Interview with artist Margherita Paoletti

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hello! My name is Margherita and I’m an artist and illustrator. Actually I’ve been many things. I wanted to be a textile designer, a pianist, a singer, an animator, a graphic designer...I can go forever. I took the decision to go for illustration and art because those were the two things that I never really gave up during my life. 

What materials do you work with?

I work with paint (acrylics, watercolours, gauche), printmaking and digitally.

Which ones are your favourite at the moment?

Acrylic and digital painting are my favourite at the moment.

Your biggest influences?

I’d say Henri Rousseau, Frida and Matisse are my biggest influences. But I do a lot of research on social media to find new inspiring artists. Describe your style of work in 3 words.

Desperation, creation, joy.

Tell us about your journey, how did you get started?

I started going to design schools, even though I was quiet young and I never really knew what was my real thing. During my years at university I realized  that my  approach was always quiet artistic. So I decided to try and go for art!

What do you enjoy most about your job and what do you find challenging?

I love the fact that I have the chance of doing what I’m passionate about and what my all life is about. I decided to stay in Italy even if the economic situation it’s not so good, and further most creativity is not always seen as a work field (especially in small cities). Where I live is all about networking and meeting the right people, so I’d say that’s the challenge! Thankfully I got to meet a wonderful art gallery (Cellar contemporary) that organises exhibitions and amazing events!

What keeps you motivated? 

Going to exhibitions, events, doing and taking workshops, talking to people about art, looking up at my favorite artists, move and never stay still.

You have done artistic residencies in Japan and Estonia. Would you recommend it to emerging artists? 

Artistic residencies are super good, I’d recommend doing them especially to emerging artists (like myself). You get to know new people and develop artistic connections.

You have worked as a jewellery designer in London 2 years ago. Tell us about your experience.

I met this incredible lady Rebecca Manners of Bex Rox Studio, that I still work with, and she gave me the chance to do something else with my drawing skills. I’ve always made handmade jewelleries but never thought of going further than that. She is a super Art Director full of ideas, and she pushed my abilities and let me experiment with animation, illustration, jewellery design and graphic design. Now she is Bali where she is developing new ideas and she kept me on her team. So I’m still drawing jewellery and helping her with new ideas and projects. Distance is no longer a problem with whatsapp and social media! 

What are you working on at the moment? 

How to treat yourself on a bad day.

by Anne Carty

Self care is so important. So many people don’t take care of themselves but do everything for everyone else! That’s not the way it works. When you aren’t feeling good you NEED to be selfish and take care of yourself. 

Mental illness is hard to deal with on good days and down right impossible to deal with on bad days. I know! You don’t want to get out of bed, brush your hair, brush your teeth, shower, change, etc. I have had those days but there are many things you can do to make your day better.

Stay in bed a little bit longer if you have to and don’t beat yourself up for it. We all need to recharge from time to time.

Watch your favourite movies.

Listen to music.

Have a hot shower/bubble bath.

Write, it’s a good distraction. This wellbeing journal is great!.

Catch up with friends. If it’s a task to leave your house, call them. It’s good to talk to someone when you’re feeling down.

Read - it helps to forget about your bad day for a while by jumping into another world.

Take time off social media, it can be a toxic place when you’re having a bad day.

Have some healthy snacks. Check out this website for some delicious recipes.

Have you created a self care box? Crack it open!

Work out - I know when your feeling bad you really don’t want to be exercising but it does help. (Don’t tell my boyfriend I said that! He’ll say he told me so).

So there you have it, a list of how to treat yourself. I hope you found it helpful.

  A huge thank you to Cuckoo Magazine for allowing me to post on their website!

