and computer generated elements. His work appears regularly in the photographic press and in reviews of any year’s best photography, and he recently worked with Curious Productions on the Lexus ‘Shift’ campaign.

    We had 5 Curious Minutes with Andy Glass.

     

    Who or what inspired you to be a photographer?
    My German grandfather was a very keen photographer – he used to show me his albums that were taken during WW2 which I found fascinating. I remember an image he shot on the beach in Dunkirk of a British airman who had been shot down, he was wearing a full black tie underneath his flight jacket – possibly scrambled directly from a dance, kissed his sweetheart goodbye and jumped into his Spitfire.

     

    Apart from your camera, what piece of photographic equipment could you not do without?
    The app Helios – really handy for sun positions, shadow length etc.

     

    Funniest moment on set?
    There have definitely been a few moments, a couple of them on a nudist beach in San Francisco, but it would probably have to be a Peugeot shoot in the South of France – car was on the road with a hairpin bend behind it – as soon as we set up somewhat older Peugeot broke down on the corner and couldn’t be moved. It was also the day after England had just controversially beaten France in the 6 Nations rugby, so nobody stopped at traffic control –a classic and chaotic day.

     

    What photo or series of photos do you wish you’d taken?
    The Desert Canto series by Richard Misrach – I think he has influenced more photographers in advertising than anyone I can think of.

    Desert Canto series, Richard Misrach

     

    Which piece of your own work are you most proud of?
    Hard to pick one, because they all have different experiences attached to them but it could be a personal shot I took in Loch Tulla in Scotland – a place I returned to many times before getting something I was really happy with.

     

    Does image post production de-value photography?
    Every image whether film or digital, undergoes some form of enhancement.
    It is only devalued if the process takes way from the integrity of the image.
    I think there is an increasing temptation to use Photoshop gimmicks, particularly flares and grading plug-ins etc to make a boring picture more interesting, so yes it can but it shouldn’t.

     

    CGI features heavily in your work. What would you say to photographers who are skeptical from a photographic point of view?
    The challenge for us is to be able to integrate CGI into photographic realism. I remember there being a similar skepticism around Photoshop. If it can’t be done for real, then why not use CGI? It is just another creative tool in the box, but clearly one that has to be executed correctly.

     

    Given your background in landscape photography, do you feel that this naturally draws you to ideas with an epic visual scale and technical scope?
    Good question, I have never really considered it before now. I like making epic pictures and it could well come from the openness of landscape, but I am also drawn to the details – nature can be amazing at any scale.

     

    You work with and collaborate with creatives on ideas that cross over between photography, CGI and creative direction.  What do you think compels creatives to work with you in this way?
    Quite often I work with creatives who I have only just met, we spend a very short and intense time together, totally focused on a single image. I love the collaborative nature of advertising – It is the most enjoyable part of the job for me, especially when everyone is adding some value to the final image.

     

    If you could give any advice to emerging photographers, what would it be?
    Be original and photograph what you love.

     

    What was the best piece of advice you were given?
    Be original and photograph what you love.

     

    In your career, what’s been the biggest change in the Industry?
    Not sure which one would be the biggest, but the 2 colossal shifts in photography have been the shift from film to digital and the advent of CGI – I grew up with the technical rigour of exposing large format transparencies and loved the precision of the craft, but the creative freedom of digital has been a interesting release – it has made everyone a photographer.

     

    What’s the last piece of music you last listened to?
    The first of the gang to die – Morrissey.

     

    Who’s your hero?
    Alan Knott, Kent and England wicket keeper – wanted to be like him as a boy, still do actually.

     

    What are you most grateful for?
    Family.

     

    Andy is represented by Wyatt Clarke Jones

  • Behind the Lens…5 Curious Minutes with Jason Knott

    Behind the Lens…5 Curious Minutes with Jason Knott

    Horton Stephens photographer, Jason Knott is best known for capturing emotions, experience and interaction, the best fit for Curious Productions recent EON shoot.

    Jason is extremely hands-on on-set, casting models who are coached to act out a character in order to capture that perfect shot.  This approach has enabled Jason to Direct and often finds himself shooting both stills and moving image on the same project.

     

    Who or what inspired you to be a photographer?
    I was given a camera at the age of 7 by my dad, he was a keen photographer. He wouldn’t let me have a drum kit so I started taking snaps.

     

    What was your first job?
    I was always a bit of a ‘Del Boy’ through Uni and got into assisting, but my first commission came through Chrysalis Records and I did a string of covers for The Waterboys, Carter USM and Kingmaker.

     

    Apart from your camera, what piece of photographic equipment could you not do without?
    I guess spare batteries to keep the camera running, you can capture a shot with a biscuit tin if you know what you are doing. As long as you have a camera of some sort that fires, you will go home with a shot.

     

    What is your favourite piece of work?
    Cliche, but usually my next one that gives me a buzz. I’m always moving forwards, always seeing new stuff to shoot and love knowing that next week I’ll have created something that right now doesn’t exist. I don’t have a great attention span.

     

    Funniest moment on set?
    Sending my then assistant, Jem Mitchell, to my car for a bit of kit.

    He was gone an age, when I went to see what he was up to he was over the car with two women holding him down insisting he was stealing the car. I said it was mine, she looked me up and down and said “I don’t believe you”. It was the look on Jem’s face, wish I had my camera on me . . .

     

    What photo or series of photos do you wish you’d taken?
    Peter Lindbergh is a photographer that has been a constant over my career. He seemed to sum up all my fav guys in my early years, Bailey, Herb Ritts, Bob Carlos Clarke, Penn, Avedon, Albert Watson, Patrick Demarchelier and Bruce Weber.

    He frustrated the hell out of me in the beginning and his shots always looked so effortless. Obviously now I know it’s experience, talent, attention to detail, crew skill and just plain dammed hard work.

    I loved this series, below, it really struck a chord with me. It felt like the lines between fashion, lifestyle and reportage photographer seemed to be blurring and he seemed to take fashion photography down a new path towards reportage in style, relaxing it a little, but still retaining that polish not only in execution, but in the quality of finish in the final image.

     

    Does image post production de-value photography?
    I don’t think it de-values photography. I do think it’s de-valued true photographers.

     

    If you could give any advice to emerging photographers, what would it be?
    Learn your craft. In theory, in technique and in practice.

    It sickens me to see courses in which the students are shooting with iPads etc; a device which is trying to catch up and replicate what cameras were doing in the beginning. Buy a proper camera and switch off all the driver aids and master Speed, Aperture and Focus!

     

    What was the best piece of advice you were given?
    Relax you’re just a photographer, you don’t save lives, (Spencer Rowell).

     

    In your career, what’s been the biggest change in the Industry?
    Digital. 🙁

     

    What’s the last piece of music you last listened to?
    This morning I was giving A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step a listen, very loud.

     

    If you could live in a book, TV show or movie, what would it be?
    Thought hard and long about this question, it stumped me. I don’t think my brain is wired the right way to think like that. Reason being I’m more drawn to what Jim Morrison once said about “have you lived?”

     

    Have you lived enough to write a book about your life?
    It’s not about how glamorous or how rich you are or any of that bullshit. It’s about when your time is up, did you live? I pack a lot into my life.

     

    Who’s your hero?
    I don’t do heroes. I have a shed load of people I admire and respect. The doctor that saved my sons life, people that make me laugh, people that fight wars on my behalf, people that strive to be the best they can at something, people that grab my attention through what they have done.

     

    What are you most grateful for?
    Right now, being alive… phew! 🙂