Sparkling Strangeness

When the world around you is turning to dust and you are haunted by the leering faces of Katie Price and Peter Andre giggling inanely at the apocalyptic crapola they´ve created, one must take action - post haste. We at go-reborn have got the perfect strange and wonderful mystery tour to get your hearts beating at a slightly faster rate and your eyes slowly widening like a slow-motion film of a chrysalis opening.

The world has gone to shit - but we at go-reborn have the perfect answer to such hellish happenings, my little cherubic misfits.

If you notice a figure of "sparkling strangeness" with an air of "mysterious greatness", follow him, for he-she has a mission and theme. Follow that dark-robed stranger deep into the bowels of the Princes Street Mall, ideally taking a plunge down the steps by the Balmoral Hotel and diving right before you hit the train station. Follow that black-cowelled stranger into the glittering light palace of the Mall and on your right you´ll see go-reborn in all its splendour.

There really is quite a plethora of thrilling threads by Godiva Vintage, Laura Lees, Totty Rocks, OOPS, Red Mutha, Rowanjoy, Jukes & Proops, Ceilidh Gray, Stolen Thunder, Aware Injustice, Eka, Love Me Again, Orangefishy, Pipless Jam, Owl & Lion - did you get all that?

And our usual bevy of hot-paintin' artists - blog favourite Neil Perry and Edinburgh legend Elph, amongst others, have started a space-themed mural of epic proportions. Each chap or chappess will be given a word to give them inspiration and inspire they will. But more on that later. This mural must be seen. The man with the black visage will lead you to it.

Pop-in, and pop-up, after 4pm on Saturday for Yuletide drinkies and mysterious goings-on involving little people, unicorns and the breath of an elf in the glass jar of time. We await.

Hello: Party

The word “hello” is less than two centuries old, my friends – but it might as well have been brand new at the weekend, so oft was it uttered in a kind of post-ironic shock (and weak-voiced wonder) at the fun we all had at the ‘go reborn’ party.

This two-hundred-year-old greeting is fitting, an archaic welcome to something so totally fresh as ‘go reborn’. We’ve taken the old, you see, putting stuff under one roof for your delectation, but we’ve infused it with the new – live on-site happenings constantly going on 7 days a week for that elusive pop-up feel. We’ll be sorry to disappoint when we have to close our doors and start on the next venture, but for now you have time left to pop-in and appreciate the lovely vibe that ‘go reborn’ has created on Calton Road.

The party, on Saturday 22nd, was to celebrate another week of busy times down at ‘go reborn’ HQ. With tunes and visuals from M.O.C & White Chocolate (from DoIt!), we cleared back the Godiva rails to make a dance floor and there were soon various dancing loons shimmying across the space. After various excellent artists having created some wonderful canvas work over the previous days, on the night we were wowed by the legendary Elph – his artwork verged on performance as revellers crowded round the canvas to egg on the genius.

As always, Auld Reekie did its bit by providing volcanic landscapes and dramatic Old Town horizons – and the Tattoo put on a free firework display and it might as well have been just for us.

Thanks to all our friends and faithful ‘go reborn’ crew for making it such a special night – we continue to receive a gaggle of visitors every day and urge you all to make ‘go reborn’ part of your Festival. The beauty of the project is that each day there is something different to see and do – it is a truly interactive experience and the perfect place to mop up art during the day, hang out in the mini-lounge, soak up rays in the hot room, watch our designers at work in the workshop or see our artists mid-opus on the canvases.

Analogue Books and the Dawn of Elph

We've managed to secure a lovely selection of Nigel Peake's work from those fine people at Analogue Books, a trailblazing book- and zine-store on the Grassmarket which is worth a long, hard look at. Yesterday I sat perusing 'Maps', an intricate and maze-like tome that is made for poring over and re-reading as its delicate and thoughtful musings on the nature of maps shimmer and shift with promise.

Talking of delicate, Kate McKay's swallow illustrations (in the hot room overlooking the Crags) is starting to blossom and a flock of migrating art-swallows now trace their way across the canvas. Matthew Swan's funky and chaotic illustration at the other end of the space is chock-a-block with finely drawn images of faces and eyes and shapes and swirls - merits a further look when you pop in.

We are buzzing about holding another party this weekend at the go-reborn space - an excellent place to check out our fabulousness but also see the fireworks without the hell of the Royal Mile and being ushered like a sheep or drone into the Tattoo. More info on Facebook and Twitter to follow but keep your eyes peeled for Jaco's little white tickets which are being disseminated about town and will be your entry into the wacked-out world of 'go-reborn'.

M.O.C & White Chocolate (from DoIt!) will be presenting audio and visual treats and we are very excited to have Elph, legendary Edinburgh illustrator, on canvas all night and who we're sure will be producing some typically incandescent work. His website and blog are stunning and should be seen here.