Pro - Wrestling: Eve

@ninopaulito

What am I looking at? 
Pro - Wrestling: Eve. It's feminist wrestling apparently.

What makes it feminist? 
I dunno but it was pretty good fun. It had all the usual wrestling things like sparkling costumes, body slams, bitch slaps and for our particular performance a few power cuts which added to the drama.

Did you have a favourite? 
I became an immediate fan of the adorable Zoe Lucas. Her perky nature and dainty frame seemed at odds with the brutal nature of the sport. The partisan crowd relentlessly cheered her on with the brilliant impromptu chant, 'Fuck her up Zoe, Fuck her up!' That didn't stop her getting her arse beat down by the indomitable Alpha Female though.

Would you go again? 
I will definitely consider seeing some more girl on girl action in the near future.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

High Land

What am I looking at? 
We've ticked another task from our bucket list and visited the Scottish Highlands.

Where did you go? 
We were there to celebrate a wedding of friends on the West coast. We also took some time to explore some nearby villages in the Lochaber region including Glenuig and the magical seaside area of Arisaig. The whole Lochlaber region is full of beautiful picturesque views of lochs, hills and valleys. It made us happy knowing we own a piece of that land out there somewhere.

We also stopped by Fort William to marvel at the magical sight of Ben Nevis.

Anything else? 
We had a fantastic time and would definitely visit again. We're entertaining the idea of returning next year to try some wild camping and mountainside biking.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 


more views on instagram @ninopaulito

Gudetama Makin Bacon

What am I looking at? 
Gudetama. The slovenly yolk creature created by design studio Sanrio. His catchphrase is 'Meh', he likes to get his arse out and represents everything low effort. These endearing traits compelled us to cosplay as him at the Comic Con event back in May.

Is it a flag? 
No. It was initially designed to be a padded romper suit but we got the measurements slightly off so the design was modified to make a reversible cape.

Explain the photo. 
The idea for the shoot was to have the egg splayed out on the grass basking out in the sun. Those photos didn't come out so well but in the background a woman started sunbathing topless. She seem quite oblivious to what we were doing so we set Gudetama up so it looked like he was gazing out at her. Perving basically.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 



more eggcellent content on instagram @ninopaulito

Cup Car

What am I looking at? 
Cup Car! It's a wine glass
attached to a Hotwheels
instead of a stem.
Now we can get pissed
and run rings around our
race mat rug.

Why?  
Don't ask questions.
Go find some pino vino
and fill our engine up.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 


find more quality content on instagram @ninopaulito

ELCAF / House of Illustration Fair

What am I looking at? 
We've been planning to create a zine of our own for a while now so thought it be a good idea to attend a few fairs to research, network and gather some inspiration.

What did you see? 
We went to ELCAF first which was ok. There were a few standouts but a lot of the work was quite samey and a bit 'meh'. The House of Illustration's Summer Fair was much more interesting. The stuff on show was quite diverse and included prints, comics, jewellery and embroidery. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed and we spent much of our time socialising with artists. We took lil sis too who seemed to enjoy herself.

Was there anything you liked? 
Yes. NY based illustrator @mountaindog. Her vibrant risographs depicted surreal interpretations of Chinese proverbs which sprawled and mutated over multiple frames. We saw her at both events so couldn't resist purchasing some prints and a mini zine the second time around. We also liked the work of @xiaome1 who also worked in risograph. We like risographs.

Anything else? 
This weekend we're heading down to the South London Comic & Zine Fair where our friends @chumleypies and @ieuan_protheroe have a table and comics on show. Should be a good time.

Great.Thanks. Bye. 


find us on instagram @ninopaulito

Juno Calypso: What To Do With A Million Years

What am I looking at? 
Juno Calypso @ TJ Boulting Gallery.

Who? 
Photographer Juno Calypso came to our attention a few years ago in an ID magazine article. In it she describes booking hotel honeymoon suites to use as back drops for her self portrait series. The interiors of these hotels contain extremely gaudy features which were used to enhance the dark and otherworldly feel to her work. We were excited to hear about her London show so popped by to check out the exhibition.

