Features Location: London

In recent years, we’ve all learned that connecting as human beings doesn’t always mean being able to touch one another, reaching across screens and borders to forge genuine human connection. Two artists, Jim Eyre and Natalie Christensen, have taken that connection to the next level with a large-scale mural project that they collaborated on from different countries–the UK and U.S.A. The piece, entitled SHIFTINGSCAPE (S), will be taking over two mega sites in London.

A colourful, chaotic piece that challenges our perception and retrains our eyes, Shiftscapes is going to stop passers-by in their steps. Natalie and Jim began their partnership in 2017 over Instagram and since then have refined their work together. As they put it, their correspondence “blossomed into a collaboration in which they built art pieces that respond to the often-fraught practice of sharing work in a virtual space that wasn’t built with art appreciation in mind.”

SHIFTINGSCAPE (S) is a 10’ x 20’ installation that works as “an idealised manifestation of a social media hyperscape and its accompanying profound psychological effects.” Speaking to Uncle, Jim said: “Working in different continents has its limitations and time differences but working in a new way we are able to meet , share and produce work in our digital studio. We meet physically in the real world when we display our work to have a shared experience and create memories.”

With their work, says Jim, the duo aim to challenge the viewer, to make them ask questions of themselves and to open conversations about the digital realm. Natalie added: “It is important to us that the audience experience a sense of wonder and disorientation from our work, especially SHIFTINGSCAPE (S). Because we take our inspiration from social media and the impact of those spaces on our brains and lives, we want to create that kind of experience through our art.” They do that with a mash up of street elements, a confusing mix of scale and texture, bright colours, and the temporary nature of installation. 

Reflecting disorientation and aimlessness, the bright colours and chaotic visual landscape encourage us to keep watching–even when it’s uncomfortable.  SHIFTINGSCAPE (S) will be live until the end of August, when Natalie will also visit the piece.

Legendary performance and conceptual artist Marina Abramović needs no introduction. Born in Serbia, Abramović has made global waves in the art work with innovative works that straddle the boundaries of art and performance. Exploring the limitations of humanity and the human body first with her Rhythm series and more recently with The Artist is Present, there is no one working in that field today quite like Abramović–or that wasn’t inspired by her.

That’s why we’re so honoured to team up with Abramović and The Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Art (CIRCA) on a very special piece of work entitled The Hero. The Hero is a collection of 25FPS NFTs that will “expand the concept of time-based media for a digital audience”, hosted on the energy efficient Tezos blockchain.

To get the word out about The Hero, UNCLE are flyposting across London. Featuring Abramović on a horse waving a white flag, the posters include a QR code so passers-by have their chance to own a piece of history–and the future. Speaking, fittingly, to Hero Magazine, Abramović explained that she originally filmed The Hero in 2001 when her father died, an homage to her own hero. In order to fill the screen in Piccadilly Circus, Abramović worked for months to edit each individual frame.

Explaining her foray into NFTs, Abramović said, “If we think about the history of performance art, it’s always about immateriality,” she added, “All that is left with the audience is a memory of that event and the performance is very important to be done for the public, so it’s also interactive. So many years later, what do we have? We have the NFT which is also immaterial, also about time and also about the direct experience of the audience.”

The Hero will launch on July 25 at 2pm UTC.

As our technologies advance, it becomes increasingly apparent that all things regarding the digital world and metaverse are ever evolving. For our latest collaboration, we have partnered with RedKite and Ourtypes to put up flyposters promoting their group NFT art fundraising show.

Running for 16 days, the art show entitled ‘Humanity’ has been created to raise money and awareness surrounding the conflict in Ukraine. The show features 33 esteemed artists, both traditional and NFT specialists, who have come together with the intention of raising USD $84,000 for charities including: Emergency Fund, The Refugee Council, UNICEF UK Children’s and The Voices of Children Foundation.

The collection of work itself sees 256 NFT art pieces, ranging from 0.1 ETH, 0.15 ETH, 0.2 ETH, and 0.25 ETH in value, are available in editions of 8. Pieces include art from the likes of Pure Evil, street artist Fanakapan, Ben Eine and Dave Buonaguidi, AKA Real Hackney Dave. Most notably is work featured by Heath Kane – who created a bold image with the text ‘liar, thief and murderer’ in Ukrainian, which we flyposted across London.

Speaking on the show, curator Angie Davey said, “as with any global crisis, artists are some of the first to get involved to help out, and as an NFT platform with access to these artists and a means to raise funds, RedKite made the quick decision to put on Humanity, to aid refugee charities.” Alongside the show, limited edition artwork created by Pure Evil during a session of art therapy with children in Ukraine will be put on auction on Tuesday 21st June. You can find out more here.

As an artist, Yoko Ono is synonymous with the word “peace”. A lifelong pacifist, her “Imagine Peace” project was born in March 1969–an event with strong imagery that people around the world remember, regardless of whether or not they’re fans of her work. It was then that Ono and her late husband John Lennon staged a “bed-in” against the Vietnam War, protesting from their bed for a week at the Amsterdam Hilton hotel and later Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. It was part of a larger series of similar protests, but theirs and the photos of it garnered the most attention. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest war that has shocked the world and grabbed the attention of Yoko Ono. We collaborated with Ono, arts and culture platform Circa Art and BUILDHOLLYWOOD to promote the latest instalment of a decades-long project for peace. Ono’s words, “Imagine Peace”, will be occupying digital screens across the world in their local language. Piccadilly Lights in London, Times Square in New York and K-Pop Square in Seoul were among those interrupted to broadcast the phrase, but the art installation, presented by Circa and Serpentine Galleries, can also be seen in Berlin, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Milan. Our flyposters spread word of the project in London and New York, bringing a message of peace to streets across the world.

