Raw Ink Magazine - March 2012

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brisbane gold coast tweed coast In this Issue: Hide’N’Seek interview with street artist Barek The Byron Bay Film Festival An interview with author Michelle Adams Get Inked!

Issue 7, March 2012

www.rawinkmagazine.com

THE RAW INK TEAM

Roxy Coppen

Graphic designer and editor. roxy@rawinkmagazine.com www.monkeywingdesigns.com

Ruth Dunn

Journalist. ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

Liana Turner

Journalist and photographer. liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTER

Wade Townsend

www.twitter.com/waddlespaddles

Cover artwork by

Loretta Lizzio 2

Hello readers, Although this is one of our smaller issues, we have one of the BIGGEST announcements to go with it!

Raw Ink has started up it’s first competition - ‘Get Inked’. We’re really excited to find new creatives in the area and look forward to seeing your entries!

Once again, if you know of any creative events happening in your local area, or would like to contribute to the magazine, feel free to send us an email to: roxy@rawinkmagazine.com Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter-tweets.

We’ll see you next month.

From,

The Raw Ink Team xx

www.rawinkmagazine.com www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine.com www.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine.om

contents Adams’ 6 ‘Michelle Liana Turner

interview with 17 ‘Hide’n’Seek Barek’ Ruth Dunn

Bay International 30 ‘Byron Film Festival’ Wade Townsend

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by ATTENTION ALL ARTISTS, DESIGNERS, ACTORS + ACRESSESS, WRITERS, SKATERS, SURFERS, MUSICIANS, BANDS AND ANYONE CREATIVE! Raw Ink is running it's first competition! The prize? The chance for us to write a feature article about YOU in our 9th edition or win a copy of Artlines Magazine!

HOW TO ENTER:

Go to your Facebook Write a new STATUS UPDATE along with a PHOTO saying: "I want to Get Inked by @Raw Ink Magazine because..." and tell us in 25 words or less why we should feature YOU. Remember you MUST tag 'Raw Ink Magzine' in your status or you will not be eligible (you can do this by typing @raw ink magazine and our page should pop up! You have to be a fan of Raw Ink to do this).

Add a link to your website, YouTube, Flickr account or anything else that may help us get to know you.

Think about: What makes you different from others in your creative field? Why would our readers and to read about you?

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THE PRIZES: 1st place: A feature article on you in our 9th edition 2nd place: A copy of Artlines Magazine People's Choice: A copy of Artlines Magazine.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: - You MUST tag Raw Ink Magzine in your status update / photo.

- Competition closes on the 6th of April at 11.59AM Eastern Daylight Saving Time.

JUDGING:

CONTACT: Any questions? roxy@rawinkmagazine.com

Your photo, along with your 25 words will be uploaded onto our page where people will vote for their favourite by 'liking' the photo. The photo with the most likes, wins People’s Choise!

Enter here:

Roxy, Ruth and Liana will be the judge. We are looking for anyone interesting, unique and fun.

www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine

www.rawinkmagazine.com

Illustration by Rebekah Dunn beskhetti@yahoo.com.au

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michelle

Adams by liana turner

When I was a child, I wanted to be many things when I grew up. I wanted to be an artist and a rockstar, a doctor and even a butterfly (true story) – but more than anything, I longed to be a writer. There was always something about the written word – about its power and accessibility – that made it unfathomably compelling to the quiet bookworm that I was.

It is for this reason in particular that I wanted to interview Michelle Adams. An exuberant lover of life, mother and now author, Adams resides in the Tweed Valley and has recently celebrated the release of her debut novel, No Ordinary Excuse. The fictional novel, which was released on the 11th of February, is aimed primarily at a pre-teen female audience and has since been responded to with great enthusiasm by young and old alike.

How do you feel the launch went? What can you tell me about the response so far?

The launch was amazing. I don’t think I slept for about 3 months leading up to it as I wanted it to be a combination of both a book launch and an exhibition of my other avenues of creativity--costume design and creation,

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mixed media artwork, food photography, and cooking. It was a lot of work, but the event ran like clockwork and I was pleased with the outcome. Over 200 people attended on the day and a lot of book were sold and signed.

The feedback was incredible.

The response to the novel so far is fantastic.