Please check out my blog if you enjoy this piece. My links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveroftravel12 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foreverthewanderer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/foreverwander12 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ie/foreverthewanderer/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrjXTq_pPLe7ZnBtDlcr_hA?view_as=subscriber

ABOUT ANNE

Review: Knock Knock

by Hayley Carr

When I was a child I had this dream where all the furniture in my kitchen was melting. I remember curiously observing their volatile forms sagging and dripping, their familiarity commandeered by a strangeness that made them seem incongruous. A detachment was created between me and my environment, as my home became a jarring place of unease. For some reason it is a memory that has stayed with me since childhood, and it was once again brought to mind when viewing Hannah Fitz’s first solo exhibition, Knock Knock, running from 4 May to 30 June in the Temple Bar Gallery + Studio. Her sculptures, created from paper, plaster, and resin, and painted in a thick, monochromatic orange, are like the components of a dream world; unsteady furnishings and anatomic forms that seem familiar, but are corrupted by a discordance that robs them of definition. 

Named after the popular mode of joke, Fitz’s exhibition leaves the viewer asking, “who’s there?” as we gaze upon her peculiar creations and try to fathom them. Her furnishings and curious bodies appear to have been disturbed during their formation, resulting in perverted manifestations of reality–a chair not only becomes unusable, but is infused with unease by its lack of functionality. Her objects possess a tension between what they are and what they should be. As a viewer we are not disappointed by their failure to achieve their quintessential states, but are perturbed by their unsettling lack. These tables, chairs, and flower pots, these near human forms, are not reimagined things; they are bastardisations of conventional objects that make the viewer reassess their corresponding surroundings. There is something not quite right about their finished forms, in the same way the objects in a dream feel familiar, but are inexplicably distant and disconcerting. 

Fitz’s humanoid sculptures depict awkward bodies captured in a state of becoming, their quizzical denim outfits offsetting the violence and aggression of their metamorphosis. They stand in discomposing poses, their bodies bent in squeamish positions that are slightly off and unnatural, with some even seeming as though they’re dressing themselves. Seeing these beings attempt to burst through their clothes and reach their final state is discomforting, and the routine act of dressing becomes a strange and ungainly ritual. One sculpture, simply entitled Jeans, depicts a body arched over, its arms outstretched only to become another pair of legs. The viewer has a certain expectation of these sculptures, and when that expectation is refuted, we are left feeling bemused and unnerved. Once again, Fitz presents us with a familiar situation only to distort it. Clothes help us form our identity, and with Fitz’s restrictive use of blue denim, and the quirky gestures of her sculptures, that identity is denied and called into question. Suddenly, “who’s there?” becomes a difficult question to answer, because its meaning has become strange and alien to us. 

Similarly, with her furniture sculptures, our expectations are repudiated. We anticipate domestic objects, and are in turn presented with feeble and deformed structures that seem to be collapsing in on themselves. They are almost knowable–almost a chair, almost a coat stand–and this near-identity is what completely destabilises our reception of them. We doubt ourselves, doubt our instincts; nothing is as it seems. Papier mâché televisions emit a blank, eery glow, and faceless, mangled people stand around them, unseeing, unaware, caught up in the agonising process of ‘becoming’. As a viewer, we lose control of our surroundings, and our identity through these objects is taken away. Much like a dream, we feel isolated and remote, knowing internally that we are removed from the comfort of familiarity. 

An Interview With: Clare Foley

by Fionn Murray

Ireland’s small independent comics scene has grown from strength to strength in recent years, attracting writers and artists across all genres, from lighthearted daily strips, to superhero arcs, to dark, complex character studies. A rising star in this movement is Clare Foley, a Dublin-based artist and illustrator trained in BCFE, who first captured everyone’s attention with her morbidly atmospheric adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s classic short story La Grande Bretèche, which shunned digital art tools (nigh-omnipresent among modern illustrators) in favour of watercolours and pencil, all rendered in a sickly green palette suggestive of opium smoke and absinthe. Since then, Clare has partnered with writers such as Aaron Fever (on Frozen Waste), joined independent comics publisher Rogue Comics, and was voted Best Artist Published in Ireland in the Irish Comics News Awards. Clare kindly agreed to answer a few questions from Cuckoo about her work and creative process.

How did you get involved in comics? What made you want to be an artist?