Alongside the public art and posters, a limited-edition print will go on sale with all proceeds donated to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. In a press release, Ono said, “Imagining is something that we can all do, even when we have different opinions about how to get there.” You can find out when the screen near you will next be interrupted here.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, you can see the familiar blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag flown in solidarity everywhere you go. Many artists are using their talents and those colours to show support of Ukraine, both with art and with tangible efforts like cash aid.

We teamed up with Migrate Art and artist Idris Khan to create his own take on the flag, a limited-edition print on sale for £300 for 10 days only, a reflection of the concept of running out of time. Called “I Thought We Had More Time…”, the piece inspires the viewer to think about the reality of what’s happening and their own lives. Collaged with those bold colours over sheets of music, Khan was inspired because the flag has become, “the symbol of the free world for a lot of people, and a symbol of hope and defiance. It’s really strong — two bold, strong colours, blue and yellow,” he said to the Evening Standard.

We’ll be putting up flyposters across the UK, bringing the crisis to the attention of all passersby. Sold as part of the Evening Standard’s Ukraine appeal, the piece is powerful. Speaking to the Standard, Khan said, “My first thought was about not having any time. One day everything’s okay, and then suddenly you’ve got two hours to leave everything behind and get out of your house or flat, wherever you are, and make a decision about what you take. I’ve got two kids as well, and that vision of just grabbing them and having to flee and leave everything behind while you watch your home be destroyed–that was a complete shock. Your emotions are: what can you do? How can you help?”

Everyone has been using what they have to hand to help the people of Ukraine, and in both our and Khan’s case, that’s art. 100% of profits will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee. 

The upcoming AW21 collection for Charles Jeffrey’s brand, LOVERBOY, reflects on why it’s important to acknowledge the bad times as well as the good.

Ceremoniously dubbed “the ringleader of London’s next generation of club kids,” by Dazed, Jeffrey’s LOVERBOY was born as a cult club night, morphed over the years into something more without ever losing that subversive, collective spirit.

To celebrate his AW21, Gloom collection, we collaborated with the designer to flypost the streets of London with bright red and white posters of striking models wearing his gender neutral, punk-inflected pieces. Inspired by Jeffrey’s home, the collection radically uproots tradition, riffing on tartan and knitwear, tearing up the rulebook to create unique kilts, jumpsuits and other garments that feel fresh yet familiar. A new uniform for an uncanny Glaswegian autumn.

Shot by iconic fashion photographer Thurstan Redding, the images will stop even the busiest passerby with “the brightest gloom around.” Gloom is almost an indefinable mood, but as Jeffrey puts it, “Gloom speaks to the moment in which we find ourselves, for how could we do it otherwise? Teetering on the edge of something new and gazing into the unknown.” The shots show models lounging on beds and couches, as Jeffrey says they are, “stuck in their own melancholy, dreaming of celestial bodies in their teenage bedrooms.” 

The depth of the photographs and garms captures the ethos of LOVERBOY’s Gloom, offering a texture that needs to be seen IRL to be understood.

A collab with Real Hackney Dave puts the onus for women’s safety where it belongs.

While the city streets can be a source of inspiration, for many others, especially women, they can be a breeding ground for fear. With gendered violence dominating the news this year, women have felt increasingly unsafe walking the streets, and the onus is often put on them to avoid terrifying outcomes. This series Give Her Space, in collaboration with printmaker extraordinaire Real Hackney Dave, has an important mission statement of “Brightening the streets with simple ways men can show up for women against sexual harassment.”

Give Her Space launched in early 2021 in an effort to combat the narrative around street harassment and to help women to feel less at risk when out and about, particularly at night. Real Hackney Dave, known for his tongue-in-cheek text-based pieces, seemed like a natural fit to keep the project’s message concise yet unforgettable.

We wanted to get this important message, “Just be nice, give her space”, onto the streets, prompting men to step up and find ways to make women feel less scared. With stats that show 97% of women have been sexually harassed, these bold, red, simple yet effective texts all over the UK were intended to serve as a reminder to everyone and take the pressure off women for a change.

Cult British-Jamaican menswear designer Martine Rose has had an unusual and illustrious career. Born in South London, Rose received a degree in fashion design at Middlesex University before launching her eponymous label in 2007, focusing on menswear with a playful twist. She has also worked with a number of big names both in street and luxury fashion, collaborating with CAT on a line of boots in 2011, working as a consultant to Balenciaga for Demna Gyesalia in 2015, and collaborating with Nike on a tracksuit in 2018.

For her own line, Rose draws inspiration from punk, reggae, rave and other London subcultures to craft boundary-pushing clothes that don’t fit into any box. She incorporates playful fabrics not often associated with menswear, like fur, satin and lurex into her designs, crafting collections whose reference point is always music and subculture, drawing on her upbringing and first influences.

Her pieces blur gender boundaries in menswear, and we were excited to bring her SS21 collection to the streets. With camboy thrills, stretch nylon and frills, the clothes bring a playful edge to an arena that can often feel stale. The posters, featuring models poised on a frilly pedestal, are simple, bringing the focus to the clothes and to Rose’s venerated name, letting the work speak for itself. Rose often showcases her work in non-traditional spaces, including a street market and a climbing gym, so the street seemed like the perfect catwalk for someone so adept at subverting the fashion world’s strict expectations.