It’s Helle Mardahl’s first solo exhibition in New York at LaViolaBank and it’s an absolute must for everyone into avant-garde. Helle’s art is made for getting lost in it. The viewer is confronted with heads, fingers, arms and legs popping at her screaming about the change of world, shift of values to more commercial ways. Despite their fragmented bodies they all seem to shoulder the weight of it. Morals, ethics and integrity suffer; illusions dissolve – balance has been corrupted.
Her use of organic materials stimulates your senses, it comes all really close and is so stopping. Stop, breathe, think…let go. Life is wonderful.

stop for a few seconds and breathe, come to a halt to look around and adjust.

A fat woman desperately clings on to her man as he tries to escape. An anorexic female torso covers her private parts. A dog looks smug and filled with authority and a tiny man strives to regain his personal equilibrium through statements of power. Their audience crowds around them.
The work confronts an increasing human demand of status symbols in a world where diamonds, teddy bears and jewellery are confused with love, status and attention. The overwhelming excess in Mardahl’s works pinpoints a consumer culture out of control and its impact on contemporary society.
This is a real modern acute issue in my opinion, possibly since a while and a lot of forward thinkers have turned the right way (well what is the right way, let’s ask..) but I am so glad that people who can reach so many people, the largest possible audience in fact, are pointing out problems that seem so obvious but are often so conveniently disguised and multiplied.

I am not normally a problem making person who wants to save the world and preach, opposite: I like fun..but – I do like to keep in mind to be considerate and thoughtful, stop for a few seconds and breathe, come to a halt to look around and adjust.
Did I not just ask for a revolution? Here we go, Helle is on it. She changes the world one by one..If you haven’t been yet, go now!
[Helle Mardahl (born 1976) is educated in fashion design from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. She lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. ] Hopefully there will be an exhibition in the UK soon..
LaViolaBank Gallery
917 463 3901
www.laviolabank.com

Recently the Alternative Fashion Week  took place in London. One of the designers who showed her line was Sonia Xiao. Sonia’s stuff is just amazing, her illustrations remind me of some robotic world, surrealism taken to the next level. The collection is playful, fun to look at with a dark twist, you are taken on a journey and just believe everything you see. Sonia was kind enough to take some time and tell a bit about herself…

When did you know you’ll be doing fashion? When I was a child and made clothes for my dolls I knew I wanted to be in fashion.

What’s your inspiration? My inspiration comes from interesting and random things i find and people I meet during my travelling, I love to travel, and I make a lot of travel journals filled with drawings and photo, some of those journals later become my research sketchbooks for my designs.

you are taken on a journey and just believe everything you see

what’s your favourite fabric/ material to work with? I like working with stretch fabrics, stretch silk/satin as it looks great with digital print. Also cashmere wool and knit.

your future plans? I’d like to open my own boutique in the near future.

items you can’t live without? I can’t live without my TV,camera and sewing machine.

most importantly – where can we get your stuff? My collection is currently made to order through my website. It will be sold in selected boutiques later on this year. I also have an accessories line, which is sold at my stall on Sunday Upmarket in Bricklane, Saturdays at Portobello market, and on www.typicalfreaks.com.

What I love about Sonia is that she illustrates her ideas on paper and just prints them on fabric so an initial idea comes to life literally and lives on. Her jewellery to me are all those little crazy ideas that you may have but Sonia catches them like a butterfly and makes something of every single one. I’m simply bewitched…

Thanks to Sonia for her time – and images..