Tweek Summer Special 2033: The Hair Issue by Menkerios Andemicael

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TWEEK

SUMMER 2031

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STAFF Menkerios Andemicael Publisher

Michaela Hotchkiss Art Director

Beryl Safavi Copy Editor

Rutger Kobayashi Assistant Art Director

Jentz Fong Advertising & Marketing Director

Staff Writers Walther Schmidt Hugo Argis Kazu Palomino Buster Blade Shigeo Alaraby

Contributing Writers Wolfgang Gage Deepak Silverstein Russel Jones Elliot James Sahe Kawamura Miguel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Migsâ&#x20AC;? Antunes

Photographers Gigas Maduro Schmidt Engelhardt

1450 Madison Avenue New York, NY, 10125 212.7.655.2345 Tweek Magazine Summer 2032 published for $300 a year (not including the annual issue). For subscription please send $300 to TweekMag, 1450 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10125. All submissions are welcome and will be considered carefully, and we are always looking for new writers and photographers. Have a very hairy day.

THE HAIR ISSUE

Past and future are one strand of hair, the same â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Lao Tsu

line viewed from different sides.

HAVE A SEAT

It was a very hairy year for technology... Long, short, curly, straight, black, brown, blonde red. Hair was everywhere you didn’t want it and nowhere you needed it. Until now. 2035 was a great year for this shaggiest of topics. New advancements in everything gossamer are all around us. We can change the hair on our heads, grow expensive coats, or even have our eyebrows permanently changed in a Japanese alley. But for all the newfangled changes, something is oddly apparent: tech isn’t pushing us forward, opening new horizons, as much as it is turning back the clock. You’ll notice that in these pages. Some of the changes, like the triumphant return of frizzy, curly hair are positive. Others, like the return of fur farming, are both bold and frightening. But one thing’s for certain — change is everywhere. That’s why we’re devoting this issue to what’s on top of your head. Tweek magazine is proud to present this very special issue on everyone’s favorite shaggy topic. Enjoy!

negative. Others, like the growing popularity of DIY genetic modification in Yokohama, are

BEAUTY

The most important use of today’s technology

wishes, but to repair all the evils and damages of yesterday’s technology. — Dennis Gabor

isn’t just to satisfy primary needs or archetypal

“Mommy, what’s wrong with her hair?”

I couldn’t believe what I heard on the bus. A little girl, five or six, with her mother, were studying a similar mother-daughter pair at the other end of the compartment. Both sets had skin the color of rich mahogany, full lips... but only one of them had a telltale head of those lovely tight, frizzy curls.

“That’s how poor people’s hair looks, sugar.”

It’s a simple, fact: racism is still endemic

the black middle and upper classes seemed

in our society. From the earliest days of

like it would finally put to rest many of the

skin bleaches, hair irons, and lye relaxers,

issues of black self esteem. But the lessons

there’s been a big temptation for African

of the past were so ingrained that beauty

American women (and men) to change their

standards remained fairly consistent: hair

looks to look more like the old European

straightening, skin and eye lightening, and

American majority. This used to be almost

other race-changing behavior continued

a requirement for employment at anything

unabated, simply updating with technology.

better than menial labor. But even after

Worse than that, the problem deepened with

the historic Civil Rights Act of 1965 — and

scientific advances: in the past, a woman

after the black pride explosion of the 1970s

could relax her hair with a five dollar bottle

imploded under the twin forces of available

of lye product, lighten her eyes with thirty

drugs and economic downturn — the old

dollar contacts, or select from a variety of

specter of ingrained caucasoid beauty stan-

wigs and extensions starting with very low

dards loomed once more. Some say it was

cost entry points.

always there, just under the surface. For better or for worse, the USAs European majority has receded. So too have most

election and reelection of Barack Obama, its first president of African descent, the bold rise of Africa, and the new growth of

forms of racial discrimination in the workplace. But the stigma remains. The historic

With the genmod revolution of the 20s, the cost skyrocketed. Who would want a wig or weave, long a source of mirth for black comedians, when you could have the real thing?

