Next from our favourite artists and photographers from this year’s University of Portsmouth Summer Show (read our full review of the show HERE) is photographer Sophie Lambourne.
Sophie’s key work in the exhibition was a series of insightful & questioning documentary photography entitled ‘Christopher’:
“This project is looking into autism and in particular the special interests that the majority of people with autism have. Focusing on one person’s interests in particular by photographing just the subject and the objects that are of importance to him. I focused on a train collection that belongs to Christopher, a young man with severe autism. One of the most important things to him is his collection of Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise, and in particular his collection of trains.
Within this project I wanted to present the importance of this by photographing the trains and also get across the precision that is visible with the layout of each and every train as a way to demonstrate that, within autism there is an incredibly strong need for order and routine.”
The Tony Goodall Fans Conference, made up of representatives of various fans groups are proud to be hosting the 2nd Fans Day at Fratton Park.Organiser Tom Dearie has pledged it will be ‘bigger and better’ than its successful predecessor.
The maiden Fans Day was held in May 2011 and raised almost £5,000, which was split between the Tom Prince Cancer Trust and Pompey in the Community. Now Tom and his group of volunteers are bringing the occasion back on the day of the Fratton Park friendly against Charlton.
This time four charities including Pompey in the Community, Tom Prince Cancer Trust, Asthma UK and Oakleys Walking Fund are being supported alongside raising money towards community share purchases for Pompey Supporters Trust, with the aim of raising £10,000.
Taking place from 11am-2pm, this year’s event will once again take place in the car park behind the Fratton end. Families are encouraged to come down and join in the fun before heading off to the match. A specially-built stage will be constructed and host various live music acts including Trust band The Dickensian Vagabonds, The Union King, Mojo Dollar and Luke Ferre.
It will also see the launch of Pompey’s new second strip, with the kit on sale from a Sondico stand. Tom hopes to have the new kit being modelled by members of the first team.
Stalls from Strong Island, Lee Casey Illustration, Urban Gallery FA Cup Prints and Southsea Kitchen will feature amongst other local traders and there will be a return of the popular dunk tank, bouncy castle, 5-a-side football, bungee racing and much more. Bespoke food vendors and a beer tent will also be present at the event so you can grab a bite to eat and some refreshment before the game whilst taking in the entertainment.
In addition, there will be a kids football competition consisting of a crossbar challenge, fastest shot and penalty shoot-out. The PST will also have a replica of the FA cup on the day for anyone wishing to have their picture taken with it.
There are some fantastic prizes on offer in the organised raffle with prizes including two season tickets, a signed shirt, signed ball, VIP day out at Fratton Park, Stadium tours, Shadow the manager and CEO for the day alongside prizes donated by local companies, a pair of Victorious Festival tickets and a meal for two at the Belle Isle.
We are happy to announce that we now can make available our premium bamboo iPhone cases (produced for us by Portsmouth based company Etch) with our Strong Island x Portsmouth FC design. The cases are handcrafted and felt lined bamboo and a step above the rest. With pin point precision laser etching and a high quality finish that is sure to impress they are more than just a hard wearing protective case. Available in natural and charred bamboo they are light, strong, very tough and no two cases will ever be the same due to the grain of the bamboo meaning each case is unique and has it’s own sense of individuality.
The detail on the design is incredible if we do say so ourselves, check the seams on the ball and the FA cup winning dates in the photos to see for yourself.
This special collaboration design is with Portsmouth FC and the Pompey Supporters Trust and thanks to Etch we can make £5 from each case sold a donation to the club.
You can order either the natural or the charred/black cases, for iPhone 4 or 5s for £45 each including p&p from our store:
Southsea Fest’s second stage announcement dropped on Friday (sorry we’re late, we were away) and it is for the Southsea Fest & Idle Hands Club stage at The Kings Theatre. This year’s line up is as amazing as always with the Kings set to be a very popular spot for the day with the following:
Veronica Falls
Foy Vance
Marika Hackman
MMX
Sons and Lovers
Kimberly Anne
Joe Black
The Retrospective Soundtrack Players
Going to be GOOD, Veronica Falls are particularly awesome. You can get tickets HERE and we’ll be keeping track with all the other stage announcements in the coming days and weeks…
Strong Island Media and Jack Daly recently filmed a behind the scenes film for Duncan Hamilton (specialises in classic cars) shot at Goodwood capturing Portsmouth photographer Matt Sills hard at work with some incredible classic sports cars. The film has been used as part of the Duncan Hamilton website redesign launch with the photography from the shoot.
