Art: Abomination Nursery

Every so often, in the sea of the internet, you find something absolutely amazing, and Abomination Nursery is one such thing. Or rather, a collection of beautifully dark, horror-inspired "things".

'Hermes'

Hard as it is to believe looking at his work, Armgardt Richter Rose, the imagination and talented artist behind the creations of Abomination Nursery, only started making such detailed, realistic and unusual-looking custom dolls four years ago! Although he had been involved with art and always loved styles influenced by horror and the macabre, it wasn't until 2006 that he found this new outlet for his abilities and, in November 2008, Abomination Nursery was born.

'Castor Valario'

Whilst the heavy amounts of gore featured may put some people off, if you can get past that and view these extraodinary pieces for what they are - remarkably well-done horror art toys - you'll be in for a grotesque treat. After all, horror, by definition should make you somewhat uncomfortable or scared and if it doesn't it's not doing its job properly!

'Cabin Doll'

Although the main focuses of Abomination Nursery are the vinyl and porcelain dolls, Armgardt Richter Rose also makes things such as displays, sculptures, ornaments and decorative homeware pieces. He also sells prints of the dolls and some other items, including great holiday ornaments that are currently available, through Etsy.

'FaceBox' with light-up eyes

The current Abomination Nursery project is a set of movie monster dolls, and it's sure to be equally as stunning as all the previous works! To keep up to date with further news about that project, and any others to come, you can visit the following websites:

Abomination Nursery Website

Etsy Store

YouTube

Facebook

Twitter

Thank you to Armgardt Richter Rose for the images and information.

Additional images after the cut below↓

Toys & Art: Plaseebo / Bob Conge

Creating pieces in various forms, including illustrations, figures and 3D art, American customiser and artist, Bob Conge, began exhibiting his work both in the US and internationally in 1985. Since that time, he has had his work shown at events and museums/galleries such as the Lahti VIII Poster Biennale (Lahti, Finland), Musee de la Publicite (Paris, France),  9th Colorado International Poster Invitational (Colorado, USA), Imiri Invitational / Kaiju Blue Gallery (Tokyo, Japan) and many more. As an illustrator, he has also worked for many well-known clients such as EMI Records, IBM, the Wall Street Journal and Sony Records, to name but a few.




Portrait illustration of Franz Kafka



A shrine art piece



 



In 2004, he started Plaseebo, which is a "shop ded­i­cated to cre­at­ing unique one of a kind col­lec­table fig­ures and design­ing orig­i­nal fig­ures for Ultra Lim­ited edi­tions". The focus of these figures is often kaiju, a Japanese word meaning 'strange beast' or 'monster', frequently used to describe characters such as Godzilla, King Kong, Gamera and even Frankenstein's Monster in movies.

A group of Plaseebo figures



Each figure is extremely detailed and many have backstories, giving them all their own unique character and adding to their charm. Some also have LED lights installed inside, giving them a glowing effect when in the dark, which looks quite stunning. The combination of the grinning features and unusual looks of figures such as 'War' and 'Skulloctopus' also make them extremely endearing characters, even if the subject matter might be a serious one. 

'Skulloctopus Rex' with LED switched on, in a dark room

If you like Conge's work, you can see his newly finished pieces 'Think Tank', which will be limited to 5 or 10 and, unique item 'War Monger', at the 'Contemporary Figure Modification' show. The event will be held in April 2011 at the TAG in Hollywood, California.



'War Monger'



'Think Tank'



You can also find out more information and keep up to date with news and future activities by visiting the following websites:

Plaseebo

Bob Conge's Official Site

Bob Conge Illustration Page

Thank you to Bob Conge for permission to use the pictures and information.
More images after the cut below↓

Fashion: Boom! Boom! Baby!

I recently purchased a corset made from horror-themed fabric from UK based bespoke corsetry and costume brand, Boom! Boom! Baby!. The brand have made beautiful creations for numerous clients, including burlesque performers Anna Fur Laxis and Frankii Wilde, and comissions from the BBC. Their work has also been featured in magazines such as Devolution and Creepy Queen.

The ones that particularly caught my eye were their bandage/mummy-themed corsets and outfits (pictured below) and I really was amazed by how low the prices are, considering the quality and uniqueness of what they offer.

I'll probably write more about this brand when my own is finished, but until then, you can view more of their work, contact them or even buy something yourself at the following websites:

Boom! Boom! Baby! Boutique
Etsy Store
BBB Blog

For more images of the gorgeous mummy-themed creations...

Photography: Andreas Waldschuetz

An image from 'VAMPARA', featuring the fashion of Ara Jo

The subject of this post is Andreas Waldschuetz - a talented fashion and art photographer/filmaker from Vienna, Austria. As well as woking in Vienna, Waldschuetz has also traveled a great deal, which often is reflected in his photographs, and he has carried out projects in video and photography in various places around the world including: the US, UK, France, Germany and South Africa.

Not all of Waldschuetz's work is dark and spooky and the fact that it doesn't not adhere to one specific theme makes it more interesting.  However, he does create some beautifully macabre and strange images and I'm going to post some for you to enjoy here.

A photograph from 'Cooky Spooky Sherwood Lodge'

If you don't like portrait or fashion photography or heavily edited art images, his productions may not be for you. However, personally I find them to be well-planned, skillfully shot and very creative, and the stories behind each collection of visuals are also intruiging.

To view more of his work and stay up to date with his activities, you can visit the following websites:

Official Website
Behance Network Portfolio

Official Facebook Page

All photographs are copyright Andreas Waldschuetz.
Please do not repost without permission.