The old mantra “Ain’t a damn thing changed” was truer than ever — until last season.

For the right price, hair could be genetically conditioned to grow long and silky for ever

intraracial discrimination they had once

more. The price of a Mercedes and several

been subjected to by hostile society. The old

weeks of recombinant gene therapy could

black mantra “Ain’t a damn thing changed”

give one sparkling blue eyes that would last

seemed truer than ever. Until last season.

indefinitely. And for a small fortune, one’s entire body could be lightened, providing African American women with the illusion of greater caucasoid admixture — white blood that would have once been a paradoxical sign of high class bearing and an indication of a family history full of slaver ancestors. As the 20s drew to a close, whiteness had 22

become more of an indication of status than even the platinum, diamond and luxury car craze of the early century. An emergent black professional class practiced the exact same

UNTANGLING THE PAST

1880: French metal hot combs, used for ironing hair, are readily available in the United States.

1785: Tignon Laws passed

1865: Slavery ends. Whites

in Louisiana, forcing women

look upon black women who

of color to cover their hair.

adopt white grooming as well-adjusted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Goodâ&#x20AC;? hair becomes a prerequisite for entering certain schools, churches, social groups and business networks.

1800s: Without African hair treatments, slaves rely on bacon grease, butter and kerosene. Lighter-skinned,

1619: First slaves brought

straight-haired slaves are

to Jamestown; African

worth more than darker,

grooming tradition, such

more kinky-haired ones,

as locks, plaits and twists,

something internalized by

begins fade.

black culture.

1920: Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist, urges followers to embrace their natural hair and reclaim an African aesthetic.

1970: Angela Davis becomes an icon of Black Power with her large afro. .

1900: Madame Clara J.

1968: Actress Diahann

Walker, the first US female

Carroll is the very first

self made millionaire,

black woman to star in a

develops new products for

TV network series, “Julia.”

black hair. She popularizes

She is a darker version of

the press-and-curl style.

the all-American girl with

Some will criticize her for

straightened, curled hair.

encouraging black women

1962: Actress Cicely Tyson wears cornrow braids on the television drama “East Side/ West Side.”

to look white.

UNTANGLING THE PAST

2001: Rapper Lil’ Kim wears a platinum blonde weave.

1977: Jheri Curl explodes on to the black hair scene. Billed as a curly perm for blacks, the slick hairstyle lasts through the 1980s.

1980: Model-actress Grace Jones sports her trademark flat-top fade.

1979: Braids and beads

2006: Baltimore Police

cross the color line when

Department prohibits such

Bo Derek appears with

natural hairstyles as corn-

cornrows in the movie “10.”

rows, dreadlocks and twists, labeling them “extreme” and “faddish.”

1990: “Sisters love the weave,” Essence magazine declares. A variety of new natural styles and locks also become more accepted.

2009: Comic Chris Rock unveils â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good Hairâ&#x20AC;? at the Sundance Film Festival, exploring the way black hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self esteem of black people.

2024: A handful of musicians and artists start wearing kinked hair as a protest against racial

2020: Genmod explosion

2031: Fashion week. Kinky

brings brand new ways to

hair crosses racial and

straighten hair and lighten

cultural lines and becomes

skin and eyes, revitalizing

popular world wide.

the practice.

extinction.

black is black and suddenly---

so is white

Permanently frizzy, feathered hair has made a massive impact on white fashionistas. Stylist: Shalamar

THE FASHION WORLD GETS KINKY Starting last summer, the runways of world were unquestionably blitzed with kinky hair. Frizzy, fuzzy, bushy, big, tight, white, black, yellow, blue, green. Not the usual avant garde “spice up” a designer might throw into his collection, either: In Los Angeles fashion week, every designer was doing some version of the world’s oldest hair, on at least one model. In Sao Paulo, which has gone particularly crazy of late with indigenous fashion, every model by every single designer had some form of ringlets or bushy locks. Two designers, Binyam Schmidt and Kazuo Van DerBeek, simultaneously assaulted the public with a parade of giant afros and fierce looks. The audience gasped at the similarity. A great idea who’s time has come, or idea thievery? A heated back stage exchange was reported between the two, so who knows. In the end it worked out fine as both designers sent their walkers out for the finale, making the event look planned to a stunned audience.

