EAT participants 2009 at Landmatters in Devon. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
Way back in the misty days of summer 2009 I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate on the EAT course, tadalafil which stands for Earth Activist Training: planting the seeds of change.
Designed to combine spiritual, earth based philosophies with the more fervant strand of environmental activism, the EAT course is held several times a year in America. It doesn’t come to the UK that often – so this is the first year it comes back since 2009, and it will once again be hosted by Landmatters, a super inspiring low impact Permaculture co-operative in Devon. The course is always co-hosted by the amazing Starhawk, or Star to friends, a well known and highly revered activist and white witch.
Starhawk gets stuck in.
It’s A permaculture design certificate course, grounded in earth based spirituality, and with a focus on organising and activism. What this means that it is a jam packed two weeks of intense training – learning all the ins and outs of Permaculture through hands on experiential learning. On my course we were trained by the head of the Permaculture Association, Andy Goldring, who will once again be co-running EAT this year. He was an extremely joyful and bouncy tutor who managed extremely well when faced with awkward questions about meat farming (from staunch vegans) and I learnt a huge amount of truly fascinating stuff about the way in which we can best live with the earth.
Andy Goldring teaching on EAT.
Permaculture provides an incredibly solid basis for any ongoing work, be it gardening, art activism, general life organisation, social planning or community-wide projects. For instance an EAT course inspired artist and activist John Jordan to set up the Laboratory of Insurrectory Imagination, or LABOBFII, as an arts organisation based on the principles of permaculture. The beautiful and radical Landmatters was set up by six people who met on EAT and were inspired to live the change they wanted to see in the world. The first Climate Camps were planned on Permaculture principles to ensure that tents, facilities and neighbourhoods were placed in the most harmonious way possible.
Lessons take place inside a spacious yurt.
Activism is a key component of the course, and during my time at Landmatters I met many other people who were working on Climate Camp alongside those who work with No Borders, queer rights and urban land projects… to name just a few. It was inspiring to listen to people’s tales whilst enjoying the amazing vegan food at every meal time, sometimes so different and yet so very similar.
Many activists don’t really spend any time considering the spiritual side of their engagement with the planet – and even though the opportunity to learn from Starhawk was one of my top reasons for wanting to go on the EAT course, there were some on my EAT course who were very resistant to her rituals and chants. But needless to say by the end of two close weeks together everyone felt differently, with even the hardest of activists softened around the edges, and all of us more grounded and connected to the reasons we feel the urge to engage in our individual choices of activism.
Rooh Star of Landmatters was one of our guest teachers.
Some of the amazing dwellings at Landmatters.
Taking cue from Jon Young‘s teachings we also spent time alone at our sit spots each day, developing our nature awareness. I chose a spot that overlooked the wonderful woods that surround Landmatters, and every day looked forward to reconnecting with the shifting patterns. A time to relish in the fast wash of my life.
If you fancy applying for the next course, due to take place between August 20th and September 4th 2011, then you don’t have long left to apply RIGHT HERE – only until the end of April. You will need to define your particular activism and talk passionately about your plans to spread the ideas that you will learn. This really is a chance in a lifetime and I urge you to take it!
The full cost of the course is expensive, but EAT does its best to offer many partial or whole scholarships, depending on need – which in these cash strapped times is greatly to be admired. To ease funding problems this year’s course will be partly crowd-funded so if you can’t go yourself but you understand the importance of the work the EAT course does then please do donate at IndieGoGo. The hard working volunteer organisers need all the help they can get to ensure that those who are underfunded are still able to attend this year. People like me!
Permaculture, Magic, Social Change – nothing could be better, as EAT demonstrates.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday April 27th, 2011 4:35 am
Democracy Village. All photography by Amelia Wells.
Parliament Square is currently home to the Democracy Village; a few tents, visit this sitetreatment a couple of marquees and a whole lot of passion. It was set up on May the First and will be there… until people leave, or for some, until the war is over. I went down on Election Day, since I couldn’t vote anyway having failed to register, to see what was going on at the Festival of Peace. I found a vibrant and close knit community of anarchists, doing what they colourfully could to challenge the establishment, promote democracy and bring the war that we’re still at to an end.
Banners were being painted and erected as I arrived, the most striking declaring ‘Capitalism Isn’t Working’ against the backdrop of Big Ben. Others encouraged peaceful feelings, demanded ‘TROOPS OUT’, and my favourite, ‘If Voting Changed Anything, It Would Be Illegal’ – a good point when you consider quite how opposed the establishment are towards those actions which do make changes, such as occupations, mass protests, swoops and other forms of direct action. In the name of protecting our security, of course. Strangely, the police sniffing around the set-up didn’t make me feel more secure.
The atmosphere in the Village was peaceful and playful, in spite of the threat to national security which we represented. Peace-mongering music was played and danced to, the lyrics encouraging politicians not to go to war and to love their fellow man, with some Rage thrown in to sate the more militant. I watched people paint their shoes and bags with Ghandi’s most famous quote while a girl called Cloud handed out homemade fairy cakes.
Eventually, the open mic picked up, starting with a chap standing up to remind everybody why we were there and what we stood for when he asked whether politicians represent our views, or if we do? He also pointed out that being peaceful is not equivalent to being apathetic. Anything but, in fact, in a country run by the power and conflict hungry, seeking peace is downright subversive. He was rightfully applauded and whooped for his impassioned speaking, after which a gent who had been filming the event and interviewing the Villagers stepped up to spout well-crafted words of poetry in the exact spirit of peace we need – calling out the hateful on their actions and encouraging us to make a difference. Next up, a red nosed, bewigged gentleman incited us to love, respect and welcome one and all. His motto; one world, one society.
The most controversial speaker was a mouthpiece for the Tories who encouraged us anarchists to register as such in return for mind-altering substances. A few Villagers didn’t seem to have a prior understanding of satire and became quite riled at the ‘Tory’s’ opinions; one lady began shouting about the Village being funded by oil and arms companies… and the Israelis. After a calming down period, he suggested that we find a child and ask its favourite colour, informing us that he was voting Lib Dem because his son likes yellow, and voting isn’t going to make a difference to how the country is run.
Herein lies my gripe with actions such as these. It’s so easy for activists embroiled in occupations and demonstrations to believe that the means to change are obvious to all, but the man-in-the-street being told that his vote is irrelevant will only feel more powerless, if they pay any attention at all. The act of occupation is an act of power – reclaiming public space – but is standard passer-by going to stop and ask what they can do instead of voting, or keep passing by and shake their heads at foolish hippies?
The true message is that we can take the power back through direct action, occupations, protests, swoops and marches. Camps like these do force people to consider, if only for the moment it takes to read a banner, that our political system lies to us about the importance of our vote while trying to make us believe it is the sole extent of our political voice, and therefore reducing our power and influence over them (long banner, eh?) . However, most won’t and don’t wander into places like these and ask what they CAN do. As the Tory said, ‘I’m preaching to the converted here’. The outreach didn’t seem to be reaching out. An occupation in Parliament Square is the perfect opportunity to reach hundreds of people every day, not just with a message, but with suggested actions which everyone can take to make those changes we so desire and need.
While Spring turns to Summer, genericLondon Fashion Week AW10 may fade in our memories, stomach but the designers that drew us in certainly won’t. One such designer that caught my eye at the Esthetica exhibition was ‘Makepiece’. The concept and techniques used were so intriguing that we couldn’t resist interviewing the owner, Beate Kubitz.
Why did you choose to focus on eco-fashion? Why is it so important to you?
Clothes are important to me. I think what you’re wearing tells other people a lot about you, who you are and how you feel about yourself. I don’t like the idea that something that makes me look great was complicit in damaging the environment or the people who made it. You don’t want your favourite t-shirt to be dripping with pesticides, cause a water shortage or to be sewn up in a sweat shop. But unless you’re very careful, it might be.