Check Matt Sills’ website to see the photos from the day:
Angela was introduced to the world of art & design at the age of three when her mum and grandmother started to teach her how to make things. Originally born in Kingston-Upon-Thames, but then swiftly moved to Canada quite young. Angela grew up to study art and design outside of Toronto before returning to the UK to complete a First Class Honours degree in Textile Design. After uni, she settled in Brighton and continued to focus heavily on her illustration, developing her style, and continually refining it. For over three years she worked as an artist in residence, lecturing on the subject and also writing, designing and having published 3 books on creativity in early childhood education. Since going full time with her business, Angela has been featured in a number of publications including Vogue magazine, Anorak magazine and Sweet Paul Magazine. She uses her illustrations on a variety of products from mugs to notebooks and cards. In the last couple months she has left Brighton to move to Southsea – and can be found at Southsea Coffee Co on the odd day, serving you delicious coffee as well! (This keeps her sane, and gives her an excuse to get out of the house.)
Check out Angela’s FB page and website to place your orders or simply to get inspired.
Next from our favourite artists and photographers from this year’s University of Portsmouth Summer Show (read our full review of the show HERE) is illustrator Ben Saunders.
Ben’s key work is ‘Go Explore’ which is a series of posters and a guide book that promotes the Forestry Commission England to young people. All work was produced on FSC paper. Loving both the posters and the book with the clean lines, striking iconography, photographic textures and the attention to detail. Would buy some of these if they were for sale.
To see more of Ben Saunders’ work, including some of his cool Southsea pieces, visit:
As a pre-event to a brand new international film festival in Portsmouth planned for September this year and as part of Portsmouth Festivities, New Wave with Directors Q&A on Friday 28th June is a special film event at the Kings Theatre dedicated to showcasing some of the most exciting new filmmaking talent around. New shorts to be screened, including the horror/comedy The Marrowing and the documentary Losing Sight of the Glory – nominated for the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) Student Television Awards.
Kate O’Driscoll, Artistic Director of Making Waves Film Festival said,” This will be a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in film to find out where new filmmakers are getting their inspiration and who their influences are”.
The shorts to be featured during New Wave also include The Honey Pot, a short animation, drama “Dancing in the Ashes” and the News Guide short film winner, A Hero’s Journey. The screenings will be followed by a short Q&A with some of the directors.
The New Wave event will be hosted by filmmaker John Rogers. His own film “Make Your Own Damn Art: The World of Bob and Roberta Smith” (2012) was one of Sight and Sound magazine’s ‘Films of 2012’. His first feature documentary, The London Perambulator, premiered at the East End Film Festival in 2009 with a sold-out screening at the Whitechapel Gallery.
New Wave tickets start at £1.50 and are available from the box office at the Kings Theatre. For more information visit www.kings-southsea.com or call 023 92828282.
Photographer Simon Rutter hung out all day on Saturday documenting Head Jam with his camera. Have a look below for a small selection of photos and visit our Facebook page to see loads more from the day:
Over the next couple of weeks we will be highlighting some of our favourite artists and photographers from this year’s University of Portsmouth Summer Show (read our full review of the show HERE), starting with photographer Elaine de Vries.
Elaine is a final year graduate and part of her work was a striking, colourful triptych entitled 7591 Miles. These abstract images depict a dreamlike, flashback of memory of woodland and childhood, a clash of movement, colour and nature. In the photographer’s own words:
“This project is about Abstract Expressionism – using abstract art to portray an emotion. It looks at movement and the juxtaposition between beauty and confusion, which relates to aspects of my life”.
Musicians and venues across Portsmouth are getting together to raise funds for the Pompey Supporters Trust. Play Up Pompey Music will take place for two weeks in July.
A series of gigs and events will take place all over the city to raise funds, which will be converted into community shares in the name of the Pompey music scene. A number of pubs and venues have already signed up to the campaign, including The Festing, The Wedgewood Rooms, Little Johnny Russells, Drift and our very own Strong Island Recordings will be adding to the efforts. The diary is already filling up with events and there’s plenty more to announce shortly.