I've always loved drawing. I keep finding these "comics" I made when I was a kid, just strips drawn in biro, or little zines I made when I was so young that I could barely spell. The comics I was exposed to as a kid were a weird mix; old 1950s annuals of Mandy and Bunty, Asterix and Obelisk, Tin Tin, The Far Side. I ended up doing a course in visual art, followed by another course in illustration. When I was a teenager I was introduced to a whole world of comics through a few of my friends. Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Blankets by Craig Thompson. By the time I started in the illustration course I had a pretty solid idea that I wanted to draw comics.

What do you consider some of your most important influences? Are you mainly influenced by other comic artists, or are you more inspired by fine art, animation etc.?

Having started out with more of an interest in fine art, a lot of the more traditional art world is hugely inspiring to me. Many visual artists really lit a spark of interest in me when I first saw their work, though I often find that the work that inspires me doesn't necessarily look like the work I produce. For me it's always been about trying to capture a certain mood or atmosphere. Almost any media can be inspiring if it captures your interest. I think I can see fairly varied interests creeping into projects, from fine art to video games to animation.

I would say an enormous influence on my work would be film. Film is the one other area that really excites me in the way that art and comics do.

What projects are you currently working on?

My most recent book was Frozen Waste with Aaron Fever, which was released last year, and is in stores and for sale online now. Since then I've been working on some really cool shorter projects with JP Jordan, Gary Moloney, and Paul Carroll. All of these shorts will be available soon. I've been very lucky to consistently work with such great collaborators, I couldn't recommend these few enough, they've been a dream to create with.

Image courtesy of Clare Foley.

I'm also part of Rogue Comics Ireland, a great publisher and collective you should definitely check out. We just spoke on a panel at Dublin Comic Con: Anime Edition about the world of small press comics, and we've got some really exciting stuff coming up in the next few months. All of the members of Rogue Comics are really talented people, and I'm honoured to be one of them.

How does your creative process generally proceed? Do you start with a narrative concept, a character, an image, or something else?

It all depends on whether you're working alone or with others! For my own projects, I tend to start with a very distinctive mood I want to capture. My first comic La Grande Bretèche was an adaptation of an 1850s Honoré de Balzac short story. When I read the story initially, I was completely drawn in and obsessed by it. I found it very compelling and quite creepy, and in my adaptation I leaned hard on that sense of foreboding. I do strongly feel that the overall atmosphere of a comic is very important.

When working with others, you're presented with a comic script and asked to work some magic on it. There's a lot of fun to be had in working to someone else's concept; capturing their written description but putting something of your own spin on it.

A lot of your work is in the horror genre, or horror-adjacent in tone or theme. Are you particularly drawn to horror, or are you interested in experimenting with other genres also?

I remember in college I used to worry a lot about having a consistent style. For my first comic, I chose to illustrate in watercolour and pencil, almost at random. I thought it suited the tone of the story, and I enjoyed using those materials. That is now my "style". The first comic I drew was also a horror... Most of my favourite films, books, games and art all have some similarities, including an often-present sense of foreboding and a heavy, tense atmosphere. I enjoy that, I seek it out, but I didn't choose to exclusively work in it. However, you draw one watercolour horror comic, and funnily enough you get approached with a lot more work from people who want watercolour horror comics. I have something a lot more lighthearted and fun in the pipeline for the near future, but I get the sense that I will always be strangely attracted to a more serious and heavy narrative.

Are you exclusively interested in drawing comics, or would you be interested in working in other media also (e.g. animation, film, advertising etc.)?

As I've said above, I love film. If I am ever to make a jump to another area of creative work, film just seems like a totally natural choice. In terms of mood and inspiration there are films that have always stayed with me... Pan’s Labyrinth, Donnie Darko, Children of Men, Kontroll, Waltz with Bashir, The Shining, Moon, Alien, Winter's Bone. There's a pretty common theme or heavy tone in these, I can see that. This sort of tone seems to show up in most of my favourite work in any media, but I find film especially inspiring.

Your first comic, La Grande Bretèche, had a very distinctive style, using watercolours and a limited colour palette, which stood out quite dramatically from most modern comics which favour digital drawing and painting. What made you decide to pursue such an unusual style for the comics medium?

