2015/2
A Magazine for the arts and culture.
The Sublime 1
MEET THE TEAM
EDITORS NOTE
Jax
Editor in Chief
Jon
Creative Editor
Mr. Wild Content Editor
Luke
Staff Writer
Mottled Gray Staff Writer
The cold is moving out and snowmageddon has killed off half the worlds population. Ebola got its own city just outside of Manchester represented by Labours equality and immigration division. Charlie Brooker was cleared of killing Lucy Beal on Talbot square and Lenny Henry was banned from all Sea Life Centres for refusing to get out of bed and put on clothes. Yep another month over, another month of Kanye West ruining speeches at award shows, crying on the radio, bigging up his ego, feeding his ego and reminding us of his ego. Safe to say that February was quiet for Kanye and his pretend wife and long term obsession Beyonce. Jay Z always seems happy to lend her out to Kanye when he needs an excuse to moan. We had the Super Bowl, an American event for an American sport that usually no-one in England cares about, until the actual night. All of the Twenty-somethings use it as an excuse to gather in their trendy hipster flats and post on Facebook on how awesome they all are because they watch the Super Bowl, when secretly deep down inside they are crying and bleeding because they are watching sport. The Grammys happened, The Brits Happened, The Oscars happened, the best tie sales man award happened and the best award for under-rated over-raters happened. Every awards ceremony in February was dubbed as the “Leading award ceremony” “The most important event in your calendar”. If like us though, none of this was important at all you will be clued up on all of the happenings and going-ons in the world of art and culture! In orderto make sure you're on the ball when you're in a swanky bar or sophisticated art studio though we have yet again produced this piece of wonder for you to get your biological optical information collectors on. So ALL HAIL the text and pictures currently travelling into your face at the speed of light, for it is the long awaited and much hyped February issue of The Sublime Zine! We would like to thank all those involved and all those who continue to support our monthly creation.
Shelley Wild Food Columnist (skellingtons Bakery)
2 The Sublime
Remember guys, For Calum, Keep it Surreal! Keep it Sublime. Jaxx, Jonnie & Mr Wild. The Sublime Editors.
THE SUBIME ISSUE 2015/2
CONTENTS JOHN TRACY
4
CHARLOTTE DONOVAN TALL GIRL
10
16
GIRL WITH THE KILLER SMILE
18
SUGAR MUSTARD GLAZED HAM 19 BEN LUNT
22
PETER IVES
28
BLADE RUNNER
Cover image by Peter Ives Published by The Sublime Design by Jaxx Shepherd Concept by Jon Wilford
32
NERDLINGER 34 NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR BY GEORGE ORWELL 36 CALLUM GARDNER
38
THIS MONTH IN SOUND I’M COMPLEX
46
LET IT GO
48
45
FADI MIKHAIL 50
The Sublime 3
Artist of the month
JOHN TRACY 4 The Sublime
Big, bold and full of visual eye-pleasers. The artist of the month in February is John Tracy.
Painting across the pond in a place with a common name to my own university town back in England, John Tracy paints his bold landscapes with attention to detail and a true understanding of abstraction.
“My art is deeply influenced by my life growing up in Lancaster county. It is a place of stunning scenery and religious tradition. From this I explore the shared and personal mythology of the area that helped shape me. My work ranges from my own personal dreams and imagery of rolling hills, farms and nearby cities to the collective dreams and stories of our creation. I marry these themes with my love of patterns and their infinite nature. Splatters, brush strokes and layered patterns weave together to create trance-inducing visual noise from which I sculpt, build and translate the abstract into a representational image�.
The Sublime 5
6 The Sublime
I find his paintings giving me a deep connection to his own creative mind, inviting me to walk through and upon the contours he imagines. The use of colour in his work is diverse, each painting has a large pallet of bold, beautiful, bright and contrasting colours that have been carefully placed next to each other to create intricate patterns, at first glance you are met with a pleasure of shapes and colour. You feel like you have reverted your mind back in time to those times when you were in awe of everything colourful and influenced by the sight and sound around you. They take you back to your own happy place. Then like a murder mystery John’s careful planning of each shape next to one another start to connect to each other, piecing the puzzle together for you and showing you a scene of great imagination. They play with your mind at first, teasing you with what you can see; the more you do see though, the more you realise what it is you are looking at. You see the snake, then the ladder followed by the grand landscape, all carefully made from brass marks and squares of colour. You feel like you have been transposed to a field with all of the great impressionists, being hypnotised by their brush strokes.
The Sublime 7
You can pick out many influences in John’s work, as you can with most artwork. His use of shapes creating images is a strong technique that Chuck Close has used strongly in his more recent portraits, like an old television from the 90’s using small squares filled with rings of colour to make your picture box show pictures, Moira Stewarts face was made of millions of these on the news back in the day and they even influenced pixls. The difference in Johns paintings though is not the use of small squares filled with colour but the opposite. Using large bold lines and deliberate collages. The mark making is almost naïve and primitive, but the use of complex layering and extremely detailed position of each mark creates a large amount of depth and imagery within the pieces.
Johns work is a must see and a must own for those after a truly unique and breath taking piece of work.
To view more of his work or even own a piece for yourself visit www.johntracyart.com.
Keep updated with his creative Journey at facebook.com/johntracyart
8 The Sublime
The Sublime 9
Introducing
CHARLOTTE DONOVAN When I was asked to do an art review for the magazine this month I thought perhaps the two J's in charge had suffered some horrific clotting of their once wise and powerful brains. Brain clots after all do happen and can massively impair the judgement...and life...of the person afflicted. As I reached for the phone to inform the Jobcentre of two new vacancies at the Zine's office I was assured they were in actual fact fully in control of all their faculties...except Jonnie's bowels...and the request was both rational and sincere. I do work for an arts and culture magazine after all, should I find this request so odd? Yes I should, the reason being I am by no means an art critic. Looking at a canvas of ambiguous swathes of colour means as much to me as it does to Stevie Wonder, so if I'm to appreciate anything it should really at least 'look like' something. Fortunately the artist I was asked to review was Charlotte Donovan, an artist who brings no sense of abstraction to the proverbial bird-table. Beckoning us in with a handful of treats from her artistic seed bell Charlotte whistled and chirped me into a sense of comfort with my first review. A full time illustrator currently working on the edges of Milton-Keynes in the village of Sherington, Charlotte produces lovely illustrations of the birds and wildlife of her local area. Living in what is no doubt a small village whose quaint atmosphere settles on her canvas like the lazy haze of a summer eve. A good deal of her work is from her 'British Garden Birds' series, a series that is precisely what it says it is. Comprised of images of the local birds from her area in the English countryside, they very much capture
10 The Sublime
The Sublime 11
12 The Sublime
that essence with their simplistic nature and whimsical appearance, each animal smiling, like messengers of the romanticised quaintness of the rural village life-style. As such she produces a good deal of work for greetings cards that are sold in the Yorkshire and Bradford area, greetings that are no doubt well received when presented in such an endearing way. Beyond the pleasantries of such a thing though they also remind me of the illustrations you might find in a book by perhaps Charles Darwin or Alfred Wallace, composed in the field, capturing the image of an animal doing nothing more than what it does. Not stylised or vaguely representative, they are a simple capturing of innocent nature as it flits by, done for nothing more than the pleasure of it, and for the appreciation of the subject matter.
