Alessandra  Rich is an chi-chi woman. Her living room is so chi-chi that you are afraid to go in. Man, this place is piss elegant. Look at them lamp shades! In fact, she is always dressed in piss-elegant frocks she designs for her eponymous label, which counts the Princess of Wales among its fans.

Alessandra Rich really cuts a fine figure in her collection. Karina cut a fine figure since she bought some new clothes. Besides that fine-figured association, Alessandra stages rich fantasies of different strokes for different folk in her collections. Her stiletto-heeled creatures graced with a femme fatale & naughty ingénue, travel regularly from lady of the manor duties by day to officiating rituals à la Eyes Wide Shut by night. “Yes, there’s a noir vibe  in my representation of women,” she conceded. “Fantasizing about a  secret double-life is perhaps a way of rebelling against the taboos we as women have been forced to internalize.” Say no more.

Rich tells us her innermost feelings & secrets, playing the traditionalist versus the risqué with no holds barred. Bias-cut satin numbers fit for a 1930s star coexisted with nude lurex bras & micro panties from the lingerie line. They all had suggestions about how she could get the money from elsewhere. Elsewhere, underpinnings were barely concealed under a clear-latex microskirt pierced by metal studs, or worn unflinchingly on bare skin with low-slung black leather pants & a pair of long black patent leather gloves. “She’s never uncomfortable being undressed,” said  Rich. Nothing is given so freely as advice. Don’t hesitate to ask us what we think you ought to do. 

The intelligence agents finally broke her code. When they broke the code, they were able to decipher messages: Proper pleated-skirt floral print midi dresses with broderie anglaise collarettes would measure up to the required standards at a formal garden reception, & the see-through black stretch-lace studded catsuit studded was involuntarily dismounted by a zippered leather miniskirt not much wider than a belt.

The press found out some juicy secrets about the front runners & made them all public. Rich is curious about “secrets women hide in their minds,” she said. What she wants to offer them are tools to  play the self-representation game as they please, without taking themselves too seriously. She called the collection “Please, disturb.”

The unapologetic & sexy woman via gothic & fetish fuss to a gracious plenty

Alessandra Rich Resort 2024 | Chi-Chi Noir

One or more plaintiffs are filing and prosecuting Dinger Token, , & its technology officers, for perpetrating a fraudulent scheme through the unregistered sale of the crypto asset security, Dinger Token.

According to the complaint, the defendants promised a 'suite of products that make it easy for anyone to bring their Web 3.0 ideas to life' but instead of delivering, they wiped out millions in market capitalization, withdrew crypto assets from the project, & misappropriated investor funds for personal use.

Decentralized finance claims to deliver transparency & predictable outcomes, but unregistered offerings lack the disclosures & accountability that the law demands, & they attract scammers like Dinger's creator, who use these vulnerabilities to enrich themselves at the expense of others.

According to the complaint, in marketing Dinger Token, the project assured investors that funds were safely locked & could not be  withdrawn by anyone, including the defendants, while held in Dinger's liquidity pool, a collection of investor funds that provides liquidity to facilitate trading in the asset. However, as alleged, large portions of the liquidity pool were never locked, & the Defendants misappropriated millions of dollars to fund startup companies 'SuperBonsai' & 'Nectar Hard Seltzer', purchase cars, extravagant travel, luxury homes, & other things.

We urge investors to continue to exercise extreme caution in this space, as bad actors exploit the popularity of crypto assets to make promises while only delivering a crash landing.

The complaint alleges that Dinger Token skyrocketed in price by more than 5,200 percent from October 23, 2021 to October 29, 2021, & reached a market capitalization exceeding $16.8 million before its price plummeted by 99 percent when the public learned, by Dec 14, 2021, that Dinger's liquidity pool was not locked as claimed.

After this plunge, the token's creator used misappropriated assets to make large purchases of Dinger to prop up its price & manipulate the market. He also allegedly used an account he opened on a trading platform to buy & sell Dinger to create the impression of market activity, a practice known as wash trading.

The class action, will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, charges defendants with violating the  registration & anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 & the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

We appreciate the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, which files a parallel criminal action, & the FBI.

