FASHION ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT
Surreal artist: Stephen Mackey
Our unending search for the best interviews and art features continues in this blazing hot new issue laying ahead like a sunlit savannah.
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Breezing in first past the post will be some contemporary conceptual art firing, or back firing, on all cylinders.
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Now Laissez Faire wouldn’t be where we are without containing some fairly creepy stuff, like Jake WoodEvans, Darkness Visible, or Stephen Mackey’s surreal characters in a Frankenstein-ish kind of way. We’ve even turned the horoscopes on its head with a master-class in a symbolic link between 18th century compounds and the ruling planets – and check out his feature: Alchemy In The Arts
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Entertainment is all stitched up with the big noises on film and book reviews. Bypassing another re-make of Godzilla and Spiderman, we’ve given a big thumbs-up for The London Independent Film Festival
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Like a rock, we’ll always there for you in a tricky situation. So deserts, if you have the stamina after this incredibly rollicking ride, are luscious with our spitting mad jokes! I can’t remember passing English GCSE’s, but the snippets of information written makes up a language that actually looks pretty legit. So sit back and enjoy! Your muckraking editor Maximus Jo Kerr McGuire.
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ART Words by Britt Pflüger
RED TAPE
Stanley Casselman and Hyo Myoung Kim
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eaturing new works by New York based artist Stanley Casselman and London based Hyo Myoung Kim, the new exhibition at Gazelli Art House promises a ‘diverse outlook on the crossover between classical fine art and new media.’ By referencing the predecessors, the exhibition sets out to question ‘how far contemporary techniques can overtake and outweigh that which was created and explored in the past – is it all a matter of conceptual strength backing a familiar image, or do we require a complete break away from tradition and the mundane?’
Stanley Casselman: Inhaling Richter www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
It doesn’t take a genius to do a double-take when looking at Stanley Casselman’s paintings and mistake them for real Gerhard Richters. Confusion reins until you read the story behind them, in the words of New York Magazine’s art critic Jerry Saltz: ‘I love art, but I hate the astronomical prices it sells for. My skin crawls when I read about auctions, and every year they get grosser. Last month, a livingartist record was set when a 1994 abstract Gerhard Richter painting was sold for $34.2 million. Like a lot of these purchases, the sale was about a collector trying to make art history by spending money. Or bigdick-waving. Ugh.’
Stanley Casselman: Inhaling Richter
Stanley Casselman: Inhaling Richter
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Hyo Myoung Kim, tape scan, LED light box with Duratrans Printing reverse Perspex mounting and LED panel
So Saltz decided to put out a call on Facebook, offering anyone $155 plus the cost of materials to make him a perfect fake by Richter, Ryman, Flavin, Fontana, Duchamp, Hirst, Guyton, or Agnes Martin. Out of all the people who turned up, three stood out: Daniel Maidman made him a ‘peppy, nearperfect’ Hirst spot painting. The artist Vincent Zambrano delivered a ‘pretty good’ Guyton. And then there was Stanley Casselman, who asked, ‘Which Richters do you want?’ Saltz answered, ‘Any abstract from the past twenty years.’ Months later, Saltz received emailed images labelled ‘Your Richters’. After rejecting the first batch for being ‘either too pretty or illusionistic or atmospheric’, Casselman came back with new images which were ‘so close they freaked [Saltz] out’: ‘It was clear that he knew this was a lark yet took it seriously.’
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As a lark it may have worked – the featured works are powerfully stunning, undoubtedly accomplished and quite obviously faux Richters. But they also beg the question whether, without Saltz’s impassioned background information on their genesis, they are more than simple pastiche. At least Stanley Casselman’s Inhaling Richter paintings elicit a visceral response, which is more than can be said about Hyo Myoung Kim’s work which, except for Line Drawings and Monet, leaves me mostly indifferent. Hyo Myoung Kim is a new media artist whose influences stem from the pioneering ideas of the early chrono photographers such as Eadweard MuyBridge and Étienne-Jules Marey:
Hyo Myoung Kim: Light print on diasec mount
‘Utilising image-generating applications, Hyo Myoung acknowledges the allusion of the logic of traditional art practice in the current two and three dimensional image editing/animation software. The result of his irreverent iterations are estranged familiarities of our contemporary visual culture.’
