Femke Hiemstra & Travis Louie at the Roq La Rue

Go to the Roq La Rue. NOW! Their current body of art might not be all that colorful, but it is technically amazing and has incredible framing.

***



Femke Hiemstra of the Netherlands can pretty much make anything look good. Shown above is a graphite drawing. Reflections aside, it’s incredibly detailed and remarkably smudge-free.



More work by Hiemstra.

***

Travis Louie can paint detailed portraits for non-existent creatures, and he can also craft hilarious stories for them. Here are some from his recent showcase at the Roq. The descriptions are typed word for word.


“Minty was a rather affable Victorian Ogre.
Instead of stealing sheep and terrorizing the English countryside (as other Ogres were
known to exhibit such behavior), he was well known for being a storyteller of sorts.
Unfortunately, his stories were remarkable long and the concept of “beginning”,
“middle”, and mostly “end” alluded him. There was no logical conclusion to any of his
yarns, but many a passersby would learn about the day to day lives of the most
unimportant people in English history.”


“Albert was a happy monkey boy.
Her worked for an organ grinder , dancing in a trance like state with a
tin cup in his hand.
Quite often, he would climb up a lamp post and do a back somersault off
of it.
When someone tried to put buttons in his cup instead of coins,… he chased them down
and made them eat them. He was not to be trifled with.”


“Maurice was one with the sheep.
Wherever he went, the sheep would follow him.
It became a problem when all the sheep of his native
Scotland migrated to his farm. They couldn’t help themselves.
Eventually Maurice was forced to leave his farm and settle in lands
that had no sheep.”

Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

View all articles
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Written by Vee Hua 華婷婷
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x