001 INSPADES UNO by INSPADES

iPhone Only @Nei.Cruz Visionary

William Smith @billsmith2315

Drifting Slowly With @_brooklyndragonfli_ @jolandarichter @wtch_42

Daydreams and

Mary Grace Dela Peña

FairyTales

@nini29dk

Satan’s Seamstress

Miss E @madame_absinthe

model: @mariaamanda_official

NUMERO UNO $6.99 O C T O B E R

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Journey from a tiny dream To a reality most unexpected Life is about choices All of them yours Who will you choose to be? FREE ISSUE

SUBMIT

INSPADES MAGAZINE is an open window to the world. Whatever your art, whatever your craft, be it dance, photography, modelling, poetry, cinematography, extreme photo editing or something yet to be imagined, whatever you do, Do It #InSpades. Connect with us @pr0ject_uno @inspadesmag

ÂŠ Sergio D. Spadavecchia

@creativespades

model:

@zina_diva2015

MUA:

@makeupbysalmakhan

NUMERO UNO 006

Albany McCabe “Saw your smile...”

008

Jaclyn Truss Letter From The Editor

012

Alper Fidaner Prepare to be moved

018

Rita Nagy-Osz What is considered art?

028

Mary Grace Dela Peña Daydreams and Fairy Tales

044

Sagar Pandya The desire for darkness

050

Miss E I Do It... Because I Can!

058

Ghoulish Gary Bringing Monsters to Life

068

Igor Mosca Sicilian passion for the shutter

074

Giovanni Bruno Peace, endless roads and landscapes

092

080

How playing dress-up can be an ethnic put-down

William Smith From analog to digital capturing Philadelphia

086

Oliver Francois Karstel Geometrical fractals and portraits

088

Nathan Sulecki “Drown With Me” Final breath just before plunging beneath the water

Anissa R. Stambouli

A Culture in Costume

102

Allyson Marie Escaping behind the shutter

110

Jolanda Richter Brush strokes and colors to paint a better world

118

Oliver Ojeil Filmaker, visual guru and...

ISSUE ZERO

126

Nei Cruz

132

Ksusha Kibireva

140

Shay Kedem

@TheFashionPrØject

We will show you—and the whole world— what we can do

150

@inspadesmag

InSpadesMag

SERGIO DAVID SPADAVECCHIA - Publisher/Creative Director info@creativespades.com - creativespades.com - @creativespades JACLYN TRUSS - Editor in Chief - inspades@creativespades.com ANISSA STAMBOULI - Head Writer - astamdesigns.org - @astamdesigns REBECCA BOWSLAUGH - Writer - @beckbeforedawn ADRIANO MARCHESE - Writer SHAY KEDEM - Fashion Editor / Photographer - @kedemstudio REBECCA WEAVER - Fashion Editor - @_legsweaver_ TREY LANE - Graphic Designer - treylanecaptures.weebly.com - @Treylane_captures ALBANY MCCABE - Opening Poet DARIO SPADAVECCHIA - Media Research

Peter Gunn

152

Jerick Van Ortiz

158

@pr0ject_uno

CAROL GONG CHIEF CONTENT AGGREGATOR

Asmo Turunen

KRISTINA REESES COMMUNITY MANAGER

162

@pr0ject_uno @thedarkpr0ject @themysterypr0ject @thegraphicspr0ject @pr0ject_soul @pr0ject_bnw @sombresociety

Doug Dorsett

166

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@sombrescapes @sombrebeings @sombrexplore @s0mbrebw @human.edge @m3xtures @ thefashionpr0ject

Amir Saddigh

170

Kyle Merkley

176

Stephen Crosson

COVER: Mary Grace Dela Peña INSTAGRAM: @nini29dk FACEBOOK: marygrace1987photography

“The Black Swan” Model and MUA: Maria Amanda Schaub Designer: Fairytas

InSpades Magazine is designed & distributed by

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ÂŠ Allyson Marie

@_brooklyndragonfli_ / @Paperm000n

Saw your smile in my camera roll yesterday Date stamp read: “the year she went away” Never did get an answer to that question I asked Doesn’ t matter now; the past is the past Now this photo of you is all that remains Can’ t help feeling like I was to blame Wishing wanting praying for things to stay the same I know in my heart: your loss was a gain So why are you healed and I’m still in pain?

- Albany McC abe @ albany.new.york @ the.aimless.muse

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Letter From the Editor BY JACLYN TRUSS

Heart

in a Box I’ve been watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Old show, I know, but it is the right time for me to be watching it and I learned something that really resonated, so I thought I’d share it. I learned that if something isn’t at least as half as cool as “heart in a box”, then it’s not worth my time. For avid fans, you’ll know the reference, and the cocky, kickass surgeon who said it, but for those of you who don’t know, I’ll elaborate. The character, Cristina Yang, is brilliant heart surgeon, she has as explosive life as anyone else on the show, but she’s a fantastic surgeon. So great that her superior offers her a reward - if Yang makes a list of surgeries she has always wanted to do, her attending will do what she can to make it happen. Yang begins to list her

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“From Ash” Model: Pauline Harboe Morier

desired surgeries, until the old chief of surgery scoffs at her unimaginative and uninspired list, and implores her to seek out “heart in a box”, a heart that has been removed from a donor and is being kept alive at the hospital until it is picked up to be taken to the recipient. She spends the better part of the episode staring at the “heart in a box”, oblivious as to how it is supposed to help her. Now, the usual process of a heart transplant requires taking the organ out of the donor, placing it on ice, transporting it, placing into the recipient’s body, then waiting for the cold, dead heart to warm up and come back to life. However, in this case, they have used a portable heart perfusion system, a machine that keeps the heart alive by mechanically moving warm blood through it and monitoring it, while it sits in a protective clear enclosure—in other words, a heart in a box. The unique thing about it is that, even though it is between bodies, the heart never stops living. As Yang aptly puts it, “It’s a friggin miracle.” The reason I am regaling you with my midnight brain fodder, is because at least a dozen times a day I think, am I following my highest excitement, to the best of my ability, right now? The answer, often, is no, no I’m not. Not because I have some detestable or helpless life in which I couldn’t possibly, but because I simply get caught up in routine of things or the busyness of things, and forget. I forget to be excited, can you believe that? Of course you can, because we both know you do it too.

@nini29dk

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We have some of things we want, generally at least the survival things, so we often let our other excitements fall to the wayside, and get on with our less than exciting, self-created obligations. We convince ourselves we have to wait until we can afford the time or money to do it, or that not every minute is meant to be exciting and lack of excitement is just part of the equation, or any and all manner of other limiting excuses. Sometimes, we even question what our highest excitement is at all, because we’ve so buried ourselves in limitation, it seems like some strange and faraway idea, maybe a nice possibility for others, but not made for us. It is in this state that we are at our most unimaginative and uninspired. It is here where we pull the plug on the “heart in a box”. We often dedicate ourselves to a daily ritual of limiting thoughts, ideas and perspectives that don’t serve us, and then we look around, feeling unexcited, bewildered and wondering, what happened? Maybe we can even make lists of our excitements, but if we are so excited by them, why aren’t we pursuing them with all of our driving force, as much as we can, as often as we can, with the resources we have, to the best of our ability, right now? It’s because time and time again, we stop looking at the miracle. We forget that in each living, breathing, heart beating moment, we are a heart in a box. Our very being is meant to inspire us, enliven us, thrill us! We can, at anytime, no

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matter the circumstances in our physical world, decide to feel that which excites us the most, take unending steps in the direction of that excitement, and most wonderfully, not be stopped from feeling it, being it or doing it. That, is one heck of a miracle. We spend a lot of our time doing things that aren’t half as cool as “heart in a box” and we should feel free to take it upon ourselves not to do that anymore. We are miraculous beings, and anything we cannot find the excitement in, is not worth our time. So the next time you sit there, feeling uninspired and unsure of what you want to be, do or feel, I want you to picture yourself sitting next to a stubborn, cynical, life-saving surgeon, sitting in front of a clear box with a living, beating, human heart inside it, and I want you to hear her say: “You’re standing before a miracle, and once you realize that, she’ll change your perspective. Okay, here’s what I do, I look at an item on my list, I look at heart-in-a-box, and if that surgery on my list isn’t half as cool as heart-in-a-box, then it is not worth my time. She lets you know what’s most important to you. That’s what heart-in-a-box does.” Then I want you to get up and go and do anything that you consider to be at least half as cool as “heart in a box”, no matter what it is, as long as it excites you, and don’t give it another thought, just do it, be it, and feel your heart beating in tandem with the miracle of all that is. Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump... P.S. I hope this issue excites you! <3 “The Key Bearer” Models: Kastalia Hoffmann-Harms + Cille Vegge Bjørck Designer: Charlotte Aurora Design MUA: Niels Laigaard Mikkelsen Assistant: Mikkel Gaba

@nini29dk

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Alper Fidaner By Anissa R. Stambouli

Prepare to be moved Seasoned photographer Alper Fidaner transports

the viewer to a dimly lit back room, indulging the visual senses with his photographic series of feminine expression. Sultry, somber and with a tinge of gothic, his work charms the viewer with shadowed romance. Working from his home studio in Ankara, Turkey, Fidanerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s style draws from dark room techniques, shunning the use of flash to achieve vintage undertones. Photographing for over thirty years, Fidanerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skill is best

noted in his ability to capture a sense of endless, sensual motion within the stillness of a portrait. In one image, a flapper girl spreads herself along a darkened wall in, the illusion of movement extending from her fingertips with an editing trick, offering an alien, creature-like feel to her disproportioned hand. A similar image offers a blindfolded woman sprawled across the backdrop; one hand clutches her naked torso while the other extends vertically, arching her lower back. Reaching to her waist is a translucent tulle skirt,

@afidaner

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Fidanerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skill is best noted in his ability to capture a sense of endless, sensual motion within the stillness of a portrait.

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reminiscent of an elongated ballerina tutu. The image is a contrasting portrayal of the feminine and delicate, paired with an edgy and submissive narrative. Fidaner expertly positions the model, capturing a subtle streak of light that accentuates her curves, suggesting a sense of perpetual motion. In another image, two corseted women rest intertwined on a sheet, seemingly collapsed from a dance of cabaret and backroom entertainment. Despite their apparent stillness, the women maintain active positions; oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arm lifted back to cradle the head of the other model, their legs positioned unnaturally for postures associated with reclination, as though poised to resume dancing at any moment.

