TEXT&IMAGE
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ISSUE Three_03.14
BNE
T&I
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Photo editor dane@textandimage.com.au
_BEN MARKS Managing Director ben@textandimage.com.au
_ANAIS LESAGE
Sarah is a tiny girl wandering a colossal world. After visiting 15 countries last year, she has returned home to tell the tales of her journey. www.sarahhazlehurst.com
_THOMAS WEARNE/MTNS Tom Wearne is a part time chandelier cleaner, musician and contributor to Text and Image magazine. _JOHN WEBBER/A. Harwood + 7th disaster
Senior Writer michael@textandimage.com.au
Jon Weber is an Artist, Illustrator and writer from Brisbane. He was born in 1983 and studied Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art. After a stint working and running 100 Greenfield Gallery in Whitechapel, London, he returned to work and expand his practices once more in his home city, where he now resides.
_JONATHAN BOONZAAIER
_JANE MAHONEY/ A Skeleton
Online Coordinator jonathan@textandimage.com.au
Jane is a freelance writer and is currently studying a Masters of Journalism at QUT, More of her writing can be found at www.violentzine.blogspot.com
Art Director anais@textandimage.com.au
_MICK NOLAN
*T&I is subject to copyright in its entirety. The contents cannot be re-printed without permission of the publisher. The views expressed within are not necessarily those of T&I.
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Welcome to 2014 and the third Edition of T&I. To lead off we’ve got a piece looking at the wild streets of Fortitude Valley. Cando Campbell is reaching into his legislative handbag in the vain hope of curbing the public’s fear of violent drunks. Everyone knows the Valley’s rough but we wanted to know just how rough it is. We’ve got some paintings from Andy Haywood who’s ignored the post-modern wank. Instead he works with good old fashioned geometric purity to create images that are luscious, sensual and a little bit scary. Oh and he’s also known as Brisbane’s best dressed man. There’s veteran poster-man, Matt Deasy who works under the moniker of 7th Disaster. His poster work has been used by Brisbane bands for the past 12 years. Staff writer Sarah Hazelhurst climbed the CBD skyscrapers with Urbex junkie Warrnerr and took dizzying shots from the city’s high spots. The photography section features a walkthrough by Ben McRae, a life guard turned documentarian who has been touted as one of the country’s top shutterbugs. For those of you who fear an impending nuclear disaster, we’ve got a taste of things to come in the form of a photo journal from the dark heart of Chernobyl. In the fashion pages T&I secured an exclusive with a sneak peak of Gail Sorronda’s autumn collection. The music section is a little fatter than usual with profiles on Violent Soho and MTNS. We’ve also sent staff writer Jonty Boozaaier to dig around the old QLD Museum to sus out the Music Collective who claim they’re stripping the pretence from the live music scene. Finally, our history section tracks the trade in human remains that has kept Australia and wider Commonwealth nation in fresh skeletons for trainee medicos.
Front cover _Andy Harwood / Back cover _Gail Sorronda
_DANE BEESLEY
_SARAH HAZLEHURST/Strangers
about
Creative Editor grant@textandimage.com.au
contributors
team
_GRANT MARTIN
ISSUE THREE _Content
8
OUTCASTS A View from the Top
12 ART 16 FEATURE 20 PHOTOGRAPHY 24 PHOTOGRAPHY 26 FEATURE 28 MUSIC 30 DESIGN 34 MUSIC 36 FASHION 40 ART 44 HISTORY Andy Harwood
Night Riders
Postcards from the Apocalypse Ben McRae
Museum Collective MTNS
Des Rountree
Violent Soho
Gail Sorronda
7th Disaster
A Skeleton in a Stranger’s Closet
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _3
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _5
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _7
OUTCASTS _A view from the top
A VIEW FROM THE Equipped with a camera, a coat hanger, and a high visibility work shirt, Warrnerr walks through the main entrance of the Turbot Street Tower. The foyer is full of people. No one notices him waiting by the elevator as he causes no alarm. Few would suspect that in ten minutes time the well dressed boy with a backpack will be standing 30 storeys high, looking down on the city. Warrnerr looks over the directory information, but he knows exactly where he’s going. He continues to glance over the sign intuitively until an empty elevator becomes available. After taking the elevator up to level five, he finds that it’s undergoing construction work. Without the builders noticing, he quickly slips past in search of a door and finds it. Using only a steel coat hanger to pick the lock, Warrnerr reveals an internal staircase leading up to the roof. “I hate this walk,” he says casually before beginning the sizable trek up 25 flights of stairs. When he reaches the summit, Warrnerr is borderline exhausted. He stops for a short break to catch his breath before taking one of the ventilation masks provided ever so generously by Brisbane City Council and their OH&S regulations. He throws on the high visibility work shirt and takes out the coat hanger once more to pick the final door before he’s outside on the roof. For Warrnerr, the Brisbane city skyline looks incredible from such great heights. Before Christmas he climbed a crane in the centre of Fortitude Valley and sat in the drivers seat taking photos. He’s hit most of the sky scrapers around Brisbane’s CBD and has a very developed knowledge of trespass law. Consequences are no hinderance to the adrenaline rush of the journey.
Over an Oporto chicken burger lunch, Warrnerr shares his interests, insights and experiences of art, adventure and urban exploration. “I love surrealist art, and photography was just something that branched off it. My all time favourite artist is Rene Magritte and some modern photographers I love are Tom Ryaboi, Ryan Emond, Mustang Wanted and James Kingston.” “I had a few mates introduce me to the actual intrusion side of urbex (urban exploration), and that’s what I love. I know people who’ve been doing this for eight or nine years now that I met through my art teacher. It’s weird to explain, but it’s such a rush getting through a building and not getting caught. The photography is great too, but the feeling of getting to the rooftop is amazing.” “I don’t have a computer so I don’t even really edit my photos. I just use apps on my phone, which don’t do too much.” “Now everyone thinks roof topping is a fad, like planking or something… But there’s people who have been doing this for ages. We use our legs in the photos to show the depth of the actual shot.” At the ripe age of 17, Warrnerr’s photography skills are acclaimed. His uncanny ability to get in and out of high profile places without ever being noticed is a talent earning him well-deserved credit and attention. The risk of punishment can’t compare to the treat of the venture and the rush to reach new limits. Warrnerr regularly experiences visions of Brisbane city most will never see. “That rush of getting through the building is what I really love.”
