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D/zine
ISSUE 7
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EDITOR Tom Emmett @tomemmett_ GRAPHIC DIRECTORS Angus Shaw @drawnshaw Miranda Rielly @mirandarielly EVENTS DIRECTOR Steve Szell @szell_steve EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Ebony Fowler @ebonykfowler Elizabeth Hall @elizabethjaneh Lexi Illuk @lexi_illuk Markos Hughes @markosy Mez Macleod @meztron3000 Nick White @nickwhite49 Ololade Adeniyi @lisforlolade Yaseera Moosa @yasmoosa
Funded by a Student Clubs & Projects (SCAP) Grant
MENDING THROUGH CULTURE 8
THE SUBURBS 16
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS 46 TATTOO 54
CREATION 78
CIELLE MARCHAL 80 FELICIA BALSATEGUI 88
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SUNBEATEN COUNTRY 26
JAPAN 60
DESIGN CULTURE AND SOCIETY 36
LANEWAYS 70
CULTURE. How can one word be so present in our world today? Culture emanates throughout everything we do: the food we eat, the objects we use, the houses we live in, the way we dress, the way we greet our family or friends, which way we face when we sleep or even how we enter or exit the train or tube. Culture is the fabric of society. Globalisation and the Internet have diluted the extremities of culture and there is a global ‘mono-culture’ spreading, however, local specialties and colloquialisms still exist strongly today. In Issue 7 of D/zine we look at the relationships society, architecture and design have with culture. Most of the articles are Brisbane centric (as that is what we can relate to, since culture is somewhat geographically influenced) but we travel to the outback too, and Japan. Culture is such a large and limitless topic that one could write volumes about it; how it’s interpreted and what it means. Here we only show a small part of what culture is and means to us. It’s sad to say that this is the last issue for which I will be the editor of D/zine. It’s been an incredible eighteen months working with The Dub and it’s been an immense privilege to collaborate with such exciting, talented, driven and amazing design students. Together we have continued the evolution of the publication and strengthened our relationships with libraries, shops and institutions around Australia. I am looking forward to reading future issues of D/zine and I’m sure you are too. Finally, thank you to all the readers, cafes, bookstores, libraries, designers, architects and fellow students who support The Dub and D/zine, it’s truly appreciated and we thank you for it. Tom Emmett
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M E N D I N G T H R O U G H C U L T U R E If one was to create a new society, what elements of cultural traditions and notions would be taken forwards? Ebony Fowler conceptualises on a utopian community where values have been picked from around the world. Today, the onslaught of negative news spawned by media and social networks seems relentless. As we watch glaciers plummet into icy waters and our banks fall into bankruptcy, we begin to piece together an alarming reality. We are faced with some very difficult challenges. A plethora of doom and gloom research novels have been published on these matters. I believe there is hope in developing a solution via a thorough assessment of existing cultures and behaviours which are proven to reap positive benefits for all people, the community, and the environment. I’ve taken a dip into a few cultural idiosyncrasies and practices which may do us, and future generations well to put into practice. The existing model of modern cities manages to feed millions of dwellers every day. Meat, fish, wheat, and vegetables are readily available without the majority having to dirty their hands or lift heavy crates to get them. Miraculously, our food is available at all times with very little consideration for how it came to be. Our detachment from farming and nature
has never been more apparent. Carolyn Steel, an architect, author and lecturer at the University of Cambridge has prioritised her time researching the development of cities such as London and Rome. Steel discovered that food is inextricably linked to the way cities operate, and published a book titled Hungry Cities exploring the concept she coined Sitopia, meaning ‘food place’. In the beginning, she explains, market places were the central meeting hub of the city or town. There would be pigs and cows and smelly carts of hay, fresh vegetables and fruit in large batches. Farms lay just beyond the city, transporting their produce in carts via key roads linking the city centre. Trails of pungent manure and rotting vegetables where barely escapable as one strolled the main street. Food and its place of origin were impossible to confuse. Steel advises that we must distain from designing ‘big metropolitan unproductive blobs’ and instead use food as a way of seeing, and reimagining the city as an organic framework.
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Words by Ebony Fowler
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Artworks by Ebony Fowler
/13 If activities such as permaculture and rooftop farming are harnessed by the community and integrated as cultural activities, cities will be in a more stable position to combat inevitable food shortages as the population increases and global warming threatens agriculture and farming. Children fifty years ago found themselves playing in the garden, or riding bicycles down neighbourhood streets, reading story books or playing cards. When daylight fell they’d be called in for dinner, then drift off to sleep in the early hours of the evening. Today, one has to wave frantically to detach a child’s eyes from the video game or television screen before them. When observing activity on a bus, you could conclude at least half of the passengers have their phones glued to their nose. Screen technology has taken a good grasp and is preventing us from seeing beyond ourselves and our digital devices. They say to break a habit, you must replace it with a new one‌ just as long as it is a good one. Sen no Rikyu, a Japanese philosopher of the 16th century, fashioned the art of the Tea Ceremony. Designed to re-awaken the mind and bring a newfound sense of appreciation for all modest and imperfect things, the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Cha-no-yu) is a way of living mindfully in every aspect of life, not just in the company of your tea-drinking friends. It may just be the perfect pastime to help us find inner satisfaction rather than seek external distractions. The philosophy filters through all things, from the material of bowls in your kitchen, to the way you greet someone in passing. If these qualities were adopted beyond the shores of old world Japan, the world may slow a notch or two, as it learns to find beauty in the insignificant, and respite in modest activity. The secret to living a long and happy life is not, as popular culture would have you believe, purely about a strict exercise and nutritional regime. Dan Buttoner, an American author and educator, set out to research cultures with the ingredients to sustain human life beyond the average age prediction. Despite the technology and wealth of westernised nations, two regions with the longest life expectancy are in fact small communities in Japan and Greece, called Blue Zones.
