joss ryan Featured
Hattie Stewart
2
Fresh Faces
Kezia Levitas Joshua Dean Peter Kolpakov Tommy Miles Rob Nichols Carmen Gray Maria de la O Garrido Kai Suede
WatchMePivot Magazine Issue Two WatchMePivot is a new London based multidisciplinary platform founded by graphic designer David Hinga, for young creatives to showcase their work through our online blog and our quarterly magazine. We showcase work from every area of the creative industry, from graphic design, illustration, fashion, to conceptual fine art, sculpture, painting, photography, film, sound and music. We hope to provide our viewers with more than just great work but to showcase the unseen talents hiding in their bedrooms and classrooms; to report and explore new styles and ideas that are pushing the boundaries of their chosen creative area. Hopefully by doing so we can inspire more great work and connect a wide selection of work with a greater audience of art lovers and artists. Besides primarily working as an in-house publishing platform to showcase emerging talents. WatchMePivot works secondly as a small south London based creative design studio, specialising in creating exciting and engaging visual outcomes in a number of digital and physical mediums to provide our clients with a wide range of services to better enhance their communication with their audience.
The Team Founder/Head Designer/Editor: David Hinga Illustrator/Graphic Designer: Jamie Kendrick Videographer/Moving Image: Alejandro Faro Graphic Designer/Videographer: Freddie Nockolds Writer: Lauren Bush Writer: Tohko Kanzaki Writer: Francesco Buonasera
Editor’s Note I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped put this issue together, to all the contributors, thank you for providing us with great work to showcase and to all our friends and readers, thank you for the continued support. David
david@watchmepivot.com jamie@watchmepivot.com alejandro@watchmepivot.com
Contact Info / General enquiries : info@watchmepivot.com Submitting work : submit@watchmepivot.com Creative studio: creativestudio@watchmepivot.com Follow us Twitter: @WatchMePivot Facebook: www.facebook.com/watchmepivot Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/WatchMePivot/
Contributors Joss Ryan Hattie Stewart Kezia Levitas Joshua Dean Peter Kolpakov Tommy Miles Carmen Gray Maria de la O Garrido Kai Suede Rob Nichols
2012 Š All Rights Reserved WatchMePivot Magazine
www.watchmepivot.com
CONTENTS FRESH FACES 4 - 13
EXHIBITION REVIEW 14 - 17
FEATURED ARTISTS 18 - 24
GALLERY 26 - 35
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PHOTOBY KEZIALEVITAS
JOSHUA
DEAN
My name is Joshua dean and I am 19 studying graphic design at kingston university. Exploring graphic design in a more conceptual way has been the focus of the education i am receiving at kingston. To be told that research and concept will drive a final outcome is key to the course. Occasionally feeling the desire to be visual for the sake of being visual and trying to balance an interest for more abstracted design has been the focus of my year so far. I am in the stage of producing a concrete portfolio. The zine has been a recent project at Kingston to explore elements within the context of a small scale publication. I chose to work on the topic of subversion and have wanted to explore an illustrative approach to print. Part of a quest to experiment with media that i am unfamiliar with while in the relative comfort of university. the outcome was such that i have wanted to proceed with the issues and focus on a different element to subvert each issue. For example issue one was based on glyphs and their use and context. My other work is still very much in the process of getting somewhere. Where i am not sure but i am looking to record observations and explore media types. josh.dean@mac.com www.joshuadean.tumblr.com/
KEZIA
LEVTAS
Kezia Levitas is a London based Photographer and Illustrator. Over the past 12 months she has worked as an Illustrator for the Discover Young Hackney festival, been involved in various projects organised by the charity Art against Knives and covered various music festivals and live events. In recent months she has been involved in Youth Engagement work within East London, and is keen to document this in her future work. Kezia is currently working on various personal projects, but in the meantime a selection of her older work and a visual diary can be found on her flickr and her blog. www.kezialevitas.tumblr.com/ www.kezialevitas.com kezia.levitas@gmail.com www.flickr.com/photos/kezialevitas/