Designer Miara Cruspin shows how kink is crossing the racial barrier like never before. Sylist: Miara

Black hair salons are a far cry from the gregarious beauty

parlors of old. Still, the spirit is there.

science turned back the clock FUTURE OF THE FUNK Paris had some interesting supercurly innovations. Edwina Shultz had her runway bathed in phosphorescent lights, causing her genmod models’s jellyfish-infused hair to glow wildly. And as a statement that seemingly sums up the entire kinky movement, whiz-kid Fink Gottlieb (unapologetically curly himself), finished off the show with supermodel Trude Ahmed walking alone in a glittery number, her straight hair kinking up and curling into a tight fro as she reached the end of the runway to thunderous applause. He must have dropped serious cash into getting what was obviously a time-delay genmod to work so flawlessly. Not to mention how much Trude must have been paid to take that risk to self and career with cutting edge, untested gene therapy.

has travelled from the fashion ivory tower to the streets of the world. It’s almost unanticipated, and raises question about it’s longevity. Will we continue to think kink for the next few years? Tweek magazine is just all curled up waiting to find out for ourselves.

This season promises to be even more exciting. What’s most shocking is how quickly kink

like never the kink is 36

before back

QUICK SNIPS

I like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but good God, do I 43

miss my mind. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Anonymous

SHARP TOOLS

Style at your Fingertips Cibco’s new styling attachment literally puts the salon an arm’s reach away.

$34,000 It blowdries, cuts, styles, mousses, and a whole lot more. Cibco Tech Industries’ popular arm attachment series for voluntary (and involuntary) amputees just got a new addition. The new device allows hundreds of preprogrammed hairstyles to be triggered at the push of a button. The device pivots and is surprisingly gentle. The best part is, it’s fully compatible with other functions with the switch of a chip, allowing the arm to shred paper, trim hedges, and knit. Just don’t mix your settings up.

SHARP TOOLS

Hair in a Box Turnbull Solutions transgenic follicle kit allows safe, portable hair regrowth treatment.

$5,000 As anyone who’s experienced baldness can tell you, permanent hair restoration takes a lot of care for the first few months. So what do you do with your sweet vacation time when you have to spend an hour a day treating your pate under laboratory conditions? Enter Turnbull’s Nomad. For the first time in history, everything you need for transgenic hair treatment is in one place. And it won’t break the bank (or the back, it fits in a briefcase).

SHARP TOOLS

VISUAL CLIPS

Past Present Perfect? How well do four old genmod films hold up today?

Idiocracy (2006)

Blade Runner (1982)

Director: Mike Judge

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Luke Wilson

Starring: Harrison Ford, Daryl Hannah

Is it odd that this was released as a comedy

Wait, when was this movie made? Director

instead of a horror/documentary? It’s not

Ridley Scott must’ve had some sort of pro-

so funny when you deal with daily. Director

phetic dream, because this movie is amazing.

Mike Judge also wrote the story as well as

Sure, the plot is insanely wild and pushes

the screenplay, so it might have been his

the envelope, but don’t all audiences love

call. It was released back in 2006 making it

that? It was scary accurate and set designer

one of the “newer” old movies that we’re

Linda DeScenna needs some respect as does

focusing on, but it’s eerily correct. Just go to

art director David Snyder. This could have

the DMV and see if IQs are lower now than

been filmed today. It’s bleak, but you have

they were 30 years ago. It’s aggravating that

to keep in mind that this was made in 1982

people saw it, laughed, and then went right

when artistic license had just begun to rise.

back to their lives instead or reevaluating

Looking back has never been this forward.

things a little. That could have saved us all a great deal of time.

