THE COMMUNITY & C U LT U R E
MAGAZINE
A N A T O MY I SS UE
CONTENT
THE ANATOMY ISSUE
COMMUNITY & C U LT U R E
06 Pink Dot
Find out how this year’s event went in our recap
08 Pink Season
A behind-the-scenes look at directing HK’s LGBT festival
12 Wonder Women Anatomy noun 1. the branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms, especially as revealed by dissection and the separation of parts. 2. a study of the structure or internal workings of something.
These ladies each gave us a lesson on how to get. things. done.
20 Siu Fung Law
We talk to a transgender rights activist and competitive body builder
24 Gay Games
Check in on the progress of HK’s bid to host the games in 2020
26 Seventeen
A taste of a zine made by two students in a high school LGBT alliance
32 Without Adam
Recent photography from Sarie Moolenburgh
38 Top 3
Body Horror Films
40 Music Shura
COVER
Sarie Moolenburgh
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I N S TA G R A M
Know your body. Christians describe the church as ‘the body’ of Christ. Imagine this analogy applied to the gay community. Imagine it working as a unit, intended to perfectly function as one whole. It can be difficult to orchestrate so many moving parts in unison, but it’s a synchronicity the Hong Kong gay community perfects with each new collaboration. We have a robust and proactive gay community- there are hands, feet, hearts, eyes, and ears all learning how to work as one body. Integral to supporting the gay community is knowing how it works and what it’s trying to do. This issue should help you understand the structure and internal workings of some crucial events and groups from our gay community. We uncover what it’s like to direct and organize Pink Season, Asia’s largest LGBT festival; report on Pink Dot 2016; and give an update on Hong Kong’s bid to host the Gay Games in 2020. In a series of interviews, we highlight amazing women that empower us through their work- one is a UN technical advisor and appreneur, one is a documentary filmmaker, and the other two are vegan rebels shaking up how nutrition is understood. We also feature a transgender bodybuilder and the Sports Director of Hong Kong’s Gay Games bid, a high-school senior at West Island school, and a Dutch-South African photographer. It’s easy to define a city’s gay community by the scene it offers, but that leaves out a lot of the meat and bones behind the body. We hope this issue helps you understand how much Hong Kong’s gay community tries to work together. As always, thanks for your support! PLUG
LOVE WINS
. 25 September, 2016 – Pink Dot 2016, the third edition of the largest diversity event in Hong Kong was held at West Kowloon Nursery Park. Over ten thousand people attended the event to celebrate diversity and love equality.   Co-organised by BigLove Alliance and Pink Alliance, and supported by Covenant of the Rainbow, Pink Dot Hong Kong is a free and fun carnival for allies, families, friends, and colleagues of LGBTQI people. Each year, people come together to form the iconic symbol of inclusivity and diversity: a giant human pink dot.
Pink Dot 2016: -
free food and drinks, live entertainment, arts and crafts stations, community booths, a flea-market, a cultural area, art displays, a worship corner, and kids, sports & pet areas.
All totally free!