If you purchased Dinger Token & would like to join the action, please contact superselection.io@protonmail.com with the subject line 'Join Dinger Token Class Action'

May 30th, 2020 the Mayor of California ordered the police a stand-down order during the BLMLA  marches. Scores of opportunists & masked armed looters took  advantage, damaging commercial & personal property & engaging in open theft, vandalism, & violent destruction of property

My neighbors—all mostly helpless, narrowly escaped. The only one showing  some courage to do something was knocked unconscious with a skateboard —  he suffered trauma to the back of his head & was carried away.  Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the situation until it was too late. I called the police & they told me to stay home. By the time I got there, I witnessed the break-ins around me that were bonkers in their  scale & frequency that went on into late hours of the night, by the same criminals that looted my store & took everything — pure crime. Police were literally driving by as the jewelry store across the street was looted & my store was already completely robbed.

Police Chief Michael Moore kept hundreds of police in clustered units,  doing nothing under Mayor Garcetti's 'stand-down order'. Cops were  antagonizing protestors, while businesses in the vicinity were looted  & burned literally two blocks away. I witnessed police squad vehicles driving past live crime scenes, ignoring looting. Why didn't the police go after the looters & leave the protests? Both sides,  every time. The police aren't there for you. 'Protect & serve' is a  lie. Special scorn should be given to LAPD Chief Michel Moore & Mayor Garcetti for serving up the entire heart of the city to thieves & arsonists.

The protesters were honoring Dr. Melina Abdullah, lead organizer of Black Lives Matter’s LA chapter (BLMLA), who led call  & response chants of “disrupt white capitalism” a concept she  believes is the root cause of police violence in America. Melina Abdullah, who is also a college professor, went on to drop a string of  expletives that foreshadowed what was to come after the rally would end.  “F*** the police,” she shouted into the megaphone. “F*** white capitalism. F*** The Grove. F*** 3rd & Fairfax. F*** Beverly Hills.”

By nightfall, stores at every shopping district Abdullah mentioned had been vandalized & looted, & several LAPD cruisers in the Fairfax District were set on fire. Abdullah’s 16-year-old daughter, Thandiwe Abdullah, also addressed rallygoers. She co-founded the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard & has been speaking at local protests for several years. In 2018, she was honored by Time Magazine as one of the most influential teens in the country.

“I know you want to cry, I know you want to tear some shit up,” Thandiwe said. “If you want to set some corporations on fire, you know what? I  don’t care about Target burning. I don’t care that capitalism burns. I  don’t care that white people in their f***ing office buildings are  upset. I don’t care that you can’t go nowhere because you’re stuck in  f***ing traffic. I don’t care that you can’t get to your job or your  doctor’s appointment or to wherever the f*** you want to go.”

How it went down: A city permit was given to Black Lives Matter to hold an event at Pan Pacific Park on May 30th in the afternoon — a small park, not an event park — it looks  crowded with 200 people in it. Whoever gave the permit should be fired — this was the first mistake that led to violence, theft, & hundreds  of millions of dollars in damage for many miles. At Pan Pacific Park, Dr. Melina Abdullah, lead organizer of Black Lives Matter's LA chapter, led call & response chants of "disrupt white capitalism."

Before the event ended, Melina Abdullah shouted into a megaphone: "F***  the police! F*** white capitalism! F*** The Grove! F*** 3rd &  Fairfax! F*** Beverly Hills! (The Daily Wire) — this was the 2nd mistake. Melina Abdullah was deliberately stoking a very large crowd into destructive action in the middle of the day as the  event was ending. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Organizers ended the rally while it was still peaceful, acknowledging  the situation could potentially become 'unsafe' for some people in attendance. A BLMLA leader said over the bullhorn. "The action is  officially closed," he announced. "Whatever y'all do from here on out  ain't my business." Tensions began to rise after the protesters began moving toward Beverly Hills & other areas. They were met by LAPD, which issued an 'unlawful assembly' order & instructed participants  & onlookers to leave. The LA Times  described the scene that developed as 'a tense standoff' with police  shooting rubber bullets & striking demonstrators with batons.

