The Argus 2015

Not So Soon - Yoko Lance

Brothers in Arms - James Darlington

Welcome To My Hood - Jessica Longworth

eMANcipation - Maleika Halpin Dancing Paths - Sarah Granholm

Khlong Toei 70% - Monique Monfroy

A DIGITAL LANDSCAPE OF VISUAL STORYTELLING

THE OTHER ISSUE 1, 2015

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ISSUE 1, 2015

ABOUT The Argus is a student-run, non-profit, visual jurnalism magazine dedicated to showcasing students’ investigations and unique perspective of local and international issues.

DECLARATION All opinions and views expressed within are those of the authors and do not represent those of the editorial board of QCA, Griffith University.

CONTRIBUTORS We will always welcome anyone who feels they can contribute to the exciting future of our magazine be it through material or expertise. Please pitch your ideas only [no pictures please] to submissions@theargus.net.au.

COPYRIGHT All content is copyright of the contributors and must not be copied or reproduced without premission of the creators.

FIND US www.theargus.net.au www.facebook.com/THEARGUSQCA twitter:@theargus_qca Subscribe to our RSS feed for new issues and content.

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CO N T E N T S – ISSUE 1 2015 –

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08 EMANCIPATION Maleika Halpin

24 BROTHERS IN ARMS James Darlington

40 KHLONG TOEI 70% Monique Montfroy

56 WELCOME TO MY HOOD Jessica Longworth

64 NOT SO SOON Yoko Lance

78 DANCING PATHS Sarah Granholm

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the first and only edition for the Argus e-zine, 2015.

A digital platform focused toward not only showcasing, but fostering and supporting some of the world’s most promising, emerging visual journalists.

This year we have worked hard to bring forth a vibrant, spirited and evocative collection. A visual cuisine that is both intimate and thought provoking in its storytelling.

The Other is an issue about joining the dots in the dark and standing back to admire the creation once you’ve flicked the lights on. Whether it’s a moment of quiet camaraderie amidst the noise of an underground club - James Darlington, Brothers in Arms - the question mark poised between an aggressive cancer and that morning’s third Vogue Super Slim Menthe- Yoko Lance, Not So Soon - or the simple abandonment of the camera into the hands of the subject themselves - Jess Longworth, Welcome to my Hood. The Other seeks to explore the truth, colour and mess from beyond the conventional perimeters set for colouring in.

A myriad of unlikely stories, for many of our contributors the real meaning was one which came to life as an afterthought. With bated-breath, these are the stories that observation drew. These stories reject the exoticism usually entertained by the subaltern; instead critical thought and editing have created messages of retrospective reflection. The other thought, the other moment, the other side; indifferent, stubborn and somewhat content - we look at the surprising attitudes and mechanisms for coping amidst pain, partying, puberty and poverty.

This year we have been incredibly blessed to pull upon the skill sets of our very own QCA Graduates, past and present. A pool of photographers, journalists, designers, writers, animators and moviemakers: all storytellers collaborating, across print and online platforms, to bring forth a synchronised vision that represents both the Argus as a publication and us as a team.

A special mention to Editor-in-Chief Kelly McIlvenny, for whom without we would not have been motivated toward producing works beyond our foreseeable expectations. We have been deeply inspired by your guidance and commitment in mentoring us this year.

We hope you enjoy your page perusal that ensues beyond this moment and sincerely thank you for your readership.

Maleika Halpin Managing Editor

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EDITORIAL TEAM Heather Faulkner Kelly MacIlvenny Maleika Halpin

Executive Editor Editor in Chief Managing Editor

Meng Wang

Director of Photography

Dan Carson

Art Director

Liana Turner

Sub Editor

Rachel Chow

Sub Editor

Jacinta Clancy Monique Anne Jennison

Book Editor Assignment Editor

Marita Gjerde

Multimedia Manager

Ben Stagg

Web/Social Manager

Rhiannon Maree Becker-Jones Michael Neylan

Marketing Manager Marketing

Ann Iren Vinningland

Graphic Designer

Halvard Holden Feragen

Graphic Designer

Yao Tong

Graphic Designer

Ji-yoon Hyun

Graphic Designer

Alexander Horgen

Digital Designer

Sara Godthelp V책gsmyr

Contributing Editor

Vegard Orlando

Contributing Editor

Martine Kolstad

Contributing Editor

Natalie Villanueva

Contributing Editor

Jiashu Yang

Contributing Editor

Duglas Danielou

Contributing Editor

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eMANcipation

Photos & text by Maleika Halpin

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the dust settles on the soil where

the arena of the annual Eatons Hill Rodeo welcomes in a community of bareback, bull riding, cowboys. Bulls and Broncs are the common denominator, which tie this community of fathers, sons, and brothers together. A lineage which, born from cattle herding, maintains predominately male participants.

