VQ Magazine

VQ Summer 2010 Issue 01 ÂŁ6.50

Car culture: attitude or way of life? I Chumbawamba The life of a Dominatrix I Abandoned Hospitals Meet Britain’s homegrown climate activists 1

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EDITOR’S LETTER Cover image:

By Sharbendu De from the feature ‘Order of the Cllimate Marauders’.

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warm, hearty welcome to the premiere issue of VQ, Visual-journalism Quarterly. Our vision to bring in-depth coverage of today’s diverse issues to independent and curious readers is finally coming to light, and I feel excited that our ideas and ideologies can now reach out to you.

You’ll be welcomed by a fresh story on free runners with ‘Setting the Pace’ by Jonathan Morris, our staff photographer in Swansea. And, in ‘Curbing your Enthusiasm’, Jonathan demystifies car culture from the shadow of boy racers. He spent months building a relationship with these young drivers to bring you a thoroughly researched photo story. In ‘Abandoned’, Giulia Candussi roams the outskirts of London researching and photographing the majestic, and eerily picturesque hospitals destined for decay, she investigates the abject waste of these once beautiful buildings.

Sharbendu De lives out of his sleeping bag and survives on skipped food to bring you the inside story of the survival, tribulations and ideologies of environmental activists in his feature ‘Order of the Climate Marauders’, while Charlotta Ljungberg treads the dark sexual alleys to find out about the life and psyche behind a dominatrix. Charlotta also brings you the latest coverage of Chumbawamba, the music group who gathered acclaim with their 1990’s smash hit ‘Tubthumping’. And finally, I personally go globetrotting for an extensive feature on ‘Britain’s Forgotten Children’, the child migrants deported to Australia and subjected to exploitation, neglect and abuse.

VQ is a product of our accumulated vision and passion. We aim to delve deeper into Britain’s social and cultural issues to engage, inspire and challenge general attitudes and perceptions. We hope you enjoy reading our stories as much we have enjoyed bringing them to you.

ENVIRONMENT 12 Abandoned: Decadence to Decay 56 Order of the Climate Marauders

CULTURE 64 Whip It

REVIEWS

Julie Anne Glover Chief Editor

Chief Editor - Julie Glover Assistant Editor - Charlotta Ljungberg Picture Editors - Sharbendu De, Charlotta Ljungberg Assistant Designer - Giulia Candussi Designer - Jonathan Morris Copy Editors - Sharbendu De, Helen Twomey 4

Registered address: VQ Magazine 210 Brixton Road, London SW9 6AP Tel: 0800 4256743 International: + 44 20 74256743 Website: www.vqmag.co.uk Email: enquiries@vqmag.co.uk Printer: The B&H Group, Amersham

URBAN Setting the Pace 7 Curbing their Enthusiasm 32

27 Sound of Dissent

Yours,

Editorial Team:

VQ

CONTENTS

70 Your Photo

SOCIAL Voice of Revolution 20 Dance for Life 44 Britain’s Forgotten Children 50

73 A Flamenco Diva 74 World Press Photo 76 Dans Le Noir 5

URBAN

SETTING THE PACE

Story by Jonathan Morris

Youth culture is more than just defining fashion; it is also at the forefront of pushing for new social and sporting trends. What happens if the rest of society can’t keep to the same pace?

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Da Williams is practising front flips off the ‘Letters’ outside the Maritime Museum in Swansea..

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The Swansea Bay Freestylers are holding a meeting for their newly formed group, discussing how the funding will pay for a team kit and video camera.

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ree Running is freedom of expression, more than a philosophy, offering valuable insight into its origins as a reaction against urban planning, and lending a helping hand towards fostering a more positive attitude for young people.

City centres are great for enabling the flow of foot traffic through shops, supermarkets and cafés, however, they don’t fully stretch themselves to the needs of young people once they have lapped the shopping centres and exercised their wallets.

there is nothing for them to do.

In reaction, Swansea council has put up signs discouraging the use of bikes and skateboards, and has made efforts to march the large numbers of youths away from the centre. This action by the council is repeated across the nation when trying to address these issues because of outdated urban planning.

There appears to be no scope for a solution. Free Running says otherwise, turning everyday urban fixtures that the public walk around, such as concrete

“Because of Free Running, I started to learn how to overcome obstacles in real life as well” Urban planners should be commended for city centres that are designed to allow everyone to enjoy the city centre together; it is a sign of good health as the centre offers the necessary facilities for human interaction. Urban planning lags behind when it comes to attracting young forward-thinking individuals to socialise.

City centres were not originally designed for skateboarders, bikers and large meetups. Swansea city centre, for example, can have on a given Saturday, over 300 youths congregating together in a single group causing congestion on footpaths, because 10

walls and metal bars, into platforms that allow for flips, jumps and other acrobatic feats. Open spaces become arenas, other youths and the general public can watch, engaging with those that Free Run. It’s a sport that can be practiced anywhere, by anyone (with training in a gym before venturing outside). Nothing can be confiscated by the council, and the requirements are simple: Free Running does not cost anything, all that is needed is suitable clothing and the time to do it.

For the last three years, a small group of teenagers regularly travelled

from nearby towns to meet in Swansea to practice together. In March 2010, they successfully pitched, and received funding from Ultimate Sports Relief fund to develop a Free Running group. They accomplished this without help from adults; they had a common bond, motivation and a competitive edge to want to take their mutual interest further.

The young athletes largely stress how Free Running allows them to stay out of trouble, keeps them mentally and physically fit, and more importantly boosts selfconfidence. Sixteen year old Sam Collins, the joker in the group, always showing off his magic card tricks, explains “I feel more physically robust, I’m in greater control of my body, and because of Free Running, I’ve started to learn how to overcome obstacles in real life as well.”

Free Running has also helped members of the group to develop stronger ties with one another, building long lasting bonds at an early age. Matt, the group leader revealed they would often stay together as a family, even having dinner together at their parent’s houses. “I appreciate how Free Running has helped me cope with other stresses in life and enabled me to have meaningful relationships with other people,” he said.

Often, it is believed that all youths want to do, given the chance, is to sit at home and play computer games. It would be a wholly positive endeavour if children had greater exposure to Free Running to experience the benefits of the sport, whether through school or council run programs. To do so would result in a positive step towards introducing a new and exciting way to keep fit, while allowing younger people to develop important life skills, to stay out of trouble, and importantly, to give city planners a chance to try again. VQ 11

ENVIRONMENT

ABANDONED: DECADENCE TO DECAY Story by Giulia Candussi

We live in an era where it is easier and cheaper to throw old things away and buy new ones rather than fixing them.

New things might have a higher monetary value, but what about the historical and sentimental value?

Every building is a product of its own time, and reflects the style and level of technology from that period. Hospital buildings in particular change according to the progress of medicine and science.

Up until the 1970’s for example it was a common belief that people diagnosed with mental illnesses should be kept well away from society. Only recently have we acknowledged that asylum patients suffered atrocities such as total isolation, sensory deprivation and electric shock.

Fortunately treatment has improved since then, but by abandoning the buildings where these practices were perpetrated is like erasing our past.

A peek through a key hole at West Park Hospital, Epsom.

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Once the home of one of the most advanced brain surgeries in the world, Atkinson Morley Hospital is now abandoned.

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uring the 18th and 19th Century a proliferation of purpose-built hospitals was constructed to suit a range of needs: asylums, psychiatric hospitals (originally called idiot and imbecile establishments), children’s care houses and epilepsy sanatoria. Around 150 asylums and hospitals remain in various isolated locations around Greater London - the prosperity of the period reflected in the sumptuousness of the architecture.

Many hospitals were built in rural settings for the benefit of the patients to enjoy the fresh air and tranquility of the countryside. They were situated on large confined grounds, and included kitchen gardens for therapeutic and recreational 14

use. Few hospital landscapes remain entirely untouched since their initial construction. Most of the structural boundaries – enclosure walls, iron fences and gates – were removed during the 20th Century when policies regarding patients’ health and safety allowed them more freedom to access the grounds. However, long closed path systems and fences are still visible.

