A New Book Documents the Magnificent Experience of Swimming with Humpback Whales

All images © Jem Cresswell, shared with permission

Between 2014 and 2018, Jem Cresswell spent countless hours submerged in the depths of the southern Pacific Ocean surrounding Tonga. There he captured a group of humpback whales as they gracefully maneuvered around him, allowing the Sydney-based photographer to unveil the details of their grooved underbellies and barnacle-clad skin. The original project has culminated in a new book that documents the creatures’ movements and idiosyncrasies in striking black-and-white images.

Giants spans 220 pages detailing the humpbacks and their calves. To complete the massive book, Cresswell pared down more than 11,000 shots, the majority of which haven’t been published previously. The photographer shares memories and historical details about the massive creatures throughout, including the incredible awareness that comes from swimming with sentient beings so much larger than himself. “You never forget your first humpback experience,” he writes. “The sublime sense of insignificance that it instills in you. It has to be one of the most humbling experiences on Earth.”

Only 1,500 copies of Giants, which are signed and numbered, are available for purchase on the book’s site, which also offers glimpses into Cresswell’s process creating the compendium. To stay up to date with the photographer’s latest underwater projects, follow him on Instagram.

 

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Antique Watches, Cameras, and Medical Equipment Morph Into Meticulous Steampunk Spiders

All images © Peter Szucsy, shared with permission

For 25 years, art director and artist Peter Szucsy has filled his days with rendering the bizarre, sinister beasts that run rampant through video games. “I have made many creatures, monsters in the virtual world… but a few years ago I felt it is about time to create something different,” he says of his time working in the industry. “So I left my computer and made lots of my ideas come alive in the real world.”

The result is a curious menagerie of steampunk spiders that the Budapest-based artist assembles with parts of vintage watches, cameras, and medical equipment. Each week, Szucsy scours a flea market near his home to find materials that include rare, pricey timepieces, although the artist notes he avoids dismantling anything that a museum or institution would value. In his studio, he parses the found metals and meticulously crafts the articulate eight-legged creatures.

Szucsy holds a degree in illustration from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and plans to launch an online shop to sell some of the spiders in the coming days. You can follow his latest creatures, which he hopes to include dragonflies and praying mantises, on Instagram.

 

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Interface creates carpet tile backing using carbon-negative materials

Dezeen promotion: flooring manufacturer Interface's latest collection NY+LON Streets features a new backing containing carbon-negative materials.

The backing, called CQuestBio, sees an increase in the amount of recycled and bio-based content in comparison to the company's previous products.

As a result, the product cuts its carbon footprint by one third.

"This new backing innovation is an important step as we support our customers in achieving their own sustainability goals, and as we work toward becoming a carbon-negative enterprise by 2040," said Interface.

“The backing is now a standard across Interface's global collections," it added.

Interface's new CQuest Bio backing features carbon-negative materials

Two years ago the company certified all its rubber floor, carpet and luxury vinyl titles as carbon neutral through their life cycle with its Carbon Neutral Floors programme.

According to Interface, by using materials more efficiently – which has included increasing the level of recycled and bio-based materials – it has reduced the carbon footprint of its carpet tiles by 74 per cent.

Interface has reduced the carbon footprint of its carpet tiles by 74 per cent

"The built environment is linked to around 39 per cent of all global carbon emissions," said the company.

"However, by reimagining how we design, create, specify and build spaces we have the opportunity to reduce this number," it continued. "And we're seeing companies such as Microsoft, Apple and IKEA with strong pledges to achieve net zero."

Interface founder Ray C Anderson committed the company to sustainability

Interface was founded in 1973 in America by the late Ray C Anderson, who gained a reputation as a pioneer for environmentalism. After having an epiphany on the threat to the Earth posed by manufacturing in the 90s, Anderson began a radical overhaul of his business, switching factories to renewable power and seeking to eradicate petroleum from its fabrication processes.

Anderson passed away in 2011, but the company continues his mission of sustainable design.

"As individuals, businesses and industries a shift in mindset will be crucial to tackle global warming," said Interface. "Instead of continuing to do more harm, we must focus on doing more good."

More information about Interface can be found on its website.

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Set off rainbow-coloured smoke bombs in your house, courtesy of Judy Chicago

The AR piece virtually recreates the effects of her Atmospheres series from the late 1960s, which saw her adorn the Californian landscape with multi-coloured clouds of smoke and fireworks.

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Hussain Almsosawi’s prolific and pleasing motion practice

Setting himself task after task, Hussain discusses his satisfying and striking daily work.

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