Issue six
Issue six
Issue six
Issue six
Issue six
Issue six
dreams
Issue six contributors:
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Clare Longley
Claudia Mancini
Ella Bunker
Jamie Parsons
Jordan Jeffery
Madison Pawle
Matilda Chaney
Matthew Siddall
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Welcome to the Twilight Zone a.k.a STYLO ISSUE SIX BAY-BAY. DREAMS. Mysterious, intriguing and often very sexy. Just like this issue: what a coincidence. Before we begin, I would like to personally thank all contributors past and present for their help. STYLO would not be here if it weren’t for all the individuals out there who have shown their interest and support and are keen to get involved with each new issue. Whatever the context, whatever the theme, whether you deem it relevant or not, your contribution is always greatly appreciated and goes a long way in putting this little zine together. Thanks to your personal touch, STYLO is what it is: an experimental celebration of universal self-expression and originality. And that’s enough feels for today. Enjoy this dreamy issue. For more information & past issues: www.issuu.com/stylomag Instagram: @stylomagazine (Words by Andie Phillips)
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Issue Six Playlist: Dreams What’s a Girl To Do - Fatima Yamaha Tape Burn - Midland Stars in Your Eyes - Herbie Hancock Secrets - Roland Appel I Can See the Future - Incognito Tea Leaf Dancers - Flying Lotus All Your Yeahs - Beach House Morning Side - Four Tet (Now playing on Spotify: @stylomagazine) 5
Clare Longley is an emerging artist based in Melbourne. Her mixed media practices span across painting, collage, drawing and photography. Though continually fluxing, Clare’s practice dances between beauty and disturbance. Evoking a timidity of touch and sense of foreplay, she finds pleasure in an ambiguous process, as she watches patterns emerge and arouses a sense of being human, making space for vulnerability amongst a haze of familiarities. Evoking a somehow romantic corruption of sentimentality, her works render physical the seemingly metaphysical juxtapositions found in dreams or yesterdays. With lines traced and feelings kindled, Clare is interested in the forces that drive desire, the things you buy, use and capture, the things you remember. In relation to aesthetics, many of us are drawn to beautiful objects and images, and sometimes feel guilty for doing so. We are seen as materialistic, simple, consumers. Through her practice, Clare challenges perceptions of high and low cultural products, and contemplates the way these often overlapping ideas have melted into our memories and perceptions of ourselves, and the world around us. Clare graduated from Victorian College of the Arts in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) and is continuing to develop and expand on her practice through various collaborations and commissions, as well as working towards and installation at Sugar Mountain Festival in January 2016 and a solo exhibition in February. See more of her work here: www.clarelongley.com
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(Words and art by Clare Longley)
Teen Poetry by Clare Longley
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Good at Romance by Clare Longley
Have a Great Day by Clare Longley
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SexySelfies.jpeg
I’m not really sure at what point selfies assimilated their way into everyday life but somehow those little fuckers did it and they’re here, and it looks like they’re here to stay. But let’s not go too in depth into the complex history of the selfie, what I want to discuss instead is a fairly recent phenomena: the ‘sexy’ selfie. I want to be clear here as to the type of image that I am referring to. I’m referring to any type of photo (usually a selfie) taken in a way that promotes a woman’s body in a (purposefully) “hot” way. Be that fully clothed, semi-nude, or starkers (queue strategically placed emojis). In some cases, it may just be a face shot. Whatever the case: woman posts photo of self looking hot on social media. Now, I’m not saying that expression of female sexuality or an image of the naked female body is bad. I think it’s good. I think it’s great. I think women should 10
be free to explore and express their sexuality in a safe, liberating and personally decisive way, and photography is certainly a valid medium. What has increasingly been brought to my attention in the past 12 or so months however is the increasing presence of ‘sexy’ selfies on social media done so in a manner which is blatantly objectifying, but usually done in a way to try and deter from this fact. Eg.“Candid” beach photos that just so conveniently happen to make your cleavage look great. Caption: “The beach was sooooo amazing today *palm tree, waves, sunshine emoji*” yeah girl, I’m sure this photo is about the beach. This doesn’t only go on at the beach though, where being half naked is actually the norm. You’ve got your standard underwear bathroom selfie (sometimes a particularly bad case of sunburn may be used to justify posting a photo of your entire ass),
your lying-in-bed-in-skimpy-pyjamas selfie, your pre or post-workout selfie, your pre-party selfie, I could go on. There’s plenty. We’ve all seen them. These kinds of photos first started bothering me because I noticed how such women were gaining likes and followers like there’s no tomorrow, and once you read the comments you’ll see why I was alarmed: dialogue between young girls, “omg goals”, “I wish I had her body. fml”, “why cant this be me”.
