D*Face, Artist :: 120 Seconds

D*Face meets a fan of his work who promises entry to the hottest clubs in New York City making this night out quite unpredictable and memorable.

About D*Face:

What now seems like a lifetime but is merely a decade ago I sat slumped at my desk, head on arm pushing a pencil round a piece of paper dreaming up ways to kill time and break the chains holding me to my desk, Monday to Friday each day became the same and I was eating my brain.

Then one day whilst dreaming up further ideas in the series of 'Ways to kill time' the pencil lines on the pad started to become characters, strange and dysfunctional they formed my dysfunctional world which had no rule. Slowly I figured the pencil could be replaced with a marker pen - the Pentel N50 to be exact - and the paper replaced with cheap vinyl which was 'acquired' from DIY stores, these characters once resigned to a life on paper filed in a folder under 'Not suitable for visual consumption' began to have a life of their own; adhered to lamp post and electrical boxes they plotted and linked my route home, one became 10 and slowly 10 became more than I can remember. Each evening and as much of the day as I could rob was spent drawing and cutting out stickers. Stickers became posters, posters became more ambitious... and somewhere in between I quit my job or maybe that was I got fired, either way the inevitable had happened. Like a river cuts it's own path, I'd cut mine.

This family of dysfunctional characters began evolve, they started to satirise and hold to ransom all that fell into their grasp – a welcome jolt of subversion in today’s media-saturated environment - the very same thing I'd grown up on. Bank notes were drawn and printed over and put into circulation for the unsuspecting to receive in their change, billboards taken over with public service announcements... I wanted to encourage people to not just to 'see', but to look at what surrounds them and their lives, reflecting our increasingly bizarre popular culture, re-thinking and reworking cultural figures and genres to comment on our ethos of conspicuous consumption. A Pandora’s box of bittersweet delights - sweet and sugary on the surface, but with an unfamiliar, uncomfortable, taste beneath.

This isn't the beginning, it's not the end it's happy never ending.

Links to D*Face: http://www.dface.co.uk

Imani Uzuri, Vocalist + Composer + Nomad :: 120 Seconds

Imani Uzuri reminds us to explore ourselves so that we discover all aspects of who we uniquely are, to express ourselves but most importantly to love and accept ourselves.

Imani Uzuri, Vocalist, Composer, Nomad :: 120 Seconds from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.

About Imani Uzuri: Recently featured as TRACE Magazine's 'Beautiful', eclectic, bohemian IMANI UZURI is one who defies category. She has performed at numerous international venues/festivals including LINCOLN CENTER, CENTRAL PARK SUMMER STAGE, PERFORMA07, London's BARBICAN CENTER, THE BLUE NOTE, JOE'S PUB, Japan's WORLD FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC, SOBs, THE UNITED NATIONS, BLACK LILY FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, LE LIEU UNIQUE, BAM, NYC CULTUREFEST, THE APOLLO THEATER, THE WHITNEY MUSEUM, Atlanta's NATIONAL BLACK ART'S FESTIVAL, BOWERY BALLROOM, and Morocco's FESTIVAL D'ESSAOUIRA.

UZURI's recordings/collaborations include HERBIE HANCOCK, JOHN LEGEND, 4-HERO, TALIB KWELI, SLY and ROBBIE, BILL LASWELL and KING BRITT. Television appeareances include DAVID LETTERMAN performing with PETER GABRIEL and the AFRO-CELT SOUND SYSTEM. UZURI’s stunning debut album ‘HER HOLY WATER: A BLACK GIRL’S ROCK OPERA’ (available on ITUNES) features 18 sweeping and captivating songs. She is currently developing a provocative musical theater piece of the same title based on its music, while incorporating coming-of-age memories from her youth in rural North Carolina, multi-media video montage and anecdotes from her nomadic travels around the world of which she has just completed 2 SOLD OUT performances at the LEGENDARY APOLLO THEATRE! It has also been successfully showcased at Joe's Pub, THE HIP HOP THEATER FESTIVIAL, THE KITCHEN, NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NJPAC) and Philadelphia's PAINTED BRIDE.

Imani Uzuri's Links: imaniuzuri.com myspace.com/herholywater twitter.com/gypsygirlbliss

Toofly, Artist :: 120 Seconds

In 2007, Toofly realized that her passion is not just painting but bringing people together which inspired her to form the female collaborative arts movement, Younity.

Toofly, Artist :: 120 Seconds from friendswelove.com on Vimeo.

About Toofly: Toofly’s journey into the world of art began with her commute to public school from her Corona, Queens neighborhood. Her trips were filled with adventurous sketches as she immersed herself in the myriad of graffiti tags, fill-ins, and outlines viewed on almost every deconstructive surface along the way. It was precisely the rebellious artistic spirit of the 90's street graffiti movement that drove Toofly to join its subculture ranks. Highly influenced by the calligraphy and illustration skills of some exceptional writers at the time, a teenage Toofly aspired to become the female version of what she most admired. She began to develop her own knack for “hand styles” and her unique Toofly characters. Her work soon blossomed on various graffiti black books, allowing her skills to be recognized by writers across the five boroughs.

By the time Toofly entered the School of Visual Arts (SVA), she had introduced her character to the walls of New York. At SVA, she applied her artistic skills to illustration and graphic design coursework. Finding inspiration in the New York urban landscape, this artist in the making began to juxtapose her "around the way girl" character against multi layered street imagery for various print and public art projects. Toofly's constant and active role in the hip hop community allowed her to remain true to her roots, as she continued to draw raw feelings from the ever-changing and spontaneous public art world around her.

Toofly's art and design work have appeared in various books, video, and magazines such as Graffiti Women, Burning New York, Current TV, MTV Tr3, Trace, Mass Appeal, Juxtapoz, URB, and Honey. You can find Toofly's public streets works on various walls throughout Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn.

Toofly's Links: tooflynyc.com theyounity.com myspace.com/tooflynyc