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _9
OUTCASTS _A view from the top
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _11
PICS: DANE BEESLEY
ART _Andy Harwood
ANDY HARWOOD IS AN ARTIST’S ARTIST. TEN YEARS AGO HARWOOD UNLOCKED A DEEPER AND MORE DYNAMIC WORLD OF ABSTRACTION, PREDOMINANTLY THAT OF THE GEOMETRIC. THIS MOVEMENT INDUCTED HIS WORK INTO THAT OF HIGH ART; EVER SINCE, THE THIRTY-YEAR-OLD HAS BEEN RAISING EYEBROWS. HARWOOD HAS A VAST BACK CATALOGUE OF WORK, EXHIBITING AT GALLERIES HERE AND ABROAD. Modernism was a dirty word through the nineties and even well into the two-thousands. In that always-cyclic way, it has returned and brought to attention the artists that never gave it away. If you talk to any of that special breed that believed there was unfinished business when Post-Modernism took over, they will explain it as if they were delving into the world of pure abstraction and non-representational form. Duchamp, Kandinsky, Malevich and Rothko are names that roll off the tongue when one thinks of Harwood’s work and its impact. It’s in classic trim, but there is a brave new world to consider.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _13
ART _Andy Harwood
Harwood works from his studio in Wooloongabba, producing mind-blowing abstractions and cleverly presented groups of imagery and ideas that push the viewer’s perceptive capacity to the limit. There is desolation in Harwood’s work, sometimes lurking behind quite colourful and always perfectly balanced warped geometry. It is as though each of the works has a restless, even violent soul, ever searching to explode from within. Serene, often demurely dealt layers and yet more layers of paint. The impact from his pictures is immediate. Those wise enough to allow the paintings a more indulgent observation and room to breathe soon enough discover a subtler dancing form and compositional sophistication that cannot be denied.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _15
NIGHT RIDERS WHERE NEWMAN FEARS TO TREAD
FEATURE _The Patrol
CAMPBELL NEWMAN HAS SET HIS SIGHTS ON THE VALLEY AMID CALLS FROM AN OUTRAGED PUBLIC THAT GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO MORE TO STOP ALCOHOL FUELLED VIOLENCE. THE VALLEY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A ROUGH PART OF TOWN. WITH 75 BARS, RESTAURANTS AND NIGHT CLUBS YOU’D EXPECT THAT SOME LOUT IS GOING TO TAKE THINGS TOO FAR. T&I JOINED OFFICERS FROM THE QUEENSLAND AMBULANCE FOR A NIGHT ON THE TOWN TO SEE IF THE PRECINCT HAS BECOME THE LIFE- THREATENING HELL HOLE IMAGINED IN THIS CURRENT MORAL PANIC.
We’d arranged to meet our contact at 10pm on a Saturday night. His name was Brad Hardy, an operational supervisor with 13-years’ experience as a paramedic. He picked us up in QAS Trauma Unit. As we drove into the Valley, Brad said that on an average weekend they get around a dozen call-outs. The bulk of their workload involves overdoses and clubbers who have drunk too much. Only a fraction of the call-outs are assault related. On face value, that sounds like a lot, but given that around 50 000 people descend on the Valley each weekend only 0.024% will need the help from an ambulance officer. The first call-out comes through, directing Brad to Coniston Lane, just off McLachlan Street. At first the dispatcher says there’s a girl who’s fallen in a mosh pit and has a bleeding nose. As we get closer more details emerge. The incident gets upgraded to a suspected ecstasy overdose, now involving the girl and her friend. When we arrive the two girls are laying in the foetal position in the alley behind the Alhambra Lounge. The street smells like stale garbage and the Valley chaplains have built a makeshift palisade of empty kegs around the girls in the hope of diverting revellers. A pair of nubile girls in early twenties, dressed in pink miniskirts and high heels glance at the unconscious pair between drags on a shared ciggie. Despite the horde of paramedics, flashing lights and emergency vehicles, Brad and his team still need to push through a crush of balmy flesh as they ferry equipment towards the fallen girls. Overdoses make up a significant part of the ambulance case load. Random and unprovoked king hits are rare. Brad said the Valley hasn’t got all that more violent of late. Police data backs his claim, suggesting that if anything, it’s less violent now than it was a couple years ago. In 2010 police charged 629 people with assault. By the end of 2013 that number had declined to 543.
As Brad works to stabilize the girls, I get talking with one of the Valley Chaplains. His name is Tim Piatkowski and he tells me he’s a doing a PHD in psychology at QUT. His 12 month study takes young people involved in alcohol-fuel violence and gives them a series of counselling sessions while tracking their likelihood of re-offending. “We are seeing some pretty clear trends emerging. Most of the violence occurs when you’ve got groups of men or women having problems with their romantic partners.” Tim agrees with Brad in saying that the violence isn’t all that common. “On average we’re only seeing maybe one or two fights per night. That said, last Saturday there was seven fights that we responded to and some weekends there’s none.” “When I chat to them afterwards most say ‘he was speaking to my ex-girlfriend or she was grinding on my ex-boyfriend. That and too much alcohol, MDMA or speed really adds to their propensity for fights.” At 12:40am Brad is called to an assault on the corner of Ann and Warner streets. The dispatcher says a 58year-old man has been punched in the head. We arrive to find a Taxi Marshall slumped against a wall opposite the Beat. The Chaplains have arrived first. They said that a group of young men were getting out of a taxi and strated arguing with the driver. The Marshall intervened and was given a couple of good knocks to the head. The coppers swarmed, bailing up the assailants, leaving Brad and his crew to work on the Marshall. He’s nauseated and throwing up, but not bleeding. The Ann street taxi rank is one of the most volatile places in the Valley, with lots of drunk people waiting in line. It’s a common place for fights to start but recent efforts by police and the cab companies has seen security beefed up. You can still cop a beating there, but chances are pretty high that the matrix of CCTV cameras will catch the meat-head responsible. Further along Ann Street stands Nick Banner the manager of Black Bear Lodge. He said violence is a constant feature of a night in the Valley.
