Latest news with #Wallinger
Spectator
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
London's best contemporary art show is in Penge
If you've been reading the more excitable pages of the arts press lately, you might be aware that the London gallery scene is having one of its periodic 'moments'. A fair few spaces, mostly concentrated around Fitzrovia, have sprouted up since the pandemic, notable for their bacchanalian openings and tantalisingly gnomic Instagram posts. Their online presence is at best spectral: the most hyped of the bunch, a Smithfield gallery called Ginny on Frederick, has a holding page in place of a website. Still, I like a scene, and London Gallery Weekend, an annual June event, presented a good opportunity to investigate. Niso gallery, on New Cavendish Street, has put on a seductive showing of the Argentinian conceptualist Martina Quesada (open until 28 June). A highly referential exhibition, it is equal parts James Turrell and Lucio Fontana, the latter riffed on with a work that sees his emblematic canvas-slash gesture stretched out and knotted into the shape of a bellybutton. The aforementioned Ginny on Frederick's current number, a display of bizarre paintings by Okiki Akinfe (open until 26 July), manifests like a comic strip as imagined by some defective early AI platform and thence splurged on to canvases. The Essex-born artist paints animals, signage and body parts mutating into one another, at a disorienting remove suggestive of the viewer's perspective of a video game. If that description doesn't sell it to you, the deeply Estuary titles ('She's an Absolute Cow!', for instance) might do the trick. Otherwise, Gallery Weekend promised countless, no doubt fascinating opportunities to see middling artists in conversation with art critics. But I didn't go to any of these. Instead, I went to Penge. Penge is a suburb best known for being 1) the childhood home of Bill Wyman and 2) a punchline beloved of 1970s BBC 'comedians'. It is also fielding the best contemporary art exhibition going in the capital, courtesy of Tension Gallery (open until 29 June). Its subject is Mark Wallinger, and the reason for his appearance in SE20, I understand, is that after an unpleasant stint with Swiss mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, he wanted to give as big a 'fuck you' to Mayfair as possible. As well he might: Wallinger (b.1959) is about as interesting an artist as you'll encounter today, and it's the blue-chip art world's loss. Since the 1980s, he has been addressing big subjects – class, religion, memory and politics – with a lightness of touch that in the hands of a lesser intellect might seem trite. Or worse: like something by Martin Parr. Wallinger has, for instance: recreated the anti-war activist Brian Haw's Parliament Square protest encampment slap bang in the middle of Tate Britain; bought a racehorse and rebaptised it 'A Real Work of Art'; and stalked a gallery opening dressed, for some reason, as a bear. Oh, and proposed a sadly unrealised southern analogue to Antony Gormley's 'Angel of the North' – a massive sculpture of a white horse that would have towered over the Ebbsfleet Eurostar tracks. His latest is somehow his most Wallinger-y yet. A split-screen TV broadcasts the first two bits of footage ever recorded in space, one by a Yankee astronaut, the other from a Soviet cosmo, who, we learn from the press bumpf, created the first work of art made in space, a sketch of a sunrise. The two are played simultaneously, to the strains of an aria from Rameau's Castor et Pollux – the early American space programme was called 'Gemini' – and while there's not much inference to be made that you won't pick out yourself, the work is mesmerisingly beautiful. 'She's an Absolute Cow!', 2025, by Okiki Akinfe. Image: Ginny on Frederick I used to go on international press trips on a weekly basis, but the gig ain't what it used to be and the furthest I got this month was Darlington – where, in 1825, a Quaker cousin of mine, Edward Pease, met George Stephenson and raised the capital to build the world's first proper railway. I didn't know this until I went up to see the efforts commemorating the line's bicentennial. I thus have skin in the game, but: on a limited budget, the local councils and English Heritage have between them made a decent fist of this. The original line, disused since 1876, will become a walking path interspersed by works of art. I saw two, one of which, at Heighington, the world's first passenger station, was really good. Kate Jackson's mural stretches over the fence of the unmanned station, bearing the unmistakeable silhouette of an Intercity 125 and filled with painterly references: the driver's window has a very Mondrian corner, while a numeral on one of the portholes pays homage to Charles Demuth's 'I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold'. It's a restless interplay of circles and straight lines evoking the decorative art of the Festival of Britain: nostalgic, sure, but falling just the right side of twee. The anniversary falls in September, and you should visit; I will.