PETER KOLPAKOV
Peter Kolpakov moved to london in september to study Performance design in Central St. Martins, alongside his studies he has a number of side-projects, including work with type and album art. Greatly influenced by the conceptual artists of the 60’s - 70’s, such as Sol LeWitt, and by the works of the suprematist movement, Peter is trying to find a new way of looking at line and colour. In the series “vision”, each figure is a representation of a form clad in colourful clothing, the frequency of the parallel lines, serves to represent the wavelength of light that would in turn represent a colour. Warm colours have a higher frequency and vice versa; black and white are represented by crossed lines. Contact Peter on: one.1.headeadrooster@gmail.com
ROB NICHOLS
Here we have a selection of graphic design pieces from 17 year old Rob Nichols, currently studying at Warwick school. Besides graphic design and typography his other interests include animation and film. www.robdogrob.deviantart.com/ www.behance.net/robnichols www.robnichols.tumblr.com/
TOMMY
MILES
Having finished his degree at Brighton University in 2010, Tommy is now trying to make it in the big bad world. He’s currently working on a series of diptychs which deal with our approach to sex and how the topic is both avoided yet strongly alluded to at every turn, from adverts for milk to retail chains misspelling the word fuck; within the highly sexualised, godless world we live in, is the same spirituality that Friedrich, Turner, and Rothko looked for, to be found between the bronzed thighs and smooth utensils of modernity? Tommy also presently paints a number of portraits on commission. www.tommymiles.co.uk
Exhibition Review
Modern Thoughts 'Modern thoughts' is a collection of new theories/concepts discovered by fusing two theories from 'The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'. Creating a unique platform of visual enquiry based on expert research into complex theories questioning concepts from psychology, anthropology and sociology. www.modernthoughts.co.uk 14 WatchMePivot
|Exhibition Review
ARE WE EVER ALONE? Artists: Will Helsby, Jacob Read (aka bb: walk on it)
“Project yourself into someone, into his life. You got to walk on it...”
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"You can walk on it, it's an invasion of privacy. Nowadays with CCTV and everything we are never alone." Our laptop, our pictures, our data give some sort of opinion to the viewer even when we are sleeping. The artist identified the moment of sleep, the moment of our dreams as the most sacred in our lives. He then enjoys profaning it by making a huge 360° picture of himself in his room sleeping. He presents it to the viewers, down on the floor.
INSIDE-OUT: MASOCHISM AND VOYEURISM PUSHED TO THEIR LIMITS Azra Bhagat Kaya Podgorska "Its a Mash up. The Images are manipulated and edited but taken from the web. experience a new power-dynamic. The room takes control over the viewer. You look at yourself in the mirror. Voyeurism. Going back and look at the tv you feel detached about the humanity. The actual art piece is the video that we are going to edit and release soon" This art piece is in different places, in different, levels and in different perspectives. And it's with different media that is presented, in different times... What I mean? The actual piece is an experiment, developed in a black chamber. The viewer is supposed to enter in this black chamber and smash is face into a plastic envelope, that has two holes in it, for his eyes to see. See what? Well, over the plastic wall in the dark chamber there's a projector that screens images of galaxies, of stars, of planet systems. And ultimately in all that chaos, there's a mirror, and yes, you see yourself coming out of a plastic wall into that mirror , your shape is not defined, but you know it's you, you are in there... Hell yeah, I'd define that masochistic... Now let's see where's lays the voyeurism.
Review by Francesco Buonasera Photography by Alejandro Faro 16 WatchMePivot
|Exhibition Review
PRISMS "WALKING MAN" The artist through different materials points out a concept. "I tried to replicate a system of understanding causing a spontaneous perfection. Every part has its own purpose in building the idea of becoming the whole".
