Curio Magazine

urio

1st Issue Biannual Autumn/Winter 2009

James Ravenhall by Claire Andrews

C FASHION • ART • PHOTOGRAPHY

C ONTENTS Curio issue 1/

ZARA WOOD Magpies

27) FOREWORD 29) CONTRIBUTORS 32) TREND: TAXIDERMY

From rat head bow ties to bird necklaces, the peculiar trend of taxidermy has transitioned into our fashion and art

38) GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

Queen of cool; Luella goes into administration

44) INTERVIEW: THE DEAD WEATHER with alison mosshart, jack white, dean fertita and jack lawrence of

Dead Weather band

50) THE CURIOUS CASE OF CALLE

A preview of French artist Sophie Calle’s retrospective exhibition

56) THE SHADOW

Inspired by artist sophie calle, we shadow the unsuspected curious country girl showcasing spring/summer 10 looks Model: Kate willmore. Photography: Claire Andrews

68) CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER A glimpse into the wonderland Tim Burton’s latest film

The

King James IV Photography: Claire Andrews page 82

74) SAVE THE DAY

The survival of fashion’s controversial photographer: Corinne Day

82) KING JAMES IV

The Majestic Man. With collars, capes and cuffs, fashion takes a regal turn Model: James Ravenhall. Photography: Claire Andrews

111) KNOCK ON WOOD

The trinkets and treasures of artist and designer zara wood

125) THE ENCHANTMENT The unusual and utterly

98) THIS SIDE OF THE BLUE

The Blue paintings of Damien Hirst in his latest collection

102) INTERVIEW: NO MORE MR. NICE GIRL

A catch up with actress Chloë Sevigny on her upcoming role in Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice.

enchanting

128) THE SHADOW SEQUEL (Movie)

The stalking of our curious country girl in movie form

foreword Welcome You’ve been warned. Explore the unexplored. Unearth the undiscovered. Investigate the unknown. Curio says as Curio does. We provide creative individuals, both male and female, with an object of curiosity.

We will whisk you away into a world of the weird and the wonderful.

With our intriguing articles, arresting imagery and beautifully mystic artistic style, Curio offers an eclectic mix of the latest fashion, art and photography news.

Eerie. Enchanting. Intrusive. Nothing is too deep. Nothing is too dark.

To be published twice yearly, our first issue explores curiosity at its best. ‘The Shadow’ (p.56) sees the stalking of a Parisian model, ‘Save the Day’ (p.74) showcases our unashamed inquisitiveness into unconventional issues, and French artist Sophie Calle (p.50) provides Curio’s purpose with personification.

Interviews with the edgy and eccentric from The Dead Weather (p.44) to Chloe Sevigny (p.102). Snapshots into the wonderland of Alice (p.68) and photography so visually powerful it is fit for a King (p.82).

Curio says as Curio does and should take prize place in your cabinet of curiosities.

Claire Andrews / Editor-in-Chief

~27~

CONTRIBuTORS

CLAIRE ANDREWS Editor-in-Chief Curiosity: Ordinary people

CHARMAINE AYDEN Style assistant Curiosity: Koto Bolofo

LEANNE JOHNSON Assistant set designer Curiosity: Tim Walker

JORDAN SHIEL Hair stylist With special thanks to models Kate Willmore, James Ravenhall and make up artist Laura Angel

DANIELLE WOOD Fashion Assistant Curiosity: Christo

~29~

Curiosity: Gareth Pugh

NATALEIGH TAYLOR Fashion Assistant Curiosity: David LaChapelle

The curious case of Calle.

Talking to strangers

by Claire Andrews Curiosity. A curiosity is an eagerness to learn and explore. To be inquisitive. To find wonder in a quality. To be more precise, curiosity in an art form is Calle.

With conceptual French artist Sophie Calle, what you see is literally what you get. Never has an artist found such extraordinary in the everyday. Her work is comprised of her fascination in normalities such as ordinary people, ordinary places and her own life. She follows unsuspected strangers around her home town of Paris, instructs strangers to follow her and even invites strangers into her bed; all in the name of art.

Calle thrives on the outsider’s input. She adores spontaneity in her work, leaving the outcome (and her safety in some cases) up to chance. In her collection entitled Journey’s, she visited one of New York’s poorest districts; The Bronx. ‘I decided that I would go to the area [South Bronx] everyday from 2 to 5p.m and get people I stopped in the street to take me to a local spot of their choice’ Calle explained. She was taken to a bank from a poor man who aspired to have his own account one day.

She took the number 26 bus with a man who showed her his childhood home; now demolished. Even if it was out of the boundaries of the Bronx, she would follow people, discovering places they found personal and memorable. Journey’s was vandalised when first exhibited, but Calle felt this simply enhanced her work . ‘[They were] an unexpected collaborator’ she said.

