Complete devotion means having a passion for something that translates into everything you do – the way you think, what you create and every step forward you take. Devotees comes in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing that ties them together is an unfaltering dedication to continue doing what inspires them.

For their first design collaboration in their 30-year history, the high-tech outerwear specialists Peak Performance turned to the renowned British designer Nigel Cabourn, who has made it his lifelong pursuit to collect and become an expert in vintage global army apparel. This skilful fusing of talent has reinvented the classic functionality and aura of historic pieces, resulting in a stunning FW17 collection. Each of the 20 unisex pieces has been carefully designed with special attention to quality and utility, breathing new life into garments with a long history. And this collection was never about following trends. Everyone involved with it has a deep understanding of what it means to be committed to your craft – behind every visionary is a story.

The Forumist spoke with eight creative devotees who have turned their dreams into reality. But these stories are just snapshots of their journeys – whether in music on interior design – as they relentlessly pursue their passion. For them, it’s not just about achieving one goal, job or a hobby. This is real devotion.

Mwuana
Robin Nyström, aka Mwuana, has been devoted to his music from a young age, developing his melodic sing-rap style over the years. With a total – “not scheduled” – dedication to creation, Nyström has developed into a visionary and entrepreneur, becoming what he calls “a multi-creative” in many different areas.

“This passion is often just a romantic glint from this problem you are trying to solve,” he explains. “It’s like a mystery that constantly haunts you, and you just want to crack the code.” During the years he has spent developing his sound, he has learnt to prioritise his creativity so he can focus on projects that he is passionate about seeing through to the end. “It’s as if devotion comes to you and makes your life more meaningful and interesting, but there are also long periods when you feel lost, not sure of what you’re actually doing. But I believe that as soon as a person finds their calling, devotion automatically kicks in.”

Continuing his story, he tells us: “It started with one goal, actually more like one mission. And the further the mission went, the bigger the vision got.” This is an artist who has come a long way from where he began. Growing up in a suburb outside Stockholm, Nyström relied on street smarts to get to where he is now. “I always seem to take on more projects than it’s possible to manage, but I’m driven by the feeling of learning new things and, most of all, finishing and completing the things that are meant to grow.”
mwuana.com

Helin Honung 

For the casting director Helin Honung, devotion used to be about time – the hours you spend working and obsessing about one thing. But it was only when she got into casting, she truly understood what it meant. “As time went by, I understood that, for me, it’s in the challenges, the development and the learning,” she says.

Growing up deeply rooted to the idea that she would become a fashion designer, Honung’s life took a 360-degree turn when she decided to make a change. “Out of the blue, a producer asked me to cast one of her productions,” she explains. “I felt I had nothing to lose if I did it.” From that moment on, Honung found her true devotion within the fashion world. As a casting director, she has a creative calling that challenges her every day and teaches her something new.

She may not have had a background of working for an agency or in production, but it is her total dedication to personal development that helps her overcome daily obstacles. “I’ve always been afraid of failing and I still am, but something that I never thought I’d apply to myself is the beauty of asking people for help,” she says. “We all have our own struggles in life. I guess I’m seeking the perfect balance, and that’s what keeps me going.”

Sandra Mosh

Although she has gone through phases in other music genres, Sandra Mosh has always felt an “uncontrollable draw” pulling her towards electronic music. “People often talk about those moments of flow, when you are so deep into the creative process that you fall into this trance-like state of mind,” she tells us. “I first found this flow through techno.” Now she’s a DJ, producer and founder of her own label, MOSH Musik, so it’s safe to say she has found her musical home in techno.

“For me, there’s nothing more personal than sharing your tracks with the world,” Mosh tells us. As she became more skilled as a DJ and got more involved in the scene, producing music felt natural. Feeling such a strong impulse to create is what led to her founding her own label as a platform to release what she liked, whenever she wanted. Mosh debuted at the Berlin nightclub Berghain last year, an experience that she has been devoted to accomplishing for a long time. “I can honestly say
I walked out there and thought, ‘I can die happy now,’” she reminisces.

When she’s making music, Mosh visualises it in her own head, but she explains that playing for an audience is also a moment of creation. “When something real is actually being created in that moment, that’s the best feeling in the world. That’s zen to me.”

Axel Wannberg 

At his core, Axel Wannberg is a woodworker whose passion for his craft has become his career. His endless devotion to perfecting lines, curves and spaces keeps him busy as a freelance cabinet-maker and furniture designer for high-profile clients in Stockholm and around the world.

He realised working with wood was his calling after he bought an old mahogany boat when he was 18 and started renovating it. After a five-year education in boatbuilding and cabinet making, he started his own workshop. “I get really inspired by minimalistic sculptors from the ’60s and ’70s,” he says. Constantly expanding on his own technical knowledge, he also finds inspiration by visiting niche companies, “like acrylic plastic specialists or companies that specialise in metal surface treatments”.

At first, he designed and built his own projects, but now his work mainly revolves around commissions. He often works alone, but enjoys collaborating with a team that can add to what he does. “Since I have more of a technical-orientated background, I find working with people of a more artistic background the most interesting and complementary.”