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Many of Fidanerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portraits from this series feature women with eyes downcast, seemingly in sleep, resignation or evasion from the gaze of the viewer. When the subjects do make eye contact with the lens, they do so with an austere gaze, as though plagued by some secret, afflicted by some internal demon or trapped by some peculiar circumstance. Veiled by gentle lighting and softening edits, Fidanerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direction creates fluid sympathy, his subjects pulling at you from the murky capture of his alluring portraits, begging for release.

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I'M NOT SURE WHAT MAKES A

ARTIST AND

WHAT IS CONSIDERED

ART By Jaclyn Truss

RITA NAGY-OSZ @WTCH_42 19

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Rita Nagy-Osz

has never had any education in the arts. A biologist by trade, she considers herself a complete novice when it comes to visual arts, having only discovered her passion for it this past year. Nagy-Oszâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, novice or not, is striking and fully evoking. In her interview with InSpades Magazine, we got a behind the scenes look at her alluring and captivating artwork. What is it about the creative process that you find so compelling? I create because I need it. It is a form of therapy. As soon as I had finished my first piece, I knew that this was it! This was the form of creative meditation that I had been looking for, a way to channel emotions and to keep my mind busy, yet still. It became a daily habit, and very quickly, a full blown addiction. Sometimes I'm sitting at a dinner party or in a social circle, and I can't wait to get home to my lovely dog, put music on, make a coffee and open Photoshop. It's the daily ritual I look forward to, a very experimental experience.

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What is the main driving force behind your creative process? The main driving force of my creativity? Probably the frequent episodic switches of my manic depression. I lack creativity when I'm in a “high” cycle, yet I NEED to create when I'm in a “low” cycle. It's like I'm brushing myself out of depression. Either way, it's the one thing I am able to do to get better. This is why I don't expect anything from it. I know my limitations and capabilities, I don't need it to be perfect or to please anyone with it. Everything that comes afterwards is just a bonus, building my creative confidence. What would you say are the main inspirations behind your work? My main inspiration is the universal existential loneliness of mankind, the playground of darkness and light that is in all of us. The glimpses of time when we see light, as a firefly or an explosion, but only temporarily. If I had to write a soundtrack to my images, it would be something eerily similar to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. I also love working with Glitch. I am not sure if my pieces can be considered Glitch art or not, but Glitch art has definitely been an inspiration in some of my work.

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Your submissions are amazing, at first glance and you can feel this immediate intrigue, an instant infatuation. Can you tell us a bit about them? These pictures are my most recent ones. I remember that the idea for these smoky/ cloudy edits began to take shape whilst looking at pictures of colourful smoke bombs. I even edited some of them prior to drawing them up in smoke because I was running out of pictures to work with. Since I'm not a photographer and had limited images to work with, I had to start brushing to maintain my outlet. You say you are not a photographer, where do you obtain the images you work with? Selecting the pictures I'm going to work with can be very time-taking. An image can be perfect and gorgeous, yet if I don't feel a connection to it emotionally, the end result will be poor. I mainly use stock images. Not because there aren't plenty of brilliant photographers on Instagram, but because I'm too shy to ask their permission to use their shots. I see amazing pictures that are great as they are and I feel like it would be almost an insult to say "I want to ruin your awesome shot by covering half of your gorgeous model with my brushesâ&#x20AC;?, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure there are photographers who would be willing, and I will have to seek them out eventually.

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Where can we see more of your incredible artwork? I don't currently share my art on any other platform other than Instagram, however, I have started an art blog on inspirationclan.com/members/wtch42 and my next step will be to post there as well. Every creative addiction needs a creative dealer If you would like to support a healthy addiction by sending your images to Rita Nagy-Osz to be the subjects of her explosive creativity, please feel free to contact her on Instagram: @wtch_42

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Come and

daydream

with me By Jaclyn Truss

inspadesmag.com

Mary Grace

Dela Peña

@nini29dk

“Creatures of Terabithia” Models: Maria Amanda and Lillian Liu Headpiece (black): Fraise au Loup Créations Headpiece (white) and Chestpieces: Hysteria Machine

An autodidact photographer based in Denmark, Dela Peña’s stunning and ornate masterpieces leave you further agape once you discover she is but a hobby photographer. Having just finished her Master’s degree in International Business Communication, she currently works as a PR/Marketing intern, orchestrating elaborate photo shoots in her spare time.

“In Silence” Model: Sandra Corydon Røbel MUA: Suror Al-saraf - Glamzone Copenhagen Designer (Clothes and accessories): Nøkke Fensholt - Fairytailor

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Dela Peña “accidentally” stumbled upon photography 3 years ago, fell in love, and it has been her passion ever since. With dreamy, painting-like images, spiced with alternative fashion and accessories, it is difficult to tell where reality ends and the daydream begins. Dela Peña desires her photographs to tell stories and share the embellished worlds of her fantasies - her themes displaying a strong reflection her personal innerworkings.

“The White Swan” Designer: ONEofONE by Maibritt Kokholm Model: Tanja Thorsteinsdottir MUA: Zaynab Artist Of Makeup

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InSpades Magazine wanted to get a closer look at the inside heart of this pensively pictorial sorceress, in the hope that she would reveal how she conjures her magnificently magical world of make-believe.

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“The Child of the Cursed Temple” Model: Regina Piil - https://www.facebook.com/ReginaPiilModel/ Headpiece: Posh Fairytale Couture Corset: Artifice Clothing

Camera Camera body – Canon 5d Mark II Lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2,8 L IS II and Canon 50mm f/1,4 USM (is great for portraits and gives a soft look and nice bokeh)

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“Moon Goddess” Model: Maria Amanda Dress: Avalon Saez Headpiece: Hysteria Machine

“In Bloom” Model & MUA: Maria Amanda Schaub Designer: Royal Black Couture & Corsetry

Aperture It varies depending on the look that I want. If I want a more dreamy look to my images, I would opt for F/1.4. When I use my 50mm or f/2.8 then I use my 70-200mm. However, this really depends on the theme of the photoshoot, the model’s outfit, hair, makeup and if she is wearing accessories.

“I am so lucky to have met a lot of amazing models, designers and other creatives. So, each photos that I’ve created are dear to me.”

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“Chaos and Beauty” Model: Maria Amanda Designer: Posh Fairytale Couture Bracelet by The Rogue + The Wolf Claws by Freckles Fairy Chest

Shutter Speed Usually around 100-200, but this depends on the weather and the amount of ambient light you have outside or whether you use a flash. Most of my photos are shot using ambient light.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the Woodsâ&#x20AC;? Model and MUA: Kitty S Mortensen

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“I use Photoshop for postprocessing. I usually add more hair to give my images more drama. Most of my images are edited to look like a painting, so I paint over the images sometimes and add light leaks on PS to give my images a fantasy look.”

“It’s mostly trial and error. Before the actual shoot, I do a lot of research, how I want the models to pose, the location etc. I watch a lot of YouTube tutorials. The more you take photos the better photos you will create. It’s all about practice and your willingness to learn.”

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“Then Came Spring” Model: Sandra Røbel MUA: Zaynab Alkhafaji

“There are so many talented photographers that I admire. I like the work of Brooke Shaden, Tim Walker, Emily Soto and Zemotion. Each have their own style and way of telling stories through their images. They influenced my way of taking photos in that it’s not just about taking an image with your camera, it’s about telling a story, finding ways to be creative and pursuing one’s passion.”

“She who came with Autumn” Model: Charlotte Haagen Jensen

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“Don’t be afraid to ask people if they want to collaborate with you. The worst thing that could happen is you get a “no”. If it’s a “no”, then move on. Don’t linger on it and feel bad about yourself not being good enough. It takes time. Just enjoy and do your thing.” “I make moodboards and I always try my best to communicate efficiently with my team so they know exactly what to expect and what to do.” “The best feeling is planning a photoshoot; collaborating with amazing people and watching the story you all created together unfold.”

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“Despondency” Model: Katrine Thyge Jensen

“My ‘Werifesteria’ series is all about one’s relationship with nature. It is about one’s curiosity and longing for something that you do not really know or understand. So, you wander longingly, walking for hours through the forest, in search of mystery. Daydreaming and meeting enchanted creatures.”

Model: Paulina Krzyształowicz @ Mapa Model Management MUA: Athena Bense Designer: OneofOne by Maibritt Kokholm

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sagar

pandya By Anissa R. Stambouli

@st_saggy

Inspired by gothic cosplay, and compelled by the art of portraiture, Sagar Pandya is a self-taught photographer with a desire for darkness.

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Originally from India, Pandya recently relocated to Warsaw, Poland, where the twenty-four year old dedicates his time to photography and music and loves to connect music and words that he adores to his images. His contributed series for InSpades Magazine speaks of desire, particularly Pandya’s “noir desir”. All of Pandya’s work is black and white, often playing with light as it filters through dust particles or illuminates tendrils of smoke. Polarity seems to be a recurring theme, at times suggestive by way of light and shadow, and other times explicitly emphasized with face paint.

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Pandya’s piece “Duality”, a self-portrait, shows Pandya’s face perfectly divided; one side is tarred with solid paint, with only minute details of his face visible by tiny points of refracted light, fading his features into the black—the other half remains naked, crisply lit to reveal the intricate details of his face and darkened expression. The young photographer also dabbles in light costuming. His ominous, foreboding and nightmarish skeleton-themed series, has been paired with Instagram captions such as, “deeper and deeper within.” Self-aware and attuned to his sentiments, Pandya successfully portrays his internal complexities through costume, achieving portraiture that is both mysterious and emotional.

