Storehouse - Issue 9

CENSORSHIP AT NUA

NUA STUDENT ARTWORK

ISSUE 9

Editor’s Letter

Before I was actually a student here, I remember picking up a copy of the very first issue of Storehouse. It was fucking terrifying. There I was, wearing the trendiest clothes nineteen year-old me’s wardrobe could muster (white trousers and a corduroy blazer, if I remember correctly) trying to blag my way through an interview for a course I knew basically nothing about. I probably assumed Storehouse was made solely to scare the bejeesus into nervous not-quite-freshers like myself, by showing how painfully trendy everyone at art school is, and how I was obviously not. There were lots of drawings of people with their willies out, and one of the adverts had a picture of Henry VIII wearing a t-shirt with a black and white photograph of some breasts on it. I still haven’t figured that one out, if I’m honest.

I’d like to think the fact that four and a half years later I’m the one running the Storehouse show proves I now know what I’m doing in life and that somewhere along the road I found my place at art university.

At any rate, being editor is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve done as a student. It goes to show that few things are really as intimidating as they first seem, although admittedly I don’t feel any trendier than I did then – I literally don’t even have a beard.

Storehouse has changed an awful lot since my simultaneous wardrobe and portfolio malfunction – there are unfortunately fewer bare penises, for one – but the core aim remains the same: show off the best of student work at NUA, providing a platform that attracts the attention of other students, industry professionals and potential clients. Just a page-flick away is a wealth of scrumptious visual treats for your eyeballs to consume.

I’m also keen to make the magazine a space for thought-provoking written content during my stint as editor. Storehouse should be an opportunity for students to promote discussion of any topics they feel are important, particularly if it affects their peers. Put succinctly: if you have something to say, we want to hear it. This issue’s feature on censorship at NUA shows Storehouse is an opportunity to hold the university to account when they make frustrating decisions, for one thing.

The release of our shiny new website is imminent, helping us to keep on Storehouse-ing it up the whole year round. We look forward to sinking our teeth into the video-journalistic potential an online platform presents. No matter your preferred medium there’s a space to show off your work at Storehouse.

I may be the person that gets to prattle on about myself at the front of the magazine, but this issue would have fallen flat on its bum without the enthusiasm and hard work of the whole of the Storehouse team; not to mention all of you who have supported us over the years by submitting your work, partying it up at our events, or just reading our humble mag. We salute all of you that have helped get us this far.

So without further delay, I present this ninth storehouse of work. We very much hope you enjoy it.

Alex Hort-Francis, Editor

ALEX HORT-FRANCIS

KADY WONG

EDITOR

DESIGN TEAM

MICHAEL GRIMSHAW

JIM CUTLER

ART DIRECTOR

DESIGN TEAM

ROSIE SCANLON-JONES

GAVIN SPOORS

HEAD OF INTERVIEW

HEAD OF VIDEOJOURNALISM

SARAH BLOME

JEANETTE KAREN

HEAD OF ONLINE

HEAD OF PHOTOJOURNALISM

FIONA MCDONNELL

KARL STANDLEY

HEAD OF SUBMISSIONS (ISSUE 9)

DESIGN TEAM

JAYNE BUSHELL

TOM RICHARDS

HEAD OF SUBMISSIONS

FORMER SU PRESIDENT

PHILIPPA NASH DESIGN TEAM

CONTACTS su.storehouse@nua.ac.uk storehouse.tumblr.com facebook.com/storehousemagazine twitter.com/storehousemag instagram.com/storehouseonline facebook.com/nuastudentsunion nuasu.org

STUDENT WORK 06 Kit Wong 07 Dani Baladachino 08 Nicole Hudson 09 George Sullivan 11 Polly Fern Sergeant 12 Ashleigh Berryman 14 William Black 17 Owen Bannister 22 Henry Jackson 23 Laurel Pettitt 24 John Pinnington 26 Jordan Cook 27 William Smith 28 Amber Stefani 30 Michael Maitland 32 Tim Wood, Sammy Ostrowski, Kady Wong & Ed Wright 33 Richard Wade 34 Josh Trett

36 37 38 39 44 46 48 53 55 56

Annabel Osborn Holly McGregor Charli Vince Hannah Watson Nathan Clarke Jeanette Karen & Gemma Marshall-Savage Jordan Clarry Alice Croft Laurence Denmark Ross Pearson

INTERVIEW 40 Suri Krishnamma FEATURE 18 Censorship at NUA 29 What the Hell is an Asexual?

50 Clubs & Societies 58 DSA Under Attack

CREDITS Cover Photography // Alex Kozobolis Logo Design // Aurora Steen Team Photos // Jeanette Karen Thanks to NUA Students’ Union © 2014 Storehouse Magazine All rights reserved

Kit Wong Architecture hoi-kit.wong@student.nua.ac.uk

Forgeries Forgery of a sectional perspective through Daniel Libeskind’s Edge of City competition proposal.

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Dani Baladachino

This is a macabre depiction of a story within the Brother’s Grimm’s fairytales named, The Juniper Tree. It illustrates the devastating moment when a little girl discovers and cradles the decapitated head of her beloved older brother who she mistakingly thought she murdered herself.

Illustration danibaldachinoillustration.tumblr.com

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Nicole Hudson Fine Art nicolehudson-art.tumblr.com

Whilst on a 5 month Erasmus study period in the Reunion Island, my work began to orientate around a sense of ‘lack of context’. Through the use of bright colours and abstract shapes, intervened with contrasting surroundings, the sculptural works became an autobiographical portrayal of myself (the artist) attempting to understand my own personal sense of awareness.

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The ability of full expression through spoken language lost, a dialogue between artist and environment was formed through a new sculptural language. Taken to selected locations around the island and later exhibited in a gallery space, these images record and tell the story of the performative action of introducing the conversation between a particular sculpture and the island.