There is a definite shortage in the Australian market of contemporary fiction specifically targeted at 10-11 year old girls. Junior fiction is categorised into the 9-12 year old age bracket with most publications suitable for either 9 or 12 year olds. The 10-11 year old female audience is a niche market that is not being adequately provided for and this is causing concern for both parents and educators as these girls are reading material that contains mature concepts exceeding their level of development. I have been thanked by parents and teachers for ‘taking the time to write for this market’.

Is this your first published novel?

Yes, this is my first published novel. No Ordinary Excuse is the first novel in a planned

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series of three and I already have readers asking for my next book (which is 13 chapters in progress). The three central characters have further adventures in them yet and I’m pleased to discover how well my target audience have identified with these characters and want more from them. I will continue to write in the junior fiction category for now as I seem to connect well with this particular audience. Having said that however, I have a complete cookbook manuscript ready to publish and a few other teen and adult fiction ideas in the early stages of development. Stay tuned.

It must be pretty rewarding to have your name in print - and to have it out there in the public eye. Was the writing process a strenuous one, or did it flow easily for you?

I can’t even tell you the feeling of holding your book in hard copy for the first time.

Mind blowing. I think any writing process is a journey that encompasses bouts of difficulty as well as periods of ease. I am lucky that writing seems to flow quite easily for me, most of the time. I love the writing process because characters and stories often take on a life of their own. Intricate details weave together in fantastical ways that you hadn’t anticipated and it’s as if some unseen force takes over

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and increases the momentum and you have to work hard to keep up. It’s an exciting and wondrous experience and I always enjoy setting a new idea into motion.

What are your favourite places or activities to get the creative juices flowing?

I am an avid observer and note-taker and so I like to spend time in the midst of activity-watching people, eavesdropping and exploring interesting settings. This is the nuts and bolts of generating ideas for me and is a necessary part of the creative process.

However, when high output writing is required, I am best locked up in solitude in a boring old office with nothing to look at. As much as I like to entertain the notion of building a fabulous writing studio with magnificent views, we writers are daydreamers by nature and I would waste my

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hours ruminating on the beauty of nature instead of actually working. The truth is that my productivity is higher in an unstimulating environment. I’m too easily distracted otherwise.

Writers’ block - everyone gets it sometimes, right? What are your preferred ways of tackling it?

I rarely experience it, which is a blessing.

The downside of such a wonderful gift though is that I rarely sleep. A constant flow of creative ideas keeps me note-taking well into the darkest hours of the night. (I can write perfectly legible sentences and paragraphs in the dark!) My creativity is not limited to writing and so I am usually working on several projects at once. It can be a challenging headspace to live in, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

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For those that do experience writer’s block though, I suggest the regular practice of writing exercises. As with any other pursuit, whether it be creative, sporting or musical, the same rule of thumb applies--the more you practice, the better you get. No Ordinary Excuse came about from a writing exercise, ‘List six bizarre excuses for not doing your homework’ (Marsden, 1993). You never know where a writing exercise might lead.

Raw Ink Magazine is largely, but not exclusively, followed by highly creative types. What would you say to the bookphobics out there, who just can’t seem to build up the courage to pick up a book?

I’m sad that book-phobics even exist but I would tell them that they are missing out on so many different levels of their existence.

It is impossible to experience everything in one lifetime, so books allow us to explore possibilities and perspectives that we may not otherwise be exposed to. We gain insight and wisdom from a story well-told. Not all books that you pick up will be great, but some will be sublime. You have to leap in and explore to find the extraordinary.

Being a professional writer - and a successful one at that - can be a challenging and daunting dream to have.

What advice would you give to young aspiring writers?

There’s a saying that goes “success seems to be largely a matter of holding on after others have let go” (William Feather). I think success in the publishing industry depends a lot on your tenacity and your ability to pick yourself up after each rejection and edit your work ‘just one more time’. Eventually you’ll end up with a polished piece of work that’s attractive to a publisher. Writing is a huge learning process. Be willing to learn. And be willing to edit for that septillionth time.

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2012

ER SEPTEMB i JUNE i 23 MaRCH .au/7x7 design.org

n e v se

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S E I R E S K L A T A DI T S A O C GOLD

SEVEN BY SEVEN

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QUEENSLaNd BRaNCH

n e v se

THE VOiCE OF PROFESSiONaL dESiGN

y se ven se ven b eries dia talk s

THE VOICE OF PROFES SIONAL DESIGN

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QUEENSLAND BRANC H

SEVEN BY SEVEN

en 7 7sev

SERIES

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COAST GOLD

GUEST SPE AKERS MINUTES E ACH

different speakers each event

The inaugural Seven by Seven Talk Series promotes collaborative design practice on the Gold Coast and celebrates the creative culture, leisure and lifestyle of the local community.

