Each month, we’ll be posting a short profile on our most recent placements. You can find out a bit about them, and see some of their work…

Hello, my name is…
Tristan Dunbar
In three words I would say I am…
75 Percent Squash
And in my spare time I like to…
Play a lot of Blues.
I have just finished studying at…
Norwich University College of the Arts
You can see a portfolio of my work by…
visiting www.behance.net/tristandunbar or you can email me at me@tristandaviddunbar.com
And my piece of work that best represents me is…
Foyles the bookshop 

Because…
You can run with the idea until you’re out of breath – then keep going.
You would never guess that I…
Really (really) like dragons.
After The Partners, I’m going to…
Someone.

Hello, my name is…
Lucy Hutchinson
In three words I would say I am…
Determined, inquisitive, unconventional
And in my spare time I like to…
Put itunes on loud and paint, watch great films and explore new places
I have just finished studying at…
University of Leeds
You can see a portfolio of my work by…
Visiting my website at http://lucyhutchinson.weebly.com/
Or send me an e-mail at lucyehutchinson@gmail.com
And my piece of work that best represents me is…
My Final University Project, Lost In Digital

Because…
It expressed an important social message in an unconventional way
You would never guess that I…
Am a fully qualified open water scuba diver
After The Partners, I’m going to…
Work with Jack Renwick (the partners old creative director) and get some experience of a small start up studio

Hello, my name is…
Laura Evans
In three words I would say I am…
confident, excitable, playful
And in my spare time I like to…
See friends. They’re really important to me.
I have just finished studying at…
Kingston University
You can see a portfolio of my work by…
Emailing me at evanslaura1989@gmail.com
And my piece of work that best represents me is…
Self portrait

Because…
It was an idea I had always wondered about – and when I finally did it – the results were amazing. It’s a playful idea that has been moulded into a piece of design without loosing its charm.
You would never guess that I…
Am an avid list writer. I write lists to keep on top of my lists.
After The Partners, I’m going to…
Magpie Studio

If you are looking for something unusual to occupy your last weekend of January, look no further than the South Bank Centre. 

Southbank Centre’s Festival for the Living ends this weekend and has an array of exhibits, talks, workshops and literature that all have to do with peoples attitudes towards death.

You can get a day pass for £12 that allows you into all of the talks and workshops for that day.  The main exhibit this weekend, is Boxed: Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana which has elaborate and interesting coffins from some of the famed coffin makers in Ghana and the UK.  I will definitely be heading over there on Sunday to check out some of the coffins including the one shaped like a Mercedes-Benz, and the flying kite.  Sounds interesting and one of those “only happens in London” kind of things.  To make things better this event is one of the free ones offered during the festival.

The Guardian picked this up a few days ago and have made a small selection of their favourites which can be seen here.

The entire project can be viewed here, be advised some of the quotes can be quite graphic.

If you’re ever in New York and missing the smell of the countryside, check out the ‘Earth Room’ – a room filled with 127,300 kg of earth.On display to the public since 1980, this second floor Soho gallery has been host to 197 cubic meters of natural earth. The lack of any other visitors, as well as the moist, warm air give the place a quiet and heavy atmosphere, where it feels like nothing has moved in the last 31 years. The white gallery walls are a stark comparison to the living, black soil that sits at it’s base – this really is a strange, but oddly enchanting place. Cameras aren’t allowed so these are the best ones I could find on the internet.

Walter De Maria, The New York Earth Room, 1977. Long-term installation at 141 Wooster Street, New York City. Photo: John Cliett. Copyright Dia Art Foundation. Main Events and Public Programs Overview Visitor Information Artist Biography 141 Wooster Street New York City

It felt a bit like the natural opposite of Richard Wilson’s 20/50 (1987) installation that uses recycled motor oil.