/15 Alongside a diet high in vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids, both cultures withheld community values, and a strong respect for their elders. A widely held positive attitude towards the ageing population has significant effects on their feeling of worth in the community. They are looked upon as wise educators whose stories and lessons are valuable commodities. They stay close to their families and take part in communal gatherings. In our existing culture, we’ve made a habit to palm our elders onto carers in aged care villages. The young often idolise pop teens and movie stars rather than the achievements of the senior community. The publishing industry make a profit on advertising advice from celebrity figures. If we want to live longer, more fulfilling lives, we need to emphasis how much we appreciate our forbearers, says Buttoner. Our tabloids should read ‘This weeks Centenarian!’ rather than trashy derogative statements. Perhaps then people will develop a sense of the truly fulfilling and most worthwhile achievements which deserve celebration and acknowledgement. Observing the qualities and attributes of various cultures acts as a reminder to reflect on what we value most. It allows an opportunity to filter the unnecessary and focus on things that make life important and enjoyable. In a time so heavily saturated by various mediums informing us of how we should live, it’s a rewarding to let curiosity send us in search of the most fulfilling ways to spend our time. With a world so rich in culture, and the relative ease in which we can access these cultures, the possibility has never been so tangible to cross pollinate ideas and behaviours for our well-being. More importantly however, in the context of the 21st century, all continents must unite in an act to prevent future economic downturns, driven by a debt-based consumerist culture, as well as stand up to the foreseeable threat of resource and food depletion due to an accelerated growth in population and climate change. Our culture and habits will play a critical role in how we mend the environmental crisis. The beauty of ancient and existing cultures must be nurtured, and we should look to them for advice as we move forward.
T H E S U B U R B S As populations grow and urban living becomes more desirable, is the classic ‘Australian Dream’ of living past its time and should we embrace apartment living as a ‘normal’ way of living ponders Lexi Illuk.
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What is culture? It is many things to different people, although its essence is the foundation of a national and personal identity. It’s important, but what if the culture has got it wrong. The Australian dream is exactly that, a dream, the aspiration of idyllic Australian life: the quarter-acre block, the low-set house, the backyard where you throw another snag on the barby, beer in hand. It’s a space to play, a space to grow and relax. The reality of this dream however is a little different, especially for those living in Brisbane. For those who can afford to live within a five kilometre radius of the city district, it is still probably quite idyllic. As we build our dream houses farther and farther away from the places we work and would like to play, the original dream becomes a little less satisfying. As a solution to this problem, a few ingenious ideas were thrown around like building new suburbs in remote locations, or where major shopping centres replace community based urban centres. There is enormous amount of money being spent on trying to fix the problems of our suburban lives, but perhaps it’s us, Australians, that need to fix our culture, our dream, and think a little more realistically about our collective future. The suburban life in Australia represents a level of personal achievement and success, and for most the ideal lifestyle. Urban sprawl is the continuous outward growth of the city, consuming large areas of land and in the process causing the transformation of previously agricultural land into residential allotments. Those residential allotments become new areas of suburbs. The reality is, according to David Levinson, author and professor at the University of Minnesota, that ‘...so long as there is housing in the suburbs, and transportation to enable people to move, someone will live in the suburbs’. People are willing to make a lot of sacrifices for this dream, the main one being the long commute, and perhaps they don’t really mind so much. A lot of the time they sacrifice the thing which they were hoping to find in the suburbs: family time in the ideal family home. When hours are spent every day commuting to and from work or school, then that family time is lost, and replaced by stress. By the end of the day, no one has the time or the energy to play happy family because of the hours wasted stuck in traffic.
Words by Lexi Illuk
People believe they are putting their family’s first by living in the suburbs, but ultimately lose out becoming time poor and under considerable financial stress. But, everyone needs somewhere to live. The most obvious problem the sprawling suburbs have created is the reliance we all have on cars. This reliance on cars as the main mode of transport also defines the way in which our cities grow. With the high rate of car ownership, developers can and will keep creating blocks of land at the outskirts because a) most people have a car, and b) its financial more achievable, exactly as described by Levinson. Money. This becomes the second driving force of the suburbs. Land is becoming more and more expensive and is thus pushing people out of prime locations. Our desire for our own house and land is contributing to this and is essentially stabbing us in the back. The significant financial costs involved in living in the suburbs put a huge strain on families.