The Sublime 13
Influenced by the likes of Beatrix Potter, an influence even my untrained eye can pick out, especially in her illustrations of the rabbits, captures something of the cheerful and playful nature of this style and makes for easy viewing. Her image of the Puffins in particular, framed by a big old fashioned love heart as they look into each others eyes, fun and fanciful, a warmth to us all on these chilly winter nights. All in all Charlotte's work is simplistic and natural, a heart warming invitation to share in that idyllic and leisurely lifestyle of the British country, slow paced, easy-going, charming and warm, we thank her for easing me in on my first review and for bringing her work to our attention. Mr. Wild
14 The Sublime
The Sublime 15
A Poem By MR. Wild
TALL GIRL There’s this tall tall girl who my best friend knows, With long long legs, and big big toes, She has long dark hair and a sparkling smile, With a single stride she can walk a mile! She’s the tallest thing that my eyes have seen, More Babel than babe and only eighteen, And knowing these facts I can hear you all cry; “Why is she so tall, please tell us all why?” The story of her height and her pretty high head, Began long long ago in her Mum and Dad’s bed….. “That just sounds rude, I didn’t ask you for porn! Just get it to the part where the tall girl’s born.” Well so it’s been said, by those that would say, That the tall girl was born in the usual way, But the doctors mistakenly used for a cot, Some Miracle Gro in a big plant pot! A week went by and not one did twig, That this rather young baby was growing quite big, Nobody noticed ‘till the girl had reached three, And she rescued a ladies cat from a tree, The townsfolk stopped and they suddenly saw, The height of this girl and it filled them with awe! “She’s as big as a house! Well isn’t that odd”
16 The Sublime
“Her head’s in the clouds!” “She’s taller than god!” They then began touching and pulling her hair, ‘Till her parents came out and yelled in despair; “Stay away, stay away, you’re hurting her, see, Go back where you came, and leave our girl be!” But the townsfolk were desperate to see the girl more; “I’ll give you a tenner” “I’ll give you my store!” And her parents quite poor could sure use the dough, So they purchased a warehouse of Miracle Gro, That their daughter might grow as tall as the sky, And they dreamed of all of the things they could buy. They enrolled the young girl in a travelling act, Word travelled fast and seats were soon packed, Things for the trio went well for a while, The height of her fame was the height of her smile, But it weren’t before long that the tent was too small, To house a young lady who was getting so tall,
The clowns that would dance and dive off her nose, Had started to break their funniest bones, And all of the chocolate, the milk and the bread, That it took to keep such a tall girl well fed, Was costing the owner a fairly tall sum, With a teary eyed face he turned to her mum, “Loving good mother of your daughter so tall, I have terrible news you won’t like it at all, Your daughter is costing us truly too much, Our clowns are all dead or at least on a crutch, I’m afraid that she’ll have to be sacked from the show, Though it pains me so much to see you all go.” The mother cried floods and then told the dad, Who’d just bought a Porsche, he took it quite bad, They sat in their seats all leather and new, And worried themselves with what they would do, If talking for hours they were talking for days, Talking of all the ridiculous ways, A girl of such height might help with their wealth, And give them a toast besides to their health, They came up with nuthin’ and stared at their feet, Holding each other in solemn defeat.
For the moon is quite quiet and out of the way, And she built them a house and keeps them well fed, And if you look closely, those that say said, The dust of the moon on his ghostly white face, Churned by a Porsche that’s driven in space. With her parents now happy, the tall girl was free, To live out her life like you and like me, She needs to be fed from the deepest of pockets, Her hair is now cut by a fleet of our rockets, But she’s finishing college, she’s doin’ quite well, And I think I’ve now told you what those that say tell. “What are you kidding? That story’s not real, You’ve clearly made up a very great deal!” Well now my friend that’s where you did fail, To get to the point of my fairly tall tale, The notion behind it, this entire rhyme, The reason you’ve spent a great deal of time, Listening patiently right to the end, The very point that I’m making my friend, Is that I don’t know what the point is.
Then all of a sudden a thunderous quake, And into the Tall Girl’s hands she did take, The tiny toy Porsche that was parked on the hill, She placed on the moon where her parents could chill, And that’s where they’re living right up to this day,
The Sublime 17
A Poem By MR. Wild
GIRL WITH THE KILLER SMILE Sadie Sadie Sadie, All American lady, Got a smile that was made, On the edge of a blade. Sadie Sadie Sadie, Don't you know you are crazy, Even though you look so sexy, In the Spahn summer shade. Sadie Sadie Sadie, Be the girl, be the baby, Be the bad motherfucker, That you're destined to be, Sadie Sadie Sadie, Such a dirty eye lady, With that dark razor smile, Plunge a kiss into me.
18 The Sublime
SHELLY SKELLINGTON’s RECIPES
SUGAR MUSTARD GLAZED HAM The Sublime 19
This month it's all about time and money. I have little of either, but I still want nice home cooked food every day. The only way I've gotten round the time and money issue is to batch cook. This is very popular in America and I first came across the idea on Pinterest. Basically on a Sunday (or whenever I have a spare afternoon) I will cook a huge batch of Bolognese , portion it up, and freeze it in little silver take-out tubs that you can get from Home Bargains. That then does tea for the days when I'm super busy. It's all healthy and home cooked and Bolognese especially freezes really well and kind of ferments...making the flavours more intense and delicious. Another time consumer and money pit is taking a packed lunch to work every day for two of us. I don't know about you, but I cannot stand wafer thin ham, chicken, beef etc. Oh it knocks me sick! But I need to make something in advance so I'm not making lunches every night. Hereth enter the ham! For about ÂŁ4 you can get a medium/large smoked gammon joint from Aldi. Put into salads for 2 people this usually makes 6 portions, giving us 3 days worth of lunches. It doesn't take much effort either and of course you can just slice it up warm and serve it for tea with chips and an egg if that's what you want!
