I-Magazine Vol 3#4 by I Magazine Bali

PURE MOTIVES

PLASTIC SURGERY ANYONE? ALICE MCCALL ASIAN DESIGNERS - ANDREW GN, MIYAMAE WHAT ABOUT PURE BALI FASHION, ART, SURF, LIFESTYLE BALI

h u ’u B A R ONE OF LIFE’S PLEASURES … CHILLING

EVERY THURSDAY 7PM ONWARDS. LIVE ACOUSTICS FEAT : IPINK AND FRIENDS. 2 FOR 1 MARGARITAS & THAT WILL HAVE YOU LICKING THE BOTTOM OF THE CHILLI BOWL. COMPLIMENTARY CHILI NACHOS. cel ebrati n g o u r 1 0 t h a n n i ve r s a r y i n 2 01 2 reser v ati o n s + 6 2 361 4 7 3 65 7 6, h u ub a l i . c o m, j a l a n p e t i t e ng e t , s e mi ny a k , b a l i 80 3 61

CONTENTS

SYLE

FEATURES

THE TRAIL ENDS BONNIE & CLYDE

ANDREW GN BY FREDERICO

REVIEW

BY BIANKA

BY MASHA

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE

MIYAMAE YOSHIYUKI

BY FREDERICO

BY KENZA

COFFEE STOPS IN BALI

IT’S TRUE THAT WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER BY ANDREW

SALVITA DE CORTE

ALICE MCCALL

PURE BALI

KILL IT OR FUCK IT

PERCEPTIONSOFA SCEPTIC

BY ANDREW

BY KAYTI D

BY TAH RIQ

BY VERONIKA

PLASTIC SURGERY BY KATIE & LIZ ALLEN

PUBLISHER”S NOTE

EDITORS NOTE PURE MOTIVES

What’s does it mean to be Pure nowadays and what brings you to feel motivated in our clusterfuck of a society to do whatever it is that you do? Is it money? Family? Sex? Abundance vs materialism? Or is it Love? In this months issue we jump into the subject of Pure Motives. What are they? Where does our Freedom and self expression lay in this ever changing political and dare I say it, religious climate? We know the importance of pure motives but to what extent? When oppression rules supreme from the lawmakers and the unjust prevails where the hell are the heroes? We have plenty of false prophets but where is the real deal? We need people that don’t play the safe route and challenge the status quo. Through persistence together we can pave the way for new beginnings, and with courage transform the old ways. We encourage you to maintain strength and cure conditioning with pure intentions. We understand now that the only constant we face today is rapid change! It starts with one to affect the whole. Know thyself, seek the truth, say your peace, and yes get up and motivate.

CREDITS

PUBLISHER

(PT MITRA MANDIRI SEMP URNA) TRAFFIC@WWMEDIA.ASIA REG. NO. 65/HK.HM/IV/BITD/2008

CONTRIBUTORS

ADMINISTRATION MANAGER OCHA (TRAFFIC@WWMEDIA.ASIA)

ANDREW, ASHIYA, MARIAH, ALEX, KATIE, BIANKA, KAYTI, JULHENRY, KENZA, JAYA, BRAD, TAH RIQ

DISTRIBUTION ADHI KET UT OKTO INTERN JAYA SALES ENQUIRIES P +62 857 9295 3502 JL. PETITENGET NO. 100X, SEMIN YAK - BA LI P + 62 361 863 79 79 VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILYTHOSE OFTHE EDITOR’S AND PUBLISHER’S. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT©2008PT.MITRAMANDIRI SEMPURNA.THE PUBLISHERWILL NOT BEHELDRESPONSIBLEFORCOPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTSONIMAGESSUPPLIEDBY ADVERTISERSAND,ORCONTRIBUTORS. WWW.WWMEDIA.ASIA

STUFF... Stuff….Word of Mouth re-opens….Divine Wonderland goes off for Commes Des Fuckdown!....Damien Lazarus graces the island with majestic house beats at Mint….Cave Shuts down? Nooooooooooo…….. Bali spirit Festival sells out on the first day!..... The trend of giving 10 minute hugs continues…Rainy season seems to shapeshift!..... Nyepi Nyepi how coooool is Nyepi!!!... Indonesia minister of religious affairs attempts to ban the mini skirt wtf?... Sea Circus are doing early coffees... SOS has something big brewing, stay tuned...

A S I A T O PA R I S

ANDREW GN FROM SINGAPORE TO PARIS BY FEDERICO GRANDESSO

I-Magazine is in the middle of the Paris fashion Week, the atmosphere is frantic as usual: fashion shows, presentations, cocktails and parties till early hours of the morning. The day starts early, with Singaporean Andrew GN’s Fall/Winter 2012-13 show in the luxurious Imperial Salon of the Westin Hotel not far from the mythical Place Vendome. After the show, the tension fades, so I follow a group of journalists and friends of Andrew to the backstage. More relaxed after the show he is ready to talk. “I got the inspiration for this collection from the 19th century and you can see various Victorian elements inside. I first saw the photos of Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in the wonderland. The result is a sober and modern collection which has also a mysterious touch with beautiful “couture” details.” He kindly explains, “about the colors, we have some white, olive green, and violet but a lot of black and blue marine. I love the silk and cashmere, they represent the luxury

taste”. He continues with a clear message “As a designer I’ve always been obsessed with two things: Making the most beautiful and luxurious clothing possible; and finding a link between the past and the future. I think timelessness is the enduring mark of beauty. The reference yielded unabashedly romantic elements, but they are interpreted for these spare, stark times - without frills and a darker edge”. Born in Singapore in 1966, Andrew is the youngest of three brothers and two sisters. In 1986, Andrew enrolled in the famous Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London. During his period in London, Andrew won the French Connection Award, sponsored by the English/French Chamber of Commerce, which was open to all the fashion colleges in the United Kingdom. Andrew also participated in the Design Exchange programme at Parsons School

A S I A T O PA R I S

Andrew GN collection, Paris Fashion Week 2012

of Design for a term. In December 1989 he went back to Saint Martins to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree. The following year, Andrew flew to Milan to attend the prestigious Domus Academy where he met professors like: Romeo Gigli, Luciano Soprani, Anna Piaggi and Gianfranco Ferre. After receiving his Masters of Art in 1992, Andrew was appointed as first assistant of Emanuel Ungaro in Paris. But Andrew is tumultuous and in 1996 he decided to launch his own brand ANDREW GN which is produced in France. His eclectic character is evident also in his “atelier” he opened in the glamorous Marais district. Not enough, Andrew inaugurated another “atelier” in a historical building in the prestigious district of Salamanca. The collection of object of 19th and early 20th century is a consequence of his love for art and antiques. But the best ambassadors of Andrew, who lives and works in Paris, are the celebrities on the red carpet of the most prestigious events in the world

from the Golden Globes to the Cannes, Toronto and Dubai film festivals. The VIP includes Celine Dion, Eva Lonfgoria, Demi Moore, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Laura Dern, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlotte Rampling, Sarah Jessica Parker and Calista Flockhart.

A S I A T O PA R I S

I S S Y M I YA K E INTERVIEW WITH DESIGNER MIYAMAE BY FEDERICO GRANDESSO

A S I A T O PA R I S

is ‘Mineral Miracle’. it captures the beauty and power of the natural world which can be found hidden in minerals. The A-POC method then is used here weaving two fine layers of fabric in a graphic weave, reminiscent of the crystallization of quartz – these extremely lightweight coats are down filled in geometric pockets.”