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It’s not only mortgages, but the transport required to get to these locations as we pay to fuel our vehicles or pay for exorbitant public transport fees. Adding to the issue, government subsidies and first home owner’s grants also promote and encourage suburban development and the construction of new homes. Our economy relies on it too, and we cheer when the rate of new housing approvals rises. It costs us a lot of money to maintain this lifestyle, and it is ‘us’ because we are the taxpayer. The huge amount of our money spent on highways, adding lanes to roads, public transport, paths, bikeways, and every other essential service could, perhaps, be spent much more effectively if we lived a little bit more densely. Resources are being spread over a large area, and a lot of the time, they are spread rather thin. And so despite these collective costs of suburban development, a lot of Australians prefer this way of life, but why don’t we ever think of the social collective cost? Photograph by Lexi Illuk
/21 Apart from the economic costs of the suburban lifestyle, there are also significant cultural and social sacrifices we make, but don’t always realise. The patterns for suburban development don’t always cater to the needs of the community, which is partly the reason why need to commute every day. That commute quickly becomes the reason why everyone is so busy, too busy for family time or entertaining friends, and the reason they moved to the suburbs. The suburban life can often become quite solitary and isolated where neighbours don’t know each other, and even avoid interaction. Everyone is too busy with their own lives. While this isn’t something restricted only to the suburbs, living in our own big house surrounded by a fence is a very individualist approach and does make it easier to limit social interaction amongst your immediate community. This effect is further reinforced by a lack of public spaces nearby because the suburban streetscape is occupied by private lawns and driveways. Another social aspect of life in the suburbs is a lack of public spaces. If you consider what the physical markers for the centre of a suburb or area are, then you often realise that they are shopping centres. There is nothing particularly wrong with a shopping centre, especially in a well behaving capitalist society like ours, but it becomes a problem when the shopping centre replaces a real public space. People need somewhere to go and meet up, and have fun, but since when does this equal an ugly block of chain stores, where the main point of entry is through a car park. By night, it’s these same car parks that become unwanted loitering grounds due to a lack of public spaces. As we are already seeing, cities around us are changing, especially in Brisbane where the skyline is dotted with cranes. Whether we like it or not, the suburban life which we know and may or may not love will not be the same in the future. Perhaps it is time to change our thinking and see the positives of higher density living. A shift from individualistic living to community orientated living. Higher density living does not equate to soaring residential towers at twenty storeys or more, and I firmly believe they are not the answer. It is not only a question of height though, but also design. Photographs by Mez Macleod
When most Australians are accustomed to living in their family home, whether it is a brick bungalow or a weatherboard Queenslander, a sleek, glass fronted tower will never be a home. This is a real challenge for designers, and perhaps important clues can be taken from other cities in the world where high density living functions very effectively and has for a long time, with good design at heart. The houses we build now are not necessarily shining examples of architecture either. Poor design had led to many Australian homes being described as ‘nothing more than glorified tents’ by Adrian Barnett, professor of public health at the Queensland University of Technology, in a recent article. This comment was made relating to the fact that more Australians die in their homes from cold weather annually, than Swedes. Homes bought and built from catalogues do not help the problem either which offer only generic options for a wide variety of sites and environments for families with unique needs. So what if higher density living could offer us something better? Higher density living is not a bad thing if done in the right way. It does not mean a loss of privacy, and it does not mean that our lifestyles will become more restricted. If loss of privacy equates to interacting with your neighbours more often, and restricted lifestyles equal going outside more and enjoying better public spaces, then it hardly seems like a bad deal. Higher density living means that better quality public services and activities can be provided to more people at the same time. Better affordability and design could create the needed shift in attitudes towards living more densely.
Photograph by Mez Macleod
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/25 So if the suburbs are the root of all our problems, what is it that we can do about them? Well, there is no easy answer to this one. One thing is certain though, there needs to be a discussion about what we, the public, the users of our cities want them to look like in the future. Community consultations with planners, architects and government agencies would help to establish a plan for the future of the suburbs. There are long-term plans for the city and inner city precincts, but what about further out, where anything goes? We need progressive ideas, and some real changes to the structure of our cities. Larger suburban centres could become mini CBD’s attracting educational institutions, businesses and commercial activity with lower rents than the city, along with the benefit of less travel time. Suburban areas could densify around these mini CBD’s, thus creating mini cities of their own. The goal would be to make areas of the suburbs more independent and sustainable. The densification of inner city suburbs with well-designed and beautiful buildings is another important factor in a city’s success. It requires some strong leadership and restraint, especially when the better solution may not appear to have the same immediate economic returns. Social and environmental sustainability will ensure the required economic sustainability is achieved. The suburbs have long been a marker of Australia’s success and sought-after lifestyle, but the future is near and things are changing. While the suburbs will always exist is some way, their existence in the urban environment will be forced to change because of the amount of resources required to sustain them. Although, as long as developers are able to provide cheap land and housing in estates further and further away, people will buy them. After all everyone needs somewhere to live. We want beautiful places in which to live though, that enhance our lives. That is why change is needed: a change of mentality, a change in design, and a definite change in legislation to enforce a minimum standard and to ensure affordability for our higher density homes of the future.
Photograph by Mez Macleod
S U N B E AT E N C O U N T R Y Mez Macleod travels west from Brisbane to discover and document the landscape outside of the city and the stark contrast it has to the urban sprawl.
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Photographs by Mez Macleod
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DESIGN CULTURE & SOCIETY Following on from his essay in Issue 6 about the integration of history, culture and placemaking, Markos Hughes looks at the impact of culture on architecture and how its relevance to society has changed over time.