20 The Sublime
Ingredients 1x Smoked Gammon Ham Joint 1 tsp Colmans Mustard 5tbsp Brown Sugar 1 tbsp Cider Vinegar Rosemary (Dried or fresh) Optional: Bay Leaves, Onion, Carrots Method Take your gammon out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature before cooking. Remove the wrapper, but if it has come with a plastic collar wrapped around it, leave that on. You can boil it with that on and it will hold it together quite well . Get a large pan of cold water, and place your gammon in it, making sure it is completely covered and bring to the boil. You need to cook your ham for 20 minutes per 450g plus another 20 minutes. Halfway through this time, you can either change the water and bring back up to the boil, or if you don't mind a bit of salt, just leave it. Halfway through, if using, add the Rosemary, chopped onion, a few chopped carrots and the bay leaves. Leave it to boil away, adding water periodically to keep it covered. When the ham is cooked take it out of the water and allow it to rest and cool a little whilst you preheat the oven to 180c fan and make the glaze. In a bowl, mix together the vinegar, mustard and 4tbsp of the sugar. Add more mustard to taste, I don't especially like it, so I kept it minimal, just taste the glaze and see what you think. Once the ham has cooled, remove the outer plastic wrap that was holding it together (this smells like hot dogs eww) and score the fat deeply in a criss cross pattern. Rub the glaze all over making sure it gets into the slices, and place uncovered in the oven for about 30 minutes (this depends on the size of your ham, mine was 1.3kg) or until the topping has browned. Done! Enjoy! Don't forget to post pictures of any recipes of mine you make to the Skellingtons Bakery Facebook page! Shelly Skellington
The Sublime 21
Luke Berryman Interviewing
BEN LUNT Anatomic Support Mechanism (2014) Body sculpture, made from recycled and reclaimed materials, analysing the ephemeral nature of life and the integral support needed within the human form.
Thank you for agreeing to speak to us, Ben. Well firstly we'd like to know how you got started on the road to being an artist. What inspired you to get to this point? BL: Creating new things and exploring different ideas is something that's infatuated me for as long as I can remember. Whether it was making up tunes on my guitar, building some ambitious Lego structure or drawing away, I was always (and still am) fascinated by the idea that I've managed to produce something tangible from an often chaotic selection of thoughts in my mind. I suppose I was finally hooked into art (rather than just enjoying making cool stuff) by finally getting my drawings published in a comic book as a kid. Each week I'd imagine up random happenings for some of my favourite cartoon characters, idolising the artists that got to do this as a real job! I'd then send my drawings into magazines, hoping they'd get printed in the back of the fan mail section. I still remember opening The Simpsons Comic one week and finding that my parody, called 'I'm a Simpson Get Me Out of Here!' had been featured as drawing of the week! I felt as if I'd just won the Turner Prize or something and from about that point on art became more important to 22 The Sublime
me, as a way of expressing myself and as something I was recognised as good at and enjoyed. It's just been a hobby that sort of piece by piece has taken over my life I guess! That's a pretty good way of starting, I know a lot of fans who live to see their creations based on things they love be given recognition. Well from there how did you develop towards doing Fine Art? Were you inspired by artists in galleries or books, or more by comic book artists? BL: At an early age I had a lot of influence from the Impressionists, I guess for pretty similar reasons to my love of comic books; I'm really nosey. Both of these kinds of artists interested me because, as I saw it, basically other nosey people who just drew elements of other people's lives for my entertainment. I'd seen a brief selection of the Impressionist movement, I can vaguely remember, when I was about 13 or 14 at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and was instantly totally absorbed. The enticing subject matter was not only attractive; a portal into another time, into the privacy of some Aristocratic home, or a bustling street, but also the addition of
Life Sessions Various 2014/2015 Selection of work from life model, including acrylic, charcoal and contĂŠ crayon on paper sizes from A3 to A1 the fluidity of mark making and heavy emphasis on gesture appealed to me. Looking forwards I've had a solid inquisitiveness for analysing the individual and exploring narratives within my work; I guess just slightly higher brow people-watching or nosiness. Moreover, experimenting with different methods of mark making and using alternative mediums to best convey my ideas has also stemmed from this initial interest. This first insight into something a little bit more than your average kind of GCSE art class on Da Vinci or Georgia O'Keeffe most likely founded my journey into actual fine art So would you say that's still what inspires your work now then? Thinking of it as a sort of observation, a nosiness as you put it, of something private, something vulnerable captured or brought to life through art? BL: It may be something not so insidious sounding, but there's definitely a strong influence from trying to capture the essence of an individual or zeitgeist of an event through my work. By observing not only personal matters, but also much more general issues both culturally and conceptually, I am able to focus more on promoting the qualities of the examined individual or explore a notion that could benefit the individual themselves. Yes, that did perhaps sound more sinister than I intended. So some of it is about bringing out what's already there for you, and some of it is about conceptualizing ways this essence could be brought
to the surface? What is it about individuals you find interesting to explore then? For instance still life, which we have an example of here, is an excellent way of bringing out the essence you talk about. What qualities do you look to convey in a piece like this? What things strike you about a subject? BL: There's certainly a beauty within the mundane and bromidic tasks of day to day life, that often goes unnoticed. In my life sessions I often try to capture whichever mood or aura I sense from the model on that particular day. For example, if the pose is aggressive and I'm looking at this throughout the body, I may use a very different set of marks and techniques than if I was working from a regal or calm pose. Likewise, the physical features of a figure themselves are also really important. If someone's body tells its own story, via its contours, variations and scars, this aspect is indefinitely worth exploring as part of what makes them; them. I feel that working from life allows me as an artist to make a further connection with the subject, rather than simply working from a selection of photographs. Everything from the general chit chat and niceties before and after, to their physical presence and manner, help to produce a more conscious and penetrative representation of the model. Speaking of the beauty of the mundane, let's talk about your in-progress work “The Value of Money�. I'd say that's an excellent example of the ability to capture a Zeitgeist you talked about. What inspired The Sublime 23
you to create this work, and in the way you chose to present it? It seems like you've gone through a lot of different mediums and styles to get the result you wanted. BL: Currency, as we know it today, is a strange concept. The notion of worth and success within our society, forced upon us by a non-consensual system, measured by the accumulation of small pieces of paper is alarming and unjust to say the least. In the 1930s central banks around the world began to gain power as the gold standard was abolished, firmly and finally consolidated the worth of cold, hard cash. The bank notes we use today survive only on a forgotten notion of promises loosely reciprocated from person to person ‘promising to pay the bearer’ a certain amount of pounds. It is this forgotten notion and thus actual futility of coinage itself that interests me, exploring the insidious nature of worth from a virtually worthless object. So you decided to create your own currency and play on that worthlessness by even labelling as a nothing? BL: I'd started the project by fabricating existing currency, mimicking its physicalities, including size, appearance and feel in order to see if money's value was in its appearance. However, despite producing pretty close to life specimens, people often lost al worth of the notes upon finding that they were actually the creations of a college student, and not the produce of an authority. From here I decided producing my own currency would be the most natural progression. This is due to the fact that I am not only the jurisdiction and verifier behind the coinage, but also able to design the currency to my own specifications, therefore giving the much needed sense of legitimacy. I am currently making the coins from wax, as a malleable and tangible medium, to form an installation piece. Each coin is branded with the value of 'One Nothing,' using juxtaposition to explore 'The Value Of Money.' The installation circulates around the current Greek Financial Crisis, wherein it has been suggested that cancelling debt on a personal level could help to solve the issue. If this were to go ahead, there would be torrents of cash somewhere within the system, suddenly worth 'One Nothing.' As of yet, I am still unsure of the final composition and display of the piece, though I imagine a huge stack of obsolete currency, almost in the fashion of some kind of dragon. However, whether I have enough money to buy such quantities of wax (ironically!) and time to make so many coins before the deadline, is still to be seen! I think that you have a lot of ideas there and I wish you the best of luck in assembling your exhibition. What reaction would you like people to have to your valueless currency then? Did you think about playing with other forms of money, like paper and credit? It seems like so many people are buying things on credit now that money has achieved an even greater sense of worthlessness, close to what you talk about when you say that coinage is built on a forgotten promise and a long-vanished pile of national gold. 24 The Sublime