Proud masculinity hangs on the thres足 hold of wild, bucking animals, subjects to questionable animal treatment. A group of paramedics standby, awaiting an onslaught of head and spinal injuries; this sport requires a certain level of stoicism from its competitors.

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In a world not too far away, hundreds of men cast their eyes upon the sea. A whistle is sounded and competitors race to the ocean. Their home suburb, the only notable trait, which differs them from one another in their uniform; a pink lycra two-piece swimsuit. The Surf Life Saving community engage a camaraderie of men, young and old who band together in community and culture. Sharing in the lineage of lifestyle, boys are soon conditioned into their manhood, taught what, who and how it is to be a man living on the coastline culture of Australia.

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The two streetscapes are separated by texture and tied together by relationship. How a man privately responds to his public space helps us to understand why these primal male relationships cultivate such strong ideals within masculinity today.

Earl and his 6 year-old son Mack Tipper, travel in unison from Toowoomba to attend and compete in rodeos across the Queensland state. They are an immaculate example of how environments of this nature bond and strengthen masculinity through bloodline and culture. This chameleon-like mateship reflects the malleable nature of a man and his ability to be compliant within his environment, traits that are ironically weak in a man’s search of solidarity and reason.

And while these environments represent a positive bond between father and son, it is what these cultures suppress rather than promote that is truly damaging. Where societies defining principles of masculinity simply neglect a man’s need to be vulnerable; his sensitivity is masked by stoicism, his affection is quick to be rejected and his need to protect his masculinity is often projected as aggression.

A review of the essential issues in the mental health of men and boys by The National Men’s Health Forum says that a man’s propensity for violence in adulthood has been connected in numerous studies with a dysfunctional upbringing and adverse childhood experience - factors which are often also predisposing facets of poorer mental health.

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While another author of Depression to Expression - a self-help memoir on curing depression - says one’s ability to express and understand their full range of thoughts and emotions, both feminine and masculine, is key in acquiring and maintaining mental hygiene. According to Beyondblue, over 70% of men with a mental disorder do not access services for their mental health problems because of stigmas attached to identifying vulnerable or unfamiliar emotions.

The National Men’s Health Forum states that higher rates of suicide in men – particularly those that are younger– have been linked to men with an inability to identify signs of depression and seek help.

Authorities say it is immensely challenging to engage men in a dialogue that encourages them to ask themselves whether they should be seeking help.

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Where the landscape of a man’s childhood acts to establish the grounds for his spiritual and emotional currency, it is important that the seeds sewn from infancy allow him to explore and understand his full, dynamic range of human emotion. Male bonding through childhood into manhood is key in enriching these foundations. Through them, men can acquire the skills to openly discuss unfamiliar and unhealthy emotions, which, if not expressed, have the capacity to be conveyed as violence and/or depression.

masculine maturity lies in embracing those traits which most men consider taboo. Strengths and weaknesses are part and parcel to a man’s journey through life; one can simply not exist in fullness without the other. Like the light needs dark, yin needs yang, hard needs soft, true emancipation from the confines of gender stereotypes exists when the interplay between masculine and feminine accepts one another as vital to true freedom.

A healthy environment for universal relationships conceives a balanced understanding of man’s need to be both masculine and feminine. Where the key to true human strength and

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BROTHERS IN ARMS A VISUAL EXPLORATION OF CONTEMPORARY HARDCORE CULTURE Photos & text by James Darlington

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brothers in arms is a visual research project that explores

elements of modern punk culture on the East Coast of ­Australia­­, posing the question “Is there an existing politic in contemporary hardcore culture, and if so, how has it been reinterpreted?” The project reveals that contemporary hardcore culture maintains a re-contextualised politic, adopting ideologies of traditional punk subculture such as resistance and dissent. The photographs depict a resistance to the notion of disconnection in the 21st Century, particularly Benedict Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’ (which have emerged due to advances in media and consumer culture), exposing an environment and community that encourages a corporeal or physical experience for participants. Additionally, the project surveys varying levels of member participation and identifies diversity among participants, demonstrating a shift in modern punk audiences.

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KHLONG TOEI 70% Photos & text by Monique Montfroy

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it’s 38 degrees and around 70% humidity, mid-

day. Sweat drips down my forehead and trickles down the back of my neck. We’ve been walking for only twenty minutes. I can only imagine how much worse the heat will get when we start to walk through the narrow confines of the slum, locally known as Khlong Toei. Hundreds of thousands of people are living illegally, in this five square mile area of tin roofs and tight paths. They are trapped in a vicious life-cycle, with little money, makeshift homes and cheap high-sugar food. By night, the slums of Khlong Toei turn into a hub for drug and alcohol addicts, sex, violence and gang culture. By day, children go to school, workers head off to their jobs and others sleep off their hang­overs. Every day, the cycle repeats itself.

