WANDERLUST
ARTWORK BY FLORENCE RICHARDSON FOR THE WANDERLUST EDITION
W18: DEAR DIARY: W33: IN CONVERSAON THE ROAD WITH TION WITH JERZY W5: PROJECT RUNAWAY BOMBAY BICYCLE KEDZIORA W6: TRY STUFF CLUB W35: ONE MAN’S TRIP TO RUSOUT. LEARN W20: WE TALK TO TECH- SIA: A PHOTO ESSAY. THINGS. KEEP A-TETE FOUNDER, CHLOE W39: A CUPPA WITH INDIA STAVROU GROWING. HOBSON W13: ON TOUR WITH RHO- W21: PACKAGE ESW41: IN A YELLOW WOOD DES CAPE W3: FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD
W16: NEW SOUND, NEW FANS, NEW YORK
W29: A SNAPPY FIVE WITH ZILLA VAN DEN BORN
W17: SAVE THE AIR MILES, I TRAVELLED TO CHINA FOR A WEEK’S HOLIDAY, W31: GLUGGENHEIM: THE GUGGNEHIM BILBAO’S MONTHFOR FREE.
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A student-produced wanderlust-themed magazine; you’re probably expecting a raft of gap yah clichés and rambling reflections on our parent-sponsored expeditions to ‘the third world’. If so, our tongue-in-cheek feature shoot Package Escape (page 21), should sate your appetite for posho student clichés. For our ninth issue we’ve probed the act of travelling in the most modern sense. Do you need four wheels and a pair of wings to expand your mind? We don’t think so. The Wanderlust Edition is for the inquisitive reader whose innate propensity for exploration and discovery is not dictated by the hole in their pocket or the familiarity of their surroundings. The leisurely tradition of travelling has never been so fast yet so static; we live in a world where a five-digit wifi password unlocks access to the four corners of the world, look to Amelia Richardson’s interview with Zilla van Den Born (page 29) for proof. With photoshop as her passport and the camera her accomplice, she prompted global outcry when she faked a worldwide trip from the comfort of a rented apartment in Amsterdam. But for our generation of digital-natives travel is by no means redundant: action is character. Milena Brum’s underhand night out at the Guggenheim in Bilbao (page 31) and Raymond Wong’s stunning photo essay taken on the desolate streets of Moscow (page 35) couldn’t have been printed on these hallowed pages were it not for a curious mind and a freshly-fuelled engine. Such features and working alongside the outrageous people who produce them make me feel so proud and incredibly privileged to be the captain of HARD Magazine. Finishing my period of editorship, it’s time for a new crop of talent to assault, decorate, blitz and share their ideas on these pages the best they can. Let’s revel in the freedoms conferred to us as students; let’s play, remould and most importantly, question. If we’re not questioning, we surely aren’t thinking.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ROBBIE HODGES // EDITOR-AT-LARGE: FLORENCE MITCHELL // DIGITAL EDITOR: ELLIE LANGFORD // DEPUTY DIGITAL EDITOR: ELLIE WINTOUR // DEPUTY EDITOR: RACHEL THOMPSON // HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY: THOM CORBISHLEY // PHOTO EDITOR: BIANKA CSENKI // HEAD OF ADVERTISING: ALEX IGHALO // HEAD OF MARKETING: ERIN RODGERS // HEAD OF DIGITAL MARKETING: SALLY TOLSON // FASHION EDITOR: SOPHIA ANDREWS // FASHION DEPUTY EDITOR: ISOBEL WILKINSON // FASHION DEPUTY EDITOR: KITTY ROBSON // FASHION DEPUTY EDITOR: AMELIA RICHARDSON // CULTURE EDITOR: JONNY CLOWES // CULTURE DEPUTY EDITOR: BECKY MANNION // ARTS EDITOR: CATRIN PODGORSKI // ARTS DEPUTY EDITOR: NADIA HUSEN // HEAD OF PRODUCTION: ALICE YOUNG // EVENTS: MILENA BRUM
THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER, HERE IS YOUR BUFFET. FLORENCE MITCHELL’S TOP PICKS OF GRADUATE DESIGNERS ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBBIE HODGES
THEY’RE ROCKING ALL OVER THE WORLD W3
For young designer Benji WZW inspiration comes from the inherent tribalism of youth subcultures. Benji’s graduate collection, entitled ‘Paradise Would be A Meme’, was an exploration of modern digital design and a thorough cross-examination of the future of luxury. With a degree in fashion design from the prestigious Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium as well as a newfound position on the Toronto Fashion Week schedule, the Hong Kong-grown designer looks set for great success.
London knitwear designer Katie Jones takes an typically British ‘make do and mend’ approach to her work. Her label is founded on a sustainable fashion aesthetic creating brilliantly garish garments from surplus product and reclaimed clothing. This is British knitwear as you’ve never seen it before; fun, frivolous and oh so flamboyant.
