hat up Mark! How are you? Very well, thanks. Who are you really? I’m a laid back guy, but sometimes I have a short fuse! I love life, my kids and the people around me. How’s London? I’m in London most of the time for work these days, although I do spend quite a bit of time chilling out in the South of France—I have a studio there where I shoot my Aqueous work. When did you first pick up the camera? Age eight. Do you remember your first shot? Not exactly, but I remember experimenting a lot with my first camera—taking pictures of my toys. Can you recall the moment that you decided photography was what you wanted to do? Not really, I would have been around thirteen or fourteen. Before that, I wanted to be a vet! What’s kept you going? My love of making images—I’m passionate about creating an emotion, feeling or telling a story in my shots. I would have given it up a long time ago, if I weren’t so passionate about it. How do you differentiate shooting for self vs. for a client? It’s not really any different. For my personal work, I am the client—I am the one I’m trying to please. Maybe I can experiment more for my personal work, than if I was shooting for a client. Is your sense of satisfaction the same? Not always. Sometimes I’m asked to shoot a very simple shot for a client and they don’t want it to be very creative—that can be frustrating. But a nice shoot for a client, which produces lovely shots, is very satisfying and equally as satisfying as my personal work.
Have you had any professional training? I originally studied photojournalism and worked in newspapers in London for the first eight years of my career. What inspires you? Life inspires me! People, light, shadows, movies and music. Your recent work primarily focuses on underwater shooting, what led you in that direction? It was something I had always wanted to try. I like juxtapositions and shooting people underwater portraying everyday life seemed like fun. My first shot worked really well, so I‘ve continued with it. How does the experience compare to your typical shoots? There’s more preparation involved than a shoot on land. There’s the safety aspect involved. There are also rehearsals above water before we go down and shoot, as communication is more difficult underwater. Also, the choice of models has different criteria: they have to be very comfortable underwater, able to hold poses without their arms & legs flapping and make it look natural. Have you developed or forced yourself to use new techniques through your underwater work? No, not really. The photography and lighting are pretty much the same, except I’m using different equipment. Aqueous and Aqueous Floreau both feature exquisite formations with exceptional color—would you care to share a bit on how you achieved such magnificent shots? I’ve worked and refined this technique for several years and I keep it somewhat of a secret, as other people wanting to copy it are always asking me. Has the business end of photography changed the art for you? I think like a lot of artists and photographers, I’m not the best
businessman—it’s always been art first, business second! Through all of your experience what would you say is the one thing you’ve learned that has been imperative to your success? Find something you love doing and keep at it. When other people tell you to do something else, if it’s your passion, keep at it. How about a mistake that you would never make again? Write a treatment for a shoot outlining exactly how, technically, I would shoot something. I did that once for a video piece, didn’t get the job and was told that they had chosen a different director because he had written a better treatment. Fair enough I thought, but when the ad came out, it was exactly what I had written. What’s your camera of choice? At the moment I shoot on a Hasselblad H1 with a Phase One back. How does Photoshop fit into all of this goodness? I use Photoshop to give my final results a distinctive look and for a basic clean up of the images. Where are you currently hanging? I hang between London and the South of France. Do you have any upcoming shows? Nothing planned at the moment. Is there anyone particular in your life that really pushes you to be best the best you can be? My girlfriend, Jane. What do you want out of life? To be happy and content. Are you doing what you love? Absolutely! What’s next? More Aqueous work and I’d really like to get a coffee table book
out there. Is there anything that I’ve missed? Nope!