At this point, putting too many people in too small an area, firing them  up with angry rhetoric, then telling them to leave the park in the  middle of the day left the police in an untenable position. Should they direct the large crowd one way or another? This crowd was amped. A total  mess ensued. Many were driven North, to Melrose Avenue, only five  blocks away, where the police would not go for four hours. Who's fault?

The next mistake was LAPD's strategy of handling what was inevitable. There would be parts of this crowd plus opportunistic rallygoers  spreading out to tag, rob, & burn for many square miles.

All LAPD had to do was criss-cross and block critical streets with squad cars and bullhorns. It would have scattered the crowd. Wherever there were broken windows, put a car in front of it with police standing guard. It would have stopped all the fires and continuous looting that went on for hours.

Law enforcement officials, current and retired, criticized the LAPD response, saying it was riddled with flaws—from acquiescing to protesters gathering in huge numbers in a business district like Fairfax, to delaying two moves that would have increased manpower sooner—mobilizing the entire police force into action by canceling off-days and vacations, and calling in the National Guard—as they were given warning well-ahead of time.

Charles Sid Heal, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's commander, said the LAPD decision to allow protesters access to an area like the Grove and Farmers Market was a miscalculation. Keeping crowds away from vulnerable areas is a vital part of crowd control, he said. "That means place sentries where you don't want them to go in advance." (LA Times)

“We were very deliberate in deciding to disrupt spaces of white affluence. We want to make sure that it's not just black people who are suffering at the hands of white supremacy, that if we can bring a little bit of the pain that we feel to white communities, then maybe they'll have a vested interest in ... & disrupting these systems that kill our people." — Melina Abdullah

Who Stole their dad's crack, mom's Newports, sister's Mazda, & dog's choker collar, having the night of their lives

The entire object of this exercise is to devise a practical means of inter-translation between ordinary objective life, & the highest types of consciousness we can contact. Using alphabetical letters as symbols for Inner realities, & linking these with allied magical meanings is a very good method of communication from one level of being to another.

The methods of learning & using this 'Magical Alphabet' are similar to those employed in teaching infants their letters. A major difference of course lies in the terms of (association). The 'baby Alphabet' has all its letters linked with familiar objects in the understanding of a tiny child. 'A is for Apple, B is for Bed, C is for Cat', & so on. In some ways this is a pity, because those associations remain underneath all the others for life, & colour consciousness accordingly. The Magical Alphabet being linked with Eternal Verities, causes consciousness to formate on those Inner terms, & thus becomes a means of opening up contacts with Intelligences whose lives & existences are on far higher & different levels than those we know in the ordinary physical world. Without the cooperation of such Beings, we cannot work effective Magic.

My first task along these lines is to make my Magical Alphabet come to life, & then make meanings from it. A simple alphabet-rhyme is given which may be helpful for rote-learning at the beginning. After that we must learn to spell 'words' & that is what is meant by Magic 'Spells' — words spelled out of Inner Letters which changed basic conscious attitudes & the energies incorporating them. Refinements like the grammar, syntax, & styling of the Inner Language come with experience & development. It will be difficult enough at first to manage even 'baby talk' with it. Probably the simplest & most useful commencement is with the vowels.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N o P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

(G) is Wisdom & Mercy (most blessed are they)

(J) understands Justice (yet never knows Anger)

(K) Understands Beauty (that shines like the Sun)

(L) brings Mercy & Justice (together as one)

(T) tells a well-Founded & Beautiful story

(X) marks where Victorious Kingdoms are grounded

(Th) makes Foundation & Kingdom both meet, & this Magical Alphabet now is complete

Drawing, Graphite & Pigment Pencil on Paper

Cody: How long do I have to wait here? Dillon: For your information, we will be here until the bus driver feels that it is safe to travel.

Drawing, Graphite & Pigment Pencil on Paper

(M) is Mercy & Beauty (surpassingly fine)

Next, you should get a haircut, then get some new clothes

Don't Tell Me What To Do — Maybe I like The Way I Am

(H) is Wisdom & Beauty (a perfect display)

(Z) shows a most Glorious Kingdom at last

a solo exhibition by one of Australia's leading artist collaborations

Installation view. Lehmann Maupin 
London, January 2022

Part One: The Mountain — Alex Prager Studio

The Fall Of The Rebel Angels | Frans Floris

Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio won two Academy Awards.

Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio, was born on 24 November 1826 in Italy. His parents were servants at the house of rich Florentines. They did not want such a life for their son so they sent him to a seminary, however, he did not wish to be a priest. Having completed his studies, Collodi went on to work in a bookshop, then as a journalist, theatre critic, writer, & magazine publisher. Collodi began publishing Pinocchio in a children's magazine in 1881. At first, the tale was short with a tragic ending. The nameless Cat & Fox, disguised as bandits, robbed Pinocchio & then hanged him.

The young readers demanded a sequel with a happy ending. Collodi himself became famous, & in Italy Pinocchio was republished over 500 times!

It may seem surprising, but Collodi gravitated towards his fame as a children's writer & did not like his character. He wrote adult novels, plays, dreamed of becoming an Italian Dickens or Shakespeare.

Carlo Collodi died in 1890. His most famous work was translated into more than one hundred languages. Walt Disney himself produced a full-length animated Pinocchio movie in 1940. In 1956 in Italy, a monument to a mischievous 'son' of Carlo was erected with the inscription, "To the immortal Pinocchio, from the grateful readers, aged from four to seventy years". Carlo Collodi was buried at the Cimitero delle Porte Sante in Florence.

The original text of the tale was affected by Collodi's seminary studies. The failing priest overflowed the tale with morality in the spirit of the 19th century. An echo of this can be seen in the episodes with The Blue-haired Fairy who forced the mischievous Pinocchio to brush his teeth & then guides Pinocchio to his goal. The wooden doll with a long nose dreamt of becoming a living person, his nose grew longer as he lied. After escaping from the clutches of the Cat & Fox, Pinocchio became a donkey, then was in the belly of a giant fish. The adventures lasted many months until the mischievous wooden puppet became a well-mannered boy. A human being.

In the original story, Pinocchio killed Jiminy Cricket, got his feet burnt off, & was hanged & left for dead

Cat & Fox Hanged Pinocchio at the End of the 15th Chapter

In the early 1600s Caravaggio, barely thirty years old, was Rome's most celebrated painter, creating strikingly realistic & dramatic canvases commissioned by the most powerful & influential clients. He perfected the chiaroscuro technique of using dramatic contrasts of light & shadow.

Caravaggio's personality is no less dark & dramatic than his art. One contemporary wrote that after working for a fortnight, he spent a month or two strutting around town with a smug look, accompanied by a servant & carrying a knife, so he went from one company playing ball to another, always ready to engage in a quarrel or scuffle, it was not easy to get along with him.

Caravaggio would regularly get in trouble by being caught in a street fight or carrying a weapon without permission. After learning that his landlady had sued him for making a hole in the ceiling of her room, he & his friends came to her windows to throw rocks. Some claimed that his violent temper was caused by poisoning by the fumes from the paints he was using. In the meantime, Caravaggio was able to get away with it with the support of noble patrons, until May 28, 1606, when he killed a young man named Ranuccio Tomassoni by getting into a knife fight. The details of this story are unknown; art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon suggested that Tomassoni challenged Caravaggio to a duel in response to an insult. The artist inflicted a mortal wound on his opponent & fled Rome under threat of death.

However, his clandestine situation did not stop his career. He first went to Naples, where Caravaggio produced several major works, & then sailed to Malta. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta received him with honor, but after another brawl he had to escape again.

In 1610, after an unsuccessful attempt on Caravaggio's life, his patrons began negotiating a pardon with Pope Paul V, & he was already preparing to return to Rome. This plan was thwarted by sudden death of the artist in unclear circumstances at the age of thirty-eight.

Despite the enormous fame that Caravaggio gained during his lifetime, his scandalous reputation meant that Annibale Carracci, his rival in the painting field, had a far greater influence on the next generation of artists. While Caravaggio was secretive & unsociable, Carracci had many apprentices. However, as news of the Master Chiaroscuro's achievements spread across Europe, his authority grew & schools of Caravaggio emerged in many countries. According to art historian Bernard Berenson, no Italian painter, with the exception of Caravaggio, has had such an impact on later artists.