The late 20th Century National Health Service estate rationalisation policies, and the modern approach to treating psychiatric disorders and other illnesses, resulted in an almost entire closure of these health care facilities. Some estates have been sold and redeveloped in vari-

ous ways, such as luxurious flats or holiday houses, however, the majority have been abandoned, leading to their slow degradation and ruin.

West Park Hospital, located in the rural setting of Epsom, was the eleventh and last mental health asylum to be built in the Greater London area. Opened in 1921, it is based on an American model consisting of many small buildings with patient wards connected by long closed corridors to prevent attempts to escape. By the 1960’s, the asylum resembled a small isolated village - housing up to 2,000 patients.

As a consequence of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s “Care in the Community” policy, asylums across the nation

were forced to close, and patients were released. Some had a home to go to, but the majority had serious problems reintegrating into society having been in institutional care for many years. West Park emptied gradually, finally closing its doors in the mid 1990’s.

Now abandoned and, in addition to the effects of the erosion over time, West Park Hospital has suffered from acts of vandalism, including a fire in 2002 that burned the main hall. In 2006, proposals for the site included the development of luxurious flats and holiday residences, but to date, these plans have not been implemented and this important part of British heritage is still in decline.

Similar to West Park and many other asylums, Springfield Hospital, was closed down in the late 1990’s and never reopened. Located in Tooting, South London, it was built in 1840, and designed in Tudor Gothic style. A proposal for the redevelopment of the site was submitted in 2008 and refused. The building is now boarded up and surrounded by numerous new construction sites.

Known to have been one of the most advanced brain surgery centres in the world, Atkinson Morley Hospital (AMH) was founded in 1869. It was built in Second Empire style on 1,800 acres of land in Wimbledon. In 1972, it was the first hospital to ever use a CAT scanner

on humans by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. The hospital was opened thanks to a generous donation by Sir Atkinson Morley, a wealthy landowner who was once a medical student.

The Second French Empire style of Napoleon III is characterised by sculptural details around the doors and windows that give the effect of making the structure appear imposing and expensive. During World War II, the AMH acted as an emergency hospital and a specialist Neurosurgery Unit, including its own helicopter landing facility. The hospital remained open until 2003 when neurology services were relocated to the nearby hospital of 15

The erosion of time creates visually beautiful signs on different materials: the peeling of the paint and the rust devouring the metals.

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St George. The building is now abandoned and expensive medical equipment can still be found inside.

In 1880, The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children was built in Victorian style at the top of Clifton Hill, in central Brighton.

Over the years additions to expand the hospital continued until the structure was declared unsuitable for care services in 2003. The building remains intact and untouched; children’s pictures and colorful paintings along the corridor’s walls are still displayed.

Taylor Wimpey, an experienced developer, acquired the site with the intention of demolishing it and building flats. He had no planning permssion, and the current appeal includes concessions and a guarantee to the government to provide a percentage of affordable housing, commercial floor space, a GP surgery and a pharmacy.

The greater the concession, the higher the chance of success in obtaining permission.

Twice, their planning application has been rejected although they continue to appeal this decision.

Progress is the word of the present, but sometimes we need to look at the past to understand the present. The historical and architectural memory are fundamental in keeping a country alive, as much as the ecology and the building heritage are. It might be cheaper to rebuild a totally new structure in a different area, but what about the occupation of the soil, the erosion and the deforestation caused by our incessant need for raw materials to build new houses, new shopping centres and new hospitals? The few green areas left on earth are suffocating within the huge sprawl of cement and little – or nothing – is being done to stop this trend.

VQ

The vast garden surrounding the wards at West Park Hospital where patients would rest during their ‘airing’ time.

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SOCIAL

VOICE OF REVOLUTION

Story by Julie Glover

“My name is Bridy and I’m an Irish Traveller.”

She courageously stood up at her school and introduced herself to her peers. Before then, Bridy was embarrassed, and reluctant to let people know.

“But as I gradually told my best friends,” said Bridy “they didn’t treat me any differently. I knew I was the only Traveller at the school, but I didn’t want to hide it, and I just came to a point where I don’t care what other people think. Now I’m proud to be a Traveller.”

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ridy Purcell has made a significant impact in challenging social and environmental issues on a local and national level – and she is only 13 years old. A member of the London Citizens Group, already she is renowned for initiating campaigns at her school including setting up a charity to collect school equipment for children in deprived areas in Africa. She was also instrumental in increasing the minimum wage for London citizens on low pay by speaking out to Ed Balls MP at the Fair Trade Campaign in 2009.

The eldest of five children, Bridy is the first in her family to continue school to secondary level. Even now, many Irish Traveller children are taken out of school for reasons including changing camp sites and being a target for bullying at school.

Bridy herself has been, and continues to be, subject to bullying, having to deal with slanders such as “You Pikey bitch. You live in a caravan. You’re poor.” But as Bridy says, “I try to ignore them, sometimes I repel but I wouldn’t want anyone to stop me from getting a proper education. Bullies could hit me or call me names, but that won’t stop me from going to school.

No one can ever stop me from being what I want to be.”

The children on the Traveller camp site look up to her, vying for her attention. A natural leader, Bridy has a charisma and presence that makes

people want to be around her. Among her many talents she has won awards for poetry, is an accomplished Irish dancer and is often invited to speak at conferences around London about racism, youth violence and other issues facing young Travellers. She’s always involved in groups, campaigns and projects for the wider community as well as specifically for Travellers, sometimes not getting home until 10pm at night. “I couldn’t live without my groups” says Bridy enthusiastically, “it’s really important and I’m motivated by them because I like to do things, I want to help.”

A major concern for Traveller communities throughout the UK is the lack of accommodation sites and resources.

According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, one third of the Gypsy and Irish Traveller community do not have a legal or secure place to live. Bridy’s family is just one of thousands at risk of eviction, even though they have lived on the site in Greenwich for twelve years – nearly all of Bridy’s life. Furthermore, despite continuous campaigns to the government to change the Mobile Homes Act, legally only 24 hours eviction notice is required by the authorities, which leaves many families feeling vulnerable.

Travellers’ biggest fear is racism and prejudice. When Bridy’s family first moved to their site, bricks and petrol At their camp site in Greenwich: Bridy takes time out to play with her little sister and friend.

“What I want for Travellers is a grant for young people so they can be involved in all sorts of activities every week; for all Travellers to have good, stable and safe sites to live, to be given more rights and have less discrimination” 22

bombs where thrown at the trailers while they were asleep in bed. But over the years the local community has come to know and respect them, and they no longer have any trouble. However if they were evicted, the families would need to re-establish themselves in another com-

munity, and potentially, deal with more unwelcome discrimination. Bridy relays the shocking incident well known in the Traveller communities as an example of the prejudice against them – the violent attack on 15 year old Irish Traveller Johnny Delaney, who lived on a camp site

in Liverpool. One evening in 2003 he was on his way home from boxing training when two 16 year old boys were heard shouting racist abuse while they beat Johnny to his death.

Every year since 2007 during the Travellers History Month, Bridy organises

a trailer for children to help them understand rather than having preconceived opinions about Travellers. “If you introduce it to schools now, they’ll go ‘oh yeah, Travellers, I know about them’,” she says.

“That way they might understand that living in a trailer is not a matter of choice, 23

Bridy with her mother, Elizabeth Purcell at Eltham Palace, Greenwich where she received the Young Citizens Award 2010.

“What many people don’t understand is that we don’t want to live in houses because we feel isolated. If I had a choice to be given a mansion or a brand new trailer, I’d go for the trailer.” it’s a matter of culture.”

“What many people don’t understand,” Bridy continues, “is that we don’t want to live in houses because we feel isolated. If I had a choice to be given a mansion or a brand new trailer, I’d go for the trailer. Living in our trailers gives us more freedom and we feel closer as a community. All our ancestors lived in wagons, and they suffered discrimination.

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We also want to continue the culture out of respect for all those people before us.”

“What I want for Travellers is a grant for young people so they can be involved in all sorts of activities every week; for all Travellers to have good, stable and safe sites to live, to be given more rights and have less discrimination.”