Describe her stuff? 
Calypso's photos are really sexy up close. They have an elegant sheen, colours are seductively luminous and have an overall gorgeous cinematic look. At times they resemble film stills of the 70s or the revisionist style of auteurs Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. There's also a touch of retro futurism, especially in photos where she is using creepy antiquated beauty devices or is straight up dressed as a green skinned alien.

Anything else? 
The interior of the lower gallery was decorated like someone's front porch with a fake lawn, trellises and even a kitsch water feature. The faint patter of music that could be heard from certain corners of the room also added to the voyeuristic subject of her work. We really like this stuff.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

Find Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

Nobrow 10: Studio Dreams

What am I looking at? 
Tor Brandt's studio dream. Seen recently at the the Nobrow 10th aniversary exhibition.

What was the exhibition all about? 
The theme was Studio Dreams. Artist's were asked to explore their ideas about the dream studio space. The results were mostly fantastical and introspective. Lots of scenes of wilderness and sparse landscapes.

What were your favourites? 
Tor Brandt's cut out illustration was nice. It was like a mega sized paper landscape which reminded us a lot of the Lurk project we worked on with Melissa Choong a few years ago. Andre Rae also made something similar by creating scifi inspired instruments which wrapped around the studio interior. His band The Moonheads also played on the night which gave the work an extra energy. The lead singer also wore a fantastic moonheaded headpiece.

Anything else? 
We are going to ELCAF Festival this weekend which is a celebration of east London comic book art and illustration. We're hoping to see lots of inspiring art and maybe purchase a few pins. It's an aim of ours to create a zine of our own so we'll be talking to lots of creators to ask how they got started.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

                          

Find Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

MCM Comic Con / Summer 18

What am I looking at? 
Nino went to the Summer MCM Comic Con in London. We've become regular attendees since last year's event. This time we took lil sis with us who cosplayed as Todoro. We created ourselves a Gudetama poncho. We'll have some photos of that soon, for now you can view photos of our favourite cosplayers on the Nino Tumblr site.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

Teeth

What am I looking at? 
Nino visited the Welcome Collecton Gallery to see Teeth, an exhibition about the history of modern dentistry.

Tell me about dentistry. 
Did you know before the profession of dentistry existed, people would visit the barber if they had any tooth ailments? Barbers would voluntarily remove teeth causing a person agro for an extra fee. Teeth pulling became such a phenomenon, (and lucrative), some barbers began to perform the feat publicly and invite paying punters to see. The more flamboyant teeth pullers would create their own special tools and techniques to practice with. It was also a great way to advertise their service. Through this development modern dentistry came to be.

Fascinating. What else did this exhibition entail? 
There were some great toothpaste posters including the famous Bianca brand image depicting a buck toothed squirrel brushing its teeth. It is admittedly quite impressive to see up close. We also enjoyed the 50's informercials about the importance of oral hygiene. In one a lil girl is having nightmares then about plaque monsters rotting her teeth. The monsters are depicted with pick axes maliciously hacking away at her gums. Its quite a frightening sight.

Nice. Anything else? 
Yeah, plenty more but probably best to see yourself, its free!

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities

What am I looking at? 

Nino and lil sister had an educational day out at the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. Pictured are the remains of infant conjoint twins. 

Sounds freaky? 

It begins with an ominous decent down a rickety spiral staircase. Dora the Explorer spurs you on flanked by the aforementioned twins. At the bottom a cabinet of dead eyed Victorian china dolls greet you, along with a two headed lamb and a variety of phallic idols...

Sounds peculiar. 

There are a lot of old pornographic photographs containing transsexual and quadriplegic performers. We’ve always been fascinated by shrunken heads and there are quite few of those here too. Number one odd item was the gold cast skull of a hippopotamus which belonged to infamous drug baron El Chappo. He accumulated so much money he was able illegally import wild animals to Mexico where he kept them as pets. This documentary gives a great account of his life and trade.

Ok. What were your favourite items? 

If you weren’t aware already, Nino loves the Pagan shit. We enjoyed sitting up close with a myriad of Satanic artefacts including a Witches bible and items of furniture with goat hoofed legs.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

The Tweed Run 2018

What am I looking at? 
Last weekend was the 10th annual London Tweed Run. The Tweed Run is a celebration of urban cycling fused with an appreciation for early 20th century sartorial elegance. Participants gather early in the morning for a leisurely jaunt around London. The event concludes with a picnic in a park.