As you’d expect of any Berliner the designs of ‘Etions Formidables’ are technically brilliant. Most recently the brand produced an all white collection of timeless classics that epitomised their sustainable ethos. Contemptuous of modern fast fashion, they design for ecologically-conscious fashion-lovers who ‘value the products [they] own’.
Latvia Based in Riga, Latvia, and drawing upon the knowledge garnered from her time at the Art Academy of Latvia, Baiba Ladiga’s design aesthetic is an acute blend of Latvian craftsmanship and Chinese simplicity. The label’s first collection, an exploration of digital printing, laser-cutting and metalwork, was presented at the Autumn / Winter 2014 Fashion Week in Riga to deserved acclaim. Baiba Ladiga, the brand’s eponymous founder, is also a practicing stylist and seasoned illustrator.
Founded in 2014, Hong-Kong’s young brand ‘Whatever’ brings you nonchalant designs with a sportswear foundation; their most recent collection featured elasticated waistbands and cuffs aplenty, paired with a signature boxy torso. Whatever’s brand fits neatly into Asia’s new wave of designers concerned with shape, proportion and androgyny.
ing from floor to ceiling the audience was swept into the designer’s ideal. The floral pieces and flowing hemlines worked as a colourful contrast to the monochrome structure of the set, and tied together Simons’ intricate inspirations. KENZO’s Autumn/Winter 2007 show mirrored the artistic influence on fashion, where the centre of the catwalk slowly disintegrated throughout the show until the final piece was revealed, using set design to exemplify the collection’s essence.
PROJECT RUNAWAY
KITTY ROBSON WRITES ARTWORK BY ISOBEL HERBERT
As Delphine Arnault once declared “the worlds of art and fashion have always been…intertwined”, but this is often something we neglect to appreciate. With fast fashion becoming ever more fast, and copies of copies of copies appearing after seasons with such efficiency, it is sometimes far too easy to forget that this crazy world of design is, and always has been, an art form. Season by season designers create new collections and in doing so create a new world for the brand each time. Raf Simons’ work for Dior epitomizes the immersive nature of fashion shows; from the designs to the set to the music, everything is carefully interlinked to submerge the audience into Simons’ vision. In his Autumn/Winter 2012/3 set the designer inundated the walls with countless flowers: not an inch left bare. Similarly, Simons used set to continue the artistic vision of his collection in his Spring/Summer 2015 show: with structural scaffold-
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The arts, thus, have always influenced and been influenced by fashion, and theatricality is no exception. Karl Lagerfeld’s work for Chanel is the epitome of dramatic fashion: the set and staging work similarly to theatre, creating an evocative backdrop for the collections, and even the models have roles to fulfil, as opposed to blankly walking down a runway. Autumn/ Winter 2014 saw an abundance of individuals dressed in the new collection stroll around Lagerfeld’s Chanel Supermarket, and the following year the designer created a bar in which models sat and took photographs as though they were fulfilling everyday tasks. Not only does this provide a fascinating backdrop, but it transports the audience into the designer’s dream for the collection alike to a writer’s play or an artist’s painting. “SEASON BY SEASON DESIGNERS CREATE NEW COLLECTIONS AND IN DOING SO CREATE A NEW WORLD FOR THE BRAND EACH TIME” Film further opens up to us the world of fashion: the most successful incarnation of this being Wes Anderson. His work for Prada is both exceptionally aesthetically pleasing – as all Anderson’s work is – but also typifies the immersive nature of the art form. The director’s short film Castello Cavalcanti was less a display of a particular collection, and more a way of sweeping the consumers into the ambiance of the brand. This aesthetic was continued by Prada through having Anderson design Bar Luce at the Fondazione Prada, taking the visions of fashion into real life living. The amalgamation of the arts epitomises the fact that fashion is both theatrical and artistic, but aims to transport one into the designer’s world, however momentarily.
TRY STUFF OUT. LEARN THINGS. KEEP GROWING.
TRAVEL. WITH THANKS TO THE NORMAN REA GALLERY CLOTHES FROM DOG & BONE
PHOTOGRAPHY: THOM CORBISHLEY PRODUCTION: KITTY ROBSON ASSISTANTS: ISOBEL WILKINSON, AMELIA RICHARDSON, MILENA BRUM MODEL: HANNAH BENNETT MAKEUP: HAMY PHAM HAIR: SOPHIA ANDREWS
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ON TOUR WITH RHODES.
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MIDWAY THROUGH HIS UK TOUR WITH AMBER RUN AND MEADOWLARK, I WENT FOR A DRINK WITH DAVID RHODES, KNOWN ON STAGE ONLY AS RHODES, AFTER HE FILLED FIBBERS WITH HIS INCREDIBLE, EMOTIONAL VOCALS. WHETHER HE WAS SINGING BREATHE, JUST HIM AND HIS GUITAR, OR HIS NEW SINGLE TURNING BACK AROUND, BACKED BY HIS FOUR PIECE BAND, THE MELLOW ETHEREAL-ROCK TRANSPORTED THE NIGHTCLUB FAR FROM ITS TYPICAL STUDENT-NIGHT ATMOSPHERE. - JONNY CLOWES WRITES
they should have to, but no one spoke a word of English and that’s what I found most surreal because usually whenever I go abroad everyone speaks English and we take it for granted.
