Shmata Love.

Gideon Mendel. Photographer. South African. London.

DROWNING WORLD is Gideon Mendel's new exhibition showing at London's Somerset House from May 10th to June 5th 2012. It presents his ongoing global project about flooding. Since 2007 he's visited six countries (The UK, India, Haiti, Pakistan, Australia and Thailand) that have been devastated by massive flooding-in an attempt to visually address the issue of climate change. "I chose to shoot on film, using old Rolleiflex cameras. The heart of the project is a series of portraits of flood victims at their homes within the landscape of their own personal calamity. Making these images often involved returning with them through waist high floodwaters so they could show their circumstances to the world. My intention is to depict them as individuals, not as nameless statistics. Coming from disparate parts of the world, their faces show us their linked vulnerability despite the vast differences in their lives and circumstances."
gideonmendel.com

Transmission LA: AV CLUB. The Geffen Contemporary. MOCA LA.

It’s the second edition of the TRANSMISSION festival organized by the Avant/Garde Diaries, a Mercedes-Benz project. Mike D of the Beastie Boys is the curator of this edition, he invited 17 artists to create an exceptional 17 days event consisting of concerts, DJ nights, performances and installations. I must say that Mike D and the team did an excellent job, it’s a true AV Club experience. The line-up of artists is just up my alley: Tom Sachs, Cory Arcangel, Mike Mills, Takeshi Murata etc.

Stephen Kenn. Inheritance Collection. LA.

A-MAZE.
By processcreative.tv
stephenkenn.com

Bungsu. Krupuk Maker. Sumatra.

Bungsu lives in the village of Desa Nusa, Aceh, an area that was mostly destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Because of an early warning, most of the villagers lives were spared, including Bungsu and her family. After the tsunami, Bangsu continued making krupuk as she had for over 10 years. Before the 2004 tsunami, Desa Nusa was known for making snack foods, that people would make at home and sell. Bungsu is the only women left in the village still cooking and selling krupuk today. Krupuk is a generic term for fried treats and Bangsu's are made of tempeh, a delicious fermented soybean product.
Why I love S.E Asia... food-crafters like Bangsu who make one thing only-but do it well.
From Stephanie of Trans Planted food blog: trans-planted.com

Bombay Beach. Film. 2011.

A film by Alma Har'el.

Bombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination. The story follows three protagonists: The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang in LA; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on whiskey and cigarettes. Together these portraits form a triptych of manhood in America. True to her roots as a photographer, video artist, and music video director, Har'el has crafted an artistically innovative film with music by Beirut and Bob Dylan.