Every day Wannberg is in his studio or office, poring over and perfecting sketches and blueprints before starting to build. “I eat, sleep and dream my work,” he says. “And I don’t feel like it’s my job – it’s my biggest passion and I’m lucky to get paid to do it. And it’s been like that for the past 10 years.”
axelwannberg.com

Ludvig Blom

Though he’s an introvert at heart, Ludvig Blom is a strategic advisor and digital producer who works with tons of people and clients, attending meetings every day. His is a fast-paced career that requires technological and creative innovation, so we were curious about what devotion means to him. “Never fail to sweat the details and always be prepared to run the extra mile,” he replies. “In the end, it’s all about delivering valuable, feasible and usable solutions for my clients.”

Blom’s schedule is packed: he’s always working and meeting deadlines, but this goes hand in hand with being totally committed to digital production. He finds his inspiration in the fast pace of big cities and does his best to embrace each challenge he faces. “The more challenges and obstacles you run into, the more you develop as a person.”

Blom holds skill in high esteem and makes it a priority to collaborate with a team of people with a diverse range of expertise. “I prefer to be among cross-functional teams of specialists. You learn so much, and I also like it if people are a bit different and fun.” His devotion is far from reaching an end point. “I consider it more as a journey,” Blom says.
panagora.se

Julia Thelin

For Julia Thelin, filmmaking is about surrendering herself to the artistic process and coming to terms with not being in control. “It sounds pretentious, but for me it has something to do with what is outside of myself, with being connected to something bigger,” she says. For her, it is that passion and lack of control that drives her forward and helps her make decisions: “My devotion pushes me to dare to do more things.”

Filmmaking is a way for her to disconnect from reality while also creating it. “To create is to dig deeper into yourself and not be aware of it because you’re so absorbed in the process,” Thelin explains. She questions gender structures and roles in her work, inspired by the complexity of human behaviour and social systems. “Although, ‘inspired’ is a weird word for something that makes you angry,” she adds. “I look at it more as fascination.”

Thelin’s ambition is to expand the way people experience film and the way film looks. “I think I need to take a hell of a journey for that,” she says. “To be devoted means making choices that always have to do with my creative work, indirectly or directly.”
Juliathelin

Michel Dida

Songwriter Michel Dida doesn’t mince words when it comes to his passion. “Devotion is being dumb enough to ignore everyone’s advice and spend your entire life pursuing some weird interest that you have,” he says. Dida lives his life with no end goal in mind and says he can do without the rewards.

He got into hip-hop in 1995. “We started off by recording gibberish on cassette tapes over instrumental B-sides and that pretty much sealed the deal,” he says. Although he has featured on plenty of mixes, Dida describes himself as a lone wolf: “There are just not that many people I can trust with all these strange ideas floating around in here, you know.”

But this artist has a formula for harnessing his creative process. He makes his music in total seclusion, away from all social interactions, so he can be alone with his own thoughts. “Just sitting in a dark room for, like, a week, that’s how I write my music. I isolate myself. I don’t answer my phone. I feed the birds on the balcony, but I don’t meet up for fikas. That’s when I’m at my total peak. That is my formula.”

Joanna Nordin

A contemporary artist and curator with a special passion for space relations and collaboration, Joanna Nordin has worked in both fashion and art in New York, and achieved her master’s in fine art at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. “I love not knowing what’s around the next corner,” she tells us. “Unexpected conversations, events and collaborations give me tons of energy and inspiration.”

In her artwork, Nordin spends hours making large-scale installations and conceptual found-object sculptures. Recently she became a curator of contemporary art for Sörmlands museum in Nyköping, which will open next year. This new job has expanded her devotion within the art world. “I’m excited to get to be part of making it, and seeing it develop.” The must important thing to Nordin is her integrity. “I believe it’s the key to devotion,” she explains. “As long as you keep things close to your heart and do what you really want, being devoted to it will follow naturally.”

Her transition as an artist into curating has made perfect sense. During art school, Nordin “was never able to make just one work”, and instead spent time thinking about how things related to each other, making entire shows. “I think exhibition-making was always in the back of my mind,” she says. “I’m really grateful that I get to do what I love and do it full-time.” She sees her job as another step in her journey. “Devotion isn’t an end goal, it’s an outcome of your interests and your curiosity.”
joannanordin.com

The FW17 Peak Performance x Nigel Cabourn collection launches on October 5

Team Credits:
Photography by John Scarisbrick
Styling by Emma Thorstrand
Make-up and hair by Lillis Hemmingsson
Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin
Special thanks to Peak Performance
Talents: Mwuana, Helin Honung, Sandra Mosh, Ludvig Blom, Axel Wannberg, Joanna Nordin, Julia Thelin and Michel Dida
Studio: Peas & Understanding Studio

Fashion Credtis:
#1 Swedish Mountain parka, 
wool cap
#2 Swedish Mountain parka, army undershirt, wool cap, army belt
#3 Wool zip, Swedish Mountain trousers, wool cap
#4 Swedish sheepskin
#5 Snow Smock, Swedish Mountain trousers, wool cap, army belt
#6 US clip jacket, crew-neck swear, wool cap
#7 Quilted naval dungarees, windstopper shirt (round waist), wool cap

Born and raised in South Korea, Hyon Gyon earned her master’s degree and doctorate at the Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan, and then relocated to New York City to pursue her journey in the international art world. “I wanted more experience in new places and had nothing to lose, so it didn’t take a second to decide,” she says about her move to the US. “One of my biggest strengths, and also weaknesses, is that I don’t get intimidated by new environments or new things. I am not used to analysing or comparing them.” She quickly fell in love with New York’s melting pot of art, culture, food and fashion co-existing in one place. “It helped not being reluctant or prejudiced against anything. It also affected my work, making me think, ‘Why not? Nothing is impossible.’ It’s made me more flexible about how I select my materials or motifs, and how I choose the size or match colours.”

