The Forumist #09 NEW AGE

The

Forumist

issue 9

New age

Close your eyes and envision the butterfly and moth first emerging as winged creatures, a complete metamorphosis. The earth, our society and each of us are existing in a constant flow of unfolding/ expanding, united by a deep calling from within to learn from our experiences and move forward and evolve.

Trial and error. Sometimes we reach a point where we need to start over and do better. We can’t ignore the fact that our world is facing many challenges today. Environmental, economic, political and sociological structures are being tested and all weak links are falling away. The world is in a “shape-shifting” state of mind. The old order of things is demanding to be transformed. It is a time of purification and renewal. We are stepping into the new age.

No need for future-tripping! There is a beauty to this “chaos”, as our instinct begins to speak louder and louder. A burst of creativity is being released as the transformation begins, future visions are taking shape in a fortune-telling kind of way.

For this issue The Forumist has tapped into that creativity across the globe and, with our collaborators, we have caught a glimpse of the future. The new age cannot be defined in an ordinary, rational kind of way; it is a metamorphosis of dreams and ambition. And as you read through these pages we hope that, through this kaleidoscope of desires, you get a feel for the new age to come.

CoVER: Photography by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones

Editor-in-Chief Pejman Biroun Vand

Paris Fashion Editor Théophile Hermand

Contributing Designer Daniel Björkman

Creative Direction See Studio

Paris Editor Sophie Faucillion

Fashion Co-ordinator Emma Thorstrand

Berlin Fashion Editor Andrea Horn

Contributing Fashion Editors Maria Barsoum (Sthlm) Manon Hermand (Paris) Angel Macias (NYC) Koji Oyamada (Tokyo)

Managing Editor Anna Åhrén

Berlin Editors Veronika Dorosheva Ole Siebrecht

Marketing Managers Felix Lanai Magnus Rindberg Online & Production Manager Gustav Bagge

Music Editor Filip Lindström Art Editor Ashik Zaman

Contributing Editors Tor Bergman (Sthlm) Johanna Bergström (Sthlm) Ashkan Fardost (Sthlm)

Contributing Photographers Maximilian Attila Bartsch (Berlin) Sam Cannon (NYC) Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones (Lon) Oskar Gyllenswärd (Sthlm) Motohiko Hasui (Tokyo) Andreas Karlsson (Sthlm) Alexander Neumann (NYC) Estelle Rancurel (Paris) Ivan Rudolfovich Nunez (Sthlm) Dan Sjölund (Sthlm)

Web Producers and Partners Fröjd Printing MittMedia Advertising ad@theforumist.com © 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without permission from the publisher. The views expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily shared by the magazine

The Forumist AB Sveavägen 98 113 50 Stockholm SWEDEN info@theforumist.com theforumist.com facebook.com/theforumist instagram.com/theforumist

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Mad for it

The former frontman of Fibes, Oh Fibes! is making some serious noise with his new solo project, OLSSON. The Forumist caught up with him to talk creative freedom, the beauty of the unexpected and the birth of his visual concept Words by Filip Lindström Photography by Ivan Rudolfovich Nunez Special thanks to Jays above: OLSSON holds Jays q-Jays earphones.

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Christian Olsson has just returned home to Stockholm from Germany when we speak. As OLSSON, he played the Reeperbahn festival in Hamburg, performing his set on a moving boat. Even though his music career has already spanned 15 years and Swedish music has a following in Germany, he hadn’t played there before. The release of his track Hold On has changed this, and he has been happily enjoying an instant success he hadn’t anticipated. One of the reasons for the song being welcomed as fresh blood on the music scene may be the way he created it.

“I pretty much haven’t listened to any other music in three years,” he says. “I’m obsessed with listening to my own music when I’m in the middle of creating it, which isn’t entirely healthy. I’m in the studio, listening and dancing, until I’m finished. Of course I hear other music, but I try not to actively listen to it, because that can break you down.

There are so many good things being made that can make you abandon your core idea.”

In his mind, the results didn’t sound anything like Fibes, Oh Fibes!, the band formed in 2001 that originally brought him fame in Sweden and was put on ice a couple of years ago. This time around, this is all his own music, created from ideas he had been sitting on for a long time. For him, the public response wasn’t what was important, it was about getting his new music out: “I thought, ‘Even if only 200 people in the world like it, that would be great – then, at least, I’m doing what’s in my head.’”

Some have compared what he is recording as OLSSON with what was coming out of the UK during the Madchester era, from bands like Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, who combined dance music with pop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Olsson grew up with those bands, as well as Scottish cult group Primal Scream. He happily admits the Madchester style of clothing has been a huge influence on him – the bucket hats, parkas and sea of neon clubwear seen on the dance floor of legendary Manchester venue The Haçienda during that period – though he mostly dresses in turtlenecks and slacks nowadays.

The ideology behind Primal Scream’s music is also something he relates to: “I’ve always wanted to make an album based on the approach they had to dance music. The Screamadelica album is pop and gospel but with a dance groove. They didn’t know how to make dance music but wanted something groovy, so they made this album. I’ve always felt like

that – if you have an idea, just make it. You shouldn’t have to follow a rule book or any pattern.”

Olsson developed the visuals for his solo work with one of the founders of The Designers Republic, the renowned Sheffield-based graphic design studio that has created album covers for Aphex Twin and Pulp, among many others. His drum tracks and a vibrant mood board referencing the aesthetics and neon hues of the 1990s were key starting points for his new project – strong colours were to pierce through the music and the visual idea, and the latter was given as much attention as the tunes. The result is a striking, in-your-face combination of yellow, black and white that is present wherever you find the music.

When it comes to his sound, like Primal Scream, Olsson has no desire to repeat himself. His next album might be nothing like what he is currently putting out, especially now that success is allowing him the freedom to do what he wants. For him, there is an allure in the unexpected – he uses Kanye West as an example of someone who does the opposite of what everybody else thinks is doable, but succeeds no matter what. With Olsson’s current musical hero being rapper Young Thug, an extremely spontaneous creator, maybe the only thing we can expect from OLSSON now is the unexpected.

And when it comes to listening, q-JAYS Reference earphones are the dream creation for the audio nerd.

With their minimalist design and unimpeachable delivery of brilliant sound, they’re perfect for enjoying Screamadelica, Hold On or whatever comes next from OLSSON. Hold On is out now on Kaptenchris/Universal; olssonmusic.com; jaysheadphones.com

IN-STORE NOW @ DR. MARTENS STOCKHOLM KATARINA BANGATA 15 07

Here come the girls It’s been a busy time in fashion recently, so we took a quick sojourn to Paris to find the new faces that have been taking the catwalks by storm over there Photography by Estelle Rancurel Styling by Manon Hermand Make-up by Céline Exbrayat THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Alice Vink at Supreme WEARS Top by American Apparel, trousers by Ignacia Zordan. Clara McNair at Supreme WEARS T-shirt by Atelier Beaurepaire, vintage skirt by Yves Saint Laurent.

Lae T at M Management WEARS Vintage dress by Nina Ricci OPPOSITE PAGE: Moa Åberg at IMG WEARS Vintage dress

by Courrèges

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THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Alice Vink at Supreme WEARS Top by American Apparel, trousers by Ignacia Zordan; Mao at New Madison WEARS Coat by Mosquito, top

by Alexander Wang, leggings and socks by American Apparel; Clara McNair at Supreme WEARS T-shirt by Atelier Beaurepaire; Kornelija Tocionyte at Women WEARS Top by Courrèges, vintage trousers by Lois OPPOSITE PAGE: Emma Johansson at Supreme WEARS Top and sweatpants by Nike Retouching: Sophie K

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Augmented reality Want to be better, faster, stronger? With technological advances aiding the production of more desirable alternatives to what biology has offered you, the possibility is closer than you think. It’s time to embrace the future — with designer prosthetic arms Words by Dr Ashkan fardost They say stop staring at your smartphone. I say stop staring at the past. They say the internet is shallow and fake. I say people are shallow and fake. They say being online is bad for social skills. I say being online makes you collaborative, and that’s the only social skill that matters. They say social media makes you depressed. I say negative people make you depressed.

Just get rid of them. They say robots destroy our jobs.

I say robots will liberate us from salary slavery and let us focus on things that matter. They say unplug and be more human. I say being plugged in is the most human thing there is. They say I’m a techfundamentalist. I say I’m a humanist. Because technology is the most human thing there is.

Can you see the pattern? I love technology. I believe that with it we can solve all of our present and future problems. This won’t happen without risk and accidents. We will even mess things up pretty badly along the way. But eventually, technology will save us from ourselves. Bear with me. I’m even willing to step it up to this: technology is the most human thing that has ever existed. Nothing is more human than technology. Technology isn’t something that happens to us – it is us.

