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Late last week in Marfa, Texas, the artist Robert Irwin was overseeing the final touches on his 10,000-square foot installation at the Chinati Foundation. But there was a problem. The last few staples that would hold a panel of white scrim in place were going in "wonky," as his team lamented, and they needed to get them right before they could cut out the final doorway.

"What are the challenges that we faced in making the project? I'm surprised there weren't more," said Jenny Moore, Chinati's director. As far as set-backs go, wonky staples are nominal, considering that this hugely ambitious project has been in the works since 1999.

A rebuilding of the demolished hospital at the former Fort D.A. Russell (which Donald Judd acquired in the late 70's with the help of Dia Art Foundation), it's the only permanent and freestanding work of art by Irwin. To a non-discerning eye, it may appear to be just a building, but look closely and you'll notice that the windows are taller than they should be, and the walls are disproportionately thick.

"That's the main event, all the windows. People think they're looking for artwork but what they're actually seeing is beautiful nature," said Irwin. "I liked the architecture of the fort. All I did was take that form and elaborate it-make the walls thicker, so you get a more substantial physicality to look out of. A real sense of frame."

What the walls are framing is the big Texas sky, which is what, aside from his friendship with Judd, attracted Irwin to Marfa in the first place. "The clouds are right on top of your head; it's like a wild west show everyday," he said.

With the extra-tall windows, viewers see only a thin strip of land, reminiscent of Dutch Old Master landscape painters like Van Eyck or Rembrandt. As a leader of the Light and Space movement that emerged from California during the 70's, Irwin has always thought of himself as a conditional artist-which, as Moore explained it, basically means going out into the world and making art out of what is already there. So whatever situation Irwin is inhabiting is never far from his mind, such as the fact that the building itself cuts into a hill, instead of standing on top of the slight slope. "It sits much more comfortable on the land," said Irwin. "It makes a difference-like it belongs here."

On one side of the horseshoe-shaped structure, black scrim forms a wall through the wing; on the other side, the scrim is white. Where the two meet in the well of the shoe, the scrim goes from black to white, with doorways one can walk through. Depending on the time of day, the sun casts shadows and light forms onto the monotone polyester fabric, which can appear opaque or translucent according to the light.

"This is the culmination of so many things that Bob has been working on for so long: his interest in perception, spatial relationships, architecture, gardens, plants, the light and the land out here," Moore said of the $5 million undertaking, which needed a Kickstarter campaign to complete its final push. "All of these things are so fully manifested in this project."

For the 87-year old Irwin, the installation at Chinati could be his crowning achievement. And after six decades of work, the octogenarian is kind of having a moment. A retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. opened this month; his "Excursus: Homage to the Square3" was reinstalled at the Dia: Beacon (where he also designed the outdoor gardens and front plaza) last year; he's working with Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan and the architect Peter Zumthor to design the plaza surrounding LACMA's new wing, which is set to open in 2023.

"You know Bob doesn't stop, he keeps on going!" said Moore. "One of the things I'm so struck by is the hope and the energy and the faith and the resilience he brings to every one of these projects. It's pretty extraordinary to observe."

Moore was swayed from her position at the New Museum in New York to move to Marfa in part because of the Irwin project. "Seeing the installation he did at Dia in 1998-it sounds extreme, but that work has literally changed the way I see the world," she said.

The Chinati Foundation has essentially given Irwin carte blanche, which can be both a blessing and a curse. "Being in the midst of an active construction sight, he might change his mind and move a wall 10 feet, and that happened a couple of times," recalled Moore. "And everybody had to be on board from an institutional perspective; that's a change order, you gotta find more money. [But] from the contractor's view... Jesus, are you kidding?"

"But that's the beauty, the fun in this game," said Irwin. "It's this incredible thing in which all these challenges are possibilities, and you have to figure it out as you go along."

Which is what happened with the staples, thankfully. As the final doorway was cut from the scrim, Irwin's team erupted into cheers. Rising from a bench, the artist began to walk carefully from the black to white side of the building.

"Oh boy," he said. "That's a pretty good transition, my friends."
Watch W's most popular videos here:

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At 87 years old, Robert Irwin is unveiling his most ambitious art project to date in Marfa, Texas.