Jonny Clowes: So how long have you been touring for?
R: Yeah, I did One Direction. It’s really clinical there when you go into a Karaoke bar it looks like a hospital, all white and clean and at the end of this long corridor there’s a man sitting there then you go into this little room and it’s party time. Fucking weird, we were all drunk so didn’t care, it was funny.
Rhodes: I did my first show two years ago, but have been properly touring for about a year. I have a lot of things in Europe coming up I’m doing lots of festivals, a few in Germany, France, Holland. I went to Japan last week and it was absolutely out of this world. I know this sounds strange, but everything was so Japanese. I haven’t really been out of Europe before; I never had any money or means to go anywhere, my family didn’t really go on holidays when I was young but music has taken me to all these different countries and it’s really surreal. 18 hours on a plane and you get off and it’s literally so different, it’s mind-blowing. JC: Between songs you mentioned not having time to visit York’s Jorvick Viking Centre; are you able to see much of the places you visit? R: I went to Osaka and it’s not that touristy and I got to see some beautiful architecture - I didn’t see any other British people or foreigners, mostly just Japanese people. Not that
JC: How was it seeing people who speak another language singing along to your songs? R: There were about 500 people at the show, something for Burberry. Because they’ve seen things I’ve done for Burberry before, they were all singing my song and knew the words, it was really weird. Afterwards we went to a Karaoke place – it was mental. JC: Did you sing?!
JC: What’s your involvement with Burberry? R: I did a Burberry Acoustic session and Christopher Bailey liked it so asked me to do the catwalk last year with Paloma Faith. I’m doing something for Burberry in June with a 40 piece orchestra and the choir. JC: In the days of internet and accessibility, how necessary do you feel touring is? R: I think it’s very, very important. It’s why musicians do what they do, most musicians’ livelihood is in live. Live is the real craft; you can spend a lot of time writing and recording music and putting it on the internet and people can listen to it but I think it’s a visual thing too - people want to feel the experience, they want to see someone meaning what they’re doing and I don’t think you can get that from recordings. I did a show in The Village Underground in Shoreditch the other day and people came from Australia and Paris which blew my mind. It proves that live music is so important. Like the way festivals sell out, it’s a way of coming together. Even though I find performing live hard, it’s vital. JC: Do you feel that being on the road is a kind
creative process? R: I find it very inspiring but I don’t write that much when I’m on the road. It’s just hard when you’re in a van with blacked out windows which you can’t really see out of. It’s a really good time to reflect and think about everything you’re doing. For example, today I had a four hour journey in the back of a van and it’s weirdly tiring. You’re not doing anything but it’s just mentally draining. JC: I guess doing a gig every night is like going out but more intense? R: Ten times more intense. I don’t usually drink when I’m on the road but since I’ve had the band it’s different. Last night, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor of a Travelodge lobby with a bottle of wine like, what am I doing? It’s hard because even tonight I decided not to drink and then I got here and it’s a fun vibe, everyone’s drinking, it’s fucking awesome. Temptation is all around you when you’re on tour - I heard there’s a strip club here? The guy came over earlier and said: ‘There’s a strip club upstairs - if you’re playing later on you can get a free dance’ and we’re like, ‘Is he being fucking serious?’ If you’re with ten other guys and girls and everyone’s having a good time it’s so hard to just go back to the hotel and be good. I’m kind of proud of myself for having will power – touring’s about proving things to yourself. ILLUSTRATION BY ELEANOR MASON PHOTOS BY JONNY CLOWES
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BRITAIN: ORDERLY QUEUES, GREY SKIES APLENTY AND FREQUENT CONVERSATIONS BASED SOLELY AROUND THE BEFORE-MENTIONED GRIM WEATHER. ROCK’N’ROLL, EH?
catchy songs about love and holding hands – an accomplishment not to be sniffed at. This was soon followed by another successful New York performance at Carnegie Hall, attended by two thousand American Beatlemaniacs.
In 1966, John Lennon’s notorious declaration that The Beatles “were bigger than Jesus” caused storms of controversy and media finger-pointing in the US. BECKY MANNION WRITES As the product of a Scouse household I find it unuILLUSTRATION BY ELLIE sually satisfying that, for some Americans, the band WINTOUR were just a bit too British, their sense of humour a bit too dry. But Lennon’s apparent ego didn’t deter fans in America or back at home. Proving that there is no such thing as bad publicity, album sales boomed and their music continued to improve. How hard can it be to manage international jet-set stardom spanning the Atlantic?