The I-Mag fashion week tour in Paris continued direction to the “Grand Palais” for the Issey Miyake show. It was a true surprise, opening with the models on the catwalk dressed with unspecified fabrics transformed after a steam” intervention” into sinuous dresses. This was the practical demonstration of “steam stretch”: a fabric made from pre-designed and programmed squares of fabric, with specific areas of silk and stretch yarn – when a steam finish is applied, the stretch yarn shrinks, creating texture and a softer silhouette.

Miyamae Yoshiyuki was born in Tokyo and graduated from the Bunka Fashion College in Shinjuku, Japan in 1998. Just three years out of graduation, Miyamae caught the attention of Issey Miyake himself and his predecessor, Fujiwara, who had asked him to be a member of the team working on the A-POC Project. APOC is an acronym for “A Piece of Cloth,” a reference to a manufacturing method that uses computer technology to create clothing from a single piece of thread in a single process. Working very closely with Miyake and Fujiwara, Miyamae received a thorough induction into the world of Issey Miyake from concepts, to the roots of clothing design, and to manufacturing. In 2006, Miyamae became part of the Issey Miyake Design Studio team working under Fujiwara, and within just 5 years the spotlight is now fixed directly upon him as the lead designer.

In the backstage we caught up with Miyamae Yoshituki, the designer. He explained, “this was a challenge for us, for the first season we used this new technique ”steam stretch” and it’s difficult to show already something complete. In this occasion we showed something simple while for the next season we will try to produce more developed items.” And about the philosophy of the collection he said, “in this period we are bombarded by bad news but also by new technology developments. Last season we showed something soft and gentle while this time we wanted to present a stronger concept. We wanted to show not only the beauty made by man but also a beauty coming for the origins that’s why we chose the minerals. The theme of the collection

FA S H I O N

Poem written by Bonnie

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BIANKA W W W. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y B I A N K A . C O M C R E AT I V E D I R E C T I O N B Y J U L H E N RY

MAKE-UP HAIR & STYLING: JULHENREY FOR PAC GARMENTS: OKA DIPUTRA S H O E S : J U L H E N RY J E W E L RY: T J C O N C E P T M O D E L S : C L A U D I A & C I S C O , S O WA N T E D

FA S H I O N

. 27

FA S H I O N

F E AT U R E

ALICE MCCALL INTERVIEW BY ANDREW

Australian designer Alice McCall has made her mark in the international fashion world today as a designer, showing at both London and Australian Fashion weeks. The dynamic designer hit the UK fashion scene ten years ago spending two years styling at MTV London before moving on to style Natalie Imbruglia for Dazed and Confused Magazine with photographer Rankin. In 2003 she was back in Australia designing Sass & Bide collections for London Fashion Week 03 and New York Fashion Week 04, creating not only one off show pieces but also the top sellers of these collections. The Alice McCALL label was launched at Australian Fashion Week 04 receiving critical acclaim, and is now based in Surry Hills, Sydney. The label, which combines elements of tender girlish charm and bohemian flare all mixed up with a bit of rock and roll, has garnered devotees around the world. Fans of Alice McCall include Jools Oliver, Natalie Imbruglia, Diane Kruger and Chloe Sevigny who have all been photographed in Alice’s clothes.

Tell me what is going on in the world of Alice McCall?

Well, the label is doing really well at the moment. Even though the economic climate is a bit down, we’re growing. We’ve had 65% growth in the last 12 months and the label has been picked up by Harvey Nichols and Aceof in the UK and seven new accounts in Australia. It brings us up to about 110 accounts in Australia. But, my main focus with my brand is to really push retail in Australia and only work with key accounts internationally. And of course we have our Sydney store in South Dowling Street, Paddington. Then we have just signed up on a store on Chapel Street, Melbourne which is going to be our first real grown up store. The Sydney store was more of a test drive. I didn’t spend a lot on the fit out, it was more for understanding the market of supply and demand and how you respond to retail compared to how you respond to wholesale. It gives your brand more power because you get the direct relation with the customer. So we have learned a lot and Chapel Street will open in a few months. The fit out will be amazing. I am working closely with a team called Wonder Design.

Sounds very positive.

Yes, we have a very loyal following with Alice McCall. The label has been around for nearly ten years. We have been through an initial rush and boom in the first couple of years and then we experienced a bit of a lull. I guess I was personally defining who I am through what I do and I started to feel a little bit controlled by the label for a while. I didn’t feel creatively free. I felt controlled by the business and lost my creative instinct through my designs and the label suffered. But I got all of that back and I understand how that works. I am creative, quite spiritual person so what I do with my work my heart needs to come out. If it doesn’t it will show. I love painting, I love my work as a creative expression so I do put myself into it

That’ s how you came out of the slump?

Yes, 100 percent. I got passionate about my work again. As well as getting a great team around me, a great general manager, great assistant designers, and great production. So it wasn’t just that, it was these two things married together that makes business work.

How is online sales? Are consumers moving to online?

We have our online store which is just amazing. Our online store is doing better than our bricks and mortar store. It doesn’t really have lull days, it’s constant. Everyday we are doing substantial sales. And I have one girl that runs it, she is so busy. She takes the orders, packs them and gets them sent off. So, the cost of operating are really minimal.

F E AT U R E

Alice McCall Collection 2012

REVIEW

COFFEE STOPS Let’s face it: coffee is the new cool thing in Bali. Not ‘Kopi Bali’ of course. And forget about paying exorbantly for Kopi Luwak, you don’t want this shit (literally). All you want is a strong smooth cappuccino, nice creamy latte or killer macchiato. Here are 7 new places to get your caffeine dose.

words by MASHA images by ASHIYA

SENIMAN COFFEE STUDIO

SEA CIRCUS

As usual, if anything is really different and artistic, it has to happen in Ubud. In this boutique cafe it’s all about the concept: single-origin beans only, no machine brewing - just syphon, pour-over and aeropress instead. Australian artist & British redhead sweetheart duo created the place that is unique in every single detail. There is a former bakso cart outside instead of regular bar, where the baristas are doing their magic using the gadgets that make it all look like laboratory of an insane coffee maniac. Caffeine is served on the custom-made boards with local sweets - it’s all about savoring the delicate taste of the drink, pretty same like wine degustation. Taste of the single-origin beans is very different and to be honest will not appeal to everyone. But it’s like selective perfumes - once you’ve tried you will never forget there is a whole new universe to discover.

The electric colored gastro venue always had a thing about good coffee - no wonder, with their Synesso machine that cost almost as much as the whole restaurant itself. Now they push coffee harder: the local beans from Kintamani grown and roasted by the 5 Senses company have arrived and the new take-away window has just opened, so baristas are ready to serve your first (paper) cup at 7a.m. If you’re not that kind of early bird take it easy and pop in for the proper lazy breakfast with cappuccino in custom baby-blue cups served with smart quotes and frangipani flower. Everything is perfect in Sea Circus world.

DRIFTER

Well-known and much-loved surf shop at Jl.Oberoi got it’s coffee corner too. Pretty different comparing to other places: cactuses in pots instead of tropical flowers and Sumatra blend instead of Bali or Italian beans one finds everywhere. ‘Surfers’ coffee’ by Mandaling Estate is rich in flavor and has a smooth aftertaste. Pair it with fresh brownie and choose between staring at the busy Seminyak life in the window or at the perfect waves at the TV. Get inspired, buy new surf shorts, finish your drink and rush back to the beach.

