Innovation News

Exploring Climate Change Through Art With Last Chance To Paint In March this year eInnovation News had a conversation with artist John Dyer. At the time John was just about to embark on his most ambitious project to date: Last Chance To Paint. Since then John has lead two expeditions to explore the impact of climate change on the people, plants and animals of the rainforest in the Amazon and Borneo. Last Chance To Paint is inspired by a previous project called Spirit of the Rainforest. Here John painted with Amazon Indian Nixiwaka Yawanawa. As a fitting start to the latest project, chapter one of Last Chance To Paint is titled Spirit of the Rainforest 2. In this chapter John and the team visited Nixiwaka in the Amazon rainforest. Spending time with the Yawanawa tribe in the Acre region and learning how they live in harmony with the rainforest around them. In chapter two, Last Chance To Paint: Person of the Forest, John and the team trekked into the rainforest once again. This time in Borneo, spending time with the Penan tribe and then travelling south to the Orangutan Foundation. Here the team explored how palm oil plantations are impacting on the environment. The time with the Penan tribe highlighted just how quickly a culture can be changed by environmental influence, with some of the youngest tribe members never having experienced the true hunter-gatherer existence of their elders. At the Orangutan Foundation, the team were up close and personal with climate change when forest fires used to clear areas of rainforest for farming caused them to leave the location early. With more trips planned for the future, we caught up with John to hear how [...]

Art can be an amazing thing: it can inspire emotion and ignite passion in any viewer. Late in 2018, Innova Art heard of an inspirational project underway from an artist who aims to change the way young people view the conservation of endangered species, environments and cultures around the world. Curious to find out more, eInnovation News had a conversation with John Dyer, founder of Last Chance to Paint. eInnovation News: What inspired the Last Chance to Paint project? John Dyer: In 2015 I worked on a ground breaking painting project with Amazon Indian Nixiwaka Yawanawá ’Spirit of the Rainforest' and this type of cultural and global exploration through painting is something that I believe has huge potential. Whilst putting together my new book ‘Painting the Colours of the World’ with the author Kate Dinn and Alan Titchmarsh, who wrote the foreword, it became obvious that the last chapter had to be forward looking - new projects and that it should build on my global painting experiences and ’Spirit of the Rainforest' I always have so many projects in my mind, so once I started to consider these it seemed logical to bracket them into one large project with a series of ‘chapters'. I was inspired many years ago by the work of Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001) who wrote The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas also travelled with WWF zoologist Mark Carwardine and wrote a book ‘Last Chance to See’. I approached Mark, who agreed that ‘Last Chance to Paint’ was a great idea for the last chapter of my new book and the project has grown from that point. My work is studied at schools across the UK and beyond and ‘Last [...]

A portfolio is an essential piece of kit for any one working (or hoping to work) in the creative industries. We see a lot about having an online portfolio which is simple to update but what about when you get that interview or need to meet a client face to face? This is the domain of the printed portfolio. As with most printed objects, the format you choose for your portfolio will dictate how easy it is to update. You could choose a professionally bound book which is only updated when you absolutely have to. Or you may go down the route of a loose leaf portfolio: no binding and complete flexibility on when to update. Or maybe something completely outside the box: a bespoke style representing you as an individual. There are many articles to refer to that cover the types of work to include in your portfolio. The specifics vary by sector of the creative industries but they all follow the same trend: the work should be your best, it should show the skills you want to do most often and you should be able to talk about each project that is featured. In this article we will focus on the practicalities of printed presentation. So, you have your projects picked, your synopsis written and you know that this is it. Your portfolio. The best of the best of everything you have ever done, but how to show it to other people? Outsourcing Your Printed Portfolio Book Shelf-life is the key point when thinking about using a professionally printed and bound book for your portfolio. You don’t want to labour over your book and lovingly create each and every page, only to realise [...]