The Value of Money Various 2015 Selection of development work exploring 'The Value of Money,' including paper sculpture productions of currency (left, top centre), means for production of independent coinage (bottom centre, top right) and supporting photography. Working towards installation piece analysing current Greek Financial TheCrisis. Sublime 25
BL: Yeah, I'm hoping that using the antithesis of valueless money will encourage the viewer to actually think and take note of the currency they use on a daily basis. I'd like people to assess what it is they're actually trading and what this means. Moreover, I'm hoping that the use of current events within the project, most notably within the Greek themed conclusion, will insight the audience to realise the reality of matters within our society surrounding this subject. To be honest, if I had the time to explore credit and paper money, I would! Just from the time constraints of deadlines I ended up having to choose between the three. I chose coins on the basis that I could use their strong imagery and shape to produce the most successful installation I could. I was sure I wanted to produce an installation or sculpture work to conclude, rather than a 2-dimensional piece as I wanted to something that could really engage the viewer with a tangible, physical space, which could convey the concept and supporting ideas to its fullest extent. I think using coins also brings it down to the level of money that every day people deal with, the tangible change that people build up and probably most think of as “real” money. You speak about creating some tangible, physical and three-dimensional, which leads me to your Anatomical structure work. This to me is very intriguing, did it spring out of studying the exterior character of people through life drawing and wanting to express the same about their insides? BL: The piece 'Anatomical Support Mechanism,' looks at what it is to be a human, so I guess it is similar to life drawing in some respects. It circles around the notion that, despite our ingenuity, progression and knowledge, at the end of the day we are all merely sacks of meat that are inevitably ephemeral. The piece explores how we rely on the necessary support systems within our body, shown externally through the use of recyclable and reclaimed materials. This is to display the fashion by which, these support systems will surely fail one day for each of us and leave our remains to be reclaimed by the universe. Each structure around the piece represents a separate supporting structure of the body, from the skeleton system to vital organs and everything in between. I chose quite a formal, scientific sounding name to intensify the complex nature of each of our bodies, relating to this idea of ephemerality, and hopefully encourage the viewer to gain a heightened sense of awareness of this concept. 26 The Sublime
I'm sensing that the idea that everything fades is something you quite like to explore, whether through the decay of the body or the devaluing of currency. Now this last work, “Faceless”, definitely plays on another thing you've mentioned, the idea of identity and individuality. Tell us how it came about. BL: I'd just come back from a few days in London and was struck by the monotony of certain people's lives within the city. Don't get me wrong, I love London and big cities and all that, but I realised how certain groups of people within the environment lived monotonous lives as part of the system; just one of a number. 'Faceless' is a painted installation, exploring what it is to be an individual within a city environment. It radiates from this notion of simply being 'one of a number,' and losing a sense of worth. This sentiment arises following the mistreatment of the individual, in favour of the corporation of business, by society. The piece uses gesturally painted figures of almost life size scale, upon an irregular newspaper collage, pushed into a corner space. The scale of the piece reflects the emotional state of the featured persons by making them 'almost people.' By not quite realizing their potential size-wise, I am conveying their sense of suppression and discontent as individuals. The use of gesture also acts as a vehicle for transferring this often found inner frustration of the individual, trapped within the constraints of the city. I chose the painting surface of newspaper, as a likening to something that is constantly remade and discarded on a daily basis, often reflecting those within the city. The fact that the painting could simply be turned over and go unseen or un-noticed within an urban environment was appealing to me and I felt strengthened my concept. However, due to this factor, my whole project was slowed down after one evening, the painting fell face down from the wall and was swiftly swept up and binned by a cleaner. Thus the 'Faceless,' we have today, is actually the second attempt. Upon completion of the second version, I set the piece within a corner space of around 1.5m x 1.5 x 1.5m. This helped to create the 'worthless' sense of the piece, as if it was some kind of litter or street furniture, which had simply blown in from the street, again exploring the sense of worth and anonymity of the individual. I'd imagine that losing the first version was frustrating, but it does kind of prove your point! Well it's been very interesting to learn about your work, what's next on the agenda for you? BL: Haha it was! But thank you so much yeah, it's
Faceless Acrylic on newspaper collage(Aprox. 1.5m x 1.5m x 1.5m) 2014 Painted installation exploring the individual's sense of worth and anonymity within a city environment. been great chatting to you! I'm currently finishing the installation for 'The Value of Money,' juggling uni applications interviews and getting prepped for my next project. I'm thinking something similar next to 'Faceless' next but working in a more tactile space from what I'm learning from making my current installation. I think I'm going to concentrate on the stress and turmoil often found within the individual, following on from their mistreatment, discussed in 'Faceless,' analysing the comparison between the tough appraisal of the individual and instant worth of corporations often seen in society. I aim to explore this using mundane and iconic objects of our age, but tampering with them slightly to emphasise how close individuals often are to the reality of corporation, but unable to achieve such. None of my ideas are set in stone by any means though I'm really excited to get going and see where I end up after a bit of work! That sounds like an amazing project, it reminds me
of something I saw at the Guggenheim in New York. Well thank you very much for talking to us, I know that I look forward to seeing what you create in the future. Benjamin Lunt's work can be viewed on his Flickr at https://flic.kr/ps/2YBPji
The Sublime 27
This Months Cover Artist
PETER IVES While on our monthly scout on the library of faces and other social media sites we cropped up on Peter Ives, he made us stop, put down our ginger beer and glare at his wonderful illustrations. So the usual protocol happened, like Jodie Foster did in the 90’s we made First Contact, we sparked up a conversation and now we have him here to share with you. Dali wrote in the book “Dali” his idea of paranoiac association. A technique he coined by looking at objects such as clouds and seeing other objects or even whole paintings. Peter has taken this technique and turned it into his own unique style! With a pen and a plain piece of paper he starts of by drawing random squiggles (as seen in the images), from these he uses his imagination to see characters, figures and a world that none of us have ever seen before. His illustrative style has a strange, twisted yet humorous tone to it. With expressive qualities and strong special articulation. The characters literally jump out of the paper and walk around. The simplicity of the black lines on the back drop of the white paper is highly effective and gives it a strong nuance of life. We were all impressed with his style and feel he has a lot to offer in the world of illustration. Hopefully in the future of the magazine we will be seeing more and more of these illustrations appear, maybe a regular. He is definitely one to watch for the future.