REVIEW

DROP. THE COFFEE SPOT

You never know what you’ll get on crema of your cappuccino at Drop - the simple ‘heart’ drawing or the ‘Apa Kabar?’ greeting. The regulars know local baristas by name and they, in return, remember what’s their ‘as usual’ orders mean. No wonder: for the last 7 months this little coffee shop has been suppling with lattes and macchiatos all the Petitenget area. The real ‘caffeine pushers’, as Drop’ name card declare. The beans used are imported Italian Segafredo mix, and that’s what gives their coffee that familiar European taste. Staring at the blackboard can take some time: besides the obvious choices there are also Iced Thai Coffee, Vietnamese Coffee (with the funny dripper), Coffee Toffee and mysterious Coconut Fluff. The crema is firm, the Strong Latte makes you blood rush as marathon runner, the muffins are full of berries and the toasted panini are big, juicy and crispy. Morning to lunch, lunch to sunset.

F.R.E.A.K

ESPRESS

Small chain of warung-style coffee shops was founded by American-born enthusiast of home-style roasting Asher Yaron who tried to roast the beans both in popcorn machine and the BBQ grill. All the experiments have led him to the conclusion that the main trick about the perfect cup is in freshness of the beans. The apologist of the theory “Coffee lives 3 days only” keeps the style of his outlets simple, even modest: bamboo furniture, no food and freshly roasted beans you can smell from the street. All three warungs are located in Ubud and surroundings (such as Green School), which makes it attractive for the yoga crowd - especially now, when the hype about goodness of cold-pressed coffee is in top. We prefer the Island Spiced Latte though.

Look for press-ban style sign at the Dewi Sri road: you don’t expect to find anything cool at this part of Kuta-Legian area and you’re surprisingly wrong. Espress bar could exist in any caffein-crazy city in the world, take New York or Melbourne, but somehow this rough bricks&wood clad is stuck here, in the middle of the dusty road. Everything is ‘wrong’ inside, but in the way you love it: there is no bar to hide the coffee making process, all the way round, everything is exposed, so you can see how your cup is getting ready. Bold, no frills decor will for sure appeal to the most of the guys. The IPads screwed to the wall is another great trick. The only thing missing is a bike garage with the wicked customs in the courtyard - it will fit Espress so well!

BUTTERCAKE&COFFEESHOP This little white&blue gem at Jl.Pantai Brawa is an obvious sign Canggu is changing. There was nothing here you could call ‘boutique’ (even if you hate this word) a year ago, well, now there is - and we absolutely love it. The main thing in Butter is home made baked goods. The owner& the pastry chef, gold haired darling Gita is always behind the counter so you can ask her what’s the bestseller (cinnamon rolls is the correct answer). And of course they brew, you can smell it when you enter this air-con shelter: ILLY beans never fail to make a nice shot of espresso. Hey, and they have the most handsome tattooed baristas in the neighborhood! Worth checking.

F E AT U R E

PURE BALI by KAYTI D

F E AT U R E

Examined as a concept our writer finds that purity is really just a mixed message that serves to manipulate the masses into believing they, for some reason or other, have not got purity. But, wait there’s more…. it can be attained, by various methods, through the purchase of ‘things’ or the ridding of ‘thoughts’ . We do discover however Balinese have a fully realized concept of purity , very different from that in the glossy magazine ad and chances are they won’t try to sell you it. Purity is intrinsic to rituals and ceremonies and vital to the Balinese way of life but it is not the ephemeral floaty holiness that requires we all tiptoe around being terribly sweet to each other, the Balinese purity includes the wielding of sharp knives, the spilling of blood and lying on top of rubbish heaps.

a ‘that’s not fair’ and woe betide you if any thought of desire should arise in your mind for that, even though dismissed, will sully the pure mind. Just ask any one unlucky enough to be born Catholic to tell you about impure thoughts. Even Lolita was never so pure as when she was fully aware of her power over Humbert. As eloquently as Nabokov, in his writing, reveres Lotlita’s purity saying Humbert is reluctant to take it from her, to spoil her, he conversely claims in defense of his character’s desire, that while she is ‘pure’ she is also well aware of the power this purity has and uses it to tempt Humbert in the awkward way of a teenaged girl. And by doing so has made way for a thousand pouting pubescent girls to beckon the mainstream to open their wallets in a willingness to buy something that will either make them feel or appear pure.

PURITY OF THE SPIRIT

I will spray a particular perfume on my body so that despite walking on city streets I am exuding the purity of a field of flowers..yes that’s right, this act makes me pure. Purity is the absence of anything other than the essence, a pure thought devoid of ego, a pure motive, absence of malice, a pure product, powerful and intense, a marketing ploy, a ploy to raise the bar to those who offer anything less.

Purity is the goal of the spiritually cleansed. Purity is the unattainable state that we are persuaded we must belong to…The concept of purity allows others to have power over us. We are by nature defiled by our acts of living, thinking and being, the search for purity is undertaken by so many amongst the most impure environments on earth. Where soils boil with toxicity and children dwell in disease those with money to burn spend fortunes seeking purity of purpose. The desire to find oneself to seek within, is beset with the trials of regaining something we never truly had, purity. Tom Cruise, it appeared, was so confused by the search for spiritual enlightenment that he mistook clarity for purity leaving his ex-wife to comment: “He was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. He thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument, but my instrument needed tuning, and we had to split. “ Sadly no one had informed Tom of the ultimate in pure acts in some spiritual practices. The meeting of the yoni and lingam in the balanced union of yin and yang, the creation of great wonder and spiritual reverence and awe through awe-gasm.

Thank you vodka, thank you gentle softener, thank you toilet tissue, thank you for bringing purity into our impure lives. As a marketing agent purity infiltrates our perception of perfection, it allows us to think we can possess, only to spoil, nothing remains pure.

PURE BALI

Unspoiled views. Absolute beachfront. A tropical haven. Bali has been selling purity as an ideal for sometime, Purity retreats, ‘paradise, purity, perfection’ as one resort claims, or raw food retreats, even colonic irrigation is under the banner of purity in Bali. Visitors arrive each year willing to be hoodwinked into believing they can find their own purity amongst the marketed forms of purity that in reality are simply elimination, segregation and digestion. There is nothing pure about any of these actions, start to finish: the arrival and departure by plane cancels out any purity you may be lucky enough to find on the island. But if you insist you could start by understanding what purity means to the Balinese and if you time it right, you too could be atop the garbage pile having a purification ceremony for your uncleanliness.

To be cleansed is to be rid of all that makes us human and those who seek will find that in order to be cleansed we must first understand what it means to be unclean.

PURITY OF THOUGHT

In order to be pure of thought there should be nothing carnal in our thinking, no greed, no envy, not even

F E AT U R E

The Balinese have a good understanding of purity, it comes as part of the principle ‘two in one’ raw bhineda which are the Balinese dichotomies, represented in the black and white cloth of the poleng. Pollution and purity, life and death, good and evil, not one exists without the other, both are always present, there is not one without the other. Therefore purity is not attained, it is encompassed within pollution and there is no ridding of pollution in order to gain purity, only the ability to lessen it in order to have more.