ow’s Vienna? Vienna is a very quiet city. Somebody recently said, “If the end of the world is near, go to Vienna. There everything happens twenty years later.” We love living here, but we also love to travel—especially for inspiration. What do you do? Work a lot. What don’t you do? Sleep a lot. How exactly did you two meet? A few years ago we bumped into each other—both of us were looking for a major change in our lives—so we decided to start working as a team. What are the benefits of working together? You are not alone. You can share your thoughts. There is always a second opinion. And you can play the good cop/bad cop thing. Are there any drawbacks? Well, you have to be a little less egoistic and a little more disciplined when working as a team. It’s been kind of an experiment for us— neither of us used to be big team players before. Fortunately, it’s worked out quite well. Do you follow a specific workflow when knocking out a project? Yes, whenever we start a new (commercial) job. Some projects are started by playing around with several ideas, some need more
strategic planning. How often do you work together vs. on your own on any given job? Usually, we will sit together and discuss our ideas first. Then one of us takes over the whole project, but we still interact a lot. What’s each of your preferred areas of expertise? We both work in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Peter is the real expert in 3D, illustrating and postproduction. Verena has some focus on conceptual design and editorial work. Do you ever bump heads? Constantly. It’s not a problem. Your typography work rocks! What’s it like designing a typeface? Designing a typeface is really hard work. Until now, we’ve only done some experiments that are still far away from any proper working font. Do each of you have a project that stands out as being your most rewarding or beneficial? Our favourite project is Nevertheless Magazine, which we do together. What’s cracking with Nevertheless Magazine anyhow? We’d had this idea for quite a long time and in ‘10 we just decided to do it—not only dream about it. As we were always working on free projects along with our daily business, there was quite a lot of
stuff waiting to be published. In fact, we did not expect Nevertheless to come out that big and so quickly... When we first started, it was an experiment. Now, with every new issue, we feel that Nevertheless becomes more mature, but without losing its initial thought. When are they released? Every June and December. Where can I go to buy one? Nevertheless is available in our online shop and in a steadily growing number of book shops and galleries in Austria. We are also starting to expand our distribution to Germany and Switzerland as well. At the moment, the texts are in German only, but we will have an English version quite soon. Looking over your body of work, I must say you’ve successfully covered a tremendous spectrum of design/styles/awesome stuff. What have you yet to try that you’re looking forward to kicking some butt on?
Well, there are a lot of things actually. That´s the great thing with our job: you never know what´s coming next… Are you selling any prints? Yes, we have our own webshop connected to our site— www.olschinsky.at, where you can buy some of our favourite designs. You can also purchase some series via Sergeantpaper, a very nice gallery in Paris, France. What do you want out of life? Keep it simple. Travel a lot. And have fun. Are you doing what you love? Absolutely. Any shout-outs? Life´s good.
o Zach! Alright! How are you? Not too shabby... Cheers! You killed it with this month’s cover? Thank you. Care to share any special meaning... I’ve been working really hard this year—prolifically, so I would say because of this constant churn I have evolved my style... It’s great to contribute! Who are you really? I been asking myself that one!? All in all, I’m an artist that just wants to share his vision. What’s new in Perth? They’re developing the city and introducing some Laneway Projects allowing artists like myself to express themselves on. This is a good thing, as some areas need our love! When did you start writing? At fourteen years old. Why? I was doing art a lot at school and was inspired by Spraycan Art—the book which had Mode 2, Zaki Dee, Pride and The Chrome Angels. It blew me away, so I wanted to pursue doing that. Wait, wait… Are you in Perth, or South Korea? I was in South Korea, but back in Perth now! That’s awesome that you were teaching English in South Korea— what’d you take away from that experience?
So much, insight into discipline, nature—and mostly because you have nothing at hand, like the things we take for granted, you can find out a bit more about yourself. Being isolated from the things you know does have a curtain impact emotionally, especially for long periods of time. What’s up with Korea’s art & graf scenes? Amazing! Seoul is kicking! Your style is both unique and amazing, how would you describe it? It’s me. Science fiction—straight up! I’m seeing watercolors, acrylics, spray paint, color pencils, illustrator and probably some more stuff... What’s your favorite medium? My favorite is definitely ink. I use it a lot, with a brush only! How often do you paint? I paint in the studio every day! Who brought you up with graffiti? Myself really! What crews are you repping? None at the moment, although I keep getting asked to join crews, but I prefer to roll alone. How’s Australia influenced your style? I don’t think Australia has more than Japan/South Korea. Has “graffiti” changed for you over time? Absolutely, I’m not bogged down with one thing—I’m a lot freer and indulge in expressing myself fully. What’s it all for? I enjoy creating and sharing—it’s just what I do!