GEORGE SULLIVAN Graphic Design sulli-design-blog.tumblr.com Just some good old photo manipulation and painting people black.

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Polly Fern

polly fern Sergeant

Illustration pollyfernsergeant@gmail.com

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Miniature British Birds Growing up in the Norfolk countryside means I am able to find inspiration round every corner. Birds have always been my greatest influence. My love for birds came from when I was a child; I would keep birds and nurture injured birds that found their way to my garden. I now keep canaries, which I have a close relationship with. They are always beside me whilst I am painting.

Ashleigh Berryman Photography

Imagination is a key part of my practice and I firmly believe in Albert Einstein’s philosophy that “Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” My use of still life photography and photo montage

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techniques aim to reinvent old family holiday photographs through the use of shared experiences in my series Portals and visual puns to explore themes of childlike adventure in The Life of Riley.

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William black

Illustration williamblackillustration.tumblr.com

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In general, I enjoy illustrating with traditional media, splashing around with paint and seeing what textures and outlines can come out of them. Nature, animals, history and dystopian science-fiction are my main inspirations but I am very curious and like to experiment.

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great food, top drinks marvellous music, smiley table service, tasty cakes, free wifi,

Tues - Thurs 10.00am - 12.00am Fri & Sat 10.00am - 2.30am (last entry 2.00am) Sunday 10.00am - 10.30pm Tuesday - Friday 10.00am-3.00pm & 6pm-10.00pm

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OWEN BANNISTER Illustration owenbannister.tumblr.com

This piece was created as part of a project on Greek Mythology.

My work often looks at the dark and the fantastic, trying to depict magical things in a modern way.

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Censorship at NUA

There’s a small, make-shift room in the degree show. “This argues that censorship “is not something that the university area contains the words **** and **** and a drawing of promotes or imposes on students”, but accounts from a ****”, reads a hand-written sign. “They’ve decided you students are to the contrary. To be told that your work have to be 18+ to enter.” Ben Keable, a graduating Graphic is unsuitable, to have it removed without your consent Communications student, explains how the cupboard-sized or moved so it has less of an impact is censorship. And it mini-gallery came about. “They have this weird public image happens at NUA. worry that they don’t want to “Censorship is denying offend anyone or look bad. choice. Not only to the artist, But obviously the cost of that To be told that your work is but also to the audience”, is me not being able to show argues Marcus Williams, unsuitable, to have it removed my work.” a former NUA technician without your consent or moved so it and sessional teacher. “The The degree show is an opportunity for graduating could have seen it has less of an impact is censorship. audience students to exhibit work and not been offended, but And it happens at NUA. from their final year at now that choice is being university, showing off their removed.” Marcus works at clever artiness to friends, family Stew, a Norwich exhibition and those fabled industry professionals alike. For one week space popular with NUA students. He is planning a special of the year NUA is completely rearranged, the studios and exhibition for students the university have censored. “I can workspaces previously packed with deadline-wary students understand that some work may be deemed offensive, or now displaying the very artwork they’ve been missing sleep shocking, or not suitable for every single member of the to get finished. It’s the culmination of three years being an public. But one of the purposes of art is to sometimes shock, art student. So to be told your work is too ‘rude’ to be on to sometimes offend, like it or not.” show is a difficult thing to hear.

Chris Beadle

“I’m pissed off with the entire thing as I’ve had a shit load of work removed, despite the fact that I had an ‘over 18s’ area specifically so I could show my work.” Ben Keable’s artwork sprouts from a bed of cynicism, swear words and explicit drawings subverting formally wholesome imagery. He satirizes Anthony Burrill’s Work Hard & Be Nice to People poster. “I changed it to ‘Just Don’t Be A Twat’. They removed that as well.”

In a statement from the university, Neil Powell, NUA’s pro vice-chancellor,

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It’s a point of view not shared by the university. Neil’s statement sums up their attitude: “our aim is to… ensure that, as far as possible, works are audience appropriate.” The university stresses that as the degree show is open to the public, it is also open to public audiences, “which comprise a wide range of users, including young children and vulnerable adults”. They claim that without moderating the content of degree shows in the way they do, the university or students could be vulnerable to legal action.

But by disallowing student worked deemed inappropriate, the university puts the wishes of visitors to the degree show above those of the actual students exhibiting.

Graphic Design student Chris Beadle tells of how he was told to cover his work - an advertising campaign to raise awareness of climate change by associating it with grisly acts of self-harm - as it could ‘scare or offend small children’. Chris’ posters certainly incorporate explicit imagery, but this is central to understanding his third year work. To censor this is to undermine his efforts as a student.

“I feel that, with all due respect to parents, if you are bringing a child to an art exhibition and they aren’t old enough to be exposed to those images then surely they aren’t old enough to actually appreciate the work for what it is”, he notes.

Katerina Artemiou

What does or does not fit within the definition of ‘audience appropriate’ seems to be a matter for the university to decide, with little input from students being recognized.

Photography student Katerina Artemiou was informed just days before the degree show began that her work had been moved without her consultation. “I got a call from one of my lecturers saying that the management team walked around all the exhibitions to approve the shows and decided that my work had to be moved to the back of the room.

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When I found out I was so angry and disappointed by any potential visitors, and Sam’s account suggests there the university - not only the fact that they moved it but is little place at NUA for work involving disabled people. the fact that nobody told me the reason it was moved.”