This unique Gold Coast initiative provides connections and networking opportunities for emerging and established design professionals, design students and design related organisations with an aim to initiate collaborative projects that stimulate the design community on the Gold Coast. Each talk will feature seven local guest speakers that will speak for seven minutes each covering topics which relate to various design disciplines.

Go to design.org.au/7x7 for full speakers bios and event updates.

TALK 1 : MA RCH 23 GOLD COAST

YOUNG BLOODS The first Seven by Seven Talk will focus on a young and exciting generation of design students, emerging designers and creative professionals studying and working within the creative industries on the Gold Coast.

TALK 2 : JUNE GOLD COAST SILVER TAILS The second Seven by Seven Talk will be themed around “Silver Tails” and will focus on established professional designers that bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to their design practice as highly skilled contributors to business, society and the environment.

CLAUDIO K IRA C CONSULT ANT CRE ATIVE, B ILL ABONG TALK 1

KIEL TILLMAN POTATO PRESS TALK 1

ROB BARE R&B CRE ATIVE TALK 1

Claudio Kirac is a ‘modern day renaissance man’.

His career spans more than 15 years working as a professional artist, photographer, designer and consultant—working primarily within the fashion and music industries. His most notable role to date is freelance creative director and photographer for Billabong. With his head in the clouds and two feet planted firmly on the ground, Claudio constantly investigates the crossover between art and popular culture whilst questioning the norm within a commercial field. Claudio transcends the boundaries between analogue and digital design.

He has stayed true to his developed style, fostered over the years through countless projects inspiring and evolving over time, and has a unique signature and trademark to his work. Claudio lives and works on the Gold Coast and is represented through the Art-Work agency.

Kiel Tillman is the creative director of the graphic solutions company Potato Press. After spending eight years in the surf industry as a garment designer, Kiel has spent the last couple of years back in the graphics industry doing what he loves.

His role at Potato Press consists of overseeing and managing the creative process, whilst being an inspiration to the design industry. Kiel is passionate about creating and produces his own personal artworks, photography and typography. His work consists of both hand drawn and digital mediums.

He is actively involved in art events and has exhibited around the Gold Coast as well as Sydney and Melbourne. When he is not working you can find him relaxing with wife Janine and their threelegged dog Misha.

Founder and Managing Director of the multiaward winning agency R&B Creative, Rob has been immersed in branding, digital design and traditional design for over 12 years. His experience is underpinned by a business degree and the empirical knowledge of running both R&B Creative and a live music venue ‘The SoundLounge’ since 2006. Rob is passionate about working within a creative team, the potential of digital technology, and growing brands in which people believe in, belong to and influence their behaviour. Day-today at R&B Creative, Rob concentrates on account direction with a focus on digital and brand strategy.

www.potatopress.com.au

LUKE BRO WN MIXR TALK 1

www.claudiokirac.com

Refer to website for details

JOLIE HERT ZBERG RABB IT+COCOON TALK 1

PAUL EVEREST UNIT TALK 1

TALK 3 : S EPTEMBER GOLD COAST

VIP DIA MEMBERS ONLY The final Seven by Seven Talk will be a special V IP event for DIA members only. The evening will focus on DIA members from a range of design disciplines demonstrating how designers need to be focused on keeping abreast of current design-related issues and the benefits in participating in CP D activities and networking opportunities.

Refer to website for details

Unit is the brainchild of Paul Everest. Paul was given two talents in life—the love of ‘art’ and the love of ‘riding’. In 2002 he looked for a way where he could combine his skills into one distinct entity— enter ‘Unit’. Starting out in his parents’ garage, he teamed up with his younger brother Ian. The two pooled together $600 start-up capital, bought a screen printing carousel and started printing innovative t-shirt designs. Today, Unit is supported by some of the best musicians, and motocross, BMX and mountain-bike riders in the world. Unit has recently established a new international office in San Clemente, California, US A, with their Headquarters still based on the Gold Coast. Unit is now sold in the world’s major action-sports retail stores. “Unit is all about the love of riding, innovative design and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in our sport,” Paul explains. “We have exciting plans for the future that go well beyond anything that’s ever been accomplished in our field.”

