Westworld issue 3

M Ci F Ex Fa Sh Ca IN ar an EA hi sh or m CL jN O TU bi i t p o UD tio n St us ew ba RE & or S n nh -S ty D Re Fe y le ING am mi m A v th iew in RT ism IS TS

WESTWORLD 003 / MARCH 14 Exploring Arts / Design / Fashion within Bristol FREE

WESTWORLD

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WESTWORLD 003 / MARCH 14

Editor’s letter

Editorial - Short Story

by Dulcie Horn

Hello! We’re excited to tell you that we’ve got a super jam-packed issue this month. We’ve featured art from students Cian Oba-Smith, Marjorie Newnham, Ellice Weaver and Hattie Buckwell as well as creative writing from our assistant editor Chaneen Salako. We’ve also got an exhibition review and fashion related comment pieces in the lead up to International Women’s Day...

If that’s not enough you can also look online to get involved with our monthly photography feature, read the thoughts of our new fashion columnist or enter our competition to win tickets to Bristol Fashion Week!

Email: westworld@westerneye. net Tweet: @WestWorld_UWE or Facebook:‘WestWorld Contributors’

Fo B r nt H an s C a V D do Ex llu Fo n T l j b n a nt ex s t r is

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A Mother’s Trousers

To to a p W w di pl es re y W ou tw c t as l e p a d or al th lin hot re you ld l f e n gu o g lo o lik @ ee e w db x t i st r a p k i e es a W s , h n g to te c k e d e e r fo co rn a stW s i g s , c r a nt ey n d o Cr n e r it r t i r i b e . co r l G ea ne m d r s i c s s t s u te f Ja rap tive t e an , e , w t m a e n tu d di ri o W b e m e hic D g e to te e ts re ja ha s B De ire d n e r s , r s , st m @ e n c a r si c ti ar W r a fa g e on ti s j2 sb .n re or n l c sh 3r ar e t t er & t ld s u i t d re / on ? l / G t ur is tt j23 ue 19 r t e s s d t vu , 90 ltu @ re ho s tm ai l .c o. uk

A long queue by Ellice Weaver

Our mother only ever wore Chanel. reapply the red, immediately.”

If it wasn’t Chanel then it was Céline, but that was so rare we dare not W e w o u l d g o f o r w a l k s o f t e n , elaborate. She took great pains to wouldn’t we, in our matching be prim and proper. She’d always dresses, bare legs and pumps. Hair tell us that “a woman has no place pressed with a ribbon tied into a in the world if she doesn’t dress bow, and an umbrella. A parasol. well” and she would say; “it’s your Mother would tell us over and over dress that determines your destiny.” “stop slouching, you’re a girl, child”.

“Although she never did a dress, did she?”

Flash fiction by w e a r Chaneen Salako

“No she never did, she was a trousers lady. Hmmm. How ironic!”

It was a radical, unladylike thing to wear trousers in her day, but she did it and she did it well. We couldn’t tell you of anyone who met her and did not think her the most feminine woman they had ever met.

“She always wore red lips too. They were so perfect.”

“I remember she would give us little kisses all over our faces and we’d look so ill.”

“Yes, but then she would always

And when you stopped slouching, she’d always have something she wanted me to stop doing.

She was a very bold woman. It wasn’t only us she’d tell what to do. She became renowned for her “Stop staring! Yes, they’re trousers. Yes, I am a woman. But, do remember dear, it is the 20th century.”

Mother wasn’t the only woman to wear trousers. But she was always the woman who would be frowned upon by men and other women who were utterlyunsupportive.Sally’shusband forbade his wife from seeing our mother. It was so sad, they were the best of friends. But she shrugged it off, said, “as much as I do not like to be disagreeable, I will not be agreeable in something that does not suit me.”