Even if a certain audience is uncomfortable with specific Without an explanation by the university, exactly what imagery that does not in itself mean said imagery should makes a posed male not-quite-nude inappropriate remains be removed, especially in such an emotive context. Sam’s unknown. Katerina’s photography explores the ways in photograph is a tender, frank portrayal of the personal which the male nude is perceived differently from the aftermath of warfare. It should be seen by everyone; the female nude, so the fact it caused such a stir amongst the notion that it should be censored so as not to cause university’s management could be seen as a testament to its offense is despicable. effectiveness. Confusingly, NUA’s vice-chancellor, John Last, “Art is just self-expression. It’s communication”, says told Katerina that she should be proud of her work, despite Marcus. The university may claim the degree shows the university attempting to minimize its presence in the at NUA have gone from strength to degree show. When Katerina threatened strength over the past decade, but to withdraw her work in protest her no good can come from penalising It’s a tender, frank tutors were apologetic, but conceded those who try to be controversial. Only that ultimately they did not have the portrayal of the a watered-down representation of power to query the decision. student expression can be realised while personal aftermath of “It comes down to the choices and NUA censors student work. Marcus warfare. It should be quotes George Bernard Shaw, “‘the first decisions of individuals within the university”, says Marcus. “There is no of progress is the removal seen by everyone; the condition criteria for censorship, there’s nothing of censorship.’ Censorship to me is written down at all. If tutors disagree notion that it should powered by ego and vanity. It’s bad for with the censorship it jeopardizes their the artist, it’s bad for the institution, and be censored so as not it’s bad for society in general.” The role job. The whole faculty, students to staff, should be up in arms about censorship. I of artists is to comment on the world to cause offense don’t think ‘people might find it offensive’ around them, and if that commentary is despicable. is a good enough reason. I want more.” is unpalatable it is likely especially important it is said. To undermine this is Actions by the university undermine to betray not just students but the very even this justification of ‘avoiding offense’, however. Sam Fry, forms of art we practice. another graduating Photography student, was told to remove a photograph of a nude disabled armed forces veteran As the students who exhibited in the degree show because of its ‘graphic content’. “To know that it was asked graduate and move on, they lose the ability to challenge to be removed because of its content, that made me feel as the decision-makers from within the university. But if I wasn’t able to express myself, regardless of my being those of us still working towards our degrees’ conclusion part of an art university. I found it contradictory; they couldn’t should remember that our degree shows – and any other establish a justifiable reason.” The only explanation given exhibitions we take part in at NUA - are foremost for was that it ‘wasn’t as strong as her other work’, something the benefit of all the students exhibiting, not that of the she herself disagrees with. In the supposedly offending university itself or any members of the public that may photograph the amputee subject is visible only from behind, wander through. the only conceivably graphic content being his disability. That the university is uncomfortable exhibiting work featuring WORDS disabled people is a troubling conclusion. If avoiding offense is their aim then here they have failed: such actions are surely much more offensive to those with disabilities than to

Rosie scanlon-jones

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Sam Fry

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Henry Jackson

These images are from a series of wrapping paper handbags. I am a fashion and still life photographer who simply wishes to take striking photographs. I’m driven by the aesthetic appeal of imagery, focusing on colour, scale and beauty.

Photography henry-j.co.uk

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laurel PETTITT Illustration lolrel.tumblr.com

These plate mono-prints are from BA6, where I studied Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition and focused on illustrating the crew and the landscape that they explored.

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Although these pieces are quite dark, I always want to create an atmosphere of fun in my work, either through experimenting with new mediums or having humour within images. I also like to make work that is minimal and meaningful that people can connect with.

jOHN pINNINGTON Photography johnpinningtonphotography@gmail.com The concept is that I am isolated from other people in my mind. The images represent the feeling of being vulnerably isolated. I am almost bare, have been stripped down to my underwear. I am free from physical pain yet I ache inside.

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Isolation Seclusion overwhelms, free (from physical pain); I ache.

Entombed in toil, no shadow I cast, hollow, in this cavernous void, I reach, yet I fall, still.

Frozen, as life itself mocks, my soul, I surrender to the earth, consumed, vulnerable, nature looms, black, enveloping my very existence, my body almost bare, my lights dim, yet my eyes glare, as the waves of my torment crash against my being; I surrender once more to my self-

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Jordan Cook Illustration on.fb.me/1lYXCrH

The course so far has influenced me to consider architecture in my work, enabling me to incorporate portraiture with urban surroundings found around Norwich.

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WillIAM Smith Animation will_la_smith@hotmail.com

The animation is about a man who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is struggling to keep a grasp on the present. He is haunted by the memories of his past. It is animated with digital painting and watercolour. Sound was done by myself or found from audio websites.

My work in general is centred around 2D animation or live action filming. I take a great deal of influence from film, especially methods of storytelling present in old or indie films. I hope to do the same in the future; for now I am just focused on creating an engaging story through animation.

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amber stefani Textiles amberstefani.com

My Amberlights are table lights based around stained glass windows, influenced by geometric and Islamic patterns. They are powered by LED lights and made from walnut and plywood, coloured in acrylic. The lights are designed for interior use, although I would like to push the concept to work outdoors in the future.

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what the hell is an asexual?

The word ‘asexual’ is one that most people have little contact with outside of a school science classroom.

Mentioning the term normally conjures images of single-cell reproduction inside the heads of the uninitiated.

I’m an asexual, although unfortunately I can’t reproduce via budding or mitosis. Which is a shame, I suppose; I could probably get my degree done much quicker if I had the ability to clone myself.

you don’t is terrifying, but the world makes a lot more sense afterwards.