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Photo by ÂŠSergio D. Spadavecchia

@creativespades

IBECAUSE DOI CAN IT

By Nicole Hunnersen

Walking down the street,

dressed in her finest chainmail, the intriguing Miss E cuts an impressive figure. At 6’0”, she already more statuesque than most ladies, but reaching a staggering 7’4”, in her signature mohawk and platform boots, she is a truly formidable figure. Combined with her one-of-a-kind, richly detailed, accessory-driven outfits, she becomes a force to behold. Even when Miss E is donning more “casual clothing,” she is dressed up more than most people do for fancy occasions or even Halloween. Why? Because style is her passion and she holds it to no standard or limitation. Miss E is the owner of Party Corner, a costume shop in Guelph, Ontario, which designs both custom costumes and houses thousands of off-the-rack pieces – anything and everything from Sexy Spongebob to Giant Hot Dog to Deluxe Darth Vader. In her “spare time”, she engages in what she calls “rogue sewing” with fellow seamstress “Scary” Kerri (@blackorchiddesignsdotca), who owns the clothing and accessories shop Black Orchid Designs in Cambridge, Ontario. As a team, they call themselves “Satan’s Seamtresses”, having thrown patterns out the window long ago and are now constantly conspiring to create “all manner of crazy things”. They specialize in one-of-a-kind,

@madame_absinthe

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gothic/glam/industrial/post-apocalyptic streetwear and accessories for themselves and clients, often utilizing unique items they find at vintage/antique shops and markets. This self-created moniker for the seemingly undefinable work these women engage in, with their outrageous looks and leather jackets stitched with the name, often get the pair mistaken for being members of a band. Miss E relates that “an unfortunate problem about owning a costume shop and looking the way I do, is that I frequently get people asking me if I’m wearing a costume when I’m at work, which I find very irritating. However, when I’m out in public, I frequently get mistaken for a rock star, which I find very flattering, so I have to take the bad with the good, I guess. People often come up to me and ask me questions like, ‘What’s this? Why are you wearing this?’ I will tell anyone anything as long as they are polite, because there’s not a lot of different, alternative people out there. So if you find one, that might be your opportunity to ask questions that you might not be able to ask anyone else.” Miss E’s decorative style also extends to her apartment, which she quotes as being one of her main inspirations. She has a 1910s embalming table as her dining room table (which freaked some of her friends out a bit at first – but she assured them it had been sanitized before they sat

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down to eat off it), and a glass-topped coffin as a coffee table. The coffin is completed by the lifeless mannequin that lays inside, always donning a different, fabulous outfit, displayed clearly through the glass top. In fact, Miss E has many mannequins in her home, all wearing different ensembles that she herself has created. In essence, walking into her apartment is like walking into a horror movie backdrop, but Miss E couldn’t be more at peace in it. A native to the humble Port Sydney, Ontario, Miss E was always the self-described “weird kid” that wanted to wear strange and unusual outfits to grade school. Upon entering university as a drama major, she began sewing as part of a costume class and never looked back. A current sewing project is what she describes as an “epic glam-rock David Bowie Queen-of-the-Aliens pointy shoulder thing” that I personally cannot wait to see. She has also recently become the costume designer and seamstress for TroyBoy Entertainment’s Guelph-based, “That’s My Drag.” The unique and fabulous outfits on display are greatly appreciated by the performers, who would otherwise have an arduous time sourcing good-quality stage clothing that fit properly. Miss E, in fact, says that one of the reasons that she started sewing was because, being a unique size herself, she had a difficult time finding clothes that fit her well. “I myself am an unusual size, and I get REALLY frustrated at the lack of interesting clothing that’s out there for differently-sized people.

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I believe that people of all sizes should have really great clothing choices, and it’s frustrating that that doesn’t exist, so I make it exist.” Everyday life often holds new adventures and surprises for Miss E and she counts this as a driving force in her creativity. “Every day that comes to me is a new adventure. I have zero idea what’s going to happen next and who I’m going to meet. The day always brings really interesting stuff…. sometimes you walk into the wrong store and end up with a photoshoot, or you meet somebody with a really cool car, or you meet somebody who needs a crazy pair of shoes made…you don’t know what’s going to happen…so I just roll with the punches and see where I land.” Miss E also emphasizes that she is always trying new things with her “rogue sewing.” For example, “what’s going to happen if you cut this pair of shoes in half? You will never know unless you try, right?” As her knowledge base of working without patterns and with unconventional materials and styles has evolved, her ideas have gotten more and more epic. As long as she can imagine something, she can probably figure out a way to do it. Likewise, her advice to budding seamstresses/designers/artists is to just be “open to adventure and have a positive mindset that this thing is going to turn out. Eventually you’re going to get there, and it will be awesome in the end.” @madame_absinthe

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Bringing Monsters To Life

The Art of

Ghoulish

Gary By Rebecca Bowslaugh

The first impression of “Ghoulish” Gary Pullin is a blast of violent colour—pop culture meeting mass murder. The subject of his art nearly overshadows his talent as an illustrator; monsters and creatures that follow you home through the shadows and wake you in the night. Not only are his creatures ablaze with frightening detail, but also the complexities of each design make it impossible to look away. Pullin is Rue Morgue magazine’s original art director, the 2009 Artist of the Year in the Rondo Hatton Awards, and has artwork featured around North America in galleries, movie posters, and on vinyl albums. Our fascination with the man behind the proverbial horror mask competes with our delight in his work; InSpades Magazine took pleasure in peeling away the layers that make up Ghoulish Gary.

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nothing will ever live up to the dread you’ve conjured up in your mind

www.ghoulishgary.com Twitter: @ghoulishgary Instagram: @ghoulishgary

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Like so many artists today, Pullin was raised on a hearty diet of movies and television. However, unlike other kids watching Saturday morning cartoons, Pullin absorbed as much horror as he could. It all began with The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, a Canadian sketch comedy show from the 70s starring Billy Van and the king of low-budget horror films–Vincent Price. Sure it was made for kids, but with characters like Dracula, The Wolfman, and Grizelda the Ghastly Gourmet, things often got more than weird. “That was my gateway drug to horror,” admitted Pullin. “It was so psychedelic and weird that I was mesmerized by it. It wasn’t scary at all, but it was spooky and very funny. It introduced me to Vincent Price and all of the monsters all at once.” Growing up, Pullin was always drawing, gravitating towards monsters and villains, while feeding off the horror novels of Stephen King. Naturally, he went to art school in London, Ontario, and then studied graphic design and advertising in Kitchener, Ontario. In 1998, Pullin moved to Toronto and worked in a commercial design firm, where he developed labels and packaging for big name brands and worked with some of the best art directors in the commercial design industry. However, his love for horror was never far from sight. That same year, Montreal's legendar y Fantasia International Film Festival had come to the Bloor Cinema (now The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema).

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It was there at a horror film screening that Pullin first met the publishers of Rue Morgue magazine. “They were selling the first three issues in the lobby and I couldn't believe there was a horror film magazine published in Toronto; I had to get involved,” said Pullin. “I hit it off with the publisher, Rodrigo Gudino, and before I knew it, I was their in-house artist.” Pullin continued working at his day job at the design firm, stopping at the end of each workday only to pick up his freelance work for Rue Morgue in his free time. As the magazine continued to gain popularity, Pullin was hired as the full-time art director in 2001, illustrating many of their covers and helping to establish the brand. He left the corporate world behind and never looked back. Pullin’s inspiration as an artist comes from a variety of sources, but mainly focuses on comic book artists and painters from the 1950s through the 1980s. Tales from the Crypt artists, Ghastly Graham Ingles and Jack Davis, illustrators like Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing, Creepshow) and Charles Burns (Black Hole), and painters like Basil Gogos, were all major influences on Pullin’s style. “Gogos’ vivid portraits of classic movie monsters that beamed off the covers for Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine will always inspire me.” Pullin was also influenced by his love of poster art. Robert Kastle, who painted the iconic JAWS poster, Saul Bass who created posters for The Shining, Vertigo and Psycho, and Bob Peak’s work, including Apocalypse Now,

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The Island, and The Spy Who Loved Me. And of course, Pullin’s inspiration also comes from the origin of horror—each monster and villain he’s ever seen. JAWS, Boris Karloff’s portrait of the monster in Frankenstein, and Wes Craven’s Freddy Krueger are all memorable for Pullin, as well as the creature from the black lagoon. “The Creature From The Black Lagoon is a beautiful and iconic monster design. It still works for me. If they remade it today, it would be a computer generated gill man, running, leaping and doing cartwheels under water, but I’ll take the guy in a rubber suit over computer generated wizardry any day.” Not only does Ghoulish Gary appreciate the appeal of the monster, but he also understands the fear created by the absence of the monster. “I think the scariest monsters are created in an audience’s mind.” Proof of this theory can be seen in JAWS, wherein the shark isn’t even revealed until halfway through the film. “Chances are the shark was scarier in your head than when you see it pop out of the water for the first time. It’s still scary and effective, but nothing will ever live up to the dread you've conjured up in your mind.” In 2012, Pullin decided to break out and start his own design company, but continues to work with Rue Morgue through his monthly art column, “The Fright Gallery”. While Pullin finds working for himself to be gratifying, he also told InSpades Magazine that it comes with its own set of challenges.

Balancing many projects at the same time means he has to miss out on socializing and other aspects of his personal life. Luckily, Pullin’s supportive wife helps with the business. However, he likes to think his current success is temporary, thereby encouraging himself to keep busy. “I enjoy sequestering myself to my studio for long periods of time to create the work and meet the deadlines,” said Pullin. Pullin’s illustrations cover a wide variety of formats, including magazine covers, movie posters and vinyl cover design, including the soundtrack designs for Creepshow, Re-Animator, Wes Craven’s Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Black Christmas, and The Monster Squad, which are some of Pullin’s favourite films. One of Pullin’s more memorable commissions came in 2013, when he was asked by Mondo to create an official poster for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Despite feeling intimidated by Saul Bass’s original design, which is often seen as one of the most influential film posters of all time, Pullin was excited to give it a try. “The eyeball idea is my nod to Saul Bass's original, and the staircase idea became the variant,” he said. He submitted several ideas and Mondo chose two of them. Although each design is a lot of work, Pullin said the process is “fun and rewarding,” and he enjoys the challenge of telling a story through a single image. For Pullin, one of the best things about working in the horror industry is the fans. “It’s an instant bond,” he explained. “You don’t

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always have to agree on the films or music, but there’s a common love there.” The other great thing about the horror industry are the conventions and film festivals. In a hotel brimming with film fans and stars, Pullin is able to connect with those who know or collect his work. “I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with some filmmakers and musicians I grew up admiring,” he said. “So it's kind of surreal when you get notes from them or when they compliment your work.” Although Pullin’s first love is horror, he is also passionate about science fiction, comedy and documentaries, and has begun to increasingly work outside the horror industry to show off his storytelling capabilities and display his versatility. Pullin has worked on a couple of Batman properties with Warner Bros., and was recently picked out of a handful of artists to create a special art print for a show called Star Trek: 50 Years. 50 Artists. “I was shocked when I got the email from CBS to participate,” admitted Pullin, “I still don't know how they found me, but I'm glad they did.” And the story isn’t anywhere near over for Ghoulish Gary. He is being featured in an upcoming documentary about the art of film posters called 24 x 36: A Movie About Movie Posters. Not only is his art featured in the film, but Pullin was also able to collaborate on the movie poster with other great artists in the industry. It is premiering at Fantastic Fest in Texas.