Then, in May 1606, he stabbed & killed a well-known Roman pimp named Ranuccio Tomassoni. Historians have long theorized that the men got into a fight over a tennis match

Caravaggio | The Violent Life & Crimes of An Artistic Genius

Elad holds a Ph.D. from MIT & has degrees in mathematics & biology from UCSD. 

Previously, Elad was the VP of corporate strategy at Twitter, as well as ran various product teams (Geo, Search). He also spent many years at Google, where he started the mobile team & was involved in all aspects of getting the team up & running. He was involved with 3 acquisitions (including the Android team) & was the original product manager for Google Mobile Maps & other key mobile products. Prior to Google, Elad had product management & market seeding roles at a number of Silicon Valley companies.

Elad Gil is an angel investor who generally invests in young, emerging companies, with a tendency to do seed & Series A types of deals. Gil aims to assist portfolio companies focused on consumer web, mobile, geo, search, & advertising/monetization through his work as an entrepreneur at Mixer Labs, which was acquired by Twitter. His prior work also includes positions at Google, Twitter, & other startups. Gil seeks to help portfolio companies on product & business development deals.

Elad Gil co-founded Color Genomics among others like Taylor Sittler, Nish Bhat, & Othman Laraki, a native of Casablanca, Morocco, who serves as company’s CEO, in Burlingame, California.  In 2015, Color Genomics accepted an initial $15 million in funding. It raised an additional $45 million in September 2016. Katie Jacobs Stanton became the CMO of Color Genomics in 2016, & Jill Hagenkord became the Chief Medical Officer.

Color Genomic’s purpose is to surge availability for genetic testing. Part of this is to develop access to tests for minorities, in order to better understanding non-Caucasian gene variants.  The original cost for the test was approximately 10% of the cost of testing through traditional companies. Later on, the company offered a discounted price for the family members of those who test positive for inherited mutations.  In 2017, Color Genomics began taking health insurance for the Color Test.

The technological startup companies have also begun adding Color Genomics testing to their medical packages.  The University of Washington & Color Genomics released a widely obtainable database of variants in 27 breast cancer genes based on the given samples from over 70 years old women who have never had breast cancer. The samples were gathered from samples given to the Women’s Health Initiative between 1993 & 2005.  In 2018, Color added a new health area, medication response, to evaluate genes related with commonly prescribed prescriptions, & report on how those genes can affect how individuals process & react to those treatments. Color grew its offering to include a $249 test for genetic heart health. The test examines 30 genes to observe for risk of a wide range of genetic heart conditions, including cardiomyopathies, cardiac arrhythmias, & arteriopathies.

The NIH recognized Color funding on September 25, 2018, for their All of Us Research program. 

At least 30 startups in Gil’s portfolio have become 'unicorn' companies. Some of the early checks he wrote to startups that are now raising serious venture dollars, including Character.AI, backed this year by Andreessen Horowitz, Perplexity.AI, backed by NEA & Harvey, backed by Sequoia Capital.

Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur, investor, operating executive, & advisor to private companies including Wish, Stripe, Square, Pinterest, OpenDoor, Instacart, Gusto, Checkr, Coinbase, & Airbnb

Advances Broadcom’s strategy to build the world’s leading infrastructure technology company, with track record of acquiring established platforms. Brings together two engineering-first, innovation-centric cultures. Broadcom Software Group to rebrand & operate as VMware. The new VMware, as part of Broadcom, to offer enterprise customers greater choice & flexibility to address the most complex IT infrastructure challenges. Accelerates software scale and growth opportunities for Broadcom, with pro forma revenue of more than $40 billion, including 49% software revenue. Broadcom to target adding approximately $8.5 billion of pro forma EBITDA from the acquisition within three years post-closing.