28 The Sublime
The Sublime 29
30 The Sublime
The Sublime 31
Seeing The Classics
BLADE RUNNER Lets look at the film Blade Runner, set in Los Angeles 2019 we can immediately see some aesthetic similarities between the landscape within the film that are significantly reminiscent of ancient Egypt. There are the ‘hieroglyphs’ marking the rooms, the stone structures of the buildings, which are quite large blocks of stone, the towering columns and most obviously the pyramids. Interestingly if we link the design and appearance of the dystopian landscape with contemporary culture we can see the pyramid structures represent an organization of power and control, which is also true within ancient Egypt. Rulers of Egypt used symbology to exert their power through sculpture, regalia and ceremony and it did not take long for it to be seen in the buildings. If we take a look at Justin Lewis’s quote on semiotics and symbology, “We are part of the prearranged semilogical world. From the cradle to the grave, we are encouraged by the shape of our environment we engage within the world of signifiers in particular ways.” (Lewis 1991) Even within ancient Egypt there was the use of semiotics to create the illusion of power, the semiotic used in the Victorian times idolize the pastoral and dismissed the urban. Taking our ingrained ability to read signs as Lewis said, the architectural styling in the film link to what we already understand and know about ancient Egypt. Automatically, by the visual language the director is telling us this is a place of power just by using semiotics (Lewis 1991). King Narmer established an early focus for monarchy at Memphis; the basic 32 The Sublime
architectural style cultivates a harsh contrast to the flat plains of the landscape. The designing of the temples and pyramids meant that the brightness of the sun was emphasized and tall pillars give the illusion of space in an Egyptian palace (Echoes from history). This quote about Egypt could almost be describing the film, so it is interesting to see how elements in the past have been taken and changed to create a vision of the future. In the film ‘Blade Runner’ we also see strong links to this style of designing from the outside; representing the pyramids, all the way to the pillars inside. There has been an element of grandness that has not changed from the ancient pharaohs and placed in this futuristic world. “We see how the advent of monumental stone buildings could be used to the advantage of the ruling class, a tool with which to force the common people into reverential awe of the builders of such marvels. Palaces as symbols of power did not begin in Egypt, but as with most customs, Egypt improved upon the practices they had borrowed.” (Echoes from history) We can begin to realize that architecture and the semiotics of power have been used all throughout the past not just in the last hundred years in the genre of science fiction. For generations it appears that we have been conditioned to associate large man-made structures and buildings as a sign of wealth, power and high social standing; so it’s no wonder then that large structures are used within a dystopian world as a symbol of power. Within society (and we can even begin to relate these back to our own current city landscapes), for example London, Beijing, with their own large scale buildings and skyscrapers. Looking at the use of gold/ yellow within the interiors we can see that it is the most overpowering colour and the most self-assured in its bold presence. This is the colour of “happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity” and it is what most people commonly link with yellow, however with the sinister undertones of the setting this description doesn’t seem fitting with the situation, reading further into the shades of yellow we can find that it can also represent “cowardice, betrayal, egoism, and madness” which is much more fitting to how we feel and emotionally connect with these spaces. There are some very clear links to the arts and crafts movement (1860 – 1910), which has also been called “the search for earthly paradise” (Jonathan Glancey) which in the sense of this dystopian film seems sardonic. The more humble dwelling in the film has visual links to that of Storer by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1912 Los Angeles. As previously mentioned above when we relate these dystopian landscapes back to our own current time, look at any image of London skyline in the evening, which shares a striking resemblance to the film in tone mood and colour palette. Watching the film you’ll see that it identifies the point of there being a clear hierarchy within this dystopian landscape; the big corporations are running this realm and this is made clear by the positioning, colour scheme and compositional elements of this panoramic shot. Compositionally, the pyramids being on the horizon and being away from the factories/lower classes put this across as it distanced them from the ‘Untermenschen’ and it also gives a grander scale to the pyramids, even though they are in the distance they are still the largest part of the image. What is also noteworthy is about 16 minutes in we see a glimpse of how the people who live in that world view these iconic pyramids, we see the main character looking with a mixture of awe and nervousness at the pyramids. Considering he is a form of policeman (in that society) it’s questionable as to why he would be nervous when he holds a position of authority and has legitimate reason to be there. This would lead us to question why a policeman would feel threatened or uncomfortable being authoritative in what is essentially a place of work for the public. However digging deeper we know that these pyramids are made to threaten and to give off a sense of superiority. BUT enough bullshit, watch this film – it’s a classic for a reason.