Let me explain. The whole idea came to me a few weeks ago when I was playing Deus Ex. It’s a videogame, first released in 2000, that has been developed into a series. The latest one is Mankind Divided, released in August. The story is set in the near-future, in which humans have invented and almost perfected the science of human augmentation – the art of replacing or upgrading your biological organs with artificial and mechanised/computerised ones. You basically upgrade your biology to something better, smarter and stronger. For example, you can replace your biological arms with much stronger artificial ones. You can augment your brain by implanting microchips with different features so that you become super-intelligent. You can augment your legs so that you can run at extremely fast speeds and jump much higher than your biological legs would ever allow you to.

The conflict in the game arises when a class of superhumans arise – the humans who can afford to buy the augmentations. The people who don’t have the money to augment themselves, or are against augmentation for ideological reasons, become inferior. Class warfare ensues and due to certain events (I’m not gonna spoil the story), the humans end up winning the political struggle. A new kind of apartheid is created, in which augmented humans are put in ghettos, in order to keep “natural humans” safe and prosperous.

So, as I was playing this game during the past weeks, it occurred to me that we actually aren’t that far away from augmentation in the real world. First of all, the creators of Deus Ex have teamed up with Open Bionics, an initiative with the vision of creating affordable, open-source prosthetics for amputees, researchers and hobbyists. Open Bionics has come a long way beyond being just a vision, though. It is already delivering robotic hands and related components at extremely affordable prices. Without compromising quality and functionality. The medical industry hasn’t even got close to the affordability that Open Bionics is offering.

Augmented Future – this collaboration with the Deus Ex team – has added another level of awesomeness to what Open Bionics is doing. You see, the talented crew behind Deus Ex has been designing prosthetics (or augmentations) for the characters in their games since 2000. They’re among the most experienced on the planet when it comes to designing

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top: DXU Adam Jensen Arm, based on the hero of the videogame deus ex: mankind divided; courtesy of Eidos-Montreal. above: the three colourways of the pilot, the smart earpiece language translator due out next may; courtesy Waverly Labs

beautiful artificial body parts. And now they’re designing for Open Bionics, so that amputees can wear extraordinarily gorgeous prosthetics, rather than the boring medical devices designed by the prosthetics industry. They’re so damn gorgeous, in fact, that you’d want one yourself. Even though you might not need one.

So, prosthetics are becoming gorgeous and widely accessible. This in itself is revolutionary.

But what is even crazier is that new devices are slowly showing up on the market with the aim of improving your biological functionality.

Let me give you a few examples. Cyborg Nest is a startup that has developed an augmentation that you pierce onto your body. The technology allows your body to feel when it faces the north pole, effectively giving you a sixth sense – the sense of a compass, built in and part of your biological body. I’ll let the company itself tell you why this augmentation would bring value to your boring and all-biological life, but damn, I can’t say it’s not tickling my senses and boggling my mind. I’ll probably buy one.

In May 2017, Waverly Labs is launching the Pilot, the equivalent of the Babel fish from Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In case you haven’t read the book, it’s a device that translates other languages directly into your ear in real time. Although you won’t have to replace your biological ears with the Pilot, it’s in many ways an augmentation: you put it in your ear and it will allow you to understand other languages. Live! In the future, it could just as well be a piece of software that you install in the microchips that you already have implanted in your brain.

And lastly, Verily (a subsidiary of Alphabet/Google) is developing a smart contact lens that replaces your natural lens. It has a tiny chip that detects glucose in your tears, thus revolutionising life for diabetic patients. It’s just a matter of time before lens augmentation evolves into lenses that improve vision beyond human capabilities and even act as displays that show information directly on your eye.

The examples above are just a tiny pick of what’s going on out there. The science of augmented body parts is advancing rapidly. So the question remains: should we embrace these new and artificial augmentations to our bodies, or should we fight to remain human?

Essentially, what I’m asking is what does it mean to be human?

As I said at the start, technology is the most human thing that has ever existed. Nothing is more human than technology. Think about it. Your biological arm, for example, isn’t that different from a chimpanzee’s arm. In fact, it isn’t that different from a cat’s or a mouse’s limbs, either. Physiologically and biochemically speaking, they’re pretty similar. What

actually separates you from the chimpanzee, cat, mouse and every other animal is your imagination and your ability to invent. That is the sole differentiator between you and every other species on this planet. And technology is the manifestation of your imagination and inventiveness.

Therefore, technology is what makes you human. In fact, technology is the only thing that makes you human. Without it, you’re an animal.

That’s why I believe augmenting ourselves is the most human thing we can do, when the technology is mature enough. And that’s why I believe technology will save us from ourselves. Because the wars we wage and the violence we impose on each other stem from the leftovers we have from when we were animals. The leftovers in our brains called the amygdala. It’s the amygdala that urges us to be tribal, to be insecure and hostile towards one another. It’s the amygdala that fuels our fears and urges us to distance ourselves from each other and the unknown.

It’s the amygdala that fuels our ego and neglect of other human beings.

It’s the amygdala that fuels our greed, instilling the fear of running out of what we already have. While technology brings enormous possibilities, it’s the amygdala that finds a thousand ways to misuse it for egoistic reasons.

Yet paradoxically, we can’t live without it. Because the amygdala helps us escape danger. It helps us stay out of harm’s way. It fuels our survival.

But clearly it’s broken. So why not augment it? Why not install a chip that corrects its flaws? That would be the ultimate goal. We’re far away from getting there at the moment. We will probably augment every part of our body before we start even thinking about augmenting our brains.

But we’re on our way. Meanwhile, we should embrace technology despite the shortcomings of our fragile, human brains. Because essentially, technology is the only thing that makes us human. It’s the only hope we have of stopping us from destroying ourselves. It’s the only hope we have of truly becoming human. deusex.com; openbionics.com; augmentedfuture.com; cyborgnest.net; waverlylabs.com; verily.com

Big in Japan

Hosono Haruomi, Sensitive Plant by Yula Kasp. It usually changes every three days.”

Dress code for work.

“I like to wear dark clothes, I never wear white.

Spring and summer colours don’t suit me. I like vintage clothes from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s.”

Can’t leave the house without…

“Earphones and phone, purse, cigarettes and a lighter.

Lip balm and black eyeliner, tissues and candy.”

During the day, I usually…

“It depends on the days and my mood. I hang out with older people more. I walk around random places. I recommend Sendagaya.”

Lunch.

“I try to cook. Sometimes I eat out.”

The three things you like most about Tokyo.

“It’s got a lot of good restaurants and venues to visit – you never get bored of this city. The people0 are polite and the city is clean, even though it’s big and packed with people.”

Three things you don’t like about Tokyo.

“People are always in rush, it’s not done to show too much emotion and there are too many rules to follow – and people here would rather not break the rules.”

After work I like to…

“Go to my favourite bar, Bar Track, or a cafe near my place called Shien.”

Dress code after work.

“Comfy clothes. I don’t like to wear clothes when I’m at home. Just shorts.”

Dinner.

“I cook or eat out. I love Chinese food.”

Bedtime ritual.

“Hot bath, music and stretch.”

What do you dream about.

“What I can’t do. I wish I would not care too much.”

A “Tokyo day” in three words.

“Chaos, fashion, foreign.”

It’s not easy to pin down the multifaceted life and style of Tokyo, but one brand seems to have encompassed it all in a must-have garment Words by Anna ÅhrÉn Photography by Motohiko Hasui Styling by Koji Oyamada Special thanks to Elvine

Tokyo is often described as the largest, wealthiest and most futuristic city on earth. It’s not only known for its fast-paced lifestyle, technology and cityscape, but also its strong design and forward-looking fashion scene. But even though it’s a place at the forefront of technology, a deep respect for tradition and culture still permeates every aspect of society. This successful relationship between tradition and innovation is an interesting and important aspect for our fast-moving society, in which we’re constantly seeking to reinvent ourselves. It shows how both our history and everyday experiences are important, especially when it comes to generating new and improved ideas as we move towards the new age.

Another aspect of Japanese creativity is the idea of volume. The design of a kimono is a good example, which, from a European perspective, is often considered loose-fitting and even shapeless. But if you were to suggest this to a Tokyo native, the response would be that the gap between the garment and the body is a rich space possessing an infinite energy. This then becomes a touching reminder that everything around us, even our interaction with other people, is of great value and energy.