about how this photo was taken? It’s a selfie. It’s definitely selfie. How did she selfie whilst in the bath? Both her hands are in the photo and there’s also water everywhere as is common in a bathing situation. Okay, she must have self-timered. So she’s put her phone on self-timer (it’s probably propped up against a shampoo bottle, dear god she better selfie quickly so it doesn’t fall in. No sudden movements, no sudden movements), and then she’s quickly gotten into her sexy position before the camera goes click. And then she’s probably checked the photo, decided she wasn’t happy with it, then repeated the same process. Self-timer, sexy pose, click. Self-timer, sexy pose, click… The fucking water is cold by now. But anyway, the bath isn’t really important. What’s important is the selfie, which will make its way onto Instagram along with all the others and it will get 100k likes, and more young girls will comment saying “oooMG goals” and continue to hate their own bodies.
I guess young women in the modern age have always faced body pressures from one source or another, it’s just that in recent years social media has made that pressure more evident and accessible than ever. When I was younger, I would see skinny models or actresses on the TV or in magazines. It was always there, when I looked at these sources, but it wasn’t thrown in my face every second of every day. Today, 11 year old girls can go on Instagram and see what Khloe Kardashian has eaten for breakfast, where in the world Alexis Ren is today, or if Miley Cyrus has posted another selfie of her smoking weed (we get it, Miley). It’s constant. It’s more So what’s wrong with this situation (I mean, I know why it’s weird but do you know why it’s weird?). relevant than ever because it’s more accessible than ever. And so the phenomena of the selfie begins to rise. What’s strange is that so many people like this photo but no one seems to think about the proNormal women begin to get “insta famous”. People all cess behind the photo. Sitting in a bath half naked, over the world start giving a shit about what you post cold, a face full of makeup, taking selfies to post to because you’re hot. Suddenly being known on Instagram is a career, a way people can make money. Taking strangers on the internet? What’s sexy about that? selfies, ‘good’ selfies, becomes a skill, a necessity. We What’s sexy about taking your own body and your start to see the rise of women who have 200k followers own personal time and space to generate an image and all they do is post half naked photos of themselves, of yourself that you want to project to the world? doing nothing, literally, except for looking hot. Suddenly What’s sexy about staging an entire production so Instagram isn’t about documenting your day-to-day life that you can drop this hot selfie. It’s weird. It’s a anymore, it’s about projecting a certain image of yourweird process, it’s a little bit embarrassing. No one self, and that image must be hot, it (most people) don’t really want must make you look your best. It’s constant. It’s more relevant to sit in public and take multiple selfies of themselves. People don’t than ever because it’s more I saw a photo on Instagram a while want to do that because it’s conaccessible than ever. And so the sidered narcissistic. We don’t want ago of a woman with 136K followers. phenomena of the selfie begins all those strangers to see us caring I don’t want to name and shame so to rise. so much about our image. That’s I’ll just describe the photo for you. not cool. So why the heck is it cool This woman, who is absolutely drop to have a photo like that? Why do so many people dead gorgeous by the way (seriously, it’s like she won seem to ignore the process of the sexy selfie but the goddamn gene pool lottery), is sitting in the bath, her side body facing the camera with the frame ranging ‘like’ the selfie itself? Why the fuck do we care? from her head to her general pubic region, her arm strategically placed over her in a nipple in a sort of “oh how Even up until this point, I was okay. I was okay living convenient that my arm happened to be in that spot at in a world where booties on Instagram got more the same time to cover my nipple whilst also pushing likes than a dog in a hotdog costume, but then the rest of my boob out to make it look like I have bigger something worse started happening. I noticed that tits than I actually do”, her other arm propped up on the women like this started captioning their sexy selfside of the bath with her chin resting in her hand. She’s ies with things like, “feminist” or “feminism”, and I all seductive-faced with long hair flowing all around like thought: nope. a fucking princess. Okay, so great selfie right? Super Sexy selfies are not a display of feminism. They are hot. Your bod looks super bangin’. not a way to empower women. They are not a way of empowering yourself. They are the complete Right. Now can we go one step further? Can we think 11
opposite. The very basis of Instagram and of most platforms of social media is to interact with others on a ‘like’ basis, where you can express your pleasure or displeasure towards people’s posts, photos and actions. We place value on likes, we are taught to do so, it’s how social media works. All the accounts on your popular page, all the accounts who are sponsored by Instagram, they get likes. Likes = social media success. We want likes too. Please give us likes! So when a sexy selfie is posted, and it gets a whole truckload of likes, what’s that saying to us? Or to the person who posted it?