The Sublime 33
NERDLINGER
by Dunc
¬¬Rolling Your Own It’s fast become time whereby I need a new computer in my life. The venerable Mac upon which this very bollocks be typed has served me well and, in all honesty, is still running pretty great. But I’m hoping for a change of career at the moment. Actually, I’m just hoping for a career full-stop. Change of career implies that my deadend job qualifies as having potential to someday go somewhere. Trusty as this Mac has been (7 years old next month) I need something with a lot more ‘ooomph’ as I wish to get into the world of CGI and 3D Design or “Digital Content Creation” as it’s more commonly known. Exciting and poncey as that may sound it also entails having one helluva computer to work off and as my hobby of waylaying travellers and stealing their kidneys has yet to turn a tasty profit there’s no way in Hell I could afford a professional-level Mac Pro (unless one of you splendid bastards can lend me about £4000?) All is not lost though, my fragrant friends, as you’d be just as well off with a PC. Now ‘off the shelf ’ workstations cost a pretty penny also, so I’ll be doing something daring, something sexy and something guaranteed to turn off any woman the second you speak to her. I’ll be building my own. Yep, you heard me right. I’ll be building a PC from scratch using parts I chose off them there Interwebs. Most people don’t know you can even do that. Most people go to the Lynx-wearing cretins in the purple shirts on a Bank Holiday and in an unwitting metaphor bend themselves in twain and take one up the financial shitter. For those of you ill-versed in such speak, PC-World’s a fucking rip-off is what I’m saying. Now building a
34 The Sublime
PC isn’t ideal for every situation. If you just want to go on Facebook, Twitter and post pictures of yourself you took with a special stick because you’re such a remarkable human being then you may be better off buying an entry-level laptop or ‘NUC’ PC. These are (very) small PC’s from the likes of Intel and Gigabyte which are basically a very basic PC in a tiny box. You’d be hard pushed to match something like that for value. However as soon as you get into having something a bit more of an ambitious purposemaking your own home videos, editing pictures, 3D or 2D content creation, Photoshopping yourself into pictures of Hollywood bints, gaming and so forth, it becomes increasingly economical to build your own. There are two reasons for this. One, every PC vendor cuts corners at some point for profit. They’ll lure you in with the processor, the graphics and loads of numbers with ‘MHz’ and ‘GB’ after them, but skimp on parts like the power supply, case and motherboard to shave more of a profit margin. Two, when you’re buying a PC you’re also paying someone to build it for you, it’s in the price. Whether it’s the Comic-Book Guy from your local PC shop who has a neck-beard, sweats Pot Noodle sauce and has never been nearer to a woman than on World of Warcraft or the poor sods in China working in dorm-factories for a pittance (and for those of you who read in the Daily Mail that that’s Apple’s fault, do you own anything made my Microsoft, Sony, LG, Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Pioneer, Philips, or Panasonic? Then get off your high horse, where do you think your flat-screen fricking came from?) Now, I’m not saying this is easy. The actual act of assembling a PC, step-by-step, is actually very
easy. If you follow a certain order and take a couple of precautions you’ll be grand. But it does require a LOT of homework when picking your parts. You need to pick a processor and graphics card, pick which size power supply, which form factor to go with. Pick a monitor, keyboard and mouse, pick RAM, pick storage. Halfway through typing that my inner monologue turned into Ewan McGregor from Trainspotting. Pick a wife, pick a house, pick a fuckin’ big television. But it is a worthwhile endeavour. You’ll save a LOT of money. I tried several reputable UK PC builders who you can tailor-make your PC online with and they’ll assemble and send it off to you. The best price I could get for the machine I wanted (or at least the nearest thing they did) was £1200 without a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Mine’ll be £900 WITH a keyboard, mouse and a very good monitor. That’s at least 20-30% cheaper. It’s not just financial gains either. If something goes wrong down the line you’ll have a lot more knowledge and understanding of what to replace/ repair and so forth. Plus when it comes to upgrade time you don’t need to buy a whole new machine, you’ll be able to salvage some parts and upgrade the rest, costing you about a third what you would normally spend. So where to start? Well, firstly you need to know what your machine’s going to be for. What are you going to be doing on it. Then you need a shopping list. You’ll need; A case, a power-supply, a motherboard, a processor, RAM, a graphics card (maybe), storage (a hard drive, an SSD or both) and then peripherals (if you don’t already have them) like a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers.
reading. Get on Youtube and sites like Tom’s Hardware, Anandtech etc. These do good reviews and you need to learn about socket-types, formfactors (the overall size and layout of the PC) and what your budget will be. It’s not as daunting as it sounds. I got into PC building because my Uncle bequeathed me an old PC a LONG time ago and I got it up and running but it was very sluggish. Luckily the guy I shared a ride to work with every day was a real boffin and he walked me through the process of upgrading the machine bit by bit until nothing of the original remained, like Trigger’s Broom. It’s a worthwhile thing to know- you’ll be much more able to repair and diagnose something wrong with the PC, you’ll be able to upgrade it to get more life out of the system instead of replacing the whole kit and you’ll save a small fortune. The initial outlay for a decent PC seems crippling but then you spend less over the years on the odd part here and there. In fact it occurs to me this Mac’s the only pre-built, off the shelf PC I’ve ever owned. What a weird thought. No wonder I was single for so long. I ain’t gonna sit here and tell you what to buy, it depends what you want to spend, what it’s going to be for and it’s also down to your personal preferences. Everyone has different needs but that’s the beauty- you can completely tailor the machine to your purpose and it’s an impressive thing to put on a PC. Just leave out the part about the fact that the last time you last had sexual congress with a woman the world was in black and white.
There’s no way to simply start, it’s a case of getting
The Sublime 35
NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR BY GEORGE ORWELL What to read
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, is a popular example of a classic dystopian tale published first in 1949. However, this is not to underestimate its relevance, in fact being based on CCTV in a time before it was as well-established as it is today this could be the scariest prediction, and most correct prediction, I’ve personally seen. “The telesrceen received and transmitted simultaneously, any sound that Winston made... Would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he will be seen as well as heard. There was no way of course of knowing when he was being watched” (Orwell, George) Firstly this quote has visual links to that of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 in which there are large television “walls”, however the difference being, one is to control your life through constantly being watched, whilst the other is through constantly watching the TV. An interesting word used here is the word “commanded”, it’s a strong word; shown in the dictionary as “To direct with authority ; give orders to.” It is clear throughout this book that there is a position of authority held over these ‘normal people’, we can back this up with an observation; “The types of surveillance accentuated in the panoptic model typically involve the monitoring of people who reside at a lower point in the social hierarchy” (Haggerty, Kevin D.) 36 The Sublime
Carrying on to compare this to surveillance and CCTV in England, to the descriptive quote from the book, there is striking similarity between the two in the tone of voice both talking about people being watched by someone higher up. The word monitoring presents an interesting suggestion of its being beneficial to the person undergoing supervision. (Haggerty, Kevin D.) “The Ministry of truth… was startlingly different any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 m into the air.” (Orwell, George 2) It’s very clear from looking at this book that it definitely has ties with our current social fears about CCTV, it’s interesting to see that it’s still being mentioned in today’s newspaper (date 27/2/14): “British agents spied on millions of people through their webcams using a program likened to the surveillance system in George Orwell’s 1984, according to leaked secret documents.” (Johnson, Ian 2014) Even though it was written in 1949, contemporary media still refers to it for context. Liking recent events to the novel in a derogatory context, setting the scene as a dystopian one.
The Sublime 37
Mottled Gray Interviewing
CALLUM GARDNER
Callum Gardner is a 19-year-old singer/songwriter originally from the leafy countryside of Alton, Surrey, and now living and based out of South London. As a conscious musician and as an individual, like myself, trying to break into the creative side of the music industry, I was curious to find out about his angle and more about his musical mentality. We met up over a quick beer and a smoke before he had to run off to a gig, and this is the produce of that highly pleasing interaction.