Hyo Myoung Kim: Crop
Hyo Myoung Kim: LED light box with Duratrans Printing, reverse Perspex mounting and LED panel www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
ART Words by Britt Pflüger
DARKNESS VISIBLE Jake Wood-Evans
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n to the Leyden Gallery near Spitalfields for the private view of Jake Wood-Evans’ first solo show, Darkness Visible.
Study of lady with a squirrel and a starling www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
Portrait of Pope Innocent X www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
Portrait of a women with pearls Inspired by the works of Baroque Old Masters such as Diego Velázquez, Sir Thomas Lawrence and George Stubbs, Wood-Evans’ use of light in his new collection of oil paintings both echo the sense of their ‘Old Mastery’ and unsettle it. Evoking faded memories and spectres of a past time, his paintings depict disintegrating and dissolving moments, beautifully underscored by his powerful use of light which emerges from a loose and instinctive use of paint, where bold brush strokes, dripping oils and scored surfaces sit cheek by jowl with fine, delicate detail, luminous skin and intense, rich layers of colour. Eyes, heads or limbs are scraped away or deformed. Traces and marks remain visible in the paint as it is built up leaving the trail and record of those traces behind them. www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
Dilapidated interior study
Classical colour pallets with warm, earthy shades are a relatively new feature in Wood-Evans’ work, marking a departure from the deep blues and purples of previous collections. Wood-Evans explains that ‘the paintings become intense labours of love. I enjoy learning everything I can from the images I’m working from. But I have to get to a point where I start taking risks. I have to get close to losing control and obliterating the whole thing – then something interesting can happen.’ In so doing he creates resonant, distorted echoes and impressions of a past that is recontextualised by the fading grandeur of history, giving the resulting work a distinctly contemporary feel. Beautifully haunting and utterly immersive, Darkness Visible heralds the emergence of a great new talent.
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www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
ake Wood-Evans
Leyden Gallery : 12 March – 26 April 2014
ART Words by Jon Madge
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS The mundane becomes macabre and the world becomes a wonderland with Stephen Mackey
www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
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ooking back over the history of art, there’s a definite trend. For the most part, we’ve asked people to paint, sculpt and generally make things we like to look at. When did that stop? Of course, there are always a few notable exceptions. Europe in the middle ages, for example, seemed to love painting pictures of an agonising afterlife and a particular 30-something nailed to a couple of bits of wood. Even if religious and iconographic imagery, however, we’re at least creating something that was perceived as useful. It’s really only in relatively recent years (particularly in art historic terms) that we’ve enjoyed being frightened, scared and slightly creeped out as much as we have.
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Mackey’s painting style is quite old fashioned in some ways but it is accomplished in every way. His delicate portrait Apollo shows how astutely he can wield his brush when he chooses, while his rough charcoal sketches show how expressive he can be without creating too much detail. You can happily stare at a Mackey painting at see the accomplished use of light, the daring experimentation with perspective and the use of colour for characterisation. If you were an unadventurous person, you could even leave it at that. However, if you stare at Stephen Mackey’s paintings for any longer, another layer seems to peel off and you see deeper into the mind of the artist. Or perhaps it’s the audience.
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The girl in the make up is sitting in a sexualised pose, staring straight out of the canvas at you. She is surrounded by fruit that’s splitting open in a disconcerting way, revealing thin slivers of something inside. The woodlouse is compelling his Alice figure. In other paintings, an evil boy flies a girl as a kite and a distant figure looks on at a Kafkaesque machine. There is no doubt that Mackey’s images are steeped in nostalgia, they claw furiously at the past. But the past they are clawing at is the honest one, the one half-remembered by someone younger, someone who didn’t understand the world, maybe even someone who was scared by what they saw. The element of dream, the exact combination of the recognisable with the incomprehensible, has had a huge effect on 20th and 21st century art. It’s what the Surrealists were striving for and many have suggested it pointed all of the modernists in their chosen directions. Stephen Mackey has achieved it, and not just once but over and over. His work is engaging, captivating and just a little terrifying for it. It is also, some of the most moving art you will ever see. Perhaps moving is a better thing for art to be than pretty or useful.