Hyon Gyon reflects upon her artwork as an act of devotion in itself. “It’s an attitude towards something so valuable – beyond the boundaries of age, nationality or sex,” she says. “That value makes me think I could throw all the rest away.” She uses a wide range of unconventional materials and techniques, creating mixed-media paintings that tower over her as she works in the studio. For each one, she shapes ideas and selects motifs before entering a cycle of adding and removing visual content. “The more time I spend on my art, the more I feel attached to it. But it also requires a lot of time and patience,” she says. “The artworks that require fabric and layering, or the ones using mixed media such as fabrics and foams – they take time and energy, so there are health risks. Some
of my works are finished in one day, some take longer than a year.”

Inspired by Korean shamanism, Hyon Gyon believes that art has the power to evoke emotion from within people and transform it into other forms of energy. When her grandmother died, Hyon Gyon’s family called for a shaman to release her soul to a good place where she could reconcile with other family members and live a peaceful life after death – it was an experience that had a cathartic effect on the artist. “It felt like my imaginings had been made real,” she said about the ceremony. She explains that shamanism still exists in the 21st century, despite persecution and contempt from other cultures, because it has a place in all phases of people’s life – from birth to death. And the release she felt during this ceremony plays a significant role in the way she approaches her practice. “For me, art should be helpful and useful – I believe that is the fundamental power of art.” She aims to touch people’s emotions as they deconstruct the layers of her tumultuous paintings with their eyes, giving them an opportunity to come to terms with their emotions and release that energy into the world.

The bright colours she uses are juxtaposed by shadowy imagery, and her use of strong, gestural strokes gives each piece a clear texture – a very material presence. As she creates new pieces, her own body becomes part of the work, a physical connection that she considers an essential part of her creative process. “I believe that people can see strong vibrations arising from the physical contact between my body and my artwork,” she says. “Those works I’ve created through intense use of my hands and feet and other parts of  my body do not lie.” In this way, the honesty of her artwork is important to Hyon Gyon. In the dark figural abstractions that are characteristic of her  work, viewers can see a reflection of the artist herself – her thoughts, struggles and life force emanating as  a curious, even uncanny, energy from the work. “I prefer large paintings because they make me feel that I have achieved something beyond the usual limits. I feel alive over and over again during the process.”

Hyon Gyon has never been satisfied following the basics or technical rules imposed by art school. “I don’t do well when I’m taught by someone else,” she says about her university experience. Her methods can be described as untraditional, even unorthodox, but such categorisations have never fazed her or deterred her creative passion. “I have to choose my own rules and my own way because that’s the only way that works for me.” Her studio is filled with objects and materials that she collects for her art making. While she works, she has to have everything out and feel totally surrounded by her materials. “Naturally, it gets messy when I work, but sometimes that disorder and chaos relate to my ideas. When I am surrounded by materials while I make plans in my head, new ideas about my next work come up and they lead to other ideas.”

The vivid colours and extraordinary combinations that she uses often compete for attention on the canvas. She attributes this to her time spent working in a traditional-clothing shop while in South Korea, choosing the designs of textile materials and matching colours. “I think this gave me a good eye for colour,” she says. “Traditional Korean clothes have extraordinary combinations and people are not afraid of using complementary colours at the same time. I am not reluctant to use various combinations of textures or colours – I enjoy it. Life is too short to use boring colours.”

Although the appearance of her busy studio suggests otherwise, Hyon Gyon is actually a minimalist. She has even let go of her name for the sake of her artwork. Born Hyun Kyoung Park, she adopted the sleek artist name of Hyon Gyon during her time in Japan. “Most people, including those who know me, have no idea how to pronounce my [given] name, but someday I hope everybody will be able to say and remember it,” she says. A minimalist in lifestyle choices, too, Hyon Gyon refrains from consuming alcohol and tobacco, and keeps her belongings to a minimum as she follows her instincts, moving across the globe for her different art projects.

She recently spent two months in Kyoto working 12 hours a day to create her largest piece yet for the Culture City of East Asia 2017 exhibition. “It’s a 20.4-metre-long mixed-media artwork made with fabric foam and oil paint that I worked on like crazy for a month and two weeks. I am quite proud of what I have devoted to this project and the time I spent on it.” A solo exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts in Hong Kong also opened this September, but her next move is to relocate to Europe, where she will be making new work in Poland. “This project will be a big lifetime chance for me, as an artist and a person,” she says.

Hyon Gyon is feeling empowered about her decisions to pursue art internationally, viewing the constant change of surroundings and environments in her life as part of the flow of life that she has chosen for herself. “Everything I do is something that I have decided,” she says. “I have never considered the risks, nor have I regretted my attempts. That’s how I have lived and that’s how I will continue to live my life, always following my instincts.”

Credits:
Words by Eimi tagore-erwin
shin-gallery.com

When fusions are formed within music genres, amazing things can happen. Kikagaku Moyo’s sprawling, experiential jams are just that – a novel take on 1960s and 70s psychedelic complexities, fused together with nods to folk music with classical Indian influences. The band was started by Go Kurusawa on drums/vocals and Tomo Katsurada on guitar/vocals in Tokyo during the summer of 2012. They started as a free music collective before adding Daoud Popal on guitar and Kotsu Guy on bass. Go’s brother, Ryu Kurosawa joined the band on the sitar after studying under Bengali sitar master Pandit Manilal Nag in Kolkata. The addition of Ryu completed the five-man band’s permanent long-haired line up.