38 The Sublime
MG – What was your musical journey, and at what point did you decide to pursue music as a career? CG – In 2009 I formed a band called ‘The Naked Eyes’. I was 13 and leading two saxophonists and a drummer whilst playing bass. It was like a funky instrumental thing littered with solos. It lasted a year or so and then I moved onto playing Metal in a band called ‘Parallel Ground,’ in which I played bass. We were a three-piece stoner rock band with hints of thrash in there, and although we played gigs pretty regularly, we didn’t really know how to promote ourselves, as we were only 14 or 15 years old. After that I started to write songs more focused on vocals and chords, and when I was 16 I started writing songs purely for vocals and The Sublime 39
acoustic guitar so that I could gig as a solo artist. It took me a longer time to start gigging than in previous acts, and I think this was because I needed the time to become comfortable with my voice. Following that, when I turned 18, I moved to London to study song writing at university, and began recording and playing my own stuff as a solo act. I’m now in the process of recording my first album of songs accumulated over the past four years, as well as doing lots of gigs under my own name (Callum Gardner) and I’m also playing bass in an alternative rock/pop band, ‘Lazy Embrace’. MG – Sounds like you’re busy! Keep up the good work though man, I’m sure it will pay off. So you’re not originally from London but said you moved here to study. Have you struggled to find your place in a city that some feel is already saturated with talent? CG – Well, at first when I moved here I was overwhelmed by the sheer quality of unsigned acts gigging in, and around, the capital. On one hand it’s hugely inspiring, and I can say a few acts I have seen in small time venues have definitely influenced my song writing and performing. On the other hand, I have been shocked by the number of amazing artists giving it their all, but still consistently struggling to break through 40 The Sublime
to the bigger scene. Overall though, I think the balance of those two aspects have made it easier for me to find myself in a new place, and to really let loose with my song writing by embracing my surroundings. MG – Ye it’s always difficult to engage a wider audience, especially when there are so many artists to choose from, but that’s why originality is so important! Well, that and marketing. Speaking of which, how do you feel about the state of the music industry nowadays? CG – To be honest I find it very difficult to relate to any of the music being showcased by major Labels in the UK and US. Other than some Ed Sheeran songs, nothing has spoken to me like any of the music from the past, and unfortunately I wasn’t around at the time of release to enjoy it! I hope that some of these new up and coming artists can break through. It would be a relief to see them live up to the timeless songwriters of the past, and give the new millennium something to be remembered by! MG – For sure! Let’s get that movement rolling! I’m on it; let’s see it happen. So, obviously at the moment your music is acoustically orientated. Do you see that changing at all in the foreseeable future?
CG – At the moment I’m trying to create a continuity within my songs: well, at least in this first album I’m currently writing. I think that I’ve found this in focusing largely on my vocal and acoustic guitar as the bulk of my instrumentation. That said, while focusing predominantly on these two aspects, I also want to be able to bring in parts for things like strings, piano, percussion and additional guitars to lift the arrangements where necessary. I’m working towards gigging with a live band and having all these aspects incorporated, but realistically my solo act will be my main avenue for the near future, especially as I think there has been a rise in demand for solo acoustic singer/songwriters in recent years. MG – Sweet. Ye when I listen to your stuff I can definitely hear a larger arrangement sitting behind your compositions. Looking forward to that. Is there a particular message or concept that you’re trying to convey with your music? CG – Well, as a person I’ve always been quick to make my opinions heard, and I think the music industry should always provide a platform for that; a variety of relatable opinions that are relevant to a wider range of society, rather than fixating on promoting materialistic lifestyles and a ‘living-for-the-weekend’ attitude. In my newest
music I focus on the hypocrisies that are already highlighted in our everyday lives, but simply not addressed or talked about. I feel as if, as a population, we are promised the world and see very little change. I know it’s not a pandemic or some urgent disaster but it is our responsibility to make sure that people know the government and the other systems in place are there for our benefit, and not just to dictate how taxes and funding are allocated and spent. MG – Do you feel your creativity is explicitly influenced by your environment and surroundings? CG – I would say yes, my creativity definitely reflects the situations I see and the experiences in real life. Some recent and some past memories inspire me to write lyrics and music. Often something in the news or something I learn of from a documentary is a spark to the fire of inspiration I grasp onto when composing. However, I have always found a day job is great food for thought when writing about concepts and situations. Some of the jobs that have ignited my writing include working in a museum and gardens, in a warehouse, as a salesman and now currently as a bookmaker. I think more than anything its people that inspire me. When I try and create a character to use as the narrator
The Sublime 41
for my lyrics, I always find that it’s real life personalities that trigger my imagination.
incorporate them into my music and image at a later point.
MG – Interesting. So can you see yourself ever doing anything else?
MG – Yes, I mean obviously you’ve come a long way on this musical path, it would be mad to try and do something else now I suppose. Determination is the key. So last question (and one I enjoy asking creatives of a specific medium): if the whole world lost its’ ability to hear, do you think you could communicate your expression effectively?
CG – It’s hard to imagine pursuing any other career but I suppose it would have to be something in a creative industry. I enjoy reading and writing poetry and would definitely be interested in pursuing a career within that frame of mind. I also enjoy drawing and painting abstract scenes, often with a psychedelic influence, and so would also be interested in looking into industries that that might fall within. But I think I’m pretty set with this music idea, maybe I’ll develop those other skills along the way and
42 The Sublime
CG – I think if that tragedy were ever to materialise, it would be a lot more difficult to communicate my views in a way that has the potential to relate to current generations on a sufficiently large scale. I would probably turn to poetry or art as a platform to convey my opinions. However, I think both these
expressive mediums are a lot less connected to our society, purely because we are so used to being able to have music available to us immediately nowadays. MG – Indeed…we live in a culture of immediate gratification, and an ‘I-want-it-now’ mentality, I feel. But glad I’m not the only one dissatisfied with this! Thanks for taking the time to chat to me Callum, it’s much appreciated and has been very interesting. Good luck with everything, I’ll see you soon.
will be, what he’ll be doing, and of course listen to his latest music at the links below. soundcloud.com/callum_gardner facebook.com/CallumGardnerMusic
CG – Nice one mate, see you soon. Callum Gardner is gigging all over London in 2015 and you can find out more about where he
The Sublime 43
THIS MONTH
Feburary Find out what has been happening in the world of music this month (incase you missed it)
Chvrches and Mogwai hit the streets of Glasgow to sell the big issue.
Purity released “Repetition” single ahead of their new album release.
TV on the Radio’s Drummer Saphet Landis was hospitalized making the band cancel their February Tour.
Haim’s Danielle Haim was in a car crash, nothing too serious though.
Laura Marling released a new video for the song “Woman Driver”.
Paul Weller has released teasers from his new material. THE GRAMMYS.
Madonna went Snap Chat crazy sharing her new music video with followers for 24 Hours. Taylor Swift heads the army of stars wanting a Ban on Music covers on Spotify. Katy Perry’s Lawyers ban the production of the super bowl “Left Shark”. Hot Chip tease us with a release and snippets of their new album that is coming out soon. Incubus release brand new material, a long time in waiting for fans.
Sam Smith wins 4 Grammys and thanks his ex for the influence. Beck wins best album of the year. Kanye Cries over Beck winning and claimed Beyonce should have won best album. The long awaited trailer for the Amy Winehouse documentary was premiered at the Grammys. Yoko Ono wants to release some Vinyl’s for her 82nd Birthday. Suge Knight Remains in prison for his murder charge.
