2D Honkey Kong by Chirstian Aslund

Swedish photographer Christian Åslund shot this Jim Rickey advertising campaign as a “tribute to classic 2D platform games and integrate the person with the street scenes”. Called ‘Honkey Kong’, Åslund shot these photos in Hong Kong using a tele lens, making the images appear flat—creating the feeling of the model navigating the streets on a 2D plane. via

Fotolia TEN 2013: Soongyu Gwon

Following the success of the 1st Season, Fotolia launches the 2 nd edition of the TEN Project, a creative, digital and educational event. Today Fotolia introduces Soongyu Gwon, the second digital artist of TEN, Season 2. After Argentinean Gustavo Brigante, Korean artist Soongyu Gwon unveils his digital creation, which will be available for free download in PSD format for 24 hours, on Friday, February 8th, on www.tenbyfotolia.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQn6zeJwmYM

A personal artwork, with Asian influences

Forever a passionate for art and design, Soongyu Gwon, who works as a Creation Director at D.FY Inc. Design Group in Seoul (South Korea), defines himself as a «digital image maker». The work and style of this man, who is above all in search of the deep meaning of things, materialize in his ultra-graphic, perfectly mastered works. Inspired and enriched with the 5,000 year-old Korean history, as well as with the traditional asian culture, close to Nature, his compositions also show the influence of contemporary arts: comics, fantastic and horror movies are Soongyu Gwon’s favorite genres, since he saw Peter Jackson’s “Dead Alive” in high.

Unleash Imagination

“TEN, Season 2 was an opportunity to conceive a work without compromise, nor constraint, and to give free rein to my imagination”. Indeed, his artwork, entitled « Kentauros », which blends Greek mythology with fantasy, detonates and surprises. According to Soongyu Gwon : «Creativity is not about inventing what doesn’t exist, but about seeing in a new way what already does». He therefore doesn’t hesitate to represant the horseman (Centaur), famous for his brutality, as a pale and frail young girl : «I found the perfect young girl image on Fotolia. I replaced her legs with those of a foal, rather than those of a horse, to emphasize her fragility. The presence of crows increases tension, and generates fear. The dead tree branches create a protection around the Centaur. The three moons in the sky lend a fantastic atmosphere to the whole. I finished with adjusting the colours tone, and added some blue tone, to make the cold feel».

Valorize each particularity

Photography is Soongyu’s first choice raw material : «I spend a lot of time choosing an image, from which I emphasize the atmosphere and specificity, as they are in the original work, without special effects.». During the next months, he intends to learn working in 3D : «I can improve my ability to express my ideas through this powerful tool». The best is yet to come! By taking part in the TEN project, Soongyu Gwon opens a window on the world : «I admit I hesitated before entering the project, not being sure I’d have time to conciliate the making of this project with my clients’expectations. In the ended, I dived, because I very much want to show my work beyond the borders of my country».

Download PSD on 8 February

Kerry Skarbakka

"In his photographic self-portrait series Struggle to Right Oneself, artist Kerry Skarbakka captures himself in moments of suspended peril: falling from trees, tumbling head over heels in painfully precarious falls, slipping nude in the shower, or teetering on the edge of a fateful leap from a railway bridge." via Colossal

This photographic work is in response to this delicate state. It comprises a culmination of thought and emotion, a tying together of the threads of everything I perceive life has come to represent. It is my understanding and my perspective, which relies on the shifting human conditions of the world that we inhabit. It’s exploration resides in the sublime metaphorical space from where balance has been disrupted to the definitive point of no return. It asks the question of what it means to resist the struggle, to simply let go. Or what are the consequences of holding on?

Flexible Paper Sculptures of Li Hongbo

The creativity has no limits and boundaries and it can stretches and be flexible just like paper sculptures of Beijing artist Li Hongbo "A book editor and designer, the artist became fascinated by traditional Chinese toys and festive decorations known as paper gourds made from glued layers of thin paper which can be stored flat but then opened to reveal a flower or other shape. He applied the same honeycomb-like paper structure to much larger human forms resulting in these highly flexible sculptures." says Colossal

http://vimeo.com/54967505

http://vimeo.com/55336193

Stavronikita Project - The Sinking World

The SS Stavronikita ship lies at the bottom of the ocean at 13.8 N, 59.38 W, right off the Caribbean island of Barbados. It is the spot Andreas Franke has discovered and chosen to stage a game full of overflowing decadence and exuberance. This became a playground of the second project of Andreas Frankes "The Sinking World" with an underwater exhibition. You don't need to dive now to see the part of it. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Stavronikita-Project/6346483

Living Together in Paradise - Diorama by Nguyen Manh Hung

Vietnam based contemporary artist Nguyen Manh Hung did "Living Together in Paradise" diorama sculpture in 2011 now showing at The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art taking place in Brisbane, Australia.

I was born and raised for 20 years in an apartment block in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi. Contemporary thinking might see this urban structure as one that isolates people even while living at such close quarters. I experienced it more as a complex "village" stacked vertically rather than spread out horizontally.

"Living Together in Paradise" is an extension and improvement of this urban village and living space. One where farming, growing vegetables and upgraded living conditions prevail. A place where people share everything, but do not have much privacy. I asked myself: "Could angels live together in a paradise?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dh_nCGSijo4