Flash forward to 2008. Two years prior, exciting indie rock band Arctic Monkeys had released the fastest selling debut album in chart history with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. But now, in this glorious year of 2008, they’re producing Humbug: a daring, experimental third album. And where better to experiment than New York? With half of the album being mixed in the city, it was controversially received by British fans. With a newly crooning vocal style and a poetic fogginess shrouding the lyricism, it became difficult for the band to maintain their relatable British chappy identity. Despite it topping the UK album charts, the men were officially separated from Given Britain’s dreary climate and often suffocating the boys - not to mention that commercial success historicism, it’s unsurprising that ever since the birth wouldn’t be achieved in the US until the release of AM of rock music itself British artists have migrated to the in 2013. US of A. And the dream location is often New York: the home of flashing lights and even flashier fash- But David Bowie stands as an example of someone ions. This is the city that never sleeps and nor do its who seemed to get it right first time. The city not only resident musicians. Instead, they’ll stay up past their inspired his Orwellian masterpiece, Diamond Dogs, bedtimes throwing tellies out of windows and exper- and hit singles such as Rebel Rebel, but led to the forimenting with substances that their mums told them mation of one of his most iconic stage personas, The to avoid. Thin White Duke. A famously eccentric artist, Bowie’s New York residence afforded him a certain experiTo many, the arrival of The Beatles on American soil mentalism that garnered both critical acclaim and the in February 1964 established New York as the getaway approval of fans everywhere. And, although he confor the rock-star extraordinaire. Incredibly, two fifths tinues to call New York “home”, he somehow managof the American population would then tune into The es to still be emblematic of everything fabulous about Ed Sullivan Show just to watch four Liverpudlians sing British rock music.
Save the air miles, I travelled to China for a week’s holiday, for free. ISOBEL WILKINSON WRITES, I travelled to China for a week’s holiday, for free. Liar, liar I hear you cry incredulously whilst frantically googling ‘cheap flights to China’- that’s impossible! However I embarked on the challenge of submerging myself in Chinese culture for an entire week: shopping only at the Asian supermarket, eating only Chinese cuisine and shadowing the daily life of a Chinese student. Through my power as a consumer, would I be able to travel over 4,808 miles, without ever setting foot on a plane? My first day found me hunting the shelves of York’s infamous Asian supermarket, Chi Yip, for authentic Chinese food to fill my store cupboards for the week ahead. I found many intriguing products: vacuum packed pickled vegetables designed ‘especially for students’, a huge array of juices- from which I selected Aloe Vera and Guava, instant udon noodles, and tapioca balls which are commonly used in bubble tea. Despite Chi Yip being situated in the centre of York, my shopping experience felt excitingly new and unfamiliar- similar to the feelings of curiosity and panic felt when entering a supermarket in a foreign country for the first time. There’s certainly a lot of truth in the saying that “you learn a culture through its cuisine”.
Samuel encouraged me to rely upon natural remedies as an alternative to manufactured tablets and medicines. Therefore day three of my Chinese adventure was spent perusing the three different Chinese apothecaries in York that cater for both the large Chinese student population and also local residents. Although too squeamish to have acupuncture, I did purchase a pot of ‘Tiger Balm’, an ancient Chinese remedy to ease muscle pains. As food plays an extremely important part in Chinese culture, on day four I dined at The Regency, a popular Chinese restaurant in York in order to sample the traditional Cantonese dish, Dim Sum. As in many cultures, for the Chinese, food is about more than just eating: it is a social activity. Businessmen will often go for lunch or dinner together to make important trade deals or partnerships, sitting in seats that correspond to their status, the boss often occupying the chair furthest from the door.
On the last day of my Chinese experience, I joined Samuel and other students to sample the famously strong Rice wine, also known as mijiu, and to talk to them about their experiences of student life: for although I’d immersed myself in York’s thriving Chinese Day two was one of spiritual awakening through a community, I wondered just how authentic my taste 30-minute meditation led by my Chinese flatmate, of Chinese life over the past week had been - was it Samuel. Through tuning into calming sound really possible to experience the rich and diverse culfrequencies and focusing the mind on the ture of an ancient civilisation, solely through my powbody’s different chakras using breathing er as a consumer? techniques, I was able to slip into something of a meditative state. Chinese culture seems In short, the general consensus was no. However, it to place importance on spiritual wellbeing, as was agreed that through the widespread availability both private and group meditation can play a of foreign produce, consumers are now able to access and explore facets of many different cultures, which, significant role in an individual’s daily life. in turn, ignites and inspires the powerful desire to ARTWORK BY FLORENCE RICHARDSON Following on from my spiritual cleansing, travel.