on the internet think of you. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what it means.
It’s difficult to draw a line. It’s hard to say at which point a selfie turns from being a harmless action to capture a moment, and when it turns into a serious means of validation. I’m just passed my teenage years and I only now feel strong-minded and sure enough of myself to not let (most) people’s opinions knock me, but many girls my age and older aren’t, many of them don’t feel sure enough. Then there’s the younger girls, the 11 - 12 year old girls who are in a whole new world of puberty and boys and body hair and everything is We value this. We value your photo. We value your confusing and parents are annoying and school sucks body. and oh my god it’s already so overwhelming, they are already so vulnerable to the cruelty of advertising and You should value your body too. only just starting to discover the greater challenges of being a woman in this day and age, how will they have No, my friend. Positive self-image and furthermore, the strength, or knowledge, to make that separation? feminism, is not founded on the basis of approval How will they separate between taking a photo for from others. You should not feel empowered as a their own memory and taking a photo to make themwoman because a bunch of strangers out there liked selves look good when they’ve grown up looking at sexy selfies on social media everyday? your photo of you in lingerie, and the fact that you posted it does NOT make you progressive or feminist There’s a big difference between taking a selfie beor remotely ground breaking. You are not pushing cause you want to look sexy, and taking a selfie beany boundaries. In fact, I believe that women who cause you are completely unashamed of your body, choose to take part in this trend are undoing the and accidentally looking super damn sexy in the prowork of so many truly amazing women before us. cess. We need to learn to spot the difference because I am all for being proud of your body, I am all for these women, these “feminists” are claiming to emappreciating the naked female form, but I do not power women by posting sexy selfies of themselves on support the promotion of sexy selfies as a way for women to validate themselves or their bodies. Vali- Instagram, these women are making a living off foldation comes from loving yourself, from loving your lowers, these women have self-esteem driven by likes body, and has nothing to do with what other people - what’s empowering about that? (Words and portraits by Claudia Mancini)
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Claudia Mancini currently resides in Milan, Italy and studies international relations, political science and Italian . She’s often found wearing pants that could be mistaken as old costume wear. She likes to go out in disguise and act her alter ego (Kitty Purry). She thinks feminism is about shamelessly and unapologetically being a woman and likes to write about things that make her yell a little bit when discussing them in conversation. If you’re her friend she will send you a lot of memes (and will love you if you send them back). She never wants to grow up. Find her sexy selfies on her Instagram: @_claudiamancini. 13
Sad Girls Ella Bunker lives in Perth, has an infectious laugh and is secretly a talented cook. She will create art with anything she can get her hands on and is fascinated by different forms and faces. Her favourite medium is watercolour and her style is characterised by her portraits of melancholy but beautiful women. She is currently preparing for her first solo exhibition in early 2016. See more of her sad girls on Instagram: @ellavbunker. (Art by Ella Bunker) 15
Films about dreams that aren’t Inception Inception is a fun movie: often about dreams; sometimes about dreams within dreams; and if you’re lucky and pay close attention, occasionally about dreams within dreams within dreams. Whilst no other film to my knowledge reaches this tertiary level of dreamscape, there are many that do tackle the theme of dream that deserve your time and attention as much as Nolan’s blockbuster.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) - Robert Wiene
Whilst this list is ordered chronologically and is in no way representative of any order of preference, critical acclaim or box office success, it does so happen that the first film on this list is held in extremely high, arguably more so than the others, critical regard. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari epitomises everything that made the German Expressionist film movement so visually extraordinary and with just five years until its centenary (a milestone very rarely associated with cinema), there is no better time 20