Photo: Art News London

Each month, we’ll be posting a short profile on our most recent placements. You can find out a bit about them, and see some of their work…

Hello, my name is…
Laura Evans
In three words I would say I am…
confident, excitable, playful
And in my spare time I like to…
See friends. They’re really important to me.
I have just finished studying at…
Kingston University
You can see a portfolio of my work by…
Emailing me at evanslaura1989@gmail.com
And my piece of work that best represents me is…
Self portrait

Because…
It was an idea I had always wondered about – and when I finally did it – the results were amazing. It’s a playful idea that has been moulded into a piece of design without loosing its charm.
You would never guess that I…
Am an avid list writer. I write lists to keep on top of my lists.
After The Partners, I’m going to…
Magpie Studio

At a recent foodie event, I met a fellow food blogger who authors a lovely blog called Rocket & Squash. Trawling through his pages, I discovered some of the most enchanting photography involving food I’ve seen in a long while.

It’s by a very talented photographer named Christopher Boffolli, and is part of his collection called ‘Disparity’. I’ve pulled out some of my favourites for you below. Not just witty, clever and beautifully shot, but also mouth-watering, what more could you want from photos?

To see the full set of Christopher’s work click here. Also, click here to visit the Rocket And Squash blog.

I stumbled upon a fantastic traveling installation this weekend. Camper Obscura is a project that aims to engage many people from local and wider communities in and around Devonport, in order to explore their relationship to their surroundings through the use of Photography.

As the name might suggest Camper Obscura is in fact a giant Camera Obscura on wheels. The blue ‘periscope’ on the top is in fact a lens and mirror set up which projects light into a blacked out rear cabin. Viewers are then encouraged to hold up a large white viewing board where the image comes to life in front of them. What you immediately experience is the detached view of a scene that you would usually only get from a still photograph.

It’s really quite captivating. Even when viewing the mundane surroundings of Spitalfields market, the details of the scene suddenly become of interest where they would usually be overlooked if walking by on the street. You feel completely removed from the scene even though you are sitting right in the middle of it.

The project – commissioned by Devonport Regeneration Community Partnership – was initially intended to be used in the Devonport area, but now travels around the country. Unfortunately my camera couldn’t pick up the projection as the light levels are so low in the back of the van, if you want to see it you will have to see it for real.

You can get in touch with the founders of the project here.

Managing to transcend style and fashion in art, Hamilton believed in engaging the mind of the viewer and never just the eye. His belief was in the idea and intellectual insight, combined with harmonious outcomes that utilized technology and media of the time. As he continually explored with technology and applied his intellectual eye to various cultural and political topics – from drug policing in the 60′s, to the Irish hunger strike, and the political stories of late, I don’t believe he ever failed in this career-long pursuit.

Reading the obituaries this morning, I realised it’s this dedication to a belief in art, that since the age of 15, has made him so inspirational – and seems to have strongly influenced my endeavor as a designer – whether I really realised or not. Whilst many of us hope we have many different sources of inspiration, it was Hamilton who, for me, sparked a love for highly creative images.

A thanks is definitely due.

Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? (1956)

Swingeing London (1968-9)

The Subject (1988-90)

Shock and Awe (2007-8)

Thomas Struth Photography - Courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery

It would appear that the great British summer has run its course already, and the past 3 weeks of rain and grim skies are indicative of the season’s shift.

Sadly, this means that we are now all in pursuit of weekend entertainment that is predominantly based indoors, to avoid the downpours.

If you’re wondering what to do on a weekend yourself, then perhaps pop down to the Whitechapel Gallery and catch the Thomas Struth photography exhibition before it closes on the 16th September.

A man clearly not familiar with the term ‘small-scale’, Thomas’s hugely impressive photographs will have you slack-jawed at the sheer scale and detail of them.

The exhibition spans his early works, from the 1970′s right up to present time. The variety of themes is as vast as the scale of the prints themselves (some up to 4m long!), with photographs of desolate streets, insides of space shuttle programmes, the ‘bush’ in Australia and portraits of family groups from around the world.

Although quite ‘sterile’ in their style, it’s difficult not to have a reaction to some of them, simply because they are so intimidating in their size.

My personal favourites are listed below.

Thomas Struth Photography - Courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery.

Thomas Struth Photography - Courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery.

Thomas Struth Photography - Courtesy of Whitechapel Gallery.

A humorous message from David Shrigley and Save the Arts to highlight the real, positive economics that the arts bring to the UK. You can show your support by signing their petition at savethearts-uk.blogspot.com.