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Handmade high-quality paper made from 100% recycled textile fibres, perfect for swing tags, business cards, notebooks and artist paper. Available in cotton, charcoal and denim colourways.

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Print on different paper considering paper qualities 

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Print on different paper considering paper qualities 

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Biophilic design

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What is Biophilia?

Translated from its Greek roots as 'the love of living things', the term biophilia is used to describe humankind's innate, biological connection with nature. It helps to explain why walking through woodland can help us feel relaxed and rejuvenated, why mountain views uplift and inspire and why the sound of waves lapping gently on the shore can instil a sense of calm and wellbeing. We intuitively understand that being outdoors in nature is good for us and a growing body of research demonstrates that contact with nature can improve our physical and mental health. It can boost our immune system, reduce our stress levels, improve our mood and our sleep.

Biologist E.O. Wilson defined biophilia as "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life". He saw biophilia as an intrinsic part of our biology, a necessary condition of being human. This makes sense when we consider that humans have spent hundreds of thousands of years living in close contact with the natural world.

Reconnecting With Nature Through Biophilic Design

As our lives increasingly lose connection with the natural world, architects and designers have used the concept of biophilia to inform a set of design principles that aim to bring nature and natural processes into our living and working environments in order to enhance our health and well-being. The 2014 report 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design from Terrapin Bright Green defines and illustrates the main principles of biophilic design which include both direct and indirect methods of connecting with the natural world. Direct methods include the use of plants, water features, natural lighting and the movement of air. Indirect methods are concerned with the use of natural materials, colours, textures and patterns which help to re-create the biophilic human connection.

Biophilic Design and Sustainable Textiles

At Ecosophy, biophilic principles inform all aspects of our designs, from the fibres and processes we use through to the colours and patterns.

Natural Fibres

Humans are naturally drawn to organic and tactile materials. Natural fibres have a warmth and authenticity that is difficult for synthetic alternatives to compete with. At Ecosophy, we only use natural fibres for our products and we use hand-woven fabrics where possible. All of our blankets and cushion covers are made from 'khadi', the Indian name for a cloth that is both hand spun and hand woven. 'Khadi' is usually made of cotton, but it can be made of any spinnable natural fibre, such as wool or certain silks. The irregularities in thread size, a result of the hand spinning, give 'khadi' a rustic, 'slubby' appearance and tactile aesthetic.

Natural fibres also help to provide a multi-sensory experience. Our linen bedding collection is made from certified organic linen, a beautiful fabric with a unique texture created by the natural slubbiness of its threads. It's highly absorbent, conducting heat away from the skin, which makes it the perfect bedding fabric for the summer months.

Nature-Inspired Colour and Patterns

Muted, earthy colours can help to create a relaxing and restorative environment. We use naturally dyed or undyed fabrics where possible. Our wild silk cushion covers, for example, come in various natural shades of brown, beige and gold, reflecting the different leaves that the silkworms have eaten. The threads are shorter than conventional silk, which results in a 'slubby' fabric with a subtle pattern created by the different thread lengths, thicknesses and colours. Our other cushion covers are dyed with natural indigo and myrobolan. These plant-based pigments have a calming effect on the viewer due to their subtle complexity, which is soothing to look at. When chemical dyes are required for our products, we use muted or mottled colours that resemble those found in nature. Our jersey bedding, for example, is made from a melange fabric that combines two slightly different shades of grey or beige, similar to the colours of pebbles or sand.

Shapes and forms from nature, often called biomimicry, bring many benefits to biophilic design. Like natural dyes, natural patterns have a subtle complexity that we find relaxing. They create a cue to the brain that sparks the same sense of well-being as the natural world. Our shibori cushion covers, for example, are embellished with a kantha stitch, which gives them a tactile texture, and a shibori dyeing technique called 'mokume' that is inspired by the pattern of tree bark.

Co-Creating With Nature

By referencing nature in both obvious and subtle ways, biophilic design aims to create an environment that reconnects us to the natural world and enhances our well-being. In view of climate change and the urgent need to adopt more regenerative methods of producing our food and fibres, we can perhaps understand more fully the importance of maintaining our essential connection with the natural world. Our innate need to be connected to nature, married with our responsibility to look after the natural environment could provide the key to the sort of design principles that are needed for creating a healthy, regenerative future. Nature nurturing us as we simultaneously connect to and care for the natural world.