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- The Hindu
Austria trials DNA testing to uncover honey fraud
At a laboratory in Austria's mountainous Tyrol province, scientists are DNA testing about 100 honey samples a month to learn about their composition -- and in some cases to determine whether they have been adulterated. With fake honey flooding markets, and only a few European laboratories running such analysis, the small Austrian company Sinsoma began offering the tests two years ago. "It is really something new for the honey market," said Corinna Wallinger, head of sales at Sinsoma. It is essential that technology "always moves forward -- just as the counterfeiters" do, she added. Honey cannot have ingredients such as water or inexpensive sugar syrups -- which might boost its volume -- added to it, according to EU legislation. But tests have shown that is common practice. Between 2021 and 2022, 46% of the honey tested under an EU investigation as it entered the bloc was flagged as potentially adulterated, up from 14% in the 2015-17 period. Of the suspicious consignments, 74% were of Chinese origin. Beekeepers' livelihoods threatened Seeking to better detect fraud, Austria's health and food safety agency (AGES) used DNA testing for the first time this year and is still evaluating the results. European supermarket chain SPAR also ordered DNA tests for its honey. The chain put its honeys -- taken off the shelves late last year in Austria for testing -- back after they passed DNA tests and another analysis. Besides cheating consumers, fake honey threatens the livelihood of beekeepers, who struggle to compete with the far lower prices of imported honey -- often blended from various countries -- and are demanding more effective testing. "We don't have a chance at all," said Matthias Kopetzky, owner of the Wiener Bezirksimkerei, which takes care of up to 350 hives in Vienna, as bees buzzed around him on a meadow overlooking the capital. While the European Union is the world's top honey producer after China, it is also the second-biggest importer after the United States. Most of the bloc's honey imports come from Ukraine, China and Argentina, according to EU data. An EU directive adopted last year stipulates that honey labels from mid-2026 must detail the countries of origin, as opposed to merely referencing a "blend of EU and non-EU honeys". Beekeepers like Kopetzky hope the new rule will raise consumer awareness. Brussels also set up a group of experts, with a mandate until 2028, to "harmonise methods to detect adulteration in honey and trace the product back to the harvesting producer or importer". Rigorous process Austria's Sinsoma has specialised in DNA testing. "Honey is full of DNA traces, of information from the environment where bees collected the nectar. Every honey has a unique DNA profile," Wallinger said. When a honey sample lacks a wide range of DNA traces or for example contains a high proportion of DNA traces from rice or corn -- which bees do not frequent -- this indicates a honey is not genuine, she added. Co-founded by Wallinger in 2018, Sinsoma now employs about a dozen people working in the small laboratory room and adjacent open office space in the quiet town of Voels near Innsbruck. Sinsoma charges beekeepers 94 euros ($103) for a basic DNA test targeting plants -- about half of what a classic pollen test would normally cost, she said. For the DNA profile, beekeepers also get a QR code which allows consumers to see exactly which plant species the bees making the honey have frequented, she said. Experts warn the DNA method can detect certain types of fraud but not all, and that a rigorous process of validation is required to ensure trustworthy results. Wallinger recognised the need for standardisation of the methods but said this will take time. "It is always somewhat of an issue -- and this is also the case at the EU level," she said. "If you always wait until you can use a standardised method to uncover a fake honey, then you will always be lagging behind what counterfeiters are doing."
France 24
27-04-2025
- Business
- France 24
Austria trials DNA testing to uncover honey fraud
With fake honey flooding markets, and only a few European laboratories running such analysis, the small Austrian company Sinsoma began offering the tests two years ago. "It is really something new for the honey market," said Corinna Wallinger, head of sales at Sinsoma. It is essential that technology "always moves forward -- just as the counterfeiters" do, she added. Honey cannot have ingredients such as water or inexpensive sugar syrups -- which might boost its volume -- added to it, according to EU legislation. But tests have shown that is common practice. Between 2021 and 2022, 46 percent of the honey tested under an EU investigation as it entered the bloc was flagged as potentially adulterated, up from 14 percent in the 2015-17 period. Of the suspicious consignments, 74 percent were of Chinese origin. Beekeepers' livelihoods threatened Seeking to better detect fraud, Austria's health and food safety agency (AGES) used DNA testing for the first time this year and is still evaluating the results. European supermarket chain SPAR also ordered DNA tests for its honey. The chain put its honeys -- taken off the shelves late last year in Austria for testing -- back after they passed DNA tests and another analysis. Besides cheating consumers, fake honey threatens the livelihood of beekeepers, who struggle to compete with the far lower prices of imported honey -- often blended from various countries -- and are demanding more effective testing. "We don't have a chance at all," said Matthias Kopetzky, owner of the Wiener Bezirksimkerei, which takes care of up to 350 hives in Vienna, as bees buzzed around him on a meadow overlooking the capital. While the European Union is the world's top honey producer after China, it is also the second-biggest importer after the United States. Most of the bloc's honey imports come from Ukraine, China and Argentina, according to EU data. An EU directive adopted last year