I studied fine art, so initially when I went into a more illustrative focused course I was approaching it from that perspective. I'll admit that I'm a complete Luddite when it comes to Photoshop and Illustrator, I really can't use them to save my life. I've always enjoyed painting, though I was not working exclusively in watercolours at any point. I tried a lot of different styles before settling on the watercolour for La Grande Bretèche, deciding that it was the best choice for the story and mood. People seemed to really like the unique quality of an entirely traditionally drawn watercolour comic, as it's not a widely used material for comics. I seemed to stumble onto something that was working, and that I really enjoyed the process of, so I stuck with it. I've gotten a lot of work on the basis of the watercolour style. I would really encourage anyone starting out to just mess around with different materials, you never know when you're going to find something you end up really unexpectedly loving.

How would you describe the state of the Irish comics scene at the moment?

Irish comics at the moment is so strong. It feels like the comics scene is really building momentum at the moment. There are people all around who are being recognised for their amazing work, getting some really great jobs for the major names in the industry. On the small press and indie side, I think there's a really supportive community who are so encouraging. Everyone is in a similar situation starting out, and there's a real sense of excitement and ambition when you're surrounded by people reading your work and showing you what they're working on.

Which current comic artists should we be reading, in Ireland and further afield?

This is such a huge question that I'm actually just going to talk about Irish talent, because there's plenty of it!

For Irish talent, the people I've mentioned above as collaborators are definitely ones to watch out for, as is everyone at Rogue Comics Ireland.

Check out Stray Lines, a really amazing collective of talented people.

There's some great webcomics going, including Shipwrecked (loooads of great collaborators on this one!); Jamie Lalor's After Yesterday, a great little Tumblr webcomic; Anthea West's Fate, Nhoj, and Superhero Helpdesk (another stellar team of creators).

Triona Farrell, Rob Carey, Eoin Marron, Rapha Lobosco, Dearbhla Kelly, Luke Healy, Matthew Shiell, Brian Burke, Kinga Korska, Roddy McCance, Katie Fleming, Charlot Kristensen (part of The Orange Nest), Iuli Niculescu, Gareth Luby, all people doing really interesting stuff, writing/drawing/lettering-wise. Take a look!

If you had to choose five desert island comics, what would they be?

That's just cruel. Why would you ask this?! Haha.

Blankets by Craig Thompson, Maus by Art Spiegelman, Sandman by Neil Gaiman, From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, Black Hole by Charles Burns. These are all comics I read a while ago, that had a really lasting impression on my idea of what comics could be.

Twitter: twitter.com/clarefoleyart

Facebook: facebook.com/clarefoleyartist

DIY Project: Recycled PomPom Garland

by Louise Gilligan

Do you have a press or drawer in your house just FULL of old plastic shopping bags? Follow the simple steps below to turn a bunch of a old plastic bags into a cute party garland. There are two parts to this month’s DIY project:

PART 1: Making the tassels from the plastic bags

Step 1: Grab a bunch of old plastic bags.

Step 2 : Flatten the bags as much as you can.

Step 3 : Group 3 bags together and clip them at the top to secure.

Step 4: Cut long vertical strips and try to leave them as flat as you can as it makes it easier for the next step when you tie them all together.

Step 5: Once you have the whole bag cut into strips, gently tie a string half way up the bags to group all of them together.

  PART 2: Making the pompoms for the top of the tassels

Step 1: Place two pieces of card on top of each other and draw two circles. They don’t have to be perfect at all.

Step 2: Cut the circles out as pictures remembering to still keep both cards together.

Step 3: Keep the two paper cut outs together and begin to wrap the wool around loosely. The bigger the better, so the more you wrap, the fluffier your pompom will be.

Step 4: This part is kind of tricky but slide the scissors in between the two pieces of card and cut along the side.

Step 5: Don’t worry if the card gets a bit worn out. Keep cutting until you have string on either side of the card. Place a long string in between and tie a tight knot.

Step 6 : Keep cutting the string until you form a ball shape, leaving two long strings so you can tie them to the tassels.

Step 7 : Repeat all of these steps until you create several tassel pieces. Using one long string connect them all together to form a garland.