Did you participate? 
Sadly no. But we have sworn to join next year. We did go to the after party which was held in the park. There we got to view the award ceremony, pet some alpacas, rifle through rows of fine tweed clothing, test ride some classic bikes, ogle beautifully dressed people, (lady above was winner of the finest filly award), and dance into the early evening.

Anything else? 
View more photos from the event here www.instagram.com/tweedrun

Great. Thanks. Bye. 
@i.gate.the.gypsy

Sorry I'm Not Graham

Congeratulations to our super friends Caela & Ieuan who got married week.

They had a beautiful ceremony on a Welsh farm with sheep and cows and doves and we slept in

a barn and walkedto the edge of the cliff and hung out with all of their lovely friends and families.

Nino Paulito wishes you many years of good times and happiness xx 

Some Books That We Have Read: Jan - April

What am I looking at? 
Recent books that Nino Paulito has readed.

What are these books? 
The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf. A cautionary Christian tale about the dangers of human greed, sloth and arrogance. A bunch of villagers make a deal with the devil then break their promise which results in a woman being infected with boils that grow into poison spiders that attack and kill everyone. A good campfire story 5/5.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. An alien girl land on a strange planet to find all the women are gone and the remaining men have contracted something called 'the noise' which makes all of their inner thoughts audible. Our protagonist is about to turn 14 the age which boys become men and suddenly experience extreme anger and aggression. We wish it maintained its dark tone throughout. Started so well but then hit that point where everything got really predictable and boring. Twilight for sensitive boys 2/5.

A Monster Calls also by Patrick Ness. This one did hold its nerve. A boy's mum is dying from cancer as he struggles to cope with fear and grief a tree monster visits him during the night to offer reassurance and support. Well not really, the monsters tales make the kid even more paranoid, his mum gets sicker and everything in his life tumultuously falls apart. We liked this one. Very dark, sad and upsetting 4/5.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt. Nino's Pick of the month. A story about two cowboy brother assassin vigilantes on a quest to murder dudes and steal gold. This one was really really good. We found ourselves always sympathising with the leading characters even when they were mercilessly executing civilians. The writing is writing is very sharp and we often found ourselves LOL-ing at its questionable humour whilst reading on public transport. No Country For Old Men if Anton Chigurh was the leading man 5/5.

There is a 5th book in the photo. 
Yah but we've not finished that one yet.

Ok. Anything else? Where have you been the last few weeks? 
Drunk.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 
Nino Instagram 

Badimate_2.0

What am I looking at? 
A while ago we found an interesting set of illustrations online and decided to bring them to life in 'badly' animated GIFs. The results were pretty nice so we decided to make more. The 'Badimate' series was born.

And then? 
We forgot about it.

And now? 
We recently rediscovered this project and have decided to revive the series.

Will it be much of the same? 
Pretty much. Our GIF animation skills have improved over time so are a bit less bad. We'll also expand our search to include book illustrations too as finding interesting stock images is quite hard. We've just found a new Miffy book in a charity shop so will start with that.

Where can we see Badimate? 
badimate.tumblr.com

Great. Thanks. Bye. 


Find Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

Iron Lion Zion

What am I looking at? 
Our Kara Shishi or Guardian Lion.

Is this more voodoo shit? 
Its a Buddist idol which grants good luck whilst offering protection. Ours is made of wood and has a moveable mandible. It also came with a gnarly looking sword.

Cool. Are there any current projects you are working on? 
We're going to an animal themed costume party next month so trying to decide what animal we'll go as. We were originally thinking a Rooster but they are deceptively tricky to draw. So now we're thinking goat or maybe dog? To be honest we don't know at this point but as soon as we do we'll let you know...

Great. thanks. Bye. 





Find Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

Heir of The Dog

What am I looking at? 
新年快乐 or Happy New Year! Today marks the start of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. 2018 is the year of the Dog, which has been beautifully illustrated in Mel Choong's mutt themed greetings card.