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“I’m thrilled with the movie,” said Pullin, “I think it’s really going to change people’s perspectives on illustrated movie art and hopefully win over some new people.” And he’s right. Even if you’re too scared to watch the movie being advertised, one look at Ghoulish Gary’s work is enough to bring forth admiration and illustrator’s envy from anyone, even the most fearsome of viewers. If you want to meet up with Ghoulish Gary Pullin, he’ll be at MondoCon in Austin, Texas (Oct 22–23) and Days of the Dead in Chicago (Nov 18–20).

Ghoulist Gary’s Recommended Scares: Scariest: The Changeling from 1981. If you've seen the movie, you will know why! Also, The Exorcist really did a number on me when I was young.

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IGOR MOSCA

In the prime of our teenagehood, most of us were infatuated with high school sweethearts, discovering the meaning of “cool”, learning to drive, bribing older siblings for beer, or just plain busy being kids. At the age of sixteen, Sicilian amateur photographer, Igor Mosca, is fortunate to have already developed the focused ability to understand and articulate his artistic expression. Self-taught and shooting with a Canon 1200d, Mosca told InSpades Magazine that he educated himself by simply “studying the world of photography.” While Mosca experimented with the art form in earlier years, it wasn’t until 2013 when he had his “real breakthrough.” Without a doubt, it was then that Mosca knew photography would blend with his life goals effortlessly.

By Anissa R. Stambouli

@mosca_igor

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“From there it was a succession of milestones, satisfaction and emotions,” Mosca said of his revelation, “Now I can say that photography is a necessity I cannot do without.” Arranging shoots with simple sets and natural lighting, Mosca works mostly with female models. He gently extracts the subject’s story, evoking an emotional response from the viewer. In the portrait “See Me”, the subject’s face is symmetrically positioned, fully exposed and bare, with the exception of her colourful lips. Kneeling with eyes raised and seeming to absorb the lens with her gaze, Mosca positions her in a way both submissive and softly subjugating. In his stunning piece, “Winter’s Warmth”, the pale lipped subject appears to be sleeping, nestled in a throw of fur blankets, with small, dried cotton plants amidst her tousled hair and motionless face. White speckles of powder are sprinkled across her face, reminiscent of snowflakes, as though she fell asleep in an icy drift and never awakened. Describing himself as an “instinctive person without limits,” it’s of little surprise that Mosca has found connections in the photography community through his own management and resources. Working toward his dream of fashion photography, Mosca hopes to pursue studies in photography, crossing the threshold like many artists before him by moving to New York City.

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s eace Giovanni

BRUNO By Anissa R. Stambouli

@giovannibrunoita

Endless roads, train tracks and landscapes decorate the collec tion of amateur photographer Giovanni Bruno. Hailing from Basilicata, Southern Italy, Bruno is a personal fitness trainer and health nut by day, landscape prowler by night. “I’ve always loved to take pictures, but it was only in the last few months that I started using a DSLR,” Bruno told InSpades Magazine. While Bruno made due with his phone as a camera before, he is now able to experiment in full force. Equipped with a Canon EOS 1100d, a neutral-density filter and a tripod with remote control for night time shooting, Bruno’s landscapes have taken on a richer quality. Observing Bruno’s experimentation with a slowed shutter speed, a waterfall becomes milky streaks of light amid the vibrant emerald of a forest in “Forest Falls”.

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“I love landscapes for the serenity and liberty they give me,” Bruno expressed. “I love long exposures, sunsets and night photography— capturing moody scenes around me.” In “Mansion Beneath The Mountain”, a luminescent mansion is submerged in a hill of green, its view cast over a lake that reflects the sky, an ethereal mist seeming to veil the scene. The simplicity of the setting offers the viewer the shared sense of placidity experienced by Bruno. For “Sole Sunset”, Bruno managed to capture a golden field awash in the soft light of a vanilla sunset, a lone tree in the center as a glowing orb shines from a corner of the image. Therein lies the skill of Giovanni Bruno; converting a scene barren of activity into a dulcet experience for the eye. To enjoy more of his work, please go to his Instagram @giovannibrunoita, sit back, relax and allow Bruno’s brand of peace to sooth your soul.

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UNIQUE PERSP

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PECTIVESWilliam By Anissa R. Stambouli

he work of Philadelphia-based painter and photographer William Smith plays like a reel from the pre-Golden Age of Hollywood. With dramatic contrasts in light and crisp symmetrical captures, Smith’s mostly black and white series inspires a quiet stillness, powerful in its simplicity. Shooting in and around Philadelphia, often featuring his father (#MyDadTheManInTheHat) with his Sony A7Rii, Smith’s work ranges from portraiture, captures of urban life and architecture, and nature photography. “I love to concentrate on the graphic elements in black and white photography, as well as line and perspective,” Smith told InSpades Magazine. Smith’s knack for photography began in college where he worked with a film camera and learned to develop his images in a darkroom. His traditional education can be seen through his style, where natural light and grey scale are often used to achieve visual contrasts and striking photography.

Smith @billsmith2315 / www.schmidtdean.com

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It was four years ago when Smith’s twelve-year-old son created an Instagram account for him. Having established himself as a successful painter with artwork in Philadelphia’s Schmidt Dean Gallery, Smith’s re-adaption into the world of photography began with his iPhone. “I started shooting everything. When that range was limiting, I purchased a digital camera.” When asked how his creative communication through painting and photography interacts, Smith responded that, though the artistic mediums may differ, the ideas for both forms spring from “life experience”.

In each work, whether painting or photograph, Smith seeks to “engage the viewer and tell a story without disclosing all the meaning.” “While my paintings elicit a particular mood rather than a place, my photography explores the interactions that we have with our environment. I seek to elicit a particular mood,

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and not to perseverate on the physical setting of the image. I use a unique perspective to create a distortion of everyday life. My photos juxtapose elements of reality with inventions of the mind’s eye to create unique images”. Smith demonstrates this clearly in his series “Halls of the Forest”, where he captures the foggy wooded area in Fairmount Park from a superbly unique perspective. “My wife brought me to this tree. The leaves were so huge, I started studying them and wrapping them around my camera and shooting,” described Smith, who proceeded to capture his wife and son in the distance through a leaf monocular. Though Smith has been actively exhibiting his painted artwork, he has only recently begun to present his photography at galleries. This summer he participated in a group show for Legend Galleries, a multi-disciplinary organization in Philadelphia, devoted to presenting the work of both established and emerging artists. You can see more of his fantastical imagery on his website www.schmidtdean.com or his Instagram page @billsmith2315

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Oliver Francois Karstel By Anissa R. Stambouli

Hailing from Pretoria, South Africa, Oliver Francois Karstel is an artistic entrepreneur with an eclectic set of skills. Dabbling in videography, design work and drum and bass DJing to name a few, it’s Karstel’s undeniable abilities in portraiture that demand recognition. Having grown up with a father who played jazz bass and a mother who painted, it’s no surprise that Karstel’s “religion and purpose in life is to make art.” Digital photography is his healthy addiction. “Like any passion, you need to let your art possess you; your obsession will drive you to a new level of success and possibility.”

In “Off Guard”, a portrait of Karstel’s father that this year received an honorable mention in the Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA), Karstel achieves a unique angle to deliver this unconventional and intriguing piece. Shot from above, the subject’s head and facial features are strangely disproportionate, an effect made more noticeable by the stark contrasts of light and dark. With half of his face concealed by shadow, the subject’s only visible eye seems to bulge confrontationally into the lens. Through digital manipulation, many of Karstel’s other photographic pieces convert standard images into geometric fractals, patterns birthed from commonplace objects. It is Karstel’s keen eye for extraordinary angles and perspectives that brings a sense of warped symmetry to his stunning work. Shoots with Canon 6d Lenses used are: Tamron 15-30mm Canon 24mm Tilt Shift Canon 100-400mm Canon 50mm Canon 85mm Canon 17-40mm Petzval 85mm lomography lens

@oliverkarstel

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NATHAN SULECKI By Jaclyn Truss

Nathan Sulecki once fell in love with a single portrait and that inspiration led him to a life behind the lens. Now, he focuses on a single goal: to inspire others to a life of art with a single portrait. A fine art photographer from Erie, Pennsylvania, Sulecki hopes to evoke emotion with his art, and to capture the hearts of others with his work. The pieces featured here are from his ongoing project â&#x20AC;&#x153;Drown With Meâ&#x20AC;? and encapsulates a series of a single woman, with the first image depicting her final breath just before plunging beneath the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. The second picture shows her fully submerged, obstinately holding her position, with neither air nor care. In the third image, it looks as though she is trying in vain to take a breath underwater, and panic builds with the fourth image when her true fate is realized, and she begins to thrash against the undertow of her self-created current, fighting for air.

model:

@sara.devi.cruz

@nathansulecki

“Its purpose is to show our common struggle in life using water. Water has symbolized life and death for humans since the beginning, so it only feels natural to use it as the medium to show struggle and triumph in our everyday lives. People become so consumed in their lives we often forget that billions of people have, and are, going through the same challenges everyday. Sometimes we fail though, so this also serves as a reminder to that somber reality. However, many face the currents and preserve to pass on their knowledge to make life easier for others.” Sulecki explained. Sulecki believes that Erie is a ‘hidden gem’ with great potential to be a considerable hub for artists of all mediums. Erie attracts, sponsors, and books performances by professionals in a variety of artistic crafts musicians, singers, ensembles, ballet dancers, photographers and more, both amateur and professional, either travel to the city for learning opportunities, gallery shows and performances, or call it home. However, much to Sulecki’s disappointment, Erie is seen more as a stepping stone community for the arts, in which most people, once becoming accomplished there, leave to pursue larger and more established art communities. Sulecki grieves, “I don’t understand this mentality. Why leave the very place that has inspired you to create? Why not make our city a destination for art? We are already a destination for our beautiful state parks along Lake Erie. Presque Isle itself boast more yearly visitors than Yellowstone National Park.

