ISSUE # 1
W A X
W A X
contents P.3 Colla bor at i ve Colla ge
P.9 Ins id e Sunny ’s Sk e t c hb o o k
P.23
“Gir ls a t N ig ht o n the Inte r ne t”
P.5 L es s o n s L ear nt fr o m T helm a and L o uis e
P.15 Po lly N o r I nt er vie w
P.31
Wa x Ed it o ri al
a note from wax At Wax we aim to suppor t creative women and ar tists and although we identify as feminist we are not just for women, we aspire to be inclusive. The Wax zine is an oppor tunity to display you’re ar t work and explore different topics, each of our Zines, which will come out every three months will have a separate theme. Our Zine is a platform for unknown ar tists and those who the mainstream ar t world doesn’t make space for. We are interested in seeing all different kinds of work and submissions; it is an array of different backgrounds and experiences that creates wax zines collaborative voice. The first issue of Wax is dedicated to ‘growing up’ and is an ode to the nineties and Noughties, celebrating people and signs of the time that were inspirations through that time for the now Women of 2016. In this issue we explore the vital life lessons Thelma and Louise had to teach us, have a conversation with Wax’s latest collaboration par tner Polly Nor, the late night illustrative musings of ar tist Annabelle Amin and catch up with ar tist and student Sunny Vowles about where she finds her creativity. The next issue of Wax Zine will be delving into the depths of the mind, and we want your ar twork. Please send your work and pieces for the second issues to submissions@waxzine.co.uk
1
1
2
Lessons Learnt from Thelma and Louise
5
1. How to take the perfect selfi e Thelma and Louise actually invented the selfie… and the result was nothing short of fabulous. How did they do it? With an old school Polaroid camera and some killer grins (marieclaire, 2016).
2. You get what you settle for In the movie, Louise tells Thelma, “You get what you settle for.” Ain’t that the truth! (marieclaire, 2016)
3. Mum jeans are cool Especially if you wear them like Thelma and Louise - with cowboy boots and badass cutoff tees. (marieclaire, 2016)
6
- I feel really awake. I don't recall ever feeling this awake. You know? Everything looks different now. You feel like that? You feel like you got something to live for now?
INSIDE SUNNY’S SKETCHBOOK
9
Words and illustrations by Sunny Lula Ha
10
11
Sunny is an art student living and working in leeds
Where do you draw inspiration from?
DO YOu have any tips for refinisnf greativity when youre having a I draw inspiration from pretty much everything creative block? I see and come across. A lot of my work is influenced by the internet and my interpetation of it and a sense that so much inforamtion can be overwhelming. The nubmer of times I’ve been on my laptop all night and feel like im somewhere else becuase im so engaged.
I often will want to try and create something new that ive not tried before I will just spend a lot of time researching. I always find reading a lot and looking at what other artists are doing really helps me generate ideHow does the internet and all this information as. Also always carrying a notebook influence your work? around so you can jot down all youre thoughts. I feel like the internet offers a lot of freedom, there is space for everyone to have a platform Childhood inspirations? which is good but also sometimes it seems that people are tying to prove themselves and Francis Bacon was one of the main present a different version of themselves onreasons I started painting. I also had line. This is where ideas from my work originatan obsessions with fairies when I was ed; creating an alternative world. All my work younger, I used to draw loads of fairis about creating different narratives from this ies with huge breasts and tiny waists idea. which is so weird thinking
about it now as thats obviously just how I thought the female body should look. Also the Lord of the Rings books triggered my interest in alternative worlds and writing narratives.
12
POLLY NOR In honour of our collaboration with Wax’s favourite illustrator, we caught up with Polly Nor in her studio in North London .
Can you tell us a little about where you drw inspiration from? than that I'm really into Japanese Shunga [erotica] and spend way too much time on the Internet, which has really influenced my work. Not to sound like a total creep, but my phone is full of screen shots of other people’s selfies, memes and break-up Tweets. I draw a lot of inspiration from them. Your illustrations centre around female characters, what is it about women that interests you? I am interested in questioning the ubiquitous male vision that we have become accustomed to through most mainstream media.
I’m bored of looking at images of women where their sole purpose is to look attractive. I enjoy drawing my characters at home, alone in their rooms with nobody else to please. I want to focus on how they feel and what they are thinking rather then how they look. The devils run through your work, where did this character come from? The devils represent the darker side of my characters. I collect a lot of old images of Halloween, as well as vintage devil posters and tattoo art. My dad also makes lots of devil masks and giant devil puppets; his studio is full of them. I guess, subconsciously, I inherited the devils
from him. The theme of sex and sexuality is a central theme in your illustrations, ehy do you think this is an important issue to explore? In our culture we are constantly fed imagery of women as sexualised objects in everything from porn to art. We are presented with a very male vision of women and sex but any expression of female sexuality from a female vision still seems to be treated like a peculiar and controversial subject matter. I find that funny and its something I have been having fun with in my recent work. I also think the changing relationship people have with sex and
16
images of sex is really interesting. Kids are learning how to be sexual from an industry that is created almost entirely by men, for male pleasure alone. Through this very warped representation of sex and relationships, young girls are being taught that they are submissive, sexual objects for men to leer over, use and control, and led to believe that their value lies wholly in how sexy they are. But then, to make things even more confusing, our society also teaches females that being too sexual is shameful and vulgar. We should look available, but not too easy; we should be flirty, but not too forward; we should have sex, but not with too many people and so on. I’m interested in discuss
17
ing and reacting to these conflicting pressures from a female perspective for a young female audience. What is it about illustration that appeals to you when exploring this aspect? iIf you were to write a piece about your feelings on gender issues you would have shit loads of comments calling you out over every detail and people writing insults at you in capital letters YOU ARE SO WRONG U FEMNAZI, I BET YOU ARE FAT, NOBODY WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU - GET OVER IT. People take what they want from an image but words are very concrete.
our latest exhibition was titled ‘Sorry Grandma’ whats the theme of the exhibition? I’m interested in creating satirical and erotic, dream-like scenes with a focus on female sexuality and identity. I want them to be both funny and emotive. I also like them to be a little sordid and grim, hence the title ‘Sorry Grandma’. What kind of reactions are you hoping for? Well last night somebody commented on one of my Instagram ‘Ur art makes my heart and my brain horny for thinking’ –I think that is the probably the most perfect reaction.
tHE INTERENT AND ESPECIALLY INSTAGRAM SEEM TO BE A BIG PART OF YOUR WORK, BOTH AS AN INFLUENCE AND TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE VIEWER, WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR WORK? I find it really cool when random teenage girls comment "ME" or "SAME" when I post my illustrations online, because they are totally meant to be them. I'm glad they get it and can relate. Although having said that nothing can beat an occasional "OMG WTF IS THIS?!
18
WAX x POLLY NOR 19
20
21
22
GIRL S
N ET TER
A
O N TH E T H G I IN TN
A TALE AS OLD AS TIME Illustrations by Annabelle Amin 23
Annabelle is a student and artisit currently studying abroad in Paris. She professes a love of hip-hop, pop culture and selfies, and she wants all the girls in the world to be friends. Her favorite album of 2015 was Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion. In this series she explores female behaviour on the internet.
24
25
26
27
28
wax
31
32
34
35
38
39
All c lothes f r om Wax M odelled by G r ace Pitkin Photo gr a phed by Ellie Stanton
40
To be a part of the next issue of the wax zine send your submission to submissions@waxzine.co.uk
WAX
festival art// food// music courtney barnett // mizan // ekkah +more
wax.co.uk