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Words by Markos Hughes
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This article will attempt to understand the relationship between society and architectural design and how the two are intertwined to create and become a part of our culture. There are inherent links between culture, society and design. While their definitions and meaning are different, each term is linked and influences the others. Society, culture and design inform and respond to each other based on actions by people at large. We, the collective people, control all these three elements. We are the pieces through which meaning and context is given by design intent to create a defined culture. Every facet of design and creativity is embedded with a culture by which it is represented or influenced. This is true whether it is made explicit or not. In the past, our built environment was in response to our religious beliefs and how advanced our society was in the context our environment. Essentially, people created and reflected the world around them. We imbued our architecture to be influenced by religion, environment or spirituality in the search for identity. It was from this, our designed world, that we derived our identity and were able to define who we were on our own terms. The great American architect Richard Mieir once said that for him, “…architecture is the most public of arts”. This physical manifestation can come to represent an entire era or society. Over the thousands of years of our existence, a milieu of nationalities and their individual cultures have been symbolised by one building style or construction. For example, when we think of China we think of the Great Wall, India and the Taj Mahal, Egypt and the Pyramids, Italy and Il Colosseo. Aside from their grandeur, we can understand that their significance comes from the society around them at the time. These structures gave -and still give- a physical presence to the civilisation that created them. These physical remnants remain as pillars of a bygone era and give insight into the people, their religions and their values in society, which have become distant over time. Because of their physicality, we learn about a society’s understanding of materiality, engineering, construction and physics, and can only marvel at their grandeur. Walking through cities with a rich history that is evident in its architecture is like walking through a public art display. Photographs by Markos Hughes
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You not only identify the particular time and place that you’re experiencing, but you also learn to understand that the social aspects of that era were reflected in the buildings of that time.
Adolf Loos, an Austrian architect and philosopher living during this cultural shift stated that “...As ornament is no longer organically related to our culture, it is also no longer the expression of our culture”.
This is the crux of where society and culture intersect; a design language is born through filters of knowledge, religion, history and geographic context and is spoken through the architecture and design of the physical world. Architecture can actually come to reflect the strong ties people have with their environments, their religion and their spiritual beliefs and they permeate these strong ideals into their designs. Along with being the most public of arts, architecture also serves to help identify people. Looking back in time we define architecture by its societal and geographic context. That church is Gothic, these towers are Neoclassic and that building is Modernist. When we learn to understand the differences in the buildings, what we really are achieving is a distinction in the societies that evolved over time, and these evolutions and changes in cultural and societal norms are paralleled by their building styles. This ability to link a design language with a society’s ethos is -in the last 100 years- evolving, as the identifiers informing a building’s construction -history, context, religion- are becoming less relevant. Contemporary architecture, in our globalised world can no longer readily identify to a particular time or location, nor does it need to; and it is this caveat with identity and our lack of cultural input that we must understand.
“Ornament” is used to describe the functionless but embellished decor of that era. He notes that as we as a society culturally shifted, so too does, or must, our architecture. The ornamentation in buildings before the turn of the century was a reflections of the society that built them, where history and religion informed the overall décor narrative. But as Loos stated, the change in societal thinking had to be reflected in the architecture, and buildings became less ostentatious as the society became less ostentatious and a rising middle class spread across the western world. These changes in our world came with improvements in manufacturing and construction materials, but were but minor factors in a wider cultural shift towards simplicity, functionality and purpose. Idioms such as Form follows function summarised the burgeoning modernist thinking that permeated into the great advances of the 20th Century.
The Industrial Revolution, the great kickstarter to our modern world, gave people of that time insight into a better, futuristic world, where technology in all its pursuits reigned supreme. These advances changed people’s thinking, as they started to see they could influence, mould and define a better standard of living. Art and architecture of that time reflected the greater cultural changes in thinking towards ideology and modernism in the late 19th century. It was here at a crossroad between the Industrial Revolution and the excessive bourgeoisie societies that the changes in cultural influence were reflected in the architecture.
As we raced into the post Industrial Revolution, and became more globally connected into the 21st century, our buildings were no longer easily identifiable staples of our current zeitgeist. After experimenting and exhausting “ism’s” (modernism, brutalism, expressionism etc.) we now build with a futuristic mindset, using environmental factors and efficiency to inform our design. Once again, similar to the turn of the 20th century, we as a global collective have had a cultural shift; one of even greater technological advances, and this once again is reflected in what we design. Contemporary architecture uses building materials of concrete, glass and steel that are no longer imbued with obvious cultural filters that are distinctive to a place and time. Rather, our buildings give insight into our incredibly connected world, where a global society has been formed through advances in science and technology. An overarching universal design language has been formed. It is informed by our connected global society, our greater understanding of materials and also of our impact on the environment.