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Until that mentality changes though it will never happen. My aim is to change that mentality.” Pennsylvania itself is strategizing how to make Erie a go-to art destination. It’s oldest art council, Erie Arts & Culture, is a strategic charitable organization, encompassing a collective vision for the advancement of the arts and culture in the community. However, with New York City, London, Miami, Venice and Paris still topping the list as artistic havens of the world, Erie does seem to have quite the upward climb before it could reach the heights of world acclaim. Sulecki’s thoughts? “Yes it will take time. Yes it will be hard, but once artist realize the potential in the millions of visitors stopping in to the local galleries and museums, we will thrive. So by staying here and sharing my vision for Erie’s art community I know others will follow. I hope to help pave the way in showing other artist that this beautiful city is worth fighting for.”

The picture that started it all:

An innocent image of a flower girl at a friend’s wedding, smiling through the wedding bouquet. “In that moment I could feel her happiness and I was myself happy. It was in that moment I decided I wanted to learn how to take portraits. To aspire to create an image that would invoke such emotion that I felt. To inspire a person to explore the arts. Be it a love and appreciation or a drive to create themselves.”

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AIn Culture

Costume

How playing dress-up can be an ethnic put-down By Anissa R. Stambouli

Carnival activity and playful disguise have existed as a form of human celebration and enter tainment long before the commercialization of Halloween. While costuming can be associated with various types of performance, artistic expression or personal festivities, at what point does one’s choice of dress-up begin to put-down another’s cultural identity? The boundary between cultural appropriation and cultural sharing is a fluid separation—impossible to concretely differentiate

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as it continually oscillates between intention and interpretation. As a rising conversational trend, “cultural appropriation” is an endless storm of debate swirling in the universe of the Internet, with intraworlds like Twitter and Reddit spinning out of orbit from the onslaught of hateful accusations and righteous indignation. Most recently, a mixed group of models decorated with pastel dreadlocks in a Marc Jacobs show prompted a media shower of response, again demanding the question, “is this cultural appropriation or cultural sharing?”

“CULTURAL” WHAT? To appropriate something—be it a concept, practice, object or other—is to take something for one’s own purpose without permission from, or recognition of, the owning party. Think of the justifiable fit that author George R.R. Martin would be entitled to if HBO’s series Game of Thrones were to award alternate names for the characters and locations, and then eliminate acknowledgment for Martin’s creative influence, all the while maintaining an undeniable facsimile of the famous tales of warring Westeros. The show would be inarguably and severely appropriating Martin’s work. Now let’s expand our understanding of appropriation to include culture—the trending term for which is referred to as “cultural appropriation”. Here, a party is taking explicit influences from another culture or ethnicity, meanwhile denying the group recognition, collaboration or voice. Cultural sharing, on the other hand, is more inclusive in its approach. The world is filled with a fantastic fusion of cultures; borrowing elements of an array of cultures in a respectful, tasteful manner, constitutes a healthy cultural exchange. If bantu knots worn by Caucasian celebrities—think Björk or the models in Marc Jacobs’ spring collection in 2015—were to credit Zulu tribes in southern Africa with the inspiration, as opposed to renaming the style “twisted mini buns”, then that would be an example of cultural exchange; however, as long as

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the originator of a cultural element remains unacknowledged, then the “borrowed” element is appropriated, and not shared. A CULTURE IS NOT A COSTUME When it comes to festivity, costuming is a favoured element that comes to mind. Whether celebrating Oktoberfest with folks in lederhosen, partying within the vibrant themes of Mardis Gras, or participating in the famously costumed Halloween spirit, playing “dress-up” is a signature activity. While at times the purpose of costuming can be to achieve an off-putting effect— think zombie-themed attire for horror parties—the balance between visually repelling and offensive can be easily upset. For example, dressing as a suicide bomber in traditional Arab attire is not considered edgy for its dark “humour”, but offensive for its gross misrepresentation and mockery of a serious issue. In their ethnic awareness campaign “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume”, Ohio University’s group, Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS), addresses demeaning culture-based costumes that come out of the woodwork, especially around Halloween. Running poster campaigns with captions like, “When this is how the world sees you, it’s just not funny,” and “You wear the costume for one night, I wear the stigma for life,” STARS explains how costuming can be hurtful to cultural groups, regardless of the wearer’s intentions.

“Dressing up as Pocahontas (or Sexy Pocahontas, let’s get real), is offensive because it takes the whitewashed version of a whole group of people that have been victimized and abused in their own land [and presents it as] a thing one can just try for a night,” Laia Garcia, associate editor for Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s online newsletter “Lenny”, told The New York Times. In this campaign’s example, they state that this particular use of “native” attire is not adopting fashion characteristics from a broader Indigenous culture; but rather, making misuse of a community’s traditional dress for a night of fun, partying, and implicit ridicule. Regardless of whether the wearer means to insult, there is a lack of respect for the culture they are mimicking because their dress is uninformed, un-credited and a bogus interpretation of an appearance that is taken seriously by the cultural group. While the feathered headdresses of tribes and nations native to North America are actually sacred symbols, this is often seen as cheapened by costuming and pop culture. Dr. Adrienne Keene is a citizen of the Cherokee nation and voice to Native Appropriations, an educational blog that spotlights critical discourse around representations of Indigenous people in mainstream media. In her piece for The New York Times, “The Benefits of Cultural ‘Sharing’ are Usually One-Sided”, Dr. Keene explains that aspects of native culture, such as the headdress, have been “‘borrowed’ so many times and in so many ways that its orig-

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inal power and sacred meaning have been all but lost to the non-native public.” Dr. Keene goes on to describe the significance of the headdress, a gift that leaders are entrusted with by their communities. When a meaningful item is incorporated into a costume for the purpose of frivolous reveling, Dr. Keene claims that the item’s significance is “erased and disrespected”, and the concerned culture is reminded that their customs are “unimportant in contemporary society, and unworthy of respect.” In her argument, Dr. Keene does not disapprove of the incorporation of cultural influence within the worlds of art and fashion, but rather, insists on “partnership, collaboration, and equal power and control over how our communities are represented.” InSpades Magazine caught up with Vienna-based hair and makeup artist Nadine Mayerhofer, who posted a makeup tutorial on Youtube for achieving that “warrior-inspired” look. Wearing tribal-themed makeup and a full-feathered headdress, the video received a slew of passionate comments from frustrated critics and defensive supporters. “I was not going for specific ethnic or cultural makeup,” Mayerhofer told InSpades Magazine, “I wanted to create the look of a powerful, young female warrior using new modern colours and techniques.” Growing up around horses, Mayerhofer used to play “wild west” imaginary games with her friends, wherein the “warrior” represented strength and independence—a quality she tried to emulate through makeup art.

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“This is a very important topic for me as an independent woman, and I hope I fulfilled this statement with that look,” Mayerhofer explained. Despite her noble intentions, associating Hollywood’s version of a “native warrior” with power and independence, Mayerhofer did not research the traditional symbols, such as headdresses, that she incorporated into her costume. Her depiction of a “wild west” warrior woman unwittingly perpetuates the image of a stereotype, where Hollywood versions of Indigenous traditional dress are clumped into one misrepresentative look. CULTURAL SHARING VS. APPROPRIATING We live in a multicultural time where efficient transportation, Internet and the digital age have enabled exploration of the world’s diversity. It is not uncommon for cultures to borrow from each other. For example, sushi has permeated North American culture as a must-try food. What makes sushi a borrowed element of Japanese culture, as opposed to an appropriated traditional food, is that the Japanese origin of sushi is widely recognized. No one with zero connections to Japanese culture would open a sushi restaurant and claim to be the inventor of the delicious dish. According to Deborah Root, contributing essayist for Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation, “There is a very fine line between appreciation and appropriation, respect and self-aggrandizement.” When a person borrows elements from another culture, is the result an accurate portrayal and

homage to the culture it represents, or is it a low-grade glorification for the borrower? For example, if a person not associated with Hinduism were to dab a bindi on their forehead, are they doing so to engage with the religious gesture, or is it merely an “exotic” decoration? Another example to consider is the Inuit amauti. Amautis are parkas with built-in baby pouches worn by Inuit women. Functional and intimate, the design of amautis enables the mother to easily manoeuvre her child from back to front for convenient breastfeeding, all the while protecting the child from winter’s harsh conditions. As the amauti design and patterns belong to the Inuit people, if a group began distributing something heavily influenced by amautis, it would be considered cultural appropriation; however, Inuits and non-Inuits alike are welcome to embrace the innovative amauti by purchasing them through Inuit designers like Amauti Baby. Cultural sharing would be acknowledging the community that originally conceptualized amautis, and supporting their traditional fashion and community by purchasing the product from them. “It comes down to issues of respect and issues of power,” Dr. Keene wrote in her article, “Who is benefiting from the ‘borrowing’ of culture?” If the “borrower” is getting the better end of the deal, then the line between appreciating and appropriating has been crossed. Regardless of Halloween and costuming, it’s important to be sensitive to how one

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might inadvertently borrow elements from another culture and cause offense. Is the element providing recognition to the cultural group and offering a respectful portrayal, or is it thoughtless appropriation? CULTURE, ETHNICITY AND MEDIA LITERACY It’s no secret that popular culture and the media easily influence societal views. Whether we like it or not, our perception of ethnic groups and their customs are highly susceptible and subconsciously formed, in part, by the media. “Media have social and political implications, and audiences negotiate meaning,” Matthew Johnson told InSpades Magazine. Johnson is the Director of Education for MediaSmarts, a Canadian centre for digital and media literacy. “All media, no matter how trivial or disposable, have meaning; that meaning may not have been consciously intended by the creator(s) but it’s there, and it affects how audiences view themselves and the world.” Essentially, it’s important for viewers to understand that the portrayal of an ethnic group may not be an accurate representation, and might be the creator(s)’ projection of their individual interpretation; what could be viewed as a neutral or positive portrayal of a group by some, might be interpreted as negative by a person of the portrayed group. According to Johnson, this disjointed interpretation among different audience members occurs because “members of the group being represented haven’t had the opportunity to tell their own stories.” When Caucasian performers assume the role of a character that is a member of a visible minority, it is “contributing to the history of depriving these groups

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of their voice in media, making it more likely that the portrayal will be inaccurate and possibly offensive to members of that group,” Johnson explained. Some examples of “whitewashing” include Johnny Depp and Rooney Mara playing Indigenous people in The Lone Ranger and Pan, respectively, or Mickey Rooney playing a crude interpretation of a southeast Asian man, Mr. Yunioshi, in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Such whitewashing in Hollywood is an extension of cultural appropriation; the production feels entitled to borrow elements of a culture that it wants to feature, often without consulting people from that group to ensure a respectful, accurate portrayal and balanced perspective in the production. This issue is complicated by the fact that not everyone defines cultural appropriation the same way. Some see it as loosely adopting anything from a culture that isn’t your own. Does arguing against cultural appropriation mean people should only feel welcome to act in accordance with the culture they are born into? The answer is “no” - this is not an argument of “the preservation of my culture is more important than your culture”. The real concern is the trivialization of violent historical oppression, when people of privilege profit off the labour of the oppressed and when racist stereotypes are perpetuated en masse; to award one group of people for another’s accomplishments and have it be okay for one group to do something that another would be punished for. Incorporating another culture’s traditional elements into your life is not necessarily a faux pas, but that while the sharing and learning of different groups is a beautiful privilege, it is important to see it as a privilege and allow respect to lead one’s judgment.

