LL issue seven

Liverpool Life News Magazine

SCOUSE MONOPOLY

WOMENS SUPER LEAGUE DERBY

MERSEY POLICE PARTNER WITH LJMU

Getting creative with Insta inspiration

INSTAGRAM IS CHANGING • • • • SPORT LIFESTYLE NEWS EVENTS November 20, 2019

VIBRANT: Instagram user and content creator Izhan Ahmed

Instagram’ s decision to hide the number of “likes” on posts has been welcomed by a leading North West content creator.

The move is designed to alleviate the pressures of social media on mental health.

Izhan Ahmed, who goes by the name “Iz_hxn” on Instagram, told LL at a north west networking event: “I think overall it can be a positive change as it will encourage people to focus more on the art rather than the engagement, and influence creatives to stop following trends based on engagement and think more about their own unique By SCOTT CLARKSON

passion and interests.”

Instagram’s move came after the social media giant - owned by Facebook - was singled out as the worst such platform in respect of the impact it has on youth mental health. The report by The Royal Society for Public Health says social media “may be fuelling a mental health crisis” in young people. Following a trial in Canada earlier this year, instead of seeing a running total of users likes on a post, it now

move to hide number of likes is a ‘positive change’

shows a username “and others” underneath posts. This test has now been rolled out to Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Brazil and Japan.

What this will mean to people who rely on Instagram for their income via brand relationships and #ADs has not been addressed, as the long-term effects haven’t yet been studied.

Mia Garlick, Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy, said: “We hope this test will remove

the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.” She added: “The goal is that users feel less judged and to see whether this change can help people focus less on ike and more on telling their story.” Instagram made it clear that this test would not affect the creatives and businesses tools for engagement and post measurement. Users can still see their numbers and who has liked.

Social media helps to box off beauty project for artist

Gemma Murney has always excelled in art - but looking for work was hard. So when the chance came for her to illustrate for a global make-up brand, the 28-year-old couldn’t let the opportunity slip. Working from home, Gemma started her illustrating career via social media in 2014, creating graphical artwork of celebrities and sharing it online all while growing her Instagram account, which now has more than 14,000 followers. Gemma said: “When I was out of work, my partner introduced me to Adobe Illustrator [a computer graphics programme] so then I began practicing and illustrating as a hobby to pass time.”

It was only when NikkiTutorials, a well-known beauty influencer and YouTuber, shared Gemma’s artwork to her own Instagram that makeup brand Juvia’s Place discovered Gemma and offered her a job.

The Huyton-based illustrator had not heard of the makeup company before, but after research realised that they were huge. When she heard they wanted to offer her work, she couldn’t believe it. “It felt unreal, I can’t explain it. I didn’t expect anything like this to happen from a hobby,” she said. With Gemma’s own artistic style combined with the ideas from Juvia’s, she creates iconic illustrations for the brand, inspired by African culture.

When the first palette arrived through her mailbox Gemma was so happy.

She said: “I was amazed and shocked at the same time. When they sent me the palette and I opened it, holding it in my hand just felt so surreal.”

Juvia’s Place loved Gemma’s illustrations for the palettes so much that they carried on commissioning her for artwork whenever they were making a new palette. Soon enough, the brand offered her a full-time position as their makeup palette illustrator. Gemma has been with the popular makeup brand for several years now, all while working from the comfort of her own home.

“I love working from home, it’s nice having my own comfortable work space and not having to work in an office. There’s less pressure and I can take all the time I need to create a new piece,” she said. L L The podcast is here! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S NEWS AND VIEWS By DEMI WILLIAMS

Gemma, above, and, top, one of her creations © Gemma Murney

L L When graffiti becomes art

Insight into the urban talents of artists across the city

INSPIRING: Above and below some of the art on London Road

Pictures by Ethan Jukes-McNee

By ETHAN JUKES-MCNEE

Graffiti in Liverpool has become more prominent with backstreets and shutters having signatures sprawled across them. But when does what was once seen as a form of vandalism become a work of art?

One part of the city that is being transformed by graffiti art is the area surrounding London Road.

The buildings are dilapidated and

it has become a rundown area of the city, which is surprisingly close to the city centre.