44 The Sublime
IN SOUND Bez had a bed-sleep-in in the aid of anti-fracking. It didn’t quite have the same impact as John Lennon’s famous bed-in for peace. Bez runs for prime minister. Well he registers his party as an official candidate party for the general election. Suge Knight faces added robbery charges. Death Cab for Cutie release “Black Sun” video. Beck and Beyonce create the mash up “Single Losers (put a Beck on it)”.
Noel Gallagher could drop dead if he stops taking his medication. Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp Performed as Hollywood Vampires. Up Town Funk hits one-million sales. Ian Curtis’ Former home in Manchester goes up for public sale, a petition was started to turn it into a Joy Division Museum. Gaga is now engaged. Kurt Cobain’s old credit card is up for auction (seriously?!?!). BLUR ARE BACK! The Brits Happened. Somewhere in-between the NME awards happened (we think). JIMMY PAGE everywhere like god.
Visage Front man and 80’s Icon Steve Strange sadly passed away.
The Sublime 45
A Poem By Mottled Gray
I’M COMPLEX All I need is a compromise, These futures are formed in unconscious minds, I’m left with an image of paradise: But it’s not yours. And it makes you uncomfortable. Those things I expected you don’t want, So I’m feeling rejected I need support, But I’m complex. I thought you knew from the onset. I just assumed, And it’s unfair. I know that you care, But it’s useless, Feels like we’re nowhere, All it produces is further confusion, And somehow, both of us get hurt. But I can’t let go of the pictures Held so close since the moment I noticed your fingers. Just tell me it’s not true. If I leave it I need to just leave you.
46 The Sublime
But I love you: It’s just not enough, You think I think I’m above you. Just feels like a constant rut, I think our relationships fucked. I hate that you can’t see your beauty, Look like a slut when you leave, ‘Cause you think it’ll help with your self-esteem, Man, your nuts and you’re dreaming. Take your head out the clouds ‘Cause I need you to see what’s around you. I feel like a failure, I can’t change your behaviour, Not that you want to. I thought we were working for something. But you stay with your self-destruction, I can relate, But I changed, ‘Cause see, that mindset is dangerous. Baby just face it: That thing’s not a part of you, You’re breaking my heart.
And I caused it. Dreamed up an image, Attempted to force it. And I’m stupid. Should never have lit up a candle And listened to Cupid. ‘Cause I know that I’m too much for people to handle, See, this proves it. You gave me your hand, But I just couldn’t use it. Didn’t want you to feel so useless. But I am disappointed: Can’t change that fact ‘cause of lack of enjoyment. I wanted to see you progress From the point that you were when we met But you haven’t, no matter the things I suggest. Now we’re both just feeling depressed, And it’s my fault. Just stuck in most viscous of cycles. Our loves like an infinite furnace of fireballs.
The Sublime 47
A Poem By Mottled Gray
LET IT GO Been needing this rest now, Just feeling the stress as my minds turned, Now needing some time to relax And to process progress I’ve made in the past few Days turned, but three Just feels like a week. One night’s decent sleep, I’m run down when the sun’s up. No decent eats And all the food at my work’s getting munched up, Yes that breakfast at one in the morning. Still on the clock and I’m yawning, Fourteen hours ago, I had stepped through the doors of a studio Pumped for the day. Shoving some tea And some toast down my face. Loving life, But I’m burnt out. That compromise is observed now. But I’m so tired, Need sleep, to eat, and chill out.
Try to let it go.
Just blissfully nearing perfection, Feeling the blessing, Questions of ‘why?’ are relenting. My mind drifts But finally see what’s in front of me, Look at this life I’ve been missing out. So now that I’m wrapped in a cloud, Just chilling, I’m sitting proud. I’m the master of my mind, My time stays like it’s paralyzed. Each moment is frozen in melody Bent to existence, Paradise right at my fingers. Just have it, That music is true in its infinite wisdom, Focus and listen, I need it and maybe you do to. Who knew I’d really feel it? Those evenings lost to the vibe, All morning and all through the night, If I’m dreaming, Then nobody touch me, just leave it. ‘Cause I’m all right.
I’ve let it go. 48 The Sublime
Stepped out in the twilight, Daytime peaking its head, Looked up to the sky in its infinite depth. I feel like there’s always perspective. I’m blessed to accept That we’re part of a larger collective. Each person and action connected, All with a purpose if efforts invested. But it’s just like the daily grind, I stepped out of my yard And the clouds here are silver lined, Not on point, but I’ll try. Yes shits peak sometimes, But there’s no control, Life flows, So I’ve just let go of mine. And I work for directions I feel are right. Look: who knows in the grand scheme? But I’m sure that this time stampedes If I try and grip, Then it just slips past me.
Let it go.
The Sublime 49
The art of
FADI MIKHAIL
50 The Sublime
The Sublime 51
52 The Sublime
Fadi was educated by painter Paul Finn and subsequently at The Slade School of Fine Art (2003-2007) where his teacher himself had been taught. Fadi's pursuit has essentially been to make paintings of figures in a traditional way; with brush and paint, applying and removing paint until a satisfactory balance of shape, colour, line and structure has been found. It is this pushing and pulling of paint to create the same 'hard-won' image spoken of about Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff 's work that Fadi finds most interesting. His subjects or inspiration are drawn from his love of all things literary and fantastic - from European folklore to Roald Dahl's characters - and his Orthodox Christian faith. As well as paintings in thick oil and acrylic, Fadi is an experienced practitioner in the traditional art of Coptic Iconography. This ancient art spanning as far back as the 4th Century uses egg tempera on gesso panels as well as metal leaf. In this field Fadi was commissioned by Royal Mail in 2013 to produce their Christmas Stamp 'Theotokos' and was soon after commissioned to produce two paintings for HRH Prince of Wales and the newly born Prince George. I do truly stand by it when I say this, we are in the midst of a contemporary master! The first time I viewed his work I was taken away with its breath taking and complex beauty. To me a painting only really comes alive when you have layer upon layer of paint, marks overlapping marks and hues crossing hues. It's this process that gives every well painted painting its depth and aura. The viscosity of the paint in Fadi’s work is totally thick and helps with the life you see in each painting. His gestural and deliberate marks give each image a strong sense of movement that makes your mind wonder through its motion as if you were gazing upon a short film. Each essence of the scene, the emotion, place and motive is captured within the layers. Every painting by Fadi is visceral and holds a deeper inert feeling. I get the sense that they are not created with an intentional feeling, but more so intended to unlock uncanny and familiar feelings within you when you view them. Fadi has a strong connection with form, a unique eye to see and translate it on the canvas. The large strokes are mesmerising and send you on a journey through their interlocking weaves. The paintings exist by themselves, they have their own belonging within our world and I predict that they will go down in art history as important and influential for future generations of artists. We are truly honoured to feature work that is already in art history. The Sublime 53
54 The Sublime