Alternatively, the number of people busted for drugs is up, from 1022 in 2010 to 1679 at the end of 2013. Drunk and disorderly, public nuisance, sexual assaults incidents have remained static.
“Not a weekend goes by that traffic isn’t held up on Ann street due to bouncers, patrons and police involved in some kind of brawl or incident.”
“It does get pretty rough sometimes. We had a bad few nights during January and we had someone die just before Christmas,” Brad said.
But it’s not always been this way. Nick said the Valley was a fairly quiet place before the city introduced the 3am Lockout in 2005.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _17
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THE VALLEY WAS ORIGINALLY ONE OF THE FEW PLACES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS THAT DID NOT ENFORCE THE LOCK OUT. THEREFORE ALL THE CITY GOING TYPES SWARMED ON THE VALLEY, AND NEVER LEFT. LIVE MUSIC VENUES SHUT DOWN LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE. THE VALLEY THEN BUILT ON THIS NEWFOUND PATRONAGE AND OPENED ‘SUPER CLUBS’ WHICH ARE TOO LARGE AND HAVE A HIGH CAPACITY. It’s harder for security to keep track of drunk patrons in larger clubs and
if they get kicked out, there’s little the security can do to stop people fighting, Nick said. Despite acknowledging the problem, Nick said new laws aren’t the answer. Rather, the clubs need to scan ids, perform more pat-downs and bag checks to stop partiers smuggling booze in. A dedicated radio frequency would also help bouncers and security can keep track of patrons who get ejected from other clubs. After dealing with the injured Marshall the dispatcher falls silent. Brad’s workload drops after 2am so we say our farewells and part ways. As a sober person pushing against the tide of drunken clubbers it’s easy to see how things can get out of hand. The Valley is a noisy, stinking, dirty place. It’s populated by sweaty ravers, fake tanned bimbos, overdressed emo’s and pink-shirted roid-monkeys. Barely-legal tramps in obscenely short skirts and ankle shattering high-heels swagger like baby giraffes taking their first steps. Some muppet will yell abuse at you if you’re checking out his girlfriend and a beating is likely if you leer too long. But at the end of the day everyone is there to have good time. Folks just need to focus on that and less on defending perceived slights to their honour.
PICS: DANE BEESLEY
FEATURE _The Patrol
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _19
POST CARDS FROM THE APOCALYPSE ON SUNDAY THE 26TH OF APRIL 1986 AT AROUND 1:30PM KIEV TIME, REACTOR NUMBER FOUR IN THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR PLANT MALFUNCTIONED. AN UNUSUALLY LARGE POWER SPIKE PROMPTED THE TECHIES TO RUN AN ENERGY SHUTDOWN. THEY FUCKED IT UP. THE REACTOR EXPLODED SHOWERING TOXIC DUST FROM LENINGRAD TO LISBON. 27YEARS LATER A RESULTING CLUSTER OF DEFORMED CHILDREN, MUTATED DNA AND CANCER DEATHS HAS PAINTED CHERNOBYL AS THE POSTER CHILD FOR INDUSTRIAL HUBRIS.
PHOTOGRAPHY _Postcards From the Apocalypse
LATE LAST YEAR, WRITER, PHOTOGRAPHER AND NITE FIELDS FRONTMAN DANNY VENZIN TREKKED TO THE FOOT OF CHERNOBYL’S GANGRENOUS REACTOR, SPORTING A CANNON SURE SHOT AND A HANDFUL OF POTASSIUM IODIDE PILLS.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _21
Given you were on a larger European trip, what was your reason for wanting to go to Chernobyl? Well it was fate in some ways. I had one of those “need to get out of Brisbane” trips planned and my main destination was Turkey with a stopover in Russia. Basically I loved Russia but got bored after two days in Turkey and was pining to go back to Communism. Thanks to good old Vladimir’s Visa restrictions that couldn’t happen so Ukraine was the next best thing. You know what, it was actually a better place. I highly recommend it. What were the safety issues? I’ve heard all sorts of mad things like you have to be drunk not to absorb radiation? It depends who you ask really. The tourist spiel is that spending a day in Chernobyl is like getting an X-Ray But then there are power plant workers there everyday who probably won’t be getting anyone pregnant anytime soon. More of an issue is contaminated food though. A lot of people won’t eat mushrooms or apples that grow around Chernobyl and it’s the norm to ask what region food comes when you buy it. It’s more for peace of mind though because as if they are going to shout “Fresh Chernobyl Mushrooms” at the market. Who knows what psychedelic effects they’d have? The city took on a riveting, ghostly vista. Can you tell us of how you saw it through the lens and the impressions it provided as a whole? I feel like a sociopath saying this but it’s actually fucking exhilarating. I somehow know what it would be like when Aliens land on earth. You really can’t imagine or put into words the excitement you get from walking through a deserted town. Maybe I am a sociopath?
