At a time of widespread socio-political instability, now is the time to speak out and create works that sparks positive change. "It is our responsibility as humans to use whatever talents we have to create awareness, action, and change," James Pecis explains to over email. "Challenging times encourage the creative passion." The pages of our very own Creativity Issue is testament to today's artistically fertile climate. So is James Pecis and Kimberley Norcott's Noodled, a photographic study. After being drawn into Mission Blue's work around ocean preservation, both the California-born-turned-London-based hair stylist and his longtime art director collaborator Kimberley Norcott became fixated on the idea of matching the movement of hair with magical moments documented out at sea."The next five years may be the most important in the next ten thousand ones for our planet," warns Dr. Silvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue. "There are plenty of reasons for hope, yet every day doors of opportunity close. We know what to do. Now is the time to act." The collective action of James Pecis, Kimberley Norcott, Paul Wetherell, and Ben Bugden resulted in Noodled. A labour of love, this self-published tome encourages us to explore the similarities and differences between the beauty of the ocean and the beauty of ourselves. Matching quiffs with grinding waves, curls with lips, and frizz with spray, the familiar craft of hair stylist and portrait photographer Paul Wetherell comes alive when it can be compared and contrasted with Ben Bugden's seascapes. Ahead of the book's launch, James Pecis talks us through the project and invites us to dive into the wide-blue yonder.Read more on i-D.
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