You can find more information about the event and to get involved visit www.playuppompey.org
Bike Week, the UK’s biggest mass participation cycling event, will take place between 15 – 23 June in 2013. Bike Week events offer something for everyone; from families, schools and companies, to seasoned cyclists and those who have never cycled before. 2012 saw almost half a million people taking part in the celebrations of cycling across the UK. This year, Bike Week is asking the nation to dig out their bikes, get back on the saddle and fall in love with cycling all over again!
Naturally Portsmouth will have a hand in helping to make this a fun annual fixture. Planned are a series of exciting activities and guided rides ranging from BMX stunt shows, competitions, bike breakfasts and much more. The already strong cycling scene in Portsmouth is evolving at a great pace and this will be one of many two wheeled events announced this summer. For further information check out My Journey Portsmouth or please email: travel@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
How fun does the forest track look?
(Photos from My Journey Portsmouth and Jayne Rodgers)
The Creating Balance project (a project partnership of Anglepoise, Strong Island and the University of Portsmouth) is progressing well with with only a couple of the artist/photographer partnerships left to complete. The London exhibition, which is part of the London Design Festival, plus the Portsmouth exhibition planning in full flow too.
Recently My Dog Sighs worked on his Anglepoise lamp in a particularly unique way by using it as his palette. The lamp built up layers and layers of different coloured paint and became a tool in his particular artistic process and as a result works almost as a reflected piece of art, related in a small way to many of his recently painted pieces.
To keep updated with progress on the project, watch the films and to also see photos from behind the scenes of the filming of artist/photographer partnerships visit:
Saturday 22nd June from 1pm until 4pm Beats & Swing will be hosting the Bandstand presents. The event will be hosted by Paul Marsh from The Friday Night Show on Express FM. Artists performing are The Day Of The Rabblement, The Gentleman Philosipha, Audio Corruption, Sam Hatty and Ruby Soho.
More information can be found on the Facebook event HERE.
Once that has got you in the mood you can continue the party when Beats & Swing will be taking over the Wedgewood Rooms. DJ’s one the night are Odjbox, Jamko (Jitterbug/Swing Rebellion), Joe Black (DJ Set), Fauxlo (BBC Radio 1 Superstar DJ Finalist), The Junk Swingers and Sam Hatty.
Tickets are £7 from the Wedgewood Rooms. Doors open from 9pm until 3am. There is more information about the DJ’s can be found on the Facebook event HERE.
Enjoy being on a bike? Think you know the nooks and crannies of this island? Then head on over to Southsea Cycle Club’s FB page and join us in our game of bike tag. Super easy premise: a location is set by a member taking a quick snap of his ride by a local landmark, if you recognise the location hop on your saddle quick in order to snap your own bike in the same position before anyone else does. Once done you are “it”, you have the freedom to set the next location wherever you deem fit. You can make it as easy or as hard as you like, but try and keep it within the island. Although a Portsdown Hill shot is not too far off I reckon…
If you fancy keeping an eye on past locations and get your name on the leaderboard, click here.
This year we have changed the way we are compiling our 2014 calendar. Instead we are inviting entries of all themes all year round.
We will dedicate at least two of the months for images taken on Instagram. If you’ve taken a photo that you’d like to submit for consideration you just need add the hashtag #SIC2014.
We will still primarily be accepting submissions via email calendar@strong-island.co.uk.
This year the calendars will be available from mid November from the Strong Island online store and Southsea Gallery. I’d also ask that you keep 14th November free from 7pm, we’ll announce why in late July.
This year we will again be supporting the Alzheimer’s Society as well as another local charity which we will be announcing very very soon!
Saturday saw the Strong Island and My Dog Sighs Head Jam street art event at Head Hairdressing at 53 Albert Road. Rick at Head has a courtyard out back (next to the Strong Island headquarters too) and asked Strong Island and My Dog Sighs to organise a mural painting session to paint the white walls. My Dog Sighs curated the event and hand chose a variety of street art talent from all over the UK including: Wah Graff, Id-iom, Korporate Kaine, Process Smith and of course My Dog Sighs.
