Text:Dodi Espinosa, Published at Metal magazine 19.

Finnish-born Heidi Kilpelainen is the other face of HK119 (Heidi Kilpelainen 11 September, her birthday) and she is part of a new wave of art, music and video performers at the London scene. While rising in South east of finland near the russian border, she used to spend a lot of time alone and her only companion was the world of creativity and imagination, “I remember making ‘films’ on a long paper scroll,I made drawings on it, then by pulling the scroll and telling the story to my audience it became my ‘film’, my audience was neighbors kids, my dad, etc…”

In London, before studding at St Martins and working with artists like Goshka Macuga, she came up with HK119 in 2003 and finally in 2005 was chosen by Bjork as her favorite artist of the year, “I like Bjork, she is one of a kind, a great artist and always interesting, maybe she liked the fact that I do everything myself or the make ups, all around a lady as I make some of my own clothes too, lets have HK119 fashion line soon!”

Since she started she has been working with zero budget and her influences are between nature, DADAism and David Bowie until Scary Monsters album, “His chameleon world fascinated me, the man who fell to earth!”

HK119 is signed to One Little Indian Records, the label on which she has released two albums, HK119 Debut and ‘Fast Cheap and Out of Control’ produced by ‘I Monster’, and now,  she is currently working on the third album. Her debut album was accompanied by about 12 videos, all “DIY” (Do it your self), made in her living room and her second album has 4 DIY blue screen videos made in her studio, “I was learning Final Cut pro as I made them, so the last one (What am I) is my favorite, much more time consuming and previous work”. Talking about her performances, she debuted in shows with dancers and more recently solo act with video ‘clone’ dancers on the screen, costume and props, energy and passion… “HK starts when I get on stage or in front of the video camera, I followed the path of modernism from Futurism, Constructivism, Bauhaus to the 1920 health and fitness ‘movement’ that kind of took off in germany. I fantasized about events on a field with lots of dancers making gymnastic moves (hahahaaa on a zero budget), but I was also aware/making fun of the current ‘health’ body consciousness, the idea of getting fit for the future is also about ‘waking up’ to the changes in the world, loss of liberties and privacy, surveillance societies, health and safety madness etc… bonkers!”

Around 2005 a radio presenter called her “A woman who comes from the future”, maybe because in the time before Lady Gaga, in the mainstream, her ‘HK persona’ was too much and had to be presented as such, anyway, HK’s work is much more interesting as she started more than 5 years ago, with zero budget, producing hand-crafted videos, wearing crazy “DIY” outfits and now open to fashion designer collaborations, but withought compromising her vision.
Recently she is making ceramic sculpture with a project inspired by the Finnish saga Kalevala and the world of Shamanism. Personal experiences, nature and the subconscious fuel this new work, mixing materials like ceramic, fur, wood, cotton, and electronic cable.

Most of the times all my different friends use to ask me what I “do” exactly, and since I can remember I have been always interested in many different disciplines as photo, illustration, sculpture, jewelry, sound, and a long etc… Always avoiding to define myself. Thats how The Burning Mirror was born, as a necesity to show  all my  interests, personal works, media collaborations with Metal magazine or 2DM blogazine  and short news that personally I find interesting, everything related  basically to art and fashion as my specialization.

Sculpture by Damien Hirst.

Why The Burning Mirror? Its easy, from the very beginning I wanted a name able to reflect a personal philosophy but also my origins. Thats how I remembered the legend of “Quetzalcoatl” (Feathered snake)  one of the most important Gods of the Mexican pre-Columbian culture and his alter ego: ”Tezcatlipoca” (The Burning Mirror)  as the holder of the hidden truth,  many times represented in drawings as  a smoky mirror or in sculptures as a skull covered with precious stones.

Text:Dodi Espinosa, Published at Metal magazine 19.

Peruvian with oriental roots Gallermic is the creator of emblematic Japanese parties such as TFR (The Fashion Ramone) or NarziB, two regular events that took part inside an attack against mainstream culture in the Japanese scene and the globalized world. Now, he is back next to the legendary Vivienne Sato (A unique cultural concierge in Tokyo) presenting Willa. A new project full of deep reflections about life, the human being, the good and the evil, the art scene and a long etcetera, but above everything, love.

Photo: Gallermic

The most appealing thing about these parties is that they’re not just simple nights to show off clothes, they always have a strong cultural background as a means to create a community of friends, and this time, the principal objective is in words of the creator: “To generate love and communication through an universal symbolism that reaches everybody’s heart, Willa is a party for the good flowers”.
This project started with The Absentee Owner night and each event is going to be like an exhibition of art objects following a chosen theme, mainly photography by Gallermic next to other interesting collaborations. Willa seems to be a great project especially because the intention is to touch the visitors mind and liberate them from ordinary conventions, helping them to reach unknown sides.