An Interview with Konehead

by Fionn Murray

Ireland’s burgeoning techno scene has seen its fair share of colourful figures drawing influence from the Berlin scene or even Chicago footwork, but Dublin-born Konehead (currently based in London) is one of the more mysterious and enigmatic players in the scene. His lengthy instrumental tracks, as seen on his 2016 EP London, are not based on aggressive, tricksy rhythms and blaring basslines; rather, they are amorphous, soundscaping mood pieces, droning, repetitive and trancelike. We sat down to ask him a few questions about his music and creative process.

How did Konehead come into existence? Is this your first musical project?

Konehead is my first solo project. I have always been interested in producing music, but in the past few years have taken more of an interest in the techno scene. I went through a period of sketching out loads of musical ideas and then took a liking to this to progress with.

How would you describe the Konehead sound? Techno is a very densely populated scene at the moment - what makes Konehead stand out?

I’ve always been focused on keeping the music production sounding solid and organic. I think this helps to keep a sense of space and emotion in the music. A lot of techno artists these days opt for sounding very computerised and foreign, which can sometimes take away from the character of the productions.

What artists have influenced your sound? Do you mainly look to other techno and house artists for inspiration, or do your influences come from further afield?

I have taken influence from all types of music, from techno to heavy metal. Each genre plays its part in the musical spectrum and offers a different take on emotions and feelings. For example, one of my big inspirations is the artist Grimes, who for the most part creates pop music, but has established a very unique sound and style. I think that taking learnings from everything, without pigeonholing yourself to one genre, helps to bring together an original sound.

What's your writing process like? Do you start with a melody, a drumbeat, a bassline? Does it vary from track to track?

It does vary. However, I usually start a track purely from the mood or feeling I’m trying to portray with a song. This could result in starting with either a heavy beat or a bass/synth melody. Typically, all of the ideas would come out at the same time into a mess and would take some time to piece it all together.

Your most recent release was titled London. Was it inspired by living in the city? What were you trying to convey with the release?

Exactly. I started working on the release soon after I moved to the city and it was my way of putting together how I felt at the time.

Click here to listen: https://soundcloud.com/konehead_music/sets/london-ep

Does London have an active techno scene at present? Are you involved much, do you go to many techno events?

London has a massive techno scene which seems to ever grow in popularity. I do try to keep up with it, however a weekend doesn’t goes by where I don’t see myself missing multiple big names!

Are you involved with any other musical projects at the moment?

Yes, I’m currently also bassist in an Ireland-based metal band called Suzaku Avenue. We’re currently recording an EP so I’m very excited to get that out there very soon!

What's next for Konehead? Do you have any gigs or releases planned currently?

No gigs planned as of yet, however I have my next release in the works so keep an eye!

Past to Present Beauty!!

by Megan Grennan

Do you ever look back at old beauty products and think, ahhh those were the days? No?, well if you’re reading this then you’re about to.

Back to the days of blue mascara, hairbands bigger than our heads, greased up like a wrestler in baby oil. Despite the fact you know you shouldn’t, be honest you miss some of those beauty simplicities. My present makeup bag is bigger than my past school bag and I haven’t a clue how to use 70% of it’s contents.

It doesn’t have to all be a memory though because due to widespread nostalgia some products have come back to life, or back in stock if you will. Then for those products that haven’t reappeared, if you use a litre of your imagination you can closely compare some of these goodies to your oldies.

 Trade your covered clumpy blue mascara for a colourful eyeliner. I’m not the first one to pick up on the trick. Celebrity make-up artists having been recommending it for months and you can pick up their tricks on this beauty bible

https://www.newbeauty.com/slideshow/2692-colored-eyeliner-makeup-tips/1/

Velvet, printed, multi-coloured scrunchies were the stuff of good hair days for years. Update the sentiment with a hair scarf a la Harley Viera Newton’s new collection

http://www.harleyvieranewton.com/

 Remember when you were feeling ‘grown up’ and began to moisturise your legs!! Baby oil spilling everywhere, you were as slippery as a seal. Oil is still sacred, however now for our faces with results rendering ones like Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery and Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair.