GOTHAM HANDBOOK

SOPHIE CALLE: TALKING TO STRANGERS

Her work dates back to 1979, using unknown people as her subject of focus. After producing ‘The Address Book’ in 1983 however Calle felt she over stepped the mark. ‘I found an address book. I photocopied the contents then sent it back anonymously to it’s owner’ Calle explained.

‘I decided to contact some of the people whose names appeared in the book and ask them to tell me about the owner. Through them, I would get to know this man.’ Calle then published her findings of this unknown man in a national newspaper.

Her personal life now takes leading role in her work. Ever heard of Take Care of Yourself? Calle made it publicly known that she was dumped by her partner. ‘I received an email telling me it was

over’ she said. ‘I didn’t know how to respond . It was almost as if it hadn’t been for me It ended with the words, ‘take care of yourself’. And so I did’ Revenge is sweet. Calle provided over a hundred women of different occupations with a copy of her email. She asked them to respond to the message in relation to their professions. A ballet dancer, a chess player, an actress and even a rifle shooter were involved, with the latter leaving a bullet hole through the word love through her copy. This witty yet thought provoking project is currently being exhibited in The Whitechapel Gallery, London.

Presenting an extensive array of her work, Calle’s retrospective; Sophie Calle: Talking to Strangers allows you to step into her curious world. It includes the recordings of her dying

~53~

mother in Couldn’t capture death. She also showcases the project Gotham Handbook. This involved Calle being instructed by author friend Paul Auster to improve a particular place in New York. Calle humorously selected a telephone booth.

This exhibition provides a captivating viewing.

From exploring the lives, interactions and emotions of Calle and her chosen strangers, Talking to Strangers can ensure you will no longer be a stranger to Sophie Calle’s work.

Sophie Calle: Talking to strangers exhibition is open in The Whitechapel Gallery, London until 3rd January 2010.

The Shadow

Photography CLAIRE ANDREWS Starring KATE WILLMORE OPPOSITE Dress CHANEL

Top FENDI Skirt ERIN FETHERSTON

Hat VINTAGE Top 3.1 PHILIP LIM Skirt GIVENCHY Tights WOOLFORD Shoes BEYOND RETRO RIGHT Hat as before Jacket CHANEL Trousers THRIFT Shoes CHANEL Hair ribbon BARNETT & LAWSON TRIMMINGS

THIS AND OPPOSITE Bolero CHLOE Playsuit ERIN FETHERSTON

Dress VINTAGE Tights TOPSHOP Shoes as before OPPOSITE Dress as before Shoes RELLIK

~65~

Save the

D AY Corinne Day

by Claire Andrews

Corinne Day: Inspirational? Innovative?

Or simply too intimate?

Whatever your

opinion, you can’t deny the fact that Corinne

is

influential.

Transforming

fashion photography in the nineties, her work is instantly recognisable. But her life threatening condition has left her with few funds. Corinne seeks to sell her iconic photographs for her survival.

“

There are pictures of everyone having a great time at a party, and then you turn the page and I’m in hospital, having a needle stuck into my head

I can’t remember the first time I was aware of Corinne Day. It could have been that lacey knickered picture of Kate Moss stood in front of a string of fairy lights. It could have even been earlier than that.

A bare faced, topless, feather crowned Moss laughing on a beach in East Sussex. Whether I noticed her in Vogue orThe Face first- it doesn’t matter. We all know her now. Corinne is one of the most significant fashion photographers of our generation Corinne undoubtedly brought the unexpected to our predictable glossy and glamourised fashion imagery. Her documentary style of photography is renowned. Her pictures are brutally honest with a warts and all style. Fashion isn’t fantasy in Corinne’s world. Fashion is reality. And it is the reality in her work that defines Corinne.

It is a bold move to inject realism into fashion. It is an even bolder move to reveal every aspect of your life to the public. Corinne did; in the form of a photographic diary. For one of her personal projects, the 44 year old captured ten years of her everyday life in all of its unscathed glory.

She explored the unexplored. She portrayed the uncomfortable.

For more than ten years, Corinne has fought against a severe brain tumor. Her diary reflected this. She displays her reaction; the moment she is told she has cancer. Heart broken. She shows us pictures of her lying in a hospital bed heading to surgery. She glares into the lens, awkwardly positioned and petrified. We even see her after surgery with her supporting friend Tara clasping tight hold of her hand. ‘I think everything should be photographed, everything. You forget the details of your life’ Corinne explains. ‘There are pictures of everyone having a great time at a party, then you turn the page and I’m in hospital, having a needle stuck into my head’ The NHS treatment Corinne has received has been unsuccessful.