What are the prospects for Dog people in 2018? 
'People with Chinese zodiac Dog sign will have a year full of challenges. Their career may face changes. The financial condition will be not as good as last year. Failed investments may lead to the unbalance of income and expenses. Most of them need to make great efforts and adapt for a long time. During the Year of Dog, they may suffer from sub-healthy body condition. Even though they feel exhausted because of the high pressure from work, they should balance well their health condition and career' - China Travel Guide.

Sounds pretty shit... 
Yup.

So is there anything good can I look forward to? 
A key feature and our favourite part of New Year celebrations is the reunion dinner. This is where family and friends get together to wish each other good health and prosperity, exchange oranges for red packets of money, overindulge on sweet treats and consume copious amounts of food & alcohol. Thats where we're heading now and intend to remain for the course of the weekend.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

Chew Clan Jetty

What am I looking at? 
A dragon boat stalking an unwitting lady on the Chew Clan Jetty. It's one of the many amazing heritage sites we visited Malaysia.

Tell me more about the Chew Clan Jetty. 
Its an ever expanding cluster of homes which sprawl out over the sea which have stood for over 100 years. Over time the families have opened up their gates to allow visitors to explore their bustling community.

What else did you see in Malaysia? 
A lot of stuff. Malaysia, especially Penang is beautiful. They have a burgeoning art scene involving an exciting array of international artists. There are many pop up studios and murals dotted around the city which add a wonderful vibrancy to the landscape. There is even a monument for Ultra Man. We definitely want to return and highly recommend everyone visit this gem of an island.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

Fast & Furious Live

What am I Looking at? 

The Fast & The Furious Live @ The Dome. The most loudest, dumbest, ridiculous, crashy, bang-bang stage show you'll ever see.

Why? 

We've never watched the movies and in general have zero interest in this franchise. However, Fast & Furious in a live context makes perfect sense. The films are pretty much mindless pageantry tied together by increasingly ridiculous set-pieces. This article did a good job of selling it too.

So how was it?  

The show was a feast of amazing. There was nonstop balletic action, explosions galore, tanks, a train, a plane, a friggin submarine...

Wow. How did this all tie together? Was there a plot? 

No. Maybe? If there was, we weren't really paying attention. Clips from the movies introduced each chapter, from there the show nicely segued into the live set pieces. The AV and stage direction was really impressive throughout and did a great job of amping up the excitement.

Final verdict? 

10/10 for brainless, adrenaline fuelled fun.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 

Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

Mermaid Armour

What am I looking at? 
Just before Christmas Nino Paulito once again took part in The Unfinished Things Festival. We decided to continue the story of the Mermaid King and asked members of the audience to help us design a flag to represent him.

Is this the winning design then? 
No. Due to a mixture of end of year fatigue, stress and an unshakable illness, we struggled to work and actually didn't manage to finish on the day. We do have a very cool design though and aim to complete it at some point this year.

So, what am I looking at? 
A hand embroidered monogram which features on the reverse of the costume we created for the Fish King. The design references the Siren puppet which we created in our first Unfinished Things Festival appearance. The padded armour costume was inspired by Medieval gambesons and New York Street Gang Jackets.

Great. Thanks. Bye. 


Find Nino Paulito on Instagram: @i.gate.the.gypsy

Grand Ole Glasgow

What Am I Looking At? 

Nino Paulito went to Scotland for Christmas and New Year celebrations. This is the sexy view of the flat we stayed in.

Nice. Where did you stay? 

Glasgow. In a area called Spiers Wharf. It’s right by the canal and has great views of the city. It even snowed over Christmas which made the place extra festive.

What did you get for Christmas? 

Lots of booze (vodka, whisky, cocktail mixers). An unexpected gift from someone’s mum who heard a rumour that saw us drunk once now thinks alcoholics. A recipe book for the worlds spiciest foods. Probs our favourite of the bunch. We’ll make good use of this year as it contains some really exciting meals. A finger brooch (pretty cool) and Lego which is a great recovery tool whilst lying prostrate after Christmas dinner. 

How was New Years? 

Well, that was interesting. We went to Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry which was exactly what it sounds like, a country and western themed concert hall. The venue was filled with pension aged cowboys in kilts line dancing to Country renditions of popular songs. I'm told they occasionally host gun fights too. It was eerie. It was unsettling. It was thrilling and wonderful. More of this please for 2018.

Great. Thanks. Bye.