Inspired? You’re not the only one – the Swedish fashion brand Elvine travelled to Tokyo for their AW16 collection to feel the pulse of the city. There, they got together with five Tokyo creatives, who were happy to share the details of their daily experiences with them – to give a hint of what 24 hours in their lives look like. The result is the Tokyo City Jacket.

Driven by this local point of view, it was designed with the intention of improving daily life in the city.

The design has become a metaphor of the city of contrasts, where ancient traditions live side by side with modernity. It’s no accident that one side of this reversible jacket is crafted in black wool: if you’ve ever worked in Japan you’ll know that appearance is key in the business world, so you’re well advised to stick to dark colours. Turn it inside out and a more casual, lightweight look is revealed, with a print inspired by traditional kimono patterns and quilting that references sashiko embroidery, the centuries-old practice of decorative stitching that was used to reinforce or repair workwear.

And why 12 pockets? Well, if you live in Tokyo, most of your waking hours will be spent away from home, which means you need to be prepared for both daylight and night-time activities and carry all those essentials with you. And if you keep the concept of “outdoor lifestyle” in mind, a rain-, wind- and dirt-proof fabric makes sense for the urban jungle.

One thing is for sure, we can always learn from each other’s experiences. The reason behind the back pocket is a good example of this, especially for all of us about to face another long cold winter. It’s designed to hold a Hokkairo, a disposable body warmer used by many Tokyo citizens. And yet another very Japanese thing about this jacket is that it

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Nodoka

comes with a furoshiki, a traditional wrapping cloth used to transport clothes or other belongings. It’s one of those things you’ve never heard about but immediately crave once you know about it.

The Forumist decided to head to Tokyo and take a closer look at the Tokyo City Jacket in its “natural environment” and hunt down the locals adding their own style to it. We got a sneak peak into their lifestyles and, of course, their pockets. elvine.se; Instagram: @elvineclothing. Follow for the full story of the Tokyo City Jacket Edition and watch The Adventures of Elvine and Mänd unfold, with illustrations by Dennis Eriksson

24 HOURS IN TOKYO Inru

The time you wake up.

“It usually depends on what time I go to sleep, but recently it’s been around 8am.”

The first thing you do.

“Smoke cigarettes and listen to music.”

Breakfast.

“Milk, coffee, toast.”

Morning routine.

“Smoke, drink coffee and music. These days I listen to Michael Jackson’s Ben, Hurricane Dorothy by

The time you wake up.

“About 10am.”

The first thing you do “Brush my teeth.”

Breakfast.

“Bananas.”

Morning routine.

“Going online and doing my emails.”

Dress code for work.

“Comfortable clothes. I wear clothes I can get dressed in easily. I like streetwear.”

Can’t leave the house without…

“A red lipstick, a diary and a wallet (*_*).”

Lunch.

“I usually grab something with friends. I like ramen noodles – there are so many good ramen restaurants in Tokyo.”

The three things you like most about Tokyo.

“Convenience, friends and shopping.”

Three things you don’t like about Tokyo.

“It’s so crowded, it’s dirtier than suburban areas and there are many strange people.”

After work I like to…

“Hang out at friends’ places, and I often head to Shibuya.”

Dress code after work.

“Chic.”

Dinner.

“I grab something with friends.”

Bedtime ritual.

“I try to write a diary before going to bed.”

What do you dream about?

“About being in a realistic world, meeting people I don’t know.”

Describe a Tokyo day in three words.

“Fun, crowded and (a little bit) stressed.”

THIS PAGE: nodoka wears tokyo city jacket by Elvine, trousers by NOZOMI ISHIGURO OPPOSITE PAGE, from top: INRU wears blouse and Top by elvine hair and make-up: rie

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tale of the

citY Strong shapes that merge old and new silhouettes speak volumes.

Listen closely to where street style is taking you next Photography by Alexander Neumann Styling by Angel Macias OPPOSITE PAGE: dress by Andrea Jiapei li

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THIS PAGE: jumper by 3.1 Phillip Lim, trousers by Christopher john Rogers Opposite page: jacket by Daniel Silverstain, top by Breelayne, trousers by Shahista Lalani, shoes by Proenza Schouler

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THIS PAGE: sweater and trousers by Breelayne, shoes by MarsĂˆll Opposite page: jacket by Breelayne, belt by Tibi

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THIS PAGE: TOP BY Sacai, TROUSERS BY Daniel Silverstain Opposite and next page: jacket by Shahista Lalani, top by Daniel Silverstain, trousers by Rag & Bone

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THIS PAGE: coat by ICB, trousers by Derek Lam Opposite page: dress and belt by JW Anderson, shoes by MarsĂˆll

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THIS PAGE: t-shirt by ICB, jeans by BarragÁn Opposite page: top by Sacai, trousers by Daniel Silverstain hair and Make-up: Honda Tadayoshi and Megan Kelly Model: Imade Ogbewi at D1

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All together now Rising stars Tussilago are as much a family as a band. And like any clan, they have grown and evolved since their initial incarnation in 2011, taking their trademark spontaneous creativity and psychedelic sounds and merging them with knowledge picked up along the way Words by Filip Lindström Photography by Oskar Gyllenswärd Styling by Emma Thorstrand Special thanks to Lee

Tussilago’s studio and rehearsal space is in the centre of Stockholm. It is made up of two small rooms and filled with musical equipment of every kind imaginable. There are synthesisers and guitars everywhere, ready to be picked up and played at any given moment. The air is thick with creativity that flows through the room during the jams that spark most Tussilago songs. Four of the five members are present and the relaxed vibe makes it feel like you’re in someone’s living room.

Guitarist Samuel Lundin explains how interviews with the entire group tend to be confusing, since another of their talents seems to be changing the subject without realising. That is why only bassist Pierre Riddez and singer/guitarist Rickard Renström will take part in this interview. So we leave Lundin and keyboard master Andreas Sjöqvist dealing with studio business and head out to the quiet Sunday streets.

On our way, we run into the most recent Tussilago recruit heading to the studio, drummer Karl “Hovis” Hovmark, who is sporting a relaxed retro look. All five band members have individual styles that are unified by their fashionable yet laid-back wardrobes, making them a natural choice for dressing up in Lee’s wares. Autumn has begun to make itself known in Stockholm and Riddez and Renström draw their long black coats closer round them as we step out into the cold of the September evening.

Tussilago finished recording an EP with renowned producer Petter Winberg before the summer; it’s due to be released at the beginning of next year. At the moment they are in the middle of projects that are taking their concept further and challenging them in new ways.

“Right now we’re recording a full-length album all on our own, which is a big thing for us,” says Riddez, before going on to talk about the two videos they’ve recently made. “The first one we shot with Bell & Light, two friends of ours who have filmed us before. We styled ourselves and made a performance video with them, taking artistic input from them. I find it interesting to let people in and to let them bring their own ideas.”

“We’ve only worked with people we know, people who are our friends,” says Renström.

“Our friends reflect us and vice versa,” says Riddez. “It’s nice to work

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together because you like each other, not just because someone is popular. Both parties benefit from it.”

Tussilago collaborate with people close to their hearts in all aspects of their music, hence the earlier reference to family and the way they all work together towards a common goal. Starting out as a quartet they have come a long way from learning their instruments together. The original drummer, Zacharias Zachrisson, who graced the cover of The Forumist Issue 6, was replaced by Hovmark six months ago, about a year after Sjöqvist joined on synthesiser. This new formation of Tussilago is moving forward together, towards musical endeavours that may be different from the way they used to do things when the band first started out. Part of the change, Riddez feels, is the new harmony and replenished humbleness that Hovmark and Sjöqvist are bringing to the group. Also, the original members have learned more about making music without losing their original outlook, meaning they’ve been able to turn the limitations of Tussilago’s musical knowledge at the start into an advantage, making a new sound for a new age. “We didn’t know how you were supposed to make songs, so we did it our own way. Now we can work with a larger spectrum and choose what to do,” says Renström.

“I like to see change in a band,” says Riddez.

“People change all the time and so does their taste in music. There has been an organic development, even though it will always be Tussilago. We just keep on being ourselves, making music we like, doing what we want. I’m curious about how far we can take that.”

Instagram: @tussilagoband

THIS PAGE, clockwise from top: rickard wears raglan t-shirt and jeans by LEE; pierre wears overshirt by LEE; rickard wears raglan t-shirt by LEE, pierre wears button-down shirt by LEE; pierre wears raglan t-shirt by LEE. Opposite page: rickard wears bib and shirt by LEE. ALL AVAILABLE AT brothers.se Grooming: Lillis Hemmingsson

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Going loopy The work of photographic and video artist Sam Cannon creates a world where still life and motion meet with mesmerising consequences. Here she talks technique, technology and taking success in her stride Words by Veronika Dorosheva Artwork by Sam Cannon

Sam Cannon is a New York-based artist who creates short looping videos and Gifs that often feature the female body and different kinds of movements. She works with dissections, repetitions and loops, with arresting, colourful and sometimes quite ironic results that have a surrealist quality to them. Many of her works are beautiful yet uncanny portraits of the human form.