PHOTOGRAPHY _Postcards From the Apocolypse
The whole place looked pretty much abandoned, what was the city like in general? Strangely modern in so many ways. Pripyat, the abandoned city, was only about ten years old when it had to be left behind and you could tell people that people who moved there had big hopes and dreams. I found it in no way dark or depressing like many inhabited small, Soviet towns and it had all these modern flourishes like big sporting halls, the pool and the theme park. I’d say it feels like finding some Gucci jewelery at the bottom of a swamp. You don’t know quite how to feel or what to do with it. How do the Ukrainians see the city these days? Oh they find it really depressing and don’t even think of going there. Talking to Ukrainians about Chernobyl is the complete opposite vibe to what you get on the mini bus of stupid tourists that go there every few days. And it’s fair enough that it’s depressing for the locals because Chernobyl is still the most famous thing about the country. Now they have political instability to compete with it I guess. How long have you been taking photos? What is your interest with photography? My main interest with photography is in capturing moods, often dark but sometimes light. This is one of the rare times when I could document something at the same time. How does your interest in this type of documentation mingle with Nite Fields? Is there anything you try to bring to the band from trips like this? There could be a shared aesthetic or a mood that may inspire or inform music but personally I’m not going to go and write a song about an event that happened in the 1980s. Saying that, Brisbane’s Amateur Childbirth just wrote a song called ‘Pripyat’ on album called ‘Pripyat’. I’m imagining they probably haven’t even been to Pripyat so the music is somewhat more imaginative.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _23
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I’M ALL FOR DIGITAL BUT IT MADE SENSE TO ME TO SHOOT CHERNOBYL ON FILM. IN THIS INSTANCE IT’S A $2 CALOUNDRA OP-SHOP FIND.
BEN MCRAE
For a bloke who’s been named Capture magazine’s top emerging photographer, Ben McRae is refreshingly irreverent about his job. “These days every man and his dog is a fucking photographer. I feel like a dick when anybody refers to me as one, I then find myself stepping in and saying I’m an alcoholic rather than a photographer and I just need to fund my fuel.” Like a true artist Ben is driven by self-satisfaction rather than pure financial gain. “I just love being in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere surrounded by a different world. By landscapes, animals, cultures and tribes I often know nothing about. Being behind my camera just allows me an excuse to be there, to have time to learn, to build relationships and for me to experience things I otherwise would never have had the privilege to experience.”
Lacking any formal training, Ben is by-andlarge self-taught and he claims that the plethora of tutorials, image walkthroughs and magazines available not only negate the need for a uni degree but also encourage first-time photographers to develop their own style. “Being self-taught allows you to figure out if you actually have what it takes to make a decent image. The make and model of your camera and lens have nothing to do with it. It’s really about time, patience, and dedication. Personally, for my images, it’s about how far I’m willing to travel. My images are not interesting due to my techniques, every Tom, Dick and Harry can figure this shit out. It’s the locations and people I approach that make my images what they are.” Concordant with his do-it-yourself approach, Ben sat down with T&I and glass of brandy to offer this brief walkthrough for one of his award winning shots.
PHOTOGRAPHY _Raw
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MY IMAGES ARE NOT INTERESTING DUE TO MY TECHNIQUES, EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY CAN FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT. IT’S THE LOCATIONS AND PEOPLE I APPROACH THAT MAKE MY IMAGES WHAT THEY ARE. _TECHNICAL BOLLOCKS I used a Canon 5DMKII, Canon EF 24-70mm 2.8 L Series Lens, Canon 580EXII Seedlite, Westcott Bruce Dorn Select 50 by 30 Soft box and a set of Impact radio transmitter and receiver. My Soft Box was hand held by an assistant/driver and I shot in RAW Image settings so I can adjust the image how I like in post if I feel it needs it. The settings: Shot in manual mode that way you control what it is you are capturing. I prefer moody light that, most of the time, is under exposed so for this shot Iused ISO 100 (Gives me top quality), 1/60th (Slowest shutter speed use whilst hand held) at f/7.1. My Speedlight was also on manual mode.
_THE IMAGE IN MY MIND I had been invited into this Bedouin Mohammad Ali’s tent for a cup of tea. As we sat down and relaxed, with a kettle boiling on an open fire, Mohammad sat back and begun rolling himself a cigarette. I loved the setting and the relaxed, laid-back nature of his pose stretched out on the mat in his tent. He only held this pose for a minute or two before he repositioned himself to light his dirty cigarette and retune an old radio that sat in the sand. The pose he had adopted whilst rolling his cigarette, showed my host in a very relaxed manner along with the simplicity of his life and gave me the idea for the composition of this image.
_CONTEXT OF THE SCENARIO We had been treated to shit loads of sickly-sweet Bedouin tea and I was on a super sugar high. Our conversation flowed through my drivers translations about Mohammad’s life, his family and his existence here in the deserted back of Wadi Rum in Jordan. We were told of his recently departed wife and his anguish over his children’s decisions to leave the traditional Bedouin life for that of the hustle and bustle of big city life in Amman. As we spoke I was constantly thinking of his previous pose and how to capture the scene in the best light. There was a beautiful ambient light within the tent but I felt it wasn’t providing Mohammad’s wrinkled old weathered face with enough drama. I ducked out for a quick swig of voddie and to collect my soft box. When I returned I asked Mohammad if he could sit back and relax in the position he had taken whilst he was rolling his first cigarette before our tea had boiled. I took two quick frames and realised I needed to lower my position to include more of the tents environment and I also needed the light to spill across more of the tents interior. I asked my driver to move the soft box forward till he was just beside the right of the frame and about a meter from Mohammad’s face, then I asked him to turn the soft box onto its side allowing a greater spill of light. As this was happening, Mohammad lit another cigarette. I waited for him to lift his gaze before firing off another two frames.