https://www.kiehls.com/revive-and-recover-facial-oils

https://www.esteelauder.com/skin-care/face-oil

 A twelve year old’s birthday party now probably features disco lights in the back of a stretch hummer, but as far as my maturity levels were concerned, nothing beat glitter makeup and a sugar high. Thanks to the outlandish style of festivals, it’s now once again acceptable to sparkle from head to toe. For some of your best options and inspiration see the Gypsy Shrine and my glittered face above.

https://www.thegypsyshrine.com/shop/

 Showering as a child was a mandatory torture complete with props. Shampoo in the eyes and tangled hair were a worse threat than being locked up. We might not use “No Tears” anymore but a decent detangling spray is now a dream. This one is my current go to. I will warn that it isn’t cheap but it’s worth it!

Click here to buy.

This last one is not a beauty product from the past but bears semblance to one today. Ever had a mood ring? Mine permanently declared me as intense…They’re not easy to come by now but their adult friendly counterparts fill the void. Sassy Lips lipsticks change colour depending on your body temperature or your pH level making them unique to each wearer. Find out what tone you turn by trying one from http://www.sassylips.us/

Review: FAKE Exhibition

By Hayley Carr

In 1939, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges published a short story entitled, Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, which was a faux review written by the author, assessing the work of his recently deceased ‘friend’, Pierre Menard. Borges outlines in the story that Menard wished to rewrite the seventeenth century Spanish novel, Don Quixote, emphasising that it was not copied or recited, simply committed to writing word for word, line for line. The claim of the review is that Menard’s fragmentary Quixote is infinitely better than the original, as it contains Cervantes ingenious source material layered with a new history, new meanings, and a richer context. In this way, Borges introduces the idea that a fake cannot only be as good as the original on which it is based, but may also surpass it in quality and value. Fast forwarding almost eighty years, and this idea is still relevant and compelling, as demonstrated by Dublin’s Science Gallery’s ongoing exhibition, FAKE, running from 2 March to 6 June. 

I will admit, when I walked through the doors of the Science Gallery the other day with the title FAKE in my head, I was expecting to be bombarded with a relentless array of exhibits that would leave me highly strung hours later after my intense inspection and evermore anxious about the alienating and money charged society we are cultivating. Though I’m always interested by the exhibitions the Science Gallery put on, I rarely leave feeling joyful and positively stimulated. I was wary going into the exhibition, expecting a lot of work revolving around technology, and the isolating and damaging effects it seems to have on our lives and, though that did factor into some of the works displayed, I was surprised–quite pleasantly, too–to discover so many pieces that focused and explored on the constructive and beneficial aspects of the theme ‘fake’. Looking through the exhibition, I was reminded of the short story referred to in my introduction, which was mentioned briefly in one of my lectures back in my college days, and has stuck with me ever since (even though I had to fish out my old notebook and flick through endless pages of doodle riddled lecture notes just to find the name of the guy who wrote it!). I left the exhibition with my expectations completely upturned, and even found myself excitedly embracing the idea of ‘fakeness’, and no longer afraid or deterred by the word, or what it might imply. 

Coming from an art background, I was interested to see so many exhibits examining the connection between art and forgery and, as one artwork in the exhibition boldly claims, ‘Great Artists Steal’. The work in question is a light sculpture by Colombian artist, Camilo Matiz, and is composed of a neon light, spelling out the aforementioned statement, which is reflected in a mirror to reveal a hidden message, “Real Art Is”. Installed in the back section of the second floor, the light sculpture is stark in the dark lighting of the room and, for me, stood out as a really arresting and thought provoking piece, which confronts the viewer with an unresolved duality, forcing them to consider the authenticity of art, and the inevitability that any creative work will contain traces of someone else’s opus. Much like Borges questions the validity of the ‘original’, simply because it predates any other iterations, Matiz similarly asks the viewer to consider what makes art ‘real’, and whether greatness is inextricably linked to stealing. 