Words: Jenny Bell
Image at top: Allef Vinicius on Unsplash
Other images (from top, left to right): organic linen table cloth, organic linen bedding, matka silk cushion cover, organic khadi cushion cover in myrobalan, shibori cushion covers - all by Ecosophy.

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Biophilic Design: Bringing The Outdoors In - ECOSOPHY

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What is Biophilia? Translated from its Greek roots as 'the love of living things', the term biophilia is used to describe humankind's innate, biological connection with nature. It helps to explain why walking through woodland can help us feel relaxed and rejuvenated, why mountain views uplift and i

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Modular textiles

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‘Modular Regeneration’ - Freyja Dorren - UAL Showcase

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Modular Regeneration focuses on the use of the circular economy within textile surface design, creating conceptual textiles with a low environmental impact. The circular economy is implemented within my project when considering current regeneration aro…

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Biophilic design podcast

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Living in Balance and Symbiosis with Nature through Biophilic Design

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Modular textiles design

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Jeremy Deller

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Artist flies flag for all the renters struggling to find somewhere to live

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People forced to leave the areas they grew up in

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Affordable living spaces for artists and their families that gives back to the community!

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A House for Artists is an ambitious new replicable model for affordable, sustainable housing tied to long-term civic engagement in Barking Town Centre in East London. The first of its kind in the UK, A House for Artists, provides flexible living space for twelve artists and their families, with studio workspaces, a ground floor community space and a shared working yard that can be opened to the public.

APPARATA 's starkly legible and playful design is civic to the core. Combining public-facing spaces and artist studios with an innovative housing model, its deliberate transparency invites the public in, while the spatial arrangement of the flats give residents the option of shared spaces and collective arrangements without compromising their privacy."

A House for Artists is designed by APPARATA, an architecture, design and research practice based in East London, who are known for their arts and community work emphasising collective life, and the construction of buildings as a critical practice.
Playful design
A House for Artists has a dual role as both a public and domestic building, made up from a playful tectonic of stacked shapes with a clear structural legibility. A two-storey triangular form allows for variation from the standard apartment type, and better connects to the surrounding terraced housing and blocks. The upper floors provide twelve apartments, while the ground floor, set out at a larger rhythm, accommodates an ongoing public arts programme.
Community
The design aims to support the forming of communities both inside the building and within the local area, through shared entrance patios and courtyard, and a street facing public space. Resident artists can use the ground floor as work studios for their own practices as well as for the public programme, while the apartments offer co-housing possibilities. Each set of three apartments shares a communal outdoor space scaled for eating and working together, as well as access. One floor of apartments has double doors in the party walls, creating optional and flexible shared living possibilities, such as for parties, childcare or co-working.
Adaptability and flexibility
APPARATA's housing model provides adaptability, robustness, and generous floor to ceiling heights in the tradition of open industrial units rather than the corridor-based flat. While flats in the UK are typically restricted in their layout due to one-way escape routes via corridors that cannot be altered, A House For Artists provides a robust two-sided open-air escape strategy, eliminating the need for corridors and freeing up floor plans for modification. Residents are invited to add to and adapt their apartments during their tenancy, removing or adding walls to meet their needs. Raw material finishes provide structural clarity and mean residents can easily read what can be built where.
Sustainability
The building is constructed using a single skin of 50% GGBS concrete, whereby half the cement is substituted with a by-product of the steel industry, and other material build-ups are lean. The formwork was made using standard reusable parts and left unlined, reducing waste on site. Exposed ceilings provide thermal mass to reduce overheating, while covered walkways reduce solar gain at the hottest time of day. Dual aspect openings allow natural cross ventilation, and hot water is provided through a communal Air Source Heat Pump. The building has over 20% less embodied carbon than the RIBA 2030 climate challenge target and GLA aspirational target.

A House For Artists is the first residential project by Create London, commissioned following an invited competition in 2016. Create have previously worked with APPARATA to transform the former Manor Park Library in the London Borough of Newham into a space for artists' studios, public-access printing and publishing, and informal education activities for the local community.