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DEAR DIARY: LIFE ON THE ROAD WITH BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB LIZ LAWRENCE, ONE HALF OF DJ DUO CASH+DAVID, RECOUNTS THE PEAKS AND TROUGHS OF LIFE ON TOUR WITH BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB
ARTWORK BY ISOBEL HERBERT
WHEN SPIRIT IS WEAK AND POCKETS EMPTY,
ART. TEXT BY BIANKA CSENKI PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM BOUILLER
In the year 2013, Chloe Stavrou truly felt the effect of the Cyprian economic disaster. Finding herself in a ghost town, with shops and bars closing down, Chloe’s hometown, Limassol, was gradually disappearing. But in a time of desperation, Chloe took a chance and created Tech-àtête, a charitable company specialising in music and art related events. Although Chloe’s accomplishments seem like aims for the far away future, it was not that long ago that Chloe had finished her degree in York. Some may know Chloe for her music, progressing from performances at York’s Breakz, to supporting DJs such as Lone and Animaux. With a wide range of styles, Chloe enjoys every second of it:“[It’s] not about sitting in a room and practicing how to be better, it’s literally more of a curation, I’m responding to the people that I’m playing for and I’m responding to my feelings at the same time.” But pulling mind-blowing sets is not all Chloe has done; through her art-based charity, tech à-tête, she has used her creativity to precipitate social change and to inspire the less fortunate of her homeland. Acknowledging the societal degradation happening around her, Chloe took action. When money is tight the arts are hit hardest and, a History of Art student through and through, Chloe founded a charity to raise funds for art therapy institutions and to provide a platform for the unacknowledged but supremely tal
ented artistic community in Cyprus. With this manifesto in mind, one of Tech-à-tête’s many successful events was an exhibition featuring thirty young Cyprian designers. Rather than complying with the traditional museum rules, which Chloe decidedly detests, she held an exhibition in which visitors physically engaged with exhibited works. Set in the Old Vinegar Factory at Limassol, the show generated a fund of money for the worthwhile cause of art therapy, and, scouted at the exhibition, six of the artists involved went on to exhibit elsewhere. Her intentions to expand Tech-à-tête are admirable: “It’s my baby but it’s not a safe way to approach your future”, Chloe explains, revealing that she would rather struggle working towards something she loves than be stuck in the safe zone. The next step is to forge relationships with other countries in an attempt to establish artist-exchange programs. Through doing so Chloe hopes to shift perceptions of Cyprus and to bolster its identity as a creative hub for emerging artists. With Conservative policy looking to cut arts funding in Britain, Chloe’s tenacity in adverse circumstances ought to be greatly revered. During a time of political austerity when society is questioning the meaning and purpose of art, Chloe has provided an answer; creating community and generating feelings of national pride when spirit is weak and pockets empty.
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PACKAGE ESCAPE PRODUCTION: ROBBIE HODGES PHOTOGRAPHY: BIANKA CSENKI HAIR/COSMETICS: SOPHIA ANDREWS ASSISTANTS: AMELIA RICHARDSON, FLORENCE MITCHELL, ISOBEL WILKINSON , SOPHIE PARKER MODELS: ALEX BRADLEY, JACK CASSEL-GERARD WITH THANKS TO STA TRAVEL AND DOG & BONE VINTAGE
“PEOPLE DO NOT DECIDE TO BECOME EXTRAORDINARY, THEY DECIDE TO ACCOMPLISH EXTRAORDINARY THINGS”
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“TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE”
“IF YOU TRAVEL FAR ENOUGH YOU FIND YOURSELF”
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H T I W 5 Y A SNAPP
N R O B N E D N A AV THE
ZILL
QUEEN OF . N O I T A C STAY
Scrolling through social media never fails to make your life feel dull. Bitterness is inevitable when bombarded with enviable travel tweets and holiday snaps; #sun #sea #STOP. However, people lie and fabricate their lives on social media; if you can Photoshop abs into a picture, why not a beach? Dutch artist Zilla Van Den Born did just that. After saying goodbye to her friends and family, Zilla spent 3 months ‘travelling’ around Asia from her own bedroom. Using Photoshop to falsify breathtaking holiday photos, her project was an exposé of sorts; an enlightening commentary on the deceitful nature of social media. Currently based in Sweden, I reached out to Zilla to chat about the passivity of social media and the hard truths that belie the airbrush.
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1. On your website you describe yourself as hav- 4. What challenges did you face during your
ing “a passion for visual storytelling”, could you secretive art piece? tell us a little more about this? Mostly having to lie to the people close to me. It was I’ve always been fascinated by Photoshop and be- much harder than I thought it would be. I felt really fore/after pictures: the many possibilities it has. It in- isolated during the experiment and started to long to trigues me that a photo has a disputable relationship come home pretty quickly. And I underestimated not with reality, because there is a constant battle going being able to go to school for feedback on my graduon between two photographic considerations: show- ation project. I really created a tough time for myself, ing the photographed object as beautiful as possible having to push through all this without any practical and telling the truth. or emotional support. What a picture finally really shows is never the exact situation as it really was. It is a flavoured version of the truth. As a graphic designer I like to play with this givWhat did you want people to learn from en to communicate a story and solve visual problems! this project (and did you learn anything your-
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2. Were you an avid user of social media before the project?