Our father loved her, and he never once tried to stop her trouserwearing like all the other husbands did. Actually it was he who went to collect her purchases once the tailor had finished. When we had finished schoolourmotherbroughtusourfirst pair of trousers. They were Céline, we were very grateful. But our father did not like us to wear trousers which was strange because he lusted after our motherinapairoftrousers.Although, by that time almost everyone was wearing them. His excuse went “you cannot compare yourselves to your mother, she has already been found by her husband. What hope do the two of you have if you go galavanting around looking like a pair of men?”

This always led to a dispute between mother and father, and we would sneak away to go and change back into our dresses. When we came back mother was suddenly disappointed in our volition to fall subject to the dominant view and father was over joyed w it h t he v iews w it h which he was able to indoctrinate ou r v ulnerable little minds. westworldassistant@westerneye.net

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Featured Artists

W hen a nd why d id you s t a r t b ei n g c re at ive?

My parents got me into playing musical instruments when I was about 10 which sparked my creative interest.

It wasn’t until my A-levels when my tutor introduced me tostreetphotographythatIdevelopedapassionfortaking pictures, this started to take over and eventually became my main creative outlet. Over time I’ve moved from street photography towards documentary portraiture, although I still enjoy street photography on a personal level, the majority of my project work is based around taking pictures of people and communicating a story.

W h y d i d yo u c h o o s e t o c o m e t o U W E ?

I wanted to get out of London for my degree so I could live independently and experience life in a city other than London. My first interview was at UWE and when I arrived in Bristol it felt right. The course has really good facilities and teaching so as soon as I got my place I accepted.

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OBA-SMITH www.cianobasmith.co.uk cianphoto.tumblr.com

W h a t a r e yo u c u r r e n t l y w o r k i n g o n ?

I just got back from shooting a project on Islam in Iceland which was really interesting so my main focus is on that at the moment. Currently I’m engaging with other students on collaborations and I’m working on the beginnings of a few projects. I’ve got a feature coming out at some point with Vice, I’m also a part of a disposable camera project run by Trip Mag which is edited by fashion alumni Dean Stephen Davies.

Cian Oba-Smith is a level 3 photography student hailing from London

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W here do yo u f ind inspiration?

A lot of my project work is very personal to me, so a lot of my inspiration comes from personal experience and is informed by my relationships with the people who a re close to me. In ter m s of who in spires me within the world of photography I would say contemporary photographers such as Matt Stuart, Bryan Schutmaat, Pieter Hugo, Alex Webb, Trent Parke, Rinko Kawauchi, Spencer Murphy, Ben Huff. and masters such as Malick Sidibe, Henri Cartier Bresson, William Eggleston, Saul Leiter, Weegee, Don McCullin, William Klein, August Sander, Joel Meyerowitz and Seydou Keita to name but a few.

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W h e n & w h y d i d yo u s t a r t b e i n g c r e a t i ve?

I think it’s natural to draw and be creative from a young age, but I only knew I was interested in art when I was taking myGCSE’s.Ihadagreatartteacheratsecondaryschooland she definitely inspired me to want to pursue career in art.

W h a t i s yo u r f a vo u r i t e m e d i u m t o w o r k i n ?

Currently I’ve been using lots of sculpting clay. I’m really interested in model making and 3D illustration at the moment. There’s something really satisfying about a physical/tactile outcome.

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NEWNHAM cargocollective.com/ marjorienewnham facebook.com/ marjnewnhamillustration

Marjorie Newnham, marjnewnham.tumblr.com the illustrator of our very apt front cover illustration ‘The Flood’, is a level two illustration student originally from Yatton, a small village in North Somerset

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W h y d i d yo u c h o o s e t o c o m e t o U W E ?

I chose U WE because I was rea lly impressed by the facilities and course content. Also, I already lived very close to Bristol and knew how great the city was, I thought it’d be silly to leave it behind!

W ho and what inspire yo u ?

Chr is Sickels, t he ma n behind Red Nose St ud ios i s one of my f avou r ite contemp or a r y a r t ist s. His lively 3D i l lust rat ions a re a combination of a ll the things I’m interested in.