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/45 It is in contemporary architecture and design that these advances have come to identify who we are. Designers and architects alike have the difficult task of creating with a much larger scope. We students in the future will have to design with input of history and place, context and sustainability, and most notably, of where we want to be in the future. We no longer think of what the future will look like, but rather how we can bring the future to the present, and construct our world in its place. With the current modern society we are inevitably a part of, we should understand that we are all the sum of all our collective experiences and it is these experiences that we have the responsibility of shaping. This sets the challenge for us as students and future creatives looking to leave an impression on the world. The challenge of how we can balance a wider array of influences into the work we do. We must realise that the work we do needs to be aware of its position geographically, historically and culturally. We should face this challenge with optimistic vigour and enthusiasm, as this burden can be faced collectively, by our more conscious and universally connected society. Through this, we will also realise that what we do will leave an indelible impression for future users, it may shape, inspire or define our future generations philosophy and this would be a legacy that we can be proud of.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS Ololade Adeniyi explores the notions of home, origin, culture and love in this painting cum poem hydrid writes Tom Emmett Opposite: ‘All The Tribes In Osun State’, (2015) Mixed Media (Ink on Watercolour Paper)
Ololade Adeniyi is a a 20 year old artist currently residing in Brisbane, Australia after moving here in 2001 from Nigeria when her parents decided it would offer her and her brother a platform to achieve in life and expand their world view. Such a move at the young age of 5 has intrinsically embedded the notion of culture in her as she was able to see and experience the difference in cultures, traditions, ways of living and ways of thinking in different geographic locations. As a result, Ololade’s artwork primarily focuses on culture. In Issue 5 of D/zine Ololade presented a group of artworks that compared and combined the use of digital and analogue medias. This derived from the analogue nature of traditional Nigerian culture and the digital possibilities she discovered in Australia, visually demonstrating her unique past and upbringing. Culture is the theme that Ololade’s artwork constantly revolves around, as though it is intrinsically embedded in her creative make-up. “Culture is a part of me that I can never explain but I am so interested in. It’s human nature, it’s societal behaviours, it’s in everything yet
Next: ‘No One Knows Which Way The River Runs’ (2015) Mixed Media India ink on 200gsm Arches Watercolour Paper
is so physically intangible. I try and draw it or paint it - the essence of culture - but everyday I have a different view, a different interpretation. That’s what drives me”. Culture is a fundamentally human construct. It is thousands of years old, yet is still evolving. It is new and old. Culture references the past and ways of living in eras gone by, but it also relates to the present and near future. This is what makes Adeniyi’s artwork unique; the fusion of past and present, of Nigeria and Australia, of analogue and digital, of fast and slow, of written material and visual material, of colour and black and white. These dichotomies and juxtapositions give her work depth and meaning below the surface value of the canvas or paper or computer screen. Her artwork is serious, and lends itself to serious themes. Whether or not art can make a difference (which I believe wholeheartedly it can), Ololade is focusing on exploring the enormous concept that is culture with no hesitation and it is a privilege to see what transpires from it.
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TATTOO
Nick White discusses the changing nature of tattooing culture and the emerging reasons why young people get tattoos on their body.
The use of ink to permanently mark human skin dates back to ancient cultures from various continents. As the meaning, reasoning and purpose behind tattoo has evolved, so has its aesthetic. This article aims to analyse how we as a society have evolved the medium of tattoo and how we perceive it in society today. Tattooing is one of many forms of traditional body modification in numerous cultures. Ancient India was one of these, using Henna to decorate the skin of women and sometimes men as a ceremonial art form. This form of skin art was however temporary, using dye to stain the skin. Native American tribes were also known to use temporary mediums of body decoration such as painting, greasing and scratching, and would only use tattoos to represent a permanent change of status for an individual in the tribe. Pilipino and Samoan cultures also held tattooing in high regard. A variety of markings were used to indicate rank and power within tribes and was often somewhat of a rite of passage for young men.
Words by Nick White
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Photograph by Nick White
/57 The art of applying tattoos was also of great importance in Samoan culture, with knowledge being passed from generation to generation, and many hours of practice being carried out by young males. In contrast to the significant role tattoo played in these countries, cultures such as Ancient Greece, China and Japan, would usually only apply tattoos to criminals and slaves as a branding method and to exhibit ownership. Aside from these more barbaric and inhumane purposes of tattooing, body art in these ancient cultures was usually used as a means of identifying a person’s belonging in society, and their role within it. So how did tattoo culture evolve from what it was to what it is today? While Western culture’s association with tattooing is brief in comparison to others, it has been embraced within the last few decades. While still somewhat associated with deviance, like criminals and gangs, tattoo in today’s world is primarily a form of selfexpression. Around forty percent of generation Y in the United States is said to have a tattoo, indicating their mainstream and common place in today’s society. As art forms go, tattooing is one of the boldest but most expressive. Antoinette B. Wallace describes it as “the medium which a person most directly projects him or herself in a society”. Ancient tribes used tattoo as a way of representing their identity from the rest of the tribe, but also to signify belonging to the group. In today’s culture, it is understood that the reasoning behind many people getting tattoos is still in touch with the idea of belonging. Twins perhaps, reaching a milestone birthday; a group of university students celebrating their graduation; or perhaps an Olympic team commemorating an experience of a lifetime. Tattooing was used to signify identity in ancient cultures, but the shift in defining identity is possibly what may be responsible for the change in tattoo culture from this period. A member of a tribe who marked their skin would do this to indicate what tribe they were a part of; that was their identity. In the 21st century however, we relate our identity with more individual characteristics and circumstances. Apart from the concept of belonging mentioned earlier, our expression of identity is typically only relevant to ourselves.
As self-expression has grown in society, particularly the 21st century, so has the spectrum of modern tattoos. Fundamentally, these characteristics of identity and belonging in tattoo culture can be extracted from the past; however it may be the interpretation of the body art from the individuals themselves that can exhibit the evolution of tattoo culture. Tattoos today usually reveal inwards reflection as opposed to outwards projection. The conscious decision a person makes to permanently mark their skin demonstrates that there is a reason for it. No longer is a tattoo used to distinguish one’s place in society, but more for the opposite effect; to distinguish one’s self. The physical representation of a memory, passion, person, feeling and many more can be produced through the act of tattooing. Whether an abstract interpretation or a life-like depiction, body art allows people to project what is important to them onto the world. A tattoo can be defined as a lived experience. Tattoo practice has exploded in recent years. While people of many ages have strong enthusiasm for ink, it is definitely Generation Y that have uniquely evolved the idea of what a tattoo can be, by pushing boundaries and conceiving trends. The consumer is not the only one responsible for the ever morphing culture, as tattoo artists have been required to keep pace with the rapidly expanding industry. From an underground and grungy scene, tattoo parlours have become a staple in modern consumer culture. Throughout the 20th century, tattooing was typically associated with masculinity. Americana culture introduced a wave of tattoo with a distinct visual theme of expressive colour, cartoon-like human representation and dramatic light and shade. The visual qualities of maritime tattoos are similar to these, and were highly popular throughout the 20th century. Anchors, ship wheels and women summarise the tattoo style of this era, and are still popular tattoo choices in this day and age.