VISUAL CLIPS

Gattaca (1997)

Director: Terry Gilliam

Director: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law

What a ride! Enter a bleak future where a

Director Andrew Niccol leads his cast through

bald criminal has to travel back in time to

one of the cleanest visions of the future I’ve

save the world against his will. The science

seen. Granted, the movie was made in a time

is downright hokey, but fun for a 40 year old

where they could barely clone a sheep, but

film. It’s a nice touch that the tech of the

still. The aim in the film was, naturally, human

future looks like something out of the 1940s.

perfection, which underscores some of the

The message, that technology often puts us

hubris in earlier times. Vincent (Ethan Hawke)

back as it pushes us forward, is oddly pro-

is so set on becoming an ideal human, that

phetic. Oddly enough, this received no Oscar

he misses out on living. The art direction is

attention, but somehow this one escaped

questionable; has anyone ever seen a house

notice. The pace is good, the cast is talented,

like Irene’s (Uma Thurman) or had a job like

and it’s ideas “advanced.” Well done, Terry

Jerome’s (Jude Law)? Thankfully things are

Gilliam. If you haven’t seen it, you should.

more interesting today than Niccol thought possible in his wildest dreams.

12 Monkeys (1995)

AUDIO SNIPS

But is it art? Gene sequence tunes reignite the old debate over the role of the producer in popular music. Tweek reviews four entries.

Lovers

Gray Matter

Dr. Meyer Livingston

Dr. Salah Faruk

Salmar Laboratories/Interscope

Vispar Inc.

Imagine all of your ex girlfriends in a room

Remember Dubai? Dr. Ibn Faruk does. In this

together. At least, their DNA. Dr. Livingston

somber entry, the good doctor displays the

breaks new ground by combining the genetic

result of 25 long years in the hot Saudi desert

matter of 12 of his old flames, and then plug-

collecting samples of the nanobot devasta-

ging in the resulting sequences into an audio

tion of 2020. First he takes several different

synthesizer. The result is actually a lot less

species and overlays their augmented protein

terrifying than you might think. This release

sequences over the original. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hauntingly

isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t without its controversies, however. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

beautiful and sobering, but unfortunately,

being sued for unauthorized use of personal

most people will just hear a lot of bleeps and

data and genetic identity theft by two of his

atonal noodling.

fair subjects. Some things never change. 50

AUDIO SNIPS

Human Protein Suite

Mayan Mysteries

London Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Fritz Puchbar

Nasir Labs/Capitol Records

Agartech Paeleogenetics, Inc.

The firestorm you’ve all heard about. You

Oh, those mysterious Mayans; Their stock

know there’s going to be trouble when one

hasn’t really lowered that much, considering

of the oldest orchestras in the world lowers

their 2012 endtime prophecies didn’t really

itself to playing music written — or rather,

come true. Dr. Puchbar brings some fresh

discovered and transcribed — by a scientist.

perspectives to the table by basing his music

Or so the argument goes. Nasir Labs project

on blood samples found at Chichen Itza and

director Edmund Okolo has an interesting

reconstructed. Unfortunately, the production

perspective: if composers channel God, and

is hokey and precious, sounding a great deal

God is nature, isn’t music made from protein

more dated in a bad way than it could have.

sequences just as valid as Igor Stravinsky?

Agartech is brand new to the music business,

Definitely worth a listen, if only to give you

so this may be a warm up. In any case, skip it. 51

something to talk about at your next wine and cheese party.

