Raw Ink Magazine – August 2013 by Raw Ink Magazine

MAGAZINE

.COM

ISSUE 23, AUGUST 2013

BRISBANE | GOLD COAST | TWEED COAST

---------------------------------------------------------------------------THE RAW INK TEAM

ROXY COPPEN

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

RUTH DUNN

Journalist ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

LIANA TURNER

Journalist and photographer liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------COVER GRAPHIC BY

ROXY COPPEN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine

Hello Readers, 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.

TWITTER www.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine

From,

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The Raw Ink Team xx

CONTENTS 4 12

‘Chit Chat Corner with Cherie Strong’ Ruth Dunn ‘BRIS BEST FEST’ Ruth Dunn

‘The Rumors were true: Fleetwood Mac Australian Tour 2013’ Sophie Burke

‘The Love Junkies’ Liana Turner

‘Aco Virtual – Paving The Way For New Art And Its Future’ Sara Parkinson

SPLENDOUR I

IN THE GRASS Liana turner

The last weekend of July was a blissful one. The days were sun-drenched and warm enough to forget it was the middle of Winter. While the nights were cooler, the communal body warmth of twenty-five thousand odd punters kept the worst of the chills away for the thirteen’s annual Splendour in the Grass. Now Splendour in the Grass has hit its teens, perhaps it was fate to experience a few hiccups – or perhaps it was the breaking-in of the event’s new home at North Byron Parklands. Either way, any setbacks seem to have been far outweighed by positives. After all, who’s going to complain about a marginally late bus if they still make it to see Empire of the Sun, Flume and Something For Kate? Some of the emerging acts with early sets may have missed out on massive morning crowds as a result of slightly sketchy public transport. That, or everyone was up late dancing to Mumford and Sons. The eve of the festival had festival-goers a little bit anxious as they set up camp in the rain, on already-muddy grounds. After the wettest July in eight years, there’s no surprise the grounds were squishy as a pig pen – particularly with the festival at capacity. It’s actually a bit of a miracle the clouds politely parted for the majority of the weekend. Meanwhile, the Forum tent held everything from comedy shows to a debate on the media’s trustworthiness. A collective of “Amish” actors showed little interest in the musical happenings as they munched on their lunch in a partly constructed farmhouse. A mock courthouse provided sufficient levels of giggle-worthy entertainment for punters tramping between stages, while the smell of food from every continent wafted across the grounds. It was difficult not to overeat between your favourite bands’ acts, with what could be described as a little bit 5

too much choice. What’s more suitable for dinner on a Friday night, poffertjes or Govinda’s? Both, obviously. Of course, let’s not be forgetting the musical perfection. This year’s lineup saw over eighty acts from Australia and abroad wow the packed fields of North Byron Parklands. Friday saw punters delight soak up the sounds of Boy and Bear, Mumford and Sons, and Dune Rats (complete with beach balls, much to the crowd’s delight). Daughter demonstrated how the perfect balance of cute accent and musical wizardry make mere mortals go wild, while Matt Corby was, well, Matt Corby. Luscious sounds and a face straight out of rustic-hipster heaven? We’ll take one to go, please. Saturday saw “Riptide” musician Vance Joy play to what he described as his “biggest crowd to date”, while Empire of the Sun gave the Suptertop crowd a stunningly theatrical performance. On a slightly heavier, yet deeply sentimental note, Something For Kate rocked out to their best material – classic and new. Frontman Paul Dempsey recalled the band having played the first ever Splendour in the Grass, before throwing in a spectacular cover of Florence Welsh and Calvin Harris’ collab “Sweet Nothing”. Perhaps Mr Dempsey wouldn’t be the first pick to tackle Florence’s divine voice – but gosh, it worked. Ms Mr wowed an