Jolie is the Co- Director of the Gold Coast artist run arts precinct rabbit+cocoon. She is also a parttime photographer, artist, traveller, philanderer and cultural developer. Jolie has directed festivals including Wonderland and Surfers Paradise Festival through her own event management and arts management business Lovebeats. She is a founding member of various Gold Coasts arts initiatives including Crossing Divides—helping disabled and disadvantaged youth access professional development through the arts, Gold Spaces— connecting artists with disused retail spaces to provide affordable studios and address urban regeneration issues, Gold Coast Music Industry Association and Community Arts Advisory Group.

www.joliehertzberg.com

www.randb.com.au

Luke Brown is the founding partner of Mixr—an interactive agency based on the Gold Coast that creates games, tools, environments, experiences and campaigns to capture the imagination of their clients’ customers. With fellow partner Chris Davis, the two set up the new venture three years ago and since then business has been booming. Mixr service a wide range of clients, both locally and overseas, and they boast, “there is nothing we haven’t done” — which is why staying on top of new technologies is so important to them. Their work ranges from simple HTML websites to large business-to-business corporate sites, and everything in between.

www.mixr.com.au DOMINIQUE FALLA QUEENSL AND COLLEGE OF ART, GRIFF ITH UNIVERS ITY TALK 1 Dominique Falla is a designer and artist who works in a variety of tactile mediums combining digital creation with analogue output for exhibition and publication design. She is known as a “Tactile Typographer” due to the specific nature of her art practice. Her artistic career spans more than 20 years as a graphic designer, illustrator, artist, author and university lecturer. Originally from Melbourne, Dominique now divides her time between the Gold Coast and Byron Bay. She is currently the design convener at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University on the Gold Coast and is completing her Doctorate of Visual Art.

www.unitriders.com

www.dominiquefalla.com

VENUES

TIME

TAL K 1 Rabbit + Cocoon 23 Hillcrest Parade Miami Gold Coast

6.00pm for prompt 7.00pm start, 10.00pm finish.

This event will be accompanied by a DJ, complimentary drink and finger food.

For further information contact MEL ISS A RE ID DIA Seven by Seven Coordinator T 0414 267 717 E diaq.goldcoast@design.org.au

TAL K 2 Refer to website for details

TICK ETING

REGISTRATION

BE COME A MEMBER

CPD P OINTS

Special Group Offer Buy 6 tickets get the 7th FREE!

Register to attend and pay online at www.trybooking.com/BFXO and follow the link.

To become a DIA member go to www.design.org.au >The DIA > How to Join.

This event is a DIA sponsored Continuing Professional Development (CP D) activity.

RSVP

DIA members are unable to purchase tickets on behalf of non members.

Don’t miss out. Only payment secures your seat. The Seven by Seven Talks will sell out quickly.

See www.design.org.au for full details of the CP D program and how to become an Accredited Designer™

4 points are allocated to each talk to contribute to your accreditation requirements.

Individual Talks DIA Member Non DIA Member DIA Member Student Non DIA Member Student

$14 $21 $7 $14

RSVP Talk 1 you must book and pay online by Monday 19 March.

Unfortunately payments at the door cannot be accepted.

TAL K 3 Refer to website for details

See www.design.org.au for full details of the CP D program and how to become an Accredited Designer™.

Disclaimer: Whilst all efforts are made to adhere to the advertised Seven by Seven DIA Talk Series Gold Coast programme the DIA Queensland Branch reserves the right to change talk dates and change speakers without notice due to unforeseen circumstances or if the need arises.

A suitable replacement speaker will be sought and no refund offered for a change of speaker. The views and opinions expressed by the speakers are those of the individual and are not necessarily the views of the Design Institute of Australia. Seven by Seven branding developed by Creative Whit.

SPONSO RS TAL KS SPONSOR

SUPPORT SPONSORS

IN- KIND SPONSOR S

NATIONAL GOLD SPONSOR

NATIONAL SILVER SPONSOR

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HIDE ‘N ‘SEEK PROJECT Hide ‘n’ Seek Project is a one year writing project that will include articles about Brisbane street art, as well as interviews with some of Brisbane’s best street artists, and photographs of local art found on the streets of Brisbane.

New material will be published each month exploring the Brisbane street scene and the artists that work within it.

This month I interviewed Shida, read on to check it out!