SOCIETY

Technology is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back 57

with the other. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; C.P. Snow

SUPE

RFUR

Is cruelty-free lab grown fur fuelling a black market for the real thing? Forty years ago, a woman wearing a fur on the street could expect a question and one of three reactions. “Is it real?” Followed by either an angry stare, a long diatribe all about the cruelty of her tastes, and at the extreme end — assault in the form of a can of red paint or box cutter. By the turn of the millennium, the only people still wearing the real thing, at least in America, were odd elderly pensioners, wearing gobs of makeup, diamonds, and mink coats push a shopping cart to the grocery store. Then fur started making a comeback. Or rather, two distinct comebacks. Fake fur, long stigmatized as shamefully cheap, exploded onto the scene as a fun, informed, humane alternative, and often the only option in a developed world that banned the fur trade in many nations. On the other hand, in Eastern Europe and China, the real thing was just everywhere, as citizens in former socialist states made use of their suddenly disposable incomes to bathe themselves in luxury. First, lets make a distinction between what’s real and what isn’t: The fake stuff, made from plastic polymers, is a far cry from the gossamer fibers of animal pelts, and has never been able to capture thing. Even more importantly, it’s missing the even. It’s one of the mysteries of modern science: over one hundred years of progress in synthetic materials, and still, the public has yet to see something that can truly match the original.

chaos of the original; every hair is too perfect and

UNVEILING THE NEW Genmod has brought many benefits to the world: to medicine primarily, and to a lesser extent, art and fashion. Medicine succeeded in cloning body parts soon in the early part of the millennium, but the concept of mass production was still a bit of a holy grail. It began in earnest 10 years ago in Basel, Switzerland when the first true sheets of living skin were developed in a lab. The technology was there for mass production, but the cost was prohibitive. Thankfully, large subsidies and a very interested medical industry helped to ease the pricetag down, marginally, allowing burn victims and skin cancer sufferers to receive unlimited skin grafting or even full transplants, without the need to farm it from elsewhere on their body. While advances in genetic technology have helped with the successful farming of living materials for mass production, certain products are much harder to recreate than others: There is a huge difference between growing a single internal organ, which has been possible for years, and growing a potentially unlimited amount of connected organ tissue. With a single internal structure, all the coding is already in the chromosomes already: what shape, when to start growing one type of tissue and when to stop growing another, so the entire structure can work as a whole. When one seeks to create living tissue, a large amount of customization is needed, and the chances for failure grow exponentially. Bone, individual hair strands, and other regular matrices of

materials are pretty simple to create. In short, there

Radovac Johannsenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loom grown winter line was one of the most anticipated â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and expensive â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in history. Stylist: Seleutias

just aren’t a lot of moving parts to deal with. Living polymeric organs like skin are a great deal more difficult, as they require circulation, nourishment and stabilized nutrient exchanges, but still doable. When the goal is to create a complex system of live, nourished materials, complete with glands and other microsystems that have to be engineered to produce still other complex materials, and produce them to a certain standard of quality, the level of difficulty — and expense — mushrooms. And of all of these, real, super high grade mink, fox, or chinchilla skin, capable of producing top quality fur, is one of the most difficult, delicate, and costly of all to make convincingly.

Technology hasn’t really solved the animal cruelty debate. If anything,

it’s pushed us back a quarter century.

The Excelsior Coat, worth $8 Million dollars. Source: Valdemar Furs

FUR RETURNS The cost has not stopped advances in the industry, which have exploded overnight. The result has been a reinvigorated fur industry, with the potential to produce massive sheets of fur, resulting in clothing with minimal visible seams. Additionally, because a lab can grow the material into unusual shapes, there are some mind boggling new forms of the material — all harvested directly off the loom in the shape of flowers, birds, and textile weaves such as houndstooth. It seems like the best of both worlds for the fur industry: not only can major companies bypass strict laws that govern fur farms, but they can sell their product as 100% cruelty free, bringing in customers who wouldn’t ever go near the old stuff. Additionally — and perhaps most remarkably — their product commands far higher prices than ever before in history. Even traditional cuts are eyepoppingly expensive: a pristine J. Mendel 40 inch golden sable coat might sell brand new for between 50 and 80 thousand dollars. Loom grown, such a coat would easily reach above the quarter million mark. The most expensive loom-grown fur coat sold to date is the Excelsior coat, which is completely seamless 50 inch chinchilla, of the absolute softest quality. It fetched the hefty sum of 8 million dollars at auction. That’s no rabbit’s foot. The business model is sound as well; 80 percent of the cost is setup: research, leasing genetic formulas, acquiring state of the art labs and buying expensive equipment. After that initial investment, the actual production can be repeated with relative ease and inexpense. With setup fees easily 64

numbering in the billions of dollars, this keeps the market extremely exclusive, giving the big four companies — Sakowitz, Wladislaw, Engenir, and Babourou — a 4 way monopoly on the industry.

