For starlings, there’s truth to safety in numbers. “In winter, starlings join in flocks of thousands of individuals to try to confuse the hawks that attack them, doing a mesmerizing dance,” said Barcelona-based photographer Xavi Bou, who recently released a video chronicling the birds’ synchronized swooping. In “Murmurations,” a name that refers specifically to the phenomenon, Bou captures the avian movements through a series of gray lines that swell and undulate with each obfuscated turn. More

Replete with stunning shots of Tuscan farmland and close-ups with spiders that reveal their prickly legs, the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year competition garnered an impressive array of images from creatives in 117 countries. Out of the 7,000 entries, Florian Ledoux won the top prize in the annual contest with his aerial photograph capturing nearly two-dozen seals resting on an ice mass floating in Antarctic waters. Categories range from wildlife and landscape to macro, providing an expansive look at nature’s most impressive qualities and characters—Caitlin Henderson exposes a Lichen Huntsman spider that’s attempting to disguise itself on teal-speckled tree bark, while Paul Holman serendipitously captures a fluffy owl in the midst of a surprise.  More

Making mixtapes and burning CDs might be a forgotten pastime, but the days of simple, homemade vinyl are just arriving thanks to Yuri Suzuki. The London-based designer, who is also a partner at Pentagram, has created the Easy Record Maker, a small device that makes audio recording straightforward and accessible to the general public. By plugging in an auxiliary cable or USB and playing audio through a phone or other digital device, the cutting arm receives the sound vibrations and engraves the blank plastic three to four times within a single millimeter. More

Despite lacking any distinct facial features, porcelain figures by Istanbul-based ceramicist Aylin Bilgiç have one unmistakable, defining characteristic: The lengthy braid resting on their oversized bodies evokes performance artist Marina Abramović, who is known for donning similarly styled locks. In another of Bilgiç’s pieces, two heads are back-to-back with their hair wound together, resembling Abramović’s 1978 collaboration with Uwe Laysiepen. The monochromatic collection was designed specifically for Akış / Flux, an exhibition surveying Abramović’s work and offering 15 live performances. More

 With one-third of the world’s population currently under some level of quarantine, the streets of major cities like Amsterdam, New York City, and San Francisco are an unusual and unsettling sight. Film director and cinematographer Jean Counet, who shot “Meanwhile in Amsterdam,” shows the capital city almost entirely deserted. Public transit is empty and a four-minute walk reveals less than a dozen passersby. Counet tells Colossal that “Meanwhile in Amsterdam” came together like any other film, except that “this time there was no director, and no plan,” he says. More

Social media was teeming last week with floral offerings from cultural institutions around the globe. Since many are closed due to COVID-19, museums like the Guggenheim, MCA Chicago, and the New-York Historical Society, which began the botanical trend, exchanged sweet messages paired with virtual bouquets from their current collections. We’ve gathered some of them here, but be sure to check out #MuseumBouquet on Twitter and Instagram for more historical florals. More

Beginning with a man blowing his lips, an impressive compilation by Donato Sansone merges short clips of car crashes, fiery explosions, and punches thrown during a boxing match into a believable series of consequences. Ranging from nature to sports to destructive events, each seconds-long bit appears to lead right into the next in “Concatenation“—seemingly, a rocket launches straight into a pool ball that then causes a diver to jump into the water. More

Energetic brushstrokes, chromatic colors, and the skeletons of pop culture icons make up the prolific work of Miami-based artist Bradley Theodore. His bold use of color is inspired by his roots in Turks and Caicos and the fashionable subjects he’s met in New York and Miami. The skeletal theme represents something far from morbid. Theodore explained to Omeleto in his documentary Becoming: Bradley Theodore, “a skull for me represents a symbol of a person’s spirit. More

A new digital project called Meltdown Flags envisions the disastrous effects of the ongoing climate crisis. Countries with glaciers see a reduction in the amount of white on their flags, which serves as a visual representation of the shrinking ice masses. Canada’s middle section begins at full width in 1995 before condensing in both 2020 and 2050. The United States’ white stripes similarly are a fraction of their usual height by the middle of the century. More

Norwich-based 3D illustrator and animator AJ Jeffries released a new animation that feels particularly relevant to modern life. Simply described as a story about “a horse, struggling to exist,” the short film chronicles the evolution of a pink animal as it morphs from a blob into a fully realized mare. Its body bends and contorts—at one point, its neck even shoots up to the sky, killing a purple bird—before it gets some encouragement from nearby plants and happily dances away. More