If you’ve spied some street/graffiti art in Brisbane and want to publish some photos or let me know where it’s at email me! - ruth@ rawinkmagazine.com

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Bar

HIDE ‘N ‘SEEK INTERVIEW WITH

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rek

RUTH DUNN

How did you get involved in street art?

I’ve always been doing artwork of some sort, but for a while I’d never really considered putting it on the street or having any sort of career come from it. I took photos of street art for about 4 years and from there I got into street art myself. At the start I made little stickers and it progressed from there‌ I started making them bigger and bigger, and then I got into paste ups.

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When we were chatting earlier you mentioned you only produce stickers and paste ups as originals. Why is this?

I make the stickers and paste ups by hand because I think when they get to that printing stage they can be a bit more advertising and less a ‘sticky artwork’. You can look at a sticker that’s hand drawn and you can see someone’s mistakes and why they’ve drawn it, and that makes it a little artwork.

How did you develop the distinctive ‘Barek’ style?

I developed it by drawing… and drawing, and drawing. I probably fill a 200 page sketchbook every couple of weeks, I take it everywhere with me… My characters are normally drawn doing something that I’d done that day.

So all the people you draw are self portraits?

They are self portraits yeah…they reflect what’s happening at the time. Sometimes they look really sad, *Barek points to sticker on the wall next to us* like this one’s a puppet because I was feeling used as someone’s puppet at the time.

I’ve also noticed that animals are prominent in your work. Why do you like to work with this subject matter?

I like putting up animals because I think they are very inoffensive to most people. Most people can look at a fox or a deer and not be offended, there’s no nudity, there’s no political motivation, it’s just a small sneaky animal. I particularly like to put up foxes. I try to hide them somewhere you will only catch a little glimpse of them like you would a real fox; like in abandoned properties, or underneath stairs, or behind a fence, you know.

So place is obviously very important to your art?

Yeah place is very important. Often I’ll go and look at a place and maybe take some photos, and then go home and draw something or make something special for that spot… So it’s not just slapped up, it’s thoughtful art.

You aren’t shy to hang work in galleries, and in fact you have a group exhibition coming up at Bleeding Heart Gallery. How have you found gallery exhibitions in comparison to the street?

It’s something a bit different. For an exhibition I try to show on found objects or scrap wood I might find on the side of the road… or

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something to try to bring the street into the gallery. Showing in galleries has been good in the sense that a lot of gallery owners and people holding exhibitions are really keen to show street art and they understand that people want to see it. Being able to sell artwork in exhibitions is also really handy.

In saying that, I’m only interested in selling artwork so I can make more art…I don’t have dreams of becoming some rich famous artist… If I can sell enough artwork to buy enough material, that’s what I’m about.

Being able to keep making art is obviously something that’s very important to you. Why do you make art?

I make it because it makes me happy, and I like to think that someone will see one of my foxes or see a sticker and maybe it will give them a little smile and give them something interesting or stimulating to look at. I’m trying to bring a little bit of art to beautify an otherwise ugly area…

I recently saw a couple of your artworks in the Brisbane Papergirl exhibition. I was intrigued by the bird with the gun as its head. What’s the meaning behind this image?

Well I made ‘Birds of War’ after I watched George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, which is about animals rising up and taking control of their farm, and I like the idea that maybe animals would evolve to fight back or stop being killed…that they would evolve and be hybridised with weapons. But to be honest they are so far removed from the rest of my artwork that I’ve found it hard to show them next to my other work...Though at the same time it’s hard to put me in a style because I don’t like to be tied down to one…

Okay, so you work in styles that you like and you don’t feel restricted to one style…

Yeah I see a lot of artists that do one thing… and I don’t want to be an artist that gets stuck doing the same thing over and over again for 20 years. I’d like to think that this time next year my artwork might be totally different.

The stand out part of my artwork is the eyes, so some parts I don’t think I’ll ever lose…but I hope they will evolve and change.

I was talking to Lincoln Savage from Anomy Project and he said you were one of the most

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active street artists in Brisbane at the moment…

Yeah well I seem to be prolific in that I’m always making art… It’s about being passionate and everyone has a different level of how much they make and how much they show.

I would imagine that in Brisbane the restrictions and emphasis on street art/graffiti removal makes it difficult for a street artist…

Yeah, well so much is taken down that it might only last a day or two hours and it’s gone.