There was a time in which I lived from one Facebook status to another, trying to get the coolest shots, locations and quotes possible. I wanted to compete with the other images I saw online of others. On the internet it is only about highlights, everything else is not included or worth mentioning. You are who you say you are and it is possible to create your own ideal image of you. We shouldn’t be so obsessed with this online identity and live for the here and now.
3. Do you think social media has marred the romance and spontaneity of wanderlust and travel?
It definitely made it much more difficult. All the information is there for us, just a few clicks away- ready to be printed and used as a guide. But the problem is that because of this information overload we have a collective expectation to be amazed by certain places. These illusions of a picture perfect place are enforced by marketing material, brochures and stories we hear or read. The more impressions of a destination we get, the more we assume our journey’s landscape will be as good as we imagine. But what happens if the view doesn’t live up to your expectations?
self)?
I just wanted to point out those self-made realities. We spend so much energy creating a new reality that we forget to ask ourselves what lies behind all those things we see and read. After my fake getaway I felt such a hypocrite every time I felt the urge to post something on Facebook. It helped me to become less obsessed with my online identity and live more for the here and now. I’ve never posted anything of my real trip to Asia, I just showed the photos and videos in real life to my friends and family!
‘GLUGGENHEIM’ DEFINITION: THE GUGGENHEIM, BILBAO’S MONTHLY PISS-UP.
MILENA BRUM BLAGGED HER WAY IN TO BILBAO’S MOST EXCLUSIVE CLUB NIGHT. ARTWORK BY ISOBEL HERBERT
Richard Serra’s massive assemblies of sheet metal vibrating to the sounds of Digitaria, an electro house duo from Brazil; that’s the sort of thing you’ll find in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which opens its doors one Friday night a month for an event that challenges the traditional concept of ‘museums’ and their auras. Art After Dark has been fusing music with art since 2008, bringing national and international DJs together to play from 10pm to 1am. It’s a daring and innovative event, though perhaps fitting given the contemporary ethos and architecture of the museum designed by Frank Gehry. The curves on the exterior of the building, intended to appear random, give way to the large atrium where I
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had my first glimpse of how amazing this night was going to be. As I walk in and start queueing up, I see hundreds of people dancing to Lourdes Madow, who I later discovered is the resident DJ at Bilbao’s hottest nightclub: Fever. After getting a couple of drinks from one of the two bars at the side of the dance floor, we head to the first exhibition room. Who would’ve thought that the party going on in the atrium would be secondary to all that happened next? Eight of Richard Serra’s sculpted metal forms fill an immense white gallery. We walk in and around the labyrinths of spirals, ellipses and spheres and it feels like another world. I can hear people screaming to the music next door but in our microcosm of rusted metal and white walls only the two of us exist. The environments created by Serra’s minimalist
WE WALK IN AND AROUND THE LABRYINTHS OF SPIRALS, ELLIPSES AND SPHERES AND IT FEELS LIKE ANOTHER WORLD. I CAM HEAR PEOPLE SCREAMING TO THE MUSIC NEXT DOOR BUT IN OUR MICROCOSM OF RUSTED METAL AND WHITE WALLS ONLY THE TWO OF US EXIST. sculptures shift from exciting and playful to claustrophobic and imposing; there’s a dystopian feel about them. The outside sounds exacerbate these feelings and add an element of the surreal to the whole experience. One can sense the physicality of the emptiness that lies between each metal wall; this is a world where time is nonexistent and space feels tangible. Attached to the gallery there’s a room showing small scale models that Serra built before beginning each sculpture, along with explanations on the different geometrical shapes and beautiful photographs of his other site-specific installations. We are now dancing to OBF, considered vanguardists in European dub; paired up with Sr. Wilson, the most famous voice of national reggae. We have swiftly transitioned to the microcosm of the atrium where everyone seems to be enjoying the music and having a great time. Realising how fast the night is slipping by, we hurry to see the rest of the collection before it closes. Another piece that pops up among the myriad of amazing artworks is Wall City (Ciudad Muralla) by Miquel Navarro. Set directly on the floor without a plinth is a small scale fictional metropolis made of various metals. Separate geometric components of varying sizes, shapes and materials map out its topography, producing a dialogue between sculpture and architecture.