www.pinkdot.hk - 06
WH AT’ S P INK S EA SON ? by Timothy Loo
“What’s Pink Season?” Last year, I asked someone at a Pink Season event if they had heard of Pink Season. We were standing next to a huge Pink Season banner set up at a Pink Season event I helped organize. Surely he would know that Pink Season is Asia’s largest LGBTQI festival, a home-grown Hong Kong event unparalleled in duration and variety. Surely I had done my job in marketing the festival and events. Surely people knew about it. Surely. “No, what’s Pink Season?” he answered. I turned pink. The embarrassment in my cheeks was a rosey reminder not to assume that just because someone is gay that they know everything on the gay calendar. So what’s up Hong Kong, why don’t more people know more about Pink Season? First, I blame festival overload. We live in a city where everything gets a festival- there’s a beer festival, music festival, wine festival, art festival and comedy festival. And that just names the more mainstream ones and leaves out traditional holidays, like mid-autumn festival and dragon boat festival. No one in Hong Kong ever complains that there’s not enough to do. (Although, a quick Google search reveals to my horror there is not yet a cat festival!) 08 - pinkseason.hk
There’s also pink overload, what I consider an unfortunate inclination to associate that color with everything gay related, neglecting the other colors in the rainbow. For example, Pink Season traditionally follows Pink Dot, a similarly named but separately managed oneday festival that competes for the attention of the same sponsors and audience. To further confuse things, Pink Season is officially but distantly run by Pink Alliance, a charity organization that links LGBTQI-related groups together. The competition and the confusion aren’t the only odds stacked against it. Pink Season funding relies entirely on public donations and sponsorship, which gets tricky when you have to dance a fine line of supporting the LGBTQI community without being overly political. If all that seems like a steep planning curve, it curves ever upward considering the festival is run by a small team of volunteers. If no one steps forward to lead it, and that’s almost happened before, it simply wouldn’t take place. I sat in on a Pink Season meeting and observed, like a fly-on-the-wall-drinking-abeer, how this year’s motley crew of volunteers were handling the stress and pressure. “Not bad,” I thought, noticing that they had
PINK SEASON 2016 30 SEP - 5 NOV ASIA’S LAR G E ST L G BT F E S TIVAL OVER 20 EVENTS Including:
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Sp o r ts Ad v e ntur e Ar ts C ultur e Fa m ily E d uc a tio n E nte r ta inm e nt
Check out the full Pink Season calendar online for the entire list of events. p ink s e a s o n. h k
1 2 3 4
The Pink Season team at their Pink Dot booth All smiles at a meeting just before the season launch The director of Pink Season takes to the radio to discuss the calendar Festival coverage greatly increased this year, as seen in The List
The Anatomy Issue - 09
“ Pink Season has grown a strong identity over the years and I think people recognize it and look forward to it. ”
massively upgraded in sponsorship and media attention. On top of the regular roster of big financial banks that tend to sponsor LGBTQI events in the spirit of diversity and inclusion, Deliveroo delivered as a major sponsor with another large donation coming in from an anonymous donor. Those in charge of PR had also stepped up their game, with Pink Season featured in most major English publications, like SCMP and HK Mag, including an entire issue of The List dedicated to the festival. (That should save anyone from the embarrassment of attending a Pink Season event not knowing they’re at a Pink Season event.) After the meeting, I sat for a chat and another beer with Philip Howell-Williams, this year’s Pink Season director, to ask him a few questions, swallowing my ego and getting into what the team has improved since last year. Give it to me straight, what has the team improved on since last year? One of the big focuses has been on bringing in more education and family oriented events. We set out to engage companies involved in education, like the Economist. We also deliberately started earlier this year, so we had more time to market the festival.
10 - pinkseason.hk
1 PS Director enjoying this year’s bike ride event
How has fundraising been this year? You were responsible for the fundraising last year, did anyone take over? It’s pretty much fallen on me again. We’ve spent more time on marketing, so we are able to tailor that to what we think companies will want to sponsor and then get more involvement. Was fundraising more difficult this year than last? Well, it’s always a difficulty. Some long time sponsors pulled out because of budget restraints but we’ve had more attention from new corporate sponsors that haven’t partnered with us before. Even though it’s a lot of work, it’s been a benefit that I ran fundraising last year and now I’m the director. There’s been some consistency, I came in with experience from last year knowing the do’s and the don’ts. It gave me a lot of structure to carry it forward. What else has been a struggle this year? It’s a struggle dealing with so many differ-
ent entities. You’ve got different companies which you rely on for venues, or as suppliers, and you have to rely on people who organize affiliated events to do so. Getting all that to align is one of the hardest parts when you’re trying to put the calendar together. There are so many aspects to consider. Multiplied by 5 weeks. Is there much consistency in the companies and organizations that get involved? It’s something we have to educate people about each year, partly because the calendar of events changes every year. The festival develops as different people direct it, it’s slightly different year to year. Through the years we’ve had key events that have been successful and stayed on the calendar, but you also want to try new events and see how they perform. Has there been a good response to the educational events? There’s been a very positive response, especially to the event, ‘How to Start Your Rainbow Family,’ because of the quality of the panelists. With so many “pink” things going on, is it hard for Pink Season to stand out? I don’t think it’s hard to stand out, but I think the market is confusing for people. Pink Season has grown a strong identity over the years
and I think people recognize it and look forward to it. I think something the whole community could address would be to allow more collaboration and communication between groups. Working together more would be more beneficial for everyone. Why should we get behind Pink Season? It’s a good way to represent Hong Kong, and you have enjoyment on several levels, you’ve got great ways to meet new friends and something on the calendar for everyone. There isn’t another LGBTQI festival like this one and it’s still the largest one of this kind in Asia. Honestly, sometimes it’s tiring, feeling obliged to attend so many events because we have to support the gay community. But we can afford not to go to a beer festival, or a music festival, or even a cat festival. The gay community, however, cannot afford less exposure, less participation, less initiative, or less support. In fact, the only way we’re likely to see equal rights is if the government sees more of all that. So let’s get behind it. Go to the events, tell people about the ones you can’t go to, connect with people who might want to sponsor it next year, and ask yourself: do you have what it takes to plan a Pink Season?
