My photographs of Alison, because of the nature of our relationship, are very much a father-daughter collaboration-Alison permitting me access to private moments of our life, which might, under different circumstances, be off-limits to a parent. The camera, early in her life, became part of our relationship, necessitating in me an acceptance, a quietness. We’ve never had long photographic sessions, but rather moments alone or with friends.

Squidge Magazine: Can you tell us a little about how you started in Illustration?
Simon Wild: I completed an MA in Children’s Book Illustration in 2007 from Cambridge School of Art, and since then I have been propelled forward and been busy ever since.

SM: Your work is very psychedelic and bold. What are your major inspirations?
SW: Travel, film soundtracks, Space, science, The Yellow Submarine, colour and the desire to make a better more colourful world. I like contrast, shape and form. I am inspired by nature’s ability to adapt. I love to tell little stories in my work even if they do not make sense. I love the novels of Douglas Coupland, they are so visual and emotive. Maurice Sendak once said ‘Most illustrators are frustrated writers’ I am also both frustrated and influenced by the fact that I fall into this category.

SM: Which artists are you watching at the moment? Who’s work do you admire?
SW: I am a big fan of Swedish illustrator Linn Olofsdotter. Her use of colour and the real world to tell imaginative stories is wonderful. I also love the colourful compositions of Maya Hayuk, the iconic work of Margaret Kilgallen, and the beautiful universe that belongs to Wilson Hsu.

SM: Can you run through a typical work day for us?
SW: Starts with a cup of tea, quick whizz round the social networks, emailing invoices, replies, etc. If I am working on a commission I need to go into town where there is lots of visual and audio stimulation. Then I come back and begin work. If it’s personal work then I pick from around 5 or so different projects I have running at the same time and continue work on it. Somewhere in the day I always create a piece of work inspired by an album I listen to, and I work on it for no longer than the album’s length.

When the music is finished, so is the work. Most of my time is spent in my studio either making a complete mess or moving the mess from one side of the room to another. And then the cat jumps on the keyboard and I email complete nonsense to people I don’t know very well. In the summer I rescue flies from the studio, and pull faces at the neighbours. When work is quiet in the studio I arrange my memory sticks in the order of purchase, and re-arrange my collection of vintage transformer toys. I have an original Bumblebee I am very proud of. I love my work so my typical work day has been going on for about 3 years now.

SM: And what are your essential ‘tools of the trade’?
SW: Good old paper and pens to start, with some inks thrown in. I jump around a lot in my practice, from drawing, to collage, to digital and screenprint when I can get studio time. My biggest tool is colour, I always seem to be drawn to duck egg blue, orange and hot pink a lot of the time. And of course my Mac, gawd bless Apple!!

SM: So what are you working on at the moment? Any projects we should be
watching out for?
SW: I am just putting together some location work for a trip to NY which will involve visible tweets on giant post it notes. I am currently developing new ideas for children’s books. My first book ‘Fantastical Flying Machines’ is published later this year by Macmillan. I am also working on the Nike 78 project, where 78 creatives have been invited to challenge the function of a pair of Nike’s, for a book and show at the London Design fair in September. I have also been commissioned to create an audio visual piece for this years Big Chill festival, which will include a full 360 degree projection. I am also preparing for some joint and group showswhich will be happening at various points of this year.

SM: You’ve worked for a fair few clients and publications. Which ones stand out the most for you/were most enjoyable?
SW: I would have to say working with Macmillan was a rich and rewarding experience. I was lucky enough to work with a brilliant team, and I think we have created a book which I hope children will really like! I have also enjoyed the projects I created for YCN. I was asked to write a travel blog to document a working trip to Iceland, where I created work for a show called ‘Quiet Voices’ for Tate Britain earlier this year.

You can see more of Simons work at his website, and catch up with him on Twitter.

Photography below from Wayne Levin.

It started back in 2001, constructed by Bob Nanna with Brian Shortall. The concept is simple – take a picture of someone on you Polaroid camera, wait for the image to develop, then pass the portrait along to the next person. That person is then photographed holding the previous portrait – thus creating the ‘Never Ending Polaroid’.

To add more interest, the project also delves in the world of 90’s/early 2000’s indie rock, capturing artists such as Shirley Manson, Dismemberment Plan, Jets to Brazil and many more.

Take a look at the rest of the photostream here.

Squidge Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about how HEL LOOKS got started?

Liisa Jokinen: We started in July 2005. We were on a summer holiday in Stockholm, Sweden, when we realized how colourful and diverse the streets of Helsinki are. As soon as we came home, we started taking pics. What especially inspired us were young glam rockers who were hanging outside Kiasma art museum in the centre of Helsinki. We thought they were worth documenting. And because we wanted to show the looks of Helsinki to the whole world, we published them online. We have continued doing HEL LOOKS because of the great feedback and simply because it’s a lot of fun! Meeting new people, taking pics, running the website.

SM: You mention that the site is a tribute to ‘the pioneers of street fashion photography’. Anyone in particular?

LJ: Shoichi Aoki in particular!

SM: The images have a real feel of documenting Helsinki sub-cultures. was this the plan from the outset of has it evolved over time?

LJ: Yes, the plan was and is to document the Helsinki street scene. We know there’s something worth documenting and showing to the rest of the world.

SM: So how do you go about getting the images? How do people react to being asked?

LJ: I usually always carry the camera with me. It’s nice to be surprised – to see something “hel lookable” when you really don’t expect it. Helsinki is a small city with only 500 000 inhabitants in it.

SM: So what about you two? Tell us about yourselves?

LJ: I’m freelancing, writing and photographing for lifestyle and fashion magazines. Sampo is working as a creative director at Sulake, the founder of teenager online game Habbo Hotel.

SM: Any other projects going on?

LJ: I’m planning an “non-profit social travel agency” with my friend Ulla-Maaria Engeström. A travel agency promoting local, high-quality, low-carbon services and travel destinations. Our aim is to re-define the meaning of luxury! Then I’m also planning to take the HEL LOOKS exhibition to Brussels next year (it has been on show in Copenhagen, Berlin, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius). Oh and one more thing: I’m one of the curators of Art Diamond art exhibition taking place next summer in Pori, Finland.

Amazing, jaw-dropping images from the 19-year old, South Korean Artist Minjae Lee. See his portfolio site here.

via: The Cool Hunter

The Light Art Performance Photography Project (LAPP) creates beautiful images using one-time long exposures whilst opening and closing the shutter. You can see the full website here.

Apart from being quite obviously hand made pieces of art, they’re amazing work from an artist duo – Anderson Augusto, also known as SÃO, and Leonardo Delafuente, also known as Delafuente – based in the Barra Funda neighborhood of São Paulo. The artists started the project with the aim of changing and transforming their daily lives.

So here’s a selection of my favourite images from their portfolio. You can read more about the artists and their objectives on their website here.

via LOUdreams. The images are created with water based paints placed on top of speakers. The paint reacts to the sound, and the artist captures the results using a high-speed camera. The result is beautifully colourful, abstract photographs. You can see more of the artists work here, and the full set of these images on the Flickr page.