to throw yourself into Robert Wiene’s distorted, fantastical world of darkness. As a work of visual art alone this film is more than worth your time, with meticulously crafted shots and a level of light manipulation that the neo-noirs of today, with all their technological advancements, still struggle to replicate. The jagged, stylised sets harshly symbolise the manic distrust and delusion inherent in the story but to say any more would only ruin the viewing experience of anyone not already acquainted with this work.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Wes Craven
Scary movies entice nightmares; and in 1984 Wes Craven took it up a notch and put the nightmare in the scary movie. Regardless of divided opinions on Craven’s recent work, A Nightmare on Elm Street is up with the best of the Hollywood slashers of the 70s and early 80s. It may not match the sadism of Halloween, but it’s certainly a must-see for all
horror fans. Whilst not as highly stylised as the other entries of this short list, the film does have a loyal cult following, and its box office success coupled with its critical acclaim stands testament to the intelligent premise behind a truly frightening horror classic. A film that made viewers as scared of their beds as Psycho made them afraid of their showers.
Waking Life (2001) – Richard Linklater
Whilst many use the framing of a dream to tackle the abstract, unknowable qualities of life, Richard Linklater (of course of Dazed and Confused, and more recently Boyhood fame) uses his visually striking dream world as
a medium for discussing the philosophical musings of everyday life. Shot using the technique of rotoscoping, the disorientating surrealist style enables the film to both detach itself from reality, whilst also maintaining a look of something ingrained in reality. A playful current flows through the film, complimenting these visuals, evidenced by moments of self-awareness of the protagonist. Released just after the traumatic events of 9/11, Waking Life was a breath of fresh air and even now provokes intellectual discussion in a beautifully crafted and non-imposing form. (Words by Jamie Parsons)
Jamie Parsons is from London and studies film at the University of East Anglia. He is 22 years old and has daddy issues. His instagram is very funny and interesting: @jamiesparsons. 21
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The Oslo Opera House Jordan Jeffery is from Perth and took these following landscapes on his Canon 600D during a recent trip to Europe. “Oslo was the first city of my trip that I experienced solo. After travelling with friends for two and a half months, being in solitude on the other side of the world provided a feeling of complete freedom. “These photos were taken at the Oslo Opera House, an environment that felt like it was without time and pressure to move on, which was exactly the place I wanted to be on my first day alone.” See more photos of his trip on Instagram: @jordansjeffery. (Website to come) (Words and photos by Jordan Jeffery) 23
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Dream Journal
I dreamed that I was mad as I slipped into dream that I wasn’t dreaming, and dreamed that I wanted nothing else but to dream in our little apartment, i walk down the long staircase through a laneway and into a tall building suddenly I’m at the top, looking down to a city that seems foreign i close my eyes and i’m falling, down down down toward the ground - a rock beneath me i’m turning in mid-air, never quite reaching the ground You were helping a beautiful dark haired woman give birth, in the middle of a forest - green light and warm air. You kept beckoning me closer, but I felt hesitant. You were sure, but gentle, so soothing. The woman gave bitch, sighed and fell into a deep sleep. I approached you, you had your back to me but I could see you were nursing the baby. I peered over your shoulder and you showed me the most beautiful baby elephant, big eyes blinking. Carefully, you showed the baby the ground, and ever so slowly, you helped it walk its first steps. She woke me from sleep whispering through smoke --eyes that looked weary with tears, I though it must have been the tears of a thousand years “no seeing back to where I’ve been” “i’m at the end, and I’m glad. I’m tired. I remember when chaos started” Inside the creperie two strangers, a girl and a boy she chose apple and cinnamon he chose apple, potato, basil and tomato he gave her coin, insisting it was hers she reached out to take it, he begun singing “you chose apple, i chose tomato, i think i’m in love with you” a tiny dark eyed boy, runs up to me “I’m scared of hyenas and hunger” Isabelleyou were floating underwater, in a seemingly endless pool, lazily flashing as the light hit it. Deep blue, yet clear. I could see the bubbles that landed on your skin, covering your body - luminous freckles. I was so far away, and so helpless, because I knew you were close to death. I held my breath with you, hoping hoping hoping you would break through the surface. Another figure; graceful in the water, singing as she threw the diamonds of water into the air. Oblivious to your silent struggle. You kept floating upward, but something powerful from beneath seemed to summon you back down. Oh! You broke through, into the warm air - I expected you to gulp it in, ferociously. Instead, you were passive, thoughtful with your breath. You whispered under your breath - “i saw the face”. (Words by Madison Pawle) 28