Recruitment

A House for Artists has recruited its cohort. To express an interest in future vacancies in the building or to join the mailing list, please write to: ahouseforartists@createlondon.org

A House for Artists is commissioned by Create London and funded by the The public programme, which will launch in 2022, is supported by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Rayne Foundation. Mayor of London, and delivered by BeFirst (working on behalf of LBBD)

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A House for Artists is an ambitious new replicable model for affordable, sustainable housing tied to long-term civic engagement in Barking Town Centre in East London. The first of its kind in the UK, A House for Artists, provides flexible living space for twelve artists and their families, with studio workspaces, a ground floor community space and a shared working yard that can be opened to the public.

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Commenting on the absurd pricing of houses

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Christiaan Kuitwaard

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Christiaan Kuitwaard / Vilhelm Hammershøi

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Vilhelm Hammershøi Open doors, interior with woman in a white chair 1900 oil on canvas 57 x 49 cm The Danish Painter Vi…

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Furnishing futures

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Furnishing Futures | Charity Creating Healing Homes for Women + Children After Domestic Abuse

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Furnishing Futures create trauma-informed healing homes for women and children who have escaped domestic abuse and been placed in empty social housing.

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Sian Zeng - renter friendly decoration

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With a beautiful matte finish, these wall stickers are easy to reposition and remove, offering countless decorating options.

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contemporary art, painting, japanese artist, zeitgenössische Kunst, Malerei, interieur, exterieur, ambivalent, gray, figurativ painting, landscape, licht und schatten, light and shadow, Poesie, 現代絵画、現代美術, stilleben, space, räume, skin, sensitivity, hamburg, Norbert Schwontkowski, tuschemalerei, Zeichnung, Lithografie, 小笠原美環, art exhibition,

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Han Feng's Floating City plays with deliberate contradictions from its title on down. Neither sculpture nor drawing, Feng's piece is composed of hundreds of tracing paper buildings of various sizes, their laser- printed details deriving from images of city architecture, which are grouped in dense clusters and hung from the ceiling with transparent fish tackle thread.

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(Fach is a technical term from weaving, meaning the shed and signifes a state of thread separation needed for inserting the weft into the shed. The shed is temporary architecture, a tent. Besides, the Fach/shed also signifies expertise or category or a piece of cupboard. The Zustand is a situation, a state.)

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Artist unknown

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Do Ho Suh (Korean: 서도호, Hanja: 徐道濩, b. 1962 in Seoul, South Korea) is a Korean artist who works primarily in sculpture, installation, and drawing. Suh is well known for re-creating architectural structures and objects using fabric in what the artist describes as an "act of memorialization." After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts from Seoul National University in Korean Painting, Suh began experimenting with sculpture and installation while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from RISD in 1994, and went on to Yale where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture in 1997. He practiced for over a decade in New York before moving to London in 2010. Suh regularly shows his work around the world, including Venice where he represented Korea at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001. In 2017, Suh was the recipient of the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts. Suh currently lives and works in London.

Suh's work focuses on the different ways architecture mediates the experience of space. Architecture has been a key reference for the artist since the mid-1990s-even for pieces like Floor (1997-2000) that do not resemble buildings. As a result, Suh pays particular attention to the site-specificity of the work, and sensorial experience of the viewer engaging with his pieces while moving in the exhibition space. A number of his sculptures produced in the past few decades consider the possibilities for sculpture to become architecture, and vice-versa.: 147  His blurring of the line between sculpture and architecture often renders architectural structures portable through material change, as exemplified by one of his most famous works Seoul Home...(1999), for which he recreated his childhood home using polyester and silk. Suh's use of fabric and paper functioning like a "second skin" make it possible for his pieces to be folded up and transported.: 29  His material choices of rice paper, and fabric commonly found in hanbok also refer to traditional Korean art and architecture.

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Maison Margiela

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Morning by Carmen Ng

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Maak & Transmettre – Espace textile - Maak & Transmettre

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Visited 30/1

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Discover the Foundling Museum, one of London's most interesting museums, including our art collection and 18th-century music displays

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Rent-Move-Repeat Report: Young Renters Research Group launch their findings on the challenges of renting as a young person in London

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Precarious and insecure living in London has become the new norm and impacts almost every aspect of young renter’s lives, say young people in new report

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Collect sounds and make sound scape

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Set design on the Olivier stage at The National Theatre

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For more information please visit the National Theatre Archive online

