STYLE ART: IKEA and HAY Announce Collaborative Collection With Surreal Teaser / Neon Lights and B&W Photography in Javier Martín's "Blindness Collection"

IKEA is teaming up with Danish furniture designers HAY for a collaborative collection of home goods, and the pair have formalized the announcement with a surreal teaser video, seen above. According to creative director Nikolaj Fremming, the striking, abstract visuals eschew any actual product placements; instead, the clip showcases the materials and spaces that the companies will use in the upcoming YPPERLIG collection (note: “ypperlig” is Swedish for “good, excellent”). The capsule is sure to marry both companies’ classically Scandinavian minimalist aesthetics of high quality and clean lines with overall affordability and practicality.

Multidisciplinary Spanish artist Javier Martín has spent the majority of his career exploring the ideas of contemporary beauty standards. In his latest “Blindness Collection” series, he brings together black and white photography, painting and neon lights to undermine the perfection of fashion portraits. The grittiness of the paint’s texture is intended to create imperfections, while the neon covering the eyes block the viewers from observing the models’ emotions. For a closer look at the series, check out the photos above, or catch the showing at Valli Art Gallery in Miami.