In Amsterdam: 4 – Pinar & Viola

Visiting the Pinar & Viola design studio

Apart from going to really quite a lot of bars and restaurants with various combinations of the delightful Pinar and Viola in rather a short space of time I did manage also to squeeze in a visit to the studio of what Dazed and Confused has described both as a "radical design duo" but also as "post-internet artists…whose work explores new totalitarian impluses and the decadence of global culture through what they call 'ecstatic surface design' ". I'd favour the artist description over the design one - a lot of their work is self originated rather than for clients; there's a solid philosophical grounding to their approach; and some serious aesthetically challenging work being produced as a result.

Scandal Aqua - Towel from the Ecstatic Surface Collection 2013 

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what's in their future, but in the meantime here's a picture of their rather racy shoes.

If you meet them without their shoes on I imagine they will seem a bit shorter.

I strongly recommend looking at their website and various social media manifestations. To the untutored eye it will all look a bit chaotic, but if you persist for a little bit you will realise you have become infected by some new ideas that might make you start seeing the world quite differently. Which is rather exciting given how rarely that happens.

I am obviously not the only person to notice this, as they are now guest blogging for the refreshed Dazed Digital.   Check out their blog on Turkey's anti-evolutionist showgirls.  Bizarre.

Here's the Pinar & Viola website and blog

Flowers in the studio