There’s something wrong with the latest trend ‘buy, wear, chuck’ mentality – it’s a bit neurotic and it’s definitely bad for the planet. We try and make clothes that are significant to the women that wear them and that they can feel really good about.
How did the Makepiece brand begin?
I’ve been keeping sheep for seven years now, met Nicola six years ago and Makepiece is now five.
We’re located in Todmorden, a small town in the Pennines. It’s beautiful and has a long history of wool production so it feels like the right place to be doing it. The landscape is scattered with mills built in the nineteenth century – but wool was being spun and woven in cottage industries and then transported to market or the Piece Halls on ponies travelling on packhorse tracks which still crisscross the moors.
What techniques do you use in your clothing?
Knitting – with some knitted felt. The important thing is stitch design – Nicola is the queen of 3D stitches that really sculpt the garments and give them their drama as well as their details. She uses hand operated knitting machines which give her scope to develop a stitch then apply it in loads of different ways so that it works on the body. Our knits tend to be more three-dimensional because they’re designed like this. Also, all our knits are fully fashioned (knitted to shape rather than cut out of a piece of knitted cloth) which looks better and wastes less yarn.
What materials do you use in your clothing?
Wool – some of it undyed brown wool from our Shetland sheep, others fine Bluefaced Leicester wool, from the UK flock and English alpaca and mohair.
What was the inspiration behind your most recent collection?
Romance, definitely. Nicola got married in the summer and the sense of romance seems to have seeped into and permeated the collection. There are lots of ruffles, little frills, translucency and volume – but not just ephemeral prettiness, really lovely things that you can adapt and keep forever.
Do you have a favourite piece in the current collection? If so, what is it and why?
There are a few things that are really adaptable – like the Manifold cardigan which has a ribbon tie which can be used to ruche it up to bolero length or left loose so that it’s a long, elegant cardigan. Our little Foxglove shrug also works as a summer scarf and the Manifold dresses can be styled in loads of ways so they let the wearer use her imagination.
What are your future aims for the Makepiece brand?
We’ve really been growing our website so that people all over the country can buy our clothes but we’d like to be in more stores, for the people who are less confident with internet shopping or who like to try things on.
Is it harder or easier to sell eco-fashion? Is there a lot of competition?
Because we make everything in the UK it’s more expensive to manufacture so that means that we have to do a good job in helping people understand.
What is so individual about the Makepiece brand?
Style, humour and our flock of Shetland sheep. We go from mud to mascara in a twinkling of an eye – never forgetting the roots of our fashion but always looking for beauty and grace in our designs. We try and be sustainable throughout the business – from the way we farm the sheep with the lowest impact possible (we’re just about to become part of a scheme to help protect twite – which is one of the most endangered British bird species) to buying green energy for the studio, recycling everything we can, using public transport as much as possible (I took our last collection to London Fashion Week on the train from Yorkshire – in the most enormous trunk – it was quite a feat), I even do some of the farming on my bike.
The good thing about wool is that it is more or less a by-product from sheep farming so it’s not using up land or resources that should be in food production – and on upland farms like mine creating good grazing and farming sheep is one of the few productive things you can do (I tried vegetables once, but it was not a success!). Compared to cotton, for example, which uses over 15% of the pesticides used in the world and vast amounts of water – so much that the irrigation of cotton has shrunk the size of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, wool is farmed much more sustainably (particularly in the UK where we have to look after the land as well as the animals and the government monitors your impact on the environment).
Because we make everything so locally we avoid the CO2 emissions from shipping things vast distances. We also employ people in our community and use a local dyer who has to comply with European dyeing regulations – the REACH standards; no azos, no heavy metals and irritants, effluent is stringently monitored so no emissions into the water system, and so on.
We also only use recycled and sustainable paper in our labelling and packaging.
You can find the brand at: www.makepiece.co.uk and selected eco-fashion stores.
So today’s the day: the day that I sprung out of bed at an ungodly hour with only one thing on my mind. Who will be our next prime minister? I’ve not been so excited about a general election since 1997, sickness when I memorably got so drunk dancing on the tables in a north London pub that I thew up in the gutter. Of course back then I was excited for a very different reason. Yes, buy hands up, I was one of many who voted Blair in – after years of Tory rule we were excited about a future under Labour. Oh how very chastened we now are 13 years later.
Solving Hung Parliament by Val Woodhouse.
In 2010 it seems I am not the only one who has gotten swept up in the election. Even before the tales of queues at the polling stations I had a gut feeling there would be a high election turn out this year. Okay, so in my local Tescos the regular cashiers were overheard saying “Are you going to vote?” “Nah, they’re all the same aren’t they?” but when I walked through Camden yesterday I overheard lots of people talking about voting. It seems that we’ve finally managed to reawaken our democratic spirit.
I think this can be attributed to a few things – the Leaders’ Debates on television have increased popular interest in politics and Twitter allows for lots of interesting conversations, but there’s more to it than that… We are now so thoroughly fed up with the current system that we’ve collectively become hungry for change. And I’m not talking the kind of rhetorical change that Cameron espouses every time a camera is pointed in his direction. I’m talking serious, deep systemic change. Most people have been complacent for so long for only one very good reason: like the cashiers in Tescos they don’t feel that their vote makes the blindest bit of difference.
And so, whilst the big party leaders have been spinning the same old shit about how we should avoid a hung parliament at all costs because what we most need now for our country is stability or the markets will fail (big bloody boohoo) it seems that for many voters this has been like a red rag to a bull. Not even copious riot porn from Greece has phased us. Okay we’ve said: bring it on. We want serious upheaval! Nobody I have spoken to has feared the result we now have; instead we’ve positively hoped for a hung parliament precisely because we may finally see some changes to our electoral system. Of course, I’m as thoroughly baffled as the next person when it comes to the many forms of proportional representation, and I know the argument that PR could lead to as many representatives of the BNP in government as there could be Greens, but frankly that doesn’t frighten me. Our current “democracy” quite clearly doesn’t work and so something else that better represents the wishes of voters has got to be worth giving a go.
I love this clever graph from Information is Beautiful, showing up the glaring inadequacies of our current system.
I’m worried, of course, about what will happen if Cameron forces a Tory led government on us without sufficient recognition of the electoral reforms so many of us want. But actually I don’t really *fear* it – I think that if he does ignore the clear wishes of the voters then there will be widespread unrest and direct action of the kind that we saw just a glimpse of last night at polling stations across the country.
The Polling Station in Sheffield Hallam, illustration by Abigail Daker.
I called in late to my polling station in Bacon Street just off Brick Lane, and there was no one to impede my progress to the ballot box. However I was lucky, and people up and down the country are quite rightly furious that they were unable to vote thanks to a higher than predicted election turnout and antiquarian voting methods which have allegedly shocked even our visiting developing world adjudicators. I was as incredulous as ever. “You mean you don’t need to take my polling card as proof I am me?” It is utterly nuts that we don’t need proof of identity to vote. Next to me a boy, surely not a day over 15, was pushing his papers into the box. Who was he voting for? Just days ago a huge amount of voter fraud was uncovered in my constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow. In fact, it was uncovered on my own street – visible from my studio window is a building in my estate that allegedly houses 18 Bengalis, all registered for a postal vote.
Despite this unrest, I was absolutely ecstatic to hear that Caroline Lucas has become the first ever MP for the Green Party in the district of Brighton Pavilion. I met her when we did the first Climate Rush on Parliament in 2008 and I’ve been keeping my fingers and toes crossed that she would win this seat for some time now. If some form of electoral reform goes ahead there’s the thrilling prospect of yet more Greens in Parliament to represent my views. In the meantime, there’s always a nice bit of Direct Action to force change far more quickly than our government seems capable of. Climate Camp is targeting RBS this year. We look forward to making a big impact on our corrupt financial systems, whether or not change is decreed from on high.