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Escaping behind the

shutter By Anissa R. Stambouli

Allyson Marie @_brooklyndragonfli_ / @Paperm000n

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Amateur photographer Allyson Marie isn’t the first artist to view her lens as a portal into another realm where creativity abounds. Hailing from upstate New York, United States, Marie’s collection of photography is both soft and rustic, celebrating the “wonder in everyday things that are often taken for granted.” Marie always enjoyed the arts and sciences, but her interest in photography was sparked by a college course in dark room photography. “The freedom that I learned from snapping a photo and developing it in the dark room was amazing,” Marie recalled to InSpades.

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Working as a graphic designer and then transferring careers into nursing, Marie maintained her interest in photography; however, it wasn’t until Instagram became a phenomenon for the cyberspace photography community that Marie began to avidly build her personal gallery. Beginning with her iPhone, Marie quickly adapted to photography in the digital age, later incorporating a Canon into her tool belt. “I look at the progression my photography has taken over the years and it is truly incredible.” Joining mobile photography clubs and experimenting with photo editing apps, Marie found experts in iPhoneography and DSLR photographers to mentor her growth. Gradually, Marie developed her own artistic path, striving to bring unnoticed objects and scenes to light and presenting them in “memorable” ways for the viewer. In “Morning Light Filters In”, the scene is simple and the content mundane—a dishevelled bed with the sheets thrown back. Yet the gentle light and hints of golden light evoke the familiar warmth of home, rest and the rise of a new day. Again, in “Morning Ritual”, Marie captures an average moment in such an honest fashion, that the viewer can relate to the subject and feel a sense of attachment to the simple pleasure of enjoying a coffee in the nude, completely comfortable and embraced by the unobtrusive atmosphere.

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“With photography I feel like I've slowed down, truly enjoying moments with all of my senses and portraying that feeling with my edits.” While the scenes of Marie’s work tend to feature everyday occurrences, her ability to incorporate editing skills and narrative within the image are clear. “I love nature, fog, decay and the occasional human,” said Marie. In images like “Furry Fronds” and “Hope”, her skill with macro shots and use of natural lighting achieve a softening visual effect. Keeping a hand in both the iPhone and DSLR communities, Marie’s use of “whimsical, magical and soft flowing edits” leave each piece with a subtle narrative. The viewer is left to wonder at the world beyond the frame, and marvel at the modest subject that Marie has chosen to glorify. Camera: Canon 70d, favourite lens 85mm, and iPhone 6. Editing Apps: Snapseed, PSxpress, Mextures, Stackables, Enlight and iColorama

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Pa i n t i n g s w e r e a wo r l d i n w h i c h I f o u n d s h e lt e r By Anissa R. Stambouli

Jolanda Richter @jolandarichter

jolanda.richter

www.jolanda.at

Upon seeing the striking work of Jolanda Richter, you will immediately succumb to the familiarity and unsettling undertow of her visual narratives. A lifelong student of the arts, award-winning Richter interweaves psychology and impeccable artistic skill into her oil paintings. “When I was a child, I preferred studying art encyclopaedias for hours instead of playing with other children,” Richter told InSpades. “Paintings were a world in which I found shelter.” The majority of Richter’s collection centers on women and children, often projecting a sense of displacement, frustration and non-sexualized nudity. In her oil painting “Quintessence”, the ironic title brings a tragically dark humour to the female experience. Clad in lingerie and fused with a stone background, the female subject is a carved portrait attempting to emerge from solid confinement. Fearsomely, her own fingers sprawl across her face, tense hands both pulling and compressing her visage into the stone with a convulsed look of capture in her eyes. “Psychology is the key for decoding my artwork,” said Richter. “The ideas for my paintings develop from a complex inner process.” “Quintessence” is merely one example from Richter’s collection, where a female subject is blocked by society’s expectations of what a woman can and should be. Many paintings include the female form placed against the backdrop of a fissured stonewall, seeming

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to reflect women’s attempt to break away from imposed societal moulds to express her individual identity. “In most regions of the world, women have no rights, or even a chance for selfdetermination,” Richter explained. “It is important that there is continuous awareness of that fact.” Another aspect of Richter’s work focuses on the psychological exploration of one’s childhood. Alice Miller, a psychologist whose work explored the link between childhood trauma and mental illness, served as a significant inspiration for Richter. Miller emphasized the need for adults to acknowledge the truths of their childhood in order to resolve their internal struggles, as opposed to displacing events and memories. For Richter, facing your “inner demons” is “the prerequisite for a positive and contented life.” As such, Richter’s work serves as a portal into the viewer’s inner-workings, enabling access to their childhood experience and, as a result, an understanding of themselves. In “Scream”, a small child wails in seeming frustration at the edge of the canvas against a cracked wall, an ambiguous adult arm emerging from the opposite corner as if to grab or guide the child. Looking at “Revelation”, a little girl stands against a stone mural of women, a subtle furrow on her brow as if to convey her growing sense of understanding, mired with confusion, over the role she will eventually grow into as a woman.

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“As an individual with acute sensitive awareness, I absorb my surroundings, feeling wounds and injuries perhaps more intensely than others,” said Richter. Projecting the emotional experience of herself and others allows Richter’s paintings to carry a power that the viewer can wield when analyzing her work—the power to articulate and understand their inner-selves. Deriving influences from the “old masters” like Caravaggio, Alfons Mucha and Camille Claudel to name a few, Richter’s work has been featured in countless international exhibitions and publications. She now lives as a freelance artist near Vienna, Austria, where her work continues to leave the viewer pondering the profound messages her paintings persistently resonate.

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Meet

OLIVER OJEIL filmmaker, visual effects guru and photographer Hailing from Milan, Italy, the talented Ojeil has transitioned from one facet of the arts to another, giving rise to a colourful creative history leading up to his current fascination with portrait photography. “I don't know if I have a style in photography, I personally think I'm still trying to find my voice,” Ojeil confided to InSpades Magazine. We beg to differ. Featuring alluring subjects with intent and engaging eyes, Ojeil skilfully captures the female form with hints of Pre-Raphaelite and fashion photography styles. “I’m greatly influenced by the Renaissance masters,” said Ojeil, whose artistic mission is to “bring beauty into this ugly world.”

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By Anissa R. Stambouli

Olympus E-30, recently switched to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the amazingâ&#x20AC;? Sony A7R II, along with its Zeiss lenses.

www.oliverojeil.com

@oliverojeil

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In “Girl With A Pearl Earring”, a stand-alone piece, Ojeil creates an immaculate homage to the seventeenth century painter Johannes Vermeer, whose masterpiece of the same title is an irrefutable classic. With professional experience directing commercials for luxury brands like Porsche and Audi, as well as hair styling brands like Dabur Amla, Ojeil’s lush portraits are awash with glamour, subdued with perfect restraint. Through the use of natural lighting and minimal edits for colour toning and retouching, Ojeil’s portraiture is both raw and dramatic in its visual capture of emotion.

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“I love the whole process of creating a portrait,” said Ojeil. “It is somehow more personal and true. Meeting a person for the first time, going to a shoot while not knowing what to expect, and challenging yourself to outdo your last shoot.” Although Ojeil has been working on a landscape photography book since 2011, his interest in portraiture began to develop two years ago and quickly took center-stage. This newfound passion grew from a “frustration with the advertising industry”, in which Ojeil works as a director. “The industry has recently become devoid of any creativity or passion,” he explained.

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While Ojeil remains zealous for filmmaking, he found that photography was a “more affordable and quicker medium to tell stories and communicate ideas,” while also keeping his creative work “personal and subjective.” When asked if his photographic style has influenced his directorial technique, Ojeil explained that the habit of transporting the viewer from the visible world into a different reality is still achieved in both art forms by way of “interpreting light and color tonality differently”. Preferring anywhere “where there is a vibrant scene for artistic photography with great faces and super talented makeup and hair artists to work with”, Ojeil has immersed himself in Milan’s vivacious arts scene. With his sense of self-competition and constant evolution, if this is Ojeil “still trying to find his voice”, we cannot wait to witness his eventual aria.

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By Jaclyn Truss

“Cruz”ing For Some InstaSugar™ Master of composition, style and beauty, Nei Cruz allows his passion for all things beautiful to permeate every piece of his personal life and blanket every facet of his fascinating career. Cruz was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and we imagine that’s why it’s generally warm and sunny there. By all accounts, “Nei Cruz” is synonymous with “Nice Guy”, and with his unassailable style, he is constantly proving he is as beautiful and unique as the pictures he takes. Thirty years ago, Cruz moved to New York City with a degree in Art Direction from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and a desire to perfect his craft. After acquiring his first iPhone, Cruz began experimenting with mobile photography, and with the inception of Instagram, his pastime morphed into passion.