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feature artists
i n tro d u c i n g
|Featured Artists
hattie stewar t For
our readers out there who may not have heard much about you or seen much of your work can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do? I love characters, bold lines, patterns and colour. I describe myself as a professional doodler. I think that sums it all up best. How would you describe your style? Its bold (but not in an ego kind of way) and cheeky. People usually describe it as cute with sinister undertones! I like that. How do you go about making your illustrations? Do you work by hand, digitally or both? Both really. Predominantly hand drawn though and edited on the computer for quick deadlines if need be. I have nothing against digital work but seeing a really complicated or detailed piece drawn completely by hand is far more satisfying. I like to develop my
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drawing skills as much as possible as this makes everything, work, projects, composition and digital work a lot easier to visually achieve. I’ve always felt having something in your hands is far more pleasing then looking at a screen, you can’t hold a screen, that would be weird. What would you say inspires or influences your work? So many things. Its a difficult question to answer sufficiently. I love to watch documentaries and read biographies. Other peoples lives, struggles, success are inspirational as I strive to discover my own. It gives me a realistic rather than superficial view on things. My friends are also a big inspiration. A lot of them are artists themselves so their passion is always on the surface. All of this reminds me of my favourite Kerouac quote from On The Road “ The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at
worked on so far and who was it with? They are all interesting in their own way. One always informs the other. I love collaboration, especially with people in a different area of expertise than my own. The make up artist, Holly Silius, did the make up Collaboration is a on the Kreayshawn i:D big part of an illustrator’s job role, cover I doodled over and got in contact with me what would you saying how she loved it! say is the most interesting collabora- We’re meeting up soon tion project or piece discuss a possible collaboration so watch this of work you’ve the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars” that pretty much sums up what inspires me, thanks Jack.
“I love to watch documentaries and read biographies. Other peoples lives, struggles, success are inspirational as I strive to discover my own”
If you could collaborate with any professional artist or artists who would it be? I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head specifically except Rihanna or Grayson Perry! I would love to
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the moment? haven’t spotted them My friends Alice Hartley already. and Lynnie Zulu are doing some very interesting work at the moment. Are there any artAlso Suzi Kemp, Sophie ists who you look Alda and Kate Prior. I’m up to or who you loving their styles right think are creating now. Definitely ones interesting work at to look out for if you work with someone with a similar vision to my own and create something utterly fabulous.
|Featured Artists
You’ve recently produced two personal zines ‘Everything Is Just So F**kin fabulous’ and ‘Rut Rut’, can you tell us a little bit about them? How did they came to be and what kind of work is in the zines? They are just fun ways of getting my work out there by producing any illustrations I want but having them put together in the context of a Zine. Rut Rut is now sold out and ‘Everything Is Just So F**kin fabulous’ is on its way! I plan on doing a lot more. They are great fun. What do you like to get up when you’re not producing work? I know this sounds pretty lame but I’m always working. If not for someone else then for myself. It truly is something I love to do, to create. There is so much I want to do and I like to set myself challenges of how
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much I can create and accomplish each week. I figure I might as well push myself when I’m young so my work can do its own thing when I’m older and I can chill out! Otherwise I watch films, and I mean A LOT of films and hang out with friends, usually with a Whiskey in hand. Finally, what are your plans for the rest of this year? Well if I keep up with my weekly challenges hopefully a lot! I have another House of Holland collection coming out soon, a few exhibitions, collaborations etc. I’m always looking for the next thing but more than anything, I’ll be drawing like a mad woman.
www.hattiestewart.com/ www.hattiestewart.blogspot.co.uk/ @HattieDoodles hattie.stewart@gmail.com
Interview by David Hinga
i n t r od u c i n g
|Featured Artists
jo s s ry an How and when did you start producing? It started when I failed Music GCSE in Secondary school… I spent the two years of the subject learning video game theme tunes on the piano which is probably why I failed, and I never went near the computer room strangely enough. It was during the start of the summer holidays after school had officially finished that a friend told me about ‘Reason’. It sounded kind of fun so I thought I’d give it a go. A couple of my mates in school were making music at the time as well so it was a social thing.
old from East London has his music played on the radio, such as Rinse FM, Xfm and Nasty FM. Xfm for me was quite something, having Mary Anne Hobbs asking me to do a Guest Mix for her show! I’m starting to feel like a producer now, meeting some of my favourite producers such as Ikonika, Silkie, Terror Danjah and of course hanging out with Scratcha’. I’m starting to play a few shows too which in itself is a whole new experience for me.
