A hoodie featuring Rose Wylie’s artwork “Black Cat (Bones) (Study).” Image courtesy of Platform…
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Platform and Rose Wylie Team Up on Slick Streetwear
In Rose Wylie: Which One, a recent monograph published by David Zwirner Books, the British painter’s oeuvre is brilliantly described as a “union of high and low culture.” Indeed, she pulls inspiration from sources as varied as the nightly news, film, pop culture, and fashion history. In her latest collaboration with art marketplace Platform, Wylie’s works stand to become part of fashion history themselves. On April 4, Platform will release a 150-count drop of hoodies featuring Wylie’s skeletal painting Black Cat (Bones) (Study). According to Platform co-founder and CEO Bettina Huang, the collaboration stemmed from Wylie’s longtime desire to make an “ugly” hoodie. Admittedly, its flattering taupe hue and goth-cool screenprint veer more into streetwear and skater style, but we’re not complaining. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz
Heatherwick Studio’s proposal for Jeddah Central Museum. Image courtesy of Heatherwick Studio …
Heatherwick Studio will transform a Saudi Arabian desalination plant into a museum.
Heatherwick Studio will transform a former desalination plant into the Jeddah Central Museum, a souk for makers, as part of a new waterfront district in Saudi Arabia. The museum will retain the site’s industrial feel and feature gallery space in the main turbine hall covered in undulating silver cladding that reflects the sun. The project will focus on art, craftsmanship, entertainment, sports, tourism, culture, and commerce, and residential amenities.
Allbirds unveils a net-zero carbon sneaker using regeneratively farmed merino wool.
Allbirds has unveiled a prototype of M0.0nshot, a sneaker that creates zero CO2 emissions due to its reliance on regeneratively farmed merino wool, sugarcane-based EVA foam, and a bioplastic made from methane by Mango Materials, all of which sequester more carbon than they produce. Allbirds plans to launch the product in 2024, with the aim of halving its carbon footprint by the end of 2025 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2030. The move is part of a wider trend by brands, such as Levi’s and Ganni, to reduce their direct emissions by working with suppliers to cut energy and water use, as well as looking for more sustainable materials.
Chichén Itzá will welcome a museum focused on Mexico’s archaeological findings.
Chichén Itzá, the ancient Mayan complex located in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, will soon welcome a museum showcasing new archaeological discoveries, including those found during excavation work for the controversial Tren Maya project. The museum will replace a smaller building that closed more than ten years ago and will likely follow the museo de sitio model, featuring a permanent display of items found during excavations at or near the vast site.
“Timeless Beacon” by Ma Yansong. Photography by Tian Fangfang…
Ma Yansong unveils a colorful three-story installation at a derelict Chinese market.
Architect and MAD founder Ma Yansong has completed a new art installation, Timeless Beacon, amid the ruins of the abandoned Taiping market in China’s Guangdong province. Wrapped in reflective film and topped with a colorful cloth covering, the three-story structure creates a surreal scene that creates a sense of vitality and rebirth from the ruins. The multimedia light device enveloped in delicate cloth pieces transforms into a lighthouse at night, adding magical touches to the installation that will remain in place until summer 2024.
Ai Weiwei’s London show will feature a giant Lego recreation of Monet’s Water Lilies.
Ai Weiwei’s upcoming London exhibition features a 49-foot-long Lego recreation of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, replacing Monet’s brushstrokes with 650,000 Lego studs in 22 vivid colors. Weiwei aims to challenge perceptions of reality and beauty by replacing the original’s oil brushstrokes with the “depersonalized language of industrial parts and colors,” which are much more intense compared to the original. The show also features another Lego artwork and dozens of objects from his career that explore past and present tensions.
Fighting to stay afloat, Virgin Orbit is currently scrambling to find potential investors.
Virgin Orbit is fighting to stay afloat as it faces potential bankruptcy without new investment or a buyout, which it has been seeking. The rocket builder’s CEO, Dan Hart, has been holding daily talks with interested parties, hoping to secure a deal to avoid bankruptcy. However, the company’s talent is already seeking new job opportunities as it struggles to secure a lifeline, and restructuring firms have been hired in case of insolvency.
Spiranthes hachijoensis. Photography by Masayuki Ishibashi/Kobe University…
Today’s attractive distractions:
Leopards are living among people—and it could ultimately save the species.
Botanists discover a near-identical cousin to Japan’s most familiar orchid.
Two Seattle artists transform a former grocery store into a live-work space.