_PROCESSING The file that came straight out of the camera looked great as the balance of the ambient light from the slower shutter speed mixed with the Speedlite flash created a great effect but as always whilst shooting in RAW format there is always a little tweaking to be done. Using Adobe Raw converter for Photoshop I adjusted the clarity slider just a hint, this sharpened the edges of everything in the image and was the only thing that I did in the RAW converter before opening the converted image in Adobe Photoshop CS5. I immediately made a duplicate layer as I wanted to accentuate Mohammad’s wrinkled face and clothing. I also wished to put more emphasis on the debris that lay in front of him and to highlight the radio that emitted a course hissing sound for the whole duration of our stay. To do this I selected the dodge tool and set it to mid-tones with an opacity of 5%. Working in very close and with a small brush, I dodged along the lighter skin tones, across his clothes and onto the highlights of the ground, the debris and his radio. This was giving me a nice effect, lifting these areas and giving them the impact I desired. I did want to push this effect a little more so I repeated the process with the dodge tool set to highlights with an opacity to 3%.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _25
MUSEUM
On the morning of the first Museum Collective show, I woke to the early mist luring over the city. The event was due to begin at the Old Museum Building at 5pm and would be played out in the gardens; a perfect choice considering the month was September, the most beautiful of them all. I strolled through the CBD towards Bowen Hills, heading bang straight up degradation creek, coursing through Brunswick street, passing an assortment of strip clubs, adult shops and deranged minds, loitering in the background. I had been cooped up in the house too long, forgetting life’s ability to fold and manifest itself, shying away from the sight of all those dolled up, pimped out, sex pistols, that seem to fire off around you like rockets at a Chinese send off while you walk the pavement. But as sure as hell is hot, I could see the tips of the Old Museum Building looking over Fortitude Valley, confidently pronounced in stone. Making my way around the building to the gardens where the stage was set, everything seemed to be moving along according to plan. The lighting towers stood tall and sturdy, positioned in the corners of the stage. Placed just below was an arrangement of guitars, drums, kits, keyboards and carpets for comfort. The Old Museum Building staff weaved back and forth in their black shirts, stopping here and there to reshuffle a mic stand, loyally picking up behind crew who were feeling short of time. Half an hour before the doors opened, the Museum Collective gathered in a small area aside the garden. I watched them lean back into the words of producers Will Davy and Chris Neehause, speaking from the centre, as they whipped the air with motivational bits and pieces from more than 50year’s of equated experience between the two of them alone. The collective were previously introduced to me as a group of facilitators, curators and specialists who share a common love for genuine music. Their differences to the traditional approaches of the Music Industry had been outlined, describing the exchange between an artist and a record label as purely monetary and lacking patience for the human element.
COLLECTIVE
They believed that the essence and meaning of a performance was lost in the process of satisfying corporate demands, and wanted to rather create an environment where music lovers were able to attend a show without any preconceived ideas or expectations that are traditionally attached to a price tag and names connected. This would allow the artist an honest and unhindered exchange between the audience, there in lying the uniqueness of the experience.
FEATURE _Museum Collective
It was an interesting view in light of other industry accusations like Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley Cyrus released online early October last year, with mentions of prostitution and other debaucheries, a further response from Sinead stating, “You will yourself one day suffer a mental illness, that is without doubt. The course you have set yourself upon can only end in that, trust me.” I turned to Rohin Jones (a.k.a R.L. Jones) for some insight from his experiences into the challenges faced by musicians. “An artist creates subjectively, but then has an objective agenda associated with the work. Record labels hear a song as a product while the artist hears it as a piece of new life. So the challenge is having confidence in the people who represent you when you’re relationship with them is business-based.” “Unfortunately this is a deep-rooted mentality underpinned by the history of the industry, not the people. Most were born into the industry as it is today, but did not see that it was born out of an economic and industrial mentality rather than focussing on cultivating and nurturing human activity,” Rohin explained. Reflecting on those words, in contrast to the varying opinions and beliefs, who knew what we were in for that evening? Two hundred or so had gathered in the gardens and the lawn in front of the stage had become an interesting mix of picnic blankets and dancing shoes. The first act was on. Bud Rokesky stepped up and took the mic, like a prophet with an eye for the unknown, eased into a gently rolling hum that lifted the show off with the wind, pushing confidently across the garden.
I watched from my stand point, as I always do, faltering in the background, taking notes. The audience breathed deeply through the beats, and returned exchange for exchange, nodding attentively all the way. The acts moved from Bud to Alex Henricsson and his throaty, heart felt tone. They then moved to Sleepy Tea and Tom Wearne, bouncing along the bop of Lyndon de la Cruz, flowing into the rhythmic truths of Kahl Wallis, sitting in the descriptions of R.L. Jones, shifting into the sound of your thoughts with newly formed Jaws and Bree Tranter, closing with the Matt Corby Band surprise appearance. The rise reached its tipping point, spilling all over the technicians shoes, as they leaped for the helping hand of the melody, operating in their crazy manor; the silhouetted, flailing balls of retardation hidden in the parameters of the complete awe, working frantically to cover up the excited steps of musicians feeling the heat of the lime light. The closing group jam session welled up above the audience as the final wave of progressive madness swallowed them, drifting off down stream on the mysticism of the garden rose bed. In the time that’s passed the collective have produced a second show, paying homage to Australia’s origins and standing up to voice their global concerns. Now, the Museum Collective are looking to the 18th of May, which will see the celebration of International Museum Day hosted at the Old Museum Building. The invitation is there, as in the words of the Museum Collective, “The Old Museum Building bares much significance for the residents of Brisbane and now we look forward to giving them an excuse to revisit.”
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PICS: SUNNY RIVER WILDWOOD
UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS A DEEP-ROOTED MENTALITY UNDERPINNED BY THE HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY, NOT THE PEOPLE.
T&I BNE _ISSUE THREE _27
OUR CONTRIBUTING WRITER TOM SAT DOWN WITH TOM EGGERT, FRONTMAN AND SONGWRITER FOR MTNS FOR A TALLIE IN THE PARK AND GOT US A SNAPSHOT INTO THE WORLD OF THESE WISTFUL MELODY WIZARDS.
MTNS - MTNS - JOSEPH THIANG // TOM EGGERT // ROBBIE HELLBER
MUSIC _MTNS
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I’LL BRING THE SKELETONS, THEY WILL BRING THE FLESH AND MUSCLES.