So it can be hard to gauge how many artists there are because someone might put up an artwork and then it’s gone before anyone has a chance to see it or document it with a photo…it’s a shame. But I also think artists have a responsibility to put up artwork up and not vandalise… it’s a hard line to walk sometimes.

So why do you keep actively putting up paste ups and stickers even though people tend to try to get rid of it fairly quickly?

The reason I keep going would probably be a message or an email I get that says ‘hey I saw one of your stickers today, it was really cute’ and they’ve liked it enough to message me or they’ve taken a photo of it to put on their facebook. It makes you feel cool, you know, ten of my stickers may have been taken down, but two people have seen them and that’s enough. If I’m not putting it up for myself, I’m putting it up for other people because I know that when I see something I always want to have a look because it’s interesting and creative, it’s a break from a drab wall.

What do you like about the paste, paper and sticker mediums?

For paste ups I like the brown paper and that you can spend time sitting at home and drawing and perfecting it and then go and put it up. I’m no good at aerosol work, so I can just draw a big picture on paper and I’m not spending hours standing in front of the wall trying to draw….I can take my time. I also like paste ups because they are a lot less permanent, there’s an environmental factor to them. I pasted on a tree once and I got a nice picture of it and when I went back and saw it a week later it was covered in moss and it had mushrooms growing out of the head, and snails had eaten it… it almost felt like my

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artwork had had its brief time and it was going back into the earth again. It’s temporary, it doesn’t hurt anything.

So temporality is a big part of your work then?

Yeah, I like it. Depending on what it is, like especially the fox paste ups, I don’t want it to last I want it to jump in and out of the scene almost.

What do you see as unique about the Brisbane street art scene?

In the Brisbane street art scene the artists are very elusive, it’s hard to track people down because the fines are so great. If you go to Melbourne it’s easier to find street artists to talk to…in Brisbane a lot of artists aren’t interested in networking, just because the penalties are so high that it’s not worth it.

So you get a lot of street artists that are just completely anonymous. But as it gets a little more accepted street artists are becoming more prominent…and people are excited about the movement. I think it’s changing…

Why do you think there’s such a bad perception with a lot of the public when it comes to street art?

I think because some artists are generally disrespectful and don’t care about other people’s possessions. Even on my way here I saw a train scratched with someone’s tag and some local businesses with tags on them, and I think people that do that really shine a bad light on our artwork when we are trying to push for acceptance. There’s a fine line between artwork and vandalism… I don’t want my artwork to be hated so I try my best to put it in safe places and not disrespect people’s property.

What would you like to see change in the Brisbane art scene?

More acceptance from the council and more legal walls. I think that if there were more legal places, less illegal artwork would be done. In Brisbane the cycle of money wastage just seems crazy. Artists spend money to put up free artwork for people to enjoy, and the council will spend money to cover it up. I understand them wanting to cover up graffiti on the side of buildings that looks bad, I mean I want to clean them myself because they look bloody ugly… But there’s a distinction

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between that and street art.

Shout out to Brisbane street artistsDon’t be discouraged if your artwork is removed, make some more and the only person who has to like your artwork is you.

Check out more of Barek’s art and see what he’s up to at http://www.facebook.com/barek. art Barek will be exhibiting at Bleeding Heart Gallery with artists Anthony Jigalin, Guido van Helten, Sam Butel, LUCKS and ZKLR from March 15 – March 22, don’t miss it!

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BYRON BAY international FILM FESTIVAL

wade townsend The Byron Bay International Film Festival (BBFF) has its roots back in 2006 when it was modestly known as just the Byron Bay Film Festival. The event focused on local filmmakers, with a few dashes of other aussie films. Now in 2012 the BBFF has bloomed and earned a longer title. Nearly 1000 submissions were made this year, bringing to Byron Bay films from Denmark, India, Singapore, U.S.A., France and Brazil, just to name a handful.

Below is a quick look at one of the 46 sessions that showed; clearly only a small slice on what was on offer this year. Be sure to be on the lookout for the festival in 2013 to get your opening night tickets early!

AEG Tradesman Series - Simon Anderson | Director: David Klein, Chris Andrews, Callum Fitzhardinge & Chris Tovo | Producer: Sophie Simmons First up to bat was this advert. Yes, that’s right, advertisement. It was down in the program as ‘surf’, but advertisement it was. That is my only quarrel with the film; it should have unashamedly been listed

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as an advertisement. Why? Because the word advertisement shouldn’t be negative.

