*Featured image courtesy of MabelAmber on Pixabay* Two men sat down to determine the future population trend of the world. The meeting took place in a secure VIP room in an exclusive five-star hotel in Davos, Switzerland. Both men had their crews of assistants and on-the-spot analysts. They both represented a collaborating syndicate of billionaires. The meeting was top-notch secretive. One of the men had just flown in from Paris. The other had been hosed down naked in a yacht and rubbed with a soap that featured gold and diamond powder just a few hours before in an undisclosed Greek Island. The shorter one was a Frenchman. The taller one was American. But neither of them were public figures. They were discreet operatives mostly known in the elite worlds of multinational corporations and international banking. …
5 Poems by Allison Whittenberg
*Featured image courtesy of Ulrike Mai on Pixabay* This week features some wonderful poems by Allison Whittenberg. We always appreciate uniqueness at FC, and Allison’s gritty style certainly appealed to us. Take a look for yourself and tell us what you think! Proximity going out for breakfast and never coming back my husband left me in my wheelchair green from the insurance, gone so is the time I could have insisted more the driver was my friend, can you deep sue a friend? the accident, foreseeable to anyone who wasn’t seeking fun and 18 7 of us piling in 4 seats handsome man from influential family turbo style driving on the wrong side of the road jeep flips we catapult I land in a tree I can’t feel my legs 7 hours of surgery I…
8 Art Pieces by QQ Yi
*Curated by Fine Arts Barista, Yucen Yao* We have another set of art pieces this week, this time featuring QQ Yi. It is clear that QQ is a talented artist in many of its mediums: from painting, to writing, and music as well. I hope she shares her work with us again in the future as she continues to grow as a person and an artist. Artist Statement: I enjoy smearing words on your face, just like spreading paint on a canvas. What is medium, truly? It is the essence of mountains, kiwis, books, melodies, winds, birds, dried fragments of skin, dumplings, Sichuan peppercorns, the passing of three birthdays, nocturnal pathways, the inexplicable affection for another, stones, Pat Martino’s guitar riffs, chairs, a light bulb cradled in a pillowcase, the hummingbird outside my window, the…
10 Collage Pieces by Joe Suh
We have something special for you all on FC this week. Our Arts and Design barista, Yucen Yao, has been working hard since she joined, and we finally have a chance to show some of the work she has curated for us. First up, we have a set of collage pieces by Joe Suh. I especially resonated with Joe’s artist statement because I feel like it embodies what Fictional Café stands to be – a creative space for artists to express and share their passions. I’m happy Joe decided to share his work with us, and I hope he shares more of his creations with us in the future. Artist Statement: My personal practice focuses on the physical and meditative exploration that comes from creating physical collages in a digitally dominated profession. As a contrast…
“Wire Man” by Andrew Newall
*Featured image courtesy of FenesiKinga on Pixabay.com* Heroes can come in all shapes and sizes, and Andrew Newall proves that in his wonderful piece, “Wire Man”. This is a very unique story that I’m sure all of you will enjoy, and I look forward to seeing more stories from Andrew in the future. A little man made from one rod of wire, no more than eight inches tall, shrugged off his motionless pose and walked to the edge of his high shelf to look across the studio. Strewn with drawing and painting utensils, it was standard chaotic clutter uplifted by striking watercolours, pastels and models lying here and there. The artist had left for lunch. That familiar sound of the door locking signalled play time for the wire man and his colleagues. Papier mâché figures…