Asexuality is both incredibly easy to define and incredibly difficult. If I were to give a dictionary-worthy definition of what asexuality actually is, I’d say, “asexuality is a sexual orientation characterised by a lack of sexual attraction”. Which is of course meaningless if you don’t already have a solid understanding on what ‘sexual attraction’ is in the first place. As far as I’ve been able to determine, sexual attraction is an unmistakable feeling the majority of humans experience that makes them want to jump on other humans and rub their genitals together. It’s something innate and hard to describe, like feeling hungry or needing the loo. And it’s something that the majority of people couldn’t even imagine living without, so deeply ingrained is it to their experience of being a human. Hence the confusion when somebody like myself pipes up to say that “actually I’ve never experienced that, and probably never will. Sorry.”

Suddenly discovering 99% of the human race experience something you don’t is terrifying, but the world makes a lot more sense afterwards.

Coming to the conclusion that I’m asexual was a difficult process, largely comprising googling awkward questions and asking my friends even more awkward ones. Being 100% sure you don’t experience something is certainly a challenge, but the more I read and heard people describing an instinctive urge to have sex, the more lost I felt. Suddenly discovering 99% of the human race experience something

I say the majority of people, as apparently around 1% of us may well be asexual. That may not sound like very many, but once you think about how many people there are pratting about on planet Earth it starts to add up. There must logically be 18 asexuals hiding at NUA alone, and probably a few of you reading this article.

Asexual awareness is growing but most people still haven’t heard the word before, let alone encountered the concept. Asexuality is sometimes referred to as the ‘invisible identity’, as many asexuals may not even recognise this part of them. An awful lot of asexual people see themselves as ‘straight but not very good at it’; that’s certainly what I always assumed before I stumbled on the term online. The way orientation – sexual or otherwise – is talked about isn’t ideal: not everyone fits perfectly into the straight, gay or bisexual categories we’ve come to accept.

Although asexual people don’t face the kind of abuse other identities like gay or transgender people do, that doesn’t mean it’s plain sailing either. One of the most hurt-tastic things that can happen is when people refuse to recognise asexuality as an identity.

A lot of people just can’t fathom the idea of living without the urge for sex

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and can unintentionally delegitimise asexuality in their incredulity. Although orientations do sometimes change, telling an asexual ‘everyone wants sex, maybe you’re just ill’ is never a nice thing to hear, especially from a friend or loved one. For asexuals coming out is notoriously difficult, in the sense that it’s an uphill battle to get most people to understand the concept of asexuality long enough to believe it might exist.

Some asexuals do like sex, and it’s important to remember that behaviour is not indicative of orientation. Just because you don’t feel sexually attracted to another person, doesn’t in itself mean you’re averse to having sex. Asexuals often still date or start families too, with other asexuals or people that aren’t – although if one person is much more interested in sex than the other there can be understandable tension in a relationship. It’s also important to make the distinction between asexuality and celibacy; celibacy is by definition a refrainment from temptation, whereas asexuals don’t have any temptation to refrain from in the first place.

Awareness of asexuality has been growing considerably over the last few years, in large part down to the internet’s ability to unite individuals with a shared point of view from across the world. For anyone interested in finding out more about asexuality - or if you reckon you might be one yourself - the best place to look at first is the ‘Asexual Visibility and Education Network’ (AVEN for short) at asexuality.org WORDS

AleX Hort-Francis

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MICHAEL MAITLAND MA Moving Image & Sound michaelmaitland@hotmail.co.uk

I have started designing a story which I hope to make into either a graphic novel or series of short animations.

This piece was me just experimenting with combining sound with illustration.

I will be continuing with this work over the next year.

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TIM WOOD

Sammy Ostrowski

Graphic Design timmadethat.com

Graphic Design facebook.com/ sammyostrowskigraphics

Kady WOng

ed wright

Graphic Design behance.net/ytkwong_711

Graphic design

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Our brief was to create a name, packaging and advertising for a brand of matcha iced tea to be sold in health clubs and gyms as a healthy energy boost aimed at young professionals. The name we chose (Eis) is taken from the Monk Eisai who discovered matcha green tea in 1191, and our design focuses on the refreshing mental clarity provided by the drink. We opted for a vibrant and appealing colour scheme that hinted at the flavour in each bottle, but would stand out on shelf against competing brands such as Red Bull and Vita Coco.

RICHARD WADE MA Fine Art richardwadeartist.co.uk

These are part of a series in which I was investigating ideas relating to neo-romanticism and heterotopias.

I created imaginary landscapes from multiple found images that I collaged together.

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Josh Trett Film & Moving Image Production josh@trettfilms.com

This is a final year piece which is a short film inspired by a true story.

It follows Coburn, a solider who has recently returned home from Kuwait.

He soon struggles to adjust to his home life and toys with the idea of returning to war.

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As film is generally considered an expensive medium I like to try and recreate a high budget look that is typically associated with mainstream pictures. I try not to produce films of one particular genre and try to produce work that I would like to watch.

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Annabel osborn Illustration annabelosborn.co.uk

The wallpaper design brings together a collection of characters from a mix of tales and the patterns are in response to three individual tales, using African culture as a basis for my imagery.

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Holly mcgregor Games Art & Design minime101@btinternet.com

Okiku (the robot) is the result of my work for BA6, which was a specialization in 2D Concept Art. I took a Japanese folk tale and threw it forward into the future.

She is a combination of a trainee geisha and a manufactured fighting machine.

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Charli Vince

Illustration charlivince.com

The Ugly Bestiary formed my final project to conclude my Illustration degree at NUA. It brought together my love for conservation and scientific illustration in a format which was both outside my comfort zone and effective in it’s purpose to challenge preconceptions about certain species of animal.

and false pretences which will effect any future attempts at raising awareness of, or protecting, these animals.

“All animals featured in this bestiary are either critically endangered, endangered or barely known about.

They get ignored my popular media and even large conservation groups because the species in question fails to meet the necessary quota of either being cute or generically beautiful.

