Fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton swaps the studio for the slopes of Tignes in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, with a luminous after hours short starring Artec pro snowboarder William Hughes. The electrifying film sees Hughes light up the snow-covered French hills in a bespoke L.E.D.-enveloped suit courtesy of designer and electronics whizz John Spatcher. “I was really drawn to the idea of a lone character made of light surfing through darkness,” says Sutton of his costume choice. “I’ve always been excited by unusual ways of lighting things, so it seemed like an exciting idea to make the subject of the film the only light source.” Sutton, who has created work for the likes of Hermès, Burberry and The New York Times, spent three nights on a skidoo with his trusty Red Epic camera at temperatures of -25C to snap Hughes carving effortlessly through the deep snow, even enlisting his own father to help maintain the temperamental suit throughout the demanding shoot. “Filming in the suit was the most surreal thing I’ve done in 20 years of snowboarding,” says Hughes of the charged salopettes. “Luckily there was plenty of vin rouge to keep me warm, and Jacob’s enthusiasm kept everyone going through the cold nights.”

Jacob Sutton’s L.E.D. Surfer on Nowness.com.

Director Jamie Caliri Conjures Up an Animation for the Indie Rockers

Three sinister gentlemen, a magician and an enormous rabbit populate the fantastical landscape of Emmy-winning director Jamie Caliri’s video for “The Rifle’s Spiral,” a new track by Portland-based indie rock heavyweights The Shins. Sketching the short’s narrative from any lyrics that grabbed his attention, Caliri had free rein to let his imagination run wild, resulting in a surreal stop-motion animation. “I have always loved Edward Gorey’s illustration work and his influence is apparent throughout the video,” says Caliri. “Also, seeing Martin Scorsese’s Hugo three times subconsciously veered my thoughts onto the magic theme.” Enthusing about the current renaissance in music videos after also making a 3D version of the film exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, Caliri observes: “It’s now more like the years before MTV, when music videos did not have a formula. You can be expressive and idiosyncratic.”

The Shins: The Rifle’s Spiral on Nowness.com.

This is a piece she was commissioned to commemorate a wedding anniversary. One of their wedding photos inspired her to draw the couple as “Gyeonwu and Jiknyeo, lovers separated by the universe in the Korean folk tale called Chilseok; they were permitted by God to reunite just once each year, on a celestial bridge formed by thousands of magpies and blackbirds.” Funnily enough, it was one of the few Korean children’s book I had at my disposal when I was a kid. Totally forgot about it and it was great to be reminded of it.

This one is called “Red Mask.” And the story behind it is: “The Red Mask (bbal gan ma su ku) is a Korean urban legend which finds its origins in 1970s Japan. She wears a blood-soaked surgical mask and she carries a knife. She approaches people to ask, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll kill you, and if you say no, she’ll take off her mask and show you her horrific Glasgow smile, the result of a cosmetic surgery procedure gone terribly wrong. She asks again, “Am I pretty?” If you say yes, she’ll cut up your face; if you say no, she’ll follow you home and THEN cut up your face, and if you say, “You look normal,” she’ll grow confused and wander away.”

And here’s a more recent piece, outside of the Korean folklore. This one is called “Mortal Residue.”

Check out the rest of her work. She’s pretty bad ass.

HAERSKOGEN from David Luepschen on Vimeo.

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE – VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.

Details are on the flyer below, hope to see you there!

Pasalubong flyer design by Haena Kang