Exhibition Credits for the original exhibition

Curator, Eleanor Margolies

Exhibition Designer, Jemima Robinson

NT Design Associate, Katrina Lindsay

Drawing Office, Alan Bain and Dan Radley-Bennett

Graphic Design, Jamie Malcolm and Jen Dennis

Production Manager, Kyrie Feltham

Exhibition Team, Perri Blakelock, Róisín Devine and Judith Merritt

NT Archive, Erin Lee, Malcolm Mathieson and Anastasios Tzitzikos

Filmmaker, Paul Burt

Thanks to:

Hildegard Bechtler, Tina Bicât, Thea Brejzek, Barnabas Calder, Bunny Christie, Lizzie Clachan, Jane Collins, Cathy Courtney, Bob Crowley, Jocelyn Cuming, Bill Dudley, Soutra Gilmour, Eileen Hogan, Sophie Jump, Eleni Katsiani, Sandra Lousada, Niall McKeever, Adam Nee, Tom Piper, Geoffrey Scott, Jess Staton, Michael Vale, Grace Venning, Anthony Ward.

The Trustees of the Jocelyn Herbert Archive

Eames Office LLC

Theatre and Performance Design (Routledge)

British Library

RIBA

NT Learning is supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Eleanor Margolies was a Jocelyn Herbert Fellow of Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Graduate School, University of the Arts London.

This exhibition was the outcome of the Jocelyn Herbert Fellowship (2016-18) and forms part of a collaboration between the National Theatre and Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon. The exhibition at the National Theatre was funded in part by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders in this exhibition. If you have any queries contact exhibitions@nationaltheatre.org.uk

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Playing With Scale - Google Arts & Culture

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For more information please visit the National Theatre Archive online Exhibition Credits for the original exhibition Curator, Eleanor Margolies Exhibition Designer, Jemima Robinson NT Design Associate, Katrina Lindsay Drawing Office, Alan Bain and Dan Radley-Bennett Graphic Design, Jamie Malcolm and Jen Dennis Production Manager, Kyrie Feltham Exhibition Team, Perri Blakelock,

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Carmen Argote | Bilingual | Metal Magazine

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Famed for being a melting pot of cultures, the city also regains the title of cultural city these days. We talk with LA-based artist Carmen Argote.

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Collect shadows in my house with collage

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Fronts of everywhere I've lived

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Make doll house of my flat

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Visited Fri 31st

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Visit Us | Opening Hours | Getting Here | Museum of the Home

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Visit us - The Museum of the Home is free to visit. Read about our opening times, getting here, staying safe, facilities, and travel information here.

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Visit, on my road

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The TOY Project recycles your unwanted new and used TOYS and gives them to children who need them. We accept all toys both new and used.

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Visited 30/1

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Housing Standardisation: Who Designs Our Homes and How Do We Live? | Free Exhibition

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This free exhibition is based on a three year study into international housing designs in and how people live in them. Discover what drives housing design and construction, and the need for a standardised law in England.

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Studio Yvonne Mak, art, product design, photography

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Turn my room into a camera obscura

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In the 1980s, almost half of 18-to-34-year-olds lived in a property they owned. Now, around 40 per cent have moved back in with their parents - that's if they ever moved out at all. Hello, mum and dad. Have you missed us?

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paint a picture frame then project view into it then draw/ paint from projection

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Pin wallpaper to blank wall and paint and paint or collage a view or somethings on the wall.

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I like how the upholstery and wallpaper has been painted

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Contemporary Art Forum, Kitchener + Area

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Photo: Robert McNair for Sunoptic.

Mary Ma's Wind Water Wave is a 50 foot long polyester fabric that cascades from the ceiling. This fabric is blown by high powered fans, causing a continuous series of waves that ripple to the ground. Video projectors mounted in the ceiliing light up the fabric with the imagery of moving water recorded on the shore of Lake Ontario. Wind Water Wave was created and installed at 260 King Street West in Kitchener over the month of May 2016 and opened on May 28 for CAFKA.16.

Video: Gordon Hatt.

I first encountered Mary Ma through her student profile on the OCADU Blog, "The Learning Zone." Because of CAFKA's long association with Christie Digital, I was always on the lookout for artists doing interesting things with projection technologies. I was impressed by the maturity of the work illustrated in the blog post and I quickly decided that I wanted to meet her. I found out that she would be showing new work at the OCADU year-end exhibition and made arrangements to go and meet her.

