Yokoland by Espen Friberg and Aslak Gurholt Rønsen in NYC
Photo: www.yokoland.com
The Norwegian design collective Yokoland will participate in the Festival NO SOUL FOR SALE.
Yokoland is a graphic design and illustration studio that was started by Espen Friberg and Aslak Gurholt Rønsen sometime between their graduation from High School (2000) and their graduation from The National Academy of the Arts, Oslo (2004/2005). In the beginning there was no intention that Yokoland would be a graphic design studio (it sort of happened along the way). Yokoland was just the place to experiment with various small projects. Today designer Thomas Tengesdal Nordby also work as part of Yokoland on various projects.
Yokoland mainly focuses on print-based projects like books, magazines, posters, record covers, cd- and dvd-covers. The studio also works across various media, creating anything from signage, set design, wall paintings and exhibition design to short films, music videos, title sequences and websites. Yokoland also works with more commercial work like company identities and advertising. From time to time Yokoland has their own exhibitions and participates in group exhibitions.
At the same time as Yokoland was started Espen and Aslak also started the independent music label Metronomicon Audio together with the musicians on this label. In the beginning the work for Metronomicon Audio was basically the only part of Yokoland’s practise. Even though designing for the label is no longer the only work Yokoland does, it’s still a central part of the studio’s practice.
Yokoland is based in Oslo (Norway). A monograph about the studio, “Yokoland – As we go up we go down”, was published by Die Gestalten Verlag in 2006.
The Festival is organized by X Initiative, a new non-for-profit art space, that opened on March 7, 2009.
When: June 23rd – June 28th
Where: X-initative, 548 West 22nd Street, NYC
Info: 917-697-4886