Mink stalks the runway. But is it real? Stylist: Quasar Holmes

Looming chambers at Babourou, Ltd. Fur looming is a closely guarded process. Stylist: Shalamar

2% Blue

Raccoon: Very popular, this pelt is on the lower end of 6% Gold

the spectrum and uses left over biomass from more expensive pelts.

10% Tiger 2% Leopard

1% Chinchilla

1% Arctic 2% Steppe

Exotics: Illegal for decades from natural sources, rich furs like Tiger and Leopard are produced in stunningly large quantities.

25% Platinum

Mink: Costly as ever, mink is still very big money maker.

68 6% Arctic

7% Hazel

2% Blue

6% Silver

FUR PRODUCTION GROWTH IN 2030

6% Blue Fox

1% Cold Cross

6% Arctic Fox

1% Golddust

1% Golden Fox

1% Shadow 1% Marble Fox

pricey and comes a stunning amount of choices.. 5% Argent

1% Marble

Fox: One of the mainstays of the industry, fox can be very

THE NEW PRICE OF FUR FARMING

Cost Breakdown of Babourou, Ltd, a 15 Billion Dollar operation based in London, England.

25% Technology 15% Skilled Manpower

30% Research

3% Patents

<1% Security

10% Real Estate

5% Licensing

PROFIT PROFIT PROFIT 71

5% Biomass

THE HIDDEN COST The whimsical economics surrounding the loom grown fur trade is one of greatest ironies of history: when else has a man-made replica of something precious actually become more valuable than the real thing? Unfortunately, the irony is tragic. The fur market was rocked in Fall 2028, when 50 Animal Welfare Bureau agents sprung a surprise sting on several very exclusive Madison Avenue boutiques. Alleged to have come from Wladislaw (owned by Dupont) and the now-defunct Svetlanka Fur Company (a Russian government organ), the fibers of 30 midrange coats were sent for testing. Results were shocking: 10 percent of the tested garments contained farm slaughtered fur, likely from China. Stunningly, 2 of the coats actually contained more live animal mass than loom grown. Wladislaw claims the coats were convincing fakes, and conducted independent testing on merchandise from other locations which indeed suggested that the incident was isolated. Svetlanka quietly shut its doors, hinting at a bigger problem. All this points to something extremely sinister: are illegal fur farms getting a boost by the big potential profits of loomed fur? And if major boutiques can be fooled, how many other retailers are selling fur that comes in part from living animals? Western governments are unsure of how to deal with this situation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; anti-fur lobbies have shrunk as legislation has improved, so thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not many to organize for such a passe cause. Furthermore, the major loom companies, which should be willingly pursuing counterfeiters, are strangely guarded, 72

fuelling rumors they are involved. Time will have to be the final judge.

When else has a man-made replica of something precious actually become

more valuable than the real thing?

CULTURE

Technological progress has merely provided us â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Aldous Huxley

with more efficient means for going backwards.

rsc\s m.a{y STREETMOLDING YOKOHAMA

Hair. And meat, and bone.

culture of amateur self-surgery with serious overtones of the punk movement of the 1970s. A rebellion against a strict society, youth put their lives at risk to get a unique look to put them far apart from their parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generation. But is it safe?

Better have a strong stomach. A trip to Yokohama will show any astute observer that genmod is a way of life. But these days itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone to extremes, and is part of a whole new

There's lots of places to hide in a city like Yoko.