More photos after the jump:

Toys: Dismember-Me Plush Zombie

I remember spending hours when I was a child trying to create my very own zombie from parts of broken toys and bits of string. Little did I know, that in the future, those clever people over at ThinkGeek would create a plush zombie for me!

"What happens when you take old broken plush toys and bury them in the woods by the light of the full moon while whistling the theme song from "Halloween"? Unfortunately nothing...which is why the skillful design monkeys here at ThinkGeek were forced to come-up with our own scary (but cute) zombie plush.

The Dismember-Me Plush Zombie begs to be torn limb from limb. After all he is a decaying re-animated corpse turned into irresistible cuddly plush. Rip off an arm... he doesn't mind. Tear him in half.. he'll barely notice. Pull off his legs... ok now he's getting a bit annoyed. Steal his brain... now you've really done it. Keep your teddy bears under close guard tonight because undead plush have come back from hell to walk the earth."

One of these delightful little darlings can be yours for just $12.99 from the ThinkGeek store.

Shopping: TheHorrorDome.com

Ah, the end of August is looming, casting a gloriously gloomy shadow over September and welcoming Autumn. That can mean only one thing: the best day of the year is coming up. That's right! My birthday! HALLOWEEN!

Whilst I'm sure you're all already prepared, just in case you need anything extra for this years grotesque gatherings and spooky seances, look no further than TheHorrorDome.com, the "Halloween superstore"! They have everything you could want from horrific halloween masks and zombie risers to creepy dolls and haunted clocks! And more!!

Not only do they sell great items, but they even provide free how-to guides in their prop directions section. Guides featured include such ghastly delights as 'Horror Ribs', 'Vampire Blood' and 'The Army of Darkness'.

Music: SaTaN

Tokyo horror rock band, SaTaN released their new album, '13 I Scream' at the end of June. I did actually receieve my copy of it from the Starwave Records store the day before the release, which was great, but I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now.

Anyway! I was already a fan of this band because of their previous releases (a mini-album and 2 singles) and the live performance of theirs that I had the pleasure of attending last year, but I have to say, thanks to this album, I now like them even more. I absolutely LOVE it! The tongue-in-cheek horror lyrics (which are, by the way, entirely in English), driving guitars, crazy vocals and occasional use of spooky synths make this album fantastic! The genre sways between black metal, horror rock and even a little punk, quite frequently and it works very well and creates a style that is both influenced by other artists (for example, older Murderdolls) but remains unique to SaTaN at the same time. Admittedly, with regards to the lyrics, sometimes their English is not perfect, but the meaning of the songs is clear (plus, they've included a Japanese translation of the lyrics, which makes it even clearer what the lyrics are supposed to mean).

I was going to finish by recommending my favourite songs from '13 I Scream', but honestly, I can't choose because every track is great!

Buy online

Games: Alice: Madness Returns

The sequel to horrifically amazing Wonderland-themed game, 'American McGees Alice' has been announced by EA and Spicy Horse! The new game will be titled 'Alice: Madness Returns' and so far only a short teaser trailer and some screencaps have been released. Even so, I can't wait for it!




Official Site: http://www.ea.com/alice

Art: Mia Mäkilä

Swedish, self-professed 'low-brow horror artist', Mia Mäkilä, uses a variety of techniques, styles and mediums to create her strangely wonderful art. Whilst some of her work does seem to draw heavily from Hieronymous Bosch, Mäkilä also has a distinctively dark and sometimes comical style of her own as well.

Creepy, bizarre and unnerving. What more could you ask for!

Official Website:

http://www.miamakila.com/

Movies: The Wolfman

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I am a very happy horror-addict; for one of my favourite classic horrors, 'The Wolfman' (originally starring Lon Chaney Jr.), has been remade! And not only that, it's been remade by Universal!

"Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father, Talbot sets out to find his brother... and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe, tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline has come to investigate."

Now, I know there has been a flurry of remakes of old classics in recent years, and a large proportion of them are...substandard...to say the least, but from the trailers, this one looks like it might actually be really good. Not only because of the special effects make-up talents of six-time Oscar-winning make-up artist Rick Baker, but for the plot and the cast, which includes the acting talents of Benicio del Toro (Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman), Anthony Hopkins (Sir John Talbot), Emily Blunt (Gwen Conliffe) and Hugo Weaving (Detective Aberline).

The movie will hit screens on February 12th 2010. To find out more, visit the official movie site below:

The Wolfman

And if you can't wait until February, you can always visit Universal Studios, Orlando to get a taste of the movie as part of their Halloween Horror Nights events, which also features the movies 'Saw' and 'Child's Play', running from September 25th - October 31st 2009.

Universal Studios, Orlando

Oh if only the UK weren't so far away from there! T.T

Photography: Joshua Hoffine

Joshua Hoffine is an American horror photographer that mixes the grotesque, dark and spooky with the innocent and child-like. At first glance, his photographs seem to be quite pleasant and peaceful, but on closer inspection you start to notice all the unsettling elements (or, as a friend of mine said of 'BEDSIDE', "I thought it was a really nice, pretty picture...then I noticed all the bugs everywhere...oh my god! That's horrible!'). But for me, that is perhaps what makes his work so enjoyable!

However, unlike many horror photographers of a similar genre, Hoffine doesn't simply put together collages in a photo editing program, he actually takes the time to set up the scenes himself and then simply enhances the colours or textures already present. Don't believe me? Well, luckily enough, he keeps a blog explaining how he does it. ^.^ You can find it here.

If you're interested in his work, Hoffine's fiendish photography is currently being featured in the August issues of Spanish magazine 'Duo' and heavy metal magazine 'Decibel'.

For more info on Hoffine and his work, check out the following websites:

Official Site

Blog

MySpace