“We can afford not to go to a beer festival, or a music festival, or even a cat festival. The gay community, however, cannot afford less exposure, less participation, less initiative, or less support.” www.pinkseason.hk
The Anatomy Issue - 11
FEAR
WONDER WOMEN Written by Josie Mitchell and Timothy Loo *Photos by Laura Simonsen
You don’t have to be a caped crusader to be a superhero. In this feature, we interview 4 women about the work they do across a range of professions. The work is varied but they all have one thing in common- a spirit empowered to do good and help others. We hope their words inspire you to find your own super powers and challenge you to make a difference. Watch out, their energy is contagious!
*
BESS “I’m energised by inspirational and resilient people. I just relentlessly pursue being connected to global change makers.”
Bess’ staggering dedication to the LGBT community includes working as Partnership and Community Manager APAC for Out Leadership and a role as Technical Advisor for the UNDP’s Being LTBTI in Asia program. To top it off, Bess is now becoming an ‘appreneur’, developing an app that empowers the global LGBTIQ community and its allies to make more informed travel choices. Bess, who has two small children with her wife Kirsty, is also an active member of Rainbow Families. She is always on hand to give advice about becoming an LGBTIQ parent in Hong Kong. Why do you do what you do? Fundamentally I believe that we should leave the world a better place than how we found it. As a gay person seeing so much inequality in the world, I don’t want to sit idly by and not try to do all I can to help create change. What empowers you? I feel extremely humbled and privileged to be connected to the global change makers in the LGBTIQ community and I’m empowered by the courage and bravery of activists all around the world. I love social media and how it connects our community and tells powerful stories. I see Twitter as a giant fishing net. As soon as I read someone’s name in an article, I’m googling them and I’m trying to contact them because I’m just so excited about having them be a part of our conversation. Prince Manvendra [Singh Gohil] the first openly gay Indian prince is a great example. I reached out to him on
Facebook and we became connected which lead to him accepting speaking at the Out Leadership Asia Summit. What is your superpower? The company of others. I’m energised by inspirational and resilient people. I just relentlessly pursue being connected to global change makers. Do you seen an imbalance in representation of lesbian women in Diversity & Inclusion groups? Absolutely. Just as in any other population group, women’s voices come second. There are some global initiatives for LGBTI women coming forward such as Lesbians who Tech, who co-hosted the first ever White House LGBT Innovation Summit. But there needs to be more initiatives for women, we need gay men to further their allyship within the community by creating spaces for women to be heard. What would your message be to empower lesbian women in Hong Kong? More women should support other women and be open and accessible to helping them. I’ve benefited from women who I’ve reached out to and have helped me. Women in senior positions need to remove the pedestal and take other women on their journey with them. See what Bess is up to next on Twitter @BonzaPie Find out more about OutLeadership and their OutWomen program at outleadership.com The Anatomy Issue - 13
*
J OA N N A “I find my contemporaries and my colleagues are communally looking to support and empower one another to progress.”