Intelligent, outspoken and irrepress-

ible, Bridy represents the future generation of Irish Travellers. One of her future goals is to assist the poverty-striken children in Africa. With her current projects including the development of a national Young Irish Travellers youth forum and participating in a future UK television documentary, be assured this won’t be the last you hear of Bridy Purcell. VQ

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THE SOUND OF DISSENT

CULTURE

Story by Charlotta Ljungberg

Chumbawamba: (From left to right) Neil Ferguson, Lou Watts, Phil Moody, Jude Abbott and Boff Whalley.

(Photograph by Casey Orr)

It has always been about politics and parody, although Chumbawamba have, for nearly 30 years criss-crossed between musical styles from punk to dance beats to today’s folk influenced acoustic sets.

The members have never lost their sense of humour or fondness for heckling politicians, or issues they dislike.

Chumbawamba have recently released their latest album ‘ABCDEFG’ with acoustic tunes. It’s a long way from the end of the 1990’s when the hit ‘Tubthumping’ catapulted the band from the obscure to the mainstream and they toured the world while signed to EMI. 26

Chumbawamba were an unruly successful band as self-confessed anarchists, and had no wish to move from Leeds where they have been based for most of the time. In 2001 they parted ways with EMI. Today, Chumbawamba members have full control over the band, the records and the tours. Recently, Chumbawamba stripped down to a five piece act and replaced their electric instruments with acoustic ones. They have always been influenced by folk music, but the influences are stronger now, including a lot of harmonies with some toe-tapping and hand-clapping.

“We used to be desperate to play in big cities, but now we go for a great audience. We were so lucky to be able to do this, but a lot of this has been really hard work – being away from home, friends and family,” says multi-instrumentalist and singer, Boff Whalley.

“The good thing is the fact that you can engage with an audience under acoustic shows. And when we were a rock band we never spoke on stage,” adds singer and trumpeter Jude Abbott.

Now they certainly speak during the gigs. They are known for their political stance that makes them question author27

ity, but often in a parodic manner. The audience in Hertford, which was the third stop for Chumbawamba on their 2010 spring tour, seem to love it; an easygoing atmosphere with the audience replying to the band’s jocular questions – and singing along to the songs.

“It obviously helps making your audience laugh to get them on your side.

Telling jokes comes naturally to us – the 28

long journeys and boredom have quite disposed us to humour,” Jude says.

The story about Chumbawamba began in 1982. They formed as a band while they lived in Burnley, a small town in Lancashire. During the early days they were inspired by punk and post-punk groups.

They were also politically active outside the band. “It was a duty to be involved in the day to day struggles and actions. But

along the way we realised that we were best at writing songs,” adds Boff.

The song ‘Torturing James Hetfield’ from their latest album is an anti-hommage to the Metallica singer and guitarist’s approval of using Metallica songs for torture in Guantanamo.

‘Tubthumping’ is a dedication written about ordinary people’s capacity to enjoy life despite being knocked down

by poverty. Jude and Boff both agree that the band hasn’t tired of the song. They recently played it during two gigs for prisoners. The band still receives offers from companies that wish to use ‘Tubthumping’ for advertisements, usually, they turn them down but not always.

“It’s part of the devil’s bargain you make. A lot of bands would have said no as a principal stand. We got ridiculous

Left: Chumbawamba sound checks before the concert in Aldershot, Hampshire where they played a gig earlier this year.

Above: Jude Abbott is one of two female members in Chumbawamba. On stage she sings, plays the trumpet and recorder.

amounts of money which we in turn gave to striking workers,” Boff says. During the ‘Tubthumping’ heyday they also made it to the tabloid headlines when one of the former members, Danbert Nobacon, as a protest against Labour politics, poured water over former UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who was in the audience at the Brit Awards 1998. “It was really interesting to follow the tabloids, it was hilarious for about a week,” says Jude, reflecting on the incident.

When asked if they regret anything, they emphatically say no. “We made a bad record deal in the beginning, but we learned from it, so I don’t regret that,” says Boff.

After Chumbawamba finishes their 2010 tour, the band will take a year off from recording and being on the road.

They don’t yet know how exactly their music is going to sound in the future.

“It can be any genre, apart from heavy metal,” says Jude. VQ 29

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URBAN

CURBING THEIR ENTHUSIASM Story by Jonathan Morris

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less of the inaccuracies or biases held within them. The Boy Racer stereotype exists in the public psyche as a negative one, the actions of the newspaper were to manipulate the driver’s character in front of the public. With the constant hysteria relating to youth culture in the UK, the term is also seen as a derogatory one. The words themselves convince readers to believe those labeled as immature, with the idea that drivers must

Further headlines with similar stories only exacerbate such panics, establishing a distance and degrading relationships between the different generations of drivers, solidifying its use as a descriptive and derogatory word.

If the driver from Swansea was older, would the local newspapers obsess over the story so much? Would their scrutiny have produced fewer headline grabbing stories if the driver couldn’t fit into the

The media will readily use stereotypes such as ‘Boy Racer’ because they exist as a simplified set of conceptions and assumptions about specific groups of people

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n 2006, there was a road accident in Swansea. A young driver had hit and killed a pedestrian. The pedestrian, intoxicated, was on his way home from a night out. The driver hadn’t been drinking or speeding; it had appeared to be an unfortunate accident where the pedestrian unexpectedly stepped onto the road leaving the driver with little time to react. There have been other incidents 34

in Swansea with young drivers; caught speeding and driving recklessly along the same stretch of road at night. Young drivers are typically described in the papers as being ‘Boy Racers,’ a frequently used term directed at younger motorists.

The local newspaper sensationalised the accident by describing the driver as a Boy Racer, allowing readers to assume the driver was ignorant, irresponsible

and at fault, creating a scapegoat for all the previous events on that street. The newspaper went further by searching car related websites, obtaining the driver’s profile and selectively printing photos of him enjoying himself and boasting with his car. The framing of the driver with these images, painted him as being reckless and without compassion for his actions, even though the photos were from

an earlier time before the accident. Even now, four years later, the driver is banned from entering the city as well as having served a short prison sentence.

The media will readily use stereotypes such as ‘Boy Racer’, because they exist as a simplified set of conceptions and assumptions about specific groups of people. This makes reporting the news easier; more accessible to readers regard-

grow up. Keeping that in mind, adding the word ‘Racer” will suggest their driving is also of a deviant and dangerous kind.

The term ‘Boy Racer’ has been very successful as a catch-all buzzword because it describes large groups of young drivers across the country, and with that, suddenly the public will equate young people with being Boy Racers, creating a national phenomenon and moral panic.

Boy Racer stereotype? The danger of a stereotype is once it has been established as a form of expression it is very hard to shake. New young drivers will find themselves being made to fit into the category for the media or people to talk about. It is now taken for granted that young people are going to be a nuisance on the road.

As reality will show, this isn’t the case. But what is ironic about the incident is that 35

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the driver considered himself to be a Car Enthusiast. Ironic, once people understand what a Car Enthusiast is.

It could be seen as pedantic by describing how young drivers define themselves, but there are fundamental distinctions between a Car Enthusiast (also known as a Car Modifier or a Petrol Head) and a Boy Racer.

A Boy Racer is generally known for being loud, anti-social and reckless with their cars, lacking respect towards members of the public. Boy Racers will also project their lifestyle outward; cars with large spoilers, colours schemes and playing loud music on the street, making them easily noticeable for the public to demonise, while Car Enthusiasts are the total opposite in their behaviour, instead focusing inward beyond the Boy Racer’s superficial affinity with the car. Status goes to those who delve deep into their engines, modifying or improving the performance, past the original specifications set by the manufacturers by sourcing better tyres, suspension and brakes. With this level of interest comes expense, so most of them are employed. Some have jobs related to their interest with cars such as motor insurance or working for a car showroom.

with normal drivers. This distances them from the media’s unforgiving stance and the public’s fear. But there have been incidents with some Car Enthusiasts where members of the public have reacted towards them in unkind ways upon assuming they were Boy Racers.

