Work from the (de)generation Y POV

An interesting look into the minds of (de)Generation Y, and how the world is perceived through the eyes of a young one. It's wonderfully easy to find issues of the class come alive in this piece: beautifully constructed in this digital artwork; darkened, to echo the hopelessness that many young people are faced with today, but with elements of hope that we refuse to let go of. 'Cause, dammit, we're rebels in the face of adversity, and we'll fix it yet.

The artist, one Hjalmar Wahlin of Stockholm, demonstrates the hierarchy of Western Europe: the corporations that ultimately hold all the power sitting above us, followed by a (seemingly) untouchable monarchy and state. The middle-class "with their wine and fancy glasses" (wonderfully put) look up lovingly at their royal family (a recent poll comes to mind with a large majority of the British middle-class naming Queen Elizabeth II as the person they most admire). Below them, the workers and labourers, with a small percentage moving up. And finally, tadpoles crawling over each other in some attempt to move up in life - perhaps, the competitive nature that is instilled in our younger generations at an early age, the out-for-myself spirit, that we feel is necessary to succeed in a drastically detached society?

The piece is aptly named Hierarchy of the Frogs, and to see more of Hjalmar's work just click.

Brazilian Street Art

Nick Alive: a wonderfully talented Brazilian street artist.

But, wait, it gets better! If, by chance, you are unable to stroll down Nick's native streets, his work is available to view on his personal blog. (For more, get clicking).

Uninspired and Prozac Nation

I've been very bad.

I haven't posted anything for the two weeks, and I offer my sincerest apologies. I wish I could blame my blog coma on a raging cold or an ill-timed laptop crash, but it was purely and simply down to a lack of inspiration.

During this down time, I found myself thinking back to a book I read last year. So, I present to you: art on my mind! It's a memoir today.

Written in the early nineties, it is not the engaging prose or the attractive themes of addiction and depression that did it for me, but - dadada [my drumroll, don't ya just love it?!] - it was the lack of inspiration I was feeling that secured this memoir it's honour.

I present to you: Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America.

Wurtzel's text details her experience growing up with depression, her drug abuse, feeling disconnected with the world, and being one of the first young people to be prescribed Prozac after FDA approval.

Some have found Wurtzel's narrative compelling, dark, a worthy depiction of a woman's depression. Some have found it "whiny" and "self-absorbed". But whatever you may find it, over these past two weeks of emptiness, feeling unmotivated, uninspired, at least I can say, Dammit! At least I feel better than that. It can't be all bad then, can it? After all, battling periods of emptiness and awful drafts of work is all part of the production of art and the life of an artist, so I guess this ties in quite nicely with thewonderwound.