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tephen ackey
www.stephenmackey.com
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LITERARY REVIEWS
The Devil In The Marshalsea ‘Murder Stalks The Debtors’ Prison’
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ondon 1727: after failing to follow in his father’s footsteps as a country cleric, Tom Hawkins leads a carefree life as a bachelorabout-town, drinking, gambling and whoring. When his debts finally catch up with him and the bailiffs are hot on his heels, he risks everything on one last gamble – and wins. But on his way home he is lured into a trap, beaten up and robbed. The bailiff who takes him to the Marshalsea, the notorious debtors’ prison in Southwark, appears somewhat kinder than most, and confides in Tom that his friend Captain Roberts was recently found hanged there, and that he suspects the prison governor of a cover-up. He warns Tom about the conditions in the Marshalsea and gives him a few coins in return for the young man’s promise to find out the truth about his friend’s murder. Little does Tom know that he needs to solve the crime in order to save his own life...
By: Antonia Hodgson Hodder & Stoughton 373pp £17.99
As the prison gates shut behind him, Tom realises that no warnings could have prepared him for the horrors that await him: even though his meagre funds allow him to stay on the Master’s Side for a while, where prisoners are free to move around the grounds during the day and spend their money in the tap room, conditions are awful, not helped by the undercurrent of violence, bullying and extortion at the hands of the guards and the governor himself: only hours after his arrival, Tom witnesses the latter beating a young boy to death. But if life is cheap on the Master’s Side, it counts for nothing on the Common Side, divided from Tom’s new world by a high wall. On his first night he is horrified by the cries for mercy as the prisoners are herded back into their cramped cells where they are left overnight without access to water, food or fresh air, and every morning the bodies are dragged out. Unless Tom can somehow find a way to make money for his rent, he too will end up there. Tom is perturbed to learn that Captain Anderson was killed in the very room he now shares with the mercurial and enigmatic Fleet – and that Fleet claims to have slept through the whole thing although he now seems to be awake twenty-four hours. And thus begins a race against time to find the murderer... The Devil in the Marshalsea is a truly stunning debut, at times very dark and gritty, but never less than riveting, tightly plotted and brimming with dramatic tension. Tom is wonderfully portrayed as the young scoundrel who is suddenly forced to grow up when thrown into the hell that is the Marshalsea – and as he loses some of his innocence he also rediscovers some of those values he previously scorned: he is now not only trying to save his own skin but determined to do right by the victims of the prison. The author is particularly good at evoking the horrible smells, sounds and sights of the Marshalsea, to the point where they virtually leap of the page; rarely have I read such harrowing descriptions of a setting: the way in which Hodgson captures this hellish world is brilliantly haunting. That is not to say that the novel is depressing however – it is far too entertaining for that, much helped by the rich cast of colourful characters. Not to be missed.
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Words by Britt Pflüger
Literary scout, agent and literary consultant at Hardy & Knox www.hardyandknox.com
Basal Ganglia A
‘These reflections bother Rollo. There is always maintenance to be done. Reflection is a punishment. The antithesis of action and progress. Maintenance must be done.’
t a time when he could still remember, Rollo met Ingrid and they became teenage lovers, the two of them pitched against the rest of a hostile world which regarded them as outsiders. When the bullying became too much, they decided to escape to a sprawling underground pillow fort of their own making. Twenty-five years later, they still live in their subterranean home, which mirrors the structure of the human brain and requires constant upkeep and improvement. Now that their isolation from the world is complete and memory is lost (only Ingrid still remembers their names
To Rollo’s mind, reflection invariably leads to anxiety: ‘As obsession increases and ignorance screams, the less the numbers mean. Inquiry is replaced with projected outcomes of foreboding. Lack of understanding is a blank canvas on which to paint paranoia. Everything unknown is danger and harm.’