Now 24, Cannon is a new digital-age artist whose success has partly resulted from having successful social-media accounts, both on Tumblr and Instagram, where at last count she had more than 15,500 followers. By sharing her work using these platforms she has been able to generate a lot of interest in what she does and catch the attention of brands such as Gap, Veuve Clicquot and Nike.

Cannon admits she feels lucky to have grown up in a time when the presence of the internet in everyday life is as large as it is and acknowledges how it has been key in helping her to jumpstart her career so soon after graduating from New York Institute of Technology. While there, she studied fine art photographic illustration and applied imaging systems technology, but everything she does with motion, including for her commercial projects, has been self-taught, thanks again to the resources made possible by the growth of the internet. YouTube tutorials or the exchange of knowledge with others using the myriad forums that are accessible online mean we all have a chance of educating ourselves.

But like every great invention that changes people’s lives, the internet also has drawbacks. For Cannon, the flood of images and information and the pressure of constantly having to create and share new content can pose challenges when it comes to staying true to herself as a creative person. The Forumist met up with her after her presentation at this year’s EyeEm festival, which took place in August in Berlin, to talk about this and more.

In your presentation you talked about the success of your Instagram account and the pressures that come with that. How do you cope with having to generate enough content to keep your followers happy?

“I originally started growing my following on Tumblr. One of the reasons I loved it so much was because if you visit a blog on Tumblr, you can’t see how many followers that particular artist has. It feels much more like you’ve found something special, as though you alone have discovered this gem that no one else was aware of.

“Instagram doesn’t function in the same way – you can clearly see how many followers people have, you can judge their success. It means there is much more pressure for creators to grow their following, to constantly share new work and make things that will generate likes. The number of likes you receive – or don’t – can consequently really influence your work, especially when you’re new to Instagram. That’s why it’s important to me not to react to the way people view or interact with my work online and to focus more on only sharing images that I think are important. My goal is

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not just to grow my following, but to grow a following who really understands my work and with whom my work resonates. I’m hoping that, at the end of the day, there is much more of a conversation between me and my followers rather than it just being me putting things out.”

What about your technique? We know how Gifs generally work, but some of your videos combine still and moving images. Are you familiar with the cinemagraph app and do you use it for your work?

“I love cinemagraphs. The artists who pioneered that format, Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, are also based in New York and I had the pleasure of meeting them and talking to them about their work. I don’t use the app – all my work is done in After Effects and Photoshop and it’s all my own manual editing. I think cinemagraph is an amazing technique and I love this idea of saddle motion that you can also see throughout my personal work, but I’m not trying to appropriate this technique for my work. I have my own style and I would rather leave cinemagraphs to Beck and Burg, who led the way with this style of masking.”

How do you feel about how technology is constantly evolving and changing the way we create things? Do you feel new technology will enable you to create something different and better? Or do you

feel resistant, in case it forces you to abandon your technique and learn something new?

“I think the existence and the rapid growth of technology is an amazing thing. The type of growth I have experienced with my work wouldn’t have been possible 10 years ago. The downside to this is the pressure of the comparisons that are constantly being drawn with other photographers and of being bombarded with images throughout the day, meaning there are times when it’s hard to find inspiration within myself and come up with original ideas.

“What comes from within is still so important for my process, and interacting with lots of people online can end up being a negative experience, as people can be very judgmental. Maybe it’s not like this for everyone, but for me it is. Even though I have a strong presence on the internet and I share a lot of content, I try to restrict the amount of input I receive online.”

When you look at the social-media landscape now, it looks like everyone is done with Facebook, while Instagram seems to be trying to catch up with Snapchat by introducing its new Stories feature.

Would you embrace a completely new social-media platform if something came up?

“Yeah, absolutely I would, but I really try to separate online who I am as a person and who I am as an artist.

I don’t share any of my work on Snapchat – that’s just for interacting with my friends or for posting short videos I’ve made that I think are funny. And I have the same approach with Instagram. When it didn’t have the loop feature for videos, it wasn’t a good place for my work, so I only used it as a social platform, posting images of me and what I was doing in my day-to-day life. But as soon as the loop feature was introduced, I could finally share my work on Instagram. I started to use it for work only when it started to be appropriate for the kind of content I wanted to share. As an individual I am open to any form of social media, but as an artist I don’t want to put my work on a platform just because it’s popular. I want to wait until it’s appropriate for the kind of content I create.” sam-cannon.com; samcannon.tumblr.com; Instagram: @samcannon

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Seeing double Fashion and music have long been intertwined, but today they are related in a different way from before.

Meet two acts involved in both fields, living and creating in between these worlds and changing the shape of popular culture Words by Filip Lindström Photography by Dan Sjölund Styling by Maria Barsoum Special thanks to Whyred DENIM

Sarah Assbring released her first album as El Perro del Mar more than 10 years ago. Some things have changed since then, but some have not. Assbring has always tried to create what feels true to her rather than what will please the masses, but with her new album, KoKoro (meaning “heart” in Japanese), she has shifted her perspective from herself to the world around her. The subject of the record is the equality of mankind – how we are all born the same and should therefore be viewed as equals.

A key element of El Perro del Mar’s lengthy existence is that Assbring’s creativity also encompasses fashion and art, which influence everything she produces. “Everything runs parallel through what I do. I almost get more inspiration for my music from other forms of art than I do from music. It has always been that way, from photo art to architecture and sculpture, among others. When I’m gathering ideas for a new album, those are the art forms that I create a referential library with. I make a mood board before I start writing, which is like a palette that becomes the emotional foundation of what I want to write.”

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Fashion has recently become an even more prominent part of El Perro del Mar: while making KoKoro, Assbring was working with stylist Nicole Walker, who runs Amaze, a springboard for experimental fashion.

“My and Nicole’s thought behind the visual idea of what I am, or who I am, is the free image of an assembled identity. Both high and low, beautiful and ugly, which gives me new freedom to portray myself in different ways,” says Assbring. “Neither of us is interested in classic fashion photography or the image of a pop artist, so that makes Nicole even more cut out to work with me.”

To present El Perro del Mar as an amplification of Assbring, a lot of thought is put into the clothes she is wearing – something more than a good look is required, something that will show who she is and go well with her music. Walker’s input has been instrumental in helping her achieve that.

“Through Nicole I have had the opportunity to meet young designers – some of whom are still at school – who are incredibly talented and whose garments I’ve worn both on and off stage. I feel there are many newcomers who are really pushing things forward at the moment, drawing up completely new guidelines to what fashion can be.”

Many artists choose to play it safe when it comes to fashion. If a designer makes a stage outfit, it is usually for someone famous who is backed by a major label.

That doesn’t interest Assbring as a person who sees brilliance in artists of any trade. She herself, through the multi-faceted project that is El Perro del Mar, has realised she needs to follow her own rules and trust fully in her own vision. She lights up when talking about new designers, but recognises how difficult it is to work in the fashion industry and retain creative integrity, as with any artistic industry.

“When you are young, you have the freedom to be brave. I understand that the fashion world is difficult to survive in and I get why you can end up playing it as safe as possible, which I feel has been the case with Swedish fashion for a long time. It’s a relief to see a new wave of young designers daring to go >

THIS PAGE: anna wears jacket

by WHYRED denim Opposite page, clockwise from far left: anna wears jumper, shirt and shoes by WHYRED denim; jacket and jeans by whyred denim; jacket, jeans and shoes BY WHYRED denim all available at whyred.com

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for the unsafe option and I hope they will continue to do that for a while. It’s such an injection, like the inspiration I get from looking at Nicole’s Amaze.”

El Perro del Mar combines the courage of a young artist with the maturity and knowledge of an experienced one. Diverse artistic outlets have been brought together on KoKoro, an album based on respect for art as well as an acknowledgement of human equality. The blend of impressions that Assbring has gathered under one album title is an injection of energy in itself, much needed in the world today.

Another act connected with the fashion world is Tella Viv – cousins Adam Odelfelt and Benjamin Lavén and their longtime friend Carl Hjelm Sandqvist – who have been playing their brand of synth pop together for more than two years. Like many groups from Stockholm, all members have played in several bands already. The term “Stockholm band” means more than just a group from Stockholm – there’s a scene going on that’s tricky to define.