Sprung from hazy, smoke-filled live shows in small Tokyo clubs, Kikagaku Moyo has generated a massive cult-like following overseas in the UK, Sweden, Greece, and the US with slews of sold-out shows. With their explorative style, the band attracts a crowd ranging from old psych-heads to younger fans of experimental drone. Kikagaku Moyo operates their own label, Guruguru Brain, on which they release the work of bands from all over Asia, pushing often unknown music from the Asia underground into the western market. The label now operates in Amsterdam and Japan, and it remains a mystery whether the name refers to the traditional gurus of India or the Japanese onomatopoeia for ‘spinning around and around’ –  or perhaps a feisty blend of both.

Kikagaku Moyo’s experimental sound is uniquely dynamic, often cutting off into long drone sessions, with feedback-loaded guitar and sitar solos. These five musicians keep making headway, with style ranging from experimental, even messy, energetic jam sessions to orchestrated chaos. In true psych-rock style, their live shows often consist of jams that last for hours, building up gradually from trippy dream sequences that keep audiences floating in the cosmos to the all-out planetary chaos of pure energy.

Following the release of their newest album House in the Tall Grass last year, the band has just released an experimental EP earlier this year, Stone Garden. The Forumist had the lucky chance to briefly interview the band in the midst of their busy touring schedule and before their show at Geronimo’s FGT in Stockholm’s own Gamla Stan.

The Forumist: What is the meaning behind the name Kikagaku Moyo?

Go: It means geometric patterns in Japanese. 

The Forumist: Kikagaku Moyo released a new EP this year. Where did you record it? Can you share some of the inspiration for this album?

Go: Faust studio in Prague, Czech. We stayed for two days in a recording studio in Prague during a tour. We ended up playing improved jam. It really reminded us when we started playing music together for the first time…really pure energy and the joy of playing music.

The Forumist: You have toured extensively around the world. What is the biggest difference between touring in Europe and in your home country Japan?

Go: We only toured once in Japan, but this is 5th time touring in Europe. In Europe there are many of spots that we can play shows. We have played places like desert, beach, forest, squads, warehouse, etc.

The Forumist: Have you been in Sweden before?

Go: Yes, we have played some crazy shows!

The Forumist: How do you feel about the Swedish vibe at your concerts?

Go: We love the Swedish vibe! We felt people reacted honest to their feelings.

The Forumist: Is it true that Ryu learned Sitar in India? How did that experience change the band’s music?

Ryu: Yes it is true! I found out that there is complicated music theory in the music that I do not know. After this experience, how I listen to music itself and my interest has really changed a lot.

The Forumist: Last question…if you could add one thing to the studio – anything in the whole world – what would it be?

Go: A really really cozy couch.

After navigating listeners through space with a balance of groovy baselines and serene meditative melodies on their 2016 album, Kikagaku Moyo opens Stone Garden with nothing less than an invigorating crash landing onto a new planet. Stone Garden thrusts listeners into an experimental combat sequence of pure untapped energy filled with underwater distortion and heavy intergalactic reverb. With consistent releases over the last five years, Kikagaku Moyo has certainly proved their place in the psych rock world as a formidable band to keep an eye on. Try to catch the band on this tour; maybe if you’re lucky you’ll snag a ticket before they sell out.

https://geometricpatterns.bandcamp.com/

Credits:

Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin

Image Credits:

Images 1-5, 7 by J. Wdziekonski

Image 6 by Kentaro

The Japanese artist Shinji Ohmaki works to challenge the paradigms of the art world through his spatial practice. He not only constructs his conceptual installations inside traditional exhibition spaces, but also as permanent open-air sculpture and even in collaboration with the fashion world. Stepping into the ethereal spaces he creates, we are forced to jump straight into the abstract complexities of this ambitious artist’s mind. The Forumist spoke with him to find out how he integrates the presence of an audience into his art spaces.

“In making my work, it is very important to imagine how the audience will move and how the context will change their experience of the work.” We asked Ohmaki to open up about Liminal Air Space-Time, his compelling installation that has been exhibited around Japan and in Europe. It’s an ongoing project, in which he uses light and wind to float sheets of silky fabric in the air. Each time it’s constructed, a fresh group of spectators is encouraged to reflect on time and space. “As even a single, simple piece of cloth moves, the boundaries that divide time and space are also changing,” Ohmaki says.

The Liminal series is tastefully minimal, executed through an arrangement of hidden fans that suspend and warp these airborne sheets of cloudlike fabric. The airflow stirs the cloth in waves, creating shimmering movements similar to those of cascading, flowing and evaporating water. “Watching this movement, you begin to notice disparities in what you felt was expected, at least according to gravity as we know it. Time speeds up – or it becomes overwhelmingly slow.” By entering into the same space as the delicately tessellating shape, audiences may feel like the shape is defying gravity, a feeling that spreads to their own bodies. They become sharply aware of their own consciousness, the weight of their own bodies’ physicality and the speed of their own bodies’ movement in relation to the silk.