Joanna Bowers is the director, writer and producer of The Helper, a documentary that brings to light the sacrifices made by the women of Hong Kong’s migrant domestic workers population, as they strive to escape poverty and create a better future for their families. After a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, Joanna and her team spent the last year shooting and editing the film which is now being submitted to international film festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca. Joanna’s daughter was born in December of last year, in the midst of the film’s production. As a working mother making an empowering movie about women, Joanna stands out as one of Hong Kong’s Wonder Women. Why do you do what you do? I think I’m incredibly lucky. I get to tell stories for a living which is something I’m very passionate about. I love the freedom that it gives me to pursue things that I find interesting and to tell stories that I think are important. What empowers you? Having a supportive boyfriend who believes in what I do! My helper also empowers me. By having someone that I trust and ultimately being able to have full-time domestic help enables me to focus on my career. It frees up more time in my life, which can be quite busy, splitting time between making films and raising our daughter. What is your superpower? Eternal optimism. 14 - Wonder Women
What has been empowering about the process of making this film? Having a platform for these women to tell their stories. The reaction from friends, colleagues and complete strangers and the overwhelming generosity and hard work offered. Knowing that there was an audience that wanted to see this has been very empowering. What have you learned about yourself along this journey? I’ve learned that it’s impossible to stay emotionally detached when making a film of this nature. You can’t help but start caring about your subject, particularly when they’re people that you spend so much time with and when you’re watching them go through such massive life events. What message do you feel is being presented to women in Hong Kong? I don’t love how women are portrayed in advertising in Hong Kong. Very frequently, they’re portrayed as being giggly, immature, and weak. Is the film industry male-dominated? Hell, yeah! I would have been making feature films years ago would there have been more women decision-makers in the industry. I’m fortunate to have made many friends and we have ascended through the ranks together. Earlier in my career, I found that women in senior positions felt they needed to defend their position rather than collaborating and helping new talent grow. Now I don’t think that’s the case; I find my contemporaries and
my colleagues are communally looking to support and empower one another to progress. What does this film do to empower the women in it? The goal is to share the stories and many sacrifices made by the domestic worker population in Hong Kong in an attempt to humanise them in the eyes of many. It empowers them by giving them a platform to share their voices. What does this film do to empower the women watching it? Hopefully it gives them an increased understanding and empathy for the domestic helper in their life, thereby helping them understand who this person is and communicate better with them. Ideally it can create a better working relationship and environment in the home.
In fact, it’s very difficult to measure the impact that a film has, but our team has come up with a great way do that. We’re launching our impact campaign which is the website, ‘Thanks a Million’. After the movie, we’ll be asking viewers if they’ve been inspired by the film to go onto the website and publicly express their thanks for the domestic helper in their life. To find out more about The Helper, visit www. thehelperdocumentary.com or follow the journey on Facebook (@thehelperdocumentary) and Instagram (the_helper_documentary). To show your appreciation for the domestic worker in your life, upload a selfie together with the hashtag #helpie.
JESSENIA &
M A R I T SA “Don’t accept someone else’s definition of fitness. Dig deep, do your own research so you find something that works for you that you believe in.”
Jessenia and Maritsa are by definition a power couple, and not just because they power lift. About two years ago, they made a big move from Amish country in Pennsylvania for Jessenia to coach professionally in Hong Kong at Bikini Fit, Asia’s premier female-specific health and fitness community. Inspired by working in a successful business and the dream to do the same for themselves, they started SoFit Solutions, which stands out from the crowd for its focus on plant-based nutrition alongside fitness training.
Pairing Jessenia’s passion for fitness with Maritsa’s graphic design and culinary skills (seriously, check out their Instagram account) they’ve created a powerful tool to educate others on the whole-body benefits of living the vegan life. Why do you do what you do? We want to help people. There’s a lot of miseducation around health and nutrition. The food industry has caught on and often just makes things appear healthy. We want to share information we’ve The Anatomy Issue - 15
learned and help people develop their own fact-based whole body understanding of health and wellness. Do you feel like the fitness industry in Hong Kong is predominantly male-dominated? Yes, it’s definitely male-dominated, but that’s not just in Hong Kong. It’s starting to change though. For example, Bikini Fit is predominantly female coaches and clients. Training with other women gives women strength and confidence. It shapes how women look at fitness and helps them accept that being fit doesn’t mean having a certain body type. In a nutshell, what sets you apart? We’re vegan rebels! A lot of people talk about veganism but don’t share real facts and think it’s just a food trend. Vegans have fought for years for representation in mainstream media to start talking about what eating meat does to our environment. There’s an interesting parallel between being vegan and being gay. You almost have to come out of the closet as a vegan, and at first people don’t know how to act or they think it’s a phase. How do you want to empower other people? Don’t accept someone else’s definition of fitness. Dig deep, do your own research so you find something that works for you that you believe in. It’s exciting because we’ve already impacted several people with their diets. Yeah, we converted our first (Check out Wild Mylk.) What have you learned about yourselves along this journey? We both have our strengths and weaknesses. As partners in business and in life, we’re actually opposites. But we’ve become more mindful of ourselves and emotions, we create positive habits together. How could we help other people if we’re a hot mess? We read as much as we can about emotional intelligence, it will change your life! If your mind’s not in it, or not right, you’re never going to get past barriers that hold you back. You have to create an empowered mindset, and that can be really hard in Hong Kong. So often we see people that really need a hug!