Bio waste at a Yokoma Streetmolding Site. Source: Associate Press

The back Alleys of Yokohama hide hundreds of illegal genmod shops. Set up in minutes, they can be knocked down at the first sign of the law.

r s c\ s m . a{ y It started with wild hairstyles in the 1990s in Tokyo,

r s went to extremes, willing to risk everything to get c} a unique look. Japan’s physicians were unsure of how to respond;s was this behavior healthy? What

and street culture as evolved with the times. As the genmod craze hit a decade ago, people all over

were its implications? It’s one thing to go under the

m . were undergoing radical changes every other week. å With the medical establishment shutting them out, and even when y available, cost-prohibitive, they knife or serum to get a conventional tweak, some-

thing that will last for years. But increasingly, youth

soon found there was little they could do to reach their goal of self expressive rebellion but to take matters into their own hands. A craze was born, and dozens of medical students left promising futures to mod themselves and their friends.

The entire city is becoming a network of secret communications between suppliers, druggists, artists and surgeons, and authorities don’t know where to start.

87 Busted labs in Yokohama (l-r): Chimo, Aruku, Konasu. Source: Police Records

NO RISK TOO GREAT The results can be breathtaking: hair that grows twice as fast, allowing radically different hairstyles; longer eyelashes and eyebrows that can be styled appropriately. Even risky practices like eye color changes, or skin texture, are possible in the most unsanitary of conditions. But the procedures are not without their risks. The threat of the police is ever present since the government crackdown of two years ago, and labs might be busted up mid procedure. Cheap, bootleg chemicals with varying levels of impurity can often create unexpected and undesirable results, very often permanent. Crooked genmodders might rob or assault patients while they are unconscious, or harvest organs for a quick profit. And in some cases, results are deliberately a lot different from what one would expect â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one notorious modder would promise one procedure and then do something entirely different. When caught, authorities found thousands of pictures in his possession, each of a different shocked female face â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the look of surprise on patients faces when emerging from anaesthesia and seeing their faces for the very first time. He is awaiting sentencing.

Streetmolding beauties risk it all for looks. Source: Associate Press

Many of the genmod surgeons in operation who were willing to talk with us were quick and forceful in denying that this is at all the norm, and clearly stated unflinchingly that every subculture has its villains and wolves. But nearly all the establishment doctors we spoke to brought up the case of one Haruki, a serial killer with no medical expertise who took 12 lives before he was killed by an angry mob of streetmolders. At least the subculture polices itself. Increasingly, it seems that even horror stories of psychopathic back-back alley butchers havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dampened the illegal genmod craze in japan. It may even have added to the thrill. There is no reasonable way to tell how many other thrill killer criminals are operating in the underground. The authorities are grim faced and tight lipped, and always quick to point out that all streetmolders

Even horror stories of psychopathic back-alley butchers havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dampened the illegal genmod craze in Japan. It may even have added to the thrilling sense of danger.

are criminals before anything else.

“Oni,” a streetmolder, on a rampage. Source: Davis Grayson

The origins of streetmolding are unexpected and fascinating. It grew out of the punk rock revival

r s c\ s m . a{ y

of the early 21st century, and most of the future street surgeons knew each other and their clients from bands and shows. A tight knit community, streetmolders shifted from simple face painting and make up inspired by the Harakuju movement of the 90s, to more radical procedures after their style was internationally coopted and lost its ability to shock. Music, still a part of the scene, took a back seat to one of the oddest choices of lifestyle in history: surgery for surgery’s sake. Even a brief foray into this world would have been a getting-off point for the vast majority of posers and exploitative designers, but it sure didn’t stop there; the momentum kept building, the syringes kept flowing as each molder tried to outdo his

“Streetmolding is a DIY rebellion against class, authority, conformity, and bourgeois sentimentality. Basically, the punk of 50 years ago is back. With a genetics degree.”

peers. Needless to say, Japan was aghast.