Photograph by Oscar Jude-Wood
Through the combination of Generation Y’s fascination and enthusiasm for ink, and the array of existing styles and resources, the variety of visual styles of tattoos have become infinite. While us Gen Y’ers have been hard at work expressing our identities, some rather artistic and innovative styles of tattoo have arisen. Many tattoo artists globally are celebrated and known for their distinct visual styles. Whether they have penned their own signature style, or mastered an existing one, their art is a mainstream interest to many. Social media is used heavily by these artists, not only to promote themselves and their work in order to ensure an income, but also to no doubt influence thousands of people on what kind of ink they should get. Instagram users such as Dr Woo (@dr_woo_scc) and Fernanda Prado (fprado) create tattoos which epitomise the changing visuals in tattoo culture. Fine lines, intricate geometry and quirky typography are what set their work apart from traditional tattoo, and encompass the qualities of the most recent “trend”. From observing tattoo culture over the past few decades, post 2000 particularly, it is likely that its popularity and evolution will continue to grow. With the art form’s style, meaning and audience constantly changing and growing, it can be assumed that tattoo culture is something which can never die. I guess you could say it’s permanent.
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Photograph by Nick White
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J A PA N Yaseera Moosa travels to Japan and documents her perceptions and experiences with their land, architecture and culture. There is a lot to be said of the urban landscape in Japan (especially Tokyo) and its starkly pragmatic composition, but what has always stood out to me is that much of Japanese architecture is very humane. It is always mindful of the person who occupies the space. Upon visiting Japan, the culture of consideration became apparent to me in a way that I had never experienced in another country. Across foggy mountains, small alleyways and tall skyscrapers, this was the common thread that ran through my experiences.
Words by Yaseera Moosa
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Photographs by Yaseera Moosa
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L A N E W A Y S Laneways are popping up all over the Brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley. Dissimilar to those in Melbourne, Brisbane’s lanes are inspired from travels abroad. Arthur Apostolos from Winn and Bakery Lanes discusses laneway culture and its potential.
Let’s start off with Winn Lane, where it all began? Winn Lane already had the bones and the character. Creating Winn Lane wasn’t about trying to create a space, because the space was already there, so its development happened a lot faster. All that had to be done was insert workable spaces into the vestibules and openings that were already there. Then once we had tenants, they started creating the sense of lane community we have today. Winn Lane now runs itself. The tenants come up with the ideas themselves and we support them. Winn Lane is great because of its unique and interesting shops which draw people in regardless of whether it’s their own personal style or not.
Interview by Elizabeth Hall and Steve Szell
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Photographs by Markos Hughes
/73 It also supports local legends like Tym’s guitars, which along with having an international cult following was also voted one of the top 30 record shops in the world. How did the creation process for Bakery Lane differ? Bakery Lane is named after Braids Bakery, which was a building in the front. Bakery has been different because there has been a whole creation process behind it. The space had to be created first, and then it had to be transformed into a place where people could work and congregate. As a result, the space now has a great blend of the old heritage buildings and newer buildings. People have now moved into Bakery Lane and are slowly creating layers of community. Bakery Lane is still evolving. The landscaping still needs to be completed, and some of the heritage buildings still need restoration work. It is a slow process. Once these are completed, the Lane will be as I envisaged it. Restoring heritage buildings re-energises them and recreates them in a way that allows them to be sustainable in the future. For example, a shoe shop has been transformed into a bar and a restaurant. A new use has been found for that building which fits today’s times. Maybe in 100 years it will be a different building again. Where did your inspiration for the lanes come from? Many of the ideas for the laneways have come from my travels overseas. I’ve travelled a lot and have lived in Europe and New York for 12 years. I’ve been to Hong Kong and Japan. Because of this, I think they are quite distinct from the laneways in Melbourne. The climate in Brisbane also makes them different from Melbourne. For example, in Winn Lane there is a natural beautiful light streaming through. The laneways in Melbourne are darker and more enclosed. There is also more greenery in our laneways, and this is very important. Inspiration for this came from Tokyo, which also has a lot of greenery throughout its laneways. The idea of signage on the walls also comes from Asia.
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We also have a desire to create a space that isn’t dominated by food. Our laneways are complementary; there is a hair dresser, clothes shops and various other stores, as well as food. It’s similar to the laneways in Hong Kong and Tokyo, which are designed for mixed use. The laneways give Brisbane an opportunity to showcase its creativity and its independence. Where did you get the concept to create all three lanes, as opposed to just the singular Winn Lane? Winn was the pure concept. We didn’t know if it would work in the beginning, behind the corner of a main street and wedged between two buildings. But suddenly we found there was a demand from people to work in the space and promote the products they believed in. Winn Lane’s success gave us the confidence to create other spaces, and from there we created the three laneway concept. The lanes are close to each other, so it is easy to wander around and explore. We have also removed all the parking, as much as the tenants loved it, and hope that the space will be used for something creative. How do you think the new lane will fit in with the other two? I have no idea. We didn’t know how Bakery would turn out until we started finding tenants. Both lanes are similar, but at the same time different. Winn Lane seems to attract a slightly different demographic to Bakery Lane. Bakery is a little more upmarket, but it still has an edge to it. Bakery is more fashionable in its presentation, but Winn is more earthy and organic. California Lane will be more food orientated, but in a providore style similar to the Bakery Lane Markets. What do you see the future holding for your laneways? Hopefully this will be our family’s legacy to the area. It is a very beautiful area and we don’t want to destroy it. The Valley has a beautiful soul and people who come to the area rarely leave, our family included. Hopefully what we do here will stay for another 20, 40, or 50 years.
