Art

In complete darkness, inside the holy space of St Andrew Holborn, listening begins to feel like a form of prayer. With no light and no distraction, sound fills the church and holds the room. For an hour, attention itself becomes the shared act.

When a 65-year-old oak tree in Steve Parker’s yard died from fungal disease, he did not cut it into firewood or haul it away. He did not erase it. He cut the tree into disks and then turned them into records that play birdsong –– a touching tribute to the years that the tree was house and home to birds and all manners of creatures. 

Somewhere between TikTok hauls and next-day delivery, we forgot how to fix things. We forgot how to cook without an app and a pre-made box, grow food without a kit, and sew a button back onto a shirt without throwing the whole garment away. Clothing, once stitched with intention (my mother made her ow dresses!), has become disposable. And with it, a quiet loss of skill, patience, and care.

After a sold-out London debut in 2024, the acclaimed immersive audio experience "in the dark" returns to the capital in January 2026, with performances scheduled for January 22, 23, 29 and 30 at St Andrew’s Church in Holborn.

Iconic French actress dies but leaves behind a legacy of caring for animals.

You can build a stronger, more flexible voice through steady practice and awareness of your habits. Each exercise you use helps you develop control and protect your vocal cords from strain.

Scientists and sound artists have also translated plant electrical signals into audible frequencies, creating “plant music” that reveals hidden rhythms in living organisms. And Björk, through projects like Biophilia, has blended natural processes, digital ecosystems, and experimental instrumentation to explore how the environment can shape melody, structure, and emotional tone. Pantanal Jam emerges in this lineage but roots itself directly in a living biome, playing not about nature or around it, but with it in real time.

Experimental biofabricators are now printing patterns on fabric using mushroom-based inks, and even making mushroom paper and mushroom-based leather—creating textiles that age, change, and biodegrade intentionally. Quilts that are meant to return to the earth.

The scent of a hidden backroom where someone rolls a cigarette with ritual precision. Tobacco leaf, tea smoke, and the holy pause between inhale and exhale. Maybe it was your dad's wine cigar in the 70s. Be transported in this scent of a time machine that can take you back and transport you into the future.

Blackdot’s AI-powered tattoo machine promises precision and less pain, but sparks debate over health risks, artistry, and spirituality. From religious prohibitions to smart tattoos, the future of ink is being rewritten by technology.

Learn how to make sustainable paper from mushrooms using tough, fibrous fungi like artist’s conk, turkey tail, and birch polypore. This eco-friendly craft transforms woody polypores into strong, chitin-based sheets perfect for art projects, greeting cards, or handmade journals. Our step-by-step guide to mushroom papermaking covers soaking, pulping, forming sheets with a mould and deckle, and drying methods—showing how fungi can replace traditional wood pulp for unique, natural paper.

Sustainability isn’t just a theme—it’s a living, breathing force at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, opening Saturday, May 10. Among the standout exhibits this year is “Song of the Cricket”, a groundbreaking fusion of ecological conservation and interactive sound art brought to life by researchers from the University of Melbourne.

Tattoos have long been a form of self-expression, a way to etch stories, beliefs, and memories onto the skin. But as tattoo culture grows, so do questions about its long-term health effects. Could your ink be doing more than just decorating your body?

Michal Rothschild creates Dead Sea Diamonds, jewelry from crystals she finds and harvests at the Dead Sea.