Two other pieces in the exhibition likewise addressed the relationship between ‘real art’ and ‘fake art’. One piece that I found particularly problematic was a painting entitled, ‘Still Life: Flowers in an Urn’, a neo-Dutch painting by an unknown French artist. The painting itself is authentic, but has had the original artist’s name erased and replaced by a fake name. Similarly, it is hung in a genuine frame, an ornate gold mount bearing the crest of the Queen of Adelaide, though not the original frame in which it was displayed. The result is this Frankenstein painting, a muddled amalgamation lying somewhere between real and fake. The Science Gallery have displayed the painting behind a plexiglass casing on which the authenticities and forgeries of the work are pointed out and explained, aesthetically similar to a piece of homework defiled by a teacher’s red pen, which adds a sense of fun and mockery to an otherwise puzzling work that I found difficult to reconcile. 

Image via dublin.sciencegallery.com

Also lingering on the fine line of fake and real is an artwork by two German artists, Nora AlBadri and Jan Nikolai, called ‘The Other Nefertiti’, which was given the tagline of “the most ethical art heist in history.” The display showcases two facsimile sculptures of the famous bust of Nefertiti which Al-Badri and Nikolai secretly scanned in the Neues Museum in Berlin with a hacked Kinect. Using these blueprints, they produced a replica of the sculpture using a 3D printer and exhibited the bust in Cairo. The plaque exuberantly informed me that this was the first time the sculpture was displayed in Egypt, though the statement itself is false, in a way, as it wasn’t the original bust on display. I personally find the virtue of this work to be a bit questionable, and in this instance I feel that the original sculpture returning to its homeland for the first time since its discovery in 1912 would have been a far greater gesture. However perhaps Menard’s philosophy applies to the new sculpture which, while possessing all the history and grandiose associated with the genuine artefact, now boasts the added interest of its inception and production. 

Alongside the theme of art and forgery, fake food has a strong presence throughout the exhibition. The most enjoyable installation of all (in my opinion) was the Faux Deli, a sandwich stand run by the staff of the Science Gallery which contains a range of fake foods, including healthy and ethical alternative foods (such as vegan friendly cheese and meat), and other foods that have earned the term ‘fake’ for less positive reasons. The best part about the Faux Deli is that it’s interactive–i.e. they’ll make you a delicious fake sandwich if you ask them nicely enough! 

Other exhibits explore the negative side of fake food, such as an art piece by Brazilian artist Patricia Pisanelli entitled ‘Stretching Cheese’, which displays a selection of red and white processed cheddar cheese slices hung on the wall, exposed to the sun’s light. The artwork attempts to disclose the cheese as an imitation by causing it to become changed and faded by the sun’s rays. In a similar exposé on the production of vanilla, one exhibit reveals that only 1% of vanilla consumed in the world is actually extracted from vanilla plants, which is a costly and time consuming process. The rest is made artificially. The exhibit invites visitors to taste the different iterations of ‘vanillin’ versus the organic vanilla, challenging them to consider the ethicality of extracting natural vanilla when artificial alternatives can be more easily produced. 

Of course, while focusing on the unexpected benefits of fakery in the natural and modern world, and exploring the ambiguity it possesses in many facets of our lives, there’s an inevitable darkness attached to the term, especially in relation to technology. One piece, a campaign run by French organisation Addict Aide, set up a fake Instagram account for a woman named Louise Delage, who quickly garnered thousands of followers after posting glamorous selfies and chic lifestyle photographs. However, each picture also contains alcohol in some capacity, and the campaign aims to highlight the darker aspects of our lives that are omitted from our online profiles. Several other exhibits look at the connection between technology and the fake, some finding positive uses, such as in the natural world, where ‘faux frogs’ can be used to track the mating patterns of female frogs, and other more unsettling installations that explore our relationship with Artificial Intelligence and our tendency to trust the spurious infallibility of computers (but I won’t spoil that one for you–let it be your incentive for going!).

With dozens of works that analyse and investigate our connection to the fake, the Science Gallery’s current exhibition is an engaging and thought provoking experience, filled with many intriguing and interactive pieces that will challenge and revise your preconceptions of what it means to be fake, faux, or fraudulent. And if you don’t believe me, ask my friend Pierre Menard. He’s something of an expert in this field.