The sentencing in 2006 upset many young drivers in Swansea who felt the media interest was too harsh. Delving into the driver’s personal life had taken things too far and the media deliberately looked for links to manipulate him into being something he wasn’t – therefore receiving a harsher sentence. It had affected his peers who had been working to distance themselves from the Boy Racer word. It had disenfranchised them and possibly many others in the local and national area, as the story travelled around. As far as Car Enthusiasts knew, they thought they were a harmless group of people with a passion for cars before the media had invaded their chat rooms.

In reaction to the sentencing, that particular group in Swansea had reached out to the local press and BBC. Organising themselves well, they even have an agreed spokesperson, speaking on behalf of the group in order to inform the media about who they are and how they are

Car Culture lacks this adversarial relationship, Car Enthusiasts just don’t want to be associated with Boy Racers This culture is positive, representing an inspiring social group for young drivers to aspire to, but this is mostly ignored.

Like Boy Racers, Car Enthusiasts are usually young. Many will be motor engineering students, and Car Enthusiasts will also congregate at night in groups.

Another interesting aspect of Car Enthusiasts is they don’t want to be recognised on the road and with modifications being less superficial than Boy Racers, they are proud of being able to blend in 38

different. Much to their disappointment, their interviews were edited to fit the pre-existing stereotype; their desire to show they were different went ignored.

It is understandable to a degree; with the pressure of working in a news environment, the financial pressures, along with fighting for audience attention, limits how stories are going to be told. The larger problem would be the difficulty enabling the public to understand these very subtle but justifiable differences.

With some stereotypes there is often one that can play off another. The public understand the difference between Goth and Chavs for example, while they dress and act differently, they are portrayed as being adversaries. They are a relatively new stereotype but this way of thinking was around when the ‘Mods’ and the ‘Rockers’ were making headlines.

In Car Culture this isn’t the case, Car

Enthusiasts don’t want to be associated with Boy Racers. Without an extreme perceptible difference or the chance of conflict between two opposing groups, the wish to be defined as another social group will be largely ignored. Car Enthusiasts will forever stay within the envelope of being known as Boy Racers and the black and white thinking within society won’t easily cater for its existence.

Car Enthusiasts will be a shade of grey within car culture where the common belief is that there are only Boy Racers and law-abiding drivers. This is the current adversarial position set up by the media. Car Enthusiasts want to be seen as law-abiding citizens but they are also young and again it is typical of British society to criticise them.

The car itself is a problem because it

is a subconscious symbol of social deviance. As mentioned before, members of the public have reacted negatively while driving alongside Car Enthusiasts if they associate them with Boy Racers.

They will continue to be considered as the same group of people as long as the public lack the ability to be aware and understand the differences.

Car Enthusiasts will also associate 39

themselves with people who collect vintage cars. Whether this is with exploring classic cars at trade shows or organising Sunday Motor shows where the public can view old vehicles and, more importantly, modified ones. These are family type events and a lot of the money raised is funnelled into charities and medical appeals. Car Enthusiasts are proactively trying to change the image of their culture by using their cars to engage with the public.

It is something any car driver can take an interest in, and helps to reverse the damage caused by the media, even though it is the same media that promotes the Motor shows.

The Car Enthusiasts in Swansea are a typical example of many others across the country, trying to stop people equating young drivers with being Boy Racers.

Their willingness to instigate change in the public consciousness, and in their local area serves as a microcosm for what should be a change of attitude towards other young drivers across the country.

The media shouldn’t continue to hold onto negative stereotypes with eyecatching headlines, otherwise it allows for a simplistic interpretation of our society; such interpretations will mean society won’t take the time and effort to understand who they really are. Younger people must be given the chance to express themselves; prove they do have a positive life style, going against how the news describes them. Otherwise it encourages the public to make assumptions, demonstrated by the story of the driver who was sent to prison for accidently killing a pedestrian. Questioning his character became more important than the situation because he was a victim of prejudice predicated on a limited view that holds an unnecessary fear towards young drivers.

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SOCIAL

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DANCE FOR LIFE

on’t ever let anyone tell you there is something you can’t do. A golden rule for all of us, but especially meaningful to those with added challenges and disabilities.

Corali, founded in Southwark in 1989, is a dance-theatre company with a difference. Its members are artists with learning disabilities – the majority suffering from Down’s syndrome.

Under the leadership of Sarah Archdeacon, the artistic director, the company is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year with a series of events across London.

Recitals at the Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, Sadlers Wells and other major art galleries showcase the latest Corali performances,

Story by Giulia Candussi

Sarah, Founder and artistic director of the company helps Graham to internalise his piece of choreography during a rehearsal.

DJ plays in a performance that explores how emotions are expressed through the body when remembering happy events of the past. DJ’s memory is about a horse ride in the countryside when he was little.

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dealing with dancers’ memories: each narrating through his/her body and voice, some events of their past that has left an indelible mark on their hearts.

Visitors to these art galleries are not expecting a performance and it’s clear that they are very moved by the experience of watching the dances performed by adults with learning disabilities. Daniel

the music composer of the company says “After the show, the audience would come to us and have very powerful conversations, very different from the ones I used to have after performances where there weren’t people with learning disabilities.” All the technical discussion is taken away, instead they discuss their emotional response to the show. The

approach is probably so different because this type of dance undermines a lot of preconceptions about what dance is, about the skills we think dancers must have to make a good performance.

The relationship between the tutors and dancers is very strong. Sarah Archdeacon started as a volunteer and, after completing her studies, proposed to 45

Jo and Hannah share a moment of affection during rehearsals for their next performance at White Chapel Gallery. Their strong relationship goes well beyond being members of Corali, forming a unique and long-lasting friendship.

After a long day of rehearsals, the dancers wind down through stretching and relaxing. Hannah gently massages Graham’s shoulders and looks forward to her turn.

direct the company herself. “My training and interest in arts practice encouraged a new focus for the company and set the way to develop into what it is today,” said Sarah.

Bethan’s commitment to Corali is total. She has Down’s syndrome and along with performing as a dancer, she works with Sarah as office assistant two days a

all she is, she is beautiful.”

Beyond the company, all performers lead their own lives and have worries that they bring to rehearsals; sometimes it is easy to leave the problems outside, and concentrate fully on the piece, sometimes the internal pressures boil and there can be tears. There is a kind of unwritten contract between the performers and the

“As a child I was chubby and didn’t have many friends. Now I’m with Corali and it’s amazing. I can express my feelings with my body and I have many friends here and I love them a lot” week. She describes her relationship with other members in the company: “I like Jacky a lot because she is funny and she is my best friend ever. Jo does beautiful things, she is always happy with a smile. I like Bryan because he is funny and always laughs. One of the best persons is Sarah, because she is the best best best person ever because she always supports people in Corali, she is a wonderful person, that’s 46

tutors to ensure the work is about the participants rather than the producers.

“Although the majority of people think that being disabled means being less able, through Corali we demonstrate that we can be better than fully able dancers in expressing our feelings through our bodies” says Jacky, member of Corali Dance Company since 2003.

As a child, Housni, better known as

DJ was chubby and did not have many friends. He is now one of the most active members of Corali and his joy in life always brings a great sense of fun.

“I remember when I did my first dance workshop and I was very happy, and it was wonderful and I had such a good time.” As as result of his dedication, he was offered a position as dancer in the

company. “Now I’m with Corali and it’s amazing! Maybe I was gifted, maybe it was my chance to shine and go into the future.

Now I can express my feelings with my body and I have many friends here, and I love them a lot.” DJ is the first dancer with learning disabilities to gain an Arts grant for his own professional development. He will dance with three other mainstream

companies: Random Dance, Jonzi D and New Adventures.

Corali is part of a community dance network that bases its principle on ‘everybody can dance’. It focuses on what people can do rather than what they can’t, engaging disabled people in a wide range of activities that go well beyond health and leisure to develop their artistic

skills. Even though many higher educational routes are closed to disabled dancers, there is an increasing number of artists with learning disabilities earning their living as dancers. The hope of the dance community is that this trend will continue and that, at the same time, individuals and institutions will go on to support these initiatives in the future. VQ 47

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49

BRITAIN’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN

SOCIAL

Story by Julie Glover

After a lifetime of waiting, all they wanted – and deserved – was acknowledgement, an apology and acceptance back into the country in which they were born. It was long overdue, concealed by political red tape and the government’s refusal to take responsibility for one of the worst crimes of the 20th Century.