At her OCADU graduation show, Mary presented a new work she called The Wave. The Wave continued her use of shaped projection surfaces and multiple projectors to represent continuous images of water or sky. The screen wrapped around two walls allowing the viewer to walk up to the piece and feel enveloped by the water - an immersive experience that she was able to explore in Wind Water Wave. Closer inspection behind the scenes showed the artist's genius for improvisation. Three desktop projectors were balanced on a shelf on the wall. Each projector had tinfoil taped to the sides of the lenses to blend the edges of the image and create a larger continuous image that wrapped around the two sides of the screen.

Right: Photo by Mary Ma; Left: Photoshop rendering by Mary Ma.

I invited Mary to come to Kitchener for a tour of the Christie facility and to discuss the development of a project for CAFKA.16. I asked her if she had a large project that she wanted to do and she presented me with Wind Water Wave, a plan for a massive outdoor installation. She wanted to project video images of water onto a large piece of fabric that was being blown by electric fans.

After some consideration, we decided that weather factors made the control of 20 metres of polyester fabric outdoors close to impossible, and we began to consider possible indoor adapations of the project. We were very fortunate that Bernie Nimer offered us the use of an unoccupied former theatre space on the second floor of his property at 260 King Street West in Kitchener.

Left: Photo by Gordon Hatt; Right: Sketch-Up diagram by Ji Luo.

The artist sourced a white, light-weight polyester fabric in four foot wide bolts. It would be necessary to sew six lengths of fabric together sie to side to create a cloth 24 feet wide by 60 feet long. To do that we organized a sewing marathion. After the lengths of cloth were sewn together, Mary took the fabric home and trimmed and steam ironed the seams to make them as invisible as possible.

Left: Photo by Mary Ma; Right: Photo by Sarah Goldrup.

Tests were undertaken to determine the amount of wind force necessary to move the cloth in the most appropriate fashion. Mary set up tests with small pieces of cloth and a simple window fan. We also faced challenges covering the fabric with the video image. Calculations were made to find the optimal placement for the Christie Boxer projectors. Even with optimal placement of the projectors, image area would be about six feet short.

Left: Sketch-Up diagram by Jordan Priede. Right: Photo by Robert McNair for Sunoptic.

CAFKA volunteer Mike Ambedian spent a number of evenings getting the the fabric to hang just right from the open trusswork of the ceiling. High powered fans were used to test the movement of the cloth. Sherwood Systems mounted the Christie projectors from the trusswork at the other end of the room.

Photo: Robert McNair for Sunoptic.

The first full test run showed the powerfully intoxicating effect of the combination of the video on the moving fabric. But we still had the problem of full image coverage. The video didn't reach the last two metres of fabric. I quickly grabbed a Christie lens case and a chair and used them to tuck and tack the ends of the cloth. The result was a large billowing wave at the end of the fabric, large enough for people to sit under. Later, we cleaned this up and replaced the ad hoc weights with a couple lengths of steel pipe. The wave however became a popular place to experience Wind Water Wave as an immersive artwork.

It is difficult to describe the hypnotic character of Wind Water Wave without comparing it to sitting on a beach and watching the waves. The repetetive rhythmic quality of the flowing fabric and the dance and sparkle of the light of the water images were equally as transfixing. From below, the experience of sitting under the work and being immersed looked uncannily like being under water. There was a remarkable symbiosis between the image of transluscent water and the transluscent polyester fabric. The mechanics of the illusion were readily apparent, but like an Impressionist painting, where even though the thick taches of paint and brushwork are plain to see, we readily give ourselves over to the illusion that these are clouds and this is sky and this is water.

And what is the "it" we give ourselves over to? What is the actual illusion? It is the ceaseless array of shapes and light and colour in movement - drawing us in, rushing toward us, folding around us.