PURE BLOOD

One of the more significant signs of the Balinese attitude to purity is in the insistence that women do not enter temples during the time of menstruation. The reason for this is not the women but that the expulsion of her menstrual blood, signifying as it does a non-fertilization, represents or is related to death. The woman carrying this ‘death’ is going to be attractive to the Bhuta kala, the demons that interfere and bring negative and disruptive effects into the lives of humans. The tricky part comes when a women appears to have her cycle coinciding with ceremonies on a regular basis, when this becomes the case a purification ritual is called for, and this one isn’t for the tourists. According to research published by Lene Pederson of Central Washington University, in order for a family temple to be purified before an ancestral ceremony a bleeding woman was directed to the garbage heap on which she had to lie while an aunt performed a cleansing ceremony. It was noted however that the women felt no sense of fault, more that the occasion of her bleeding and the sacred ceremony left her family feeling that she was unlucky, and to perform the ceremony on top of the garbage was not a direct insult to the women but a recognition of the level of pollution her menstruation represented. The ceremony performed by her aunt was not one of castigation but of neutralization, the hope being that this will prevent the return of the bleeding on other significant ceremonial days.

PURITY PURPOSES

It is not only women who are the focus of purification rituals in Bali , young men, post adolescence, are also subject to rituals of purification and must undergo ceremonial ridding of negative forces once every six months to tame the more internally aggressive nature, caused by the kasar, or cruder nature of their personality that allows for internal disruption by the bhuta kala.

Babies are also considered impure for the first forty two days of their lives, along with their mothers. A special ceremony takes place on the 42nd day, that welcomes the baby onto the earth, and its feet are set to the ground for the very first time. Before this time the baby is susceptible to all forms of witchcraft, although it may be more likely due to the high rate of child mortality in Bali, it was the belief that the children who did not make it beyond their 42nd day where taken from the families by witchcraft. Land too is susceptible to the whims of the spirits, both well and ill intentioned, so every ten years land purification rituals take place that involve trances and the sort of self harm that could lead to the ceremonies being thought of as ritual sacrifice. The Bhakti Trance is one of the most dramatic rituals performed as once the male participants enter the trance state some are compelled to inflict wounds to their own body with the sacred kris dagger and the intervention of family members to ensure no harm occurs heightens the tension in the ensuing chaos and frenzy of the ritual. Calm is only restored with holy water and incense, and at the end of it all the land remains purified for a further decade.

PURE SEX

In his book Bali’s Silent Crisis: desire tragedy and transition, Jeff Lewis includes a chapter on the purity of virginity. A traditional Balinese girl’s virginity is her purity, and thus represents her social value. The shame caused by lost virginity before marriage can only be restituted if a child results and the man marries the girl, transforming the transgression into something sacred that restores spiritual balance to the act of seks pranikah otherwise all value is lost and the girl is ridiculed. Further to any lost virginity the continued sexual practices to retain purity are also somewhat restricted as the three main areas of a woman’s body, below the waist, the hips, thighs and lower abdomen are considered impure and certainly not somewhere a man should be placing his head…so that’s purity for you, no oral sex for the woman!

PURE SHORES

As Bali moves towards the culmination of almost a century of tourism it is also timely to reflect on the initial stance the Balinese took when tourism, in the form of visitors in the 1920’s and 30’s, were presenting some cross-cultural problems, such as interference

F E AT U R E

with the sacred and the innocent corruption of the young, had transformed into an invasion of visitors with less academic or ‘cultural’ pursuits on their minds. In 1965 the concept of Parawisata Budaya was coined. If Bali was going to have tourism, they said it would be tourism for Bali, not Bali for tourism and it would be the culture of Bali that drew and maintained tourism on the island. That was a grand dream put forward in part by then Governor of Bali, Ida Bagus Mantra. It drove the creation of enclave resorts such as Nusa Dua to limit the direct impact of tourism, and also a cultural policy aimed at nurturing and preserving the traditional agrarian culture while adapting it to the demands of modernity, and in particular of “cultural tourism”. So Bali’s pure shores, its pure traditional cultures and arts would be the draw card to tourism. Bali itself would remain the pure and agrarian society of ritual beliefs and sacred ceremonies and tourists would be drawn to observe, respect and enjoy cultural displays held in especially designed ‘wantilans’ to avoid the infiltration of foreigners into the world of the Balinese. The Balinese would retain their power and their purity, but like the power wielded by the teenage Lolita it’s value only remained while its virginity was intact. Today Bali’s purity is well and truly polluted and the only thing that remains is purity’s opposing power, that of pollution. The waters are polluted, the youth ‘corrupted’, loosing virginities or at the very least having oral sex, and its fertile lands have been sold to overseas investors who attract, through their villas and hotels, an increasing amount of visitors who come in search of cheap beer, easy sex and dvd’s, or at the very best paradise, purity and perfection. By the very act of seeking purity we defile what is pure, in the search for spiritual purity we deny what is perfect and in the meantime we are being sold something that has lost its value. To seek purity, as a concept, as an ideal, is essentially meaningless. Wouldn’t it be better to be the woman on the garbage pile being acknowledged as impure and knowing it wasn’t personal? This article includes research from:

Lede Pederson CWU, USA Ambiguos Bleeding: Purity and Sacrifice in Bali Jeff Lewis Bali’s Silent Crisis: desire tragedy and transition. Bali Arts Festival 2011

I-RECOMMENDS

WORD OF MOUTH RE-OPENS SKULLCANDY “Skullcandy has collaborated with some of the world’s greatest athletes and artists and today we’re excited to add Supermodels to that roster,” Clarke Miyasaki, Skullcandy’s VP Global Business Development said. “We look forward to working with IMG Models and couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kate on our team.” “I’m a long-time fan of Skullcandy and can’t wait to unveil some of the fun things we have planned,” Upton commented, shortly after wrapping the content shoot for the company. “I’m thrilled to be on the Skullcandy roster alongside many of the world’s best athletes and artists.” Kate Upton is the first of the “Supermodel Crew” to be announced. The rest of the lineup will be revealed next month when Skullcandy unveils a completely evolved look and product range as part of their 2012 Supreme Sound story.

WOM have recently undergone renovations at their Word of Mouth Shop, and they are excited to introduce you to a new and cosmetically improved Word of Mouth experience. Lots of new products on offer from local and international designers, and some exciting collaborations with young designers are underway – stay tuned for details... The alfresco space has been fitted out with some comfortable lounges and there is no better place to laze away a balmy Bali afternoon. They also welcome the return of the famous “Word of Mouth Boozy Lunch Fridays” – a great excuse to knock off work early, eat good food with good friends and sip on their award winning signature cocktails... oh yes... it’s what living in Bali is all about. Held around once a month, starting Friday 13th April. Word of Mouth 9 Jl Kunti, Kunti Arcade Shop 10, Seminyak, Bali ph/fax +62 361 847 5797 info@wordofmouthbali.com

ROOFTOP DINING Celebrate at one of the top-rated brunch venues and enjoy the best view in Seminyak. SOS Supper Club is swinging out monthly food and wine experiences. Featuring menu items with starters of pass round canapés to the endless selections of their seafood displays including imported raw oysters, The cellar cheese and charcuterie, live Thai station and decadent dessert display. Valet parking is available. Receive special offer for SOS White Platinum Cardholders, Bali Hotels Association members and Rotary Club.

PRODUCTS

NO NAME, Jl Laksmana, Oberoi Also available at Kudeta Boutique

We talked to Hamish Samson about one his new leather design bags...

What is the name of the bag? This is the ’IE kick around gym bag’.

What was the inspiration, it looks like a punching bag re-modelled into high level fashion and practicability?

Funnily enough, I made up this bag to carry around all my kick boxing gear, so maybe subconsciously there was a bit of that going on in my head. I love the whole tubular feel in this bag, kept it simple, extended the handle size so can throw over neck on the bike, not needing any extra straps etc.. Just my all purpose bag decked in real nice leather..