The atmosphere at the London hotel was charged with emotional intensity – most had arrived the previous day following long, hauling flights. Sixty-five former child migrants from Australia, New Zealand and Canada were invited to represent the thousands who were exiled from Britain as children. Many were anxious, some relieved, a few even skeptical – but all were looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown the next day, 24th February 2010. At last, they were about to receive the apology on behalf of the British nation. It will be, many desperately hoped, the day that offers some resolve and maybe, help heal the pain endured by so many for so long.

The truth began to be unveiled in 1986 when Margaret Humphreys, a social worker in Nottingham received a letter from a woman in Australia requesting help to find her relatives in the UK. The woman claimed she was shipped to Australia when she was four years old, told that her mother was dead, and sent to a children’s home. Initially Margaret Humphreys thought there must be some mistake – it sounded absurd that a child would be deported to another country alone.

Unbeknown to her at the time, this one letter would lead to the exposure of child migrant schemes and the shocking treatment many British children endured after being dispatched from their homeland to be placed in orphanages, institutions or to work as labourers on farms.

After relentless investigation, Margaret Humphreys discovered that over 130,000 children from Britain were forcibly emigrated during the last century, between 1870 – 1970. The children, some as young 50

Former child migrants enter Portcullis House, Westminster, to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Left: Children, deprived of normal home life, prepare to leave by train. They are on their way to care homes in Australia under the Child Migrant Scheme with the help of the Church of England.

(1955, Hulton-Deutsch)

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as three years old who resided in care homes and orphanages, were sent mostly to Canada and Australia. The primary motivation for this government assisted scheme, which involved well established child care agencies and organisations such as Dr Barnardo’s, the Salvation Army, the Fairbridge Society, the Church of England and the Catholic Church, was to populate commonwealth colonies with ‘good white British stock’.

It was a scheme plagued with deceit.

Many children were told they were orphans, or they were rejected by their mothers, or that their parents had died in a car accident, when in fact, this was not the case. Many, who were placed in care homes temporarily, were sent abroad without their parents’ consent. Their names, birthdates and even birth places

An advertisement by the Fairbridge Society appealing for donations to send British children abroad. (1954, London)

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were often changed so they could not be traced. Some mothers, returning to the care homes to collect their children, were advised that their child was adopted out to a good British family, sent abroad – or worse, falsely informed that their child had died.

The children believed they were going to a new country for a new life, and often fed tales of going to the ‘land of milk and honey’. But the reality was very different. Many children suffered harsh physical, sexual and emotional abuse and lived in appalling conditions. Food was used as a method of control. Honoria Goldberg who was sent out to Australia at the age of eight recalls: “We were always hungry, so hungry that us girls would pretend to have a toothache so we could go to the dentist to get a tooth

pulled out, because we would then receive an extra piece of bread or a boiled egg to eat.”

There are countless reports of children being beaten with canes and sticks until they bled, or having to rummage through bins for food, or being taken from their beds at night to be sexually abused.

In ‘Empty Cradles’, the book written by Margaret Humphreys, she relays one man’s story: “I was five years old and a Christian Brother put me on the back of his horse and took me out to the country.

He tied me to a tree and raped me time after time, then left me there.”

The welfare of the children was clearly not safeguarded. A memo written

by The Secretary of the Child Welfare Department in Western Australia on 3 July 1946 read: ‘I have been very disturbed in mind about some of the boys who have been brought into WA … I am of the opinion that something should be done to adequately protect the interests of other children coming to WA whether in connection with the Fairbridge Scheme, the Roman Catholic scheme or any other scheme which may arise in the future…’

This report was blatantly ignored, the conditions remaining unchanged for at least another 20 years.

John Hennessey, who believed his mother was dead, was deported in 1947 at age 11 and sent to Bindoon Boys Town, Western Australia. He recounts the time when he was almost beaten to death, which left him with the stammer he still has today. “We had been down the vineyard picking grapes because we were hungry,” said John. “When the Brother found out he stripped me naked in front of everyone and beat me with the steel end of a cane then kicked me out the door with his big boots.”

With the help of the Child Migrants Trust, established in 1987 by Margaret Humphreys to provide support and reunite child migrants with their families, John Hennessey discovered he actually

John Hennessey (holding a photograph of his mother) meets Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the formal apology. Photograph by Peter MacDiarmid.

had a mother – and she was still alive.

“I found out that my mother was told her son was adopted to a good English family. The fourth time she went to the convent she was told not to come back anymore.” By the time John got to meet her, he was 62 years old. His mother was so frail John could not even cuddle her, and she died five years later. John was one of the lucky ones to have the opportunity to meet his mother in time. For others, with the Trust’s limited resources, the extent of searches for parents had sometimes spanned 20 years, which was often too late.

The British government officially acknowledged the maltreatment of

child migrants in 1998 – yet it has taken another 12 years for a formal apology, and to gain substantial funding to sustain the Child Migrants Trust to continue their vital work. Finally, this day had arrived.

“On behalf of this nation, to all former child migrants and to all families, we are truly sorry you were let down,” said Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the private reception with the former child migrants in Westminster. “We are sorry that you were allowed to be sent away when you were at your most vulnerable.

We are sorry that instead of caring for you, your country did turn its back on you. We are sorry that it’s taken so long for this important day to come round

and for you to receive the apology that you so richly deserve.”

Gordon Brown announced the establishment of a £6 million family restoration fund to support the work of the Child Migrants Trust. “Although we cannot undo the events of the past we can take action now to support people to regain their true identities; to reunite with their families and loved ones, and to go some way to repair the damage inflicted,” he said.

Harold Haig, one of the first child migrants to work with Margaret Humphreys in campaigning for justice, responded to the Prime Minister’s apology stating, “This is a momentus day for child 53

Margaret Humphreys, Harold Haig and John Hennessey.

migrants, a day when the pain and loss we have suffered for a lifetime has been recognised and acknowledged… I hope that as a result of the apology today, that people who have heard what happened will never allow anything like this to ever happen again to children in the future.

That can be the legacy of this apology.”

Not all child migrants received such harsh treatment; some claim they were well looked after. But in too many cases vulnerable children suffered unimaginable hardship while their families left behind were devastated. To be stolen from their families, deported from their country, betrayed, abused and denied their childhood and identities with absolutely noone to turn to, damaged many lives.

As adults, many child migrants never completely recovered, dealing with enormous emotional problems, and struggling as they went on to have their own families. Some committed suicide because the wounds were too deep and painful to endure. Those who have made it, have 54

gone on to build their own lives, demonstrating remarkable humility, courage and strength. “It was very emotional, and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted,” said Maureen Trewin about the apology.

“Now I just want to get on with my life and be me, Maureen – not Maureen, the child migrant any more.”

Although most of the agencies and religious organisations involved in the scheme have admitted to the mistreatment and offered their own apologies, a judicial inquiry has not yet taken place.

“It would prove these accusations were right,” said John Hennessey. “So although the government’s apology has helped recognise what has happened, there is still unfinished business.” Many still believe legal action should be taken to record this mass-scale crime, and to ensure it will be included in history books for future generations. There are still many unanswered questions, and no provision for financial compensation by the governments involved; a small token in

comparison to the price the former child migrants have paid.

In the apology, Gordon Brown states: “And from this disgraceful set of events that we’ve had to acknowledge, we learn that it is the responsibility of all of us to safeguard and promote the welfare of our children.” What happened to the child migrants is still happening today – in the form of child trafficking. It is reported in the BBC documentary ‘Britain’s Child Migrants Scandal’ that hundreds of thousands of children are exported every year from other countries to be used for labour and prostitution. Although the original context of the British child migration scheme was different, essentially, the deliberate exploitation of children continues to be a serious global issue. VQ Footnote: A new feature film ‘Oranges and Sunshine’, which tells the true story of Margaret Humphreys will be released in late 2010. The film, directed by Jim Loach, stars Emily Watson, David Wenham and Hugo Weaving.