Mary Ma articulates the power of this oceanic feeling and the struggle to recreate it:

"Wind Water Wave is about the way water is moved by wind, where the point of contact between atmosphere and water becomes a point of energy exchange, making manifest the waves. It is also a reflection, both in its deflection of light captured from the lake, and of a collective introspection of things that move us in their affect and beauty. Light captured from the day brought into the night creates a mirroring effect, bringing forth a dreamed view of reality - gauzy, stormed, intense, and visceral. It dances, envelops, engulfs, and transforms in hopes of instilling a sense of wonder and awe at the once playful and magical possibilities of coming in contact with a body of water." Mary Ma

Toronto, based Mary Ma received her BFA in Sculpture and Installation from OCAD University (2015). In 2014 she attended the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR as part of the AICAD Exchange Program. Her first solo exhibition "A Fully Developed Sea" took place in 2015 at the Katharine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects, No Foundation Gallery, Toronto. For more work by Mary Ma, visit her web site at http://www.maryma.ca.

Mary Ma's Wind Water Wave was curated and produced by CAFKA.

Text by Gordon Hatt

Photos by Robert McNair for Sunoptic.

Thank you to Jordan Priede for technical support.

Thank you to volunteers Mike Ambedian for his days and evenings of installation work, and Linda Janzen, Zoe Janzen and Shannon Figuereo for helping to sew the fabric.

Thank you to Sam Boucher-Hatt for set up and support.

Thank you to Sarah Goldrup, Frank Seglenieks, Samantha Mellick, Maria Chowdhury, Shantal Myers, Kristina Foster, Ioana Dragomir and Sam Boucher-Hatt for security support.

Many, many thanks to Bernie Nimer for allowing us to use his space at 260 King Street West.

Mary Ma's participation in CAFKA.16 has been made possible with the support of:

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Photo: Robert McNair for Sunoptic. Mary Ma's Wind Water Wave is a 50 foot long polyester fabric that cascades from the ceiling. This fabric is blown by high powered fans, causing a continuous series of waves that ripple to the ground.

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"Blanket Fort" is an interactive installation exploring themes of childhood, growing up, and fairy tales. It is approximately 23' X 6' X 4' in size and is experienced by crawling through or laying inside.

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Gordon Matta-Clark. Splitting. 1974 | MoMA

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Gordon Matta-Clark. Splitting. 1974. Collage of gelatin silver prints. 40 × 30″ (101.6 × 76.2 cm). Acquired through the generosity of Walter J. Brownstone and The Family of Man Fund. 326.1991. © 2025 Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography

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Korean-born, London-based artist Do Ho Suh invites visitors to explore his large-scale installations, sculptures, videos and drawings in this major survey exhibition.

Is home a place, a feeling, or an idea? Suh asks timely questions about the enigma of home, identity and how we move through and inhabit the world around us.

With immersive artworks exploring belonging, collectivity and individuality, connection and disconnection, Suh examines the intricate relationship between architecture, space, the body, and the memories and the moments that make us who we are.

Wander through the passages and thresholds of Suh's renowned fabric architectures. Discover his early installations, delicate works on paper and videos. Move across Seoul, New York and London through his life-sized replicas of past and present homes. Encounter sculptures that explore the tradition of monuments.

Experience the breadth and depth of Suh's inventive and unique practice over the last three decades, including new and site-specific works on display for the first time.
The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh in partnership with Genesis Co-curated by Nabila Abdel Nabi, Senior Curator, International Art, (Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational) and Dina Akhmadeeva, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern

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The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh | Tate Modern

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Korean-born, London-based artist Do Ho Suh invites visitors to explore his large-scale installations, sculptures, videos and drawings in this major survey exhibition. Is home a place, a feeling, or an idea? Suh asks timely questions about the enigma of home, identity and how we move through and inhabit the world around us.

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery https://t.co/pha6W43b2o

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery https://t.co/pha6W43b2o

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery pic.twitter.com/pha6W43b2o
— 𓂀 (@girIsonfiIm) August 27, 2021

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery https://t.co/pha6W43b2o

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery https://t.co/pha6W43b2o

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love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery https://t.co/pha6W43b2o

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How renting in London became an unimaginable hellscape

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The process of finding somewhere to rent in the capital is like competing in the Hunger Games. It’s easy to lose your dignity, writes Ellie Muir. Will tenants ever be freed from this misery?

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This disturbing new rental trend shows just how broken Britain’s housing market is

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It only takes a quick skim through London’s depressingly exploitative ‘room for rent’ adverts to realise that live-in landlords are inflicting increasingly unreasonable conditions on their tenants. Helen Coffey investigates the creeping practice that restricts a lodger’s access to their own room and asks the experts whether there is any legal pushback