I like to keep a sketchbook with me to write notes and draw sketches of observations that could later on inspire or inform my work. I also think Pinterest is a great tool to collate and organise inspiring work found online.

I f you a re a n a r t i s t , work i ng i n a ny med iu m a nd wou ld like to be featured plea se em a il us at west world@wester neye.net

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Lauren wears Topshop jeans and shoes but everything else is from charity shops including her coat, scarf, shirt and jumper!

We ditched Bower Ashton this month and headed over to Frenchay Campus on an unusually bright Febr uar y af ternoon to see what Frenchay students were wearing as we start to make our way into Spring this year.

Liberty is wearing a Fila sweatshirt over a Topshop blouse and jeans.

She’s paired this with a Tiffany necklace and neon Nikes.

Molly got her cheery coat from Lou Lou’s vintage fair. Her jumper is from a market in Berlin and she got her shoes from Office.

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Apart from his shoes, Andy’s clothes are all from ASOS marketplace where you can buy vintage and handmade clothing from all over the world.

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Emily’s multicoloured woven coat and leather skirt are from Urban Outfitters while her shirt is American Apparel and her shoes are from Swedish shoe company Vagabond.

Aisling found her blue coat on ebay and bought her skirt from ASOS marketplace and her shoes from Etsy. She found her hat!

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UWE Fashion Student Shows at London Fashion Week

Fashion - UWE Fashion Week

by Dulcie Horn westworld@westerneye.net

3rd year student Hattie Buckwell was selected as a finalist in the prestigious Fashion Awareness Direct undergraduate competition On the 18th February Hattie Buckwell, a 3rd year fashion student at UWE, was given the opportunity to showcase her work at London Fashion Week as part of the Fashion Scout catwalk. Hattie was one of 16 finalists from 10 different universities across the UK who all took part in a competition run by fashion charity Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD).

FAD is a charity that supports young people to br idge t he gap bet ween education and the fashion industry.

T heir underg radu ate compet it ion prov ides a unique a nd coveted pl at for m for you ng desig ners a nd Hat t ie wa s t h r i l led to h ave h ad t he oppor t u n it y: “It’s a n a m a zi ng

achievement, I’m really proud to have my work shown on such a great platform, alongside other talented designers.”

a ‘multi-sensory design’. Hattie chose to focus on the sense of touch by using sustainable and tactile textiles. In her mini-collection of two outfits, latex is ju xtaposed w ith orga nic cotton, whilst suede and leather are brought toget her w it h met a l. Geomet r ic patterns run throughout her work and she employs a variety of traditional a nd l a b ou r-i nt e n s i ve t e c h n iq ue s such as embroidery to achieve these:

Previous FAD finalists have gone on to work with a whole range of top designers and companies and the competition is a rea l spr i ngboa rd for st udent s.

UWE’s finalist added “some prestigious judges and contacts through FAD will lead to oppor t unit ies for show ing my work to a wider audience, as well as internships and collaborations.” “One of t he most t i me- con su m i ng elements of my desig n wa s the FA D say t hat t he streng t h of t heir suede i ndu st r i a l patchwork d ress, competition lies with its ‘intelligent it s mo du l a r de s ig n w a s a c h ie ve d and challenging briefs’. This year they w it h over 3 ,000 ju mp r i ngs. Each challenged students to come up with piece is cut, hole-punched a nd

assembled completely by hand. Every material is sustainably sourced and a ll of the black suede is industr ia l production offcuts from Mulberry.”

Aside from traditional craftsmanship techniques we also asked her which desig ners had inf luenced her t a ke on the brief: “I really admire Lu Flux for her playful take on sustainable design, with handmade textiles and material play at the heart of her work.

Also Leutton Postle, with their tactile knitwear, and Christopher Raeburn for his clean aesthetic and his interesting u s e of i ndu s t r y w a s t e m a t er i a l s .”

I n t he f ut u re H a t t ie ho p e s t o b e

working amongst other fashion and textile designers, possibly going on to form a cross-disciplinary collective.

She is pushing forward innovation and sustainability within textiles.