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Khlong Toei runs along Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Many generations ago, families moved here to build what was ­Bangkok’s major shipping port in the 1980s. The current generation are descendants of the squatters trapped here whilst building the port, forced to stay through their inability to afford any alternative. On the city side, the motorway separates Khlong Toei from ­Bangkok’s biggest banking district. Here it is easy to see the great gap in society and class.

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My days are spent walking through the tight shoulder-to-shoulder alleyways. The pungent smell of sewe­rage mixed with deep fried food lingers in the air. I turn a corner and see a motorbike coming straight toward me. I have to pin myself up against a wall to make way for him. Turning down another alley going further into the belly of the slum, children scream “Fallang, Fallang!� meaning foreigner. It is a rare sight for anyone to see a tall, white person walking around and taking an interest in their daily lives. On most occasions, people were friendly and I was greeted warmly, and one family even asked me to sit down and drink some home-brewed vodka.

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I sit down and talk with a group of young women.

They are giving each other pedicures, buying and eating food from the vendors and just relaxing.

There is only one woman who speaks broken 足English. She tells me that she gives pedicures and manicures during the day to friends and the community. 足During the night, she works at a bar in the city until the early hours of the morning.

Around every corner, down every lane, is a microcosm of people, stories and survival. The people living the Khlong Toei do not complain about their situation, they embrace each day and do the best with what they have.

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Story by Jess Longworth

This research and visual project begun as a partnership with the local charity organization Rosies, branching off into collaborations with the individual homeless patrons sharing their own story truthfully. By using a photographic series, I captured the stories of these three people; Tara, Jason and Chris, who are the regular patrons in the community. By doing this I gave them a disposable film camera to capture their day-to足-day lives on the Gold Coast.

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MEET TARA

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MEET CHRIS

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MEET JASON

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NOT SO SOON Photos & text by Yoko Lance

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it was a cold winter morning.

I answered a phone call from my mother, she had been diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. It was just over six years since she had had a mastectomy for the very early stages of breast cancer. I googled ‘stage four ovarian cancer survival rate’ straight away. It said there was only a ten percent, five year cure/remission rate.

Mum lost her husband three years ago, since then she has been saying that she does not want to live for long, “Five years, if I get five years, I don’t need any more”. It was really hard to listen to this as a daughter who loved her so much. I sometimes cried and begged her not to say such horrible things, however it didn’t change her at all.

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Mum still says that all she wants is five years, but after the doctor told her that she would not live a year without it, she has decided to have chemotherapy . One afternoon however, I found out that she was still smoking. I cannot explain how furious I was at the time. “Taking chemotherapy and still smoking? Do you want to live or kill yourself?

Why would you suffer this much to go through chemotherapy if you wanna die? Don’t you know how serious this situation is now? You have only ten percent chance to live for five years!” She made some silly excuses. A few days later I found her smoking again.

Mum became really weak and fragile after few months of chemotherapy. Her skin colour darkened, her nails became black and she lost most of her hair, including her eyebrows and eyelashes.

She had pins and needles in her hands and feet all the time, and could not even walk on the tiled floor, as it caused pain. She started using a walker to do some easy house duties and to go out. She could not sit up and play with her laptop computer like she used to do all the time. All she could do was hold an iPhone and play games. “It’s good to play games all day. That way I don’t have to think about anything. I would start crying otherwise.”

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It struck me, all of sudden. I realised how horrible of an experience she had gone through. How hard her life has been. I thought I knew it, but I didn’t really understand it until she became this weak.

It must have been tremendously hard for mum to face this harsh reality. It’s probably why she tried to avoid facing it, saying ‘I don’t want to live for long’, smoking and playing games all day.

It is easy to say that mum is silly, but this is the way she tries to ‘live’. Even though I still cannot agree with the smoking, I should be kinder towards her effort of denying the reality that death was quickly approaching.

It’s been a month since mum completed her course of chemotherapy. She seems to be regaining her strength day by day. Much of her hair has started growing back as well. Although the cancer once showed how fragile the human body is, mum is now proving how resilient life can be.

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“Unless the body is open and free, the mind can’t be open and free.”

- Dance movement therapy practitioner

DANCING PATHS Photos & Text by Sarah Granholm Edited by Sydney Skov around the world,

many individuals exist in a reality of continuing gender-based violence in which rights, including the right to make decisions about one’s body, are denied. India is a prime destination for female trafficking victims (U.S. Department of State 2015)¹. However, exact statistics are impossible to gather due to the complex and illicit nature of the issue. Patriarchy, societal norms, ability, caste, tradition and sexual orientation impinge on discrimination against women (UN Human Rights Council 2015)². Male victims are also subjected to sexual violence and an understanding of the healing and rehabilitation process for both men and women is essential (World Health Organisation 2014)³.