The event went on from 10am through to about 7-30pm with loads of people coming through, checking out the art and hanging out. Rick, My Dog Sighs and ourselves at Strong Island want to say a huge thank you to the artists and everyone who visited making the day a huge success. Below are some photos from Matt Maber and a short film too. Check out Instagram and Twitter too with the hashtag #HeadJam.
I recently found out about the Portsmouth & District Beekeepers’ Association and decided to pay them a visit. They started over 100 years ago and now have 83 members each with their own hives scattered across the island and district. The Association exists to promote the craft of beekeeping and increase public awareness of bees and their contribution to the ecology around Portsmouth. They have a small shop selling supplies at Bastion 3, Hilsea and sell their honey at local markets and shows. David Nield the treasurer of the association stated that their honey is currently in short supply “the bee population is in a mess with only 50% stock due to disease, weather and chemicals affecting the queen bee laying”. Hopefully this will change over the coming months. It is wonderful to find sources of local made products to support on the island.
For further information please visit their website at – http://portsmouthbeekeepers.co.uk/cms/ They have an extensive range of equipment to buy or rent and even have an adopt a hive scheme. This summer they are also running a free beekeeping course further details again of their website.
Head Jam happens at Head/Strong Island HQ in Albert Road tomorrow from 11 to 7ish and for the duration of the day Strong Island Clothing Co are having a pick up sale where all tees are £15 when bought in person.
We are stoked, as always, to be working once again with local artist My Dog Sighs on what is set to be one of the largest mural paintings in the city.
Rick from Head Hairdressing on Albert Road conceived the idea of having the courtyard to the rear of the local barbers transformed in to a permanent giant art piece. From precision multilayered stencils, through bubble gum cutsie to surreal illustrative mayhem, My Dog Sighs has hand picked his favourite artists from across the country to produce the ultimate street art dreamscape courtyard.
Head Jam will run all day so feel free to pop along, take a look, have a chat, hang out, meet the artists and enjoy the atmosphere. There will be music on all day, a BBQ turning over in the background if you want to stick a burger on (not supplied), and please feel free to bring along a beer too. Everyone is welcome, so bring the kids so they can see some of the countries finest street artists working together in this unique environment.
Strong Island & Strong Island Recordings are very proud to present our 2nd year at one of the premier new music festivals, Southsea Fest and we are also very proud to be the first stage announcing this year too. We follow up from last year’s ‘Drunken Sailor’ event where queues of one in one out were formed within the opening 15 minutes of the stage starting and where our infamous stage was known for sweat dripping from the walls and ceiling while rabid mosh pits brewed…all in the early afternoon.
This year we have upgraded venues to just across the road with the upstairs of the Southsea Social Club where we have a few new ideas planned for the day while ensuring the same chaos and vibe from our label parties resume. To celebrate what will be Strong Island Recordings’ 1st birthday we like to think we have pushed the boat out this year with a heavy line up ranging from grunge, surf punk, noise pop to space math rock.
So we are really stoked to present the following who will be playing our 1st drunken, messy birthday bash:
Arrows of Love
The Black Tambourines
Slowcoaches
The Physics House Band
PLaylounge
Yoofs
Tyrannosaurus Dead
Battery Hens
Cycle Schmeichel
Ricky Fitts
Perch
You’re All Smiling But We’ll All Turn Into Demons
A Spotify playlist of some of the acts can be listened to HERE.
Victorious Festival has collected together a haul of items from the event sponsors and are giving them away in a simple online competition, all you have to do is Like the Victorious Festival Facebook page, submit your email and share. Only takes a few seconds and the competition runs for only a few more days so get in quick.
Once again the scum of the streets have stolen another bike. This unique Raleigh Shopper belongs to my girlfriend Katie and was stolen in broad daylight from the front of Fratton Station on the 5th of June between the hours of 8.30am and 5.30pm. It’s a distinctive copper bronze colour with a Ye Olde Bike Shoppe sticker on the frame. They cut through a Kyroptonite lock and must have been on the prowl. If you have any info at all please contact us at contact@strong-island.co.uk.
If you would like more information about how you can get your bicycle security marked then you can do so by contacting your local Neighbourhood Policing Team HERE. Alternatively you can register your bike with schemes such as Immobilise or Bike Register.