WHY NOT, Jl Seminyak

www.imperialexports.asia

DO I KILL IT OR F#@K IT? The world as we know it, full of multi functioning mobile phones, flash transportation and laptops is a new one. Not long ago were we roaming the savannas with spears, grunting, hunting and gathering in loin cloths with no concept of vanity, only survival and genetic proliferation. Girls had their boobs out and no conditioner for their hair and men didn’t take time to groom themselves. Yet today we say we need to have that top/flat-screen TV/ pair of shoes/bag/sports car/ insert some other non essential crap here? Once our basic needs for modern survival are met, food, shelter, clothes, comfort etc. the rest is relatively superfluous and only marginally important. If extrinsic motivations such as a bigger house, pimped car, the latest designer get up, Roley on the arm, are all as recent as within the last 100 years, then how can they motivate us on an inner level? How can they reach and enliven that intangible inertia deep in our DNA, in our blood and in our genes? Hardwiring is 10,000 years old, give or take. Take cars. Even though cars kill far more people today than snakes and spiders do, no one has a phobia of cars, why? It’s simple, the hardwiring hasn’t caught up. We are still, under our suits and skirts, functioning on 10,000 year old embedded programming. It’s the reason for infidelity, murder and other common moral slips. Behind the veneer of social acceptability, we are animals. Our limbic system, the original Reptile Brain, a small mound that sits beneath the Mammalian Brain and the Neo Cortex doesn’t wait to see how you feel, or weigh up if something is a good idea. It savagely asks the question, “Do I kill it or do I fuck it?” Make no mistake, this is your underlying operating system. This rooted software calls the shots, overriding emotions and all sense of reason. When someone cuts you up on the road, your foot jams down on the pedal before you’ve had time to realise you’ve begun a chase, before you have time to assess or access if it’s a great idea to hunt that guy in the SUV. The reptile says, “Kill it!” A woman may see someone who she subconsciously recognises as a stronger genetic match than the provider in her life and despite her societal commitments thinks...fuck it. I read once a woman will swing from the chandeliers with someone she recognises as husband material, even if it’s for one night. Men see a voluptuous young

thing, exhibiting signs of fertility such as child-bearing hips, full lips, breasts and long, thick hair and become besotted to the point of wild indiscretion. We are slave to our genetic need to succeed, supersede and sow our seed. It’s life and it’s the truth. We are all capable of anything, men and women alike. We are all a full deck of cards, ace of spades to king and queen of hearts. Recently, I’ve become increasingly motivated by internal truths of nature, fundamentals of the human condition, such as companionship, brotherhood, passion, family, peer respect, personal growth, sense of achievement, love, friendship, strength of purpose, community, enjoyment, happiness, camaraderie and service to others. This is very different to seeing a must-have blah in a shop window or owning the latest *moan* gadget from Apple. I credit many of these shifts to dating a gifted healer who helped me see what’s really important. I highly recommend dating one by the way; it’ll open your WORLD. You’ll notice how even minor material luxuries are assigned internal motivations through advertising and sadly we sell out and buy in. For example, buy a GUCCI cologne and be instantly transformed into a debonair and ruthless lady killer. Own the latest iPhone and you will belong to the tech-savvy hipsters and be accepted as ‘cool’. In Japan and in high schools all over, people carry around a Starbucks cup long after it’s gone cold because of the status it associatively imparts them. The big corporations know it’s the pure, human motives that drive us, community, belonging, acceptance, lust etc. All they have to do is make us believe that owning their products somehow fulfils those needs...capitalist genius. It’s true, the cumulative effect of dressing ‘spensive, owning new gadgets and spraying a well-picked scent, can do wonders for how you look and feel, but only if they cause the necessary, internal shifts in your perception and therefore in the way you outwardly relate to the world. We’ve all seen it. Someone dresses more edgy than they actually feel that day and end up looking awkward and unsure. There is never an external substitute for firmly held internal beliefs. Now... what motivates you?

BY TAHRIQ

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Necklace SKIN Black tee shirt from HORN 48

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GOOD DAY SUNSHINE PHOTOGRAPHY: KENZA LE BAS STYLIST: JAYA MAKE UP: BUNGA JEHNSEN MODEL: JOHANNA

Left to Right skirt K&I tee shirt from HORN Tee shirt from SKIN Dress From SKIN 49

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IT’S TRUE THAT WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW CAMPBELL MAKE-UP HAIR & STYLING: JULHENREY for PAC MODELS: STEPHANIE & JUANJO FOR BALISTARZ

Stephanie wears: top by Drifter short stylist own Juanjo wears: top by From jean by stylist own

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Stephanie and Juanjo wear: all garments by Drifter

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Stephanie wears: pants by Ebony Eve swimwear top by Drifter Juanjo wears: Pants by Deus ex machina singlet by From

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Stephanie wears: dress by Ebony Eve bracelet Â & ring by Skin Juanjo wears: pants & shirt by Deus ex machina

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Stephanie wears: top & jean skirt by K& I belt by Skin swimwear top by Drifter Juanjo wears: top by Skin pants by Deus ex machina

PRUDUCTS

Stephanie wears: legging by Skin scarf by Skin swimwear top by Drifter Juanjo wears: Top by From Jean stylist own

REVIEW

PERCEPTIONS OF A SKEPTIC by VERONIKA

No doubt Bali is probably one of the most spiritual places on this planet, not only is the scenery an absolute assault on senses, what makes this little island really extraordinary is its Hindu culture. It’s played out on every level of every day lives - ever present intoxicating smell of incense sticks, fantastically arranged colorful offerings, visually stunning ceremonies and rituals - Bali gets this very unique mystical feeling without even trying and to the outside world this aspect is massively advertised. So no big wonder confused westerners are flocking to Bali to seek spiritual guidance, healers, mediums, gurus or however else they all call themselves. Well, full disclosure right upfront as I’m certainly a confused westerner in many ways. On this specific topic of healing and magic I have reached total clarity as an agnostic, a skeptic, and a rationalist. I’ve had zero interest in this mystical, magical, spiritual area much less I have ever wanted to be “voodoo’ed”. I have always remained a keen observer as I find the way the Hindu religion manifests itself esthetically absolutely overwhelming.

forenoon and another twenty in the afternoon. Well, you do the math. That’s some fast food spiritualism. Anyway, it was Amel whom actually who got me thinking. She is a businesswomen, born in Jakarta, lived in Europe for many years where she established her own furniture business, then moved to Bali and started her own restaurant chain. That requires all the pragmatic rational decisions and yet she consults every area of her life, including businesswise strategies with these so-called mediums. Such contradiction. It was really hard to get my mind around it. Well the only way to find out was - despite all my reservations - going for it and getting “voodooed” or whatever it is those mediums actually do.

I actually got the idea to dig deeper into the realness of this island’s spiritual core after the mania that’s been triggered in Bali by that damned Eat Pray Love publishing sensation and consequently by its film adaptation. For those who live in different dimension (lucky you) and have never heard of it - that healer Ketut featured in the movie is not a fictional character - he is actually very much alive and desperate women of certain age are flocking to Ubud to seek his spiritual guidance hoping in their very own Bali happy endings. As I was informed by my Indonesian friend Amel who also felt compelled to see him in that “post Eat Pray Love era”. At the time of her visit Ketut charged approx $25 for a 20 minute consultation and had a superbusy schedul. Twenty eager spiritual seekers in the

As we arrived I still couldn’t help but feel like an Alice in Wonderland. The whole process was very elaborate. The little family temple was visually striking, shrines covered in vivid fabric colors, offerings of all possible sizes placed everywhere and of course the ever-present intense smell of the incense sticks. The atmosphere was very dense. The priest who is also the head of the family first cleansed the place from all the evil spirits. That required many bizarre movements and enchantments. It took the whole part of an hour. Then even before all the spirituality, there was time for the materialistic part; to pay. I was told the money I donate doesn’t go to them but will be used for buying offerings for the gods. Fair enough. Then the session itself finally started, the medium, women in her for-

As I think Ketut is more than well off, I was about to do it in a less pompous way. I let Amel take me to “her” medium based in Sanur where she is a regular visitor. On the day I really tried hard to leave my inner skeptic at home, my mind wide open and illiminate prejudices blocking the experience that was about to come.