Singer Hjelm Sandqvist muses on the subject: “I think we have a very Swedish sound in Stockholm – it’s about small things like phrasing and the way you produce. There is a lot of interest in Swedish bands abroad and when there are references to ‘Swedish bands’ people are usually talking about groups from Stockholm.”

Outside of the band, Hjelm Sandqvist works as a model (he’s currently on the books at Nisch Management), something that often becomes the focus in interviews with Tella Viv. Hjelm Sandqvist views it with mixed feelings, saying that nobody knows what the focus may be in a year from now, so it’s important that the music remains the main objective. Odelfelt and Lavén don’t see it as a problem – “As long as it doesn’t take anything from what we’re doing or change the perception of us, as if I were a solo artist [they don’t mind],” says Hjelm Sandqvist.

“I find it interesting to do interviews with people who don’t know anything about that side of my life.

In some cities, I can be recognised in the streets, but otherwise I’m very ordinary. No one usually has any idea about what I do.”

Ultimately, having one foot in fashion and the other in music is not unique for Hjelm Sandqvist, Tella Viv or Assbring. Hjelm Sandqvist, who has also worked with Nicole Walker, feels the relationship between the divisions of pop culture has changed recently. “I guess the lines have been blurred. There is the opportunity to do both. Musicians are expected to be seen in fashion. Many people want to style artists and it’s very important that the artist’s integrity is kept in mind. Bands can get a bigger response when they become figures that the fashion industry wants to work with.”

KoKoro is out now on Ging Ging; elperrodelmar.com 34

THIS PAGE:Carl wears jacket by whyred denim Opposite page, from far left: coat, top, jeans and boots by whyred denim; t-shirt and jeans by whyred denim all available at whyred.com Hair: Jacob Kajrup at Adamsky Make-up: Ă…sa Karlsten

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Is this the real life?

We can all recall moments when art and the process of creativity struck that cord within, unleashing new ideas and future visions. Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones are the pioneers in image- and film-making who are currently exploring VR technology with the Icelandic artist Björk. We delved deeper into how they create such consciousness-bending experiences Words by Anna Åhren

a selection of images from the new box set by warren du preez and nick thornton jones, due out next spring

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Imagine a fusion of visual art, sound, film, gaming, architecture, design and theatre. A hint of what virtual reality feels like and its artistic possibilities.

These might be accurate reference points, but at the same time this medium is unfolding in unexplored and unexpected ways, inviting creators to navigate without any maps or pre-written rulebooks.

Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones are no strangers to technology, and artists around the world are drawn to them like moths to a flame to get their visionary touch on things. To name a few: fashion designer Iris van Herpen, trip-hoppers Unkle and Massive Attack and, of course, Björk, whose ongoing collaboration with them can still be seen in her Björk Digital exhibition, which is on tour around the world as we type.

Their VR film clip for Björk’s track Notget is a work in process, making it one of the most advanced VR experiences currently, with a new release/updated version planned for next month. It is offering an experience that feels even more real and true than watching Björk live.

VR is a unique tool, with qualities closely linked to the science of optics and neurological stimuli – in other words, the ability to fool the brain and create the sensation of embodiment. Notget becomes an invitation into a space in Björk’s mind, a gateway to her dreams. From this perspective, VR is offering our dreams and fantasies a visual world of their own, which might be more important than we think, because isn’t the future born from our dreams?

VR technology is a new “paintbrush” for artists to use. But in the end it all comes down to a visionary eye finding new ways to not only show people new art, but to make them see something new. The

Forumist found a moment in Du Preez and Thornton Jones’s schedules to talk to them about their creative process, the possibilities of VR and their collaborations with Björk and future projects.

When stepping into the world of your imagemaking, film and VR, words such as conscious/ unconscious, dreams/reality, digital/ craftsmanship and alchemy of light come to mind.

How would you describe your motivation?

WDP: “I think this motivation to create something is deeply ingrained in you as an artist and human being.

I believe you are motivated by the process itself and another important part of it is to yield, experiment and explore things that you haven’t seen or found before. Things that excite you.”

NTJ: “As Warren said, it is about things you haven’t seen before or explored and also the idea of being able to achieve something. Our process is often quite intuitive. We approach it in quite a functional way at times, and then it is about allowing these things to unfold. It’s about how you continue to work with an idea, after you have captured something and post the initial discussions of things. It is a very intuitive process to us.”

A reality that exists inside another reality inside another reality. Why were you initially drawn to VR technology?

NTJ: “We are diving into the new frontier of imagemaking and film-making. It’s going to change the way we see things. I think, from an idealistic point of view, as artists, image makers, directors or photographers, it is a different medium that can challenge us, that we can explore and try to put a new emotion forward.

“We are working on the latest VR technology at the moment, creating a one-on-one experience with Björk, where you are physically in a space with her. It isn’t 360 in a traditional VR sense, it’s fully immersive. You can physically move around and interact with her. She is transforming right in front of you, going from a death reality into a life reality. There is a very strong technical base around it. We did all the motion capturing for Björk Digital at The Imaginarium Studios, which is owned by Andy Serkis and where they do all the Hollywood films. It is on such an exponential curve of growth right now. What we are happy with now, we probably won’t be happy with in a year’s time. So we are refining, we are bulletproofing and putting more of the raw human emotion into it for a better capture.”

WDP: “Three years from now it’s gonna go a little bit towards Minority Report, where you will be able to move virtual information, images and stuff around in your space. It will become more holographic. ‘Invisible’ is probably the right word to describe it, in terms of how you interact with it as a user. What will be interesting is how it actually evolves physically and how that integrates with the general public physically.”

Collaborations can be such a strong fuel for new ideas to manifest.

You have worked together with Björk on several projects now – why do you think you are drawn to each other?

NTJ: “Our first collaboration with Björk was in 1999. It is a really interesting creative handshake, where you can go on a journey with someone over time and have mutual respect for each other’s craft or being. She always blows us away with some of the things she sees coming or has a vision of.”

WDP: “I think it comes down to individuality and I think she expresses from the ground up in a very unique, explorative, self-committed sort of way. I think that is why we connect. She invents as opposed to needing to have a mood board of other people’s stuff to make stuff. There is an emotional connection in her work. The problem with the world today is that everyone seeks references and there is very little soul to that, because it is not being born in your mind or in your emotion. Björk has visions and feelings and she sees that through. It’s about courage and conviction, being able to step into the unknown. I think that is what Björk represents in terms of image-making, culture and creating.”

A new project of yours, to be released soon, is a box set of artwork.

Tell us more.

WDP: “We are about to put out a huge body of artwork that we have been working on for 18 months. Over 100 new artworks and 22 collaborations. Within the box set there will be individual items of artworks and foldouts made with specialty print processes and papers.

There is no editorial hierarchy, no structure, no layouts, no typographic considered entity to it, no journalistic aspect. It is all visually based.

“This project is a self-motivated, self-funded form of pure expressionism. It is about collaboration with no restraints. Where the world is at right now I think everything has an agenda, whereas the only agenda to this project is to collaborate and make great things. We want to remove all the restrictions and, with that freedom, hopefully you go into new realms of being able to make things that are not restricted by fashion directors, creative directors or people with opinions that don’t matter. When people come together under the name of collaboration, everyone is giving and creating from an equal place. There is none of the hierarchy or bullshit that the world exists in today.”

NTJ: It’s about stripping it back to the basics, to be able to play with different mediums. We are not afraid to let the images transmute or for a level of defamiliarisation to happen. Of course there is a level of control – you have to get on the grid to get off the grid.”

WDP: “Like all great projects, you figure them out as you do them. If you’ve got it all figured out from the beginning you don’t really go anywhere. You only create what you imagined in the beginning. This project is about getting to the core of being an artist.” warrendupreeznickthorntonjones.com 37

Go east

In a look at the vibrant art scenes of the neighbouring east, The Forumist probes the Romanian-based artist Stefano Calligaro and Polish-born Mateusz Choróbski about their keen interest in provoking the viewer into a multilayered reading of their work Interviews by Ashik Zaman

Stefano Calligaro Your so-called anti-manifesto manifesto entitled Coconut Concoction was so puzzling and cryptic – I decided it must be the work of an ingenious mind.

You’ve said that art needs to be pushed beyond its boundaries, so what’s your view of today’s contemporary art and structures?

“It’s an exciting time. Structures are changing and peripheral realities are rising. Institutional settings are obsolete, the role of artists, together with galleries and other players, is changing and moving more than ever towards hybridity. However, the system still feels the need to classify, confine, find definitions for the indefinable. I prefer to use my work to find ways to liberate what I do from classification, labour and symbolic values.”