The Southsea Shakespeare Actors have been running for over sixty years and they would like to invite you to their upcoming modernisation of Shakespere’s Hamlet.
We’ve all know of Hamlet and skull holding, suicide considering, madness filled antics. Not many realise just how relevant this play still is today. Behind the characters and the dialogue lies a world of deceit, betrayal and murder. A political leader struggles to keep his subjects in line and civil discord is growing in the streets.
In this production the aim is to highlight the more political side of Hamlet. The King is now Prime Minister, the battlements of the castle become the hallways of the House Of Commons. Suits of armour are made from political party manifestos, the weapons become public speeches to appease the masses. In a time where we as a people are unhappy with how we are governed, this satirical, politically charges adaptation feels like it was written yesterday.
The themes that run throughout are as relevant today as they were over 400 years ago. This theme is reflected in last year’s riots, it’s is very much the peoples actions that define a country, if the people aren’t happy there is no remedy.
You can catch the show from Monday 24th June & Tuesday 25th June at the Royal Naval Club or on Wednesday 26th June – Saturday 29th June at the Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth. All shows start at 7:30pm.
To book tickets online visit portsmouthfestivities.co.uk or call the Box Office 023 9282 4355. Tickets are £10 and £8 for concessions.
Omega Printmakers will hold their annual exhibition of limited edition prints at Portsmouth Cathedral from July 2nd to the 14th. On the 2nd July there is a preview and meet the artists event, running from 2-4pm so pop on down have a look see whilst also being able to visit the wonderful Portsmouth Cathedral.
I was lucky enough to have a look around this year’s summer graduation show for the School of Art, Design and Media and the School of Creative Technologies on Friday before the opening and despite having high aspirations for the work was completely blown out of the water with the creativity and quality of work on show. The summer show is always a key event in the city’s creative calendar with hundreds of students exhibiting their final year work in a wide variety of subjects such as photography, graphic design, illustration, fine art, etc. In keeping with the way the world works these days no longer is it enough for students to just produce their final piece or works but many have to actually plan, organise, fundraise and set up their exhibitions too, gaining invaluable experience in what goes in to putting on an exhibition. Also, many of these course mini exhibitions within the main exhibition will travel up to London for an exhibition there too, profiling the work of the University of Portsmouth students to a much larger audience.
As it seems to be every year, it was a hot, sunny day and the Eldon building, well the older part, creates a very warm atmosphere, particularly when everyone arrives. The new building only a few days before began to be unveiled a little, with a corner now showing from behind the curtain of scaffolding and which will be home to new exhibition and gallery spaces. For this year though the work was spread across different floors, split by course. I started viewing illustration which this year has moved much more in to different, creative directions including incorporating photography and graphics. This course had some great work including thoughtful concepts, creative partnerships and interesting ideas. There were also many pieces directly and indirectly about Portsmouth which is always amazing to see. It is a real sign of students no longer passing through the city for 3 years but becoming part of the creative community and connecting with the city and it’s wider community. Many students are now staying in Portsmouth after graduation and starting new businesses or working locally which is awesome for the city in many different ways.
Down many flights of stairs and in to the basement, in to the home of the graphic design exhibition. The basement was not too long ago the dark home of computer animation but graphic design really made great use of the space with their works split, with posters on the walls, books in display cases and other works and books available to look through. This course just seems to go from strength to strength each year and I loved the books in particular, combining interesting forms and layouts including intriguing subjects with striking typography and photography.
Finally I spent some time exploring the photography exhibition entitled Show 2013. We have featured some of the graduates who had work in the show previously on Strong Island but to see the whole exhibition in the flesh, rather than images online, was pretty incredible. The concepts were fascinating and varied, delving in to and exploring personal lives of the graduates themselves, family, strangers, places and even animals, spanning different time frames and perspectives. Every single graduate produced something special helping form an exhibition that, in my view, was the best in years within the university and one of the best in the city as a whole for a long time. I only managed to have time for a quick look at Fine Art and was really interested in the concepts behind a couple of the installations and wanted to spend more time exploring.
We’ll be profiling the work of many of these graduates individually over the next week or two but for now get a glimpse of the exhibition as a whole with the photos below.
To have a look yourself the exhibition is open until the 14th June.