REVIEW

ties climbed into the shrine a level up above me and with her eyes closed started repeating some formulas in Balinese and it seemed as if she was getting into some kind of trance. I had no specific questions I would want to discuss I just wanted to let her voodoo me and show me what she’s got; but I was quickly instructed by my friend who was there as a translator that it doesn’t work this way. Since, she explained, medium I’m about to speak with was in the process of connecting with someone from outside of this world. Well okay then. I was caught a little off guard. Asking anything wasn’t part of my plan at all. So she went on, her eyes still shut, and asked if there is or was someone from my family being a healer - answer “no”, she asked again - and again she got “no” and then it was quiet. An awkward moment spread upon us. It felt a bit sketchy. I got a shove from my friend to ask something so I had to improvise. Career, health and relationships, nothing specific but also a safe bet since around those themes our individual universes revolves. The medium started (and it still remained unclear who exactly it was that I was talking to) with all this pep talk about me being born for great things career-wise and I felt an immediate tsunami wave of disappointment. Not that I didn’t want to be born for great things, who wouldn’t want that right, but that it was just exactly what I expected it to be. Just the vague blablablah that could be easily applied to everyone. Then she got into details - apparently I was born for big things back home and when I opposed I live in Bali, she quickly reacted by saying I can make all the “greatness” in here as well as long as I don’t forget where I am from. Eh good to know, at least she was flexible. At that point I really tried hard not to laugh. But funniest part was still yet to come, my relationships, evidently the third boyfriend from now on is going to be the one; but she stressed with great importance that it really

has to be the third. If I recklessly decide to marry the second one or horror of horrors some fourth one, then I’m doomed. Health was the same story, everything is going to be great if I’m going to do something that I’ve rather already forgotten. Well all and all very inspiring debate with someone unidentified from the other side. But, I at least have to give her that much, she definitely had a knack for making something out of nothing. But I must say I’m not even disappointed. I had it coming. We can’t probably get outside of our own experiences, upbringing, background, education, and set of values. We are determined and defined by all the above. As much as I tried to connect with my spiritual self and let myself believe the possibility of someone having the capacity to use more that ten percent of their brain and communicating with something outside of this world, I just simply couldn’t get past that above mentioned. I tried to exchange skeptical, academic and rational for magical, mystical and even transcendental but I may now say that this attempt colossally failed. So to sum it up: the only practical effect it had was on my purse which ended up being approximately $30 lighter and the spiritual effect I’d say 0. I wouldn’t go as far as saying they are frauds; it was obvious from every detail they really truly believe in what they do and we have all highly individual settings and what’s a joke for one person can be an uplifting helpful experience for another. My friend also had a session discussing her new business plan and she left looking absolutely happy and content. Well, everything is very relative. And even for me, as I collect experiences in life I’d say it was a win-win situation, they got money for keeping their family going, since they have no “real” jobs and even though I’m definitely not going to become regular I still got an experience out of it definitely worth having.

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PLASTIC SURGERY ANYONE? By KATIE & LIZ ALLEN Photography by ANDREW CAMPBELL MAKE-UP HAIR & STYLING: JULHENREY for PAC

PART TWO - By LIZ ALLEN PUMP IT UP – WHAT MAKES PEOPLE PLUMP FOR PLASTIC? Anaud walked casually into the bar, he hadn’t seen Pia since she had returned from Thailand, and, unusually for her, delayed their reunion for a week. He was a little early, so he slid into a booth with a clear view of the floor to ceiling glass doors that opened onto the buzz of the post workday crowd and watched the flow of humanity that sought comfort in the five o’clock martini. He saw Pia enter, he immediately recognized her, her waist length hair expertly coloured to resemble the shades of an autumnal leaf, her shoulders were held back and her sculpted cheek bones led his gaze naturally to her wide blue eyes that beamed over to him in recognition. “What do you think?” she enquired as she slid in beside him. He looked approvingly at the results of her vacation, the tan of her skin, the relaxed smile on her face, the smoothness of her forehead and the fullness of her lips. “Very nice Pia” he murmured as he moved forward to kiss her. She held up a finely manicured hand to stop him. “Not yet” she said ” I haven’t quite got sensation back in my face” Pia was the hottest girl Arnaud had ever dated, and he made sure she stayed that way by devoting himself to her wellbeing and his idea of beauty. “How are the new breasts?” he asked as he turned his focus to his latest purchase, a pair of double D’s with enhanced nipple colour. Pia and Arnaud are not as far from fiction as you might imagine, these days the drive for enhancement through cosmetic surgery is not the far off dream of the majority who watch as the wealthy and weird nip and tuck their way into uniformity or extreme states of feline imitation. If the Bambi style of beauty, no, not Hugh Hefner’s Bambi, but the little deer, is your thing you can find your way into any number of elective cosmetic surgeries to be reshaped, realigned, rejuvenated and redesigned. An average facial rejuvenation procedure

will leave you bruised, broke and partially blind for the reasonable price of between 15 and 25 thousand dollars. It may be the best decision you have ever made, it may be the worst, but it will always be the decision that you make to irrevocably change the way you look, and it will always be artificial. The choice for reconstructive surgery for people with physical disfigurement is never in dispute, but when your boyfriend offers you a nose job, and you counter with an “Ok, but only if you get me a butt lift” or when you think if only you had just a little lift around the eyes those girls that fascinate you will fellate you is it not time to wonder if elective cosmetic surgery has got a little out of hand? A really tough hard edged reporter friend who had seen the worst of human destruction once confessed, while inebriated, the story he found the hardest in his international career was the one where he witnessed a gender reassignment operation and threw up as the patient’s penis was delicately removed from its body. But then again, the option to reassign gender is no easy road to take and requires a great deal of patient doctor consultation and therapy. Not so the decision that, based on childhood teasing, remodels the perfectly function proboscis of a mentally healthy, physically healthy human to resemble that of a small child’s with quivering open nostrils that flare with equine elegance. Why are so many men and women of privilege choosing to slice and dice with their natural, and / or maturing features? Is the domain of physical enhancement now the playground for the newly wealthy who, dissatisfied with the access their money brings, now turn to alter their appearances to suit the airbrushed, silicone company they find themselves amongst? What drives the need to check into Medi-Spas and exit through the secret back door for some rest and recuperation on a tropical isle? The experts come up with the same answer, albeit with different attitudes, but in the case of elective cosmetic surgery or enhancement procedures, those not deemed life saving or restorative after injury, not crucial to survival, the answer is this : CONFIDENCE