There are aggressively tall towers that seem to surveil the miniature city, producing a surreally dystopian and industrial feeling akin to Serra’s large scale sculptures. Also like Serra, Navarro plays with the idea of space: one can physically circumnavigate his city in real space while, simultaneously, mentally projecting oneself into it on an imagined scale. It’s an odd dichotomy to be viewing such thought provoking artwork to the sounds of the roaring party next door. We left the mesmerising room to rejoin the throng as the event neared its end. The crowd was going crazy while we watched from a balcony two floors up from the atrium. In the macrocosm of the Guggenheim, once again we found ourselves in a small world where it was just Niki de Saint Phalle’s Skull sculpture and us looking down on the revelers moving like one big mass. The overall feeling throughout the night was of time distorted. It was made by moments in each little world we experienced, not seconds and minutes. We were there for three hours but it might as well have been three days. And inside each moment we were still aware of everything else, the big macrocosm connected by the music. It was a very surreal experience and for them to be able to, in a way, control time is what’s genius about this project.
IN THE STUDIO WITH
JERZY KEDZIORA Photography and text by Kalina Kossowska
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BELOVED BY SOUTH AMERICA, ADMIRED IN DUBAI, HE ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE BY EXHIBITING HIS FIGURATIVE ART WHERE SUCH WORK IS FORBIDDEN. PRESENTLY ON SHOW IN PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, HIS BIOGRAPHY IS FILLED WITH A COUNTLESS NUMBER OF EXHIBITIONS. WE VISITED HIS STUDIO IN POLAND TO CHAT ABOUT HIS CURRENT WORK FOCUSSED ON BALANCING SCULPTURES.
mans, undergoing the processes of ageing? KK: You are regarded as an inventor of balancing sculptures. How was the idea for your JK: My sculptures are set on a line, which can be read unique style born? as an edge; a metaphor for the susceptibility of human life. I use uncertain materials to let the sculptures JK: The idea of kinetic sculpture where movement exist and wither away over time, showing how we is provoked by nature has been occupying my mind leave the familiar and how we enter into new roles. I since university. I tried to create some abstract forms, want my sculptures to undergo the process of natuwhich were based on a rotating sphere, but it wasn’t ral transformations. Once though, on the occasion of satisfying enough until one special night when I had an exhibition in an orangery, the destruction period an epiphany! It was a Midsummer’s Eve; I woke up at of my sculptures came earlier than I thought. It was dawn. I’d had a dream that told me to place a sculpa very hot summer, the temperature in the orangery tural form on a fine line such as a piece of string or a exceeded 40 degrees. In the morning I received a call wire. I rushed to my studio, I bent the wires and metal that my acrobat with a pole started to stoop over, and plates and ballasted their parts, creating a new sculphis pole bent to the extent that it closely resembled a tural prototype. Nevertheless, it didn’t agree with the Chinese mustache. concept envisioned in my head. It was too synthetic and it lacked the drama I was looking for. I decided KK: It must have looked hilarious! to try something more realistic through replacing the abstract sculptural form with a human figure. JK: Indeed, it did. KK: So, we have a line and a human sculpture, KK: Whilst examining your biography, I noticed but how do you make the figure balance in the that lots of exhibitions took place in Dubai. Is air? Are there any mathematical calculations there any particular reason for this? needed? JK: There are many reasons why: ideal conditions for crafting my sculptures, a nice atmosphere and the ability to experience a new culture. Dubai is a place where I can easily become a significant figure in the history of Arabic art. Once, a sheikh asked Allah if he would allow him to drink a glass of wine on the opening day of my exhibition. It flattered me. Then, he told me he would buy my sculpture to keep in his garden but his mother would never visit him again. In Arabic countries figurative art, especially semi-nudes, can be KK: The ongoing process of creation made me offensive. I’m the first artist of this kind to be asked to think about the interpretation aspect. Can we exhibit their works in Dubai and I’m pretty happy with say that balancing sculptures function like hu that, good job Jerzy! JK: There are things involved like adding weight, which obviously varies from figure to figure. I have to make the sculptures balanced through trial and error. The modeling process is done classically, on the ground. Then I set the shaped figure on the line. Windy weather creates the best circumstances to check the sculpture’s resistance and strength. If it remains balanced then it’s passed the test.
ONE MAN’S TRIP TO RUSSIA “I usually use my Leica m6 just because it looks super cool :) I was using my Nikon fm (which is cheaper) on my first few days in Russia because I was worried I might get mugged, but it turns out everything was fine so I went back to using my Leica pretty quickly. I brought a Contax t2 to the trip as well. It’s a point and shoot film camera and is extremely easy to use. It’s really convenient especially when I wanted to ask strangers to take photos of me on this one man trip.” RAYMOND WONG VENTURED TO MOSCOW EQUIPPED WITH HIS LEICA M6. A MEDITATION ON SOLITUDE, HARD PRESENTS A PHOTO ESSAY TAKEN ON THE COLD MUSCOVITE STREETS.
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I’m a big film fan and my favourite director is Park Chan Wook, a Korean director. My main influences at the moment are the film Blue is the Warmest Colour and the album ‘we sink’ by Soley. Most of the time I’m unknowingly influenced by my surroundings.