This imbalance of the distribution of funding and publicity is causing great damage to not only the remaining population of these beasts but also leaving behind negative connotations

These connotations and the vast amount of attention given to the visual appeal of most things in life, as well as just the animal world, is an ever growing problem with society, a problem this bestiary aims to address by showing you, the reader, how beautiful and important each creature is when you strip away their outer shell and look at them only as living beings rather than cute or ugly.”

I’m now taking the experience of creating the bestiary into my current work, continuing the focus on scientific illustration and always on the look for any way to aid conservation efforts with my own personal practice. I have also

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been able to take the knowledge I have gained about the anatomical structures and functions of certain animals and apply them to more narrative driven projects. With children’s books and other childfriendly illustration often playing a role in my current practice, I’ve been able to create illustrations of animals which maintain the correct anatomy and any key elements of their structure while still skewing and changing the aesthetic to suit its audience.

Overall, I love my Ugly Bestiary and really enjoyed watching the reactions and responses to the work from people who had preconceptions about unattractive animals. I hope I’ve managed to change a few minds about how to prioritise species!

Fear Less

Anxiety awareness exhibition

Science Museum | Exhibition Road South Kensington | London | SW7 2DD

16 April – 22 June 2014 10am – 6pm

HANNAH WATSON

Graphic Communication info@hannahwatson.net

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This interactive piece of design was produced to promote an exhibition to raise anxiety awareness. It was showcased at the D&AD award show in London and won an award for best in show.

“Good, that’s whAT YOU’RE MEANT TO FEEL” AN INTerview with a director-writer (in that order)

Suri Krishnamma has an impressive portfolio of work, spanning multiple genres and thirty or so years in the film and television industry. Currently a tutor on the Film & Moving Image Production course, he’s also NUA’s newest professor. “I like having ‘prof’ by my name. It means students might take me a bit more seriously”, he chuckles.

I was twelve years old. We were very isolated as a result of that - we were already to some extent outsiders because of my mixed parentage. There’s no question that informed my first venture into film making: a short film called Departure, about a man coming out of prison after a long sentence and reuniting with his son. It also had a profound effect on the subject matter and characters I found myself instinctively drawn to. They were always versions of what I’d call ‘the outsider’. ‘Outsider’ is not necessarily a negative term. You can be isolated, feel vulnerable, alone and miserable as an outsider, but you can try to enjoy it, too. As a man you can wear makeup and nail varnish and have feathers in your hair and be an outsider and enjoy it. Or you can be an outsider through no choice of your own. I made a film as a student called Mohammed’s Daughter, about a Pakistani man in a mental health facility on the south coast of England. No-one can properly communicate with him. He is an outsider not by choice, but just by where he found himself and because of his mental health issues.

Despite finding himself ‘buried in a writing commission and not coming up for air too often’, Suri is enthusiastic to answer my questions. His straightforward, sincere manner is uncharacteristic of someone with such a long list of awards to his name.

Rain lashes against the conservatory roof of his mother’s house, giving the interview a cosy vibe. Suri shows me photographs of his family and paintings by his mother as we talk.

I found myself instinctively drawn to characters I’d call ‘the outsider’.

Your most recent film, Dark Tourist, continues with the theme of ‘the outsider’. It stands out from your other work as particularly macabre and psychological.

How did you find dealing with material so intense?

It was a departure from the safer, more conventional, less challenging dramas that I’ve previously made. I made a conscious decision to move away from that and explore areas I knew interested and excited me, but had not properly explored: in a nutshell, the dark side of our beings and of our minds. To try and understand the behaviour of a monster. I think it’s easy to condemn but it’s much more difficult to empathise and try to find what made these people the way they are. Are we in some way responsible for their creation? My answer is ‘we absolutely are’. Dark Tourist is the story about a man who is a monster, but it’s also about understanding how that monster was created and to what extent we helped create and encourage it as a society.

What experiences influence your filmmaking work?

Did your upbringing have an effect?

I come from a very creative family, particularly on my mother’s side - she’s a terrific artist and also a great singer. I was born and brought up on the Isle of Wight.

My mother’s from Yorkshire, my father’s from India. I had a very colourful childhood; my parents were heavily involved in the organisation of the Isle of Wight pop festivals in 1969 and 1970.

So I grew up in a very bohemian world. That world was slightly torn apart when my father when to prison when

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Through our fascination in the lurid, sensationalist details of crime we elevate these monsters to hero status. You get second by second accounts of the shooting in a university in America, the tsunami in Asia, the horrors of the bombings in Gaza. The news gets ever more interested in the gory details. You can’t remove yourself from any responsibility from the escalation and growth of these dark, psychopathic characters and feelings. My motivation wasn’t to do a gory blood and guts slasher film about a serial killer, it was to turn the mirror onto the viewer and ask ‘how much of this are you responsible for?’ It was a big departure from my other stuff, and probably not one that I’m going to continue, because I feel like I’ve done that now.

it’s a two hour journey and I find that’s about the right size of time before I need a break. I think you need to approach writing like a job. I find it’s very important to leave the house at a certain time. It’s easy to wake up and switch on the laptop while you’re in bed. I’m sure there are some writers who can do that, but I definitely recommend you treat it like a job.

When I was a student we tended to use analogue film stock and it cost quite a lot of money. But today everybody has access to some kind of camera, even if it’s just an iPhone.

How did you come to direct Dark Tourist?