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ENVIRONMENT

ORDER OF THE CLIMATE MARAUDERS

Story by Sharbendu De

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Previous page: Climate Camp members voting to a proposal. Any volunteer can disagree, block or choose to put a proposal on stand, which is then further deliberated.

Right: The environment at the climate camp remains very easy-going despite the tense subject of their deliberation. Others volunteer to cook, wash dishes, and make tea and coffee in rotating shifts.

“It is just not enough to communicate with the outside world, but important to build strong relations among ourselves” Volunteers at the Bristol gathering. The environment at climate camp remains very easy-going despite the tense subject of their deliberation.

T

he Climate Camp volunteers stood up – one after the other, bellowing about how they felt betrayed by their comrades, who did not stand by them – in action or conviction.

This went on throughout the evening.

Direct action against capitalistic institutions (including the state) is their nonnegotiable tactic for them; lobbyists are not welcome here, and frankly, they might be pushed out of the window grazing their bellies (from where the urge for lust and greed emerges) over shattered glasses. The volunteers do not claim to be a force that will redeem the flawed environmental policies and actions being

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taken in United Kingdom. They’re just one environmental process, and they know it.

A committed one.

Uncertainty, however, seems to be growing in the camp. Some felt disoriented, some disillusioned and some betrayed.

Climate Camp had organised a three-day national gathering in Bristol in February 2010 where aproximately 200 volunteers from various parts of England discussed and debated environmental action strategies to stop the oppressors.

Nik, a softly spoken young man, rose his hand in the venting session and said “I felt betrayed when I got arrested at the Blackheath protest but didn’t receive

back-up support from group members.”

His voice trembled like a gravitating earthquake. Another member added, “We need to be adequately briefed about the consequences of an action. When this is not done, I feel betrayed.” Another volunteer echoed the sentiment saying “Four years back I started feeling betrayed when we started shifting towards centrist politics,” while 14-year-old Peter from Pembrokeshire, the youngest volunteer added, “Everyone speaks about bringing down capitalism, but no one here is offering an alternative.”

At first the meeting seemed like it was falling apart until people like Roger, an 59

Evening party with a gig at the squat house. One group collected food from skips after the supermarkets had trashed them. Some Climate Camp members live on skipped food as a stand against the waste of over eight million tonnes of food tossed away every year in UK.

employee with UK’s National Cyclists’ Organisation (CTC) in London, spoke with a pragmatic outlook, “It is just not enough to communicate with the outside world but important to build strong relations amongst ourselves.” Their urgent sense for deeper reflection, nurtured by a vehement passion for defending democracy on their conscience, and an extremely democratic structure (with no hierarchy) promised they would not go down as underdogs.

Climate Camp is a UK based environmental action group, born out of exasperation for empty government rhetoric. The group has taken it upon themselves the task of blocking hazardous environmental policies in the name of development.

Comprising of just over 3,000 conscientious citizens, the camp is made up of volunteers from all walks of life – including teachers, nurses, students, plumbers, graphic designers, doctors, youth workers, lawyers, carpenters, artists and carers.

From its humble beginning in 2006, when 600 people gathered for ten days of mass action against Drax coal-fired power station in West Yorkshire (the single largest source of carbon dioxide in the United Kingdom), Climate Camp began its journey. In 2007 media hysteria drew attention towards the 2,000 volunteers camping outside Heathrow Airport aiming to stop its owner, BAA from building a third runway. Equally, 2008 witnessed a large camping protest in Kingsnorth against E.ON’s plan to set up a coal-fired power station, seeking drastic measures to combat carbon emissions. Other mass demonstrations and actions initiated by Climate Camp include swoops in Blackheath and Nottingham against coal-fired power stations.

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Nik and Tom discuss their lives. Nik felt betrayed when he didn’t receive adequate support at an action. He presently squats in London and is struggling with most material aspects of life. Tom, a volunteer from Manchester makes an effort to offer him hope.

Success has greeted them well.

The list of direct actions against flawed environmental policies is ever growing for Climate Campers, but their commitment comes at a heavy price.

Many Climate Campers have been arrested, and are being prosecuted for taking forcible actions at these protests.

Jack from Bath lives in a squat house. He is currently unemployed and finds it difficult to hold a relationship. He explains that “Some of us have to be free from all attachments, so that we cannot be made to bow down under pressure and as well be available to head out for direct actions whenever needed.”

Over the three-day national gathering in Bristol, everyone lived out of their sleeping bags in a communal squat house sharing rooms, partying through the night, and brainstorming by day. They waded through a plethora of issues from blocking nuclear plants, protesting during general elections in May and protesting tar sand mining to demanding free public transport to international solidarity. Some decisions were made, and other non-consensual

ideas were slated for wider deliberation.

Volunteers helped with cooking, washing dishes, standing guard at the reception, watching the squat house and caring for the children so that parents had equal time to participate. “We’re challenging an idea and not an individual,” was an opening remark by Hannah, a facilitator from the Midlands. This one strange group seemed to be living by it.

Armoured with a clear conscience, and a deep conviction to live as true human beings without giving in to oppression or injustice, to themselves or their fellow men, these climate campers earn scepticism in today’s ‘convenionised’ world, when they rightly deserve admiration. They are urban gladiators who have resorted to ‘force’ as a strategy because the state has colluded with vested interest groups, trampling the people they were meant to protect. Direct action at the hands of the public resounds a brewing revolution and is definitely dangerous, but the restraint they’ve demonstrated ensure that the order of these perceived marauders might just pervade with time. VQ 61

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63

CULTURE

WHIP IT

Story by Charlotta Ljungberg

S

he is whipping, hog-tying, and humiliating men. She operates under the name Madame CamTan as a dominatrix, it is her lifestyle, but she also does it as a professional. She can’t imagine herself not being a dominatrix even if she doesn’t have to do it every day.

CamTan often travels on the tube when she goes to the clubs in London, it might have something to do with her exhibitional streak. Tonight is my fetish debut. I’m geared up in a way I haven’t been for ages. She isn’t entirely happy with my make up, I have put too little on. Her own eyes are heavily laid with mascara and eye liner, and together with her long dark brown hair, pale skin and red lips tell of a dramatic personality. We wear coats over our corsettes and lace tights. When we sit down in the train, a man half asleep, suddenly wakes up but pretends he hasn’t. CamTan happens to touch him with her whip. “This one was for free,” she says with a smile. The man is certainly not going back to sleep for the rest of the journey.

A dominatrix is a woman who takes a dominant role in BDSM games. The expression BDSM comes from the terms

involve sexual intercourse. CamTan’s rule is strictly domination, not copulation. She describes the relationship with her slave as sexual, but only in the mind. However, many people compare a professional dominatrix to being a prostitute.

“My attitude to prostitution is that you do something for money that you don’t want to do, something that makes you feel less worthy afterwards,” says CamTan. “If I didn’t like whipping people I would be destroying myself doing it. I have to feel it in my heart and soul.”

It is strict, but for CamTan, humour is just as important as her whips and make up when she is out playing. “Humour is important in everything I do. You must have soul and compassion when dealing with people or it would be impossible to make the desired impact – in this case excitement, a bit of fear, attention and pleasurable pain.”

It all started when CamTan was waiting for a friend in an unfamiliar Swedish club 15 years ago. As she got bored of waiting, she took out a pen and some paper from her handbag and began writing poetry. A few men started talking to her. One, wearing leather hotpants with

“If I didn’t like whipping people I would be destroying myself doing it. I have to feel it in my heart and soul” bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and sadomasochism.

A submissive, or a slave, often addresses the dominatrix as Madam or Mistress and is usually not allowed to touch the dominatrix unless to show gratitude by kissing her boot, or the back of her hand.

It’s a roleplay, between two or more individuals, where pain and power are used to create sexual tension, pleasure and release, but it doesn’t necessarily 64

a naked torso, asked for her telephone number. When she asked why, he said ‘for sex’. She said no and thought little of it, but was amused by his honesty.