What’s your current production set-up like? My current production set up is pretty simple really. I’ve got a 13inch MacBook Pro with Logic Pro and Reason 5, KRK RP6 Studio Monitors and a midi keyboard. That’s pretty much it in terms of producing, but I’m saving up for some hardware like micro-synthesizers and the NI Maschine. I also have two Pioneer CDJ800’s and a 2 channel Vestax mixer for DJ’ing at home. How would you describe your sound? I get asked this a lot and I never know what to say! I think my sound is an ever-changing mixture of a few genres that I love. I like making music with a lot of melody and tend to stay away from dark sounding music, although I do try and switch that up a bit! I guess it’s predominantly a mix of Grime, Dubstep, EDM, Garage and I guess touches R’n’B. How did the DVA Music signing happen? It happened behind my back. Haha yeah this is a funny story actually! An MC from near where I live called D.S.T knew about my music and had me on Facebook. He sent in the link to ‘Melancholy Dreams’ to Rinse Fm while Scratcha’ DVA was doing his Grimey Breakfast show. I guess Scratcha’ liked the tune and asked about getting in touch with me. DST then messaged me on Facebook asking for my number so Scratcha’ could give me a ring. I couldn’t quite believe it but I went along with it and here I am! What’s it been like going from a normal bedroom producer to signing with DVA, having your tracks played on live radio and now playing shows around London? I’m still a bedroom producer in the sense I make all my tunes in my bedroom! I think that it’s the best way to produce, especially if that’s what you’re used to. But yeah I have noticed a big change, mostly being that I know I now have an audience listening in! It added a lot of pressure at first, as my music had only ever been listened to by a few mates of mine. It’s pretty amazing to think that a 19 year
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Illustration by Jamie Kendrick
|Featured Artists
What’s mainly influenced your music? My influences themselves change all the time, as most peoples do. But the main things that have always inspired me is Video Game Music and Music that stands out from the rest. I guess that’s the aim of my own music, to stand out as something completely different from the rest and perhaps getting it in Video Games? Haha in fact making music for games was probably the first music aim I had! What are you listening to at the moment? A lot of SIlkie, Swindle and a selection of alternative grime/dubstep from London producers. The one track in particular that I’m listening to the most is ‘GBYE’ by Machinedrum. Machinedrum for me is probably my favourite producer of the moment, his latest album ‘Room(s)’ struck a lot of chords for me, and has a great balance between what’s current and what’s soon to be current. Tell us about your Melancholy Dreams EP? The ‘Melancholy Dreams’ EP is my debut release, out this March on DVA Music. I made these tracks over a year ago and made them on Reason 4 with £40 pc speakers. I guess it just shows that you don’t need a big studio to make good music! I do admit I added some finishing touches recently to them haha but the core of the tracks haven’t changed. I think this EP has a good mix of music, but I would say that the track Melancholy Dreams shows what I’m about the most. I can’t believe how well the EP has been received by DJ’s and Radio Stations, and it’s definitely only the start for me! What do you get up to when you’re not producing tracks or playing shows? To be honest not much, as I normally spend 5-6 days a week producing. I work as a peer mentor at a Youth Centre on Tuesday evenings and will often spend a few hours here and there practising my mixing. I obviously find time to go out and chill with mates, and I normally find time to get some Xbox in too! I do realise that sometimes I spend more time then I should in music production mode, and if I don’t take a break I’ll lose ideas so I’m trying to spread my time more evenly! It just feels weird not making music haha. What are your plans for the rest of this year? This year I’m planning on doing two more releases, and I’m sure part of these (If not entirely) will be with DVA. Me and Scratcha’ are always in discussion of what we can do next, so watch this space! I’m hoping to play a few more shows and start to get independent bookings! I don’t like to stay still or take many breaks so keep a look out for all things Joss Ryan!
Melancholy Dreams EP Out Now on DVA Music
Itunes Store
jossryanmusic@hotmail.com www.soundcloud.com/jossryan @jossryanmusic
Interview by David Hinga
Submit Want to submit work to WatchMePivot Magazine? Then send us an email with a small selection of your work, in jpeg format with a short description of yourself and the work, and a link to your site or blog
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Illustration Graphic Design Product Design Photography Film Fine Art Zines/Publications Sound Fashion Music
Or anything you think we might find interesting.
Emails us at: submit@watchmepivot.com
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|Carmen Gray
|Interview
GaLlery
CarmenGray
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|Carmen Gray
|Gallery
twenty three year-old London-based Spanish photographer
carmengray.tumblr.com
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London -based freelance illustrator
deadpixelsinthesky.com
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|Kai Suede
|Gallery
KaI sUeDE 31 WatchMePivot
marIA de La o GaRrIdO
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|Maria De La O Garrido
|Gallery
twenty six year-old Spanish artist mariadelaogarrido.tumblr.com flickr.com/photos/ominuscula
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|Maria De La O Garrido
|Gallery |Interview