However, adorning the walls of these side streets is the work of some of the city’s many talented and underappreciated graffiti artists. Meticulous and finely drawn pictures with vivid colours transform a drab abandoned shop front into a mural that people want to have pictures taken with.

One is a tribute to the women’s football world cup with a large picture of Nikita Parris. It was drawn by Zem Clarke, an

illustrator and graphic designer who works with Graffiti Kings, a group of graffiti artists that collaborate with people to bring their work to life on the city streets.

A spokesperson for Graffiti Kings said: “Due to the likes of Banksy, Shepard Fairey and many others graffiti is now mainstream. There is money to be made when more thought is put behind the crime.”

This concept is perpetuated by the fact that a Liverpool store known as Zap Graffiti has been running since 1995 from the city centre.

They say: “Our aim at Zap Graffiti is to utilise graffiti as a positive art form, to brighten up areas and to actively discourage vandalism through the use of sanctioned spaces where people of all abilities can create.”

The store works on a voluntary basis in collaboration with local businesses to obtain wall space for artists to do their own work across Liverpool.

“The art is free for the donor of the wall space, yet beneficial in so many ways for them, the artists and the wider community.”

THE MODEL STUDENT

Samuel Agbiji is a Liverpool John Moores student quickly making a name for himself as one of the north west’s next top models

Double life

of a DJ

10 PERFORMING: Nathan Clarke Picture © Nathan Clarke A student from LJMU is fulfilling his passion for garage music after creating a brand new sell-out club night, Pinnacles of Garage.

Nathan Clarke, 21, from Leicester, has had great success already with the tickets being snapped up almost instantly for his events.

He has always had a passion for music and enjoyed going to gigs, clubs and raves, so he created POG in March.

Nathan said: “I just wanted to become a part of it and play my own music to people in that environment, also the type of music I’m into and play isn’t that mainstream or big compared to other genres so I wanted to push that genre more.” Nathan has been DJ’ing for around three years. He originally started producing music but didn’t have the right equipment to get into it, so he pushed himself towards DJ’ing more instead.

A Product Design Engineering student, he manages to balance his studies and DJ’ing, performing every couple of weeks. The amount he performs varies on the time of year, with some months busier than others.

He said: “Being in uni allowed me to spread the word about events and promote them. Managing my workload alongside my DJ and event stuff wasn’t too bad as I’d take breaks from uni work to arrange bookings and source new music.

“This year I’m on a placement year, working full time. This has been a challenge to balance full time work with DJ’ing all weekend as well as admin work for the Pinnacles. I enjoy both sides of it though and it keeps me busy, so I can’t complain.”

Liverpool is well known for its nightlife and regardless what music you play it is a city with a thriving music scene, so Nathan found it not being as difficult to get involved and start playing at clubs and bars. Nathan said: “DJ’ing in Liverpool is sometimes hard as it’s a crowded scene. I’m fortunate enough to have made the right contacts who regularly get in touch when they have opportunities that would suit me as a DJ.

“I’ll always DJ I hope, even if it’s not big club shows, I enjoy spinning records on my setup at home. The whole dream of being a ‘big DJ’ or whatever doesn’t appeal to me too much, if I’m honest.

“Personally, I wouldn’t want the lifestyle all of the time, it’s fun but I like having a routine and some discipline to my life which I don’t think I’d have if I was a famous DJ.”

Nathan still hopes to pursue DJ’ing and he hopes to have some music of his own released next year. Even though he sees what a great opportunity this is for him and is excited to see what happens, he does not want to rely on making a living through an unpredictable income.

He said: “My biggest achievement to date was probably playing at Hangar 34 for the first time. This was just a couple of months into starting to play out live in clubs, I was supporting a very popular DJ and played to a crowd of near 1000 people.” Nathan has managed to grow quite a large fan base in a short amount of time.

Kelly Jones, 20, friend and supporter of Nathan, said: “I remember being there at Nathan’s first event, it’s so nice to see him doing so well and how much the support has grown for him.” “I just wanted to become a part of it and play my own music to people in that environment” By ROSIE PATEL

If you’re interested in going to one of Nathan’s ‘Pinnacles of Garage’ nights, tickets can be purchased at: https://bit.ly/2Qyyv2k