and writes secret letters to Rollo), their relationship is devoid of purpose, and they have grown distant: ‘Both chose escape. Both chose an opposite direction. Two halves of one is still one and one.’ What remains is the reassuring repetition of maintenance of the fort, a compulsion which gives Rollo a purpose and stops him from reflecting.
course this is much more than a book about anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, it is also a story about love, identity, and the fragility of human relationships, as becomes abundantly clear when Ingrid voices her desire to have a baby. Suddenly there is a shift away from a preoccupation with thought processes towards chaos and feeling, a shift which threatens Rollo’s carefully constructed ‘safe reality’. Showing little or no interest in Rollo’s reservations, Ingrid sets about making their baby on her own – by knitting it out of materials from the fort. But when it is complete (in a further act of defiance, Ingrid decides the baby is male, going against Rollo’s wishes), both protagonists find themselves pitched against each other in a bizarre cat-and-mouse game to protect their offspring, both convinced that the other will harm it. But there is a final twist in store, and one which will have a cataclysmic and yet redemptive effect on their lives.
By: Matthew Revert Lazy Fascist Press 120pp £6.66 (pb) £3.78 (e-book)
However, as Revert shows us, the human brain is far more complex than that. The eponymous basal ganglia may be instrumental in anxiety (Rollo and Ingrid are the basal ganglia of the title, the anxiety ravaging the brain), but of
By successfully combining literary fiction with a strong sense of the absurd, Revert has aquired somewhat of a cult following, and Basal Ganglia, his fourth book, is arguably his best work so far. It is by no means an easy read, but all the more rewarding for it. The biggest challenge for the reader lies in the multi-layered prose, but once we are drawn into Rollo and Ingrid’s surreal world and the plot gathers pace, it becomes irresistibly hypnotic. Maybe more importantly, there is an air of detachment about the prose which is in stark but intriguing contrast with the depth of emotions it conveys, and this is one of the novel’s greatest strengths and achievements: accordingly, as the story unfolds, the action begins to leave the head and become more sense-based. A truly original gem which should establish Matthew Revert as one of the most promising literary writers of his generation.
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ART Words by Jon Madge
ALCHEMY IN THE ARTS
The sacred, the bizarre and the bewildering, a look into the mind of Chris Chai
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hris world is full of unusual angular objects, occultlooking symbols and dark, brooding landscapes. Imagine the cover to a Yes album based on the works of H P Lovecraft and you’d be pretty close. Look past the otherworldliness of his images, however, and you’ll discover an intensity of expression and level of formal experimentation that shows the artist’s true genius. We caught up with Chris to learn where his strange world and unique style came from, and he agreed to guide us around it.
“Obsessive, mystical and pattern oriented. Oh and strange, definitely strange.” That’s how Chris Chai describes his art
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“Like many in the creative field, I was constantly drawing early on in life and later decided to get a bit more serious with my creative abilities.” Chris explains, before adding, somewhat modestly, “I wouldn’t call myself an artist yet though as I still have so much to learn and develop.” Some parts of his work still feel like they are rooted in that childlike need to experiment, only carried out with the precision of a scientist. Chris’ recurring use of geometric shapes feel like a visual deconsruction of the world, as if he’s trying to see on paper how they go together to make the real world. “The element of geometry stems from my time as a design student. Studying design peaked my interest in geometrical forms as well as being inspired by architectural geometry found in mosques and churches. As of late, I’ve been really inspired by sacred geometry, especially in the beautifully repetitive patterns found in Islamic art.” It’s little wonder sacred geometry appeals to Chris. The way he uses geometric shapes alongside naturalistic images already gives the impression of magic or religious images. In fact, many of Chris’ pen and ink drawings wouldn’t be out of place as the illustrations in a book of rare occult secrets. This might have something to do with the fact that other artists might think the place to draw a rhinoceros is in a zoo or on an African savannah, Chris is far more likely to depict it underneath a hovering, rotating hexagonal prism. “I was always fascinated by the concept of belief and the representation of belief through symbols or icons.” More so than many artists, Chris’ background let him see how these sorts of images interacted with similar images from other cultures. “Being from Singapore, a highly culturally diverse society, I was exposed early on to a plethora of varying cultures and religions. As a child I would often admire the magnitude and grandeur of different places of worship, often standing in awe at level of detail and craftsmanship found in these places. This interest in belief coupled with a deep love for Science Fiction and Fantasy has translated into a common theme throughout most of my work.”
