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Cyril

Night/Shift

Aug 22, 2018
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We spent two months as artists in residence at Tentacles Gallery in Bangkok experiencing the local art/design scene as well as exploring local material culture and taking various modes of transport: taxi, boat, metro etc. After a while we became a bit more adventurous and started taking the local (non-airconditioned) bus, which is both very cheap and very slow; A journey that can be done in 10 minutes by taxi can take from 40 mins to 2 hours by bus. During these journeys we were inspired by the idea of the bus as a destination instead of a means of getting from point A to B. We realised that it doesn’t matter where we’re going to or where to get off. What is interesting is what happens inside the bus and in the immediate surroundings of the bus. We aimed to recreate of experience of slow travel, allowing ourselves to be bored in a good way. This sensation we tried to capture in our film Night/Shift.

Experience

By taking the same route so many times, we noticed patterns in events and behaviours that repeat themselves on different days, with different people. Similar to changing channels on tv, the bus brings you to different types of scenarios. Every time the bus stops, you see a different scene going on with different people, framed by the doors or windows. In this type of bus, without air-conditioning, open doors and windows, the barrier between the inside and outside world is very thin. As the bus can stand still, or be stuck in traffic for long periods of time, this allows the outside world to permeate into the inside of the bus. Sounds and scents travel through the barrier to the inside and city lights are projected onto the aluminium ceiling of the bus, creating spectacular light shows.

Screening

The first screening of Night/Shift was at Tentacles Gallery on 5 November 2017. It will also be screened at the 22nd Thai Short Film and Video Festival‘s Film Marathon on 26 August 2018, held at the Thai Film Archive.

For an impression of the film, check out the trailer below and please contact us if you would like more information about the film or screenings.

Garçon Taupe – The White Spider

Sep 22, 2017
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We are honoured to been invited by Garçon Taupe to produce the video for the title track of his new EP The White Spider, out on the Enfant Terrible label. Shot entirely from the hip during numerous hot and humid summer nights in Hong Kong. Please sit back and enjoy the result.

P.S. The American music and video blog LiveEyeTv gave the video a favourable review as well as a mention from underground music blog Yeah I Know It Sucks.

Loves, Lives and Loss: Traces at Fenton House

Feb 08, 2017
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Two of Shanna’s pieces were featured in the immersive exhibition Lives, Loves and Loss by Traces London, held at the monumental Fenton House in London from 3-23 December 2016. The exhibition enabled visitors to travel back to 1730, to the time it was occupied by the Gee family, who were prominent silk and linen merchants.

Let’s trade signed John Rickards 1722 (2016) and Let’s trade more signed John Rickards 1723 (2016)

Let’s trade, signed John Rickards 1722 and Let’s trade more, signed John Rickards 1723 are tongue-in-cheek interpretations of the act of corporate gift giving during the 18^th century. Taking the form of a framed artefact, each of the pieces feature a decorative bookmark made using the same labour-intensive method of traditional lacemaking as was used during the 18^th century. At the back of the ornate gold frame are the words “Let’s trade”, fictitiously signed in 1722 by John Rickards, a historically famous lace dealer from Buckinghamshire. Through his extensive trade with Georgian elites living in London, Rickards was able to renovate and convert a landmark inn at Market Place, Olney entirely into his lace-dealing headquarters. This piece also refers to the same year Rickards headquarter was completed.

The pieces are still available from the Traces London shop.

Ministry of Economic Affairs – Artisanal shopkeepers z-card

Jan 04, 2017
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The Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs asked Schone Vormen to design a z-card for their campaign Allow artisan shopkeepers more time to do business. Despite the compact size, we managed to arrange a sizeable amount of information in a clear and visually attractive manner.

Visitors looking at The Potato Eaters of Today

Transcribe/Translate

Nov 03, 2016
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Two of Shanna’s pieces have been selected for display in an exhibition organised by Vault Collective and System Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). The exhibition Transcribe/Translate features eight practitioners from various disciplines who give their own interpretation of pre-20th century artworks.

The Potato Eaters of Today (2008) is one of Shanna’s earlier works and offers a fresh take on Van Gogh’s Potato Eaters (1885). Using photography as a medium instead of painting, it transforms the 19th century farmer’s reality into a contemporary version that is equally bleak, or arguably even worse. The odd group of people gathered around an asymmetric table consume mass-produced crisps and coke. However, in contrast to the farmers in the original painting, who are drinking the coffee and eating the potatoes that they themselves have grown, their modern counterparts are unaware where their food actually comes from. Only the dog seems to know better, but even it is looking away in contempt and disgust.

The piece is part of a limited edition of 10 and comes with the frame. For enquiries regarding purchase, please contact the gallery.

The brand new sculptural installation, Her Invisible Dedication (2016) is inspired by Vermeer’s The Lacemaker (1669-1670). In this recontextualisation, the lacemaker’s work that cannot be seen by the viewer has acquired three dimensions and is blown up to a significantly larger scale. In the original painting, it is the lacemaker on which the attention of the painter is focused, whereas the lace she is working on is practically invisible. What was lying on her pillow is now very hard to miss.

For enquiries regarding purchase, please contact the gallery.

Transcribe/Translate can be visited from 28 October – 26 November 2016 at System Gallery, 22-24 Leazes Park Road, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). Opening hours: Tue-Sat 12-6pm / Sun-Mon 3-6pm.

UNICEF – Child Notices

Feb 15, 2016
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Schone Vormen recently completed the design and layout for the Child Notices. The aim of these reports is to provide information to different stakeholders, such as lawyers, judges, immigration authorities and legal guardians, regarding the living circumstances of children in specific countries. Among others, the Child Notices are used in asylum procedures when a decision has to be made whether a child can stay or has to return to their country of origin. Child Notice reports have been published for Albania, Guinea, Morocco, Sudan and Afghanistan in both English and French.

We tweaked the existing layout and made several minor but significant modifications in order to make the publication more attractive, consistent and clear, which positively improved the reading experience. Furthermore, as the report contained a large amount of footnotes, figures and tables, accuracy in layout was of the utmost importance.

The Child Notice reports can be downloaded from UNICEF The Netherlands.

Tonny van Wijhe – Uitstap

Dec 10, 2015
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The debut novel of writer Tonny van Wijhe, Uitstap (rough translation: Way Out), tells the story of an impulsive journey to a meaningful destination laden with feelings of recognition, joy and sorrow. The design, layout and production was executed by Cyril of Schone Vormen. The book is currently in its second edition and will most likely be published for the third time. The different editions can be distinguished by their different inside page (the visual featured above is from the first edition).

uitstap-website — Uitstap website header

Visuals from Tonny’s website en Facebook page were designed in the same style as the novel and show scenes which will definitely be familiar for those who have read the book, making it a transmedia experience.

The second edition of Uitstap is almost out of print, although there still a few copies left (Dutch only). These can be ordered directly from the author’s website.