The Brisbane based three piece are in the midst of their first headline national tour, and things are going well. After selling out Black Bear Lodge they drew solid crowds at their first Perth Gig. At the time of writing the band were about to head south “Same thing different place, really nothing too special, and it’s really nothing that gets me really excited and stoked.” Tom quickly qualifies; “If I’m writing music that people are wanting to listen to then I want to get that music out to them and I want to be able to get that out to them in a different context, in a live setting and if that means going to different cities and playing gigs, then thats’ cool. That’s what it means.” Tom goes on to explain how he has recieved gifts from unexpected places, from bizarre fan-art to invitations to tour towns he has never heard of. When asked about the creative process, Tom tells me about his straight forward approach. “I write these songs and it just kind of comes out as it does, it’s not really anything particular, no premeditated design as to what I’m going to do. I will just sit down, pull up an empty synth patch on pro-tools and from that it’ll just turn into a song. From there I’ll bring it to Jo (drums) and he expands on the beats, they will become more structured.Same with keyboard, I will put a basic keyboard part in there and I’ll take it to Robbie, who comes from quite a classical background and loves a lot of different stuff that I don’t listen to. I’ll bring the skeletons, they will bring the flesh and muscles.” Amidst the plethora of scene slacker-rock bands, (who are paradoxically eager to express their indifference to things) MTNS stands apart. Their carefully resided-over warm electro sounds bleed heartfelt care to the listener, leaving them with a melancholic happiness. We will eagerly wait to see where they can take us next.
I have had a fascination with this music since seeing Tom Eggert play an early evening solo-set at a Red Hill house party early last year. With his reverb-soaked telecaster strapped high and swoon levels set to eleven, Tom silenced the adoring crowd of friends and friends of friends. His melancholic sweetness was immediate; it disarmed any drunken party-boy detractors and a momentary wash of introspection sank over us as we mulled around in driveway of the old Queenslander. Like all good house parties, the night soon descended into a cacophonic mungfest. But something in this music stayed with me the following day. The sheer beauty of his wistful melodies were delivered so sweetly they border on androgyny. Forlorn enough to punch a heart shaped hole in a man’s chesticles. I was eager to meet the person behind this music and find out how it all goes down. After prying open our man-sized beers with a cigarettelighter, Tom laid out the band’s humble beginnings, recording process and newfound touring life. Approaching the subject of their origins in music, he tells me, “I’ve come from a background of loving both acoustic elements and electronic elements, but i’ve always played in this rock world because that’s what people around me were doing. So that’s just really what i fit into because I just really wanted to play music. Being influenced by that kind of stuff like Karnivool and all those sort of rock bands. It’s quite interesting melding that with bands that I love like Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, The Killers and a really wide base of things that I’m listening to.” It’s hard to imagine these atmospheric textures, ethereal electro washes, 808 half-time beats coming from his prog-rock beginnings. But for some reason, I’m unsurprised as every stratospheric musical journeyman seems to have at one point in their life, shred the gnar at an all ages metal gig.
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T&I CAUGHT UP WITH ETERNAL SKATEBOARDS HEAD DESIGNER, DES ROUNTREE TO SEE WHAT INSIGHTS WE COULD SHAKE FROM HIM. WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN INQUIRY INTO THE ANGLE OF THE PATH THAT THIS GENTLEMAN’S CAREER HAS TAKEN, AND HOW HE’S CARRIED HIS SELF-WORTH WITH HIM ALONG THE WAY.
DES ROUNTREE
ETERNAL
HANDJOB _Eternal
When did you begin your professional career? Eternal was my first professional job. I started working for them about five years ago back in July, 2009. The guys have been great to me, giving me opportunities that have really allowed me to grow as an artist, which I’m appreciative for. It was good in the sense that I got thrown in to it. I had shown one of my bosses my work and ideas, which he liked so it was a great transition into the team because I already had that affirmation that what I was doing was on the mark. What is it about deck art that most appealing? Even now, it’s still really challenging. Skate decks are long and thin and I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I’m really conscious of how I use my space. Though, when designing the artwork, you have to keep in mind how it will look on decks as well as wheels, t-shirts and other bits. Do you notice deck art trends in the skate industry? How are you doing things differently? If you look at the design firms in the States who are responsible for Plan B, Toy Machine and other companies, they use a lot of the same designers. I’m trying to create our own feel, so that when people see one of our boards, they know it’s an eternal deck. I’m just making sure we stay away from slapping snakes and skulls into every artwork, but still doing something that is accepted by skaters.
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HANDJOB _Eternal
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I JUST DON’T WANT TO CREATE EMPTY, HOLLOW WORK. IT JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT. How do you incorporate typography into your artworks? I only recently started dabbling in typography after I read an article on the importance of knowing how to use typography and lettering and from there I got swept into that world. These decks are actually the first time I’ve given the combo a go. When sitting down to a piece, I try think what I want the overall feel of the artwork to have; modern or vintage for example. Then I’ll choose a typeface and work on it using my tablet, meshing and mixing all the elements along the way to make it work. Would you usually incorporate a message in to your artwork? For example, what inspired the Black Sea deck series and the foliage series slogan, ‘Making Trees Cool?’ I just don’t want to create empty, hollow work. It just doesn’t feel right. I read a lot of song lyrics and classic books and I love the power words and stories have to create multiple meanings. I want to create work that would make a viewer look at it from a different perspective to fully understand it. I try to project moral standards that I strive for or that are lacking in society so sometimes it comes from that place in the heart that is dark and ghastly. When I created the concept for the Black Sea series, I envisioned dudes sailing in the sea, trying to find their way out of a place that doesn’t cast any light on their situation. Another series is titled Four Beasts, including the eagle, man, lion and oxen. Do you consider yourself a beast? (Laughs) No. Four Beasts was less personal and more based on animals. They all have strong symbolic meaning attached. So I wanted to take life lessons from books and lyrics and place them in the symbolism through text which tells a story that, hopefully, people can draw their own meaning from and apply in life. For example, to me the ox is a sacrifice, the ultimate servant to the farmer.
