From nostalgic photography to ambient digital books – highlights from Nicer Tuesdays January

From ritualistic animation to immersive digital books, Nicer Tuesdays 2018 hit the ground running with our January event last night. Returning to Oval Space, our brilliant array of speakers – The Anonymous Project, Visual Editions, Marie Jacotey and I Saw John First – shared the personal stories and fascinating processes behind their recent work. Here are a few things we learned from them.

Photos show that, in the end, humans aren’t so different

The Anonymous Project hopped over from Paris, where they’re currently exhibiting their vast collection of found photographic slides, to share their beautiful project. Featuring an archive of around 500,000 images and categorised into themes such as people posing by their cars, or by the seaside, or sleeping, the photos are nostalgic and familiar to everyone, despite the anonymity of their subjects. “There’s always a moment when you identify with these people. We’re all so different but we share so much as well, that’s what the project teaches us.”

Digital books hold so much potential

True to its ethos of “bringing together a love of literature, cool technology and new reading experiences”, Visual Editions unveiled its latest book with Google Creative Lab. Via its collaborative digital imprint Editions at Play, the book Breathe is a ghost story that uses a phone’s geo-location tech to change the story according to where you’re reading it, what time of day it is, what the weather’s like, and other factors. “The idea is that it reflects the character experience in the reader’s experience. It’s ambient literature.”

Illustration is cathartic, for artist and viewer

French, London-based illustrator Marie Jacotey shared her latest project Morning Defeats, a collaboration with poet Rachael Allen. “My work is usually based on human relationships, an observation of the intimacy of people, everything that people would prefer hidden – that’s what I want to draw,” she explained. “I’m trying to express emotion that we’ve all felt but haven’t really dealt with, and I get a lot of people coming up to me and saying I had drawn their story. I’m really touched if my drawings can reach out to people.”

Miyazaki’s influence knows no bounds

Animator I Saw John First took us through the creation of his music video for Mr Jukes’ Angels/Your Love feat. BJ The Chicago Kid, from his research into the musician to how the fantastical, colourful characters came to life. “My brief was to make a ritualistic, psychedelic thing,” John said. Basing his concept on a common passion for Japanese culture, John drew from Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke as well as Polish poster art, painterly characters, and ghost stories to create his hypnotic world. “I wanted it to be joyous but genuine.”

Supported by: Park Communications

As one of London’s most respected printers, Park Communications is known for its care, attention to detail and high quality, which is why we choose Park for Printed Pages.

Supported by: The Five Points Brewing Company

The Five Points Brewing Company is an independent brewery based in Hackney, London, brewing with a commitment to provenance, quality, consistency and the community since 2013.