If you try to describe this to someone (which you shouldn’t, this websales don’t give anything away), doctormedications you will sound like you are conjuring from memory a nonsensical and fantastical dream; not something remotely tangible that actually happened in a 25-minute journey through a Shorditch warehouse.
Enter the ride and find yourself wheeled through 15 distinct scenarios with over 70 artists acting out micro-performances. “Designed to mentally and visually astound”, check; “leaving you overwhelmed and exhilarated’, check and check; and finishing the ride “in a totally different emotional state from the one you were in when you embarked on the journey”, most definitely true: utterly elated, mesmerised, and psychologically discombobulated.
The You Me Bum Bum train represents a new branch of experimental live art where the line between performer and audience is not just blurred, but utterly turned on it’s head; interaction is integral to the experience, and how far you take this is up to you. It’s creators Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd, intend to strip individuals of decision-making, giving passengers the would-be ordinary experience of somebody else’s shoes. You are left with fleeting slices of alternate realities, one moment you might be a drummer, the next a translator (I really don’t want to say much!). It’s real human experience through the prism of the utterly surreal, and it will take you some time to reclaim your grasp on the two, a most marvellous and novel experience.
The venue is essential to the experience, and they describe Cordy House as their dream venue, lending itself to the most ambitious event they’ve held yet.
There isn’t much time to go, and I whole-heartedly recommend it as an unforgettable experience. It runs every Saturday from now until the 20th of December between 7pm and 11pm.
Hip Parisian fahion and electro label, buy Kitsuné, what is ed are fast becoming as well known for their associated music as they are for their fashion. In fact, there is a clear cut three-way divide at Heaven tonight: scenesters, dressed for the fashion blog photographers collide en masse with those who know Kitsuné for the music and are quite unprepared for the additional rooms full of said scenesters, and with the regular Heaven clubbers, used to G-A-Y Camp Attack on Friday nights and probably the most bemused of everyone here.
Within the four rooms there’s a frustrating mix of real djs and acts like Autokratz, whose Pet Shop Boys go big beat set was a joy to behold and left me humming ‘Stay The Same’ for the rest of the night. Hearts Revolution, Punks Jump Up and Kitsuné house band Digitalism all turned out in force to impress and did so, although at times the acts felt a little repetitive. Alas, alongside these quality acts, we also got a number of vanity djs, including various models and boutique owners, which all blurred into the same set as the night progressed and seemed to play to rooms full of people aiming to get to the bar and move on.
It transpired that the ‘Don’t Panic’ room was the place to be. Inspired by K-Tron, blasting bass heavy No-Wave, they held me and the room in near divine rapture. The highlight of the night however, was Matthew Stone who dragged us back to 1985 via The KLF, his effortlessly sublime musical compass taking us on a seemingly random adventure, fitting perfectly with the tone of the night. There were some true high points tonight, but Kitsuné are probably best enjoyed via one of their compilations than live, based on tonight’s evidence.
Global Day of Action
6th December 2008
This will be the Saturday midway through the next round of UN Climate Talks and our best chance to influence the decisions of delegates ahead of the critical UN talks in 2009 at which a post-Kyoto treaty agreement will be decided.
LONDON
Climate Bike Ride 2008
Assemble 10.30 am Lincolns Inn Fields for a mass bike ride around Central London joining up with the National Climate March at Grosvenor Square (see next listing for National Climate March info)
The three stops on the route are:
-Outside Greenergy, 198 High Holborn – for an agrofuels protest organised by Biofuelswatch
-Outside E.On 100 Pall Mall – for a speaker on NO NEW COAL
-Outside the Department of Transport – for a speaker on sustainable transport
Everyone welcome; decorate your bikes, bring whistles, bring music!
Want to help out for this action? Contact Jeremy Hill on 07816 839883 or jeremy.hill1@btopenworld.com
National Climate March and Global Day of Action on Climate
The march starts at 12noon at Grosvenor Square and will move via Carlos Place and Mount Street to Berkley Square and Berkley street to Picacadily, Picadilly Circus, Lower Regent street, Pall Mall and Cockspur street to Trafalgar Square and Whitehall to Parliament Square.
We will bring the UK issues of Aviation, New coal and Biofuels to the streets of London, along with a call for more investment in renewable energy, more energy efficiency and more green jobs.
Speakers will include Nick Clegg (leader Liberal Democrat Party), Caroline Lucas (leader, Green party), Michael Meacher (ex-Environment Minister) and George Monbiot (Honorary President, Campaign against Climate Change).
Contact: 020 7833 9311 www.campaigncc.org
There will also be an After-Party in the Synergy Centre from 5.00 pm till late.
The March on Parliament has four main themes –
1) NO to a 3rd runway at Heathrow and the runaway expansion in aviation expansion.
2) NO new coal – no new coal-fired power stations as planned at eg Kingsnorth in Kent
3) NO to the expansion of agrofuels – with negative impacts on forests, the climate and world food supply.
4) YES to a renewable energy revolution and green jobs – a “Green new Deal”
Come with your own banners, costumes on one of these themes and join up with others pushing that theme……
The March on Parliament for the Climate marks the Saturday midway through the UN Climate Talks in Poznan, Poland and we make our demands on the UK government in solidarity with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities that will suffer worst and most immediately from climate change caused overwhelmingly by the rich long-industrialised countries.
We need the government to act now on climate, to stop building coal-fired power stations and new runways – and to begin the renewable energy revolution. We need a tidal wave of people outside parliament to make them act to stop climate catastrophe now! Be part of that tidal wave, be there! Next year may be too late.
BUST is a magazine devoted to the female. Providing an unapologetic view of life in the female lane, they break down stereotypes! Based in the US and established in 1993, the magazine addresses a variety of different issues within pop sulture, including music, fashion, art & crafts and news.
Editor-in-Chief, Debbie Stoller, decided to call the magazine BUST, because it was “aggressive and sexy and funny… It was a title that could belong to a men’s porn magazine.”
For Women With Something To Get Off Their Chests! Click here for the Christmas Craftacular’s Facebook Page
Jumble Fever Under the bridge on Beck Road, E8 Saturday 6th December
Midday-4pm, Entry £1
A fabulous jumble sale with a boogie twist! There will be a great deal to see and do and buy.. See you there!
ETSY
An online shopping bazaar; Etsy is a cross between eBay and Amazon with a humble handmade twist. Launched in June 2005 by Robert Kalin, for sale Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik, the site has grown to be incredibly popular, with tens of thousands of people selling their handmade goods (90% of whom are women!).
As Christmas draws nearer and greener, we have chosen our favorite handmade things to inspire your presents list. www.etsy.com
“The Kelsey”; a pleated clutch in paisley mocha
This handmade clutch is one of many adorable bags created by GraceyBags; get in touch through etsy.com to custom order a clutch and choose from a rainbow of fabrics.
Featured is ‘The Kelsey’ in a paisley mocha print on the outside in greens, blues, pinks, yellows and browns. The inside has been sewn from a silky brown fabric and the bag closes with a small magnet.
Recycled Journal – handbound Find a lovely selection of hand bound recycled books by Rhonda; bookbinder and book artist.
This particularly wonderful journal is made with a variety of recycled scrap papers ranging from large envelopes, posters, junk mail, blank paper, lined and graph paper, covers from old sketch books, old maps, discarded photocopies, misprints from the computer printer to paper bags.
Perfect as an art journal, the book is covered with an old map of the world, the one pictured above showing the islands of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
There are 256 pages (when you count both sides of each sheet). The pages are handbound using green and brown linen threads, visible on the spine in 4 rows of chain stitches.
The book size is approximately 4″ x 4¼” and 1″ thick (or 10.5cm x 11cm x 2.5cm).