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@nei.cruz

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Cruz says, “My vision is, and always has been, to chronicle and share my life in NYC and what I see in my travels, promoting the possibilities of mobile photography”. His Instagram profile consists of dazzling architectural images, flawlessly interspersed with moody street photography and stunning, highly composed fashion models, illustrating his adventurous spirit behind the lens. Cruz refuses to be held to any particular genre, which he mostly attributes to his experiences working with phenomenal photographers, each lending their own unique style. Cruz has worked with several worldrenowned photographers and his work has been featured and published in a wide range of editorial magazines including Allure, Cosmo Girl, Elle, Essence, Lucky, L’Uomo Vogue, Surface, W, WWD and Vogue. More recently, Cruz has become the USA Editor-At-Large for Shooter Magazine. Cruz carefully considers and selects the work of photographers for the magazine, which is dedicated solely to mobile photography. Although Cruz likes to keep things simple and avoids hyper-edits, he is stickler for forethought, alignment and composition. More than a success in the world of fashion, Cruz is also a committed member and creator of many mobile photography communities, exhibiting a passion that extends past fashion and into fellowship. Like many people, Cruz finds photography to be an escape from his depression, with his “happy” images compensating for his more melancholy feelings. While he struggles with depression,

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“The constant is that he takes only one shot in each specific location. He either captures the moment or he doesn’t. Usually he does.” —Ruth Efrati Epstein (@80degrees)

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it is also of the negative stigma that surrounds the subject of depression itself, that he finds, well...depressing. Depression, although affecting millions of people around the world, is an incredibly lonely illness, and Cruz believes that it is in the sharing of the experience of it that allows people to feel connected, accepted and cared for. This is in part why Cruz has so much love to share with his community. This is what a fellow photographer, Ruth Efrati Epstein (@80degrees), had this to say about Cruz: “To know Nei and his mobile photography is to love Nei. Nei shares not just his photography and love of beauty but he shares himself. With each photo he shares, he will also share a personal story about that place or that moment or that person. He loves to dedicate shots to his favorite mobile photographers, telling us tidbits about them, telling us why he loves them. He invites us all as a community to bestow upon them some InstaSugar™ (Nei’s trademark). Yet there is no one who can give InstaSugar™ quite like Nei...Nei is a passionate supporter of so many photographers and he never fails to add a kind, empathetic or supportive word.” Precisely charming, elaborately elegant and stunningly simple, Cruz’s imagery carries a rare dreamy refinement that is ecstasy to the eye. A humble, grateful soul with a heartfelt love of his community, we know to expect great things from Nei Cruz, and for all of his vast experience, we know that everyday is a new beginning, and we wait, baited, to see what he will share with us next.

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KSUSHA

KIBIERVA By Adriano Marchese

susha Kibireva is a name that will soon be synonymous with the world of fashion photography. Her mastery of the craft is immediately apparent, marrying strong technical expertise with a unique visual style that enthralls and captivates the viewer. Above all, Kibireva has an artist’s understanding of how to manipulate the most important element – light. A Russian photographer based in the Baltic city of St. Petersburg, Kibireva had the air of a burgeoning artist very early on. “Photography was interesting to me since childhood,” she said. “It has always been my hobby.”

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@ksushakibirevaphoto

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Her skills soon found their natural penchant in fashion photography, and after graduating from the St. Petersburg Academy of Photography in 2010, Kibireva worked with several prominent photographers, but quickly yearned to branch out on her own. “Now I’m trying to create my own style,” she said. “I try to experiment a lot while being inspired by travel, movies and other famous international photography.” Her latest subject of focus is children’s fashion, a segment of fashion that is very much underdeveloped in Russia. Featured in various publications such as Moda Bambini and Young Fashion Kids Magazine, every photograph she

takes is the culmination of the hard work of her and her talented team: makeup artist Oksana Ulasovets and stylist Leksa Mashkovskaya. There is a visceral effect to her images that merge the real with the surreal. The subjects are clearly real, as are the locations —and yet they evoke such allure, as though carrying you through the looking glass, far and away from superficial perceptions. Her photographs have an ever-present sense of familiarity, inviting the feeling of nostalgia of a simpler time. With her younger subjects, she captures them as they are today but also the spirit of the adults they will one day be - and therein lies the heart of Kibireva’s artistry.

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When shooting with adult models, Kibireva brings out their strength with the skillful positioning of the subjects and deliberate use of different lighting techniques. The clothes they wear complement their composure and their confidence, achieving a visual display of empowerment. The ensemble that makes up Kibirevaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s style comes together organically in her more intimate and personal family portraiture. She brings out the loving and playful dynamic between husband and wife, parents and children. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but notice the

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familial bond and connection at its most fundamental essence. Kibireva has the all makings of a talented photographer and passionate artist. Her editorial work is unique and her portraiture honest. Through her photographs, she gives us the power to see our younger selves in her subjects. We become inspired to create art or to become the art itself. With a keen eye for colour and composition, coupled with a natural proclivity for nuances of light, Kibireva is prodigiously rising in the ranks of photographic prominence.

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WIN THE

WORLDWIDE COVER CONTEST

Subscribe to our December issue for your chance to WIN SUBSCRIBE Check out INSPADES Magazine issue NUMERO DUE and submit to our WORLDWIDE COVER CONTEST Do It #InSpades

TheFashionPrØject By Jaclyn Truss

Pr0ject_Uno would like to welcome their newest addition to the community:

TheFashionPrØject Led by fashion and beauty photographer, Shay Kedem, and Art Director and Pr0ject_Uno Moderator, Rebecca Weaver, this partnership is Instagram’s most stylish collaboration of beauty, fashion and art. TheFashionPr0ject will focus on emphasizing the works of the upcoming top tier photographers in the fashion & beauty industry.

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Shay Kedem â&#x20AC;&#x153;I use digital medium format cameras along a 35mm full frame cameras by Phase One and Nikon.â&#x20AC;?

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We all know the spectacular work of Weaver from her feature in the last issue of InSpades Magazine and we are excited to now share the distinctive and highly polished work of Kedem. Kedem focuses on mid to large scale industry brands & magazines such as: M.A.C, Bobbie Brown, H&M, Smashbox and Designers. He is also a professional ambassador for 'Profoto' - the top leaders in light shaping tools and lightning equipments.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really love creating a clean, stylish images yet with bold subjects - I use Profoto lights in and out of my studio for a full creative freedom.â&#x20AC;?

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Kedem splits his time between three major locations: Rome Italy, Vienna Austria & Tel Aviv Israel; with each location representing a different type & style of work. He runs his own masterclass with lessons in fashion, portrait and commercial photography, as well as FASHIONTRIP, an initiative that takes young promising students to a whole week of on location fashion productions. This year they will traveling to Rome, Italy, with a full production group and 15 students. The merging communities are excited for this new joint venture and entire new segment of artistic highlights. Be sure to check out our next issue for their first feature in InSpades Magazine!

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“My art is changing with me. It depends on my moods, inspirations, changes in fashion trends...”

“My commercial work is not quite different from my editorial work. I try to keep as much of my DNA along with it - by color plates, compositions and post production. I found that my clients appreciate a fresh look for their commercial campaigns and it’s nice that I can maintain my language with it.”

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Events & Experiential

Talked About and Seen 2016 Canadian Event Industry Award Winner—Best Public Event Winner—Outstanding Logistical Achievement

2016 International Live Event Association Winner—Best Public Event Nominee—Best Logistical and Support Services

By Anissa R. Stambouli

If it isn’t interesting,

it isn’t fun

PETER GUNN is a Canadian, studio-based photographer working in beauty and fashion. Finding a balance between rigorous magazine-style edits and subtle retouching, Gunn’s portraiture features realistic belles. “I steer myself towards creative lighting and post-processing,” said Gunn. In his portrait of local model Allison Genovese, an intimately tight shot encapsulates her softly lit face. With subtle gold flecks glinting from Genovese’s skin, Gunn manages the glitz and glamour of fashion photography with a minimalist approach to editing. Adding a mere “clean retouch” to the image, Gunn strove for “balance” by keeping natural features, like Genovese’s flyaways, in the final product. Living in Dundas, Ontario and working mostly in Mississauga, a backstage look into Gunn’s editing styles can be seen on Instagram (@offbrandphoto), where he posts a series of images from the same shoot with different edits for perspective.

Peter Gunn @offbrandphoto - studiopaper.org www.modelmayhem.com/3222557 Model: Allison Joy - @allisongeno www.modelmayhem.com/3527729 Makeup Artist: Lips N Lashes by Lauren www.modelmayhem.com/2305178

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Learning never stops neither does my

Imagination

@intensejerick

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Flight of

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By Jaclyn Truss

“Hello,

this is your Captain speaking, there will be a short delay in takeoff as the are orcas breaching on the runway again. We thank you for patience and apologize for any inconvenience.” And so goes the undomesticated imagination of Jerick Van Ortiz. “I can't really call myself a real artist or designer because it really just doesn't suit me.” Perhaps not, but at 17, this self-taught “digital artist” from the Philippines is already showing compelling creative prowess beyond his years, regardless of what label he bestows upon it.

Van Ortiz transfers his wild imaginings to the screen with tacit skill, creating everything from counterfeit worlds turned on end, to baffling whale migrational patterns to an magical ocean of galaxies. In elementary school, Van Ortiz had a natural proclivity for drawing, but eventually found himself drawn to filmmaking, a passion that carried through to high school. He then began dabbling in digital artworks, discovering the mobile apps he uses today: Union, Brainfever, Unsplash, Mextures Collective, Pixite Source, PngImg, and Pixabay.

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“I don’t know how to use Photoshop. These are made 100% with mobile apps.” Van Ortiz explained, “The main app I use is Union, it's designed for image transforming and masking. I use the other apps for additional elements and I use the Mextures filters always as my final touch.” After creating his Instagram account, Van Ortiz began posting random photos on his feed (always mentioning or tagging the photo owners on his posts, as all you good Instagramers do, right?), before revamping his page to be filled only with his “surreal” artworks.

“I also discovered a lot of Instagram communities that features this type of artwork, like @thegraphicspr0ject, @pixitesource and @ mexturescollective.” Since then, Van Ortiz’s artwork has been featured on numerous pages and he now also participates in contests and artist co-operatives. He continues to enjoy his work and create fantastic pieces, you can see more of his extraordinary images on his Instagram page @intensejerick.

