Bog standard? Tokyo's spectacular public toilets
Public toilets are rarely thought of fondly – that is unless you're talking about those in Tokyo's Shibuya district. Commissioned in 2019, creatives including renowned architects Shigeru Ban and the late Fumihiko Maki designed 17 beautiful, functional, meticulously clean public toilets, some of which featured in Wim Wenders's 2023 film Perfect Days . Hong Kong-based photographer Ulana Switucha came across the toilets, each unique, while working on a project about Japanese architecture in 2023, and went back to photograph them the following year. 'These structures are works of art,' she says. 'They shine as beacons in their urban setting and demonstrate that public design can go beyond functionality to represent cultural and artistic value.'
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
M&S shoppers race to buy £3.50 margarita in a can that's has a new and improved feature that fans are going wild for
Read on for more summer cocktails launching in M&S DRINK UP M&S shoppers race to buy £3.50 margarita in a can that's has a new and improved feature that fans are going wild for WITH summer now here, we're all dreaming of relaxing in the park or the garden with a cheeky drink in hand. And shoppers are going wild for the latest collection of tinned cocktails from Marks & Spencer. Advertisement 3 M&S fans are stocking up on their new cocktail collection Credit: 3 The new margarita has fans going wild Credit: 3 There are some more experimental drinks on offer to Credit: The new collection of goodies has launched in store and there's something for everyone. The M&S store in Heswall shared the summer drinks on TikTok writing: "Look like summer." The original collection includes favourites such as mojitos, pina coladas and cosmos, but they've gone more experimental this time. M&S has some fan favourites up for grabs this summer, like Apertivio Spritz, which is made from bitter orange flavours and sparkling white wine. Advertisement There's also a mint and elderflower Hugo Spritz and a Limoncello Spritz. Also up for grabs is an exotic Sake Spritz, made with a blend of the Japanese liquor in a tropical lyche flavour. But there's one cocktail that has everyone excited to try. Included in the new range of drinks is a margarita made with blanco tequila, zestty limes and sweet agave syrup. Advertisement While M&S has released the iconic cocktail before, in the past it has been a fizzy version. But now shoppers are thrilled to see it come without the fizz and it costs just £3.50. The £3.50 M&S buy that'll make your whole house smell like a 'boujee candle' The TikTok video was a hit with viewers who couldn't hide their excitement over the new collection. One person wrote: "Hope this means M&S are finally selling a proper margarita that's not fizzy!" which the store liked, hinting it was. Advertisement Another commented: 'Those little 14% ones are chef's kiss." "M&S STAYS WINNING," penned a third. NHS guidelines on drinking alcohol According to the NHS, regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health. To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks: men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week If you're pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum. You read more on the NHS website. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Omg the Hugo." "Heaven,' claimed a fifth. Advertisement Someone else added: 'Yumm." Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@ and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line.
Time Out
an hour ago
- Time Out
Yoshitomo Nara
If eyes truly are the windows to the soul, then the intensely staring, delinquent characters created by Yoshimoto Nara have a lot going on inside. As one of the best-known (and best-selling) Japanese artists of our time, Nara has earned this massive retrospective at the Hayward Gallery. It's his largest ever UK exhibition by far: spanning not only his paintings, but also drawings, installations, and sculpture across a four-decades-long career. On entering, you're confronted with a rickety wooden house, complete with a patchwork corrugated iron roof and glass windows revealing a homey room scattered with drawings. Rock music whirs from the TV and empty beer cans litter one corner: this feels like a place of peace, a sanctuary where Nara's interests and comforts intersect. Here, we're introduced to his punkish tendencies – not only in his musical tastes (in some works, he plays up to his inner fangirl, scribbling 'thank you for Ramones' around a rough coloured-in cartoon), but also in attitude. This is an artist that is all about playing with innocence – like sticking cigarettes in children's mouths – and protest, scrawling slogans about ending nukes in capital letters and adding pacifist symbolism to clothing. Nara is known for his kawaii, manga-esque figures which might look lost and sad as much as naughty and demonic. Some are loud, brash: like his collection of solid-lined paint marker drawings on paper. Others, like After the Acid Rain, 2006, appear innocent until you read the name. You realise those wide eyes are not glittering to look pretty: they're desperate, helpless. It's usually his drawings which are spikier, more political, but his quieter, more nuanced painting is the most impressive. Midnight Tears, 2023, is a show stopper: all rainbow-like dappled hair and glistening, jewel-like eyes, it's iridescent in its layering of colour and paint, as though you're seeing it through a light fog in its softness of brush. What works well about this exhibition is that it really lets the work speak for itself: extra context is only given on every other label, and it's arranged via loose themes, allowing you to make subtle connections and trace the growth in Nara's practice. It's perhaps most obvious in his sculptural work: Pray, 1991, a cat-like figure made from rough papier-mâché and acrylic, is rough and heavy, as though it's been bandaged up in a rush. The sublimely smooth lacquered heads in Fountain of Life, stacked up on top of a teacup and gently weeping real water, could be a different artist entirely – if it weren't for the tell-tale downcast eyes and childlike softness. At points, it can all start to feel like you're seeing the same thing again and again. But it's the subtleties which make it worthwhile. Nara's play with western pop culture and darker themes alluding to climate change and nuclear war, all packaged up into a sugary-sweet package, is a real joy to look at. But it's his painterly skill, when seen up close, which is the real treat.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Motherwell event to explore the history of Ravenscraig plant
Ravenscraig – A Fragile Correspondence is set to take place on Tuesday, June 10, offering attendees a chance to engage directly with the history of the area. The free event, organised by North Lanarkshire Council, is set to take place at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Centre in Motherwell featuring artists closely connected to North Lanarkshire. Read more: Gala day featuring football match with Still Game star to take place in Glasgow It aims to blend art, nature, and community, offering an artist-led walk and an outdoor film screening allowing people a chance to explore the historical site that was once Scotland's largest steelworks. Frank McElhinney, from Craigneuk, and Motherwell-based Hamshya Rajkumar will guide an interactive Artwalk through Ravenscraig from 4.45pm to 6.15pm. The walk, organised by Tine Collective, invites participants to engage directly with the historic site, once Scotland's largest steelworks, now a mix of post-industrial history and nature. From 6.30pm to 7.30pm, attendees will then be treated to an outdoor screening of Boundary Layers. The 16-minute film by writer and artist Amanda Thomson reflects on Ravenscraig's past and present. Amanda will introduce the screening alongside project partners, offering insight into the film's inspirations and themes. Ravenscraig – A Fragile Correspondence is organised by North Lanarkshire's Arts and is open to everyone, aiming to showcase Ravenscraig in a refreshing light. Read more: Viral Glasgow food stall 'expecting' as team set to open exciting new restaurant For those relying on public transport, a coach service will be available from Motherwell train station to Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, departing at 6.15pm and returning at 7.30pm. The exhibition is co-curated by the Architecture Fringe, a volunteer-run festival designed to highlight design, architecture, and the built environment. Whether you're an art lover, a nature enthusiast, or simply looking for something different to do, this event is set to offer a novel experience of a historic Scottish landmark.