So, if you go to Tokyo don’t forget to have a look at the Blog and if something is happening don’t hesitate to assist to any of this nights. Don’t forget that like in TFR or NarziB, Willa also has a dress code; individualism inspired by Caravaggio’s and Wilde’s quotes about vanity, all this accompanied by a selection of music between psychedelia and provocation: “We play magic music of all time, in all tongues, from arias to chicha…”. If you want to understand this ecstasy party a bit better here you have the Willa’s Manifesto:

A Girl from the Opera “…I never met my father, but I know my mother very well, her name is Pega Sue. She told me the story of my coming since I was a little girl. My mother used to tell me: ‘Oh Willa, you are my adoration, I made you with love’. Next she would start explaining how come she didn’t know who my father was: ‘Before you were born, the whole world seemed a dark place to live for me, where people only took advantage of my need of love. I had a very sad childhood that made me an insecure girl with a longing for protection and ready to love everybody for no reason. Eventually I ended up horribly exploited by men, meeting many guys and making love with all of them constantly, I was crazy craving for love, and that’s how, my dear, you came into my world…but you have saved me’. I think she is very cool, she was sincere from the beginning, and opened my view to a new kind of dimension, where trying to understand everything is the basis. Well, thanks to her my curiosity is as huge as my ability to love is really exuberant, not as my mother’s, I think there must be a reason to love and every relationship is a form of exchange and has a goal anyway, right?, but I can also be a decadent actress. I would like to share this magnificent sensation of love, comprehension and opera with more people, because sometimes I get lonely and bored in the city. It’s not acceptable! So, well, I’ve decided to make a gathering with a lot of keywords, thus I can meet individuals with the same sort of moral and get hedonistic together…!”

Photo: Erika Svensson / Art direction: Dodi Espinosa / Stylist:Juanma Granero / Hair & Make up: Samanta Falcone / Model: Hannah Sioda @ Group / Special thanks: EGO GALLERY, Barcelona

One of the best Gaultier Couture shows ever.  Its amazing  how  it reminds me all that I left behind when I moved to Spain some years ago…The Virgins, the big sun hats, the vegetation  and  the strong Mexican imagery…

The collection has a review of mexican folklore by diferent  historic etapes, since the ancient civilizations passing by the Spanish invation and  finishing  in the middle of the past century. I find totally amazing how Gaultier worked the garments remembering lots of  traditional mexican artisan techniques, colors and textures. Especially because  I dont use to like couture shows, but this one I found it incredible, of course  I cant be  objective because it touched my sensitivity but  its undeniable the great work, I found really interesting  the  accesories aswell, like the bags that seem to be realistic  leaves or all the overelaborate  jewellery.

I remember some collections ago when Gaultier  had a similar inspiration for his collection at Hermes,  but it was more about tex-mex, ranchero and western landscapes. Now he returned to the inspiration with a colorfull and strong vision accompanied by the singer Arielle Dombalse who grew up in Mexico…

All the Pictures @ Catwalking-copyright © 2010 Christopher Moore Limited

Paris menswear shows had just finished and  one of the surprises between my favourite  collections from Damir Doma or I. Miyake  was  Adam Kimmel’s Presentation…

Its obvious that he was inspired by the Casino aesthetic but everything goes farther…  He had a strong inspiration on the New York painter George Condo and his obsetion with gambling,  using cashmere V-necks, green velvet smoking jackets,  bomber jackets and capes with roulette prints to  show great  outfits for a sharp-dressing high roller.  Talking about the amazing prostetic masks, they look like museum pieces,   surreal but refined at the same time. Condo designed 18 of them in his signature grotesque style, which also appear  in Kimmel’s lookbook.

Gabe Bartalos, the Hollywood prosthetics artist who collaborates with Matthew Barney, sculpted the Condo heads that will be exhibited and sold after the show.

All the pics @ catwaling, copyright © 2010 Christopher Moore Limited

Miuccia Prada  -one of the few Italian designers Im respectful to-  has just presented this amazing short movie directed by The Chinese Artist Yang Fudong, inspired by eastern philosophy and  an interesting saying about making a good start to the year’s work,  its  in resume, exotic and flamboyant but at the same time elegant and neat…

The contrast between  the minimal  lines of  the Prada Suits and the extreme folklore makes this video curiously atractive, despite that is obviously a beautiful long advertisement with a nod to the oriental monster market and the eternal attraction from occident to this “Mysterious culture”… Talking  about the black and white aesthetic,  of course it sends us directly to an other time, but on the other hand its a bit sad to lose all the  color explosion  from the amazing costumes and decoration,  anyway, its a nice and beautiful contribution  from Prada  since the Prada transformer…

Director. Yang Fudong – photographer. Zhou Shuhao – production and sound mixer. Huang Xun – production manager. Zhu Chongwe – make-up artist. Luo Luo, Tai Yunxia – wardrobe supervisors. Wei Xiaoming, Ni Liping – art director. Lu Tianhang – music. Jin Wang – gaffer. Diao Guohua – editor. Huang Binrong

Despite everyone would say,   Puerto Rican Atonio Lopez  is  and will be, one of  the best fashion illustrators ever next to other great fashion illustrators  from the 70′s and 80′s such as  Tony Viramontes.   Drawing  at that time was very important in the magazines, maybe the same as photographs today, so thanks to his nervous and self assured line he  became  a fashion star very fast and worked for several publications as Vogue, Interview, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar or Elle. But tragically,  Antonio died  in 1987 of AIDS when he was just  forty-four years old.

Here is the cover of one of his amazing books called Antonio’s Girls, where you will find collaborations with muses  he discovered  as  Pat Cleveland, Grace Jones, Tina Chow, Jessica Lange and Jerry Hall..