16 - Wonder Women
To find out more about plant-based nutrition and the vegan lifestyle, follow Jessenia and Maritsa on Facebook (@SofitSolutions) and Instagram (@SofitSolutions).
“Sofit Solutions is a company looking to shed light on optimal health and wellness. We focus on introducing massage and a plant-based diet to help maximize recovery and health. We want to help change lives for the better in hopes that people share their new found knowledge to heal themselves and the world.“
• KNEAD - S H E U N G WA N
WE GOT WHAT YOU KNEADWe spoke with the two wonder women behind KNEAD- a deliciously affordable new sandwich and salad shop on Jervois Street in Sheung Wan. United by a pining love for a damn good sandwich (or toastie), these two friends wasted no time bringing their dreams to reality. They shared with us what its like to suddenly be thrust into the role of running a restaurant and what they’ve gained from the experience. We’re proud to have them as our food sponsor for our Double Junk PLUG Boat Floatilla Party on October 16. Our guests will be feasting on their healthy catering options, perfect for a nice day at sea. Buy your tickets before it’s too late!
18 - Wonder Women
ONLINE ARTICLE
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SIU FUNG LAW Written by Jason Kwan
INTERVIEW We spoke with the current Sports Director on the bidding team for the 2022 Gay Games to be hosted in Hong Kong. Siu Fung is a competitive female body builder and transgender rights advocate who identifies as transgender queer. Achieving ‘light-bulb’ moments from competing under the spotlight on stage, he shares his perspective on the human body and gender binaries. * pg 20-21 Photos by Gray Wong
How did you get into bodybuilding? Three years ago, after trying marathon running and then dragon-boating for the HK team, I started working out in the gym and met my ex-coach there. Two years later, with his guidance, I decided to participate in body building contests. This August I had my first competition in Hong Kong. I competed in the ‘Female Physique’ category - the most muscular female category in HK. Girls with large boobs and butts compete in bikinis and heels in the smallest category, ‘Figure’ or ‘Shape’. Then there’s the ‘Fitness’ category. Each category increases with muscle size. What is the attitude towards female bodybuilding in Hong Kong? There used to be the bigger ‘Body Building’ category but it’s mostly cancelled in the US because the body building industry doesn’t believe that female body building is marketable. There is a bias towards what muscular women should look like, and female body
builders are too ‘extreme’. In HK, I would say that I’m the only active female body builder. The previous generation of body builders are mostly retired or coaching. The judges have said that I am too big and muscular for ‘Female Physique’. So either I have to reduce my size or I should not compete in ‘Female Physique’. In those categories you have to wear bikinis, bling, and make-up; they require you to be ‘feminine’. But for men, there’s no criteria for you to be ‘masculine’. In body building culture, femininity and masculinity are highly controlled and structured. In my own experience as a challenger to the system, it’s all about learning and unlearning social constructs. With the contest, spotlight, audience, and judges, what does the body building process mean to you? I’m very inspired by this process. I realised that I had so many gender assumptions before I entered the contest. For example, I have a lot of assumptions about clothing. I’ve nevThe Anatomy Issue - 21
“My body is a genderless body. Masculinity is different to muscularity: having muscles doesn’t make you masculine. Muscles are just part of our human anatomy.”