“For me, it’s very important for the audience to experience the work,”says Ohmaki. “Having the spectators themselves be within the scenery of the piece is such an important element of the artwork. Instead of only thinking about materials, I want to create paradoxes in the space around them. Of course, material is also important, but I believe that human consciousness is a force that can transform space.”  

Ohmaki has installed the Liminal series in three museums in Japan, in Singapore and the Hermès storefront in Paris, and it also recently existed as a 33m-long installation for the runway exhibition of Louis Vuitton’s AW16 menswear collection in Paris. “No matter where it is, the basic concept will not change. However, the message of the piece changes with the characteristics and histories of each location that are joined to the work,” says Ohmaki. “It is a work that allows physical and sensory deviations to be experienced in this world by transforming what is standard in everyday life – in this case, it’s gravity.”

Ohmaki experiments with new mediums for each new project, searching for the perfect balance in texture, reflectiveness, weight and fluidity: “I am looking for materials that change constantly, such as physical texture or phenomena caused by light. I am also interested in using traditional Japanese craft techniques and doing constant research to combine it with new concepts.”

Ohmaki originally trained as a sculptor. He studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where he is now a professor himself. He has evolved from making static art objects to a successful art practice based on creating work that transforms entire spaces. But it is not just about filling a space – his practice is more about expanding upon the space itself, often highlighting the history of the land and story of people from each location. “When thinking about the movement, flow and shape of the work, inspiration is received from the land and the place,” he says. “I have long believed that the relationship between the space, the body and the very feeling on the skin is very important.”

Ohmaki’s newest project has a lot to do with history and the experience a city itself goes through over the years. Echoes – Genius Loci is currently installed at the Yokohama Creative City Centre (YCC) through its new Temporary exhibition series. Ohmaki was the first artist selected and is setting the bar quite high for those to come. He has again given a lot of thought to those who will be viewing it – the people of Yokohama, an industrial city just south of Tokyo. “The memories of the olden days are buried beneath the ground of Yokohama in the form of debris,” he says. The space he has constructed seems empty and silent at first, but upon further observation, viewers realise they are surrounded by a huge map of the entire city and engulfed in its history. Using the nihonga painting technique traditional to his native Japan, Ohmaki stencilled the floor with a white map of the modern city, mixed with traditional decorative shapes and patterns. The space is framed on both sides by glowing red windows that feature scenes from three sombre moments in history that redefined the landscape of the city in dramatic ways. These times of intense destruction and reconstruction, he says, “have had a tremendous impact on the present”.

Ohmaki used the exhibition space at YCC to showcase the histories of Yokohama, submerging his audiences in the experience of the city itself. “Within this work is a cycle – light that comes from darkness and light that also returns to darkness,” Ohmaki explains. “By linking the entire scene with the smaller detail, the artwork becomes a trip through time, space and memory.”

As an installation artist, Ohmaki knows better than most that, with each new creation, comes a period of destruction. With every temporary installation, his work is taken down, deconstructed and then reconstructed elsewhere. But this cyclical nature of his practice has become part of the experience itself and doesn’t discourage him. “My work expresses the value of collapse and creation that occurs through simple existence,” he says. “It is not always good for the world to become so uniform through globalisation. As uniformity of the world progresses, I would like to create more awareness about the specific characteristics of different regions and areas. Especially in my work Echoes – Infinity, I am aware of rediscovering the identity of the land and the way of the world.”

Credits:

Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin

Artwork by Shinji Ohmaki

Art Credits

1. Liminal Air – descend; year: 2006; photographer: Tadasu Yamamoto; courtesy of GALERY A4

2. Liminal Air Space-Time; year: 2015; courtesy of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

3. Liminal Air Space – Time; Louis Vuitton FW16 Collection Runway; year 2016; courtesy of  epresspack

4. Memorial Rebirth; year: 2015; photographer: Matsuo Ujin

5. Liminal Air – core; year: 2010; photographer: Ito Tetsuo; courtesy of Setouchi Triennale

6-7. Echoes Infinity – Genius Loci; year: 2017; photographer: Kato Ken; courtesy of Yokohama Creative Center

8-9. ‘Echoes Infinity – Moment and Eternity’; year: 2016; photographer: Ito Tetsuo; courtesy of Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee

10. 恩寵 ‘Gravity and Grace’; year: 2016; photographer: Ito Tetsuo; courtesy of Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee

Few people have the drive to keep up with nature’s forces, but these three passionate photographers have an instinct for capturing the mood and intensity of the outdoors. Their collaboration for the upcoming Peak Performance cruise collection creates a surreal glimpse of the untamed landscape that surrounds our cities, channelling a rawness only achieved through living on the edge. Their photos come to life as clothing becomes the new canvas. The Forumist had the rare chance to speak with the men behind these images, catching them while they were on the road, to discover what motivates their dynamic lifestyles.

Alric Ljunghager

He may be based in Bergen, Norway, but Alric Ljunghager is hardly ever at home. His photography keeps him on the move, and this fast-paced lifestyle inspires his photos. “The chaos outside has so many perfections, so your imagination turns into pure observation,” he says. “Nature comes up with these beautiful ideas that you would never have thought of yourself.”

Although he has been taking photographs for as long as he can remember, this is his first year working with Peak Performance. “Giving responsibility to a photographer is a brave thing to do,” he says. He didn’t expect to see his photos out on the streets in this new format and is excited to see the final design, explaining that he thinks running with the unanticipated is necessary “for the extraordinary to happen”.