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The human mind is an amazing thing, and neuroscience has shown ideas form in different areas of the brain through the processing of input, or experiences, integration of memory, and the recalled response from outside agencies, parents, teachers, images and projected ideals. If somewhere, anywhere, along the journey of life negative impulses about individual features, abilities or value are received it is very easy for the brain to assess this and create internal understandings that lead to the belief that change is needed before the desired state of perfection can be achieved. The perfect mate, the perfect job, the perfect life can occur once this ‘change’ has taken place, and for some the cognition is that change is achieved by the alteration of the physical leads to the availing of services that raise, lower, enlarge, reduce, strengthen, refine and redesign the physical appearance. And for most who experience successful surgical procedures the pay off is positive. Happier, more confident, they embark on the goal, and with this newfound confidence are actually readier to accept the failures and knockbacks, the lack of perfection that a perfect life brings. And therein lies the rub: The perfect life is imperfect, and in its imperfection lies the beauty of the human experience. Each one of us possesses unique qualities and no matter how little self-confidence you have is the 10 billion dollars spent by Americans on cosmetic procedures in 2009, or the 850 million dollars estimated spent by Australian women this year going to make this world a better place? Is replicating Natalie Portman’s nose, Anne Hathaway’s eyes or Scarlett Johansen’s lips going to make anyone a kinder, more loving woman, or will implanting George Clooney’s cheek bone structure or working out to get David Beckham’s body make a man more giving or understanding? I am not sure, but what I do know is that when I look into my lover’s eyes I want to be sure they belong to them only, and when I slide my hands onto their body I want touch the uniqueness that is them, and when we make love I want that experience with only them and not the nose of Leonardo DiCaprio or the lips of Matt Damon, unless of course my lover is Leonardo Di Caprio and that is his nose. PART 2 - NATURAL VS ARTIFICIAL by KATIE In our society we have been brought up to exalt natural beauty. Natural beauty is revered as almost god like and artificial beauty is, for the most part, something to be sneered at and mocked. The value system of the last century has given natural beauty the honor of being this glorious, inborn asset and artificial beauty is for superficial people. The unmistakable line drawn between natural beauty and artificial is perfectly presented in the fairy tale

Snow White. Snow White being the young, voluptuous, innocent girl with perfect natural beauty and the evil and ugly old stepmother whose vanity covets Snow Whites beauty to the point that she is ready to kill. What does that teach young women? That beauty is power. That artificial and natural beauty is synonymous with young and old, but also between good and evil. Well documented are the “plastic surgery” traditions of nomadic tribes people, who are far removed from our western civilization. These cultures have been ornamenting their bodies and performing ‘plastic surgery’ on themselves for millennia by cutting the skin of their ears, making marks with knives and color on their body, elongating their necks. All of which are to demonstrate beauty. This exact intention to alter ones appearance would be called artificial beauty. Artificial beauty is associated with vanity and misuse of power. Artificial beauty further proves that we don’t have natural beauty to start with because it is an automatic devaluation of somebody’s original ‘beauty’. Consciously or not, I judge people, other women, make up and the rest within that same framework. The goal of artificial beauty is to look like natural beauty. Natural beauty being the ideal. The truth is that all we ever see of artificial beauty is the bad. You’ll never see ‘good’ hair color, because it looks natural. You’ll never see ‘good’ plastic surgery because you don’t realize that she/he has had it. The only time you’ll see it is when its been done badly. Once again, artificial beauty as a “concept” is intrinsically unsuitable to good taste. The problem and obvious imbalance when debating between natural and artificial is in the semantics, or the way we talk about them. I could say, “that hair color looks natural”. However, its not natural, its artificial, but it looks natural, so its good. Therefore, natural is better than artificial.. Artificial means to be created. Hence, the compound word includes “Art”. Its Webster dictionary meaning is to be “humanly contrived often on a natural model.” When women are created above their own beauty it is deemed artificial. Enhancement in any other endeavor in life, is called being creative. When it comes to a woman’s beauty it’s a negative thing for a woman to be created above her beauty if it is known about. Its reticent of a harlot trying desperately to attain sexual power over men that isn’t hers anymore. Now she’s trying to grasp at that power. Men are constantly creatively trying to get power and its considered admirable. What kind of value system does this benefit? The natural beauty system benefits the patriarchal system which places more value on women under the age of 35. The point of lauding natural beauty above artificial beauty is to perpetuate the old patriarchal school of thought, which gives young women a very high value and older women a very low value. A woman’s sexual power is depreciating with age while a 60

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some fine lines or perhaps changing the curvature of our nose, those changes we make are, in their purest form, a desire to take pride in our appearance. As well as to share and take pleasure in our own inner beauty. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

mans is appreciating. Steinbeck wrote a passage about a conversation he had with some of his male friends, which said to the effect of: I don’t find women attractive who have thin upper lips, but if they draw it on, its just as good for me, because it shows me the woman has inner sensuality. Our beauty and our sensuality is and has always been within us. It is internal. Our task is to use whatever we have to express it. We might have a beautiful and naturally young face and we will use that to express our sensuality or we might enhance our features in terms of what we think is beautiful. We refine the lines and wrinkles in our face to re-create ourselves. The reality is that the world we live in gives less and less value and respect to women as we age. Simultaneously, we don’t demand respect because maybe there is a sense of guilt or shame involved in participating in ‘artificial enhancement” or plastic surgery. We are women who enhance our bodies to recapture natural beauty because that is what we use to express our sensuality. Whether we are just looking to reduce

SALVITA DE CORTE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BIANKA, SALVITA FOR SO WANTED AGENCY MAKE-UP HAIR & STYLING: JULHENREY for PAC LOCATION: BLUE KARMA HOTEL INTERVIEW BY ALEX

For this month’s artist profile we sit down with Model and painter Salvita De corte. Based in Bali, Salvita has graced the campaigns of almost every brand based here as well as internationally. Her unique facial features and manorisims are gentle. She is beautiful no doubt and yet easy to be around and to have a coffee and talk about life. So we dive in conversation to explore her culture and artistic depth.

How’s it going? Good thanks…

So you had a show not to long ago, how did it go?

Em, yeah I had a show at the gallery (Salims gallery) with a good friend of mine, Naomi. It went really well . We decided to have a “small” show before the gallery closed, I was surprised how many people came with so much support. It was really nice .

I love your use of color and broad brush strokes, is there a particular way you approach a painting? No not really, I just paint or use whatever technique I feel like using at the time. I don’t have any special routine that I go through. It changes, I’m still experimenting and going through “phases”.

What do you think about the art scene in general here in Bali?

Well, Bali is a really multi cultural place. The culture itself is creative. Take for example Barong, dance, carvings etc... It’s nice to see how the art scene has grown and there’s so much new talent emerging. Im excited to open the new gallery, it will be nice to show works of other talents in Bali also.

Where did you grow up, cause I understand you have a mixed background?

Born and raised in Bali. My mum is German but she’s practically Indonesian, she moved here 25 years ago. My dad is Indian-Indonesian.

Your dad was an artist, how was it being around a non-stop painter?

Crazy! Hahaha. It was definitely an interesting way to grow up being around him. He has a big influence in my artwork. The way I paint and what I paint, mostly woman sometimes reminds me of certain pieces he did. Painting was his life, sounds cheesy, but it’s true. He painted everyday, day and night. He moved out of our house when I was five and lived in his studio, he just needed his own space to be creative, which I fully understand now.

What inspires you at the moment?

People and their unique characters. Facial expressions and women.

So now your looking at a new space to paint and set up a gallery, very cool, hows that going? Its going really well. We are moving the gallery to Canggu, near Bali Buddha. So excited to start something new at the same keep my dads work alive and show my work and other artists works. So excited!!!

I know this might sound cheesy, but what motivates you to get up and go?

That is a bit cheesy... Not knowing what the day might bring to you, and wanting to find necklace: TJ concept black men shirt: Nico Nico Mare 64 62

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out. Not knowing when you last day is gonna be... that might sound cheesy too!