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C R E A Cielle Marchal and Felicia Balsategui present their graduate collections, summising a year’s worth of work. This marks the end of their journey, which started when we looked at the beginnings of their collections in Issue 6.
Interviews by Tom Emmett
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T I O N
CIELLE How did you find the year, overall? Definitely a very big journey. I never expected my collection to end up looking how it looks now. It completely transformed from what I initially had in mind, it changed week to week. Definitely Icaro (Icaro Ibanez, Head of Third Year Fashion) pushed us to do things that probably wouldn’t have done. He’ll be glad to hear that. I don’t know what to say, I’m so exhausted. Yeah everyone’s initial concepts are so different to their final garments but you can still see the starting points. I can’t even really remember what my first sketches look like. They were definitely much more clean cut than what I have now. It went from a really wearable, print based shirts and pants collection to a more conceptual, almost elegant looking one. Discovering the knotting and macramé half way through the year definitely made it change a lot. That’s the weaving of the metal? Yeah. I think it was mid-semester holidays and I was at Mum’s and we were just talking about, because she makes planters, ceramic plants, and we were talking about what else she could do with that and she was talking about when she was my age she used to do macramé plant holders and sell them at the markets. And then she had this little book of it and I started looking through it and thought ‘Oh yeah, that’s a pretty interesting technique’ and I definitely needed to improve my collection with the textile experiments and manipulations because I didn’t really have much apart from prints going on. So then I looked into that and with the post-apocalyptic concept it tied in really well, because when people are finding objects they need to use their imaginations in creating and taking those little bits of remnants of the past world and braiding it into something solid and wearable. Kind of like a shield I guess.
I remember you saying that about the shin pads. Yeah I then began experimenting with that with the leather that I had from India leftover, but I made a top and ran out of it and the store didn’t have any more so I just got some thicker leather from J.A Brooks in West End. It just went from there after that, all the pieces kind of revolved around the knotting and the macramé and the sheer. It looks a lot more refined, like you’ve filtered down the artwork a little bit. Initially I had five or six artworks that I was going to use and now it’s down to two, which definitely makes it more cohesive using them. So you’ve finished university now? What do you want to do now? No I still have six months left to do two business subjects, because I went on exchange to India. But it’s good because I didn’t realistically see myself having enough money to move from Brisbane at this point in time, because doing the collection took up a lot of my resources. But that’s ok. Felicia and Billie and I, Jordan and Alice are all moving to Melbourne mid next year. I’m not sure 100% what we’re going to do there yet but I guess just scouting out some jobs or just making contacts down there. It will be a nice change of scenery as well. A lot of fun fashion things around that area. What lessons have you learnt this year or what would you take away from doing your graduate collection? Always take on any criticism with an open mind, because some people can be very closed off to constructive criticism and a lot of people did receive a lot of criticism and denied it at first but then they went back by themselves and they thought about it and actually realised that it was helpful in developing and furthering their aesthetic. I don’t know what a second lesson is…Collaboration! That’s a good second lesson.
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/83 Don’t cocoon yourself in your little shell by yourself. You’re always getting feedback from other students or even just asking each other to help, because everyone has their own skills and techniques that they specialise in or contacts they might know. What does culture mean to you? In terms of studio culture or the culture of fashion, I think it’s different...I don’t know because I haven’t experienced any other studio culture around the world but it definitely unifies everyone as a whole. It’s a space where you create with people and it’s…doing this degree or any kind of fashion or creative degree where you’re in such a confined space with these people is such a lucky experience to have in your life. You’re in this space creating with these other talented creatives in a space for three or four years and I think compared to any other degree that’s a really special experience to have. For example if you study Business you’re never in that same space with the same people for that amount of time and they don’t get to have those connections with people and I feel really blessed that I did this degree and collaborate with the people in this classroom through the conversations that we have every day and getting to know the people that make up this industry. The last time I spoke to you for the D/ zine you said you wanted to get involved with the supply chain and ethical fair trade supplying of stuff, do you still want to head in that direction? I definitely still want to go down that path. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do now that studio is over, but it’s definitely still my long term intention to go down the ethical fashion industry path. I’ll definitely need to get some more experience and internships and I’ll definitely will keep on creating doing my own little projects with people as experience and to keep your mind working on that goal. It’s still something I’m passionate about and something I want to work towards in the long term.
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It’s quite a momentous moment, you just finished your collection you’ve been working on the whole year and that marks the end of studying fashion at university, how do you feel? It’s quite shocking. I already feel like I’m a stranger to the studio .I feel like an outsider already. I feel my time is over here, in a way. We’ve just spent every single day for pretty much a month or two straight working towards this, the presentation. We still have the show to go in a few weeks, but we don’t have any more classes, we won’t be working with the teachers as closely as we have anymore. It’s quite liberating. I don’t know if I’m scared or excited for the future. Por que no los dos! Yeah we’ll have both.