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That intersection of belief and fantasy, where science fiction meets human nature, has inspired everyone from Stan Lee to M C Escher. What those two artists have in common is experimentation, pushing the limits of their chosen medium. Chris is definitely doing the same but, strangely for an artists who is undoubtedly an innovator, his choice of materials are as traditional as an illustrator can get. “Nothing beats creating something by hand. Not to say though that digital art isn’t beautiful because a lot of it is but I personally find a deeper connection to work made by, or at least made mostly by, hand. Even if it’s finished digitally.” Whilst it might be about a deeper connection for the artist, his choice of materials have a definite effect on the quality of his work from the audience’s perspective. The bold, strange images he crafts with pen and ink or his starkly contrasted papercuts could easily seem lazy if made entirely digitally. “With regards to pen and ink and papercut , I love the dramatic visual outlook of black and white work and the tactile feel of cutting out intricate shapes with a small blade but what I enjoy the most out of both these styles is the ability to get lost while creating details. Thats my favourite part of the process.” The occasionally comic book style makes complicated or overly familiar images easy to approach fresh. His piece Promethean Torture, for example, brings the myth to life by making it seem less grand than Rubens’ painting of the same incident. He substitutes realism with faith in his audience that their imaginations will fill the gap. Once you spend a bit of time with Chris’ art you break through the barrier of how striking it is at first glance. Behind it, there is more method there than madness. It is an experimental style, but that’s what keeps it interesting, and the elements it’s experimenting with are so familiar that it invites you to come along for the journey, to explore the artist’s world with him, not at arm’s length but as an equal.
CC
hris hai You can see more of Chris Chai’s obsessive, mystical and pattern-oriented art at www.chrischai.com (or why not check out his brand new designs on our horoscopes page) www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
C-TUNES IS IT SUMMER YET ? Is it sunny or is it just the disco lights?
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his might be a quintessentially British thing to write, but its nice to have good weather again.
There’s definitely a link between what’s going on outside and what’s happening in the gig venues, back rooms of pubs and buskers corners of London. As soon as the sun pokes itself out between the clouds for more than a handful of minutes people start to play. If we needed any proof that the weather makes us want to make music it should be the festival season. From the other side of Summer it calls to us with it’s ironic wellingtons and big bands in big top tents. The record industry owns all of that, but this side of the inevitable hosepipe ban belongs to the unsigned acts.
C O F I R A D I O There’s no better way of shaking off the Winter blues than by tentatively throwing off your rain coat and going to see some live music. Early signs show that this year is going to be the year for a return of kitsch. The cabaret scene is in full swing and some of the bands it’s throwing out (if you haven’t already heard Tankus the Henge, get to the party quick) are proving there’s more to the movement than corsets and top hats. Singer-songwriters seem to be eschewing the Mumford and Sons dramatic earnestness for a more laid-back thoughtful sounds. And, after years of ignominy or maybe just the daunting realisation that most things are better than the X Factor, we’re seeing the return of unpretentious, underappreciated party bands. It’s going to be a good Summer and, if these first few weeks of sunshine are anything to go by, it’s going to get loud.
Sugardrum is the kind of one man band that the record industry keeps trying to make in a lab. His low key, mellow acoustic offerings are touching, poignant in their sparing use of lyrics and moving when singer Nigel Bunner does give voice to his uncomplicated, sentimental lyrics. Whilst there are elements of folk to his mainly acoustic music, it’s hard to pin it down to a genre, not that you would want to. Electronica sits comfortably next to cello and the whole thing washes out of the speakers as a single, inseperable sound.