Yo u c a n l e a r n m o r e a b o u t H a t t i e ’s p r o c e s s o n h e r p r o j e c t blog hattiebuckwellsensorytextiles. wordpress.com or see more of her other work on her website: hattiebuckwell. co.uk

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Feminism vs Femininity in Fashion

Fashion - Femininity in Fashion

Comment piece by Natasha McGregor westworld@westerneye.net We all know a feminist when we see them. Short hair, jeans, Doctor Martin boots and an angry frown. Surely this isn’t the norm though. Surely someone, somewhere out there is wearing a floral print dress and trying on pink lipstick?

What actually makes a feminist these days? There was a time when it was boiler suits, shoulder pads and no bras. Now it’s sexy skirts, push-up bras and knee-high boots. With women constantly revolting against stereotypes imposed on them the image of the feminist is changing all the time. But where does femininity ome into it?

Can feminists dress in a feminine way? What even makes a feminine outfit?

Some might say it’s pride in your body, showing off your curves and the parts of you that make you ‘woman’. Others will disagree - it’s the modesty and the power to say no, I am a woman without displaying those parts that define me. Feminism is such a powerful and in many ways misunderstood word. I consider myself a feminist, though I may not appear to be one on the outside. I believe in equality for women, as I believe in equality for everyone.

I take my boyfriend out for dinner. I embrace being the only woman in jobs and scenarios usually reserved for men. I am one of the best, if not the only, theatre technicians on my drama course at university.

This is a very male-dominated area of the theatre. You have to move props and scenery, climb ladders and adjust lights, and tell the actors to shut up and get out of your way. Not a role for the faint hearted. On these days I dress as many would consider many feminists to dress. I have on my heavy boots, my grubbiest jeans and my hair tied up out of the way. My tools are in my back pocket and my nails are broken and dirty. But this is only one aspect of me, as my feminist views are. See me at the after show party and I’m in my best frock, face made up and high heels on. Does this make my views any less valid? Does it make me less of a feminist?

I admire the women that have the guts (and the figure) to go out in their tiny tops and short skirts and say ‘I will dress the way I want to dress’. They won’t be pigeon-holed by what society says is proper, what is the ‘proper’ way for ladies to dress. I wish I could join them in solidarity and show off my womanliness without fear, but alas, I am too womanly for this. I have hips, I have breasts and, god forbid, I have a stomach. I am not a size 8.

But does this self-imposed image help feminism? Yes, it gives women the power to take back their bodies, to show they are women and to stop shying away from that. It also means we are defined by the clothes we wear, the way we paint our faces and choose to present our bodies to the world.

Some of the most intelligent and empowering women have dressed a lot less than ‘femininely’ but that hasn’t made them any less empowering.

Conversely, some of the most stereotypically fashionable women in history have also been some of the most intelligent and empowering.

Ultimately, we live in a culture that judges women in terms of their appearance, whatever their views. Though we may wish to dress how we want and say ‘up yours’ to the world, we cannot escape the importance put on our outfits by society. So I say, dress how you like. Feminism as a belief should transcend appearance. Keep believing, and be the kind of feminist you want to be.

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Dunn No Clothing Reject Unachievable Body Image Standards

Fashion-Dunn no Clothing

Interview by Arianne Shepard

We spoke to Maizee Dunn, founder of Dunn No Clothing, a Bristol based women’s street-wear label that stands for individuality, creativity and expression. As a fashion-wise feminist who promotes the beauty of the female form, we were keen to hear her views on the relationship of fashion and feminism. Maizee said:“I always said to myself that I was going to design clothes for ‘real’ women or curvy women because I love that look, I love the hourglass silhouette. When I actually learnt to design clothes, and being a size 14 myself never thought I’d say this, I realised thin women are like a clothes hanger.