Your work has been described as “contradictory, eclectic and deliberately resistant to any explanatory approach”. In relation to the viewer, why is that?

“Whenever you approach an ‘artwork’, you expect certain ‘artistic qualities’ from it – skills, clear intellectual ideas, the use of a certain material or technique, narrative components, meanings and so on. I honestly try to keep a distance from all these things. The way I see my work is more as a combination of simple banal thoughts, contradictions and connections working together and against each other. What I wish is to push the viewer to experience and interpret the work in a freer atmosphere and open ways to a new perspective of reading.”

You’re based in the art hub that is Cluj-Napoca in Romania. What’s distinctive about its local art scene right now?

“When I first came here, I found a city far from what I’d call an ‘art hub’. It was a curious place, somehow weird and indecipherable, famous for its cabbage rolls, vampires and hunger for paintings. Today it is still indecipherable to me, still famous for its cabbage rolls, no vampires spotted and loads and loads of oil-on-canvas paintings around.”

Your exhibitions with Rome-based Frutta gallery have been marked by fun and humour while retaining an aesthetically pleasing context. This year you had pizza boxes, stuffed animals. I like this – I find contemporary art to be too devoid of “humour” in its quest to make sense and position itself as a critique.

“Whether the result is funny or not, a certain lightness combined with the right amount of irreverence is a good way to open doors to new aesthetic grammars. Many people might still think that art shouldn’t be humorous, but we all know humour can be quite a strong critical tool.

“This year’s exhibition, as with most of my shows, was what I like to call a ‘staged masquerade’, set up to inhabit

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and question the specific context in which it takes place – in this case, Frutta gallery and the city where it is located, Rome. I wanted to work on the surface, by taking all the elements that characterise Frutta as a gallery, including visual clichés and stereotypes, and put them together. For example, I pushed myself to paint, to use a style I was unfamiliar with, in order to activate a critical discourse that, in one way or another, was going to highlight and criticise a specific gallery model. The visual result is awkward, pleasant and disturbing all at the same time.”

A recent project of yours was Puddle: The Maverick Art Fair, held in Cluj-Napoca, which was open at odd hours. Exhibitors were not announced until the day they were showing and each photo of the fair posted on its Facebook page was an original artwork in an edition of four digital prints. How did it come about?

“I guess it all came out of my interest in the mechanics of the art market. If you think about it, art fairs are everywhere now. They’re bigger than ever, pushing galleries to rethink their structures and role in the game. I thought it could be interesting to start one – a fair, I mean – but I didn’t want it to be like any other art fair. I wanted it to be a ‘maverick’ creative act.

“I found a good location on the small lake in the middle of Central Park in Cluj. I didn’t officially invite galleries, I simply placed them together with their art in flamingo-/dragon-shaped paddleboats and let them float around the water. The fair also had its own programme of fictional talks, performances, Bateau Rouge family tours, barbecue nights and film screenings over a four-day schedule. It was all documented in a limited series of 12 digital prints, now on sale for a modest luxurious price.”

I know you only recently took to painting – how’s that working out for you?

“Well, as I was saying before, I started painting by chance and for a specific situation, but I can’t say I’m really painting. Most of the painters I know are passionate connoisseurs obsessed with technique, while I don’t even know how to mix colours.”

What’s coming up for you next in 2016-2017?

“Fish ’n’ chips.” galeria-sabot.ro right, from top: installation view, MMXV, Sapiens Sapiens, when in Rome do rome (2016). notions of progress (2015), ballet barre, usb sticks, dancer. installation view all-yo! crypto-phylo-s’ (2015). conexiÓn universal – taco (2016), cardboard, paper, acrylic, metal wire, cigarette burns on coffee table. below, from left: reserved (2016), digital print on canvas. ers (2016), digital print on canvas. images courtesy the artist, sabot gallery, cluj, and frutta gallery, rome

Mateusz Choróbski Your presentation at last year’s Warsaw Gallery Weekend in a group show with Galeria Wschód included a giant copper parabola hanging from the ceiling. It was the most interesting art I saw there.

What was behind the work you showed this year?

“Last year we were trying to make a statement. This time, we decided to make a modest gesture of organising an exhibition within the space of our studio, inside which we put a large artificial rock. The light that illuminated the other works nearby was produced by my work Long day’s journey into the night, which consisted of objects made of glow tubes and glass acquired from the facade of the already-nonexistent Polish mint. Those objects were part of my recent solo show, The languid fall of a journey, where they replaced all the lights within the gallery space.

The light was coming through the broken glass, while the gallery was partly in the dark, which obscured vision but also revealed the materiality of the crushed facade.”

Regarding your method of working, you’ve said before you’re interested in creating many layers of meaning, distancing yourself from merely simple answers.

“It is still valid, yet I would like to note that this is my method of work, rather than an expected outcome. I’m fond of works that involve many layers, that converse with space or sometimes even appropriate it in a violent way.

This was the case with my project The Draught, where I organised a symbolic ventilation of the city of Łódź by means of a jet and acrobatic plane, which flew 200 metres over Piotrkowska Street, the main artery that marked the starting point for the linear development of Łódź.

“What seems interesting to me is the dispersion of narrative and the possibility of moving freely. I’m thinking of the postulations of the Situationist International and Guy Debord’s insistence on the necessity of inventing new games. The Situationists saw space as a spectacle, as scenography that invited the dérive – getting lost and creating. Those games could be conceived as setting cognitive traps for the viewer, the participant of the spectacle. Instead of negating the established conditions one by one, perhaps it is better to introduce ambiguous ferment into the urban fabric that would allow the viewers to succumb to the dérive, rather than impose anything on them. As a result, forms and situations become dispersed, diverse and free from any imposed narrative.”

It seems that a recurring element in your body of work is an emphasis on the perception of the viewer, for instance presenting works that allude to what is widely overlooked by the eye or, as with your recent project Nice to meet, turning the focus on speech and sound.

“This was a project that sets traps for the viewer. Imagine an event in which an art institution focuses on the idea of sound for an indeterminate time. Artists and composers have been invited. Some parts of the project come into being while others are being dismantled, as though the classic exhibition structure has been prolonged in time and deprived of its compositional continuity. Meanwhile, institutional workers are replaced, some of them stutter.

Some come, some go. Viewers encounter accumulation when all stutterers are present – on another day they don’t, because nobody stutters. It’s impossible to predict the described event. It eludes any institutional conventions, it functions autonomously and hinges on the stutterers. In this way, the medium and its makers become free.”

You previously did a project that arose from listening to the audiobook of Swedish novelist Sven Lindqvist’s Exterminate All the Brutes. The project centred around the contemporary mechanisms of “extermination”, which is very thought-provoking.

“That was a modest work inspired by my own experience as an immigrant, when I worked at a hat factory in the fashion district of New York. I was the only white person, but we all worked illegally. [For this project,] we designed and produced a series of hats styled like those with ‘Moly’ or ‘Fuck’ written on them, but these had the text ‘Exterminate All the Brutes’. Mechanisms of extermination seem more cunning now – they act through the lack of access to education or healthcare. What is also quite overwhelming is that we somehow participate in this.”

Finally, what’s next for you in 2016-2017?

“Next month, I’m going to DAMA art fair in Turin. In January we will be working in Belgium and then in Paris.

But, frankly, I’d really like to travel to some unknown place. And quit my job at a legal corporation, where I use my holidays mainly to install exhibitions.” mateuszchorobski.com clockwise, from top: you see me do mi dirt (2016). the draught (2013). curve (2015), installation view, warsaw gallery weekend, 2015. long day’s journey into the night (2016). hats (2014). images courtesy the artist

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photo

finish Put yourself in the frame with jewel colours and eye-catching accessories.