er worn bikinis before - my first time was for the stage. I realised that we put gender labels onto clothing, but once you remove the gender label from clothing, you no longer feel ashamed or embarrassed to wear them. In my second stage contest I had a different realisation. I realised that I’ve been suppressing my femininity for the past 12 years. I now want to liberate and embrace my femininity too. I used to think that I’m not as pretty as other girls and so chose to be more masculine, androgynous…more neutral in high school. Later on, I embraced my masculinity and am now a transgender, socialised man. I am still more gender neutral, non-binary, because I realise that I can execute my femininity on stage. I like how I look on stage with my make-up on. I believe that every time I experience this tough process, I will have new realisations. What does your body mean to you? Our body is like a map: every time you put on tattoos, muscles, it’s like putting landmarks on your body. Every part of it represents a history of what you’ve undergone. Body building enables me to see my body outside of the ‘body versus mind’ binary. In common transgender studies, you’re told that you’re ‘trapped in the wrong body’, so you ‘correct’ your body to ‘match’ your mind. This metaphor is heavily criticised. Body building has enabled me to deconstruct this binary with22 - Siu Fung Law
out constructing a new binary. For me, working out is about connecting your body with your mind. For example, when I train my back muscles, I develop a picture of my back through my imagination from seeing different bodies, because our backs hard to see. Visualisation: imagining I’m achieving that thickness and muscle mass makes the connection between my body and my mind. My body is a genderless body. Masculinity is different to muscularity: having muscles doesn’t make you masculine. I’m muscular, not masculine. Muscles are just part of our human anatomy. Taking your body as neutral, how does your body relate to your sexuality? I’ve always considered myself as pansexual and so my sexuality itself is already flexible. I’ve had some interesting encounters recently as I’ve put my photos on social media. I’ve attracted a lot of straight guys who are into muscular women. I usually attract gay guys! I think that sexuality is not just about what kind of people you’re attracted to but also what kind of people you attract. Although straight men see me as a muscular woman, they accept my queerness. Depending on the context, I can be a handsome man and a pretty girl. Their understanding of gender has become liberated too.
“ANATOMY”
What is the first thought that comes to your mind? Body neutrality. Anatomy is a very neutral word, contrary to ‘body’ where you think of a male or a female body. Anatomy is human and muscles - things that are neutral and don’t have gender assumptions attached.
1 Siu Fung strikes a pose on stage 2 Competing in the ‘Female Physique’ Category
How do your bodybuilding experiences inspire your advocacy? I think education and visibility are most important. Education can change not just perceptions, but a generation. I believe that people don’t intentionally discriminate you, they just have a lack of understanding of certain issues. I give talks and expose myself to strangers about my own experiences. I want to tell those who are in the closet that it’s okay to be different. After sharing for 6 years now, I can see a change in young people’s attitudes. They’re more willing to engage in topics which are seldom discussed in society, including minorities rights and trans experiences of hardship.
ONLINE ARTICLE The Gay Games is an international sporting competition which promotes inclusivity in sports. Hong Kong is the first Asian city to be shortlisted to host the Games in 2022, and Siu Fung Law is the Sports Director behind our bid. Read our full interview with him online.
The Anatomy Issue - 23
THE GAY GAMES
Hong Kong is the first Asian city ever to be shortlisted to host the Gay Games! A team of 10 Directors is driving progress on the Bid, in partnership with many others. The Gay Games are an international multi-sport and culture festival. It is run by the LGBT community for everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender, age and sporting ability. Social organisation Out In Hong Kong is aiming to bring this amazing carnival to Hong Kong in 2022. Word of mouth is the single biggest way to build support for the Bid. Take 2 minutes and invite 10 friends to follow them on social media now!
Progress so far: • The $2,500USD first phase registration fees was generously donated by Joint Dynamics • A meeting is scheduled with the Home Affairs Bureau to discuss government support • A long list of sport events and first and second choice of existing venues has been identified • Proposals are being drafted for five new events to be pitched to the Federation of Gay Games, including Dragon
24 - The Gay Games
Boating, Trail Running and Tower Running • Daylight Partnership have led on the digital media strategy, promoting the Gay Games and Hong Kong as a host city through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to great effect @gaygameshk2022 • With 2,200 IG followers and 1,750 Twitter followers, we now have the largest social media following of any of the LGBT grassroots 2022 Bid Campaigns
Like them on Facebook!