On the catwalk it’s all about the clothes it’s not really about the model, they just have a universal body shape that will make clothes look good. In a lot of the photo shoots I’ve done, I’ve used thinner girls, like a size 8, because in a photo context it shows off the clothes more. On curvy women, some clothes won’t look so good and others will look amazing.Often people look at thin models and think ‘wow, that’s the ideal woman’ and as those ideas get filtered down into the media women begin to feel that there’s pressure on them to look that way.”

In our society the fashion industry is glamourised and idolised. It’s easy to see why the general public view the model physique as the ideal body image, rather than the various natural body structures on which couture fashion is rarely presented on. How does this ideology affect designers at ground level?

Maizee said:“The general public go to the high street to get all the trends that they see on the catwalk and see as current. I want to make money and people like current trends so I use thinner models for photo shoots, but at the same time I aware that I need to cater to curvier women as well, so I take both into consideration.

When I design my clothes I think of what I would like to wear. I’m a size 14 and quite curvy and I know that at the moment curves are really popular in the media. High fashion isn’t the only influence on body image nowadays, music videos and popular culture have influenced a new trend for curves and that’s the kind of stuff that will sell; clothes that will accentuate or create curves. I am really aware of the pressures put on women through the media, especially when it comes to fashion, but at the same time I want to sell my clothes so I’ve got to find a balance.” It’s not only clothes that go in and out of fashion. Body type is a trend that a lot of women feel pressured to keep up with. The term ‘real woman’ is thrown around a lot in the media as an anti-oppressive concept for this issue. Maizee had a lot to say about how these ideals affect women: “In the 80s and 90s they had models like Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss and the media turned them in to icons, so you can see why people started idolising the thin figure. Things have completely changed now so it’s not about being thin, thin is high fashion.

What’s really current and on trend at the moment is being ridiculously curvy.

Having totally over the top exaggerated hips and bum, tiny little waist and massive boobs. That’s what we see in the magazines now and that’s what’s fashionable at the moment.

Sometimes when people use the term curvy they mean slightly bigger, but the kind of curves that are popular still include a flat stomach. Current trends give the message that it’s okay to be curvy if it’s sexy but it’s still not okay to be big and have a stomach.”“I can’t stand the un-achievability of what’s being portrayed in the media. Size 8-10 women like NickiMinaj and Kim Kardashian are being branded as ‘real women’ and it’s just as damaging because a lot of the curves you see aren’t achievable, they’re not real, they’ve been enhanced. Now thin girls are feeling like they can’t achieve this ideal look and real curvy women don’t feel happy because they’ve got a little bit of extra fat, so nobody’s really feeling good. I want to show a sexy side to my brand but I don’t want to advertise an unachievable look.“When doing a photo shoot for a ‘curvy girl’ collection, I’ve got a choice between girls that are slim but still have big boobs and a big bum or girls like me that have got a little bit of extra weight. I think it’s all about showing people that these girls can look attractive. We are almost at the stage where we can put ‘real’ women on billboards and in magazines and have people accepting them as being attractive, which they really are.”

The concept of women’s fashion could be labelled as anti-feminist as the focus is on what a woman is wearing, above all else. I asked Maizee what feminism means to her and the part it plays within feminism. She said: “I think feminism is a taboo word. When you’re young you hear the word feminism and you think of something that’s not cool, something that is going to make you seem unattractive to men or different to everybody else.

For me, feminism means being aware of that fact I’m a woman and the struggles that I might encounter and the different ways I can be treated as a woman. I also like to make sure that I’m aware of the power that I have in society and just be vigilant and know that things aren’t equal but at the same time, celebrate that because it highlights how strong women are. I think all feminists are aware of what they wear, especially active feminists.

Weather it means expressing yourself as a woman or making a statement and saying ‘I’m not what you tell me I’m meant to be’, whether that’s by being really sexy or the complete opposite. If I create things that women will love to wear and feel like they’re expressing themselves in and they feel attractive or individual then that is empowering for women, most definitely.I use International Women’s Day to remember how great it is to be a woman and I like to spread the word because a lot of women don’t really know that much about it. I think International Women’s Day is really important.”