Woody Allen once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” I often use that in quotes and interviews because it is so true. The thing that you think you’re going to do next is never the thing that you are going to do next. You spend a lot of time developing a particular project and suddenly the phone rings and someone says “I’ve got a script on its way, please read it”, and then you’re on a plane to wherever it is they want to make the film. I was sent the script by my manager, read it overnight and thought it was quite horrible at first. I wanted to have a conversation with the writer, Frank John Hughes, to find out whether he wanted to make a straight-to-video slasher movie or if he wanted to make something a little more interesting. We talked for three hours the following morning, and I quickly realised his intentions were exactly the same as I had hoped. I asked him what the film is about, and the word he used was ‘intimacy’. He explained it’s about a man who is searching for intimacy, can’t find it, and when he does find it he finds it so difficult and painful that he has to destroy it because of the monster that he is. I found that explanation very compelling. Here is an opportunity to take on a subject that not everybody will get, and will make some people very uncomfortable. Some of my good friends said that they felt like they had been kicked in the stomach.

“Good! That’s what you’re meant to feel.”

What did you think about the Film & Moving Image work in this year’s degree show?

I’m very, very proud of all the students. I work mainly with the third years, so a lot of that work I’ve been with since the very beginning, seen it develop and grow, and mature to become what it is now. It’s incredibly rewarding. I’m particularly pleased there is such diversity in this year’s crop. The students who spent the most time developing their ideas, who were prepared to take on board criticism and comments and respond to that, have done very well.

What are your thoughts on the nature of the film and television industry? How hard do you think it is to break into it from university?

I think the industry is far less competitive today than it was when I was starting out. When I was a student we tended to use analogue film stock and it cost quite a lot of money. But today everybody has access to some kind of camera, even if it’s just an iPhone. To actually get a film made shouldn’t be that difficult. Of course you need some resources, but at the end of the day it doesn’t cost any more to write a good script compared to a bad one. That’s where it starts: a film will work or not work mostly because the script does or doesn’t work.

What is your process when it comes to writing? Do you have particular habits?

I call myself a ‘director-writer’ rather than a ‘writer-director’, because I direct every project I do. Writing is a relatively recent venture for me but now I write all the time. In fact, all my future projects are ones I have solely written or collaborated with other writers on.

What do you think about unpaid placements and internships within the film and television industry?

I write in the British Library in London. It’s my second home.

It’s my favourite building in the world. I can’t find a place as inspiring as that to work in and I don’t think I ever will. I do write everywhere, I write wherever I can. You can do that with today’s technology. I write on the train to Norwich -

I don’t really agree with any unpaid work, to be honest. I think if you want someone to do a job for you, you should pay them. However, you have to also react to the reality of

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watched by the whole of the swimming pool now filled up with people, sitting with a fist under my chin gazing at two fully clothed people on my bed, a man on his back and a woman on top of him from behind - their position didn’t make any sense. I quietly said to them “actually do you think we should close the curtains?” And they both realised and collapsed in fits of laughter. Sometimes the fictional world you’re absorbed in gets ‘exposed’ by the real world.

the world around you and get that first foot on the ladder. If an unpaid opportunity comes along, what do you do? I think it’s really difficult. I wouldn’t want to think that students only have that option; I wouldn’t want to feel that employers rely on them to get cheap or ‘slave’ labour. But then on the other hand, maybe those opportunities wouldn’t be there if they weren’t unpaid, so it’s a catch-22. If it were me, personally, or if I were advising my students, I would take those opportunities, because as soon as you get your foot in the door it’s an opportunity to impress. From an unpaid position you can be rapidly propelled into something more interesting and lucrative if you have the right character and talent. I certainly don’t celebrate the fact unpaid work exists.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Right now I’m writing an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V, reimagined in the modern world where the battle between England and France takes place in the English Channel.

I’ll be directing that at some point. I’m also developing and will be shooting a film called Lions, Tigers and Bears, which is the story of the day Mark Duggan was shot dead in Tottenham. It’s the story of the day in the life of five people who became entangled in that single event. And there are about four or five other projects. Most likely the one I’ll do next is something I don’t know about yet and will just fall out of the air.

You must have some amusing stories from the industy?

When making a film you enter a surreal space. At least for a short period of time the real world gets suspended. If you’re discussing dialogue with actors on a street and a member of the public walks past you often comment ‘oh look, there’s a real person’. You tend to enter into a very odd, secret, fictional world. When that and the real world collide it can be quite interesting. I was in Los Angeles, rehearsing in my hotel room for a very explicit, sexual scene in Dark Tourist with two of the cast. There’s one point where Michael Cudlitz is lying down on the bed and Suzanne Quast is behind him. I went to the corner of the room where the camera would be. I turned to the window and realised I’d forgotten to close the curtains. I’m potentially being

surikrishnamma.net INTERVIEW

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ILLUSTRATION

Fiona McDonnelL

Nathan Clarke Animation nathanhanzclarke.co.uk

These stills are from a music video for the song ‘Max Waechter’ by Birmingham noise rock band Them Wolves.

Inspired by Fight Club and Sin City, the animation - produced in After Effects creates a 2.5D slow motion effect from still photographs. Two male fighters battle for the superior alpha position in an underground environment, with a metaphorical visual transformation into wolves.

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My work specialises in digital 2D animation. Projects I undertake vary; I have created professional typographical adverts and uniquely creative music videos for clients, to date. I am ambitiously developing animations for innovative motion artwork to perform in art exhibitions, and creative music videos.

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JEANETTE KAREN Photography jeanettekaren.co.uk

TRACE This is the shoot for Gemma MarshallSavage’s graduate collection. The aim of the shoot was not only to showcase her beautiful collection but also document some of the ideas that went into its creation.

gemma marshallsavage

We were inspired by the process of renovating her house and the idea of how, over time, we only leave the slightest traces of our existence behind. We wanted to create images with a sense of delicacy, while still showcasing the structure and craft of the pieces and the intricacy of the textures and prints used.