Most of us will never get to touch the moon’s outer crust, but a new project by DeskSpace lets people pretend they’ve got a little portion of the crater-covered satellite sitting on their desks or hung up on their walls. Designed using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Lunar Surface is a square piece of portland concrete that’s natural bubbles form ridges and dips that mimic the divets caused by meteorites. The astronomical project commemorates humans’ first steps on the moon. More

For nearly three decades, Cuban painter Tomás Sánchez has been painting serene landscapes of clam waters and verdant forests full of towering palms and dense shrubs. Now part of a lengthy series, his realistic works focus on nature’s immensity as they contrast massive waterfalls and miles of endless treetops with a nondescript figure, who often can be found seated or standing amongst the lush scenery. In a statement, Sánchez explained how his practice of meditation informs his work. More

When a gloopy substance runs over a countertop or other surface, a common reaction is to grab a towel and wipe it up before it spreads farther and makes a mess. But for Dallas-based sculptor and painter Dan Lam (previously), the more dripping and oozing the better. The artist creates technicolor sculptures made of polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic onto which she pipes small spikes. Categorized as drips, blobs, and squishes, Lam’s neon gradients appear to gush over shelves and drop into rounded puddles. More

AZIMUT, an installation by French artist and designer Arnaud Lapierre, offers a prismatic look at some of Venice’s historic structures. Situated along the waterfront of Riva degli Schiavoni, 16 titled mirrors with battery-powered motors rest on the cobblestone walkway in front of the Palazzo Ducale, a gothic landmark that dates back to the 14th century and currently houses one of the Italian city’s museums. More

Beginning with asymmetrical ovals and amorphous shapes, Australian textile artist Tammy Kanat (previously) loops, twists, and weaves her sizable wall hangings. Using a steel frame, Kanat hangs up the copper forms that provide the structure for her abstract tapestries. She then combines natural materials like wool, linen, and silk to create small tufts and organic rows of varying hues that add a range of densities and textures to each piece. More

Phoenix-based artist Lesley Green (previously), of Bespoke Glass, merges natural pigments and geometric shapes in her stained-glass pieces. Some of her recent work includes a trio of translucent birds that mimic paper cranes and circular pieces patterned with multi-hued rounds. Green’s yellow honeycomb drops, though, were one of her first completely hand-cut designs and are created in single hexagons and groupings of two, three, and four. The artist said on Etsy that her light-refracting projects are the result of “considering (the) ways stained glass could be reimagined to be flexible, customizable and portable,” rather than a permanent feature fixed in a house or building. More

In an effort to make his otherworldy works more accessible, San Antonio-based artist Jason Limon began creating a substantial collection of small paintings in 2008. Today, Limon continues to add to his Fragments series, which centers on skeletal figures and anatomical forms that often feature stripes, polka dots, and other intricate patterns. His anthropomorphic works indicate movement, like a tube of bone cream that oozes out a skeleton or another character who drives a metal spear through a cracked heart. More

Caledonia Curry, aka Swoon, is known for her street art utilizing paper that’s pasted onto building walls, but the Brooklyn-based artist has made a recent pivot that transfers her mythical style to stop-motion animations. Part of her solo exhibition Cicada, Curry’s short film “Sofia and Storm” is centered on a human-arachnid hybrid. After emerging from a dense mass, the gold-faced feminine figure opens up her chest cavity to reveal dark, hanging matter that eventually is absorbed. More

In the developing city of Gwanggyo located about 25 kilometers south of Seoul, a high-end Korean department store stands out amongst gray office buildings and other concrete structures. Designed by OMA/Chris van Duijn, the Galleria shopping center features a mosaic facade of neutral-toned stones cut into exact triangles. A series of geometric, opal windows offer those passing through the dome-like hallways a look at the burgeoning city’s activities. OMA said in a release that the building is inspired in part by the nearby Suwon Gwanggyo Lake Park, an urban green space that surrounds a small body of water. More

In the developing city of Gwanggyo located about 25 kilometers south of Seoul, a high-end Korean department store stands out amongst gray office buildings and other concrete structures. Designed by OMA/Chris van Duijn, the Galleria shopping center features a mosaic facade of neutral-toned stones, in addition to geometric, opal windows that offer those passing through the dome-like hallways a look at the burgeoning city’s activities. OMA said in a release that the building is inspired in part by the nearby Suwon Gwanggyo Lake Park, an urban green space that surrounds a small body of water. More