Original Cultures ‘09 – Visual Artists
Original Cultures focuses on two specific strands of modern performing arts: music and visual arts. Within these two strands Original Cultures works with both established and upcoming artists from the UK, Italy and Japan.
The 4 artists chosen to represent the visual arts strand for the first year of Original Cultures activities (2009) are:
- Will Barras (UK) – click to view bio
- DEM (IT) – click to view bio
- Erica il Cane (IT) – click to view bio
- Hiraki Sawa (JP) – bio coming soon
Together these 4 artists will take part in events in the UK, Italy and Japan throughout 2009 and 2010: Original Cultures Bologna 09 (June 2009), Original Cultures London ‘10 (March 2010) and Original Cultures Tokyo ‘10 (TBC).
During each event the artists will work together to create collaborative works inspired by the cultural exchange and interaction fostered by Original Cultures. This work will take place mainly during private workshops where the artists are given a brief to create new art, or in some cases given a free hand to come up with their own brief. The resulting works are then used as part of various activities such as public workshops, seminars, showcases and exhibitions.
You can view examples of the collaborative works created during Original Cultures Bologna 09 on the Original Cultures Art channel on Vimeo and our Flickr archive.
Original Cultures ‘09 – Musicians
Original Cultures focuses on two specific strands of modern performing arts: music and visual arts. Within these two strands Original Cultures works with both established and upcoming artists from the UK, Italy and Japan.
The 3 artists chosen to represent the music strand for the first year of Original Cultures activities (2009) are:
- 2tall / Om Unit (UK) – click to view bio and discog
- Tatsuki (JP) – click to view bio and discog
- Tayone (IT) – click to view bio and discog
Together these 3 artists will take part in events in the UK, Italy and Japan throughout 2009 and 2010: Original Cultures Bologna 09 (June 2009), Original Cultures London ‘10 (March 2010) and Original Cultures Tokyo ‘10 (TBC).
During each event the artists will work together to create collaborative works inspired by the cultural exchange and interaction fostered by Original Cultures. This work will take place mainly during private workshops where the artists are given a brief to create new art, or in some cases given a free hand to come up with their own brief. The resulting works are then used as part of various activities such as public workshops, seminars, showcases and exhibitions.
All 3 artists come from a similar background, having had a hand in the development and evolution of the turntablist scene in their respective countries, and have followed similar evolutions, moving away from the world of scratching towards music production and live shows.
You can listen to examples of the music created by the 3 during Original Cultures Bologna 09 on our Soundcloud page and our documentaries page. You can also view footage from the workshops on our Vimeo channel.
Will Barras
Will Barras is an illustrator and artist living and working in London. Born in Birmingham in 1973 he spent his formative years in Bristol.
His invention of composition and fluid lines provide poignant detail in liquid abstraction. The subject matter is readily familiar, but captured in a manner that seems to jar time and space with psychedelic abstraction. It is painting, which takes place. It is his way of expressing the emotional movements of this labor. It is therapy and pleasure and necessity. Though Will is more passionate about Cricket, and even the art of the poached egg than he is of Skate or Snowboarding, he is hailed as one of the visual artists who best represents these influential creative movements. This is not only an indicator of his prolific work rate and good nature, his illustrations featuring on all types of boards, clothes and mural campaigns, but more so of his unique voice, technical competency and sense of exploration.
Highly sought after both for commercial and private commissions, Will divides himself between directing Animation, designing graphics for projects that stimulate him and undertaking a truly grueling exhibition and event schedule. Last year he participated in the highly acclaimed Wooster on Spring exhibition that people waited five hours in line to see in New York City. He was invited to exhibit at the Scope Art Fair on the occasion of Art Basel, Miami at the close of 2007, having participated in shows in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Brussels, Edinburgh, Mayrhofen, Oslo, Copenhagen, Bratislava, Cologne, Budapest, Warsaw and London earlier in the year.
Will Barras represents the UK and the visual arts as part of the Original Cultures roster of artists for 2009/2010.
Will Barras online:
Will Barras, DEM and Ericailcane – Stay Away from Light (edit2)
Will Barras interview from On Point TV
2tall / Om Unit
Jim Coles aka 2tall/Om Unit has been active since the late nineties as a DJ and producing music since his early teens. He has several releases out under the 2tall moniker, which came after a brief stint in the world of DJ battles where he represented the UK at the DMC world DJ championships.
More recently he has put out two notable albums under the 2tall moniker: “Beautiful Mindz” a collaborative project with U.S duo Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow (Stones Throw), and “The Softer Diagram”, his most recent solo LP released on L.A-based Content Records.
Current projects include various guest spots on releases by Dented Records based in the UK, including the forthcoming Foreign Beggars album. 2009 also sees the launch of his new electronic beats project “Om Unit” which will be released on the Terrorhythm label, run by UK grime/dubstep stalwart Plastician.
Jim has also been known for live showcases using various experimental techniques involving the turntables and effects amongst other gear, which brings him to the Original Cultures project.
2tall/Om Unit represents the UK and the music art strand as part of the Original Cultures roster of artists for 2009/2010.
2tall/Om Unit online:
Selected discography
Releases:
Shifting Tides (CD) // Needlework 2004
Loose Ends For Divination (CD + CD) // Eclectic Breaks 2005
Beautiful Mindz (CD, Album) // Eclectic Breaks 2007
The Softer Diagram (LP) // Content 2008
Remixes:
Real Thing (12″) // Slaves (2Tall RMX) // Hum+Haw 2008
Co-production:
Diner @ Table No. 9 (12″) // 6 DJ’s + 1 // Brick9000 Records 2006
Tracks Appear On:
Signal Path (2xLP) // Garden Child // Content, Styge Recordings 2007
Twisting The Frame (File, MP3) // Another Place // Myuzyk 2008
Original Cultures Bologna ‘09 audio documentary pt 2
Original Cultures Bologna ‘09 music workshops
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