Andrew (Legographer) on Head Jam Photos by Simon Rutter: Well done Si, nice to see you capturing the people behind the graffiti also! Was good to talk to you there.
This year we have changed the way we are compiling our 2014 calendar. Instead we are inviting entries of all themes all year round.
We will dedicate at least two of the months for images taken on Instagram. If you’ve taken a photo that you’d like to submit for consideration you just need add the hashtag #SIC2014.
We will still primarily be accepting submissions via email calendar@strong-island.co.uk.
This year the calendars will be available from mid November from the Strong Island online store and Southsea Gallery. I’d also ask that you keep 14th November free from 7pm, we’ll announce why in late July.
This year we will again be supporting the Alzheimer’s Society as well as another local charity which we will be announcing very very soon!
Strong Island & Strong Island Recordings are very proud to present our 2nd year at one of the premier new music festivals, Southsea Fest and we are also very proud to be the first stage announcing this year too. We follow up from last year’s ‘Drunken Sailor’ event where queues of one in one out were formed within the opening 15 minutes of the stage starting and where our infamous stage was known for sweat dripping from the walls and ceiling while rabid mosh pits brewed…all in the early afternoon.
This year we have upgraded venues to just across the road with the upstairs of the Southsea Social Club where we have a few new ideas planned for the day while ensuring the same chaos and vibe from our label parties resume. To celebrate what will be Strong Island Recordings’ 1st birthday we like to think we have pushed the boat out this year with a heavy line up ranging from grunge, surf punk, noise pop to space math rock.
So we are really stoked to present the following who will be playing our 1st drunken, messy birthday bash:
Arrows of Love
The Black Tambourines
Slowcoaches
The Physics House Band
PLaylounge
Yoofs
Tyrannosaurus Dead
Battery Hens
Cycle Schmeichel
Ricky Fitts
Perch
You’re All Smiling But We’ll All Turn Into Demons
A Spotify playlist of some of the acts can be listened to HERE.
We are stoked, as always, to be working once again with local artist My Dog Sighs on what is set to be one of the largest mural paintings in the city.
Rick from Head Hairdressing on Albert Road conceived the idea of having the courtyard to the rear of the local barbers transformed in to a permanent giant art piece. From precision multilayered stencils, through bubble gum cutsie to surreal illustrative mayhem, My Dog Sighs has hand picked his favourite artists from across the country to produce the ultimate street art dreamscape courtyard.
Head Jam will run all day so feel free to pop along, take a look, have a chat, hang out, meet the artists and enjoy the atmosphere. There will be music on all day, a BBQ turning over in the background if you want to stick a burger on (not supplied), and please feel free to bring along a beer too. Everyone is welcome, so bring the kids so they can see some of the countries finest street artists working together in this unique environment.
As you are probably well aware from reading the news recently, the Portsmouth Supporters Trust succeeded in their bid to take control of Portsmouth FC making it the biggest community owned club in the UK. It is a long and hard fought victory by the fans that have endured years of bad fortune, bad news and bad performances and a couple of the SI crew have seen most of them! PST’s aim is to bring about responsible, democratic representation at Portsmouth Football Club and so help promote the highest standards of transparent governance, accountability and embed Portsmouth FC deeper into its community through greater communication and co-operation with its fans.
We contacted the PST back in November last year to put forward our idea of doing a Strong Island PFC edition T-shirt to raise money towards buying a share in the club. The PST warmly welcomed the idea and we are pleased to say we are now putting our plan into action.
Strong Island is keen to get behind the trust as are many others. We’re going to pledge £5 of every limited edition SI X PFC tee sold towards Strong Island buying a share of the football club, therefore financially helping PFC in it’s aim to become stable again and continue to be a hugely important aspect of the city.
The design itself is a re-imagining of the common elements from the iconic Portsmouth FC logo from the 1980s and the Strong Island logo, with two swords in place, each dated with the club’s FA Cup wins. The Strong Island Clothing Co. items are normally hand screened in East London but for this particular tee they are produced literally just down the road from Fratton Park and will be at a special price of £15 (plus P&P).
No matter if you are passionate about football or not, we hope this tee is a way of showing support for a club that is now a beacon to the rest of the country for a city and a community that strives to work together for the better.