This adorable cotton tote is the perfect carry-all for any occasion. BellaBlu Designs signature French Bulldog silhouette has been cut from Heather Bailey‘s ‘Sway in Brown’ Pop Garden print and appliquéd to this cotton canvas bag. It is 100% 10 oz. cotton, measures 15 x 13 x 3 inches and can be customized with most other dog breeds.
We’ve also had a browse round treefort.myshopify.com, for some gift ideas for those of you with little ones in your life!
Dreamlets Dolls These cute little creatures would make an adorable gift this season, and as a product that gives 1% back to Artworks, Bridges to Understanding, or Poncho, they’re doing a lot more than making a loved one happy! The dolls come in a variety of shapes and colours, each with their own quirky personality. You are also able to choose which organization will benefit from your gift by registering your doll online.
Nikki McClure’s Mama & Baby Things Treefort also sell many of Nikki Mcclure‘s prints, books, cards, and calendars. Nikki McClure creates complex, yet natural designs by cutting away from a single piece of black construction paper with an x-acto knife. Her works are printed on 100% Recycled, 100% Post-Consumer Waste, Processed Chlorine Free paper that was manufactured with electricity that is offset with Green-e® certified renewable energy. Her work is printed by a small family-owned press in Portland, Oregon, US- and uses soy-based inks.
Kids On Roof “House” is made of Eco friendly-100% recycled cardboard and is 100% biodegradable. These houses are the perfect gift for creative children, as they’re meant to be decorated and personalised! (see below for examples from treefort) Kidsonroof donates 5% of its profits to specific Unicef projects; €24,000 has now been collected for the Unicef project for building better, small-scale housing for HIV/Aids inflicted orphans in Russia.
Beyond Retro Christmas Party!
This evening Beyond Retro is throwing it’s annual seasonal gathering – in both it’s shops, viagra buy the original Cheshire St warehouse and new sibling store in Soho – from 6pm – 8pm, there’ll be lots of exclusive goodies for you to browse through and they’ll even throw in some mulled wine and mince pies. Good times.
Made In Clerkenwell
This evening and all weekend, the Clerkenwell Green Association open their studios for Made in Clerkenwell, an event that showcases the work of over 70 designers they support through providing them with studio space, mentoring and business advice to help them create their work.
The fruits of their labors are exhibited and available for purchase, so you can hunt out that unique Christmas gift and buy all kinds of original and creative wares – ranging from fashion designs to jewellery, accessories, textiles and even ceramics.
What makes this shopping experience so different is that you can mingle with and chat to the designers and find out about their craft, inspirations, working method, becoming a designer, anything you want to know! So pop down, get a great gift and support new designers.
Open 6pm to 8pm, Thursday 27th November 2008 and
12pm to 6pm on Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November 2008.
£2.50 entrance – free to the under 16s.
It’s no secret that Brooklyn’s the place to be for smart indie pop these days, view but look a little closer to home and you might be surprised. Take tonight’s superb support acts, advice for example. First up is Pens, erectile a cute lo-fi local trio who, despite playing to only a handful of people, put on a wonderfully frantic and ramshackle performance – think Karen O‘s kid sisters gleefully bashing at snare, guitar and synths.
Fellow Londoners Chew Lips are up next and are nothing short of a revelation. The threesome cater in captivatingly melancholy electronic music and boast a bona fide icon-in-waiting in singer Tigs; she prowls and creeps around the venue, all black bob and wide eyes, unleashing powerful vocals and jumping on the bar to serenade us, while the boys whip up a glitchy synth and bass storm in the background. ‘Solo’ is the band’s set-closer and an undeniable highlight – scuzzy and danceable yet strangely sad, it will be one of your anthems of 2009, no question.
This bunch are hard to follow, but Telepathe just about manage it. Dave Sitek-produced debut ‘Dance Mother’ is on the way in January, and recreating its majesty live is clearly still a tricky undertaking for the Brooklyn duo. They do their best, unleashing a stream of cluttered soundscapes, layered harmonies and clipped rhythms, and while the effect is hypnotic at times, barely a word is uttered between songs – resulting in a distinct lack of atmosphere. This could of course be due, in part, to the fact that they are playing to a room full of typically disinterested Shoreditch types. Whatever the reason the performance falls a little flat, until final effort ‘Chromes On It’ that is, its spine-tingling beats waking the crowd from its stupor and climaxing with speakers shaking and half the band hanging from the ceiling as the hysterical throng down the front excitedly punch the air. It’s just enough to convince us that we’re not quite prepared to give up on Telepathe as a live proposition yet. More like this please.
Nuclear: Art and Radioactivity discount -4.064941&sspn=16.764146, visit this site 39.418945&ie=UTF8&ll=51.524712,-0.079694&spn=0.008598,0.019248&z=16&g=E1+6PG&iwloc=addr”target=”_blank”>Nicholls and Clarke Building, 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, Spitalfields, London E1.
‘Half-life’ Chris Oakley, 2008
High-definition video, 15 minutes
The Nicholls and Clarke Building hosts an exhibition that explores the changing perceptions of nuclear power. In our rapidly deteriorating climate, the effects of nuclear development from the past have come to haunt us. ‘The Nightwatchman,’ by Simon Hollington and Kypros Kyprianou, captures this disturbing predicament.
As we entered the installation there was something immediately unsettling about it. A board-meeting table situated in the centre of a large dilapidated storeroom indicated recent activity, and as we crept further through the exhibition space there was more evidence of some night watchmen. But they are no where to be found…
Together with the film ‘Half-life’ by Chris Oakley, there was a sense of being caught in a crossfire of two different eras: the naïvely optimistic 80′s and the knowledgeable cynicism of the present day.
The film showed a series of paradoxical images of nature vs. technology, and through it we were reminded of how our idea of what is progressive has been turned on it’s head.
If you’d like to have something of yours across the chests of music aficionados throughout the country, viagra you might like to apply for this. 100% music, cheap 100% recycled paper (well done), sildenafil Bearded Magazine is preparing for the re-launch of the printed magazine on January 29th, and they’re throwing in a t-shirt as well.
When it came to deciding what should go on the front of said t-shirt, they mumbled gibberish into their beards and drew blanks, and so they’ve put the task out to you the reader to help them out. In fact, they might be so filled with indecision that there could be four winners, so better chances for you! Have a look at the criteria and send in a design soon, you have until the 15th of December.
The Wellcome Collection’s new temporary exhibition is entitled ‘War and Medicine’ and focuses on the individual human consequences of war rather than the overall statistics of death and destruction that impersonalise and almost glorify military combat and which we are most often presented with. Soldiers are heroes when they die for their country but uncomfortable representatives of horror when they return wounded and disfigured.
Installation artist David Cotterrell‘s film, sales specially commissioned for the exhibition, salve attempts to rectify this. Covering three walls of a darkened room, more about the film shows wounded soldiers, with varying degrees of injury, being loaded onto a flight back to England from Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The only soundtrack is the constant hum of the plane’s engine, an eerie backdrop to the calm, efficient activity taking place on screen. There is an unsettling disjunction between our inclusion in the scene through the way it is presented to us and the alienness of the sight before our eyes. This slightly dreamlike atmosphere helps separate the artwork from the realms of documentary photography and helps us understand the confusion of this homeward flight, which we are told in the information outside, is often only partially remembered by the soldiers.
What is most striking about this piece is the individual humanity behind the uniforms of the men and women depicted. On the left are the walking wounded with a variety of arm slings and facial injuries being tended to by medical staff and waiting patiently for their journey to begin, on the right, more distressingly, a person is carried in on a stretcher, connected to breathing apparatus. It is heartbreaking to realise that although most of these people will probably survive, and so not register in the public consciousness, they will have been scarred for life both physically and emotionally. I began to see them as people beyond whatever my personal attitudes to their profession and the war they are fighting in was.