The next man who approached her commented: “You have to admit it looks odd that you’re in a fetish club and write.”

“Fetish club, what is that?” she asked.

CamTan and the man became friends and formed a relationship. After a while he asked her if he could put her in a

Madame CamTan became a dominatrix in Sweden but the fetish scene in the UK is something completely different. Five men went on their knees when she came through the entrance to a fetish club - her first night out in London.

sleeping bag and tie a rope around it. She slept like that, waking up occasionally. He sat protectively by her side the whole night. “The thought of trusting someone else that much felt like relief. But I’m allergic to pain and can’t stand the thought

of humiliation,“ she says. “And of course – being a bit of a control freak wouldn’t help.”

CamTan realised quite soon that she was dominant, not submissive.

Being dominant in BDSM activities

means responsibility. She always asks the subsmissives if they take any medicines, have any physical or mental issues – like phobias, depression, or a bad knee. This principle is common for people on the fetish scene: It should be performed by

mature people, because it is their own choice. The role playing should be based on safe, sane and consenting behavior of all people involved. This is partly because the submissive person has to trust the dominant person completely. The mutual 65

consent makes an important distinction between BDSM and crimes such as sexual assault or domestic violence. Some people use a safeword when playing, but CamTan seldom does. Instead she is very attentive to the submissive. When the submissive is in ‘subspace’, both pain and pleasure trigger a response from the body which increases the pain tolerance.

In the beginning, CamTan was scared, because she thought her own anger would be an influence when she gave pain to another person and she didn’t know if she would be able to control her actions.

“I have always been frightened of my own anger,” she explains. “But it felt like giving someone a healing massage from an arm’s-length. Any issues of my own were completely absent, which showed me that I could trust myself. I concentrated fully on the other person.”

Some people argue that engaging in fetish activities as an adult is a result of experiences in childhood. CamTan treads carefully when asked if being a dominatrix is the product of her upbringing.

“Of course childhood characterises you, as well as all your relationships and experiences throughout life. You aren’t born with a BDSM-gene. People in the fetish world come from various backgrounds, I don’t think there is a common background for anyone involved.” However, it is often thought that BDSM can help turn a previously bad experience into something pleasurable. “But it is for no one to judge,” says CamTan. “To some, this is an expansion of their sexuality. Pleasure and pain are closely related. Adding to that brings the ultimate trust and a different kind of intimacy.”

Safety is important and CamTan pays close attention to the submissive throughout the session. “Natural adrenaline kicks in. I look at their eyes and they look drugged. Then you have to be there when they come down again.”

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Madame CamTan usually has an idea of what she wants to do before she meets a client, and the relationships she forms with them stays in her dungeon. She prefers if they become regulars as that allows for experimenting.

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People on the fetish scene usually call conventional sexual behaviour vanilla sex as it doesn’t involve fetish, kink or BDSM. CamTan has been involved in personal relationships, both BDSM and vanilla, since becoming a dominatrix. She has always been honest with her partners and they have been open minded and accepting, even if they haven’t always wanted to know all the details. She sees herself as equal with her partners.

“I’m not as dominant if I involve physical sex. If it’s my partner and we know each other really well, then domination may well be a part of our sex life. I don’t have sex with strangers so it’s not on the cards at all. But I do believe that, in my personal case, sex is an emotional as well as physical act where you let go. A dominatrix letting go is not really a picture of someone in control.”

But she still wants her man to kneel and kiss her feet or at least act like a gentleman when in the company of women.

“Actually, I think everybody should be courteous to each other. I do however like to be made to feel that I’m special to him and that he listens to me. Giving me flowers and opening doors is halfway there. Don’t forget, if I’m with someone, I give them flowers and time too. And if I see something I think they’ll like, I get it for them. I just like to be treated as I treat others who mean something to me. As a dominatrix, when in that role; I obviously demand more.”

Going to a fetish club for the first time is exciting in many ways. The atmosphere at the club CamTan invites me to is relaxed, the music is good and the people are interesting. But after my fifth foot massage I can’t bring myself to command anyone to give me another, and I find it odd that the men must kneel in certain areas of the club. I realise that I could never be a dominatrix, nor a submissive. VQ

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YOUR PHOTO

THEME: View from a window

Images submitted by our readers to be reviewed by VQ

Photograph by Marla Reddin, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Photograph by Sarah Wellard, Falmouth.

VQ editor’s comments: The composition of a brick

VQ editor’s comments: The warm, late afternoon glow

wall seen through the window frame is simple, and yet is a scene that most of us pass without a second glance.

Marla’s perspective causes us to look at what is directly in front of us. There is a sense of timelessness here.

catches our eye and upon further observation, leads us to the sleeping cat and surrounding objects which cater to the imagination.

Next issue’s theme: Festivals - Submit your images by emailing entries to: yourphoto@vqmag.co.uk - Include your name, location and a short description about the image.

- One entry per person, per issue. Images to be in jpeg format and under 2Mb. - Submissions to be received by 30th June 2010.

- If your work is published, VQ will send you £50.

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Photograph by David Williams, captured while on holiday inTehran.

VQ editor’s comments: The vibrant colours and cityscape view from David’s hotel window shows us the busy streets of this capital city. David has processed this image with a double exposure enhancing and duplicating the close-knit homes and buildings. The scene now looks more crowded and we perceive the city being larger than it actually is.

VQ

71

A FLAMENCO DIVA

PROFILE

Interviewed by Giulia Candussi

A

small performer for a big performance. She is just five feet tall but Eva Yerbabuena embodies the multiple faces of flamenco: innovation and tradition, voice and music, suave movements and sharp steps, fears and emotions.

Eva Yerbabuena was born in Granada, Spain, as Eva Marìa Garrido Garcìa. The name Yerbabuena was given to her later after a famous flamenco singer. By the time she was 15 years old she started to dance professionally, soon performing in festivals and accepting invitations to work with big-name artists, from both the flamenco world and contemporary and classic dance.

In 1998 Eva formed her own dance company in her hometown Granada together with her husband, flamenco guitarist Paco Jarana.

Many awards have honoured her work both as performer and choreographer; her latest show “Lluvia” (Rain) was shown in London at Sadlers Wells Theatre in February 2010.

Why is flamenco so important to you and to Spanish culture in general?

It’s a way of life and the culture of a people. It is still one of the most important cultural aspects of Spanish life. On a personal level flamenco gives me freedom.

I step on stage and it gives me the greatest sense of freedom that I’ve ever had in my life.

Do you feel this freedom every time you dance flamenco or do you need an audience?

When I am dancing for a large audience it is almost the same as when I am dancing by myself except the audience pushes me on. On the contrary, when I dance for a smaller audience I can see their faces and there is a stronger connection with them. But whoever I’m performing for, the important thing is that I am centred and in touch with myself.

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Who has had the greatest influence on your work?

All my teachers have been very important to me. Other artists have an influence on my work as well. Not only the way they perform, but their way of being in normal life (if I have the chance to meet them personally).

You work very closely with your husband Paco. How is the relation between the music and the choreography?

We work very closely together, it comes in stages, a bit of this, then a bit of that, and we keep working to see what we get to have the best final results on stage.

Do you ever disagree?

Of course, but after a fight the good work comes out. There can be a kind of creative tension, or understanding because we are so close - it can be difficult.

How do you manage to separate the

personal from the artistic side of your lives?

Well, I think I’d be less upset about disagreeing with a stranger, but on the other hand, it is good because he can sense how I am feeling before, during and after a performance.

Your work is very driven by personal feelings. How does this affect your performance?

Flamenco is all about expressing your feelings through your body and sometimes I even think that I dance better when I am nervous because all my inner tensions explode through my muscles. Does this understanding make you more in tune with each other on stage?

When I’m dancing there is an inner part of me which no-one will ever be able to enter, just as it is for Paco, no-one can enter this part of him when he is playing or writing music. VQ

Photograph courtesy of Festival Nacional de Jovenes Flamencos 73 de Calasparra.

REVIEW

REVIEW

WORLD PRESS PHOTO Story by Charlotta Ljungberg Editing pictures from conflict areas across the world for newspapers has taken its toll over the years in the form of cynicism, and I now stand detached whilst navigating through the violent images of World Press Photo 2009 winners.