Dunn No Clothing is inspired by inner city Bristol, street fashion, music and art. One-off pieces are made to order.

To find out more visit: facebook.com/DunnNoClothing

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Oneself As Another

Exhibition Review - Emma Farr

By Emma Farr westworld@westerneye.net

Oneself As Another is a refreshing and unadulterated look at identity and beauty in portraiture all in a range of painting, sculpture and photography. Celebrated artists a nd ex plorers of t he ps yche, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud are displayed alongside 12 other a r t i st s a l l of fer i ng a person a l insight through unconventional por t ra it u re. T he ex h ibit ion is split over 2 spaces: t he back room ded icated to t he cent ra l in spirat ion for t he ex h ibit ion, Sa nct ae; whi le t he m a in room contains a wealth of sculptures, pa intings a nd photog raphs t h at ch a l lenge t he idea ls we associate with physical perfection.

C a t h y L e w i s’s j e s m o n it e a n d reconst it uted m a rble ca st s a re int r in sica l ly et h n ic, t hese eerily lifelike, life-size f ig ures of children are decorated w ith ornate patterns and unexpected garments. Other pieces include

Oneself as Another is an exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy running until the 26th March a bandaged y-front wearing girl named ‘Orlando’, and upon the first floor balcony we see ‘Narcissus’ staring into his own reflection in the window and towards the viewer.

Emil Alzamora’s ‘Ancestors’ was a particularly poignant piece, which comes in the form of several small human sculpted figures hung on the wall like artifacts. Emil’s usual, unsettling style is subdued and we are treated to a more reflective piece dealing with ethnic origins.

T hese f r a g mented , seem i ng ly ancient iron pieces explore the n at u re of d isg u ising cera m ics as metal with iron pigment, and a re perhaps a comment on t he toug h ex ter ior p eople put on .

T he second ro om , S a nc t a e by Ione Rucquoi, is an installation supported by Arts Council England, comprising a series of photographic images of naked female subjects of all shapes and sizes, the piece

uses its truthfulness intertwined with obvious and subtle symbolism and forces us to think about the transformation of a woman’s body through childbirth. Portrayed as secular saints, there is a strong r e l i g io u s e le me nt w it h h a lo s adorning the women and the space having been architecturally devised to feel sacred – inspired by Norway’s wooden Stave churches, all to great effect making you feel as though these are the modern day saints gazing down upon you. Offering sanctuar y, to the photograph ’s subjects and to those viewing them.

Other artists’ works in the show include a v ideo insta llation by brook and black commentating on twentieth-century self-portraiture, Tom Butler’s Cabinet of Curiosities a Series of antique photographs altered with gouache combined with contemporary illustration, and a hand printed silver gelatin, toned w ith gold & bleach f rom

photographer Bob Carlos Clarke.

BP Portrait Prize-winner Johan Andersson’s large photo-realistic oil paintings depict subjects who are physically and socially vulnerable the silicone caricature of actor John Malkovich by Stuart Wiggins was a entertaining piece and as close as most of us will get to meeting him; and of course there was the cliché of a plain mirror by Gavin Turk, which in a way is ref lecting the whole agenda of the exhibition.

This is an exhibition which feels like an outcast but refuses to be labelled as one; each piece knowing t he u nor t ho dox n a t u re of it s subject but displaying it proudly and without hesitation. This is a rare example of media daring to highlight the differences between us, celebrating the imperfections and the individual. This is a powerful tool that allows us to look inside our self and use the same skills we use to critique the art internally.

T hese concepts high lighted in the exhibition become even more pr om i ne nt w he n yo u le a r n it was curated in partnership with L ondon-ba sed bo.lee projec t s, who suppor t the Cha ng ing Fa c e s c h a r i t y t h a t r a i s e s awareness and help people with disfigurements of the face or body.

Oneself As Another forms part of a suite of exhibitions exploring t he concept of identit y a nd p o r t r a it u r e b e i n g h o s t e d b y t h e R o y a l We s t o f E n g l a n d .

Entr y is f ree to students.