I read magazines and photography journals occasionally but there isn’t one particular photographer/ style that really influences me although my favourite magazines are POP and LOVE magazine - they always present strong and inspiring ideas
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There were thousands of things that I wanted to capture (because everything was so new to me) but from my experience putting too many amazing things together in one photo only makes for a cluttered image.
If I had to summarise the photos taken in Russia, I would say that the unifying theme would be solitude.
A CUPPA WITH
INDIA HOBSON AN EX-MANCHESTER STUDENT, INDIA HOBSON’S FAR-RANGING PORTFOLIO IS TESTAMENT TO HER STEELY WORK ETHIC AND NATURAL CREATIVE FLAIR. WITH A RAFT OF EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE UNDER HER BELT, FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES TO OH COMELY MAGAZINE, THIS YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER IS DEFINITELY ONE TO WATCH. FLORENCE MITCHELL POSES A FEW QUESTIONS TO THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK.
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As a brief glance at her enchanting instagram will tell you, growing up in Sheffield next to the rolling hills of the Peak District, has given photographer India Hobson a fine tuned appreciation for nature; ‘I love working with nursery growers and florists’ she confesses to me one gusty Saturday. That morning, when a country ramble couldn’t have felt less appealing, she explained to me her attachment to the countryside. ‘I’ve always loved the greenery and strangely I’m quite fond of the hills, they make it feel like you’ve really achieved something when you walk around. I studied in Manchester but it never felt like home to me so I made my way back over the Pennines and here I am’.
tary work to directed images. Doing both helps me to appreciate the pros and cons of each so as long as I have a varied calendar of work I’m a very happy bunny. I feel that it’s important for me to mix the two so that I keep myself grounded. Sometimes it can feel lazy when I observe and then document - that becomes more about the narrative and my image choices are the work. Whereas when I shoot advertising or fashion it’s very much about the art direction or aesthetic that we choose to create the work. It’s one big playground really’. With no sign of her enthusiasm for her job waning I
DON’T ENTER INTO IT AS A PROFESSION IF YOU THINK IT’S GLITZ AND GLAMOUR – IT’S PRETTY MUCH THE OPPOSITE; STEEL-TOE BOOTS, HARD HATS, WORKING AT HEIGHTS, HEAVY LIFTING AND CROUCHING IN SMALL SPACES. THAT’S BEFORE THE ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY BIT!” As she rakes over her roots India describes how, although she’s now immersed in photography, it hasn’t always been her passion. ‘I fell into working for a photographer before I had ever picked up a camera - I assisted him shooting weddings and my first ever wedding was shot on film. There were 4 shots in focus out of about 6 rolls of film.’ After discovering the joy of capturing a moment from these first jobs she tells me how she started to create more considered work. ‘When I got a bit more into it my influences came from British Vogue so Tim Walker inspired a lot of my college work; I recreated Alice in Wonderland - I’m pretty sure everyone does that at some point - and darker fairytale scenes.’ India now insists she’s ‘grown out’ of this style of work, instead she cites paintings as her current inspiration: ‘Edward Hopper’s cinematic style and use of light, Vilhelm Hammershoi’s locations and use of light and Winifred Nicholson’s appreciation of colour and - you’ve guessed it - use of light.’ The diversity of India’s influences gives context to her variety of work. While her instagram and tumblr are filled with traditional still life, she’s also done editorial fashion work for the likes of Vogue.com, Oh Comely Magazine and The Times. Nevertheless she insists she doesn’t prefer one style to the other: ‘I like the mixture of both - it’s refreshing to swap from found/documen
ask India whereabouts she’d like to go next. ‘Always always to the cold. I love the idea of Scandinavia and its scope for grey. There’s such beauty in the subtleties of working within one colour palette and I’m drawn to grey, white and blue - I’ve also figure skated almost all of my life so the cold is my natural habitat!’ Before I leave her to return to her hectic schedule of location shoots, India proffers some pearls of wisdom for those wishing to follow her career path - she doesn’t pull any punches. ‘Work hard, really hard’ she advises, ‘you have to develop a strong portfolio, not only for you to present to potential clients but to help you find what you enjoy and what you’re good at normally the two come hand-in-hand. Don’t compromise on your fee, know how much you are worth and stick to your guns. Also don’t enter into it as a profession if you think it’s glitz and glamour - it’s pretty much the opposite; steel-toe boots, hard hats, working at heights, heavy lifting and crouching in small spaces. That’s before the actual photography bit! I think photography is almost secondary to what I do, alot of my job is art direction and production. I love it though - problem-solving and making people look at things in a new or different way, meeting people and learning constantly. I’m incredibly grateful to call it my career’. ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROBBIE HODGES
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IN A YELLOW WOOD I SHALL BE TELLING THIS WITH A SIGH, SOMEWHERE AGES AND AGES HENCE: TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A WOOD, AND I I TOOK THE ONE LESS TRAVELED BY, AND THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. ROBERT FROST
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