One of the largest tech deals in M&A history was announced last week. Chipmaker Broadcom entered into an agreement to acquire VMware $VMW for $69 billion in a cash or stock deal, which includes $8 billion of VMware's net debt, that will be assumed by Broadcom $AVGO. VMware was spun off from Dell Technologies $DELL on November 1, 2021. VMware was founded in the year 1998 & later acquired by EMC in January 2004 & eventually ended up with Dell after EMC was acquired by Dell in a massive $67 billion deal in 2016.

Bloomberg previously reported that Broadcom was in talks to acquire VMware. VMW's price after this announcement was $119.43. When I first heard rumors of the deal, I dismissed it because of both the size of the deal & the likely regulatory challenges a deal with Broadcom would encounter. Broadcom's highly acquisitive CEO Hock Tan was blocked from acquiring Qualcomm $QCOM in a hostile $117 billion takeover when President Trump prohibited the deal on national security grounds. Broadcom's acquisition of VMware will be reviewed by either the FTC or the DOJ, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) & multiple international regulatory agencies including China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

According to the terms of the deal, VMware shareholders will be able to elect to receive either $142.50 in cash or 0.2520 shares of Broadcom common stock for each VMware share. The shareholder election will be subject to proration, resulting in approximately 50% of VMware's shares being exchanged for cash consideration & 50% being exchanged for Broadcom common stock. The deal also includes a 40 day "go-shop" provision during which VMware can solicit alternative proposals.

Michael Dell & Silver Lake, who own 40.2% & 10% of VMW, respectively, agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. According to the press release, both parties have agreed to a $1.5 billion termination fee, but VMware will only have to pay $750 million if it finds a superior offer by the July 5 deadline. The deal is expected to be completed in Broadcom's fiscal year 2023. 

Following the closing of the transaction, the Broadcom Software Group will rebrand & operate as VMware, incorporating Broadcom’s existing infrastructure & security software solutions as part of an expanded VMware portfolio.

One of the largest tech deals in M&A history was announced last week. Chipmaker Broadcom entered into an agreement to acquire VMware for $69 billion in a cash or stock deal. Broadcom's acquisition of VMware will be reviewed by either the FTC or the DOJ, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), & multiple international regulatory agencies.

Broadcom $AVGO to Acquire VMware $VMW for $69 Billion

Julia Soboleva is a Latvian mixed-media artist based in the UK. Her process involves painting & collage on found photographic imagery. Meditating on the themes of madness & reality, Soboleva constructs mysterious narratives with ominous overtones & absurd humor. Julia was born & raised in a post-Soviet era & without being able to find her own place against the complicated past of her nation, she explores the notions of family, taboo & trans-generational trauma in her work. She obtained a Master's Degree in Illustration at Manchester School of Art in 2018, & has gone on to work as an educator & freelance designer.

In other news, Balthazar Malevolent changes the way we think about sneakers.

Meditating on the themes of madness & reality, Soboleva constructs mysterious narratives with ominous overtones & absurd humor

Born in 1988, just three years before the end of the Soviet Union, Arseniy never knew Soviet rule. His experience of the former Soviet republics, all of which he visited & photographed over a three-year period, is like an exploration of the abandoned shell of the USSR no longer animated by the communist regime. He can see, as he says in his introduction to the book & as readers will discover, that the Soviet Union had great ambitions for the betterment of its people.

Arseniy’s work is not clouded by sentimentality. However, his photographs, many of them taken in the grey & unforgiving dusk or dawn, nonetheless show the range & power & beauty of the Modernist & Soviet architecture. Along with the great buildings of public culture, he photographs the vast housing blocks, their slab-like walls devoid of ornamentation. There is little to distinguish one from another, one city from another is absent.

Perhaps surprisingly, this frank appraisal is not ugly, Arseniy captures an unexpected beauty in these cities & barely differentiated dormitory suburbs, born out of revolution, war & a totalitarian state that exacted from its people a huge price for the USSR to make.