Everyone will want a good look Photography by Andreas Karlsson Styling by Emma Thorstrand OPPOSITE PAGE: Jacket by Lin chao Zhang, Sweater by Sandro

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THIS PAGE: COAT BY BARBARA BUI, TOP BY H&M, TROUSERS BY MANGO Opposite page: COAT BY ERMANNO SCERVINO, TOP BY APC, SKIRT BY BARBARA BUI, SOCKS BY CLUB MONACO, TRAINERS (CUSTOMISED

BY STYLIST) BY NIKE

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THIS PAGE: Coat by Isabelle Larsson-Knobel, Trousers stylist’s own, Boots by Nelly.com Opposite page: headscarf made by stylist, bag by Isabelle Larsson Knobel, Boots by Vetements

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this page: Jacket by Isabel Marant, Clutch by Christian Louboutin opposite page: Skirt by Isabelle Larsson-Knobel, Shoes by Dr Martens

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Opposite page: Jacket by Ella Boucht, trousers by Ida Sjรถstedt, Shoes by Dr Martens

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THIS PAGE: X BY X Opposite page: X BY X Make-up: X @ X Hair: X @ X Model: X @ X

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THIS PAGE: top by Carven, skirt made by stylist, Socks BY Mucker, Shoes by Tommy Hilfiger Opposite page: top and Skirt

by Caroline Brendov, Boots

by Reshia Hair: Joanna Rask at Mikas Make up: Sophia Eriksen at Hall&Lundgren Models: Julia Bollvik at Le Management and Isabell Thorell at Elite

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Foam sweet foam

As we all know, beer is a perfect companion to good food. But it’s also an excellent ingredient in cooking. After centuries of wine domination in restaurant kitchens of the world, the times are changing. And if you’re looking for that great taste, you need a great beer. It’s time to “eat pilsner” Words by Tor Bergman

The beer boom is not losing its grip on the citizens of the world.

Yet we find that the quest for the most bizarrely innovative brew doesn’t really attract the same interest that it used to. Instead we go back to tradition, to how beer was in the olden days. And what is more traditional than the original pilsner. Pilsner Urquell has been brewed using the same method since 1842, when it became the world’s first pale lager beer. A pilsner famous for its instantly recognisable taste and rich foam.

So, if you want to use a good beer in the kitchen for cooking, it’s seen as the perfect match.

Cooks especially seem to love Pilsner Urquell, and not only as their favourite tipple after a long working week – some also use it in their profession.

Preparing food with beer has been around for a long time. Our grandparents did it, and in many beer-producing countries it’s often the natural choice to use in stews, soups and sauces. Still, beer has not really been explored much by restaurant chefs – something that is about to change. And so it is at Stokholm’s Linje Tio, a place known for its delicious range of fresh Mediterranean fare, that we come to eat pilsner.

The welcoming venue, situated in Hornstull, in the south of the

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city, was recently selected as one of the 100 best bars in the world by worldsbestbars.com – a rather astonishing accomplishment for a restaurant and cocktail bar that has only been around for about four years. The restaurant is part of a three-part venue called Tjoget, which also includes a wine bar and an old-fashioned, state-of-the-art barbershop. It is, however, the mixology and cooking at Linje Tio that grabs the biggest headlines.

The selection of food at this cosy yet spacious spot shows influences from all over the Mediterranean region – from Spain to the Middle East. And the chefs are a mixed, dedicated crowd, all united in the same ambition: never to make the dishes more complicated than necessary. Less is always more if you have top-class ingredients, which we should all know by now, after decades of listening to TV chefs preaching that very mantra.

It has often been argued that if modern gastronomy had been

together with his colleague and boss, Shanit Yakob, is the cook behind the recipe.

Pilsner Urquell is especially appreciated for its rich and tasty foam, and the pouring really changes the character of the beer – something that the chefs took into account when creating this dish. It’s a recipe that fits perfectly into Linje Tio’s unpretentious yet delicate menu that has a penchant for shellfish. As proved by this dish of scallops Urquell, it’s a fabulous way to eat pilsner.

developed in a beer-drinking country instead of France, maybe the whole world would use more beer in its restaurant kitchens.

Beer, however, is not just a liquid to be used instead of wine, it has its own requirements. David Falk, the sous-chef at Linje Tio, explains: “I believe we are sometimes much too conservative in the restaurant business. You should have wine in everything.

Soups and sauces. It’s a cultural thing, but it’s all about how you apply it. Good beer has its own properties and it offers new possibilities.”

When preparing shellfish, a full-bodied pilsner such as Pilsner Urquell is, of course, absolutely perfect. It possesses a mix of sweetness and bitterness that lifts the ingredients and goes so well with the freshness of those lovely fruits of the sea. Throughout Europe, beer is often the first option rather than wine when it comes to cooking mussels, so why not do the same with scallops?

“First of all, scallops are great to eat together with a good pilsner. That we all know. And cooking shallots with beer is a well-known classic. As a scallop is naturally sweet, the idea of adding the sweet pilsner foam on top as a garnish together with herbs came naturally to us,” says Falk, who

Scallops Urquell

pilsnerurquell.com Linje Tio: Hornsbruksgatan 24, Stockholm; linjetio.com left, from top: the hubbub of the bar and kitchen at linje tio. below: scallops urquell

Serves 4

4 shallots, finely chopped 4 tbsp butter 2 bottles of Pilsner Urquell 4 fresh scallops in their shell Dill, chives and cress, chopped, to serve 01 Heat up the grill (use burning coal, if possible). Next, set a frying pan over a medium heat, add 1 tbsp butter and sweat the shallots. When they are done, add a bottle of pilsner and bring it to the boil, then let it bubble away gently to create a shallot compote. Add the rest of the butter and cook until it is brown.

Season with salt and pepper.

02 Clean the scallops, take the muscle out of the shell and put to one side.

03 Add 1 tbsp of the shallot compote to the bottom of each shell and places the raw muscles on top, then add a splash of pilsner. Put the top shells back on and place the scallops directly on the hot grill and cook for up to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the scallops.

04 When the scallops are ready, divide them among 4 plates.

Garnish each with the herbs and 1 tbsp of pilsner foam. Serve immediately.

Here & now We talk to two Berlin-based creatives making their names in the worlds of music and art to find out how the city’s spirit and vibe have fuelled their work so far Words by Ole Siebrecht Photography by Maximilian Attila Bartsch Styling by Andrea Horn

DENA / Musician The 34-year-old singer Denitza Todorova, aka DENA, hails from Bulgaria, has lived in the German capital for more than 10 years and writes in English.

The result is a catchy combination of R’n’B, rap and hip-hop inspired by life, love and friendship.

Why did you choose to live in Berlin?

“I moved here in 2004, when I was 22, from Bulgaria via West Germany. I thought Berlin must be bigger and more liberal and open-minded than other German cities. Also, I got to study here.”

Berlin is probably the most multicultural city in Germany. What was it like for you when you first arrived here after growing up in Bulgaria?

“Socially, Berlin definitely made up for the two years I spent living in a small town near Frankfurt before moving. I remember feeling alienated and like I was ‘the other’ there, but quickly felt at home in Berlin and made a lot of friends from the art and culture scenes.”

Does Berlin feel like home?

“Totally, especially living in Kreuzberg, which is in the middle of the Turkish-German community. In Bulgaria I grew up in a town near the Turkish border that also had a big Turkish community. And, in 2008, I studied in Istanbul for six months. There is a certain vibe in the streets in Kreuzberg and it feels like home.”

Do you feel Berlin has changed much recently?

“Yes. There are a thousand times more people coming and going, which is a beautiful thing, because we are all searching and moving around the world. There has been a boom in tourism lately, especially in my neighbourhood. Sometimes I have to wait a while at the lights when I want to cross the road – that’s how crowded it is now. I’ve noticed something in the euphoric state of so many visitors when I look around.

I guess I remember the feeling.”

When and how did you start making music?

“When I moved here. I met a girl from Toronto who asked me if I wanted to start a band, and I was like, ‘YES!’ I played the synth and she played the drums.

We were called Tschikabumm and lasted for about two years.”

Do you have a life motto?

“The future is tomato shaped.”

We love your music videos. Are you the one who comes up with these great ideas?

“Yes, thanks. I also always work with talented friends and we inspire each other.”

You rap about not needing cash or diamonds, so what do you really need in life?

“A house in a sunny place with a swimming pool and family and friends to enjoy it with.”

What’s your new EP, Trust, about?

“It’s about freezing the moment of heartbreak and observing it from different angles.”

What’s next for you?

“I’m playing some shows in Europe and releasing another mini album soon, so stay tuned.”

Trust is out now on Normal Surround; denafromtheblock.com 52

Anne Bengard / Artist The route to Berlin and her chosen career was not the most direct for Bengard, 28, but her open-minded approach and unstoppable desire to push boundaries in her work meant settling into both was seamless.

Why did you choose to live in Berlin?

“I lived in Leipzig for the first three years of my life and grew up in Berlin after the fall of the wall. I was nine years old when my family relocated from Berlin to a small coastal town in southwest England. Even though it’s a beautiful place for kids to grow up, moving from a big, multicultural city to a place where I was the only foreign girl at school was quite a culture shock and I always intended to return to Berlin as soon as I’d finished school. That didn’t happen – instead I moved to London at 19 to study at Central Saint Martins, again with the intention of returning to Berlin once I’d finished my studies. That didn’t happen either. I got caught up in fast-paced London life, learning lots along the way, having a lot of fun, working different jobs, probably sleeping way too little and, suddenly, four years had passed. Things got a little difficult for me in London, so I decided to finally go through with the long-overdue Berlin plan to become a full-time artist.”

