STOCKHOLM—JONNIE CRAIG SOLO EXHIBITION AND BOOK LAUNCH THIS SATURDAY

Fresh-faced Vice photographer and boulevardier Jonnie Craig has his first solo exhibition outside his native England opening this Saturday in Stockholm at Galleri Hangups, Rutger Fuchsgatan 5.
 
Below, Vice UK’s editor Andy Capper has a chat with Jonnie about the accompanying book and his early work for us.

SCANDINAVIA — INK UP THOSE HEINEYS, ZENTROPA INTERNS

I occasionally flip through books on corporate branding but I don’t really read them because A: they’re mostly boring and B: also pretty much obsolete by the time they’re out. But I do welcome new thoughts on the subject, like last week when Peter Ålbæk, co-owner of Danish film company Zentropa, encouraged all his interns to tattoo the company logo on their asses. He publicly announced that those who complied would have “better looking” paychecks and be first in line for promotions. The Zentropa logo is a snide graphic rendition of a capital “Z,” meaning tattooing it on your butt pretty much implies that you’ve been sodomized by a 2.0 Zorro. When I went to visit, a few Zentropa interns already had it done. Kudos, kids.

VBS - A SHOT BY SHOT HISTORY OF WODKA

The 1891 Treaty of Madrid was the first bilateral agreement to recognize France’s sole right to use the word Champagne. Since then, a slew of other rulings have followed, cementing that agreement in pretty much every market in the world. That’s why these days, when you think of Champagne, you think of France. What this is getting at is that in 1977, when Poland tried to claim the sole production rights of its national drink Wodka, it wasn’t such a crazy idea. Certainly not as crazy as Cadbury trying to trademark the color purple. Sadly for them, the superpower formally known as the USSR saw it differently, successfully contesting and defeating Poland in an international court. Naturally, poor Poland has been griping about it ever since. (That and everything else, seriously, what’s with Polish people and griping?)

All racial stereotypes aside, what if that ruling was wrong? What if the Poles was robbed?

STOCKHOLM — A PEEK AT ERIK TIDEMANN

Norwegian artist Erik Tidemann was raised by his grandparents, who were taxidermists, in a tiny village outside of Trondheim. Still he never felt lonely, see he had a whole house full of action figurines and stuffed animals to play with. 20 years later, he’s still pretty much playing with the same stuff, only in the adult way of doing so: by making art. His The Eazy-E HIV Odyssey exhibition opens in Stockholm tonight at Gallery Steinsland Berliner so pass by if you get the chance.

AMSTERDAM - THE GLOWIEST PLACE IN TOWN

Meet Nick Paladino, a Hendrix-obsessed American who drained an Amsterdam basement all by himself in order to create Electric Lady Land, a museum where everything but Nick is fluorescent--although we haven't seen him in the nude. Mieke Lindeman traveled to the museum for further inspection. Here's what she came home with.

LONDON - DAVID HOCKNEY'S ROMANTIC BREAKDOWN

Jack Hazan gave David Hockney a breakdown by making a film called A Bigger Splash about him. Simple as that. David didn’t know the cameras were rolling when he showered naked and cuddled Jack into the night, missing his German lover while thinking of tanned, lithe bodies slipping like serpents in the swimming pools of his paintings. He didn’t know. Or at least that’s what he said in the aftermath, pleading ignorance when presented with Jack’s film, a cinematic exploration of Hockney’s formative years.

MEET THE NIERATKOS - SEÑOR SCHNITZEL

Dear Vice readers, I am on paid paternity leave, helping my son milk my wife’s breasts. To ease you into the awesomeness that is my drawering for an Etnies ad in next month’s 15th anniversary issue of Vice, I present to you my world-famous, half-Mexican/half-German time-travelling detective, Senor Schnitzel, as seen on my Canadian friend’s website, King Shit.  

SWEDEN - THESE THINGS JUST DON'T HAPPEN, EXCEPT FOR WHEN THEY DO

Whenever a criminal act takes place in Sweden our whole society gasps for air and says, "Things like this just do not happen in Sweden." Suck on it Svensson: IT DOES. Recently we learned that Sweden has the most rapes per capita in Europe, which sounds totally unbelievable for such a calm and peace loving nation. Why is there a picture of a helicopter attached to this story? Everything's all crazy now!

LONDON - WHAT YOU MISSED THIS LAST WEEK

London’s Fashion Week wrapped up today and our fellow staff in the UK have been covering it since it started. It's more exciting over there because people actually give a shit and dress up like lunatics, rather than schlumping out in ripped tights and loafers that are falling apart, and then whining about how tiring the whole thing is. Check up on what you missed: Vivienne Westwood’s adoration for ethnic models and Amish hats , Topshop’s collection for normal people, puppets with towering boners, women with hair all over their faces, and cool hunting with stolen goods from Henry Holland’s pile of trash. You'll find all the rest of it here.

BERLIN - YOU CANT DRINK HAPPINESS, SO STICK IT UP YOUR ASS!

It was by chance that we stumbled across a rumor of Colombian kids following a silly new trend. When they’re not in school they’re shoving vodka-drenched tampons up their buttholes. We have no idea how they came up with this horrific plan in the first place or why anyone should ever want to do this, but the teenagers in Colombia insist on its effectiveness. The alcohol shoots straight into your bloodstream and gives you an instant high, and supposedly this method protects you from smelling like a drunk. Here is Berlin intern Kolja and he shoved this rumor. Up his ass.