Tidings #3
Material Affirmations
Welcome to another Tidings - a collection of some of my recent bookmarks.
ORIKI
Apartamento has produced a monograph on Nifemi Marcus-Bello’s Oríkì series.
Oriki is a design series by Nifemi Marcus-Bello that looks to investigate material evolution, production techniques and identify in the hopes to create objects, forms and experiences dictated and driven by the findings. The output of the series will be showcased through various themes, called ACTS.
The series is an exploration of three materials: Bronze (Act 1), Aluminium (Act 2), and Copper (Act 3). In each one, Nifemi thoughtfully applies the materials to different forms: stools, benches and headrests, and carefully documents the process.
Apartamento’s 150-page, square book is a rewarding documentation of his incredible work on this project. With hues of green and beautiful glossy pages, they investigate his origins, motivations, family and practice.
Nifemi is one of the leading product designers of our time. His work is honest, beautiful, and grounded in respect and curiosity for materials, people and culture. This monograph is well deserving. Kudos!
CONSUMED.TODAY
In the spirit of great documentation, try Consumed Today - a project by Shen, who makes these really beautiful websites. This one is a documentation of what they read, hear and see every day. Very fascinating!
IMG_OO1
Between 2009 and 2012, iPhones had a built-in “Send to YouTube” button in the Photos app. Many of these uploads kept their default IMG_XXXX filenames, creating a time capsule of raw, unedited moments from random lives.
Inspired by Ben Wallace, I made a bot that crawled YouTube and found 5 million of these videos! Watch them below, ordered randomly.
Just… incredible: walzr.com/IMG_0001
FESTAC ‘77
FESTAC is arguably the biggest cultural moment in Pan African history - an iconic gathering of Black people from across the world.
Early in 1977, thousands of artists, writers, musicians, activists and scholars from Africa and the black diaspora assembled in Lagos for FESTAC ’77, the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. With a radically ambitious agenda underwritten by Nigeria’s newfound oil wealth, FESTAC ’77 would unfold as a complex, glorious and excessive culmination of a half-century of transatlantic and pan-Africanist cultural-political gatherings.
The festival was a month-long event that involved over 56 countries, 16,000 people and spanned across the visual and performing arts.
FESTAC was the Olympics, plus a Biennial, plus Woodstock. But Africa style.... It’s hard to describe, and people have positioned it as science fiction, but it really did happen,” remarks Nance. “It’s influenced everything I’ve done, from that point on. Everyone who was a participant in FESTAC points to it as a pivotal moment in their own personal history. It meant a lot for the thousands of us who were there.Yet it’s not part of common knowledge.
This Archive holds a collection of images from the event. Pair that with Marily Nance’s immaculate photos for a jolly trip into the past.
THE HARDEST WORKING FONT IN MANHATTAN
In this 6,100 word essay, Marcin Wichary explores the history and contemporary usage of the Gorton typeface. It’s an incredible exercise in research and documentation and I want to see more Nigerian projects like this.
KEEP THINKING
In the battle of taste, Anthropic has emerged over OpenAI in my mind as the greater company. Their brand and product are very distinct and they feel more honest about what they can or cannot do.
Anthropic describes itself as a “public benefit corporation”, but it’s structured as a for‑profit. Its parent uses a public benefit framework that legally obliges consideration of societal impact and safety, but it still raises equity, takes venture and strategic investments, and operates commercially.
Their recent Keep Thinking campaign by Mother London positions Claude as the AI for problem solvers. It launched with a 90‑second hero film, followed by broad media placements across the internet and OOH.
The video has a nostalgic grain that feels very on-brand with Anthropic and distinct from the modern, refined tech startup aesthetic. It’s cool to see a tech company lean into more traditional advertising, and I hope this inspires better ads.
That’s it for this one. Hope you found something interesting. Cheers!