Amid the darkness of such violence and significant violation of human rights, people are working to keep it at bay.

I met heroes in Kolkata, India. The individuals I met are

connected by their belief in the creative and therapeutic practice of dance and dance movement therapy (DMT), based on the idea that the body, mind and spirit are interconnected. They know that dance can change lives; they are happy to be the highly skilled dance movement therapy practitioners of an organization called Kolkata Sanved, which uses DMT as an alternative approach to counselling, psychosocial rehabilitation, expression, and empowerment for survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. These DMT practitioners reimagine the perception of the body and help others to see that the body is not something to be ashamed of but something to be appreciated as an instrument of expression and creativity. These individuals fought for their rights, stood against exploitation, moved back patriarchal boundaries and are now themselves helping many survivors do the same.

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“I develop with my body.”

From the moment I was introduced to this beautiful world in which movement and wellbeing are the focal points of social justice work, I noticed how the practitioners were painting their life paths with their bodies as they dared to move and move forward. The correlation between body, mind, movement and emotion was evident. I wondered how dance could positively impact an individual’s perception of his or her own body and I wondered how I could portray this. With these thoughts in mind, I asked the practitioners to paint their stories using movement and light. Using improvisational movement, each expressed personal growth without words, creating patterns of light with a flashlight, which mirrored their inner journeys. I was able to translate these paths in the camera lens and with this project I sought to highlight the issues of sex trafficking and gender based violence. I also wished to illuminate hope by capturing positive change on camera through the use of dance movements and light.

Dance represents continuous change; on the surface it is a series of movements and at a deeper level it is a force for personal development and, on an even larger scale,

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social change. The healing powers of creative therapies are immense and during the course of the project, I experienced how outer movement translates to inner movement and vice versa. I experienced joy, hope and a pure love for dance.

Danced paths and continued movement. At one point as I was interviewing a dance movement therapy practitioner, I realized she was saddened. When I asked if she would like to rest she said confidently, “No, I want to dance.”

For more information about Kolkata Sanved and how to contribute, please visit www.kolkatasanved.org or email kolkatasanved@gmail.com ¹ World Health Organisation 2014, The Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_ campaign/en/chap6.pdf ² UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Addendum : Mission to India, 1 April 2014, A/ HRC/26/38/Add.1, retrieved from http://www.refworld.org/docid/53982c3e4.html [accessed 23 September 2015] ³ U.S. Department of State 2015, Trafficking in Persons Report, retrieved from http:// www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/index.html

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“If gender based violence is happening, your mind is fed with bad opinions about the body, You feel impure and do not love or accept that you have body parts like breast and a vagina. It has happened to me, I have felt these ways. Dance Movement Therapy helps to change ways of perceiving the body because we learn to accept and work with our physicality. The negative association you have with your body disappears and you develop a sense that the body is pure and that it is yours.�

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“The definition of movement has changed for me. I have always been protective about my movements and believed that if I behave like a strong girl, the harasser will think twice before touching me. Maybe being a tomboy also shaped my movements. But I have stepped away completely from a soft body language and my dance movements are more bold and distinct.�

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“I did not believe in relationships. Dance Movement Therapy gave me the confidence to make decisions for myself because I assessed what I wanted and what I believed in. I opened up. I realised I should be with a person who knows how to respect himself and also respect me. This helped me to choose my life partner.�

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“Imagine you shut a door, imagine your body is closed. You create your body’s and life’s journey and when you open the door again, you realise it is your life! It is your change and your dreams. You can be a powerful woman.”

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“Dream big. Once you recognise your potential, this needs to be nurtured. Only then, you will be seen as a powerful human being. Hold on to your self-respect and dignity to see your own value as a person.

Obstacles may stay in the way of your path, but you have to see past those barriers in order to reach your goals.

I love dancing but my community does not understand that, people say or do different things to prevent it. I have gone through many challenges, but I continue to dance.�

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CONTRIBUTORS MALEIKA HALPIN maleikahalpin.com avalon-studios.com maleikasugandhi

JESSICA LONGWORTH jessicalongworth.com info@jessicalongworth.com jessllo

JAMES DARLINGTON jamesdarlingtonphoto.com info@jamesdarlingtonphoto.com james_darlington

YOKO LANCE yokolance.com.au How Do I want to be remembered

MONIQUE MONTFROY moniquemontfroy.com info@moniquemontfroy.com moniquemontfroy

SARAH GRANHOLM sarahgranholm.com contact@sarahgranholm.com sarahgranholmphoto

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WE WANT YOUR STORIES The ARGUS is seeking new submissions for our upcoming issues.

You do not have to be a student at Griffith University or from the Photo Media Major to contribute. We are looking for images (足stories and single images) with strong narrative content.

Pleas send your pitch or interest to: submissions@theargus.net.au.

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2015