Innova Art and Atlas of Humanity in partnership at Photokina 2018 In partnership with Martin Vegas’s hugely ambitious enterprise, Atlas of Humanity, Innova Art will present two stunning exhibitions at Photokina 2018, Koelmesse, Cologne, Germany, 26-29 September 2018.  Atlas of Humanity presents more than 100 images by 52 photographers from around the world, both professional and amateur, that span the globe, from Armenia to Yemen and Australia to Zimbabwe. Photokina visitors will be able see the images, flawlessly printed on Innova Art media, on the Innova Art stand (A006, Hall 3.1), and also in a stand-alone exhibition on stand A002, between Halls 4 and 5. The Photokina displays are the first opportunity anywhere to see the Atlas of Humanity collection in print, rather than online. The Atlas of Humanity project is the brainchild of the international photographer and curator Martin Vegas. We asked Martin to tell us how the project began and how it has grown.  Innova Art: What inspired the idea for the Atlas of Humanity project? Martin Vegas: It’s an ongoing, never-ending project that I first set up in 2015. My inspiration was the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, to help preserve and promote cultural diversity worldwide. Now, thanks to the amazing work of some hundred photographers from all over the world, the project extends to more than 400 ethnic groups, though some of the images have still to be published on the Atlas of Humanity website. Innova Art: Once you’d had the idea, how did you begin collecting the images? Martin Vegas: I started out by inviting photo journalists, travellers and amateur photographers whose work I knew – but in fact amassing images turned out to be much easier than the first [...]

Founded in 2010 Moniker International Art Fair aims to spotlight emerging and established artistic talent. They have reputation for creating immersive experiences around a central theme and have established themselves as one of the most exciting urban contemporary art fairs.Under the name Moniker Culture, Moniker Art Fair also host a number of cultural events each year including; mural programmes, film and music showcases as well as talks and debates. Why Choose YouTac® Textile? For their eighth London edition in October 2017, Moniker Art Fair were looking to create multiple displays that were eye catching yet easy to install. As the venue for the fair needed to be returned to its original condition once the event was over, each installation needed to be easy to remove. They also invited Innova Art to exhibit at the event and, as the manufacturer of YouTac® Textile, we took the opportunity to show off a few applications on our stand as well. Installation Showcase Entrance to Moniker Art Fair 2017 printed on YouTac® Textile To promote Moniker Art Fair and other events at The Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, YouTac® Textile was printed with various designs and installed outside the entrance to the fair. Applied to a purpose-built panelled frontage around the door, YouTac® Textile was printed using eco solvent inks and coped with October weather in London without any issue. The installation was completed by a team of professional installation experts who had never used the product before. Moniker Art Fair 2017 VIP wall featuring work by Alex Fakso, printed on YouTac® Textile For the VIP area, Moniker Art Fair created an immersive experience centred around the transient tales theme of the eighth edition. Wanting  to [...]

For a quick overview on archival quality prints, take a look at our FAQ page. There are many terms used to describe the archival quality of inkjet papers and every artist wants their work to stand the test of time. The problem is that there are many contributing factors when considering the archival quality of an image printed on inkjet fine art paper. The first thing to consider is the paper itself The term acid free has long been associated with archival quality when it comes to paper, but historically this terminology has only applied to the base paper without any type of coating applied. The base material should be manufactured using pure alpha cellulose fibre, pure cotton fibre or a combination of these two materials. This will ensure that the paper base is pH 7 or above (acid free). A paper that contains lignin cannot be acid free as lignin is a naturally occurring acid within plant fibres. It is the lignin content in newsprint paper which causes it to yellow and go brittle over time. For inkjet papers the coating must also be considered in combination with the base materials. The coating is applied to the surface of the paper base to ensure that the ink is absorbed just the right amount. Once a coating is applied, the pH value (acidity) of the entire paper changes. The only way for this to be addressed is for manufacturers to ensure that the coatings used on their papers are as close to acid neutral as possible and to supply the pH value of the total paper (base and coating) rather than just the base. The second thing to consider is how the image is printed [...]