Your versatile in a good way but which do you prefer painting or modelling?

Do I really have to choose? I think I can do both, no? In the long run I think I would prefer painting but at the moment both modelling and painting work together so well.

Heard you might have a huge campaign in Hong Kong, can we talk about that? Yeah, I’m still waiting to see what happens with that. Right now its still unsure.

Is it hard to get out of Bali ?

Yes. But after three months max, I do feel like I need a break from the island, escape for a bit. But I’ve never tried to live outside of Bali. I hear its really hard once you lived here too long.

Where do you see yourself traveling in the future ?

In the near future? I really want to explore Indonesia and the “so many” islands here.

Whats next?

Ill be working at the gallery... so exited about this... hopefully go to Hongkong, if not you’ll find me going back and forth from Jakarta to Bali, and of course painting. At least that

top stylist’own pants and belt: religion sunglasses: Cast eyewear

vest: religion pants colorfull: One love shoes: Yaz bali necklace: TJ concept 66

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mini short and top: K&I belt: Yaz bali

Black vest and red pants Magali Pascal Top and slim jean: religion belt: bamboo blonde shoes: Yaz bali 67

MUSIC TOP 5 WHATS BLASTING THROUGH OUR HEADPHONES

5 DOWNLOADABLE MIXES Diple- Triple J Radio Mix http://soundcloud.com/diplo/mdwwr-70-diplostriple-j-radio Baauer Mix for LFTF http://www.liveforthefunk.com/?s=lunice The Weeknd: Thursday Mixtape http://www.songoperated.com/features/theweeknd-thursday-mixtape/ Dirty Beaches- rockabilly ‘Royal Flush Mixtape’ http://www.songoperated.com/music/dirtybeaches-rockabilly-royal-flush-mixtape/ Napt-mixmag-mix-2011 http://bassfeed.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.ht

5 COOL BUT STRANGE YOUTUBE VIDS Oddfuture- Rella Air- La Femme D’Argent Aphex Twin- Rubber Johnny Autechre- Gantz Graf Holy Other- Feel Something

5 TRACKS WE LOVE RIGHT NOW! Dirty Projectors- Gun Has No Trigger Neon Indian – Future Sick Jacques Greene - Motivation Usher - Climax (Prod. by Diplo) Evy Jane - Sayso

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MONSTERS, MEN AND HEROES: GONE MISSING Sitting in the airport transit lounge, I’m distracted from playing Angry Birds by a glimpse of a familiar face on the news. To my horror it was the end of a ransom video from within the south of the country we had just left. I looked down at the newspaper next to me and the headline read, “RANSOM TALKS RULED OUT OVER HELD AUSTRALIAN.” The extremists wanted $2,000,000 US. The Australian government was refusing to pay. We had just spent a week surfing near the area where the man had been abducted from his home. That could have been us. And who would have cared? Who would have paid? Who and what can we rely on in this tarmac jungle when the shit hits the line-up? Every year travelers go missing in areas like South Africa, Mexico, Philippines, Morocco, Chile, even Canada and France. We hear stories. We’ve all seen the TV shows and movies. There are chilling stories to be told. Engines blowing, crazy captains and tropical brain infections are nothing compared to the harsh reality of pirates and underground military rebels, roaming around our next packaged surf tour destination. Surf trips can go south quickly, and do. In Mexico alone a daily average of 49 people were kidnapped in 2011, and in 2010 more than 200 kidnapped victims were murdered. Sharks got nothing on this. Then there are sea pirates off the coasts of Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and in the South China Sea. Being surfers and travelers, how close are we to being kidnapped, killed or left stranded? So say we did get into the thick of it. Say we woke up on a mission in Mexico and Dede Suryana, Indonesia’s leading surfer, was missing. His blood splattered on the wall. The ransom note reads $2,000,000 US or else. Dede is Indonesia’s highest profile pro surfer, with top brands like Quiksilver and Coca-Cola sponsoring him. The next question is, who would spring for him? We would have but our boards to trade for Dede, so would Quik or Coca-Cola step up to pay his ransom? Or would Dede be a goner? Imagine being held captive, knowing you don’t have the two million dollars to save your own life. All you wanted to do was get barreled. Now you’re getting the barrel of a gun shoved in your hungry face. It’s not six foot glassy perfection against a backdrop of rosy cumulus, volcanic peaks and turquoise jizz. It’s six foot of renegade stubble, packing jungle stink and semi-automatic heat. Maybe we did steal the guy’s land, rape his women and enslave his children in sneaker factories. But don’t be so sensitive, mate, and give us back Dede. You’ve heard stories of military police attempting rescues. Sometimes successful. Sometimes ending in a blood bath. Would a shepherd of the surfing world, Quiksilver, save one of their own lambs or would

F E AT U R E

CONT... they leave him to be eaten by wolves? But the real question is, why would we expect, even fantasize, to be rescued by the big companies? No one has been kidnapped or ransomed, but things aren’t what they seem. Quiksilver and Coca-Cola obviously have vested interests in Dede as well as a deep abiding affection, but the nature of sponsorship is nebulous, something more than a job and less than a romance. That’s the real question, after what we’ve done for them, how far would surf companies go for us? Would they act out of their own interests for the sake of their team rider? Or would they just prefer to be Big Brother and enforce the fantasy world in which thoughtcrime is death and press releases aren’t? The Clash sang it best- “Charlie Don’t Surf.” But make no mistake, Dede, should you ever be captured by militants, the Indo crew would come for you Apocalypse Now-style, M60s blazing. We’re all fully acquainted with surfing’s darker side- capitalism and commercialism blah blah has a strange hold on a sport, a lifestyle, an expression and it has bent surfing to its own money making will blah. Companies control the media, that’s fine. They orchestrate the tour, of course. But the origin of the dark side is not the companies, the cheap mass produced products, the anti-marketing marketing campaigns, concrete cancer stores and shellac-attack videos. It’s our own inability not to make that the dark side. Our unwillingness to stop buying shit and believing the hype. Our inability to stop feeding the machine. We’ve made money and image our Gods, neither one noxious in its own right but together beginning to resemble cannibalism and suicide. But go on and buy it if you think it’s going to make you feel better. What is not immediately apparent is so much more interesting. If Dede got kidnapped and taken for ransom? Quiksilver probably has insurance against this sort of thing, so they could come in and save the day. The untold story is how the whole circle jerk keeps going. And that’s fine. But don’t lap it up. I couldn’t care less if Quiksilver made a billion dollars or didn’t. But we’ll do the deciding on what to think, what to like, what we dream, who we are, and who to fuck. I happen to like a big ol’ ass once in a while. And not just blondes. But bless their cotton socks anyway, just to be safe. So as for annihilating the irritatingness of brands? Offer something different than the mere maintenance of it all. It’s not worth fighting against, it’s just a matter of finding a different way. You know those people who talk in clichés? You can ignore them. And if something begins to smell like rotting flesh, for god’s sake don’t eat it. None of us expect anything to ever change. We’re just keeping one ear to the ground. And don’t go to the Philippines. I mean go. But don’t bother trying to find any waves. Leave the traveling to the professionals, Dede and Mikala. Like Dede said, “We had been looking at this spot for a few years and it all came together. We were some of the first surfers to visit there. But yeah, if anyone else went there they’d probably get kidnapped and killed.” I love the smell of surfwax and napalm in the morning. Words by Mariah Photos by Brad Masters

SEA CIRCUS 2ND BIRTHDAY ‘MARGARITAS & MAMASITAS’

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