This zine was created by Lee Phillips and Morgan Young as a part of West Island School's Zine Club and LGBTI Alliance. It's an illustrated amalgamation of seventeen life
lessons learned over seventeen years, and was made just before each creator's seventeen birthday. View the whole zine on our website, or simply scan the QR code on page 42.
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WITHOUT ADAM by Sarie Moolenburgh
The ‘Without Adam’ series is about disconnection between humans and nature. When we search for balance, we need to consider our environment, go back to basics and be open. The naked eye is open to embrace its surrounding and confront the ‘self’ in its purest way- with the aim to find happiness, worth and equality. ‘Without Adam’ is layered with the expression of this imbalance and the road to reconnection, but the overall feel is serene and harmonious. The work captures the moment when natural forces come together and feel aligned.
SARIE MOOLENBURGH Sarie Moolenburgh is a Dutch South African photographer based in Hong Kong. Her fine art photography documents portraits that highlight a connection between people and their environment. She captures moments caught somewhere between realism and fantasy, resulting in ethereal, atmospheric images. To incorporate a fine art element to her work, she experiments with different analog cameras and techniques to beautiful effect. She likes to manipulate rolls of film by soaking them in different liquids, which adds layers to the images and makes each one unique.
34 - www.sarie-moolenburgh.com
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What was your favourite part of shooting this series? The moment when people first become completely naked in nature. You can watch the journey of it in their bodythey realize they’re completely exposed, absorb the sensation, feel slightly insecure at first, and then quickly embrace it entirely.
www.sarie-moolenburgh.com
Facebook: sariemghphotography
Instagram: sariemarais
T OP 3
BODY HORROR* FILMS
by Se an Bro adhurst Now, we know what you’re thinking. Oh, it’s the anatomy issue so the film section is definitely going to be about nude scenes. Boobs! Dicks! Downtown lady lips! But, no! You’re wrong. Instead of showcasing movies that make the body seem erotic and inviting, we are going to take a look at movies that make the body seem terrifying and grotesque. That’s right, this is our list for top 3 body horror movies. What is body horror, you ask? Well, does the thought of hearing the sound of long fingernails scratching against skin make you queasy? What about the thought of a limb being amputated, a foreign object sliding around under your skin or your body just being transformed into something inhuman? These are all trademarks of a body horror film. It’s a film that creates terror and discomfort from the transformation, deformation or mutilation of the body. On that cheerful note, bring on the films!
TETSUO: THE IRON MAN
UNDER THE SKIN
This 1989 Japanese movie opens with a character charmingly named “Metal Fetishist” cutting open his leg and shoving a metal rod inside. Shortly after he gets killed in a hit and run accident. The man driving the car and his girlfriend dispose of the body, but soon find themselves slowly turning into pieces of walking scrap metal. What follows from here is a selection of bizarre and terrifying sequences chockfull of images of metal puncturing into skin or erupting out of it. People get possessed by the Metal Fetishist and others transform into grotesque, metal-infected monsters. Oh, and did I mention the giant electric penis drill? If you thought that scene in 127 Hours was rough, then the near constant sights of the body being traumatized by scrap metal may not be for you. Although, it wouldn’t be a proper body horror movie if you didn’t want to rip off all your skin just to make sure you weren’t secretly turning into a Japanese, scrap metal-obsessed monster. Don’t forget to check out the two sequels: The Body Hammer and The Bullet Man.
The 2013 film comes to us from director, Jonathan Glazer, who is most famous for having directed a bunch of music videos in the 90s (He did that Jamiroquai video for Virtual Insanity (but like also a bunch of other videos for far more reputable artists)). The plot, while somewhat aimless, focuses on an otherworldly being played by Scarlett Johansson while she wanders around Glasgow in a van looking for men. It’s no spoiler to say that these men don’t meet very “happy endings,” as it were. The movie has been heralded for both its technical and artistic merit as well as its very natural approach to the dialogue. Many of the scenes are unscripted and shot with hidden cameras. While there are many elements of body horror in this movie, I don’t want to give away too much by telling you what they are. Though I can assure you they are far more gentle than the other movies on this list, in case you are only interested in dipping your toes into the world of body horror.
