Roland Tamayo has a knack for creating marine-industrial hybrids and surreal fusions of nature, technology, man-made structures, and otherwordly atmospheres.
They are wonderful assemblages of subconscious puzzle pieces…
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I am so in love with the colorful, flowing designs of Eno Henze.
His pieces are done digitally, as an exploration of the collaborative process between man and machine.
The results are sinewy, gossamer structures that seem to be floating and moving through space. It feels like looking at a freeze frame of a gracefully moving organic being.
See more of these pieces and other wonderful multimedia projects here.
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Rarely do I turn down a sweet treat. But I believe I’ve found one that is too unappealing, even for me. Meet the quarter pound Mallow Burger.
I’m fine with a quarter pound of marshmallow, but I take serious issue with the unnatural slug-like sheen of the “meat,” not to mention the fact that it appears to possess a circulatory system.
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Care for some nightmare fodder this afternoon? In that case, may I suggest the sculptures of Ronit Baranga?
Tea Party, with bodies seemingly growing out of the table, masks over missing heads and an excess of fingers is a surreal and somewhat disquieting sight.
Perhaps if I ever host a tea party, this image will be on the invitation. Luckily I know at least a few people who would still have the courage to show up.
Sink is another creation sure to tap into your subconscious fears. From afar, it looks fairly unassuming.
Upon closer inspection the basin contains mouths, forever frozen in various formations. It’s as if the sink captured the souls of thirsty pedestrians.
This thing is pure evil.
See more of Baranga’s work here.
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We’ve all heard about the function of white blood cells, but have you ever seen one in action? Check out this short clip of a white blood cell chasing down bacteria:
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There is some stunning nanoscale photography peppered throughout various blogs and science publications. Here are a few favorites I’ve come across.
These red blood cells have been treated with an antibiotic called Phyllomelittin, which apparently has the benefit of making cells appear delicious:
Source (and a few more great photos)This “tiny doll,” designed by researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Industrial Sciences, uses a new method of cultivating three dimensional biological structures.
The researchers created the tiny figurine by cultivating 100,000 cell capsules — 0.1-millimeter balls of collagen, each coated with dozens of skin cells — together inside a doll-shaped mold for one day. After the cell capsules had coalesced to form the doll-shaped mass of tissue, it was placed in a culture solution, where it reportedly survived for more than a day.
The technique may be useful to create bodily organs and tissues with complex cellular structures, aiding the fields of regenerative medicine and drug development.
This gorgeous rose-like image from the Research Materials Society was subsequently turned into a guessing game.
The question:
This tiny rose (above) was made by mixing an exotic element with hydrazoic acid. That element was discovered in Germany, is a soft and silvery metal with a low melting point, and was used to lubricate the bearings of aircraft during World War II. What is it?Source (and some answers posted)
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Skull-A-Day posted this wonderful submission from tsukinoblossom taken at the Montreal Orchid Expo.
Isn’t it wonderful when nature paints these tiny pictures for those who care enough to look closely?
Traditionally, orchids symbolize love, beauty and refinement. How interesting to throw a dash of the macabre into the mix.
See the rest of the orchid set here.
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If I come home from a store with plastic bags, I generally stuff them by my washer and dryer for future use. Virginia Fleck turns them into works of art.
Using only bags and tape, she constructs beautifully detailed, textured mandalas.
Nested in these lovely works is, undoubtedly, some implicit commentary on consumerist culture. Her website features this quote from Gina Piccalo:
“Life is being captured, repackaged and sold back to us as quickly as we live it.”
No one repackages the packaging as well as Virginia Fleck! Check out the impressive collection here.
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Ah yes, another stop in Austria on my wish list. I actually had a previous post about Salzburg. Now I bring you the Zwerglgarten in Mirabell Gardens.
In 1715, Prince Archbishop Franz Anton Harrach had a number of statues modeled after the dwarves who lived in the court and served as entertainers.
Sometime later, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (as a gesture of “protection” for his wife and child), had all the the statues removed if they were hunchbacked or besmirched with goiters. Though ordered to be destroyed, the stone dwarves were auctioned off and subsequently forgotten for at least 100 years.
In 1921, the Salzburg Society for the Preservation of Local Amenities recalled this part of Salzburg’s cultural heritage and convinced city councilors to place the nine dwarves (then under the city’s possession) in their original historical place.
I really like the idea that somewhere in the world I can visit tiny, tarnished hunchbacked statues with boils and growths…and describe them as historical landmarks.
See more in this flickr set.
Found on the wonderful Curious Expeditions.
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I’m dangerous around sales where you can pick up shirts for two dollars each. I always leave with an armful of plain shirts to emblazon with whatever design feels right when I get home (I fell victim to this habit the other day).
Here are a few simple alterations of some plain tank tops from Walgreens. Pardon the absolutely hideous snapshots…
Heart diagram from a recent post (I’m eager to give image credit to Ork Posters):
Vintage TV test patterns…
How I love symbols of the impossible…
And for the fun of it, I recently made this decorative surgical mask (pestilence is such sweet inspiration). Unfortunately you can’t really see the details, or the silver coloring of the backround:
SheWalksSoftly 