How does painting canvases compare to painting walls for you? Very different. Canvases have constraints and are not porous like walls, so it’s harder to work with sometimes. Do you still get the same sense of satisfaction? Yes, I would say so. It doesn’t matter what you paint on, but rather what you paint! How much time do you invest into each particular piece? Well, my studio work can take weeks or months depending on the level I want to reach in the piece. I invest a lot of time for sure! Nothing comes out of there half-baked. What’s the greatest compliment you’ve received from your work? That it was inspiring and refreshing. Who are your biggest influences? Totem, Mesin, Jaybo Monk, Doc Scott and many Mexican chaps! Do you have any upcoming shows? Yes, I’ve got an upcoming show at the prestigious Linton & Kay Gallery coming up here later this year in June/July. Have you had any professional training? I’m a qualified interior designer/drafter. What do you want out of life? I’m enjoying this right now—that’s all I’ve ever wanted! Are you doing what you love? I am indeed! What’s next? I’m working on some projects with international artists, so I’m
looking forward to seeing that unfold. Any shout-outs? Shouts going out to Mesin Vwriter, Izcro, Mike Mendez, Elsperma Tres Capsulas, Janin Nuz Garcin, Sueworks, Kevin “Aztek” Fitzpatrick, James NVS Webster, Daniel High & Anthony V, Idol, Jaybo Monk and of course to my one and only who has been my support since day one—Asiah Abdul Hamid. To anyone I forgot and to all those that enjoy my work, thank you. Piece. -ZachFresH20
ig Ben! Wehey! How are you? I’m tired after a long night on a little job, but I’m now snuggling in my gf’s bed, so all’s good. Who are you really? When I was about seventeen I realized I wanted to be an artist— I’ve been doing some experiments with it lately. I’m a twenty-nine year-old guy who grew up in Israel and moved to London when he was twenty-six. How’s London? London’s great. Too cold TBH. I wish I could do more outdoor shoots, but anyone I photograph (without clothes) will freeze to death after ten minutes here. Other than that, London’s treating me well. Care for a spot of tea? I prefer coffee, but it starts getting to me... I think after fifteen plus years my body starts to go “eww” after two coffees a day. How long have you been shooting? Officially/obsessively using a DSLR since the summer of ‘07. Why did you select these photos for your feature? They are selections from two exhibitions I now have in London— WickED Circus at Jacksons Lane and Circle at Circa at artsdepot. What initially drew you to photography? I was working in a trade company specializing in photography equipment back in Israel. I was managing the imports and after almost three and a half years I got fed up and quit. Having had access to cost prices I bought a Nikon DSLR and it came naturally, so I’ve kept on going with it. Where has photography taken you? All over the place. I’ve gotten to know some of the most amazing
people and places—not sure I could have ever otherwise, but a camera (luckily) opens a lot of doors. I’m also getting more and more commissions that include traveling abroad so that’s great. I love traveling! What have you done with the fake “Ben Hoppers” running around perpetrating? Really I am Ofer Benin, which is like Robert Zimmerman for Bob Dylan. Ben Hopper is the same thing—just an easier name for nonIsraeli people to pronounce. Benin Ofer=Ben Hopper. It started as a joke years ago, but after using it on Myspace and FB it emerged into reality. When I decided to go with Ben Hopper instead of Ofer I had to get a proper domain online—http://benhopper.com was already taken and the best alternative I could come up with was http://therealbenhopper.com. I realized if I’m not a “real” Ben Hopper, then fuck it, I might as well just go all the way. It also sums up my approach to life: do not take things too seriously. People think that it’s my business name, “the real ben hopper”, its a website name :) Where are you going? Anywhere where I’ll be happy. What would you do for a Klondike Bar? I just Googled that—so I guess not that much—although it kind of looks interesting! Any sentiments towards Photoshop? Yes, I’d be really careful though, you don’t want it to look like a “ModelMayhem” or an advertisement. Otherwise, I wish I had a full time retoucher—can’t stand sitting in front of a monitor, it kills me. What’s your camera of choice?