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PICS: DANE BEESLEY
HU
VIOLENT
MUSIC _Violent Soho
UNGRY The new album was recorded in Brisbane with a Brisbane producer, what motivated you to return to your roots and what did Bryce Moorhead bring to the table regarding shaping the sound of the new album? Out of everyone we have ever worked with we have always felt most comfortable with Bryce Moorhead. We feel he has a real solid understanding of the band’s sound and dynamics, he understand’s when to step in and make a final call on a guitar sound or drum fill. I guess for the most part he just stays out of the way and helps support what the band want to do. He’s Brisbane’s version of Steve Albini, someone who wants to capture the raw sound of a band. No frills...just record it how it is...the sound was there we just needed someone who understood it. What was it about the Hungarian Uprising of 1965 that inspired you while writing Hungry Ghost? There is nothing particular about that event...I was just mucking around on Wikipedia and became stuck with the imagery, there was something powerful about the way it played out. I love mixing historical events with modern-day imagery, I think it paints everything in a different light. It’s been said that you were also influenced by Kalle Lasn’s ‘Culture Jam’ and the Buddhist concept of a hungry ghost. What does your personal hungry Ghost crave?
You guys still seem to carry a lot of Mansfield pride with you. How do you reckon growing up in the suburban Brisbane shaped you as musicians? I think the biggest impact on me personally was growing up in a religious home and school. I don’t think it affected my musical taste or anything - but it’s something I look back on and think about a bit. It’s amazing that all these people get swept up in such a grand idea...we all came from that place, that’s where the band was formed, so I guess thats where the importance of Mansfield lies. The other part of the “Mansfield” thing just came form the fact that all the bands we were playing with back then came from the Northside. On top of that all these hardcore bands made such a big deal about their local affiliation; North Coast Hardcore, River City Hardcore. I dunno... there were heaps of them. I think the whole thing was a joke that just stuck with us....we were the only band to ever rep. Mansfield, Brisbane that’s for sure.
“Hungry Ghost” isn’t about personal addictions so much. It’s more about painting around the normality we find ourselves in. Some people solve it with religion - I wrote an album.
What do you reckon are some of the challenges/advantages facing bands starting out in Brisbane?
Do you think society will ever abandon its obsession consumerist culture or are we doomed to shop ourselves into extinction?
My advice is there are no challenges - just make a band, practice, write good music you actually want to make, play shows and party. If you focus too much about “making it” (whatever that is) then you’re a shit band and you won’t have fun.
It can’t sustain itself so something will happen. “How” and “When” is debatable. Signing on with Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth must have been an exciting development for you guys. How did you come into contact with him and how has having the support of one of your musical idols helped over the years? They got in touch with us after we put our first record out, there were other record labels interested also so we did a tour across England, New York and LA. We played a little place in New York called the Cake Shop - I think it was in Lower East Side Manhattan - we were in the middle of a song and Thurston walked in. We couldn’t believe it - it completely blew our minds. We had dinner with him and he was a complete legend. His music knowledge was ridiculously impressive, he could name all the bands from Brisbane which we thought fit in therealm of “local knowledge only”. Really nice guy....
Word is you guys were regularly playing house/garage party gigs before you cracked the big time. What did you learn playing low tech/DIY gigs and how has the experience shaped you as a band? I think playing shows like that teaches you it isn’t about equipment or how tight a band is. It’s everything else that matters, the songs and the way the band plays em... It seems the BDO organisers came up a little short with ticket sales this time around and there’s talk of them axing the Perth leg next year. How were the crowds this year? Did you notice a smaller turn out? Yeah we noticed it was quite a bit smaller from when we went in our younger years. But we had an awesome turn-out, so we were pumped! Do you reckon it’s possible that we could be seeing the last days of the BDO? Maybe, would be a shame cause its a staple of the festival circuit in Australia. I think they learnt some lessons and hopefully it will stick around for a while. Who knows..... I heard the guys from Channel V gave you a guitar that ended up as ammunition in a stage trashing. What kind of guitar was it, why did they give it to you and do you think they mind that you trashed it? It was a crap Ibanez, James did the right thing by society. Enough said.
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GUARDIAN ALIEN Autum winter collection 2014 Guardian Alien is dedicated to the loving memory of a dear friend. You know who you are...
FASHION _Gail Sorronda
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WWW.GAILSORRONDA.COM.AU
FASHION _Gail Sorronda
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DESIGN _7th Disaster
If you have played in or have been a part of the more seminal side of the underground music scene in Brisbane, chances are that at one stage or another you’ve been exposed to Matt Deasy’s wondrous and ethereal band posters and designs. Roku Music, Slug Guts, Toy Balloon, Feathers, Carry Nation, Scraps, Scul Hazzards, Nite Fields, Secret Birds, Kitchens Floor, Blank Realm, Multiple Man, The Rational Academy, No Anchor, Primitive Motion, Turnpike, Go Violets, Tape//Off...the list could roll on for pages. All of them have been represented visually by #7th Disaster, Deasy’s working moniker. Put bluntly, #7th Disaster has brought influence and individuality to the scene. His unusually screen-printed, high-concept designs deserve to be a canonical element of the Brisbane music scene over the last decade. “I’ve been working in the industry for about 12 years,” says Deasy. “One of the first processes I was shown was blending different colours together, it was pretty mesmerising and the idea of repetition appealed to me as well. I started handcutting my own stencils, taking ideas from album cover art and making my own band t shirts. The silk screen process entwined itself pretty well with my interest in music and band culture.” Deasy recently held a retrospective of his works at the Box Gallery in West End. The show not only included an selection of the posters he’s done for bands, but also a collection of dazzling glow-in-the-dark works that required an assembly of lights to be turned off and on with a time counter. “The phosphorescent ink prints are an idea I’ve had kicking around for a couple of years now. I was in the US at the end of last year and took some photos there that I wanted to combine into some collage prints, but thought the glow would be a different angle to take. I was really interested in glow stars when I was a kid, fascinated actually, you know... your own little galaxy on the bedroom ceiling at night. The fact that the ink glows vibrantly for only a minute or so before you turn the lights on or see it again the next night also meant the imagery can’t be abused visually, I kinda like that.”