A harrowing counterpart to this work is Cotterrell’s written diary, where he describes with civilian horror, the daily minutiae of life amongst the medical staff in Camp Bastion. The exhibition’s mission statement is to explore the dichotomies in a society that is simultaneously developing ever more sophisticated means of destroying life and protecting it. The stalemate futility of this situation is given a human face by Cotterrell’s work.
David Cotterrell is featured in issue 10 of the magazine, out shortly.
Hurrying through the lights and sounds of Soho, stuff the words ‘bloody hell it’s cold’ rattled my skull. I was heading to see the Canadian singer and illustrator Chad VanGaalen, this known for rarely leaving his basement. In this weather, who would blame him?
Once inside Borderline I was able to thaw out and to take in the cosy surroundings. Kindly folk in chequered shirts patiently waited as they sipped Guinness. But there was something odd about this fresh-faced crowd. Moustaches, I realised. There were loads of them.
It’s Mo-vember, apparently. The time of year for all socially conscious gentlemen to grow out their fluff to raise money for testicular cancer. ‘That’s nice,’ I thought.
This playful and boyish act of sincerity seemed fitting for the night in store as there’s something of the fourteen-year-old boy about Chad VanGaalen. Deceptively awkward and immediately charming, he’ll break your heart.
Together with a hairy-faced accordionist he delivered a homemade and reflective sound. It was as if we had wandered into his basement, and he seemed a little surprised to see us there.
His hesitancy on stage draws you nearer, and his tight and masterful song-writing capabilities took a hold of my senses like a sedative.
That uneasy fluidity reminded me of Beach House and the unexpectedly punchier tunes provided an excitable energy that twanged some of those moustaches.
Listening to Chad is like putting on a pair of earmuffs and skate boarding down smooth suburban streets.
There’s a yearning to be free and limitless but it only slightly ventures out of the comfortable. A girl behind me whispered excitedly ‘It’s the kind of music I’d ride my bike to.’
It is difficult for any set at the Borderline to not feel intimate and Chad VanGaalen’s was by no means revolutionary.
But the evening was all together thoughtful and enchanting, and as I braved the bitter London streets once more, the words of Electric City wrapped me up like a duvet.
At 8am on Friday 28th November on a wet and grizzly morning, stuff the Greenwash Guerillas and a band of allies rallied together outside the E-On Head Office at 100 Pall Mall. We were there to protest against the planned government-approved scheme to build 7 new coal fired power stations. E-on will be responsible for the first of these havoc wreaking death chambers (no hyperbole here) at Kingsnorth, Kent. This power station alone will emit between 6 and 8 million tones of CO2 every year. If all 7 are built, treatment their collective emissions would be approximately 50 million tones of CO2 a year. This would make the Climate Change Committee’s proposal to cut back on CO2 emissions an average of 2% per annum so that by 2050 we’ll have an 80% reduction well… impossible.
Browsing through E-on’s website, it might be easy to be fooled into thinking they are an environmentally conscientious company promoting ‘clean, green energy that never runs out.’ But it doesn’t take long to realize that their wind farms and claims of boosting local employment are cleverly marketed to cast a rosy sheen over more profitable projects that use coal.
Coal is the grimiest of fossil fuels. It’s carbon-intensity is higher than oil and double that of natural gas. Yet, as the driving force behind the industrial revolution, it has been the primary source of power for the electricity generation. Gathered outside the E-on head office, we are no longer in the 19th century but in the 21st century and in the midst of a climatic crisis. With sea ice disappearing at a never-before-seen rapidity now is the time to use new greener sources of power, not to revert to the practices of the past.
So why is the government supporting what seems a disastrously archaic project?
The government’s answer is that by increasing the cost of carbon, power stations will be forced to use a process of carbon capture and storage (CCS) whereby the harmful carbon dioxide produced by coal is extracted from the air and buried underground.
However, a presentation made by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee concluded that this reasoning is implausible. Voicing research from the U.K. Energy Research Centre and Climate Change Capital, it showed that using a process of CCS would in fact be the least cost effective option for power stations. The research they gathered predicted that CCS will cost power companies like E-On 70-100 or 90-155 Euros per ton of CO2, while the government estimates that the price of carbon between 2013 and 2020 will be less at approximately 39 Euros per ton.
It’s fair to say that it is extremely unlikely that power companies will go for the more expensive option, especially when the margin is as large as it is. In short, the government’s criteria for approving E- On’s power station at Kingsnorth is worryingly unsatisfactory.
If our government is failing to alleviate the catastrophic predicament of climate change that is costing lives then it is up to us as citizens to take action against the construction of Kingsnorth and others like it. For more information on what you can do please click here and please go to the national climate march on Saturday 6th December, bring your mates and make it fun. This is a serious issue and we need to get the message across but optimism is always the best the way of creating change, in my view anyway. Klimax is a network for climate activists that started in 2007 by environmentalists who wanted a platform for people with more radical ideas about direct actions. Well known in Sweden for their campaigns against private motorism and the meat industry, viagra sale the group has spread to a number of Swedish cities, cialis 40mg and in Gothenburg they consist of 20 active members.
Members of Klimax initially wanted to protest on the 13th October, which is the actual date of the anniversary, but after finding out there were no meetings that day, postponed to the 12th November. This allowed them the much needed time to plan their action in detail; the first few weeks consisted of a few hours of planning and as the time drew nearer members were working five hours a day to make sure everything was finished. Among writing speeches, making banners and establishing contact with the media, they had to prepare their costumes!
Our contact at Klimax said “We do not always dress up for events but we believe that it is a good way to spice up an action! We sometimes dress up as penguins or polar bears because they are the two types of animal that are severely affected by Climate Change; it is also fun and looks nice!”
Their aims with the action was threefold; firstly to pay tribute to the work done by the suffragettes- strong women fighting for women’s right to vote, secondly to make the politicians aware that there was strong opposition to the building of another tunnel under the river in Gothenburg; Miahabo Berkelder from Klimax in Gothenberg says that the group believe this to be an awful way to spend a large amount of money, just so that more cars can be on the road; asking ‘What if the money was invested in buses instead? New roads simply lead to more traffic and that is a disaster for our climate.’
The third reason for the protest was to make sure that politicians knew that climate change isn’t just a moral topic, it is a political topic.
On the day, members were shocked to see the six activists storm the meeting,
but after the action Klimax joked that if they had been politicians sitting there during long and boring meetings, they would have been happy with the distraction!
They certainly created a buzz, and definitely caught the attention of the council! After a short while the six were asked to leave the building and did so with little fuss.
In reaction to the protest, a woman from the Swedish environmental party said Klimax had a valid point, but a man from the conservative party was more concerned about security, wondering what would have happened if terrorists had stormed the meeting instead!
The plans for the tunnel are still up in the air. The initial decision to build the tunnel was made solely by Göran Johansson, the chairman of the Municipal Council. Because this wasn’t a democratic way of deciding, the case has been reported to the county administrative court.
According to Miahabo, there are a lot of plans in Klimax’s future; new actions will take place during the spring and there will be a new regular event called Climate Café- where anyone can attend to share coffee and discuss climate change, sometimes including an expert on the subject to answer any questions.
The next big event for Klimax is on the Global Day of Action, taking place in cities all over the world on the 6th of December. At the same time as the leaders of the world will be discussing the climate problems, demonstrations will be arranged all over the world including London and of course Gothenberg. Klimax have come together with several other groups to arrange a huge demonstration, Miahabo says that Klimax are organising a “Climate Clash” which is a wide spread Klimax phenomenon; they will walk out in the middle of a busy road and block the traffic; a perfect and simple way to make people aware of the climate problems.
Anyone who is interested in joining Klimax is welcome- it is a flat organization with no board of directors, anyone who wants to be a member is simply one.