overflowing Mixup tent, while the visually and vocally gorgeous Sarah Blasko was more than enough reason to risk becoming stuck in the mud. The National later closed the main stage for the night – with a flood of adoration in response. Social media savvy festival-goers made it pretty clear their set was well worth braving the cold, muddy grounds late at night. Many fans were a little bit unhappy when Frank Ocean cancelled his Sunday appearance due to illness. While his fans felt pangs of disappointment, others were quite satiated by the compensational addition of seventeen-year-old Kiwi songstress Lorde. This meant Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men were shifted to the top position – which they more than lived up to. The revealing of the not-so-mysterious “mystery act” ALT J kept the love rolling in, while the likes of Snakadaktal, James Blake and You Am I kept the crowds more than happy. Some who missed out on tickets – or didn’t know what they’d be missing – may have spread whisperings that this was “just another music festival”. They couldn’t have been further from the truth. This year, Splendour said hello to another sphere of the creative realm with the introduction of Splendour in the Craft. The craft shed played host to delightfully creative opportunities to partake in joyous crafting workshops while getting some shade and some mud-free-respite. From zinemaking workshops with Frankie Magazine to rockstar coathangers with The Grates’ charming frontlady Patience Hodgson, it was a whirlwind of glitter, glue and pretty paper. Splendour in the Craft was arguably home to the festival’s cutest café, complete with redskin-choc-chip cookies and grannysquare laden couches. If that’s not cutesy enough for you, there was also a wedding near the campgrounds on Saturday. It seems Splendour is a place for true humanto-human love, not only the music kind. Splendour in the Grass co-producers Jessica Ducrou and Piticco expressed their gratitude for the abundant patience while they discovered all the hiccups with the festival’s new permanent home. After being moved from Byron Bay to Woodford, they say they are delighted to see their beloved event move into the new site – adding there will be notably fewer kinks next year. Perhaps most importantly, the two seem eternally grateful for the sheer number of people who were a part of making Splendour 2013 so big and so beautiful.

Gumboots G A lot could be said of this year’s Splendour fashion. From the eternal festival-relevance of flower garlands to the questionable popularity of onesies (in mud, really?). The sun-soaked weekend called for oodles of wide-brim hats and a few painful sunburns, but only one thing was universal. Gumboots. Everywhere. The official Splendour staple, these wonders kept toes dry and punters happy. With a crowd of 25 000 people, it was no huge surprise to see everything from the $10 hardware store gumboot to the $120 “designer wellies” (yeah, that’s a thing now). What’s the most exciting thing about this? It seems a mix of live music and way too much mud means your favourite gardening wellies suddenly go with every possible festival outfit. Sure, as the festival wrapped up, a mountain of muddy wellies formed outside the

festival’s main entrance. Perhaps the humble gumboot’s life cycle as acceptable weekend attire was destined to be short-lived, but aside from the stunning live sets and the festival’s gorgeous new home in North Byron Parklands, it was an undoubtedly iconic part of Splendour 2013.

Galore

chit chat corner with RENAE AWEN ruth dunn

Renae Awen is a Brisbane based artist with artistic flair, a passion for creativity and an active interest in street art. I caught up with Renae to discuss her motivations, street art and latest projects. Tell me a bit about your background. How did you first become interested in art? I’ve always been a very creative, artistic person who has needed many forms of artistic expression. I grew up in Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. As a child I spent a lot of time drawing, dancing, dressing up, climbing trees, exploring rain forests and living in a world born of my imagination. I used to create very elaborate make believe games for my friends to play, and I’d organise performances and plays with the neighbours children, then bring all the parents together to watch. I don’t experience art as an interest as such; it’s more a part of me that must have expression. It’s not a choice for me. Just like I didn’t get to choose my eye colour, I didn’t choose to be born an artist. I just am one; it’s a part of me. 19

How has this interest in art developed since that time? As well as my own art practice, I get so much enjoyment out of bringing people together in creative collaborations. I got to indulge this passion on the Sunshine Coast where I was involved in art and music events in varying forms. The Lost Movements collective has created many wonderful opportunities for me to be able to collaborate and be a part of an incredibly diverse artistic community here in Brisbane. It can be tricky juggling events with my own art practice, but doing both are equally important to me. Tell me about your street art practiceI love painting large! It feels like the most natural thing in the world to me. I also love abandoned buildings, the atmosphere in them, when they are filled with art, or being overgrown with vines and trees, seeing everything man made slowly returning to the earth. I think street art is a very generous and admirable form of art, because the art is a gift to the city from the artist. Whether it’s in an abandoned building for urbex explorers to discover, or a legal wall in the middle of the Valley, it’s all created as a gift from the artists to inspire others. I did my first street art piece in Brisbane only six months ago and now I’m painting pieces on walls as high as two stories. It’s been a really fast development; I can barely keep up with it myself. My love of urban art, street art and graffiti has always been a huge inspiration to my aesthetic but it was only through moving to Brisbane early this year that I have been able to develop my skills for the art form (with a lot of help from some very generous friends). Besides the pure enjoyment of creating this way, the strength and respect within the community and the power of the voice that street art has to inspire people and influence positive social change is also a massive inspiration to me. Collaboration with Steve Falco www.facebook.com/Procreativ Photos by Gutter Rat’s Media: www.facebook.com/gutterratsmedia