RISING STARS OF THE UNDERGROUND Most streetmolders began life as med students. The rest were artists with a few med classes under their belts. Some say the very intense stress of Japanese society led to twin elements of self destruction and sadism, but many molders claim to be more influenced by a need for artistic expression an a desire to claim self identity in a more permanent sense. Hair colors, contacts, and make up have a long, even ancient tradition in Japanese society. But at the end of the day, all these things can be removed or washed off, leaving the true self. So at its heart, the streetmolding movement was a desire to effect permanent change. “Koda,” a youth from the south side who’s recently become a pop star, summed it up: “We didn’t want to pretend to be someone different, we wanted to be different. It was almost painful waking up as the same old person in the morning. Is there an element of self loathing to the practice? Authorities both domestic and foreign agree there is, at some level. Dr. Maurice Dumaurier insists low self esteem is at the heart of the matter. “These people want to change, of course, but they change because they deeply loathe themselves.” The molders, of course, call that attitude insulting and foolish. “They hate us. They hate that we use science for beauty,” sniffs “Aka,” an aggressive and unblinking young woman. They hate that we’re a remnant of the past, a do it yourself tribe in a premanufactured world that thinks everything has a pricetag. One thing is for certain — streetmolders don’t seem to stay with the scene very long. “Oni,” a west side 94

molder, describes herself as “an old cutter.” She explains, “it’s a tough life. Some of us get normal med jobs.. Some go to jail. Some vanish.”

KODA

Born in Yokohama, Koda dropped out of medical school 3 years in. He was one of the leaders in supplemental limb attachment, specializing in tails. After serving a 3 year sentence for unlicensed practice, he’s become a pop sensation and a source of great controversy.

AKA

Expelled from Tokyo medical college for cadaver experimentation, “Aka,” which means filth, opened up a mobile street practice in Yokohama. She specializes in facial surgery and is dodged a murder charge after a patient she’s alleged to have killed in an alley was found in a halfway house. Her work has found its way to fashion magazines and several neopunk bands use her work as the core of their image and core identity.

ONI

Allegedly a graduate of the Kyoto medical school, “Oni” (ogre) left a lucrative practice for the streets. As part of a new wave of dissatisfied professionals, Oni became involved in the Yokohama underground scene, playing bass in a band by night and performing risky eye mods by day. His true identity is unknown and he is currently wanted by authorities.

Tnshu, spiritual leader of the movement. Source: Davis Grayson

“Streetmolders don’t last too long. It’s a tough life. Some of us get normal med jobs. Some go to jail. Some vanish.” One of these missing is “Tnshu,” widely attributed with starting the movement. Most members of the subculture have his image somewhere in their lives, whether on band flyers, clothing, or just a pocket photograph. The famous image of him in a bike hat with a stocking over his face, fresh after modding his eyes, is haunting with its glazed and disaffected look. One can’t help but be reminded of the iconic Che Guevara photo that was widely marketed in the early days of the millennium. “Tnshu... well, he just was,” says Koda mysteriously with a wave of his hand. No one is sure what happened to the man, but rumors abound. Some say he went back to school and is working for the government. Others say he went under his own knife while trying a new procedure and just didn’t survive. Less glowing rumors include stories of him being disfigured by a botched self surgery and now living as a freak in the sewer system of Yokohama. The official story, at least the one preferred by the police, is that he was killed by dissatisfied clients. “Good riddance,” says Dr. Kobayashi with a glare. With no signs of the movement running out of steam soon, one wonders if the truth is something else entirely. How long before this craze goes across Japanese borders? It’s debatable whether that’s even possible. “Streetmolding is a Japanese phenomenon,” emphatically. Perhaps, but with homogeneity and stress turning back the clock on western youth, one cannot rule out the possibility of it coming to an alley near you.

states Dr. Kobayashi of Tokyo Medical University

LOOK GOOD 98

OR DIE TRYING

BRUSHING UP

It’s funny how things work. We push and push for resolution to our existing problems. Sometimes we solve them for the present, only to realize we were wrong with the next wave of technological advancement and find ourselves back at the beginning. Other times the very act of advancement puts us in an unexpectedly negative place, which new technology attempts to solve and pushes us farther back. Sometimes technology becomes the tool to wilfully take us back to a better time, as a form of nostalgic rebellion — often with negative consequences. Like strands of hair that move straight and then curl 104

back on themselves, human history is in a permanent feedback loop — moving ahead while permanently moving backwards. It’s an odd paradox, but not always a conundrum. And let’s face it, how boring would the world be if we always went in a straight line?

105

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