For more information about Climate Rush, please visit: www.climaterush.co.uk Monday 1st Dec
The Ashni Art Gallery specialises in Indian Art that is both contemporary and of the past. They will be exhibiting the best of their collection from now until the 19th of December.
Tuesday 2nd Dec
Live in Bristol? Feeling somewhat alarmed by the continued transformation of the city centre to all things consumerist (with 120 new shops having just opened)? Slipping between the gap of reality and fantasy, andSomewhere Here are hijacking advertisement space to provide shoppers with a brief respite during the fall of capitalism. Nine artists take nine advertising hoardings (billboards) until the 3rd of December only. Catch them before they are swallowed by Advertisement Beast.
Wednesday 3rd Dec
Opening today at the ICA: Dispersion; an exploration by seven artists of the appropriation and circulation of images in contemporary society. They examine money, desire, and power in our accelerated image economy. It runs until Feb 1st.
Thursday 4th Dec
First Thursdays of the month is here! But aren’t galleries open most Thursdays anyway? It would be silly tell you a single thing to go and see, 100 galleries will be opening their doors until 9pm, so there will plenty to satiate your creative appetites, but if you perhaps feel so inspired that you are driven to the pencil yourself, The Princess Studios will be hosting free life-drawing drop-in sessions throughout the evening.
Friday 5th Dec
Vauxhall’s best kept secret-art-laboratory, Beaconsfield, curates Late at Tate this Friday, adapting Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries and transitory places to create a terminal space, with an array of arrival and departure points, in which only the surreal applies …
Satuday 6th Dec
Colin McKenzie senses that art ought to be more like a day at Woodstock, or at least what he imagines Woodstock to be like: electric, dynamic, smooth, and mind-expanding. At the Red Gate Gallery. McKenzie strives against order and sense, aiming to manoeuvre without restriction.
Monday 1st December
The Lady: A Tribute to Sandy Denny, page Royal Festival Hall, treat London
An evening of songs from the back catalogue of one of the most influential female folk singers, approved Sandy Denny. Various artists including Marc Almond, P.P. Arnold and Johnny Flynn will be performing songs from her Fairport Convention days as well as her solo career. Should be a really interesting night in light of the current trend for new female folkies and a timely tribute to one of the godmothers of the genre.
A lovely gentle way to start the week with this folky-country duo who will hopefully be celebrating the first day of December with a performance of their Christmas single, released next week.
In the UK for one night only, this much-loved San Francisco band’s staccato, rough-round-the-edges punk pop is even better live.
Ten Kens, The Duchess, York
Anyone who has a blurry picture of people snogging on their record sleeve is a good bet for a messy live show and these Canadian grungers are reportedly no exception. Should be good in this small venue too.
New album produced by Will Oldham, harpist on Anthony and the Johnsons first album and with Andrew W.K. providing bass on her new record, this transsexual musician’s musical pedigree is assured.
Wednesday 3rd December
Kitty, Daisy and Lewis single launch, Madame JoJos, London
Snappily dressed, hearse-driving siblings playing rockabilly at their single launch party.
Liam Finn, Night and Day, Manchester
Introspective folk.
The Wave Pictures, Club Fandango, St Aloysius Social Club, London
Thursday 4th December
Vivian Girls, The Social, Nottingham
Uber-hyped Brooklyn girl group bring their shoe-gaze tinged grunge-pop to the UK. Time to see if they live up to their recorded promise as a live act.
Really bummed about breaking up with some girl called Emma, he headed into the woods alone and wrote an album about it. He must be feeling a bit better as he’s spreading the heartache on a UK tour.
Lovely duets from surprisingly compatible artists.
Pretty Taxing is a fashion collection with a twist, stuff as the end product is not clothes but car tax discs. Unusual – yes, sick but we all know how important accessorising is…
It would seem like a bad idea if such creatively interesting designers hadn’t contributed to the cause. They include Emma Bell, who has twice shown at London Fashion Week, David David and Pam Hogg. Along with artists Natasha Law and Stuart Semple, they have all created unique collectable pieces of fashion memorabilia.
You can pick up these discs of fashion-random-brilliance at Matches or at the pop-up shop KIN in Kingly Court, Carnaby Street. Abiding the law has never looked so good.
Today I was sent to Coventry, abortion quite literally. Together with 30 other Climate Camp activists dressed as Santa we descended on E.On, health the energy company responsible for the proposed new coal fired power station to be built at Kingsnorth.
This action followed a 48 hour action that happened over last Friday and Saturday – and E.On were not expecting our return. In fact, buy they were probably kicking themselves that the special fencing that they had put in place late last week was now lying dismantled on the floor next to their headquarters.
As a result our merry busload hopped off easily and headed straight for the main entrance of E.On’s offices.
Why? Despite spending a lot of time and energy letting the public know that they are one of the biggest investors in renewable energy in the UK (they’ll point out the big array of solar panels on one of their buildings and the lobby features a looped tape about wind farms) they are also pitching to build the first new coal fired power station to be built in the UK in 30 years, which will alone defeat all our CO2 emissions goals. So why spend so unwisely?
Whilst some merry santas climbed atop the revolving door and superglued their hands to the various entrances, another bunch of santas headed off into the building to see if they could speak to head honcho Paul Golby and let the employees know a bit more about the facts behind new coal.
Bearing banners that said Stop Coal and E.On F.Off they set off down the corridors singing some specially adapted carol songs.
Two intrepid santas managed to enter a boardroom meeting, surprising the attendees with some gifts of lumps of coal – for as you know santa gives bad children coal instead of gifts and E.On has been very bad this year. They were ejected from the property, but soon raced back in again…
We managed to disrupt operations for four hours, stopping employees and visitors as they came to work and giving interviews to the BBC and ITV, and live on the radio. Our action was spoken about on the World at One on Radio 4, which you can listen to here. We are talked about at approximately 8 minutes and 20 seconds into the programme.
The police were surprisingly even handed, although some employees were clearly fuming, especially the head of security (woops) One indoor santa even managed to locate a cup of tea and a newspaper to read.
At one point we were able to reenter the building, with the santas forming a conga line for the cameras. We delivered papers written by leading NGOs describing why there is no need for coal power, and generally had a merry old time. All employees and visitors were rerouted through back entrances, so I think it is fair to say that we were fairly disruptive…
Eventually we decided that once unstuck it was best that we leave, but the police had other ideas, and as we walked off down the road they tried to contain us, managing to trap four of our number and arrest them.
The rest of us ran off down the street to find our getaway vehicles, parked up in a local pub car park. Our drivers had thoughtfully bought us lunch in the pub, but shortly after we had gulped it down we were asked to leave because the police presence was putting off other customers. The police followed us as we left to pick up the other santas at Warwick university student union, and thereafter ensued the slowest police chase ever, with us managing to lose them after taking a wrong turn.
The purpose of this action was to embarrass E.On and raise awareness of what they up to in a light hearted and humourous way – I think that as a bunch of merry santas we did this exceptionally well. We hope that E.On will take heed and stop greenwashing their plans. It’s simple, don’t build Kingsnorth. Spend your money increasing investment in your (meagre) renewable energy supplies. If you would like to help us stop companies like E.On destroying our world check out what Climate Camp is up to next. More articles on this action can be read on Indymedia here and here.
Written by Amelia on Tuesday December 2nd, 2008 10:00 am
Jay-Z, price Coldplay and Girls Aloud in concert – that’s the closest analogy in recent times to the new Turner and the Masters exhibition at Tate Britain. There are so many greats in this revealing show that JMW Turner sometimes comes off the worst in the fistfights between complementary pictures hung side-by-side. Bursting with Rembrandts, viagra 40mg Canalettos and Titians, it gives a strong impression of how Turner felt in the world of art: in fierce competition with literally everyone who ever held a paintbrush.