Ljunghager used to be in front of the camera more than he was behind it. His story changed when he broke his neck a few years ago. Incredibly, such a serious accident didn’t stop him from moving forward: his deep love for skiing and the culture that comes with it has kept his resolve strong. He learnt quickly that photography allows him to experience the culture of the outdoors in an even stronger way. “Turns out that I love it more than skiing itself,” he says.

Transitioning into his life as photographer means he is travelling to new locations all the time. “My clothes are always in a bag,” he says, “but I always gain new perspectives, and coming home with that new knowledge becomes part of the exploration.”

Ljunghager believes his travels wake up his brain because he is always introducing new visual and sensory situations into his routine. Immersing himself for weeks on end in -25C environments for 12 hours a day is an unimaginable experience for most, but he embraces this environment. “The brain can’t really comprehend the environmental changes. They get so intense and real. It feels like teleportation.”

His powerful and scenic photographs are often a result of snap judgments and intuition. “It’s so beautiful, and it’s here and now,” Ljunghager says. “The less control, the better – then I can really observe and just appreciate the moment.”

alric.se

John Strandh

It’s a special love for the midnight sun, freezing waters and the chilly Nordic landscape that drives John Strandh’s photography. He was brought up in the north of Sweden, where he decided to dedicate his life to ice sports before he realised how much he loved photography. He is now both a photographer and cinematographer and his work in both fields reflects his genuine love and respect for nature. The outdoors is the most common setting for his stories and he often returns to the north. “Shooting in the wild is where I come to life,” he says. “The fact that we humans have almost lost all connection with the natural world is my strongest drive. Though we know that we need nature to survive, we tend to forget.”

For Strandh, timing and location are the most important things. His 10 years of shooting in the wild has taught him that he just can’t afford to be limited by external factors such as gear and clothes – he’s learnt how to be prepared to contend with nature’s fluid ways. “Usually, the conditions are extreme in terms of weather and temperature, so I try to make sure I am ready for any kind of scenario. It’s key not to be limited by external factors because time and patience are everything,” he says.

Strandh has recently been filming a television series in northern Sweden and also keeping up his longtime, nature-focused collaborations with the artist Ionnalee. “I like to capture moments that should – and could – be a part of a normal person’s life.” He has travelled around the world for shoots, but doesn’t get tired of spending time in the Nordic winter. “There are many dimensions to it,” he says. “But you need to spend a lot of time in the outdoors to see the difference.”

Talking about the new Peak Performance cruise collection, he says: “Mixing different ways of expression is always interesting.” He has made films with them in the past, but is really excited about the upcoming collection. Having his photographs brought to life on people’s bodies is a new way to connect with them. “Our work has the minimalistic, timeless and functional in common,” he says. “I want to draw people’s attention to the simplistic and natural, and inspire them to experience nature first-hand rather than only through social media.”

johnstrandh.com

Martin Wichardt

“I think I’m too restless and too curious to limit myself to do one thing only,” says Martin Wichardt on why he doesn’t define himself as a nature photographer or limit himself to any category. While he also enjoys shooting in the studio, he prefers taking his camera out into the wild. “I shoot a mixture of lifestyle and sports to document stories and portraits. A lot of what I do is based outside, often with nature as the setting.”

After starting off skateboarding and snowboarding, Wichardt was drawn into photography by the culture and lifestyle that naturally comes with outdoor sports. Bringing his camera into those environments wasn’t a far reach for him. “It just feels natural,” he says.

“They’re both very visual and expressive [activities]. It’s all about individual style and emotions.” He bought his first camera when he was 19, several years before he studied photography at Kulturama in Stockholm, graduating in 2011. “From there, it’s been pretty much just on,” he says. “Basically, it comes from being a kid, flipping through magazines, wanting to access this amazing world – wanting to create powerful images like the ones I saw.”

He has been collaborating with Peak Performance for two years, but the upcoming collection is something entirely new. “Hopefully, it will put a smile on someone’s face, make them dream about distant places or long for the winter.” This project holds special meaning for him because he shot the scene on his first trip to the Alps, when he first decided to get into photographing skiing. The resulting image represents the moment he really decided to go for it. “We worked hard for six days straight and were out on the mountain, shooting in every kind of weather – it was on this trip that it all started,” he says. “It’s exciting and honourable that people are going to walk around wearing this moment on their bodies.”

The love of outdoor culture is a great part of his drive, but Wichardt says the real drive behind his photos is his curiosity and constant search for interesting lighting. “The unpredictability and lack of complete control is fascinating,” he says. “Ambient light, with all its shapes and variations, is everchanging in its nature. It varies in colour, temperature, intensity and direction. This is what inspires me, catches my eye and makes me press the trigger.”

martinwichardt.se

For the upcoming collaboration, fashion becomes the backdrop for photography as these windows into the wild enter our homes and streets. The photographers’ images are taken out of traditional viewing spaces and transferred onto clothing as a real-life gallery – an original platform that combines the outdoors, fashion and self-expression. This new format is a way to fuse nature with identity, to share the love for an outdoor lifestyle and to bring it with you into any environment.