Fashion gemmamarshallsavage.com

Assistants

TAYA RAE-FULLER & NIKKALA ADES Model

KIRsten Bicker 47

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jordan clarry Games Art & Design jordanclarry@hotmail.com

This gothic castle is from a recent university project. Light floods in from behind the mountains in this fantasy environment.

The assets were created in Maya and textures in Photoshop and CrazyBump. The scene was put together in the Unreal Engine.

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NUA clubs & societies The aim of the Drawing Society is to rendezvous once a week and sketch either at a scenic location around the city or, on rainy days, practice life drawing indoors. We encourage a range of styles and subject matter from architecture to portraiture and warmly welcome students from all courses to take part in our activities. For those new to Norwich, our outings are a great way to explore and discover new areas of town.

Football is both a physical and social sport and NUA Football Club gives both male and female students the opportunity to get fit whilst having fun.

Battle it out in the league and learn new skills at one of our training sessions. bit.ly/nuafootballclub At the Drama Society we love improvisation and creativity, regardless of acting skill! The Drama Society is a friendly place to have a bit of a laugh and improve your confidence with speaking or performing in front of people, or just to come along and play some fun drama-based games.

facebook.com/groups/outdrawsociety Students are invited to explore their faith and hang out with like-minded people at NUA Christian Union, run

by Chaplain Martin Young. With regular meetings, you will be able to converse, share and create a network both inside and outside of university.

facebook.com/groups/nuadrama

bit.ly/nuachristianunion NUA Comic Society gets together every Wednesday lunchtime. Our meetings are full of fun comic-making activities and are where members can discuss and swap their favourite comics with each other. Every year we make a themed anthology of comics together, as well as a group trip to a convention. If you love comics then, hey, join the club!

The Enterprise Society is a great platform for networking with students, graduates and visiting speakers. Whether you are interested in becoming freelance, self-employed or starting your own business, we can provide you with the knowledge, skills and tools to feel confident in doing so! With the help of professionals your ideas can develop and flourish.

bit.ly/nuacomicsoc

facebook.com/groups/nucaenterprisesociety NUA Games Society is for students who love gaming in all its forms, from tabletop to video games. We run games-themed events for the benefit of NUA students, such as pub quizzes and competitive tournaments.

Games Soc isn't just for games-art students, everyone at the university is welcome to get involved. If you have an idea for a gaming-related event get in touch!

Do you have a passion for architecture and design?

The Architecture Society is open to all, whether you are an architecture student or not. Develop your knowledge by exploring new realms of architecture. With regular meetings and discussions held by architecture students, the society acts as a great platform for cross-course collaboration and development.

facebook.com/groups/nuagamessoc

bit.ly/nuaarchitecturesoc

For all the music lovers at NUA! The Music Society is open to anyone and everyone who has a passion for music, whether it be listening to it or playing it. We have been hosting regular open mic nights over the past year and hope to continue these, with many more events to come!

The LGBT+ Society holds social events (like bowling, clubbing and general meetings) to enable LGBT+ NUA students to meet each other in a friendly environment, as well as offer support. The society aims to introduce students to the ‘gay scene’ of Norwich, and encourage students to get involved with LGBT+ issues politically.

facebook.com/groups/nuamusicsociety

bit.ly/nualgbt

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new for 2014 NUA Feminist Society provides a safe and supportive environment for students of all genders interested in discussing feminist issues. FemmeSoc is also a place for like-minded students to socialize and network with a variety of exciting activities, as well as the opportunity to connect with other local feminist groups. All NUA students interested in feminism are welcome to get involved, no matter how much knowledge you already have!

The NUA Manga and Anime club is a brand new friendly and supportive group full of people interested in Japanese culture. Whether you are a hard-core fan and already have a large amount of nerdy knowledge on the subject, or your interest has just peaked and you are ready to discover the beautiful and bizarre world of Anime/Manga, you will be welcome here! Our club provides a mixture of growing activities for members to enjoy in an informal and relaxed environment, which is not just based around the quirky art style Japan is known for but also Japanese culture itself. Club activities include anime viewing and discussions, quiz nights, cosplay, manga reading, convention trips, group meet-ups and much more as the club continues to progress.

facebook.com/groups/nuafemmesoc NUA Animation Society is for students with a passion for animation, storytelling, design and concept art. With regular group meetings and set briefs, we welcome novices and professionals alike to meet like-minded people and make new friends.

bit.ly/nuamangaanime NUA Photography Society is for students from all courses who love photography! You don’t have to be a pro at taking photos to get involved, all NUA students are welcome no matter your photographic expertise!

We’ll be offering a range of fun activities: competitions, challenges, pub crits, opportunities to collaborate, and more. We also want to help provide access to darkroom facilities for NUA students interested in analogue photography.

facebook.com/groups/thenuaanimationsociety

START YOUR OWN CLUB OR SOCIETY If you have a smashing idea for a club or society the Students’ Union can help you set it up! The process couldn’t be simpler, just email Activities Officer, Jess Nash at su.activities@nua.ac.uk,or pop into the SU office on the ground floor of Duke Street to find out how.

facebook.com/groups/nuaphotosoc

Storehouse is a society, too! There’s no special procedure for getting involved, all students are welcome to turn up to our weekly meetings. Details can be found online at bit. ly/storehousemeetinginfo. Alternatively, you can send us an email at su.storehouse@nua.ac.uk, or message us at facebook.com/storehousemagazine Student creative work is welcome all year round and we want to showcase as varied a range as possible. To find out more about submitting your work to feature in Storehouse, either in print or online, go to bit.ly/storehousesubmissionguidelines Stay up to date with everything Storehouse by following @storehousemag on Twitter, our Tumblr at storehouse.tumblr.com, and Instagram at instagram.com/storehouseonline

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COMING AUTUMN 2014

ALICE CROFT

This infographic poster was created to convey information that I have gathered about student budgeting.