Her health is fast deteriorating. She is emotionally and financially drained. Through help from friends and work colleagues, the Save the Day campaign has been formed. Corinne is in desperate need to get specialist surgery in Arizona. Save the Day is her last hope.

It wasn’t Corinne’s intentions to pursue a career in photography.

‘I never had a clue what I wanted to do’ she says, ‘I went to a terrible, rough school in Ickenham, Middlesex, and left with one O-level; in art. But I was always confident I’d get on in life’. When working as a model she met her partner; photographer Mark Szazy. He taught her the basics on his camera. Corinne began capturing images of her travels and her friends whilst living in Milan. Her beautiful model friends were pictured; skint, living in squalor. Noticing the sad and vulnerable qualities within her imagery, she decided to take her hobby more seriously.

It’s easy to forget the moment Kate Moss made it. Seeing her face everyday in our newspapers, advertisements and magazines, was there ever a time she wasn’t around?

”

But it was Corinne that found her, photographed her and gave her a chance.

It was 1990 when Day came across a blurred image of Moss provided by model agency Storm. Corinne felt a connection with the Croydon girl.Afamiliarisation. Moss was smaller and skinnier than the average model of that time. Perhaps it was this unconventional quality that drew Corinne to her. Either way, Phil Bicker made Day’s images of Moss the cover of The Face magazine. Corinne and Kate became a partnership. Instantly escalating to fame.

Shoots in cult magazines I.D, Interview and even advertising campaigns followed. Day teamed up with stylist Melanie Ward and Kate Moss some more. She fought against the traditional fashion image. She created the shock factor and somehow made this mainstream. ‘The best thing I did for fashion was bringing it down to earth, bringing a documentary quality to it’ Day explained.

But her grungy style of photography and choice of waif-like

~76~

Just before brain surgery, London hospital. 1996

models associated Day with the heroin chic brand. However popular it was, her photography was highly controversial. She was accused of promoting sex, drugs and anorexia. But to Corinne, she was just capturing the world she was a part of. She was unafraid to reveal any imperfections. Her models rarely wore make up. An image you certainly wouldn’t aspire to.

Critics didn’t agree with her stripping away the mystery in fashion.

But Corinne loved the personal quality in her work. She wasn’t driven by money or the mainstream. She soon fell out with stylist Melanie Ward a few years after working together. ‘She thought I took my work too personally’ informed Day. ‘She was right. I did.’ She lost contact with Kate Moss for a little then while too. This came after that notorious Under exposure shoot with the model for Vogue magazine.

You know the one with the fairy lights. ‘I thought the photographs were funny at the time. They looked cheap and tacky-everything Vogue wasn’t’ she explained.

Unfazed by public outrage, Corinne decided to concentrate more on her private work instead. ‘I was bored anyway. The commercial work never meant anything to me. I hadn’t enjoyed it as much as working with my friends’ Day said.

Then came the diary. Blood stained knickers. Lit up joints. Ketamin.

Masturbation. Cancer. Corinne took her work to another extreme. But however intrusive, disturbing and uncomfortable her photography may be, you can’t ignore Day’s bravery.

Through the nightmare of her cancer struggle, it is Day’s photography that has kept her going. She asked husband Mark to capture her through her battle ‘I knew if I did it, it would take her mind off what was happening’ said Mark.

The Save the Day campaign has already paid for her flights to Arizona. The last collection of infamous Kate Moss prints are now on sale to help pay for her surgery. This specialist treatment has a high chance of survival. It is ultimately Corinne’s photography that will now determine her fate.

On a strictly first come first serve basis, exclusive Corinne Day prints (of Kate Moss) are being sold for £100. All proceeds will be donated to this cause. Conditions mean that these prints are to not be re-sold via the internet or exhibition galleries until 31st July 2012. Contact emily@premiermodelmanagement.com

~78~

“

I think everything should be photographed, everything.

You forget the details of your life

~79~

�

K i n g J a m e s IV

-ILace collar MARC JACOBS Shirt CHANEL Feather collar RALPH LAUREN

-II-IIICollar PPQ Feather collar as before

-IV- (PREVIOUS PAGE) Lace collar MARC JACOBS Shirt CHANEL -V-VI- (OPPOSITE) Lace collar as before Base collar NO.6 Shirt YVES SAINT LAURENT Tippet BEYOND RETRO

-VII- (OPPOSITE) -VIIICream collar VINTAGE Under collar CUSTOM MADE Base collar STYLIST’S OWN

Photography and Art Direction CLAIRE ANDREWS Model JAMES RAVENHALL Make up Artist @ MAC LAURA ANGEL -IX- (OPPOSITE) Collar as before Shirt as before Feathers BARNETT&LAWSON TRIMMINGS