Complexd Women

83 year old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, has voluntarily resided in a psychiatric hospital for the past 4 decades. Now you can experience her violently happy, and silently loud creations in a large exhibition at the Tate Modern.  Each room offers a new artistic standpoint that reflects her unique portrayal of the world.  Her renowned polka dots and large-scale installations engross the viewer and transports them to a vibrant and poetic world. The words intriguing, breathtaking and magical sum up Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at the Tate Modern.

Yayoi Kusama – Tate Modern: Exhibition – 9 February – 5 June 2012

Entry Fee – £10, concessions available

By Ashleigh Johnson-Palmer

This fun animation is our favourite visual representing the celebration of women around the world for International Woman’s Day. Our Women of Strength issue is Complexd’s contribution to the IWD theme “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”. On page 16-17, 21 year old Lucille Murray talks about raising her two boys with love and care and adopting her sister, so that they could have the happy family they’ve always wanted. On page 34-41 Artist, Ambassador and Activist Yewande Austin explains why she needs to be the strong voice for the young girls on her program. On page 42-47 writer Shruti Bedi expresses her concern for the girl child in India. And lastly on page 64-75 Adrian Fisk asks young women in China and India to write down their thoughts about their hopes, dreams, aspirations and how they feel about the world.

Art Basel Miami Beach – words and visuals by Heike Wollenweber

Art Basel Miami Beach is not just about exhibitions at the Convention Center, it’s a mixture of art, brunches, lunches, street parties, street art and fashion.

Art Basel Brunch at Sagamore hotel…

Exhibitions…

Girl on Globe by Yinka Shonibare 

Red Dot satellite fair

Street art…

A few of my favourites…

Dior made a noise with neon designs by artist Anselm Reyle while Swiss luxury brand Bally teamed up with artist Olaf Breuning. 

Kehinde Wiley one of the most significant African-American painters exhibited 6 of his unique paintings.

British artist Tracey Emin who was a guest speaker at this year’s event shared some of her poetry. She had a soft and sweet persona which revealed a hint of rebel attitude every now and then. 

The opening night is dominated by Bass Museum. This year’s solo exhibition was by Austrian artist Erwin Wurm who interacted with viewers by inviting them for a drink. 

AE District Gallery held a special exhibition by Reebok featuring photography by Jonathan Mannion, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Kanye and Mos Def.  

Will Ryman made the beach bloom at the Sagamore Hotel in South Beach. These beautiful roses made the annual Art Basel Brunch extra special.

South African photographer Jodi Bieber reviews her project Real Beauty.

‘The work deals with reality; photoshop has not been used to remove blemishes, scars, cellulite and any other form of ‘imperfection’.

‘The photographic shoot was collaboration between me and each woman. Each woman’s pose was pretty much self-directed. I wanted each woman to project their personality or their fantasy into their shoot so they could explore their own identity in relation to beauty’

‘One thing that came to light in Real Beauty was that South Africa is conservative as a nation. People thought I was recruiting women for a pornographic shoot! The three main excuses that people used for saying no to being photographed (besides body privacy rights) were; “my” husband wouldn’t agree to it, religious views, and just feeling uncomfortable with their body shapes. Another issue that arose from the images produced from Real Beauty is the different belief systems held amongst different communities. Very thin and tall women might be perceived by their communities as being sick, possibly with HIV/Aids and more full figured women as healthy. In other communities thin women are often more desirable’

‘From the interviews I carried out most women believe that there isn’t a perfect body shape and it’s more about being healthy and feeling comfortable in one’s own skin’

See more of her work here

Complexd visuals that combine the customary fashion of two cultures. Fashion editorials that provoke and push boundaries are what we want to see pitched and submitted for our fashion pages. Photographers take note!

These images of Complexd cover woman Yasmina Rossi where taken by Anwer Sher.  Women are often encouraged to dye their hair at the first sign of grey so it was the strong contrast between Yasmina’s grey/white hair and the horses dark black mane that made Yasmina stand out as a confident Complexd woman.

Horse (euwe) owned by Hoofbeatz trained by Eileen Verdieck