It’s astounding from a modern perspective obsessed with originality to see how similar Turner’s works are in terms of style and composition to those of artists he admired. The Turner of this exhibition is constantly checking on what the person next to him is doing and trying to outdo them.
Turner was totally engaged with the artists who preceded him and those who were his contemporaries. An anecdote that reflects the artist’s temperament is that of the 1832 Royal Academy exhibition: during the “varnishing” time before the show opened to the public, Turner saw Constable’s riotous work “Opening of Waterloo Bridge” (above), which surges with colour, including bold reds. Turner went to his painting “Helvoetsluys” (below), a cool seascape – and added a tiny red buoy. Constable, now in possession of a painting that looked overblown in comparison, complained that “Turner has been here and fired a gun”.
The style of other artists seems utterly up for grabs to Turner. His most famous paintings are those of boats and he was deeply influenced by the painters Jacob van Ruisdael and William van de Velde the Younger, whose “A Rising Gale” (above) is the mirror image of Turner’s “Dutch Boats in a Gale”, though Turner’s work is a moodier, more threatening piece. It is in these scenes of the sea that Turner finds his best-loved topic, but he experimented in what seems like every other niche to get there. His effort to portray rural life in the style of Nicola Tournier falls a little flat and his suggestive style finds a more sympathetic subject in the beauty of nature than in the details of a busy Venetian scene, as shown in a work overpowered by its companion Canaletto.
Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery and although Turner’s antics come across as potentially rather aggravating to other artists, who he copies with the express intent of bettering, he clearly holds those he challenges in high regard. Knowing a little about his relatively humble background, the self-promotion starts to seem like an effort to belong to the establishment art scene of the time, as well as being in the tradition of honing one’s craft by homage. This approach is still in currency: the Arctic Monkeys started out as a Libertines cover band so perhaps things haven’t changed that much after all.
Turner clearly wanted to be considered in the canon of great artists and that wasn’t possible without entering through the doors of the Academy and working in the Grand Style they had designated the high status method of the time. However, he showed just as much interest in the small-scale works of continental artists, perhaps because of their commercial nature: they were more suited for people’s homes and so presumably sold more like hot-cakes than canvases several metres high and wide.
Even among the starry lineup of fellow painters, Turner’s talent shines. Before he hits his stride, the efforts are hit and miss but among them are jewels, which he rustles up from oils, watercolours and ink. The Turner voice is encapsulated by the raging water of “Snowstorm” (above): a swirl of foam, shadow and the suggested sails of a boat. Light and dark and the sense of natural power are more important than seeing the face of the sailor at the helm. This was my favourite work of the show because it is entirely Turner but doesn’t trample on Ruisdael or any other artist. It’s confident in itself – at last! – and movingly beautiful; it reminded me that there is a lot to learn at this exhibition about Turner the man, but also plenty to remind about Turner the artist.
Jay-Z, page Coldplay and Girls Aloud in concert – that’s the closest analogy in recent times to the new Turner and the Masters exhibition at Tate Britain. There are so many greats in this revealing show that JMW Turner sometimes comes off the worst in the fistfights between complementary pictures hung side-by-side. Bursting with Rembrandts, store Canalettos and Titians, pharm it gives a strong impression of how Turner felt in the world of art: in fierce competition with literally everyone who ever held a paintbrush.
It’s astounding from a modern perspective obsessed with originality to see how similar Turner’s works are in terms of style and composition to those of artists he admired. The Turner of this exhibition is constantly checking on what the person next to him is doing and trying to outdo them.
Turner was totally engaged with the artists who preceded him and those who were his contemporaries. An anecdote that reflects the artist’s temperament is that of the 1832 Royal Academy exhibition: during the “varnishing” time before the show opened to the public, Turner saw Constable’s riotous work “Opening of Waterloo Bridge” (above), which surges with colour, including bold reds. Turner went to his painting “Helvoetsluys” (below), a cool seascape – and added a tiny red buoy. Constable, now in possession of a painting that looked overblown in comparison, complained that “Turner has been here and fired a gun”.
The style of other artists seems utterly up for grabs to Turner. His most famous paintings are those of boats and he was deeply influenced by the painters Jacob van Ruisdael and William van de Velde the Younger, whose “A Rising Gale” (above) is the mirror image of Turner’s “Dutch Boats in a Gale”, though Turner’s work is a moodier, more threatening piece. It is in these scenes of the sea that Turner finds his best-loved topic, but he experimented in what seems like every other niche to get there. His effort to portray rural life in the style of Nicola Tournier falls a little flat and his suggestive style finds a more sympathetic subject in the beauty of nature than in the details of a busy Venetian scene, as shown in a work overpowered by its companion Canaletto.
Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery and although Turner’s antics come across as potentially rather aggravating to other artists, who he copies with the express intent of bettering, he clearly holds those he challenges in high regard. Knowing a little about his relatively humble background, the self-promotion starts to seem like an effort to belong to the establishment art scene of the time, as well as being in the tradition of honing one’s craft by homage. This approach is still in currency: the Arctic Monkeys started out as a Libertines cover band so perhaps things haven’t changed that much after all.
Turner clearly wanted to be considered in the canon of great artists and that wasn’t possible without entering through the doors of the Academy and working in the Grand Style they had designated the high status method of the time. However, he showed just as much interest in the small-scale works of continental artists, perhaps because of their commercial nature: they were more suited for people’s homes and so presumably sold more like hot-cakes than canvases several metres high and wide.
Even among the starry lineup of fellow painters, Turner’s talent shines. Before he hits his stride, the efforts are hit and miss but among them are jewels, which he rustles up from oils, watercolours and ink. The Turner voice is encapsulated by the raging water of “Snowstorm” (above): a swirl of foam, shadow and the suggested sails of a boat. Light and dark and the sense of natural power are more important than seeing the face of the sailor at the helm. This was my favourite work of the show because it is entirely Turner but doesn’t trample on Ruisdael or any other artist. It’s confident in itself – at last! – and movingly beautiful; it reminded me that there is a lot to learn at this exhibition about Turner the man, but also plenty to remind about Turner the artist.
The annual Urban Green Fair took place on Sunday the 20th at Brockwell Park with the mission to ‘Skill up for power down’, more about as environmental issues were placed firmly at the forefront.
The whole event was relaxed and laid-back, without the need for loud music and alcohol, but as a domain for independent issues definitely provided food for thought and a proactive energy. The positive and friendly ambience made it a great day out for the whole family, with a zone especially for the kids along with stalls detailing issues such as social justice, building technology and health and healing, there was something for everyone. With local food, jewellery and handmade delights it really showed a community coming together and the great things we can get from independent businesses rather than the giants we see on the high street making every parade a replication.
The Climate Camp had their own stall challenging misconceptions of global warming with a sheet of statements likely to be used to defend not taking action. They were then able to counteract it, to shake off the uncertainty and wavering some might have, and prove that action is vital.
The statement that caught my eye is that scientists only ever speak of a ‘possibility‘ surrounding climate change, and as a result we do not think we need to change our behaviour believing everything will resolve itself. Their answer is that scientists are never going to use words such as ‘definitely’ because for science, proof is a mathematical concept. Just because of scientist’s choice words, the implications already being seen cannot be ignored and it is up to us to balance the evidence.
The ‘speaker’s tent’ was a beacon for paving the way forward. One particular speaker from Rising Tide insisted that climate change should not to be thought of as an environmental issue, but an economical and political issue and why the general public need to have a voice at Copenhagen. It was suggested that a possible solution is food sovereignty, community controlled energy and the refusal of participating in the large economy. A carbon trading system was slammed as it does not work where it has been implemented because companies are able to estimate their own carbon use, consequently leading to an increase rather than decrease in emissions.