Graphic Design

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Laurence Denmark Graphic Design laurencepeterdenmark@googlemail.com

Our project brief was on the theme of packaging. I worked with the idea of packing something that wasn't normally packaged. Emotion seemed the obvious direction as it is something everybody can readily recognise and relate to. The shapes and forms I have created reflect the

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emotion. Anger was an obvious choice as it has clear imagery associated with it – red and spiky. Depression and joy were created together as opposites. These are humorous pieces casually describing, in a formal way, the features of each emotion as if they were estranged to us.

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Ross Pearson Film & Moving Image Production rosshoogle@hotmail.co.uk

I like to paint digitally because the paint is unlimited and free. A benefit of it being virtual is that if a stray cat were to enter your room it could not nibble on the paint and consume the toxic chemicals. This is why none of the major impressionist painters were successful in keeping cats. I’m not a good drawer or a painter, so

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I have never been able to put the images in my head to paper but since I started digital painting I’ve been able to finally create what I’ve seen in my head. Though considering most of my images are pretty stupid I’m not sure if this is a positive step forward in human evolution.

dsa

under attack Former SU President Tom Richards breaks apart the government’s arguments and argues why students should be concerned about plans to axe the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

The last few years have not been particularly easy for students in the UK. The government’s tripling of tuition fees has turned higher education into a marketplace - one where the shiniest, best-smelling brands thrive. The idea of university for educational, social and personal development alone is becoming a thing of history. Students are meat in an employability grinder, no longer inspired to shape industry but to fit neatly inside of it. These kicks to the teeth are felt by almost all of us, but one of the government’s most regressive, sneaky and short-sighted plays in the austerity game is one you probably won’t have heard about.

reliant on DSA. Suggesting higher education institutions should “play their role in supporting students with mild difficulties”, will leave universities to cover the costs of specialist learning requirements themselves, something that without help from the government they will likely be unable to do. Willetts’ “Mild difficulties” most probably refers to students with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. It is these students who will be first affected if the cuts take place, with DSA now only funding the “most complex” needs. Specific learning difficulties “affect the way information is learned and processed ... and occur independently of intelligence”, according to the British Dyslexia Association.

The removal of tools needed to assist learning could therefore affect the outcome of a student’s degree mark, irrespective of talent, intelligence or determination.

The argument that DSA is too expensive for the government to maintain falls flat.

Students can experience a range of disabilities that affect them at university: physical difficulty and pain on a daily basis; mental health problems; or, most commonly, learning difficulties that make it harder to study within traditional teaching techniques. To add to this is the social stigma that often surrounds being disabled. Quite rightly, universities receive government financial support to cover the cost of disabled students’ additional needs.

This ‘Disabled Students’ Allowance’ (DSA) may be spent on dyslexia tutors, note takers, dictaphones, specialist software and equipment to run it, or additional travel costs incurred as a result of a disability. The government is currently solidifying its plans to drastically cut DSA by an estimated 70%, leaving over 60,000 UK students who currently claim it with a very challenging journey ahead.

In his statement, Willetts implies that DSA expenditure is spiralling out of control, quoting intentionally misleading figures. While he is eager to show that the cost of DSA rose from £91.7 million supporting 40,600 full-time students in the 2008/09 academic year, to £125 million for 53,000 students in 2011/12, he ignores the fact that the cost actually fell by nearly £6 million in 2012/13. Once part-time and post-graduate learners are taken into account, the fall in cost is over £8 million, with only around a thousand extra students receiving the allowance. The average expenditure per student was the same in 2012/13 as it was 8 years previously. The argument that the Disabled Students’ Allowance is too expensive for the government to maintain falls flat.

David Willets, minister for universities and science, as well as the mastermind behind the proposed cuts, outlines his motive for this ‘modernisation’ in a short ministerial statement. In it he shows a complete disregard for students

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do have an effect on government decisions. At the time of this writing the government has already announced it will postpone the cuts to DSA by a year until 2016.

What’s more, Willetts’ comment that higher education institutions “...are better placed to consider how to respond [to disabled students’ needs] in many cases, including giving greater consideration to the delivery of their courses and how to provide support” is yet another riddle, masking his intention to remove as much funding to higher education as possible. Small and specialist institutions, especially those that have a creative focus like NUA, typically have a higher percentage of disabled students and they will be the hardest hit. If DSA funding is cut it will give these universities limited options: attempting to cover a lack of government funding themselves would likely be an unmanageable financial strain, but not doing so will make it harder for disabled students to complete their degree, as well as potentially discouraging future students with disabilities from applying to that university.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has more information online about what students can do to challenge the government’s plans, just head to bit.ly/nusdsacuts. Students can also contact NUA Students’ Union to find out about local campaign activity: you can email SU President Charlotte Reeve at su.president@nua.ac.uk, and keep up to date at facebook.com/nuastudentsunion.

Along with spreading the word online (#degreesofdiscrimination is already being used on Twitter to show student discontent) and writing to members of parliament to encourage them to oppose the cuts, it’s vital that we use our right to peaceful protest. In November a national demonstration is planned in London against tuition fees, student debt and cuts to education: go to facebook.com/nationalstudentdemo to find out more.

It’s vital we use our right to peaceful protest.

Although the situation seems pessimistic, it’s important to remember that government policy can always be challenged.

Student protests in Canada and Germany have led to the abolition of tuition fees, and this year the UK government reversed its intention to sell student loan debts to a private buyer, after an inspiring display of coordinated national activism. Campaigns, marches, petitions and occupations

WORDS

Tom Richards

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Want to see your work in the next issue of Storehouse, get involved in the team, or place an advert with us?

Contact us at su.storehouse@nua.ac.uk