ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Vabyvel

Always a sucker for proud feminist art, Vabyvel aka Vidya “Crypto Rani” is definitely on the radar this month. From sexual freedom, menstruation, to gender identity, she creates illustrations and 3D art that irreverently talk about everything under the sun. Unabashedly desi, Vidya has also been creating NFTs, which have been extremely popular too. Art, digital media, the feminine experience, Southeast Asian motifs, global perspectives — she is an artistic powerhouse to reckon with.

BINGE LIST OF THE MONTH

The year is starting out with some quality entertainment. Adam McKay is back with a multi-starrer doomsday comedy on Netflix. Don’t Look Up, deals with global apathy towards climate change, with ample doses of black comedy and SMH levels of realism. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep (as the President of USA) and Cate Blanchett in deliciously-evil roles, Jonah Hill, and Timothee Chalamet, this is a must-watch.

Helmed by Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs is a teen comedy about the indigenous North American experience, and how the American Dream is still a dream for many Americans too. There are guns and crime, but also a lot of wonderful introspection in this sterlingly-written comedy, and it’s now streaming on Hotstar. Want an intense, slow-brooding Western? Catch The Power Of The Dog on Netflix stars Benedict Cumberbatch who paints a rousing portrait of toxic masculinity, alcoholism, grief, depression, and sexuality. For a dose of futuristic sci-fi, binge the latest South Korean thriller, The Silent Sea on Netflix, starring Bae Doona (Sense8) and hot property Gong Yoo (Squid Game), where, in the future, space soldiers travel to the moon to retrieve a mysterious material from an abandoned space station to save planet Earth from apocalyptic desertification. Obviously, things go wrong. It is slick, smartly written, and has enough EOTS (edge-of-the-seat) twists to keep you entertained.