It shouldn’t’ detract from the film. The ‘genre’ of advertising captures the audience with dramatic narrative and beautiful cinematography just as much as its less commercial counterparts. Check it out on YouTube and make up your own mind.

The Art of Fighting | Director: Gavain Browne | Producer: Alex Barnes An Afghan refugee with the martial arts prowess of Bruce Lee and wants to make it big in Hollywood. In itself this remarkable plot sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster. What we find however is a well-crafted documentary with a lot of heart. Beneath its surface are traces of global politics and the human condition. It does so much with so little time that it left us only wanting to know more.

They could have been rawer and more brutal to add to the film’s dimensions; however the producer and director did state that they are hoping to film a feature, so maybe a film with more grit is yet to come.

Burn- Never Extinguish | Director: Ash Bolland | Producer: Tara Riddell In the program guide this short was listed as ‘experimental’ but I think that is being a little unfair. The film is hardly experimental in form, but heavily reliant on borrowed material.

You wouldn’t find it hard to mistake Burn for the latest Xbox 360 game to hit shelves, replicating the essence of the video game experience; think Tony Hawk Skateboarding meets Halo. With video games now surpassing the film industry in their ability to take dollars off our hands, short films like this can only become more common.

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The Lines | Director: Danny Camara | Producer: Jay Palmer Telling the story of Mitchell James Byrne, a young boy with a passion for skate filming whose life was tragically cut short; this film is as much about those making the film as those in it. At its heart this film is a memorial for a friend. There is no message and there is no preaching of values; more film makers should take note of this reserved approach.

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The Byron Bay Community Centre

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Switch | Director: Phoebe Hartley | Producer: Brendan Lee Well shot and well acted, just not well written.

There had to be one in the bunch that I didn’t enjoy. Simply put, it just lacked narrative drive. The only dramatic moment of the film was ruined by poor directing. Shots should be revealed more slowly in scenes meant to build tension. Letting action take place offscreen just for a moment would have added substantially to the film. In shorts more should happen in the audience’s mind then onscreen; less telling and showing. The acting was quite good though, especially that of the youngest girl, but not enough to save the 10 minutes of film from being remarkably lacklustre I’ll Make this Whole World Mine | Director/ Producer Hatim Elmrini Clocking in at an incredibly short yet numerically satisfying 2 minutes 2 seconds, this French made film was the sweet little macaron of the session. Receiving recognition for its cinematography I’ll Make this Whole World Mine has a distinct aesthetic approach that everyone will enjoy. For those that love this world’s most beautiful cities this short film is a tasty treat.

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The Hardcore Obsession | Director: Nick Moore | Producer: Tony Walsh I must confess that I know nothing about ‘Hardcore’ music; I didn’t really know it existed outside of cliché ideas of tattoos and screamed lyrics- which actually seem to be mostly accurate. Did the film give me an insight in to the music and culture? No, not really. What it did do was something a little different. It grounded the culture and it made it personal. I still know nothing about ‘Hardcore music’, but that’s no problem, I’ll just stick to The Beatles for now.

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A Day at the Pool | Director/Producer Ian Douglass & Eric Fulford This documentary was hilarious. Can I stop there? No? OK, I continue. Apparently shedding new light on Stacy Peralta’s Dog Town and Z-Boys the film looks at skateboarding in pools in the 70s. Oh, and for one kid there is still water in the pool. If that hasn’t got you interested then I can only refer you to the continuous laughter that the film induced into its Byron Bay audience. Even if you don’t like skateboarding just watch it. Check out the film’s Facebook page for updates on festival screenings around the world.

Come Hell or High Water | Director: Keith Malloy | Producer: Michael Pizzo Sometimes film, especially in a festival environment, surprises us. Film can reveal a small part of life, those things not discussed in twittering texts or office annuals. This is exactly what Come Hell or High Water does.

It’s about bodysurfing. Not surfing, not bodyboarding, but bodysurfing. There are probably some out there that the amazing acrobatic nature of the sport won’t come as a surprise, but they are the small few.

Perhaps it was a little long and perhaps it was repetitive at times. But that didn’t matter. The excitement of seeing this sport through new eyes and the sheer beauty of some of the underwater camerawork was easily enough to capture my attention. Oh, and the director Keith Malloy is good friends of Jack Johnson.

Now there is no reason not to watch it.

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