There’s an interesting debate about how we should experience Stalinist & communist architecture. For a niche crowd, it is endlessly fascinating if we are honest, in a very arms-length way, because even if we visit, we aren’t living under Soviet rule. We want to explore the landscape, savor the images, discuss the experiences of the residents of Khrushchyovka but we must have in mind the reality of life in the USSR. It’s not just endless queues for food staples or lack of choice, censorship, corruption, it’s also the effects of polluting & environmentally damaging industries located close to residential areas. For example, when Greyscape visited Nizhny Tagil, a monotown in the heart of the Urals (the expression refers to a city dedicated to one or a narrow group of industries) we were advised not to remain outside for more than 30 minutes.

Looking at these photographs, glimpsing the warmth leaking from the myriad homes, one gets a sense of life in the Soviet Union

Henrik Purienne (born as Benninghoff H. Puren; 1977), is a South African photographer, film director, & founder of fashion publication, Mirage, living in Los Angeles. Purienne began his career making documentary films influenced by the realist aesthetic of filmmakers such as Eric Rohmer & John Cassavetes. His subjects are predominantly natural looking girls often set against beach or poolside situations. He has created advertising campaigns & editorials for the brands Louis Vuitton, Maison Kitsuné, Maison Margiela, Interview Magazine, Playboy, Vogue, Lui, & Purple often featuring contemporary 'it girls' such as Sky Ferreira, Emily Ratajkowski, Camille Rowe, & Aymeline Valade.

In 2009 he launched the fashion & culture publication, Mirage. Henrik Purienne’s photography mixes ethereal nature & physical beauty, with a warm & often exotic ambience. All this is interwoven with domestic & voyeuristic sexual imagery, which converge at a point between provocation & profundity. With Holiday, his second volume of photography, Purienne presents a series of trips with friends & girlfriends captured between his native South Africa, the Mediterranean, & his new home, Los Angeles. Shot exclusively in his signature 35mm format, Purienne's images often include imperfections that belie the sophistication of his technique, resulting in images at once reminiscent of the past & the future. Mirage Magazine was founded independently by Henrik Purienne & Frank Rocholl as a 400 page independent fashion & culture magazine, inspired by the photographic aesthetic & hedonistic culture of the 1960s & 1970s.

Subject matter relates to timeless aesthetic in the fields of architecture, art & design interwoven with visions of forgotten utopias, unsung heroes & cinematic stagings. Editorial content has a documentary feel & often reflects the personal relationship of photographer & muse, with key themes being summer, sun, youth, freedom & rebellion. Henrik Purienne curated his first book, the self-titled 'Purienne', fronted by friend & model Sonja van den Heever. Purienne's images afford us immeasurable scope for desire. It is where imagination & reality merge; art & eroticism are companions & self-expression reigns ultimate.

While sexualized content & nudity in photography is nothing, Henrik Purienne shoots only healthy looking women, willing women, with unmade faces, hair unruly & clothing, if any, unfussy. All this amalgamates to encapsulate the beauty of his subject in her truest form. Most often, the backdrop is a sunny, domestic situation, engendering tender & nostalgic connotations; we can see & feel the heat through his images.

While sexualized content & nudity in photography is nothing new, Henrik Purienne shoots only health looking women, willing women, with unmade faces, hair unruly & clothing, if any, unfussy

Purienne | Ethereal Nature & Physical Beauty

Polly Penrose studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Arts in London. She went on to work in Fashion Styling & after that worked for the photographer Tim Walker. She has always taken photographs, but started to take the practice seriously when she entered & won a competition held by the London Photographic Association in 2008. She held her first solo show, ‘A Body of Work’, at the Downstairs at Mother Gallery, London, in May 2014, & was part of a group show, Dear Sylvia, at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney, March 2015, & her second solo show “10 Seconds” at The Hoxton Gallery, London, May 2016. She was short listed for the D&AD, Next photographer award in 2015. Her work has featured on Dazed Digital, The British Journal of Photography, The Huffington Post, Hunger TV, Feature Shoot, The Guardian, Stern & Another.

Penrose has been taking spontaneous self-portraits on a ten-second timer for over a decade. She explores identity & the opposed notions of vulnerability & empowerment, comedy & tragedy.

Her pictures focus less on sexuality & female allure, but retain the awkward, often beguiling force of the body as an object, pushed into a space, forced into a position whilst feigning a sense of normality & control.

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