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A film that creates terror and discomfort from the transformation, deformation or mutilation of the body.
1 Tetsuo: The Iron Man 2 Under the Skin 3 Possession
POSSESSION This is one of those films that has to be seen to be believed. Not only because I can’t tell you too much about the plot without revealing its nearly endless supply of twists and turns; but also because you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. This 1981 film whose genre refuses to be defined (even though we are defining it as body horror, it’s actually a fascinating mix of horror, action and serious drama, but filtered through a body horror lens) is, very simply put, a story about divorce. Isabelle Adjani, who won the Best Actress award for her performance at the Cannes film festival, tells her husband, a spy who has recently returned home from a mission, that she wants a divorce. The husband, played by Sam Neill (that guy from Jurassic Park!), attempts to find out why she wants a divorce. And that’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot, because saying any more would ruin all the fun and shock of finding out for yourself. But I will leave you with this little bit of information: there is some tentacle porn. Alright!
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As always, if you have any thoughts, comments or want to suggest your own movies for this list, feel free to email us at culture@plug-magazine.com or post on our website. The Anatomy Issue - 39
WHAT’S IT GONNA BE? by Liam Greenall
SHURA
When your mother is a Russian actress and your father is a documentary filmmaker, you’d expect creativity to flow through your bones. That’s certainly the case for Alexandra Lilah Denton, better known as rising music star Shura. Born in the early 90s, the Manchester starlet has been riding her synth pop waves across the globe since releasing her debut EP this summer. Titled Nothing’s Real, the 13 track album offers its listeners a journey of wanting, needing, pleading and waiting for that sugar pop love rush that 21st century savvy daters know all too well. Her influences, the likes of Blood Orange, J Dilla and Haim, are evident in her electronic arrangements and radio station ready lyrics. In a recent interview with Mancunian Matters she stated, “I’m a lesbian - that’s how I identify myself.” The musician’s carefree and open attitude, in what is usually a closely guarded and closeted industry, has been welcomed and celebrated in the LGBT community. The video for her latest single, What’s It Gonna Be? puts Shura and her gay best friend back in high-school where they get up to all sorts of mayhem and mischief to win the hearts of their crushes. The video’s narrative structure, conceived by her and her friends, explores the pining we all feel at that naive and challenging age; the joy of being young, free-spirited and on the quest for love and silliness. The video, which profiles various couples (many from the LGBT spectrum) approaching each other and slowly kissing, went viral over the summer with nearly 27 million hits. “I think there’s a massive spectrum for everyone and that’s something that I wanted to convey in the video. There are many different kinds of love. It didn’t really feel like a political statement at the time.” It just shows that even a bunch of friends coming up with a creative concept for a proj-
ect can expand itself into our socio-political consciousness and get people talking. Since the release of the video, she’s been surprised how different people find the video compared with those of her female electropop contemporaries. But as she sees it, when you have a lot of gay friends you don’t think of it as being all that different or weird; it’s just your reality. Here at PLUG HQ we know the feeling! Shura’s Nothing’s Real is available on Apple Music now.
ALERT! Shura will be playing at this year’s Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival and we’re super excited to see her live on the last weekend of November. Clockenflap is Hong Kong’s largest and longest-running outdoor music and arts festival; a major highlight of the city’s annual cultural calendar. This year it will move to the Central Harbourfront, should be good! Get your tickets and see who else is playing with Shura at: www.clockenflap.com
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CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
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Thanks to all the contributing artists, designers and writers that helped make this issue creative.
1 Sarie Moolenburgh See more work from our featured photographer. ONLINE DIRECTORY
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CONTACT US Please write our marketing director if you have any events you’d like to plug, resources you’d like to share, or sponsorship opportunites. We love it when great minds come together to form a great partnership. john@plug-magazine.com
2 Seventeen See more of the zine Lee Phillips made with Morgan Young about 17 lessons learned over 17 years.
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For a full list of contact information for the organizations we’ve featured in the current and previous issues of the magazine, visit the online directory on our website.
STORIES
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