How does your street art compare to your gallery work? I haven›t actually displayed in an art galleries yet. Being self taught, I mostly create and show my work in non conventional ways. I am working on a collection of oil paintings for display at the end of 2014. But even those may not end up in a Gallery. The show may end up being more of a warehouse party/exhibition than a gallery showing. I have an interest in displaying in galleries, but I›m not in any rush to get there. What are the aims and motivations behind your artworks (both street and studio)? My aim is to inspire. To communicate emotion, stories and hopefully make people feel something when they view my art. That is

what the word Awen means, a moment of inspiration, or to be inspired by…My motivation comes from a feeling of responsibility to share my gifts with the world. If a person is given a talent, or talents, I think it›s really important for them to put their ego›s aside (both shyness or arrogance) and just share their work for others to enjoy. Can you tell me about the dichotomies in your work? There are quite a few that run through my work. Feminine softness and receptivity, combined with strength and determination. Painting pretty things in seemingly ugly places. Soft detailed shading with bold simplistic line work. Urban culture and tribal influences. I am essentially a very feminine person, but I love to do a lot of things that are typically more masculine in nature, like using aerosols and painting large scale. What is inspiring you at the moment? There is an emergence theme running through my work at the moment. Inspired by the amazing things that can happen when men and women, or different social groups stand side by side, as apposed to attempting to dominate or exploit each other. I am also pretty inspired by women who aren’t afraid to stand in their natural feminine power to lead and effect positive change in their communities. What recent creative projects have you been involved with? I recently coordinated a large scale street art project on the Alhambra Lounge wall down Coniston Lane which included artists that have been regular live painters at Lost Movements. The concept behind the design and how it was all brought together was an expression of diverse communities coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Still with a great respect for them, it doesn›t follow any traditional graffiti rules, or street art rules. There is no glory on that wall; everyone is featured on the wall as one piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle. David Don (who recently coordinated the Bris Best Fest Wall) helped me immensely with the project as I hadn›t done anything like it before. His pattern work lines the whole wall holding all the art together, which I feel is a poignant representation of his part in the project. What’s next on the agenda? Next on the agenda is painting more walls! And hopefully coordinating more street art projects for Brisbane, because this city needs it! My drawing skills have become refined enough to be able to design tattoo’s. (I’m taking requests if anyone is due for some new ink). I’m also painting at Red Deer festival with Minou Art in September which is pretty exciting. Doing all the things! I really love this city and its amazing art community, the opportunities to be involved in and create great things are really endless here. 24

Keep up with Renae on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AwenArt 25

GEMMA O’BRIEN

WAYNE THOMPSON

AURELIE MARON

NICOLE PHILLIPS

DOMINIQUE FALLA

BOBBY HAIQALSYAH

MATT VERGOTIS Set to be the biggest creative conference on the Gold Coast for 2013, Typism is the brainchild of ‘tactile typographer’ and Griffith University lecturer Dominique Falla. The conference will see seven of Australia’s best typographers, type designers, calligraphers and logo designers coming together to talk about their work the conference. With the first ever conference in just a couple of short weeks, Dominique has found some of the biggest names in type from Australia, and these speakers have been recognised on a global level for their work. The conference is aimed for design students and professionals alike, but as Dominique pointed out “if you can read and write, you already have an appreciation of the written word” and so is open to anyone. Typism is the first typographic conference ever for Australia, and we are lucky enough to have it for us right here on the Gold Coast. TYPISM – SEPTEMBER 4TH – www.typism.com.au

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