What do you like about the city?

“Many things, but mainly the space. My work has developed drastically because of it. I also really appreciate the balance of urban landscapes and nature.

It’s amazing that I can just jump on a train and be somewhere like Grunewald in 30 minutes and feel completely removed from city life. Or I can cycle from my studio to Weissensee in 10 minutes to relax under a tree, let little spiders crawl over my legs and put on my mermaid tail to swim in the lake.”

What inspires your work?

“Shortly after moving to London, I started working for Torture Garden, the world’s largest fetish club, and got involved in the city’s colourful alternativenightlife scene. It opened my eyes to a world with an abundance of creativity, self-expression and open-minded but, above all, respectful behaviour. It taught me to be a less judgmental person. The friends I’ve met on this journey have become my muses.

“I’m also heavily inspired by Japan and Japanese postwar pop culture, having been influenced by anime such as Sailor Moon and Cat’s Eye, which were on German TV in the 1990s. I also started collecting manga when I was 12. I think those influences are evident in my work, particularly in my colour palette.”

Does Berlin – not as a city, more as a vibe – influence your work as well?

“Yes, I think so. For example, my brushstrokes have become a lot looser and I’m slowly breaking my perfectionist habits when painting and just going for it. Splashing some colours here and there. Not being afraid of ‘mistakes’ and embracing the unrefined.”

How do you define your work?

“In one sentence – provocative, realistic portraiture in optimistic, bright-yet-soft pastel hues that is designed to make you question your preconceptions.”

When did you realise you wanted to make art?

“When I was three or four years old. I’ve been making art ever since, despite exploring other creative avenues, such as set design, venue styling, art departments. Art was always a hobby, then a sideline and, since 2014, full time. In future I might decide to work in other fields again, but fundamentally I just love being creative – to create, solve problems and learn.”

Do you feel like the art world is changing in these times of Instagram, Snapchat and co? If so, do you think that’s a good thing?

“Definitely. Suddenly, everyone with an Instagram, Snapchat or Tumblr account has a space to curate, meaning artists can rely less – or not at all – on galleries to promote their work. However, we need to be aware that algorithms can change at any time, which can also have a negative effect if your audience has been built purely on social media.”

What are your plans for the future?

“In terms of upcoming exhibitions, I’ll be part of the Monster Madness group show from October 15 at SlushBox gallery in Florida. It’ll be my first time showing work in the US. My work will also be presented at the Affordable Art Fair in Hamburg next month. There are some other exciting things being planned, but I’m not allowed to talk about them yet.” annebengard.com; Instagram: @anne_bengard_art

THIS PAGE: jacket by OH YEAH! BERLIN, vest top anne’s own, Trousers by SAMPLE-CM Opposite page, clockwise from top: Dena wears Dress

by SPARKLE & FADE by URBAN OUTFITTERS, Top by NIKE, Trousers by FRISUR; Top by PINS & NEEDLES by URBAN OUTFITTERS, T-shirt dena’s own; Jacket by CHEAP MONDAY, Dress

by HENRIK VIBSKOV. anne wears Top by COOPERATIVE by URBAN OUTFITTERS, Jeans by CHEAP MONDAY, Shoes by ZIGN; jacket

by IVYREVEL, Vest by BLANK ETIQUETTE, skirt by pins & needles by urban outfitters Photographer’s assistant: Maria Lomschicki Stylist’s assistant: Nuria Gregori

45

Into the light There’s new device that can take the mind places that have previously only been accessed with traditional practices. Will you follow?

Words by Johanna Bergström Photography by daren ellis

Meditation has been practised for thousands of years and using a variety of techniques. For many, this is a way to shut out the world around us, look into ourselves and find new energies for everyday life. When I think about meditation, I typically imagine a slender Buddhist monk, sitting atop a mistsurrounded hillside, somewhere in the Himalayas, far away from the hectic, technology-based civilisations of the western world.

Enter PandoraStar, and at first it turns my image upside down. We are in a new and highly digital era that influences every bit of society and where new techniques are used for anything, from babysitting to gardening. So why should there be an exception when it comes to meditation?

PandoraStar is a powerful, deep-trance device that uses flickering light to guide your brain to experience a range of beneficial states of brainwave activity for a number of empowering purposes. It is a highly programmable stroboscopic device that allows its users to reach altered states of consciousness through a process called brainwave entrainment, a process whereby our brains are attracted to a repetitive signal that it will latch onto and follow.

During a PandoraStar session, users sit in front of or lie under the device, with their eyes closed.

It’s preprogrammed with about 15 sessions that are designed to offer a variety of experiences to the user, although there are more than 60 other sessions available. Some of these have been produced

by PandoraStar but others have been created by practitioners and shared on the private community forum on the company’s website. The device is also

54

one-to-one pandora star sesssions at see studio, LONDON, and, centre PHOTOGRAPH, cacao and gong bath event with reiki at pandoraspa, London

programmed with a bespoke software, allowing experienced users to create their own sessions.

PandoraStar was launched in April 2015 at the Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing Festival in London.

According to creator and cofounder Jimi Simpson, it has been received extraordinarily well in many practices. Simpson was inspired to develop PandoraStar after a trial session with a similar device, Lucia No3. He had already been thinking about creating a machine that would allow him to reach altered states of consciousness, associated with two of his personal interests: out-of-body exploration (OBE) and lucid dreaming.

Simpson explains that, for him, meditation is an opportunity to look deep inside for guidance on thoughts and inspiration on future developments.

Sometimes he also practices it just to obtain stillness of mind and to recoup energies. “I would say that it is one of the most powerful opportunities we have as humans,” he says.

PandoraStar often becomes quite an attraction at shows and events, where it is typically used to offer individuals the opportunity to explore their own innate ability to create beautiful, internally generated artwork that remains a lasting experience in the mind.

This is achieved by a four-minute preprogrammed session that takes the user into a relaxing brainwave state and then adjusts various parameters to generate highly visual internal artworks: dramatic, kaleidoscopic, hallucinogenic, spiral-swirling mandala-like patterns of vibrant colour and form.

Brainwave entrainment as such is not a new concept. It has been approached in various ways throughout the centuries, including via audio technologies, such as binaural beats and isochronic tones, as well as other light technologies, such as illuminated glasses and eye masks, and electromagnetic means. In fact, PandoraStar could more or less be considered a 21st-century stroboscope, which utilises an illumination method that has been around for more than 200 years – a method that could be generated by little more than waving your hands in front of your closed eyes in bright sunlight. With the PandoraStar device, however, the experience is taken to another level, allowing users of various levels of experience to journey into endless variations of deep and transformed states of consciousness.

“Today, with increased knowledge and use of light therapy, the aspiration for technologies like PandoraStar is to gain ground in many professional areas,” says Simpson. Although PandoraStar does not officially claim to treat any conditions or illnesses, the device is suggested for activities and issues such as stress and depression management, sleep improvement, cognitive enhancement, remote viewing and self-hypnosis. At present, it is used privately and commercially by brainwave-entrainment enthusiasts, biofeedback technicians, consciousness researchers, personal-development trainers, holistic and metaphysical practitioners, spiritual retreats, floatation-tank centres and health spas. And, of course, by curious explorers like you and me.

As meditation takes its first steps into the digital age, Simpson points out that PandoraStar is not to be considered a champion over conventional meditation practices. Instead, it can complement and fit alongside traditional techniques. For instance it can assist the user to get into a suitable state of consciousness and awareness for the activity they are about to practice. “The ancient, non-digital methods undoubtedly pervade,” says Simpson. “But considering that meditative practice is about altered states of consciousness and awareness, I think that technology that can directly elicit this effect rightfully has a place.”

There will probably always be mixed views on the use of electronic devices for meditation purposes.

While there is no need to question the lifelong practice and conventional ability of traditional practitioners, perhaps, as the majority of us are increasingly accepting new, progressive technologies in our lives, there is room for both.

In order to be able to introduce PandoraStar to a broader audience, the company recently launched PandoraSpa in London – a futuristic “mind spa” dedicated to the exploration of consciousness and human potential. The spa has a resident hypnotherapist and a spiritual healer, among other therapists, and will routinely host individual and group sessions using PandoraStar.

The more I talk to Simpson about PandoraStar and its possibilities, the more inquisitve I get. I was never good with meditation anyway, so perhaps a session in the spa would be my way of testing the water of what seems to be an infinite world of unexplored energies. pandorastar.co.uk