Peak Performance’s cruise collection is out in September. Stay tuned to see the entire collection on TheForumist.com. Featuring the work of talented nature photographers Alric Ljunghager, John Strandh and Martin Wichardt, this new line is redefining tradition as we know it

peakperformance.com

Credits:

Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin

Special thanks to Peak Performance

Image Credits:

1. Alric Ljunghager

2. Portrait of Alric by Sakarias Majander

3 – 8. Alric Ljunghager

9 – 12. John Strandh

13 – 21. Martin Wichardt

But first, what exactly is Arrivals? It is an online platform created to open access to talented works by emerging creatives of all kinds – painters, sculptors, designers – artists. The Arrivals team curates different kinds of artists with a plan to merge their diverse art stories all into one place. Their works are selected and exhibited in an online gallery, where limited editions and originals are accessible to a wide audience for purchase.

The Forumist had the chance to sit down and talk with one of the Arrivals managing directors, Kristina Sallnäs, about how they are bringing new art experiences to the masses. “We want to keep moving forward to bring up young and un-established artists,” Kristina explained. “We pursue the storytelling and concepts, building on those stories and making them accessible.”

Although they do welcome online submissions, the team often goes out to see the work in person before selecting it for the site. By doing so, they can gain real insight into the life and presence of the work itself, which leads to a more genuine impact. “It often looks so different in person!” Kristina remarked.

But most importantly, Arrivals is talking with their artists. The team makes a point of visiting artist studios and exhibitions, listening to the artists origin stories, and the concepts and ideas behind their work. They establish a connection with the artists themselves. They choose to work with artists who intrigue them, artists with stories and histories that carry meaning. “We can start to shift how people buy, use, and think about art,” Kristina says. By creating this online platform, Arrivals encourages more people to decorate their homes with art that has a story behind it, getting away from a purely commercial market.

In the end, its important to the Arrivals team that the selected artists decide for themselves which works they want to include on Arrivals, in what format, and at what price. Because the platform is online, they aren’t bound by traditional laws that are routine for more conventional gallery spaces – so there is room here to experiment.  So far, Arrivals features the work of more than 70 emerging and established artists from Scandinavia and around the world.

Here’s a chance to meet some of Arrival’s represented artists: Johanna Welinder, Liza Forslund, Cherry Cobra, Tim Karlsson Djanforouz and Rebecka Bebben Andersson.

Johanna Welinder

Johanna Welinder is a Stockholm-based illustrator and print designer, educated with a BA  at Beckmans School of Design. Using mixed media techniques with naive expression, her work explores an organic world filled with animals, plants and human-like figures. With the aim to raise awareness about climate change, these illustrations show the beauty of earth and love for animals. The humans connecting with nature as an inspiration to live in balance with our planet.

Liza Forslund

Liza Forslund is an artist who lives in Stockholm,  graduating from Beckmans College of Design in a few weeks. She has a background in classical painting, and attended the art school Pernbys Målarskola in 2012-13, but since then she has levitated towards illustration and later Graphic Design and Art Direction. Forslund feels that creating within all three fields is very similar since it’s all about communicating a feeling and a message through visual communication. Women’s discourses are something that inspires Forslund; she tries to include it in all of her work whether it is an illustration or art directing a photoshoot.

Cherry Cobra

Cherry Cobra Films is a director duo consisting of talented directors Johanna Nyberg and Nathalie Hallman working with commercial film, music videos and art film. Cherry Cobra is represented by production company Hobby Film. Cherry Cobra creates stories based on their love for cinema, wacky characters, retro- nostalgia and bad-ass women. As a female duo with new and fresh perspectives, they strive to make Swedish filmmaking turn a 180 spin.

Tim Karlsson Djanforouz

Tim Karlsson Djanforouz is an illustrator based in Stockholm, who’s main instrument of choice is the pencil. Karlsson describes the pencil as direct, something that requires little preparation and fewer choices. He compares the act of drawing to sculpture: Piece by piece, with help from light and shadow, concave and convex shapes begin to emerge. As an illustrator Karlsson’s process often begins with a clear concept. His major interest is the human being – everything from the constant battle for everyday comfort through developing tools and equipment, to the concept of human self-consciousness.

Rebecka Bebben Andersson

Rebecka Bebben Andersson graduated with an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 2014, and has also  studied for three years at The Royal Institute of Technology, as well as an exchange term at VŠUP in Prague, in the studio for textile art. In addition to this, Andersson has studied opera scenography at Operahögskolan/STDH. But now she has finished school and is making waves. During the last couple of years, Andersson has worked a lot with issues such as power structures in the public sphere, danger, and violence against women. But of course, she also works with other themes in order not to be completely depressed.

Credits

Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin

Thanks to Arrivals for the featured artist statements

Photographs by Frida-My Sundqvist

Featured artists:

Johanna Welinder
Instagram: @yoyo_nasty

Liza Forslund
Instagram: @lizaforslund

Cherry Cobra
Instagram: @cherrycobrafilms

Tim Karlsson Djanforouz
Instagram: @timkarlssondjanforuz

Rebecka Bebben Andersson
Instagram: @rebeckabebbenandersson

Parentela’s playful style brings these portraits to life as they toe the line between dada and pop art. Spontaneous and energetic, the raw layering of his collages gives us a bit of insight into what is going through the artist’s mind.

Parentela has been an active member of the underground art scene for many years now as an illustrator, painter, photographer, mail artist, cartoonist and collagist. His mixed media collages are featured on many online galleries and he has been presented and published internationally.

Credits:

Words by Eimi Tagore-Erwin

claudioparentela.net

We all know that the sense of smell holds a special and powerful position when it comes to our memories. Who hasn’t travelled back years or even decades when sensing a familiar scent? Or been grabbed by a nostalgic moment when recognising a fragrance that holds the key to a memory we thought had been firmly locked away in our subconscious?

