Loefah gets The Message. Photo: Ashes 57

We’re excited to announce that we’re heading back to The Rag Factory on 22nd July. This time we’re showcasing the photography of Ashes 57 – see the events page for details. It is going to be a cool show; so many beautiful photos in there. My personal favourites would have to be the portraits of Madlib and Benga, which are both stunning.  As her thousands of Flikr followers will testify, Ashes is a prolific and talented photographer with a massive back catalogue to choose from.

The Rag Factory is one of our favourite exhibition spaces and in many ways it suits us down to the ground. Situated just off Brick Lane, the location is good, and Silas and his merry band of brothers are really accommodating and friendly. The smoker-friendly courtyard is a valuable asset and it is a great place for a party!

This show is on for one night only; we’ll be open from 6-11pm. We’ve invited Standard Place resident Jon Rust to DJ at the event, with support from LAVA DJs .The dubstep fraternity will be out in force for this one, so don’t be surprised if some very special guests pop up behind the decks at some point. We’ll be serving up drinks in the courtyard – have a free one on us but if you’re planning on getting drunk, we’ll be taking donations at the bar.

The Rag Factory show was over in the blink of an eye, but fortunately we have found the perfect place to exhibit Bruno 9li and Talita Hoffmann’s work on a longer-term basis. This fantastic location, a closely guarded secret, is just a hop skip and a jump from LAVA headquarters in Dalston, East London.

If you’re into the discreet Dalston scene, you might be able to guess where it is; a lavish, bohemian hideaway not a million miles from Gillett Square. Dining clubs, sexy parties, you get the general idea. It will be a great place to display 9li and Hoffmann’s work, the show will run until 7th June.

Viewings are by appointment only, but don’t be shy; whether or not you are interested in buying one of the remaining canvases we would be more than happy to show you round.  To arrange a viewing, get in touch with us at: info@lavacollective.com

Photos: Helen Lenarduzzi & Gordon Gibbens

Thanks to everyone who made it to The Rag Factory over the bank holiday weekend.  I’m sure you’ll agree that it was a memorable show- Bruno 9li  and Talita Hoffmann lit up the East End with their extraordinary imagination and skill.

The opening reception on Thursday was pretty wild – props to Sagatiba and Vitamin Water for providing the drinks. It was a really buzzy event and the enthusiasm was evident, not just for  Bruno and Talita but also for our very own Ashes 57 and Vitriol, who showcased their work in Room 2.

Special thanks to Silas and the crew at The Rag Factory for their assistance setting up the show, it is a great environment in which to work and we hope to do another exhibition there before too long.

We still have some original art and prints left over from the show, email us if you want a copy of the catalogue: info@lavacollective.com.

STAR OF BETHNAL GREEN

Bruno 9li at The Rag Factory opens on Thursday at 7pm – check the events page for details. Sagatiba are sponsoring the opening reception, so we’ll be handing out free caipirinhas to our guests. But the fun doesn’t stop there…

After the opening reception, we’re heading to The Star of Bethnal Green for the afterparty. We have invited DJs Skipple and Crises to represent our sound, and we’ll be projecting 9li’s Video art as a visual accompaniment.

The Star is a lovely pub with a high grade soundsystem – We’re going to touch down with a dubstep / garage / funky session from 2 highly-rated pirate radio DJs. Skipple plays on Sub FM, while Crises has a weekly slot on Rinse FM, and both are getting well-known for rocking dancefloors in London and beyond.

The afterparty is from 10pm-2am, entrance is free.

LAVA Collective presents: Bruno 9li Afterparty
Thursday, 29th April, 10pm-2am, free entry
The Star of Bethnal Green
359 Bethnal Green Road E2 6LG

Image courtesy of  www.flickr.com/photos/litsy/

Image courtesy of  www.flickr.com/photos/litsy/

We are excited to announce that Talita Hoffmann will be joining Bruno 9li at the Rag Factory. Hoffmann will be travelling to London with 9li to preside over her first appearance in a London art show.  At a precocious age, Hoffmann is creating work of astonishing subtlety and depth. She is a fantastic inclusion to the forthcoming show and we’re looking forward to meeting her.

LAVA Collective at the Rag Factory. 30th April – 3rd May 2010.             Preview party 29th April, 7pm. RSVP for invite: rsvp@lavacollective.com

Suma - Bruno 9li - Mural at Rojo Artspace, Copenhagen

We are very excited to announce that Bruno 9li will be headlining our event at The Rag Factory. This will be his first major London show.

9li, (pronounced ‘Novelli’) has emerged in recent years as one of Brazil’s brightest young artists. A native of Sao Paulo, 9li has been gaining admirers across Europe and America. In the last 3 years he has had solo shows in Copenhagen, Milan, Barcelona and San Jose.

