Wednesday Edition

The World’s Two Favourite Rituals

Imagine, for a moment, two distinct scenes unfolding at the dawn of a new day. In a bustling Italian bar, the air is thick with the sharp, percussive hiss of an espresso machine and the rich aroma of roasted coffee. Patrons stand shoulder-to-shoulder al banco, downing a potent, syrupy shot in a few swift, practised motions—a moment of intense, social energy before scattering back into the rhythm of life. Miles away, in a tranquil Japanese room, a different ritual takes place. Here, silence is punctuated only by the gentle whisking of powdered green tea in a ceramic bowl. Every movement is deliberate, every object revered. The resulting frothy, emerald liquid is sipped slowly, a practice of mindfulness and quiet contemplation.

The Timeless Allure of Writing with Fire

There is a primal and captivating magic in the art of pyrography. It begins with a faint hiss, the scent of warm wood filling the air, and the steady hand of an artist guiding a heated tool across a natural surface. With each deliberate stroke, a permanent mark is seared into the canvas, not with paint or ink, but with fire itself. This is the essence of pyrography, an art form that connects us to one of humanity’s oldest and most transformative discoveries.

Walk down the street of a bustling Chinatown at night, or wander through a park during a winter festival, and you will likely see them: glowing orbs of red and gold, casting a warm, inviting light into the darkness. There is arguably no more prominent symbol of Chinese culture in the global imagination than the red lantern. It is an image so potent it transcends language, evoking feelings of celebration, warmth, and good fortune. But what stories do these simple objects of paper and light hold? The lantern is far more than a mere decoration; it is a vessel of history, a canvas for artistry, and a beacon of collective human hope. This report embarks on a journey to explore the luminous world of lantern art, tracing its path from the practical needs of ancient China, through the splendour of imperial courts and the reverence of spiritual festivals, to the high-tech, large-scale art installations of the 21st century.

To embark on a journey through the world of African portrait art is to agree to set aside a familiar map. The Western definition of a portrait, honed over centuries of humanism and realism, has taught us to look for a likeness—a recognisable, faithful depiction of an individual’s physical features. It is a tradition that prizes the artist’s ability to capture a fleeting expression, the precise curve of a lip, the unique geography of a face. But to apply this single lens to the vast and varied artistic traditions of the African continent is to miss the point entirely. African portraiture, in its most profound and enduring forms, is not primarily about what a person looks like; it is about who and what they are.

From the inky blackness of a pharaoh’s tomb to the shimmering glow of a modern storefront, the allure of gold is elemental and eternal. It is a material that is both incorruptibly permanent and infinitely malleable, capable of being hammered into sheets so thin they become translucent.1 This unique duality has captivated humanity for millennia, making gold not just a measure of wealth, but a medium of meaning. Its application in art, a practice spanning thousands of years, tells a story of devotion, power, innovation, and beauty.