Madison Pawle lives in Melbourne with her cat Jalapeùo and is an avid lover of theatre, literature and Patti Smith. She has been writing poetry in bits and pieces over the years and is inspired by her dad’s old records. She loves the smell of incense and the taste of red wine. (Art by Ella Bunker)
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Limitless Reality I’m in the Karri forest. Standing at the intersection between Caves Road and Rainbow Cave. I hear no voices. Only the crunch of dry summer leaves beneath my Blundstones. The sun shines through the branches, dousing all it touches in a sepia tone strong enough to make a Coppola jealous. A manufactured click. The smoky lyrics of Seu Jorge fill my eardrums and I hum along to the Life Aquatic soundtrack. My wrist itches. I pull at a thread hanging loose from the hem of my favourite winered knit. The track changes, and I wake up. I remember all of my dreams, every single one. However, I only remember them in those blissful twenty minutes where sleep ends and conscious thought begins. My dreams pinball between surreal and mundane. I’ve been known to dream about completing an essay only to wake up and realise that I’m only 50 words in out of 5,000, or about waking up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, only to discover Tony Abbott’s smiling head rolling around in my fridge (I apologise). The week I had to make an impending life changing decision I was sharing a room with a family member who recorded that I woke them up by bolting upright, gasping for air not once, but four times throughout the night. As much as I don’t attempt to interpret my unconscious thoughts, it is clear that reality has a strong card to play. 30
Despite all this, dreams are a form of escapism. They are a result of what happens when youthful idealism is met with the horrible realities of the world we inhabit. Even if they take place in the mundane scenery within which I exist daily, the delusions allow me to notice elements of my world that I would otherwise overlook. My dreams are peppered with the book I’ve read that week, conversations (I wish) I’ve had with friends, family or work colleagues and people I’ve seen in various public spaces with whom I’ve had little to no interaction. Dreams are a safe place for me to share my unconscious and, as hard as I attempt to deny it, conscious, desires with my world and the people who encompass it. It doesn’t matter that I went to work after ‘a casual drink at the beach’ turned into five gin and tonics too many. Or that I woke up with my car keys nowhere to be seen. For those whole five to sixty minutes, I’m myself. Without the baggage.
(Words by Matilda Chaney)
Matilda Chaney is from Perth and spends her time studying, working at a bookstore and volunteering at a radio station. Her friends all call her different variations of “Tilly� and she is currently reading The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante and about seven other books that she (will forever) have sitting on her nightstand. Her instagram is: @tilly__chaney.
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Black Hat Matthew Siddall is from Perth and graduated from art history only this year. He enjoys culture in all its forms, excluding cheesy musicals. He is currently planning a trip to the US and further travel next year, which he is looking forward to, and as a result is enjoying being a bookworm and a hermit. He is currently trying to reignite his aspiring artistic career. This little artwork is a drawing in pencil, ink and charcoal, and the activity of drawing is therapeutic and gives him the chance to reflect while losing himself in the moment. It is challenging, but he hopes this opens him up to a wider range of artistic styles. His ultimate goal is to create art with a critical and conceptual edge derived from subjects that interest him and what he encounters in his research. Find more of his art on his instagram: @sddl. (Words and art by Matthew Siddall)
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S Stay updated. The theme for issue seven is REALISATION. Contributions are always welcome. Contact: www.stylomagazine.tumblr.com www.facebook.com/stylozine @stylomagazine