S U G A R D R U M w w w. sugard r um.co m
His latest EP 3 Penny Postcard is almost impossible to listen to without wishing it was at least twice the length it is. His reserved style calls to mind Nick Drake and his deft handling of subjects rarely covered in pop music (dementia, anyone?) should be a challenge to all other singer songwriters to raise their game.
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K E V I N
E A S T
w w w. f acebook .com/kev ineastmusic
Kevin East is a rare gift to anyone who has the rhythm to dance in public spaces (not a club I’ve ever been admitted to). Combing elements of funk, soul and rock but never being limited by even the broad space that those three give him, Kevin’s music is ludicruously timeless and a little bit like nothing you’ve ever heard before. When performing with his backing bad there’s a mighty horn section, pounding rhythm and ust the right amount of slap bass, which isn’t as little as you might think. It’s a musical cacophony that probably won’t win any awards for being avant garde but will have even the must reluctant dancer tapping their feet.
The address for Rowen’s other website is ‘howtosingforyoulife.com’ and if there’s someone who know how to do that, it’s her. Even if she wasn’t one of the most talented vocalists currently performing in the UK, her constant schedule of touring, recording and creating videos should earn her some kind of respect. As it is, it just gives more people to discover this unsung (no pun intended) gem of the UK independent music scene. Rowen’s usual stage set-up is her and a piano and really, that’s all she needs. Her versatility is palpabale as she sings songs of love, loss and melancholy before springing into the perfect pop song.
R O W A N
B R I D L E R
w w w.rowenbr i d l er.co m
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Comparisons have been made of Rowen and a young Madonna or Tori Amos at her peak, but they overlook that she can be both of those things at once. Her lyrics are sarcastic and witty, her music theatrical and her voice stronger than anyone’s has any right to be outside of opera.
FILMS
The London Independ D R O W N E D C I T Y
T I M E L A P S E
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his is a fascinating documentary about Pirate Radio stations. The illegality of them transmitting to their loyal fans across London and is a reminder of the battle of the sixties when pirate ships moored off the coast of Frinton broadcasting their programmes and challenged the airways of the BBC who monopolized and determined what music their listeners heard from what was then the BBC Light programme. The Post Master General banned them from broadcasting their shows making them illegal and liable for prosecution. But the BBC grossly underestimated the young audience that ships were broadcasting their shows too, and consequently it revolutionized the BBC and brought about the birth of Radio One when the deejays were given professional status by being employed by Auntie. They were exciting times and now this film that took over three years to make highlighting the pirate radio stations that are broadcasting today, not from boats but from flats or anything that they can find to set up their stations. They make and erect their aerial masts and then search the skyline for tower blocks that they enter and find the ideal spot to fix-up the transmitter. The majority of the deejays in this film chose not to be facially identified but others were happy to do so. The music they play is anything from R & B to Factory and the fans are in their thousands.
W
hat if you discovered a camera that could take pictures in the short-term future? And what if you used the information for your own financial gain? That is basically the premise of Time Lapse, an original sci-fi thriller. When three friends realize the full potential of the machine it seems like a futuristic toy has been left to them by its inventor whose body lies rotting in his room in a community block of homes that they are caretakers for. Of the three, two guys and a girl that is characterized by their main trait that we can call Conscience, Greed and Curiosity; they typically react in their comfort zone when things get decidedly scary and dangerous. Conscience wants to smash the camera, even though it is freeing his mind to paint, because it is ruining their friendship while at the same time Greed is hitting on Curiosity, the one that Conscience loves. Greed wants to be rich and the camera is allowing him to play the horses and never lose. Curiosity goes along with them because she cannot figure out what is happening and has to find out. Things can only get worse and they do, both for the characters and for the viewer. The film’s narrative ends in a twist that attempts to tie up all the loose ends, of which there are many, but it so contrived that it strangles itself. However, there is enough promise to suggest that the filmmaking machine behind this film will spit out a picture that does not fade as quickly as this one.