Photographer: Michael Bowie @mbowwow H & M: Alyssa Selin @alyssalselin Models: Isabel Wengert @isabelwengert Paula Walden @paulawalden_ Styling: Penelope Burke @penelope.pon @sealhead @what.follows
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FELICIA Congratulations on finishing! How was the whole year? I feel it was good in term of building my aesthetics and this year I really, there was a lot of experimentation, and I really enjoyed that process and figuring out designs from that as opposed to designing and them finding the fabric, which I think I’ve mentioned before. But because it did go for a year I found that I had so many ideas I felt like I could have done three collections based on different concepts but you had to work on one. So that’s the only thing I found a bit frustrating, I kept coming up with new ideas and new concepts and inspirations but then it was hard to tie it all in together. But it was good, it was a good year. I guess you can save those ideas for another time. Have you finished for university altogether now? Yeah I finish this year, so I’ll have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion and Marketing as well. Do you have an ideas on what you want to do after? I’m not too sure at this point, I think I’m just going to chill for a couple of months and try to make some money and potentially move to Melbourne with some other people I’ve studied with. Maybe do an internship overseas for a couple of months but first I want to work out what I want to do. But I do want to do styling and creative direction and then designing later on. You finished your presentation an hour ago, how do you feel now? I feel pretty elated right now, if that’s the right word. It’s kind of surreal because, I mean we still have to do fittings and stuff for the show, but before I did it I wasn’t fazed and now it’s done I feel a bit excited about it all. So I feel good.
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Very good. Does it feel weird that, that was your baby and now it’s finished and out there? A little bit. I guess it’s a bit weird to think I’ve worked on this for year and it’s done almost. But I think it’ll be that feeling of that more after the grad show because it will be fully done. So for now it’s a weird limbo excited state. The theme of this issue is culture, what does culture mean to you? Culture to me is geographically based or based on, for example my Dad is Spanish so I grew up with his kind of culture, so I guess it could be based on that. But I think ultimately culture is just what you’ve been surrounded by when you grow up and what’s helped shape you and become who you are. What do you think of culture in fashion or working in the studios? This is a very literal depiction of it but looking into different cultures as a form of inspiration can help you in your design. It doesn’t necessarily have to exactly go over, say beading in one culture and using it exactly in your collection but it can be a starting point and help you to think of different things. It can be a good beginning of inspiration. It doesn’t necessarily have to be taken literally from one place in to another, you can use it as a thinking point. Which is what I did in my collection as well, because I did quilting in India and I didn’t go and get traditional textiles and quilt them together, I got new textiles and quilted them together, so you wouldn’t see that India reference literally in the work but it’s there. Looking back on your concept presentations, has much changed? Definitely. In terms of aesthetic it was a lot sportier and darker and grungier. I then lent away from that and tried to make it more high fashion but still have that street style edge to it. But it has definitely evolved, I think only two of my looks stayed exactly the same during the whole year. The rest of them evolved, depending on experimentation and things like that.
At your presentation you spoke about the same conceptual beginnings, but did you change the materials or techniques throughout? I don’t think I necessarily changed them but I just evolved them. I feel the experimentation I did at the beginning definitely followed through to this point, it might not be exactly the same but one idea would lead to another and then to what I have now. It all makes sense. Yeah definitely. Because you’re graduating, if someone was to walk through these doors next semester as a first year or as a third year, what advice would you give to them? I personally think you need to take it as it comes and be open to ideas and also follow through with what you think is a good idea. If you think something is good, don’t hesitate and think ‘should I do it, should I not do it’, just do everything and experiment a lot and you learn from that and you can take it or leave it. It’s better to do it than not have gotten a new idea from it. It’s sometimes hard as well because you put your ideas on the line and it’s hard to put them forwards to an audience but I think if you do what you feel is right you can get feedback and help it grow. I’d rather that happen than no one see it, because I felt it happened a lot with stuff I would do and not want to show it and then later on people would say ‘Why didn’t you work on this? This looks really good’. So just show everything. Have you learnt any lessons or things you’ve picked up that you’ve realised that has helped you this year? I just think, maybe being confident about what you do. A lot of the time I would second guess myself or not be sure about what I’m doing, but I feel that if you’re confident about it and assured in your ideas and your concepts that it comes off like you know what you’re doing. This year has really taught me to be ok with my ideas and what my aesthetic as a person is. And It really helps you grow as a person, as lame as that may sound.
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/95 That’s a really good point. Some people have no confidence or they don’t believe in their work. It depends what stage you are in the design process, like at the beginning of the year when we were experimenting and stuff I found I would get up and think ‘I’m not sure, what do you think?’ but I think the more you work on something and the more it becomes your own and you see your aesthetic coming through you become more confident and then you’re more assured. So maybe it’s a process thing as well, but being confident about your work is important. Do you think you’ll miss studying fashion at QUT? Yes, we had a really good cohort and we got along really well, it was a nice environment to work in. There were so many times where I would say ‘I’m so tired, I’m over this’, but then I would think ‘Hold on, I’m doing something I really enjoy and it’s actually really fun. I’m liking what I am doing so why am I complaining about it?’. So I really enjoyed this year, but it’s weird that it is over. Photographer: Felicia Balsategui @___amaia___ H & M: Sheli Tvina @shelitvina Models: Lucy Heywood @lucyheywood Styling: Felicia Balsategui @___amaia___ @fisshh @___amaia___
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