Two people who have realised the potential and power of olfaction, also known as the sense of smell, are mother-son duo Katia Apalategui and Florian Rabeau. They are the people behind one of the most unique customised perfumeries in the world: Kalain. Their concept is to transcribe a loved one’s scent, alive or deceased, into the form of a perfume. Yes, you read that right. Kalain can create a perfume based on your own memories of a person, place or treasured pet. And all you need to do is send them some fabric that has been infused with the scent that you want to preserve – a loved one’s old jumper, your baby’s blanket, a piece of cloth from your dog’s bed.

We spoke to Rabeau at his Normandy base to talk about scent, memories and what it’s like to collaborate with your mother.

As a dynamic mother-son duo, you two are a perfect example of a creative collaboration that stretches through the generations. How did it all?

“From an early age I often heard my mother speak about her creative ideas and I have always been impressed by that ability. You know, sometimes it’s when you are at your most disorientated that your most impressive ideas come to you. That’s exactly what happened to my mother when my grandfather passed away in 2007. That’s when the research started. Eight years later, Kalain was born. Through that creation I came to understand that the hardest thing is not to come up with ideas but to be able to give life to the good ones and then live your passion through your work.”

Have you two always worked creatively together?

“Yes, ever since I decided to join the project and create the company, my mother and I have been working together creatively. We are the only company in the world that is able to fully transcribe a smell into perfume, so we have to stay on top creatively every day. We both love that each day is different and my secret to staying creative is to travel as much as I can to get ideas.”

Working with family and friends can have its challenges. Do you and your mother ever clash?

“We are both strong characters, so of course there are some clashes, but that’s what makes the relationship so powerful! It’s not easy to work with friends or family, you need to set up some rules to be really productive every day. My mother and I are very different and that’s what fuels our creativity. There are two different ‘schools of thought’ in our work, as we’re not from the same generation, but each idea can be completed or improved upon thanks to the other one. I think that’s really important when it comes to an inter-generational duo. My mother has a lot of experience in different fields and I have experience in some others, such as in digital marketing or coming up with new ideas.”

What does scent mean to you and your mother?

“Scent means a lot to us. We love to analyse them to better understand their constitution. Each scent is unique – the human scent is composed of more than a hundred different molecules and that’s why this work is really awesome. There is a real power to scent, and we know that they establish a real interaction between people. The human scent can bring a lot of comfort to someone when there are sentimental values intertwined. Personally, I love to smell my girlfriend’s scent on the bedsheets when she’s not sleeping at home.”

A lot of people can probably relate to that since a scent or an odour can create all sorts of associations in our minds. Do you have any other powerful scent-related memories?

“My mother and I have a lot of olfactory memories. Smell is the most powerful sense when it comes to memories. The funniest thing is that I only discovered my sensibility to scents when I decided to join my mother in this crazy adventure. I’ve always been sensitive to smells but I didn’t realise it before. However, when I was a young boy, my comfort blanket was one of my father’s T-shirts! It’s as though I was destined to work in this field.

“Each day is a real olfactory tour for us. When I meet people, or when I use the subway in Paris, I can smell different scents depending on the station. Or when I go to the library or walk in the forest. Even occupations have scents! I still hold some olfactory memories from my travels, such as frangipani flowers in Bali and tiger balm in Thailand. I am pretty sure that my mother still has my grandfather’s smell in her head every day, even if we weren’t able to transcribe his scent back then.”

You get requests from people all over the world. What are people usually looking for when they contact you?

“At the beginning our offer was primarily focused on helping people to cope with a definitive absence. And then after some requests, we noticed there were also a lot of people who had to cope with a temporary absence. For example, mothers who wanted to keep an olfactory memory of when their children were babies, couples who are separated because of work.”

What are the more unusual requests you’ve received?

“As our concept really is to help people to keep an olfactory memory, we get a lot of different requests. To be honest, we don’t like to use the word ‘unusual’. There is almost nothing we consider ‘unusual’, except requests that aren’t ethical. However, a few examples of some of the more rare requests are a woman who wanted to keep a rubber’s scent because it reminded her of her school years. Another customer wanted to keep a flower’s smell. Some people want to bottle a holiday’s smell and, these past few months, we’ve had a lot of requests for transcribing the smell of dogs who have passed away.”

Do you ever get the background story from your customers?

“That really depends on the customer. Some feel the need to speak and exchange with us because they are in mourning. Others don’t communicate too much. We always ask customers after they’ve received the product if they are pleased with the result and we always get positive feedback. That is the best reward we can get.”

What are your own preferences when it comes to fragrance?

“I choose my perfume based on the occasion. During the summer I prefer to wear a fresh fragrance, and in winter it’s the opposite – I prefer to wear a woody one then. I use a lot of different ones, but nowadays, depending on my mood, the season and the kind of day, I might wear Diptyque’s L’Eau du 34, a fresh fragrance with green notes, or their Essences Insensées, which smells of centifolia rose. Also, Terre d’Hermès, a spicy, wooded gem created by Jean-Claude Ellena, or L’Homme from Yves Saint Laurent, which is composed with vetiver. Perfumes have always had an important role in emotions.”

http://kalain.fr/

Credits

Words by Camila-Catalina Fernandez

Illustrations by Eimi Tagore Erwin

Product photos in courtesy of Kalain