At the moment my main is a Canon 5D Mark II. I’d like to get a medium format—something with blasting 60MP would be nice. How does working with video compare to photography for you? I’m hoping to do more video in the near future. I prefer directing rather than operating the camera when it comes to video. I want to focus more on the creative as opposed to the technological side. What would you like to do more of (generally speaking)? I’d like to travel more, go snowboarding and hit up festivals all over. I’d basically love to do all shit I’m doing now on a larger international scale. Of all your work, do you have a favorite? I don’t really know. I was trying to find one going through my website yesterday, but I couldn’t. It seems as if I can’t see anything with “iconic/classic/timeless” characteristics in my portfolio. Not yet—maybe in five or ten years... When you get up, what do you do to calm yourself down? Masturbate. When you get down, what do you do to bring yourself up? Reminding myself that either: broken hearts are for assholes, or that our purpose in life is to be happy. Cheesy—I know—but it’s the goddamn truth! Why? Well, sometimes I do just cry all night, but don’t tell anyone I said that… Why ask why? Dude—I don’t know—but you just got a pretty heavy confession there so… Where do you see your work heading? Going back to what I want to do more of in general on a larger
international scale. Who are your biggest influences? All of my personal work is stuff I’m attracted to. This is influenced by a variety of things that are constantly changing on a daily basis. Do you have any upcoming shows? There are three exhibitions coming up at the moment—two solo and one group, all in London. They are all about contemporary circus photography and a part of Roundhouse’s CircusFest (a London theatre that dedicates all of April to contemporary circus shows): 13 March - 29 April/WickED Circus at Jacksons Lane (solo), 28 March - 29 April/FEDEC’s Circle at Circa Festival 2011 at artsdepot (solo), 28 March - 29 April/Social Circus at Roundhouse (group). More info on my Blog/FB/Twitter. Have you had any professional training? I was assisting a couple photographers for a few months in Israel before I moved to London at the end of ‘08. Nothing serious. No college. No Uni. What do you want out of life? My good friend Remco always says, “I don’t want to be right, I just want to be happy.” Are you doing what you love? I’m trying. What’s next? Sex… Then world domination. Is there anything that I’ve missed? Too many things, so little time. Let’s try another one in few months ;) Any shout-outs? See mum, I told you I shouldn’t have studied in school…
arko! How are you? Fine, thanks. Who are you really? The one behind this stuff… A normal, not really “normal” person—so quite normal. It´s hard to describe, look at my pictures and you´ll find out (or you’ll find something quite different). How’s Germoney? Germoney is coming from the eighties. There was a German politic-rock-band called Schröders Roadshow and they had a song called “Anarchie In Germoney”. There I took the Germoney for myself (some kind of collage/cut and paste)... Nice band—the old manager of the band is a green politician today. Germoney is ok, like most places in the world where you grow up and live. What really gets your motor going? The unrest in me—to find a way to express myself. The different sights of life. (Or if I could take a text line) Break on through… Help me finish this sentence… I’d really love to but, Mad Max car-jacked my motorcycle and told me to listen to the Jimi Hendrix New Years Eve Concert 1969/1970 but, as we all know… gas, gas, or gas, no one rides 4 free. At this point is it pretty much safe to say that you’re knocking out a few new works a day? That could happen sometimes... As long as I’ve got a creative-phase going and find enough time. Where do you find the time?
At night. …The inspiration? From life, exhibitions I’ve visited, the things around me, photos I take, inner feelings and the Internet—which is full uploaded with great talented stuff. Do you have a job besides art? Yes, I work as a freelance graphic designer. What won’t you do for money? Things that would seriously harm other people or myself. What will you do for God? …Satan? Nothing, because I do not believe in any of them. Isn’t deception awesome? Everything develops in the eye of the viewer. Did you go to art school? No. Is art something that can be taught? Creativity can be taught. You can be taught to find more/better/ creative ways to express yourself. What meaning is inherent of your work? Show a new sight. To make the personal horizon a little bit bigger. To play a little bit with your eyes, your mind and the imagination. To show another side of the same thing—nothing is just black or white, there´s a lot of differences behind them—it always depends on your point of view. I think it´s nice to know that there’s more than your own personal viewpoint. A picture says more than a thousand words, so maybe my collages can say more than two thousand words. Why do you do what you do? It’s myself, my way of expression, my way of life.
How do you feel about this interview? A little bit excited and flattered. Where do you see your work headed? http://www.flickr.com/photos/walterwhite/ http://www.virtuelleartgalerie.com/ http://society6.com/MarkoKoeppe/ Who are your biggest influences? Mark Rothko, Pierre Guimond, Picasso, Dali, Leonardo da Vinci, Kurt Schwitters, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Das Bauhaus, Karl Friedrich Waechter, Orhan Pamuk, Don Martin, Monster Magnet and many many more... Do you have any upcoming shows? Not yet, but we’ll see... What do you want out of life? I wanna get happy—as the most of us! Are you doing what you love? Yes, certainly—I release my mind by that. What’s next? Something new??? And some more unreal-illusion cities and fabulous creatures???... Is there anything that I’ve missed? Thank you very much for the interview and the pages here! Hope your readers will enjoy it! Any shout-outs? Live the life you love—love the life you live. And don´t take it all too seriously...