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ASMO

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TURUNEN

“Most of all, I really enjoy creating something new”

By Jaclyn Truss

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With his mind-bending edits, it is obvious that 20-year-old hobby photographer and artist, Asmo Turunen, grew up in an expressly digital world. “I like to take pictures and also edit and retouch them, it comes just so naturally. I'm fully self-taught and of course many sites and communities have been much more than helpful. I have learned a lot from them but I have still infinitely more to learn and evolve.” His favourite creation, “Stairs to Unknown”, is an highly edited image that Turunen had to play with extensively in Photoshop before being able to breath life into this psychedelic piece. As the inspiration process often happens along the way, it can take quite some time for him to see his pieces through to end, but Turunen believes it is definitely worth the effort, thrilled by the moment of completion when he can behold his finished creation. Young in his craft, Turunen feels has yet to develop his own specific style, and hopes that over time he will come into his own as a recognized professional. “At this point this is just a hobby, but I am starting my studies in photography and graphic design, so maybe some day this is can be my career.”

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By Anissa R. Stambouli

Simply Pick Up the Camera

With a versatile collection of urban and nature photography, Doug Dorsett will make a Vancouver-lover out of you. Mostly shooting in and around the city, Dorsett’s style ranges from architectural settings with sharp symmetry, to modest backdrops with enigmatic strangers caught serendipitously between moments. “In Vancouver I can shoot beautiful European designed architecture, be at multiple beaches with ocean scenes and mountains in the back drop, or drive to the mountains where it looks like I've travelled for days to get there,” Dorsett shared.

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@akaalec / @akaalec2

For his images containing human subjects, mostly complete strangers, Dorsett excels at capturing the perfect moment in which a person is most human. In “Dry Heart”, Dorsett skillfully shoots from a low angle, encapsulating the cracked and weathered earth in the foreground, as a woman stands forlorn in the backdrop amidst a grey sky. “I scout out the perfect location and wait for the right strangers to appear. This makes the photo one of a kind,” Dorsett revealed.

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“Robert Doisneau’s ‘The Kiss’ made me pick up a camera and try to recreate the emotions that stirred me.”

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His tendency to produce black and white photography is, in part, due to his love for older films and photography. “My favourite era was the forties and fifties. Robert Doisneau’s “The Kiss” made me pick up a camera and try to recreate the emotions that stirred me.” They call Paris the city of love, and for Dorsett, his experience there was nothing short of heartfelt. “I fell in love with photography when I spent three months there when I was twenty-one.” Since then, his goal has been to portray cities from an angle in which they have yet to be seen. “I always have my Canon G10 with me,” said Dorsett, who is ever on the lookout for authentic moments to capture. “My other camera is a Canon 70D. In a pinch, or just for fun, I also use my Samsung S7.” Dorsett is also actively integrated in the Instagram community, having founded the curated accounts @umbrellaplanet and @ stairwalkers. He was also recognized by UK newspaper, The Guardian, in 2014 as an Instagrammer to follow. Romantic in his portrayal of the human element and classic in his style of delivery, Dorsett’s work brings a touch of tenderness and intimacy to the vastly different landscapes the city of Vancouver has to offer.

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ased in Tehran, Iran, the work of photographer Amir Saddigh carries an air of authenticity. Capturing models in candid moments, Saddigh’s directive eye is unobtrusive in its observation of the subject. In “Touch Up”, the subject appears unaware of Saddigh’s presence while she refreshes her makeup, providing an organic portrayal. Again, in “Lit”, the basic gesture of lighting a cigarette is suddenly insightful. The image, which captures the subject mid-motion, achieves a sense of intimacy; while the viewer is familiar with the action of lighting a cigarette, they are suddenly voyeur to the particular way in which the subject lights his cigarette, the personal mannerism unique to the subject alone.

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@amirseddigh_

Behind the lens in

tehran Amir Saddigh By Anissa R. Stambouli

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Saddigh features a short-haired female in several of his pieces, notably the series of images set in a vintage Olympia. The modern look of her cropped hair is modestly covered with a sash, recalling Hollywood dames of the fifties, breezing by in their convertibles with scarves wrapped protectively around their coiffures. The juxtaposition of her edgy hairstyle placed against the backdrop of the classic automobile and apparel creates a subtle contrastâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the old adapting to the new, while the new pays homage to the old through contemporary interpretations of fashion. In his work, Saddigh achieves a casual, noninvasive glimpse into the daily routine and habit that makes his subjects human.

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The

Music Man Kyle Merkley Find a way to amplify your individuality and why people should care about you By Jaclyn Truss

e had just conquered a nearby taqueria and were waiting for “Kim’s Convenience” to wrap up their shoot so we could escape behind them into the vinyl walled haven of Bill Hicks Bar. The bright Christmas lights strung wildly around this little watering hole were foiled wholly by the hot July air, and the makeshift Tiki thatch roof over the bar provided sole abatement to the unseasonal festiveness, if not the stickiness. As though constructed by a musically inclined carpenter, vinyl record covers line every square inch of wall, the roof plastered

@creativespades

with the records themselves, offering a darker but more melodic take on a mud swirl ceiling. Kyle Merkley settles back with a beer and cruises us through the long string of throwback celebrities generally not associated with vinyl recordings. As we laugh our way down the wall, you can tell he is fully in his element here and can’t help but revel in the presence of this truly good-humoured, well-natured and fully bearded gentleman. But what’s even more interesting about Merkley and his beard? What he does for a living.

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Growing up just outside Oshawa, Ontario, Merkley lived a life of music. Playing in bands and collaborating with musicians, Merkley was always an active participant in the music and entertainment industry, particularly in the Canadian music industry. Taking full responsibility for his own management, Merkley’s growing interest in the business led him to graduating top of his class in Music Business Management at Durham College. Throughout his musical endeavors, Merkley has performed shows, went on tour, appeared on Entertainment Tonight: Canada and MuchMusic’s disBAND, and has written and performed with top-24 Canadian Idol contestants. As Merkley continued to meet more industry professionals, his experiences culminated to a flashpoint - both figuratively and literally. As he gained a growing familiarity on the subject of music supervision, Merkley realized his education, passion for music and love of film and television could be united within a single sector. Now, Director of Music & Technology at Arpix Media, Merkley has worked on some of the biggest TV and film productions in Canada including Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Remedy (GLOBAL), Heartland (CBC), The Listener (CTV), and Flashpoint (CTV/CBS). Essentially, Merkley’s role is to take the vision of producers and enhance it through music. He works with television, film, video games anything that can require a soundtrack - and creates, through popular songs and original music, the audio story.

“There was a time where the record business was booming, and everything kinda centred around that and, particularly over the last 5-10 years, that’s not the case - now everything is centred around the use of music in entertainment.” Merkley attributes this as the reason people are starting to say that music supervisors now have more power and influence over taste profiles and music trends than ever, even more so than record labels, and are fastly overtaking the divisions of artists and repertoire (A&R), which are responsible for talent scouting and oversight of the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters within a record label or music publishing company. “The thing now, which is both the greatest thing about music and worst thing, depending on where you sit, is that there is more access to music than there has ever been...and having your voice, particularly if you’re a musician, or a manager of a musician, or you want to start a record label or publisher, is getting your music above the noise.” His advice is to be open, creative and encourages everyone to make connections

outside of their direct industry. While it may not be easy to rise “above the noise”, there are many ways to access support, share ideas and build your tribe. “One thing that I always have to give a lot of props to is Canada. Our infrastructure offers a lot of different communities and groups and support that have events that people can attend and meet other likeminded individuals. And these are provincial organizations, as well as federal, and exist all throughout the country, and a lot of them communicate to each other...so there’s a lot of sharing of information and, beyond that, there’s a lot of resources they provide to artists that allow people to further communicate.” Over the course of his career, Merkley has also had the opportunity to serve as a panelist and moderator on various music & film panels, including the Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards (NOMFA), Songwriters Association of Canada’s Date With A Demo, guest lectured at Durham College’s Music Business Management Program, and has received a 2011 Golden Reel Award Nomination for ‘Best Sound Editing: Short Form Music in Television’ for music editing on Flashpoint.

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Stephen Crosson In the urban bosom of Detroit lies the beating heart of a shutter,

snapping behind the lens of a camera belonging to Stephen Crosson. Immersed in the artistic undercurrent of the American city, Crosson extracts the underlying beauty of Detroit in an authentic and approachable way. Crosson was introduced to photography at an early age. His father worked in videography and gifted Crosson with his vintage leather camera bag, further inspiring Crosson to continue in his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artistic tradition when he acquired his first DSLR camera in 2010.

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By Anissa R. Stambouli

n n @crossoniam

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“One personal goal that I gave myself was, anytime I have a portrait session anywhere in Detroit, shoot somewhere I've never shot.” In his piece, “Nothing Stops Detroit”, a woman casually leans back against a storefront, beautifully lit by a ruby neon sign. The viewer is immediately pulled onto the city streets, a passer-by sharing in the exact moment when Crosson took the picture.

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Similarly, “Through The Looking Glass” captures the viewer on a variety of levels. The eye is drawn to the main subject sitting in a café, while the window through which she is seen reflects the city street, creating an experience both intimate and withdrawn. The viewer partakes in Detroit’s hustle and bustle, while simultaneously taking refuge from the traffic within the comfort of the café. “Detroit's viewed with much aversion not only by people outside of Michigan, but even by those within our state,” Crosson told InSpades Magazine. Through portraiture Crosson reveals a different view of the people—and the place—that often slips by unnoticed amid the headlines. The “Motor City” can’t seem to shake its number one spot on “America’s Most Dangerous Cities” list, nevertheless, Detroit remains a powerful magnet for street photographers. Photographers and models travel from all over the world to scale its rooftops, capture its graffiti and abandoned buildings and snap its raw cityscapes and inhabitants. While perusing Crosson’s collection, one can easily place themselves along the streets of Detroit, the image giving life to the urban setting while Crosson’s positioning of the subject creates the illusion of a would-be tour guide. “Because of the pictures I've taken, I've had people from different countries such as Luxembourg, Mexico and Russia, messaging me about getting together when they come to Detroit,” said Crosson, always proud to escort photographers and models through his city. While photography has periodically been Crosson’s main occupation in the past, he currently explores the art form in his free time, and continues to capture the unique undertones of his controversial city.

Canon 6D 24-105mm and 50mm

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BY SERGIO D. SPADAVECCHIA