One of the deejays told how the police smashed his door in and arrested him, “Jest for playing music,” he said. He was heavily fined and was out on bail for eighteen months. His girlfriend also faced the cameras and we saw her setting up in a studio for a show. So why do they do it? “Everybody wants to be famous, don’t they?” But perhaps more importantly they are doing what they love. After seeing this film, it was impossible not to look at the skyline to spot those roof aerials that identified that radio pirate stations were operating somewhere out there...in East or West London; that is until they get their door knocked in. www.laissezfairelondon.co.uk
dent Film Festival B O R D E R L A N D S Morgan is searching for his girlfriend who has suddenly disappeared. His investigations start in California where she was last seen and take him to London and Stockholm, but each step of her trail is hampered by a mysterious reluctance by people who seemingly knew her to tell him anything. Gradually his path is blocked with violence and attempts on his life which ominously signals a deep and worrying conspiracy that she had somehow got involved with a crime syndicate who will kill to get what they want. When he does find her, she is married and says that she doesn’t know who he is. Borderlands was directed by Ben Mallaby on a pocket money budget and it shows: unintentionally shaky camerawork, dim lighting but as Ben told me he was doing what he could with what he could afford. With the right funding the film could have been so much better. No money, the bête noir of filmmakers. Despite the handicaps, there is a good story and it is finely acted out. The lead actor, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Tom Berenger, is Ben’s brother-in-law and has a very promising future. Ben assured me that he has financing for his next feature, so good luck with that.
THE BOY WITH A CAMERA FOR A FACE
(Short 15 minutes) The film is a satirical fairy tale about a boy born with a camera instead of a head. We follow him from his birth through adulthood, and experience his inability to live a normal life, as every moment of his existence is transformed by the fact that he is recording it.
I N T E R F E R E N C E The film opens with a group of goddesses empowering themselves by declaring what they intend to do. One woman says that she will tell the man she loves that she wants to marry him. Another, Pippa, declares that she will invent a new psychotherapy called Fun Therapy. When Pippa announces her goal to her estranged husband and her daughter, it is apathetically received. And as we see through the binoculars of a birdwatcher in the fields close by spying on Pippa through a window as she talks to herself and to an imaginary client – she appears to be totally bonkers: Next week we are going to make orgasms. We can paint them or make them out of Plasticine. Piers, Pippa’s husband, avoids her by experimenting with radio astronomy leading to hearing things that he wished he had never heard. Interference is an entertaining film which is very well made and definitely worth watching.
BYE-BYE STAR-FIZZ
(Short 13 minutes) A quirky and inventive film that manages to cross genres in a tribute to Pop culture. Opening with the latest victim of a wanted killer, with her blood spraying a large billboard of a picture of a woman advertising Star Fizz, it goes on to intrigue us with its use of colour and monotone images and the heroine of the piece miniaturising one moment and growing to a gargantuan size the next. . Great fun for the viewer and a name to be remembered to watch for her next work – Charlene Brangen. Story loosely based on Alice in Wonderland.
The story is accompanied by a witty verse narration by Stephen Berkoff. The Boy with a Camera for a Face is a magical and romantic and ultimately heartbreaking film.
Brian Mills is editor of ‘Movies By Mills’ http://issuu.com/brianalbertjohnmills/docs/issue_12
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HUMOUR-SCOPES
Illustrated by: Chris Chai
www.chrischai.com
This is no time to hang about, so take a good look at yourself and make that change. As usual, a disclaimer is needed as these are only the premonitions of our grumpy star gazer and not the views of Laissez Faire!
Aries
Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right. And the other is the husband. Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.
Libra
If life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity. (Albert Einstein)
A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not Gemini’s. You’re afraid of widths. Forget dieting. The only way to look thin is to hang out with fat people. Between two evils, always pick the one you’ve never tried.
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?
Security is a big thing this month. Bolt six locks on your door all in a row. When you go out, lock every other one. Because no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.
Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts. Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Losing streaks are funny. If you lose at the beginning you got off to a bad start. If you lose in the middle of the season, you’re in a slump. If you lose at the end, you’re choking.
Awesome things will happen today if you choose not to be an asshole. And the key to happiness is to stay the hell away from assholes.
They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning. Life is hard. After all, it kills you. If you’re good at something, never do it for free.
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Aquarius
Drawing on your fine command of the English language and say nothing. If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.
Pisces
Do not mistake your imagination for memory. All generalizations are false, including this one.
THE JOKER
LAUGHTER TO THE BRAIN IS LIKE EXERCISE TO THE BODY
Thanks for all the jokes you have sent in. You lot clearly love this page! Try to keep them clean though London, some of these are really pushing it. Sorry for any offence caused.
10 Husbands, Still a Virgin A lawyer married a woman who had previously divorced ten husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband, “Please be gentle, I’m still a virgin.” “What?” said the puzzled groom. “How can that be if you’ve been married ten times?” “Well, Husband #1 was a sales representative: he kept telling me how great it was going to be. Husband #2 was in software services: he was never really sure how it was supposed to function, but he said he’d look into it and get back to me.
Who Says Men Don’t Remember Anniversaries A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband was not in their bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front him. He appears deep in thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of coffee. “What’s the matter, dear?” she whispers as she steps into the room. “Why are you down here at this time of night?”
Illustrated by: Alvaro Arteaga www.alvaroarteaga.com
Q: What makes a man think about a dinner by candlelight? A: A power failure. Q: Three words to ruin a man’s ego... A: “Is it in?”
The husband looks up, “Do you remember 20 years ago when we were dating, and you were only 17?” he asks solemnly.
Q: How can you tell if your man is happy? A: Who cares?
The wife is touched thinking her husband is so caring and sensitive. “Yes, I do,” she replies.
Q: How many knees do men really have? A: 3.... right knee, left knee and their wee-knee.
Husband #4 was in telemarketing: even though he knew he had the order, he didn’t know when he would be able to deliver.
The husband pauses. The words are not coming easily. “Do you remember when you father caught us in the back seat of my car?”
Q: When would you want a man’s company? A: When he owns it.
Husband #5 was an engineer: he understood the basic process but wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state-of-the-art method.
“Yes, I remember,” says the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him.
Husband #3 was from field services: he said everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn’t get the system up.
Husband #6 was from finance and administration: he thought he knew how, but he wasn’t sure whether it was his job or not. Husband #7 was in marketing: although he had a nice product, he was never sure how to position it. Husband #8 was a psychologist: all he ever did was talk about it. Husband #9 was a gynecologist: all he did was look at it. Husband #10 was a stamp collector: all he ever did was... God! I miss him! But now that I’ve married you, I’m really excited!”
The husband continues...”Do you remember when he shoved a shotgun in my face and said, “Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for 20 years”. “I remember that too”, she replies softly. He wipes another tear from his cheek and says... “I would have gotten out today!”
Q: What’s the difference between a man and a condom? A: Condoms have changed. They’re no longer thick and insensitive!
Q: Why do only 10 percent of men make it to heaven? A: Because if they all went, it would be called hell. Q: What do you call a Guy who Masterbates more than twice a day? A: A Terrorwrist Q: What do you call a man with an opinion? A: Wrong. Q: Why don’t women blink during sex? A: There isn’t enough time. Q: What should you give a man who has everything? A: A woman to show him how to work it. Q: Why do so few men end up in Heaven? A: They never stop to ask directions
“Good,” said the new husband, “but, why?”
Q: What’s the most common sleeping position of a man? A: Around.
Q: How are husbands like lawn mowers? A: They’re hard to get started, they emit noxious fumes, and half the time they don’t work.
“You’re a lawyer. This time I know I’m gonna get screwed!”
Q: What does a penis and an ego have in common? A: All men have one!
Q: What has eight arms and an IQ of 60? A: Four guys watching a football game.
laughfactory.com
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