To pre-order the t-shirt click on the link below. Tees will be back from the printers soon and we hope to have orders in the post by the end of the month, if not sooner.
We are very proud to announce The Creating Balance Project, a new, collaborative project between Anglepoise, Strong Island & the University of Portsmouth to celebrate a design classic and local creativity in Portsmouth. The project aims to showcase the working studios and disciplines of artists and designers across the island and connect them to local photographers to capture, document and collaborate.
Anglepoise lamps have been given to each of the 10 participating artists/designers and the 10 photographers involved have used the lamps to light the photographs, give a sense of place and document the artist, where they work & how they create. During the collaboration sessions University of Portsmouth BSc TV and Broadcast students Massimo Marzullo and Jonas Jakunas have been documenting the project, producing short films for each collaboration.
Later this summer key images from each photographer will be printed and displayed with the films, lamps, photos and more in an exhibition in Portsmouth and one in London (TBA).
The collaborations are:
Andrew Whyte & Peter Clutterbuck
Matt Sills & Lorna Apps-Woodland
Paul Gonella & Tristan Savage
Russell Squires & Farkfk
Josh Knill & I Love Dust
Thor Haley & William Pounds
Rob Luckins & Roo + Barry Abrook
Cotton Candy & Neal Layton + Sadie Tierney
Matt Saxey & Deer Park Alpha
My Dog Sighs & Jack Daly
The project is progressing over the next couple of months and already two films are finished and many collaborations complete. Below are the completed collaboration films and we will be posting updates on The Creating Balance Project regularly here on Strong Island. To keep up to date with the project also please check the Creating Balance website where you can see loads of photos from behind the scenes of the collaborations.
It’s been a while (apologies) but the Strong Island Clothing Co. spring 2013 capsule drop is now available and online in the Strong Island Shop Ahoy store! The drop includes some brand new Branded tee colourways, a new grey crew (highest quality, carefully selected and sourced) and a collection of accessories including new beanies, our seriously high quality Branded iPhone cases (4 & 5) from Etch and our hand crafted, leather coin pouch collaboration with Raw & Auburn.
To kick this capsule drop off right we visited the home of Portsmouth’s Eberhardt signwriters and neon sign specialists. Eberhardt are a true creative business gem of the city with a very long history and still produce hand crafted, carefully designed neon signs, a rare and special craft these days. Check the photos below and the behind the scenes edit too to see more. Photography principally by Jack Daly.
Marcus Hunt has rigged together an amazing radio controlled camera set up with a kite which allows him to capture photos of local places in and around Portsmouth with a unique perspective. Unlike photos from aeroplanes, the kite allows for photos from low altitudes giving way more detail. To see loads more than the photos below be sure to spend some time looking through Marcus’ Kite photo Flickr set.
Many of you will remember the once iconic Submarines at the Harry Pounds Scrapyard on the way in to Portsmouth. We even featured a few photos by Robin Hinson back in 2010.
Although I never got to explore the sub aquatic giants myself I was lucky enough to find this little gem a few weeks ago. Although I can’t remember where, so sorry if I nabbed it and forgot to mention you.
Watch the video for a unique view of these “Uk, Admiralty Standard Range Diesels 16 Cylinder V mechanical supercharged monsters!”
A new book called ‘Portsmouth from Family Archives’ has just been published. Brothers Jonathan and Matthew Ring started developing the book last summer. All the photographs included in the book were from their grandparents. They spent a great deal of time compiling, scanning and restoring slides and film from 1950s to 2006, including behind the scenes filming in Portsmouth.
The 100-page book is available online at Amazon. Bonzo Studio and Southsea Gallery on Albert Road, Southsea are currently selling it, and they hope other shops will sell it too. They are also planning to do the summer market at the Square Tower, Old Portsmouth.
“It’s been great fun, and such hard work keeping it a secret from everyone! We hope everyone enjoys the book and the photos inside it as much as we did.”
Photos below – A photo of Jonathan Ring, their Grandmother and Matthew Ring; unveiling the book to their grandparents; book cover and the slides.
The next episode of Jonathan & Matthew Ring’s vintage family footage ‘Portsmouth on Film’ went up recently. This episode is of a round Portsmouth car journey back in 1998.
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