Graphic images nowadays seldom show me how awful life is for the people who live in war zones. I have seen them too often, so similar in style that they could have been shot in the same place.

The Iraq war of 2003 is an example.

In the beginning the war was headline news across the world. Seven years later, 25 deaths from a suicide bomb in Baghdad, hardly makes the foreign news pages.

The viewing experience follows a curve; first it causes upset, then gradual depression, and in the end, numbness. It saddens me as my reaction to tormented images has diminished. Susan Sontag refers to this compassion fatigue in her essay ‘Regarding the Pain of Others’; war photographs don’t convey very much to me anymore.

By far the most debated images of the 2009 World Press Photo winners were taken in Somalia. The series of four photographs depicts a man being stoned to death, and they are, even to the weariest eyes – appalling. The first in the sequence shows the condemned man buried in earth up to his torso. Next, a scene of the villagers hurling stones at him, followed by an image of men pulling the bloodied body out from the ground.

The fourth shows the men continuing to stone the corpse. When The Sunday Times published these photographs, many readers were outraged and the images were described as “a kind of pornography of suffering” by Sean O’Hagan, in The Guardian.

Colin Jacobson, respected picture editor, and tutor at University of Westminster, wrote a blog post on Foto8 Magazine’s website about the series.

He argued that there must have been 74

some kind of collaboration between the Associated Press photographer, Farah Abdl Warsameh, and those who carried out the punishment. Jacobson wrote that viewers are left with insufficient information, as there was a single, brief caption for the full series. It is unknown whether the photographer wants to appeal to world opinion against a stoning death sentence, or if he is after a “shock horror scoop,” because the pictures are out of context. This applies to almost all of the pictures on the WPP website – the captions are minimal, leaving the viewer without enough background information.

World Press Photo was founded in 1955 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The contest, held annually, is one of the most important for press and documentary photographers. Stephen Mayes, the former World Press secretary said in his farewell speech that “photojournalism, rather than trying to reinvent itself, it’s trying to copy itself.”

By awarding Pietro Masturzo, the overall winner, I have a feeling the jury has tried to avoid exactly this – finding an image that isn’t copying other images. The winning image shows women shouting to each other from the rooftops in the Tehran dawn in protest against the government. The photograph is non-violent but doesn’t do the trick, even if you know the background story about the women.

They are so distant in the picture that this could be anywhere in the Middle East or Central Asia.

Another aspect that Colin Jacobson points out is that only a few newspapers have the capacity to publish the winning images using a double page. Jacobson cites Pietro Masturzo’s image as one example fearing it can be self-defeating to praise images that are so intricate that they will render press photography into a conceptual form of photojournalism for gallery walls, at the expense of spreading the message to the newspaper audience.

Once a cosy drawingroom, but the war in Gaza last year changed that. The photographer Kent Klich travelled to Gaza to show another view of the conflict. This picture won first prize in the General News category. Photograph courtesy of Kent Klich.

The contest started during the heyday of press photography, maybe it’s time World Press Photo reinvents itself?

There are however, some images that show another view of world conflicts. They manage to balance the fine line between being too subtle and too violent. The audience can see that there’s something going on, but there’s also another story beyond the surface.

A good example is Kent Klich’s picture taken in the aftermath of the Gaza war. It won the General News Singles category, and shows an empty drawing room with a gaping hole in the ceiling. The picture effectively details the horrors that Gazans endured early last year in a way that many graphic images do not. I’m drawn to the picture because of the absence of human presence and the silent drama. The image

asks questions: Who lived here? Are they still alive? What is the story of this room?

Rina Castelnuovo’s picture of an Israeli youth throwing wine on a Palestinian woman is another interesting image.

The long, seemingly irresolvable conflict is brought to an everyday level. It works. My heart feels for the humiliated woman.

Some World Press Photo stories demonstrate the complexity of world

events, but these stories are often seen only by a selective audience. Bad news is almost always good news for the media.

However, being fed violent news pictures daily is overwhelming, and there’s a risk of graphic images becoming cliché. On the contrary, showing a more varied overview of society in everyday news coverage might salvage even the most cynical journalist. VQ 75

RESTAURANT DANS LE NOIR

REVIEW

Giulia Candussi visits the only restaurant in London waited by the blind

Photograph courtesy of Dans Le Noir.

F

ollowing the success of the original restaurant in Paris, “Dans le Noir” opened in London in 2006. Dans le Noir is not just a restaurant where you might go for a nice meal, it is an experience where the food is not necessarily the most important element of the evening.

The place is dark. So dark that not even shapes can be seen. And I have pretty good sight. But this was not the reason for my visit: the waiters are blind.

Despite their disability, or especially because of it, they are the only people we can rely upon to safely reach the table to have dinner.

The business is based on two fundamental principles; first, the heightened experience of concentrating on senses other than sight, thus enjoying the taste and the smell of the food without much ado for the aesthetic presentation (of course, you can’t see it!) and secondly, the empowerment of these blind people.

Certainly the latter is the most interesting.

It is surprising how lost and scared we feel when we lose the use of our eyes, even if it is temporary. We become excessively vulnerable.

When we notice a blind person try-

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ing to cross at a traffic light, we sometimes rush to help, and in exchange feel good about ourselves. Now it’s them who are helping us enter the dining room, locate the chair, the knife, the fork and the glasses (tall one for water and small one for wine). They explain how to pour water into your glass without spilling it and they take you to the bathrooms, where there is actually light.

To my left and right, there are strangers seated. A brief thought and the fear of getting robbed in this darkness amidst strangers enjoying a ‘status incognito’ flits across my mind. Actually it was not such an absurd thought; in fact we are strongly advised to put all our valuables in a locker at the entrance, where there is still light.

For a couple of interminable minutes after entering the dining room I feel a heavy pressure on top of my head, like a million hands squeezing my brain and the only thing that refrains me from running outside (towards where? Where is the exit?), is my partner’s reassuring voice, which is unusually loud. We have been advised by the guides that when we can’t see the person we’re talking to, we tend to speak louder to be sure that we are being heard. Now, imagine a big room

with 60 people speaking at that same bellowing pitch, hunting for attention; total chaos.

When the meal arrives (finally), my struggle continues with trying to figure out how eat the food with the fork, but fortunately the lady on my right suggests circling my hand around the plate to form a sort of a barrier, lest I risk pushing all my food off the plate. That was great advice, but after a while I gave up and started eating with my hands. By now I had started to lose all sense of dining in a civil manner, and instead recognised the germination of some kind of macabre wildness.

I forgot to mention one fundamental thing: you don’t know what you are eating.

You can choose between four different menus: the chef ’s surprise, vegetarian, fish or meat lovers; that’s all you’re told. The rest is up to you to guess.

I recognised cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in the starter and some strange vegetable in the main all cooked in a very traditional French style rich with mousses and sauces. My partner chose the fish menu and, even though he said that it was not too bad, he stopped at Tesco to get a sandwich afterwards. But he liked it. I mean, he liked the experience. He enjoyed eating with his hands and not having anyone complain about his inappropriate behaviour or his not-fancyenough outfit.

As a photojournalist it is hard for me to think of a world without images, but in a society where appearance is allimportant, it is nice to be “invisible” for a while. That is probably the reason why this restaurant is appreciated by the celebs; they can disappear into the darkness for one evening without being spotted.

To me, £125 for a two course meal and a bottle of wine seemed a bit on the higher end. To stop the remorse from grabbing my stomach I keep telling myself that a certain amount of that £125 is going to charities supporting people with disabilities. I begin to feel better. VQ 77

VQ Magazine Autumn Issue

VQ

On Sale August 2010 Little Miss UK – Giulia Candussi investigates beauty contests for children across the UK.

No more squatting – How landlords rent out rooms cheaply in order to prevent empty houses being taken over by squatters.

Fashion before Fashion – Meet the people who create the trends.

Profile: Tom Robinson – Musician, gay activist and programme leader for the debated BBC 6 reveals married life with Sue Brearley.

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