stipulates that honey labels from mid-2026 must detail the countries of origin, as opposed to merely referencing a "blend of EU and non-EU honeys". Beekeepers like Kopetzky hope the new rule will raise consumer awareness. Brussels also set up a group of experts, with a mandate until 2028, to "harmonise methods to detect adulteration in honey and trace the product back to the harvesting producer or importer". Rigorous process Austria's Sinsoma has specialised in DNA testing. "Honey is full of DNA traces, of information from the environment where bees collected the nectar. Every honey has a unique DNA profile," Wallinger said. When a honey sample lacks a wide range of DNA traces or for example contains a high proportion of DNA traces from rice or corn -- which bees do not frequent -- this indicates a honey is not genuine, she added. Co-founded by Wallinger in 2018, Sinsoma now employs about a dozen people working in the small laboratory room and adjacent open office space in the quiet town of Voels near Innsbruck. Sinsoma charges beekeepers 94 euros ($103) for a basic DNA test targeting plants -- about half of what a classic pollen test would normally cost, she said. For the DNA profile, beekeepers also get a QR code which allows consumers to see exactly which plant species the bees making the honey have frequented, she said. Experts warn the DNA method can detect certain types of fraud but not all, and that a rigorous process of validation is required to ensure trustworthy results. Wallinger recognised the need for standardisation of the methods but said this will take time. "It is always somewhat of an issue -- and this is also the case at the EU level," she said. © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
27-04-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Austria Trials DNA Testing To Uncover Honey Fraud
At a laboratory in Austria's mountainous Tyrol province, scientists are DNA testing about 100 honey samples a month to learn about their composition -- and in some cases to determine whether they have been adulterated. With fake honey flooding markets, and only a few European laboratories running such analysis, the small Austrian company Sinsoma began offering the tests two years ago. "It is really something new for the honey market," said Corinna Wallinger, head of sales at Sinsoma. It is essential that technology "always moves forward -- just as the counterfeiters" do, she added. Honey cannot have ingredients such as water or inexpensive sugar syrups -- which might boost its volume -- added to it, according to EU legislation. But tests have shown that is common practice. Between 2021 and 2022, 46 percent of the honey tested under an EU investigation as it entered the bloc was flagged as potentially adulterated, up from 14 percent in the 2015-17 period. Of the suspicious consignments, 74 percent were of Chinese origin. Seeking to better detect fraud, Austria's health and food safety agency (AGES) used DNA testing for the first time this year and is still evaluating the results. European supermarket chain SPAR also ordered DNA tests for its honey. The chain put its honeys -- taken off the shelves late last year in Austria for testing -- back after they passed DNA tests and another analysis. Besides cheating consumers, fake honey threatens the livelihood of beekeepers, who struggle to compete with the far lower prices of imported honey -- often blended from various countries -- and are demanding more effective testing. "We don't have a chance at all," said Matthias Kopetzky, owner of the Wiener Bezirksimkerei, which takes care of up to 350 hives in Vienna, as bees buzzed around him on a meadow overlooking the capital. While the European Union is the world's top honey producer after China, it is also the second-biggest importer after the United States. Most of the bloc's honey imports come from Ukraine, China and Argentina, according to EU data. An EU directive adopted last year stipulates that honey labels from mid-2026 must detail the countries of origin, as opposed to merely referencing a "blend of EU and non-EU honeys". Beekeepers like Kopetzky hope the new rule will raise consumer awareness. Brussels also set up a group of experts, with a mandate until 2028, to "harmonise methods to detect adulteration in honey and trace the product back to the harvesting producer or importer". Austria's Sinsoma has specialised in DNA testing. "Honey is full of DNA traces, of information from the environment where bees collected the nectar. Every honey has a unique DNA profile," Wallinger said. When a honey sample lacks a wide range of DNA traces or for example contains a high proportion of DNA traces from rice or corn -- which bees do not frequent -- this indicates a honey is not genuine, she added. Co-founded by Wallinger in 2018, Sinsoma now employs about a dozen people working in the small laboratory room and adjacent open office space in the quiet town of Voels near Innsbruck. Sinsoma charges beekeepers 94 euros ($103) for a basic DNA test targeting plants -- about half of what a classic pollen test would normally cost, she said. For the DNA profile, beekeepers also get a QR code which allows consumers to see exactly which plant species the bees making the honey have frequented, she said. Experts warn the DNA method can detect certain types of fraud but not all, and that a rigorous process of validation is required to ensure trustworthy results. Wallinger recognised the need for standardisation of the methods but said this will take time. "It is always somewhat of an issue -- and this is also the case at the EU level," she said. "If you always wait until you can use a standardised method to uncover a fake honey, then you will always be lagging behind what counterfeiters are doing." Beekeeper Matthias Kopetzky demands more effective testing to curb fake honey AFP Corinna Wallinger co-founded Sinsoma, which has been offering honey DNA testing for two years AFP Supermarket chain SPAR ordered DNA tests for their honey AFP DNA analysis of honey can reveal what plants the bees frequented AFP