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DESIGN _7th Disaster
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Every family has a skeleton in their closet. In my family our skeleton is not so much a well-worn metaphor as it is the actual skeletal remains of a human being. Crammed into a wooden box and tucked away amongst the old Christmas decorations and stuffed toys in our storeroom, lurks a human skeleton. As intriguing as it may sound, the explanation for the macabre resident in my family home is unremarkable: my mother, an extremely successful pathologist, began her career studying medicine in the early 70’s at the University of Queensland. At the time, human skeletons were just an educational commodity, akin to a textbook or lab coat, part and parcel to the requirements of medical schools the world over. My mother bought hers second hand from another student, just as students continue to buy study tools from alumni today. Fascination not fear has always dominated my feelings towards the skeleton. As children, my brothers, sister and I would be allowed to handle the skeleton. We would test the hinged jaw that snapped shut when we opened it, we would hold the articulated hand-bones up to our own hands, the spine against our backs and the femur against our own. From a young age I was exceptionally intrigued, as well as informed, by what lay beneath my skin. Recently, I decided to find out more about the skeleton in our storeroom. Who was it? Where did they come from? How did their partial remains come to rest in an inner city Brisbane home? Though common to universities everywhere, the sourcing of skeletons was not widely discussed. “We were just told generally that they were Indian,” my mother offered when I asked if she was ever given any information as to the origins of the skeleton. Trying to garner the skeleton’s back-story from my mother was an ambiguous endeavor: did the bones come with any sort of documentation? “No”. How much did you pay for them? “I can’t remember”. Can you at least remember who sold them to you? She trawled her memory; trying to dredge up the identity of the student she purchased the bones from. A name presented itself, “but don’t print that” she says, unsure of its validity.
A SKELETON This predicament, though difficult to comprehend in retrospect, is not specific to my mother. Most students were oblivious to the disturbing itinerary embarked upon by skeletons destined for Western laboratories.
HISTORY_Jane Mahoney
IN A STRANGER’S CLOSET It’s not an easy trail to pick up either: reliable publications on the topic are few and far between and history makes little mention of human tissue trade in the 20th century. I invited the current head of anatomy at the University of Queensland to take part in this article but was declined given the “distressing nature of the topic to families of those who donate their bodies to science.” Not to mention the distressing nature of the part western universities have played in perpetuating the human bone trade and all that this entails. The beginnings of the human bone trade can be traced back to the 18th century when anatomy as a serious field of study saw its inception. Soon enough, the demand for human bodies surpassed supply and the medical profession sought increasingly reprehensible means of obtaining necessary specimens. Grave robbers, or Resurrectionists, as history has been kind enough to dub them, were paid a small sum of money by doctors to purloin freshly dead cadavers from the grave they had been laid to rest in only hours beforehand. For the most part, authorities turned a blind eye, occasionally cracking down on the grave robbers at the bottom of the food chain. In the UK, this finally culminated in the murderous rampage of William Burke and William Hare in 1828, better know as the West Port Murders. Over the course of ten months Burke and Hare murdered 16 people who, in exchange for a small profit, would end up on the dissection table of Doctor Robert Knox not long after falling victim to their killers. Eventually, authorities in both the UK and America ended the grisly state of affairs by passing laws that put an end to grave robbing. New restrictions on incoming research material did not deter western doctors who simply outsourced their suppliers. The English pioneered the Indian market for human tissue by cajoling members of the Indian Dom Caste into preparing and selling skeletons to exporters who would supply western universities for the next 200years. Like America and the UK before them, Indian traders soon turned to grave robbing to keep up with the booming economy. When interviewed in Scott Carney’s, The Red Market, Craig Kilgore, CEO of the biggest human tissue import company in America, Kilgore International, recalls, “we were told that overpopulation was such a big problem that people would just die where the slept and carts would pick up dead bodies of the street”.
It’s the same sentiment my mother and her cohort were lead to infer, “I thought that people sold there skeletons during life,” she told me, shocked that any other means could be possible. Official reports beg to differ – bodies stolen from grave yards or directly from the fires of crematoriums once family members had departed made up the bulk of the 60, 000 skeletons exported from India in 1984. In March 1985 the Indian bone trade fell apart when the media reported a man had been arrested attempting to export 1500 children’s skeletons. A child’s skeleton is worth considerably more than an adult skeleton due to their comparative rarity and the insights they give into osteological development. Indian newspapers alleged that children had been kidnapped and murdered to constitute the cache. Public outcry ensued and the government finally axed the export of human tissue for good. With this, the global market for human bones collapsed. Western universities flirted with substitute markets in China and Eastern Europe with little success: both areas lacked experience in producing the quality of skeletons India had come to perfect and trade never took off. Today, medical students are able to purchase artificial skeletons, however, the molding process used in creating these substitutes is incapable of capturing the detail and variation of real specimens. “It’s sort of sad to think [the skeleton] could have been procured through nefarious means” my mother sighs; grappling with the possibilities I’ve presented her during the course of our interview. When I ask what is to become of the skeleton, she looks at me hopefully, “I just figured I’d give it to one of the kids” she says. A bizarre and tragic inheritance to say the least. But what is to become of the bones in the long run? We can’t exactly turn up at a funeral home wishing to dispose of human remains allegedly bought with cash 40years ago from a man my mother can’t really remember. Returning the bones “home” is equally problematic, given we can’t actually be sure where “home” is. Continuing profit for human remains isn’t exactly appealing and although donating the bones back to a medical school seems a safe option, one cannot help feeling like a callous cog in a cycle we have been presented with the idealistic possibility of breaking. The skeleton presents more questions than the answers it was intended to provide. And for now, with no inkling of who it was, where it came from or where it will end up, it will simply remain the skeleton in our closet.
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COLOUR ME_Thom Elkins
VOM ELEPHANT Loxodonta Vomricana
COLOURING PAGE COMPETITION: Send us your pretty pictures for your chance to win an original LILY painting. Scanned images can be sent to hello@texandimage.com.au or originals can be posted to 5/51 Mollison St. 4101
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www.textandimage.com.au