9li’s work combines an edgy metropolitan sensibility with the mysticism and wonderment that he finds in the natural world. 9li is a deeply spiritual individual and his work channels his fascination with alchemy, shamanism and hermetic philosophies. He is at that exciting point in his career where is technique seems to become more refined with every piece he does. Follow the link to his website and you’ll see what I mean.

http://www.bruno9li.com/desenhos_english.htm

9li has agreed to come to London to create a large scale mural for us. This will form the center piece of our forthcoming show. We have also commissioned him to produce 4 original works to appear alongside the mural. At 200 cm x 70cm they are going to be spectacular.

Here at LAVA Collective we are already getting excited. Flying over 9li to create a mural is quite an ambitious undertaking and it demonstrates our commitment to showcasing emerging talent from overseas. Of course, we could just get some work shipped over, but where would be the fun it that? We are looking forward to meeting 9li and watching him at work.

LAVA Collective presents: Bruno 9li

April 29th – May 3rd

The Rag Factory, 16 Heneage Street E1 5LJ

Peru Ana Ana Peru taking part in NYSAT

Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler. Basically, him and his posse go around New York looking for billboards to whitewash. Then they invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created.

www.publicadcampaign.com

Seiler’s war against commercial advertising hoardings began ten years ago. In that time he has developed the project into a quasi-military operation, culminating in the recent NYSAT event, in which hundreds of artists collaborated towards a significant act of civic disobedience.

I was pleased to see some of our friends were involved with NYSAT – I spotted Peru Ana Ana Peru and Philip Lumbang pics on the mircosite. www.publicadcampaign.com/nysat

We met Jordan Seiler in New York last year. He was at the Ace Hotel, doing a photo shoot in the rooms that Mint & Serf had decorated. I’d never heard of Public Ad Campaign, but he seemed like a cool guy so I checked it out. I’ve been following his progress ever since –  I think he deserves respect for his dedication to street art and his cavalier attitude.

  

Method Man Portrait, by Ricky Powell

They invited LAVA Collective to kit the place out with artwork and we duly obliged. For the next couple of months an exclusive selection of Ricky Powell prints are available for sale there – priced at a very reasonable £200 (£250 framed) Other highlights in the shop include some exceptionally badass Neck Face sunglasses, and a tasty selection of T shirts from our sponsors Crooks and Castles.

Seamstress (revisited) photo by Rajni Shah

We’re taking over the Rag Factory for the May Day Bank Holiday Weekend: April 29th – May 3rd. Gonna be big! For those of you that haven’t been there yet, The Rag Factory is on Heneage Street, just off Brick Lane. It is a cluster of warehouse-style spaces leading off a cute little courtyard.

We have invited one of our favourite artists to headline the event. They have provisionally agreed, but we’re still waiting for confirmation so I can’t reveal who it is yet. Suffice to say we are very excited…

Watch this space for more info as our plans begin to take shape over the coming months. And feel free to get in touch if you want to get involved with the show – info@lavacollective.com

Thanks to everyone that made it to the London show – I’m sure you’ll agree that Edan’s set was something special. Ricky Powell’s slideshow was equally memorable. He was pretty wasted – apologies to anyone he offended – but amusing nonetheless. Jehst and Micall Parknsun completely smacked it – man those guys can spit.

The next morning we set off  to ATP festival, a bit worse for wear if truth be told. We got a bit lost on the way out of London; I think it is fair to say Edan was not impressed by my navigation skills. A crash on the motorway left us in gridlock traffic for another hour, not an especially smooth journey all round.

We finally got to Minehead, just in time for Edan to do a soundcheck. From that point on the weekend was a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Edan came on at midnight and entertained a huge crowd with his heady blend of psychedelia and soul.

Later on that night, Edan’s old friend Cherrystones played an epic set at the Crazy Horse Bar. I was pretty smashed by this point but from what I remember it was great. It was a real pleasure getting to hang out with Cherrystones and his friends over the course of the weekend. These guys a true music aficionados – their passion is infectious and they are great fun to be around.

The next day it was Ricky’s turn to perform. This was nothing like the London Show – Ricky was sober, witty, eloquent and laid back. The crowd were really receptive and when the slideshow ended a stampede of fans descended on the merchandise desk to pick up signed books.

That night I had the misfortune of chancing upon a Sunn O]]] gig – that sound they make will haunt my dreams forever.

Tonight Edan and Ricky are performing in Ireland, before heading back to NYC. It’s been a good tour and I hope we will be welcoming them back to the UK before too long.