Glowing Jellyfish Tank in Abandoned Building Surprises

Artist team Walter Hugo & Zoniel recently surprised the city of Toxteth, Liverpool by installing this massive psychedelic aquarium tank behind a shutter in an old, abandoned building. Every night at 10pm, the shutter is raised and passing pedestrians are greeted with a large, glowing sea of jellyfish in quite the unexpected location!

The piece, entitled The Physical Possibility Of Inspiring Imagination In The Mind Of Somebody Living, was developed with the support of the Gazelli Art House in London and as part of the Liverpool Biennial. The artists did not announce the magical piece to any press but, rather, they simply revealed the project anonymously on the evening of June 26, 2014. Since that time, the duo has depended on word of mouth within the community to get the news out about the site-specific installation.

As part two of the project, a live-stream video, which faces out towards the street from inside the tank, is being projected onto the windows of the Gazelli Art House in London. The artists elaborate, "The enlarged visions of jellyfish can be seen floating through the London night, linking the two cities until [July 26, 2014]. If you look closely, you can often see cars go by and observers from the street in Toxteth gazing back at you through the installation."

Portraits Recreated Using Thousands of Sewing Buttons

Artist Augusto Esquivel takes the minuscule and transforms it into the grandiose. He uses thousands of small sewing buttons to craft larger-than-life sized portraits of celebrities. To compose these impressive works, the artist suspends hundreds of monofilament strings from the ceiling. Esquivel then threads the black, white, and gray buttons into hanging chains that separately, look like nothing spectacular. But, once they've been carefully arranged, they form pixelated images of iconic stars like James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe. He’s even depicted the well-known artist Salvador Dali.

Esquivel sees the potential in everyday objects to go beyond their normal function and instead be used in a creative way. “I realize how insignificant and small a simple sewing button can be as it lays in my grandmother’s sewing box,” he says, “but at the same time how unique and precious it can become as part of a work of art. Like an atom in a molecule, each button serves and shapes the whole. I hold the button to my ear and it whispers to me, ‘I want to be…..’”

Amazing Innovative Cooler Design Offers Modern Amenities

The Coolest Cooler is filled with so many fun amenities that people are making up excuses to pack up some snacks and head outdoors. Created by Portland-based inventor Ryan Grepper, the bright orange cooler is a small, "portable party disguised as a cooler, bringing blended drinks, music, and fun to any outdoor occasion."

The innovative concept is a contemporary spin on your average cooler. Grepper has completely redesigned the old, boring box of ice on wheels into a modern delight, with everything from a USB charger to waterproof LED lights embedded in the lid (which makes beverage selection a lot easier at night!). With this cooler, users can blend up some cocktails or smoothies, listen to some tunes, charge their cell phones, and enjoy the outdoors with a bit of modern technology directly at hand.

To fund the inventive design, Grepper launched a Kickstarter campaign which has already reached well beyond the $50,000 initial goal. And that's no surprise considering how incredibly handy this cooler can be when venturing outside. Other features include an 18-volt rechargeable blender built right into the lid, removable bluetooth speakers that connect to any Smartphone, storage for reusable plates/cutting boards, wide wheels, a bottle opener, and a removable divider which allows users to keep beverages on ice on one side while also draining the other side to keep foods cool and dry. Grepper says, "Say goodbye to soggy sandwiches!"

Striking Ceramic Sculptures of Human-Animal Hybrids

California-based artist Crystal Morey explores the relationship between humans and nature with her intriguing ceramic sculptures of people encased in animals. Using delicate and emotive gesture, rich texture, and subdued tones, Morey carefully molds the figurative sculptures from clay, creating pieces that are both striking and thought-provoking.

With meditative poses and expressions, the hybrid figures contemplate the unknown future of the Earth and the impact of humans on the natural world. Many of the animals that Morey chooses—such as polar bears and blackbuck antelopes—are likely to become endangered soon, adding greater significance to her themes around environmental protection.

"Today every action has a reaction we can see: in climate change, de-forestation, ocean acidity, and the hunting of animals. All of these actions are causing havoc and leading us to an unsustainable environment," she says. "I try to show the stresses in our cohabitation through making sculptures of humans, animals, the environment, and the delicate dependencies we share."

Vibrant Paintings of Minimalist Scenes

Inspired by the light and colors of Los Angeles, artist Bradley Hankey used a combination of influences from photography and painting to develop these minimalist scenes. To produce each unique painting, a collection entitled #instalite #losangeles, Hankey first photographed around L.A. and then used digital filters to alter the light and to generate a vintage feel. The final, digitally manipulated image was then the foundation for his large, oil on wood panel paintings.

Hankey says, "I find this process rewarding—transforming a snapshot, something that took seconds to record and post online, into a painting, an older and more traditional medium that is much more involved."

In his work, the artist captured striking contrasts between telephone poles, palm trees, and buildings silhouetted against vibrantly colored skies. Rich gradients are complimented by the dark geometric shapes and textures of the individual objects. The broad blocks of color and forms are filled with a mysterious loneliness that generates lingering memories of people and events that once existed in the now isolated locations.

Giant Origami Birds Suspended from the Ceiling

South African origami artist Sipho Mabona, who wowed us with his life-sized elephant folded from one sheet of paper, continues to impress with Giga Origami, his newest installation at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. Mabona folded a flock of giant origami birds to soar over visitors in the museum's Great Hall, hanging from the ceiling in a dazzling display.

The birds were carefully folded from large sheets of square paper measuring 2.7 to 5.4 meters in size, giving each creature a staggering wingspan of 2 to 4 meters. Giga Origami will continue to grow this summer until August 31, as visitors are encouraged to engage with the artwork by folding their own paper birds to add to the installation.