As Mark Thomas argued it was us who fought for change, at every stage it is us fighting for these rights, they are not just given to us, so we must fight again. Perhaps the next time this event takes place more progress will have been made, as at the heart of this enjoyable fair there is a serious cry for action before it is too late.
Written by Karen Hitt on Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 5:45 pm
Krystof Strozyna has been on my radar for what seems like forever in fashion… which in practice means a couple of years – ever since we wrote about him in the print version of Amelia’s Magazine, genericvisit this shortly after his graduation from Central Saint Martins in 2007. Which makes it all the more annoying that we don’t receive proper tickets to his shows. I hate e-invites, information pills I really do. I always forget to print them out which usually means I forget to attend the show (I need tickets IN MY HANDS during LFW – there’s just too much to juggle otherwise) and they’re invariably no good for anything better than standing. Basically, viagra they just don’t cut it.
Luckily my face is so well known around Fashion Scout that I can usually slide into any show with no problem. So it was that I got cajoled in to see Krystof Strozyna‘s A/W collection – well, it didn’t take much to be honest. Apparently Kimberly Walsh was there too, flying the flag for Girls Aloud during a rare break for Nicola Roberts. I can imagine her curves would suit his sexy 80s inspired draped tailoring a little better anyhow.
For the most part this collection did not disappoint, featuring tailored black and flesh tones combined with undulating shades of ruched blue chiffon. A little more awkward was a one legged dress – maybe a good idea in practice but somewhat inelegant on the catwalk.
The winning numbers were undoubtedly Krystof Strozyna‘s gorgeous neon fractal prints, which brought a splash of welcome colour to the ubiquitous Little Black Dress… and a devastating punch delivered by the liberal use of acidic orange. Red may have been the favoured highlight of many an A/W collection but on the strength of this I’m voting for vibrant orange. Yum yum.
Krystof Strozyna A/W 2011. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
Grow Heathrow by Rebecca Peacock.
Just over a year ago a group of my friends envisioned a radical new version of the Transition Town model. Activists drawn from groups such as Plane Stupid and Climate Camp decided to squat a rundown old market garden in the village of Sipson that was being used as a dumping ground for car scrap in an area planned for demolition to make way for the third runway at Heathrow. And thus Grow Heathrow was born, link a great big YES in the face of so many NOs.
Over the course of the past year they have utterly transformed the area; growing their own food, stomach hosting bike workshops and ensuring a sustainable community has sprung up that fully involves the locals. What was once an eyesore covered in shattered glass has become an inspiring success story, described by one local as “better than prozac”. In this beautiful short video from You and I Films the misty eyed community get together to reminisce about the past year, describing how what they did was “naughty but extremely worthwhile” and a necessary action to enable the creation of their “own piece of paradise.” As is so often the case, gardening has proved the glue that has brought people together.
Later in March Grow Heathrow will host the Reclaim the Fields European gathering, and then a group of people associated with the project will go on an ambitious 100 day cycle ride to Palestine. P.E.D.A.L. will meet with permaculture projects along the way; sharing ideas and stories for a better world.
Inspiring stuff indeed, but I’ll let this lovely video – made to celebrate Grow Heathrow‘s first birthday – do the talking.
You can read more about Grow Heathrow in this blog, written just after it was set up in early 2010.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday March 1st, 2011 5:47 pm
I’ll put up my hands and admit that as a girl, healthmedications not yet a quarter of a century old, remedy talking about music is utterly intimidating. Yet I try. At some point in my life I’ll make a concerted effort to dance about architecture too. There is an endless wealth of information on bands that have already been, that I am never, ever going to be able to catch up on. Yet I try. As a music fan (enough to write about it), I’m embarrassed to admit that I only really discovered my, now, all time favourite band, Talking Heads within the last five years. I know, shoot me down. My convoluted point is that, as much as I try and piece it together, I can only imagine what The Slits releasing ‘Cut’ meant to the females and general youth and music fans of 1979. Yes there was a sex bomb fronted Blondie, intriguingly androgynous Patti Smith and unconventional Kate Bush, but an all female, punk rock band that posed naked on their album sleeve and generally didn’t give a f***. No one saw that coming and their influence has reverberated ever since.
Fast forward then 30 years and their new album, Trapped Animal, has been unleashed to a society that is certainly far from sorted. But can the music still have the same punch? The garage approach of Cut has inevitably given way to a slicker product all round. That same mixture of reggae rhythms, scratchy guitars, anger and mischief abounds. Rather than sounding like a band thirty years past their prime, as could be said of many a reunion album, there is a freshness that means you could be mistaken for thinking you’re hearing the latest South London council estate collective. This could be explained by the new multi-generational line-up that features Sex Pistol Paul Cook’s daughter, Hollie. You also get the impression that frontwoman Ari Up has as much energy as her fourteen year old self that met original member, Palmolive, at a Patti Smith gig.
Lyrically, the album doesn’t stretch the boundaries of the concept of rhyming but you wouldn’t hear Girls Aloud bemoaning of “Men who want us to be their mother/Men who hate us because of their mother.” Where the Pop Idol-ers are concerned with their “cappuccinos to go-o”, Up and her girls are hollering about ‘Peer Pressure’, “issues with child abuse” and eschewing the shackles of a nine to five: “We don’t pay rent with a passion, and we don’t wanna follow fashion.”
The fact that foul-mouthed Lily Allen launched her career on the wave of reggae-tinged pop is no accident. The Slits invented the model for anti-establishment, men-bashing, unselfconscious pop and even though this new offering will never live up to Cut standards, it’s a welcome return of punk’s finest.
Helping to keep the pressure on governments across the world, health activists in Australia held a mass action last week against Hazelwood Coal Power Station, erectile one of the dirtiest in the world. The climate camp held a day of planning and workshops, nurse followed by the day of action where a group of over 500 people placed a ‘Community Decommission Order’ on Hazelwood to switch on the renewable energy transition.
Twenty-two people were arrested on the day and, with the Governments lack of conviction, it seems many more are ready for the same sacrifice. As one secondary school teacher put it, “not such a big sacrifice in the scheme of things.” Looking at pictures and reports as well as listening to the radio report, it looks like a well planned day of disobedience. Affinity groups such as the Wombat Warriors, Radical Cheerleaders and Climate Clowns show great initiative. Apparently the police wouldn’t let “bikezilla”, a massive 8-person bike, join the protest though. Shame.
I caught up with Louise Morris, one of the organisers of the action to get her account of the action and see what’s in store for climate action in Australia.
How long have you been involved in the protest movement in Australia and was there a catalyst for getting involved?
I’ve been involved in campaigning in Australia for over a decade, starting off with the campaign to stop the Jabiluka Uranium mine in Kakadu National park and spending many years as a forest activist and blockader in Tasmania (as a result now one of the Gunns 20) and Western Australia.
I decided to devote my time to climate campaigning in 2006, as the realisation set in that no matter how many pieces of forest we saved through campaigning and blockades etc – if climate change is not dealt with, the climatic conditions forecast will spell the end for all the places we have campaigned for and protected over the years.
I grew up in mining towns in Western Australia, so am very aware of the sort of environmental and social scars the mining and logging industry inflict. My decision to work on climate issues has been heavily based on the mitigation angle. I am a strong believer in trying to solve a problem, rather than trying cope with the problem as best we can through adaptation measures. This has led me to focus strongly on coal issues and to work within the grassroots realm of climate campaigning. I really do think it’s in the grassroots community movement that we have the most power.
What was your personal experience on last weeks action?
I was one of the key organisers of the Switch off Hazelwood – Switch on Renewables weekend. My experience ranged from having to deal with the police in the lead up to the event and during the event with their complete over-reaction to the whole affair, talking with people who were prepared to be arrested and acting as media spokesperson for the group.
My experience of the action and watching other peoples reaction to the day was extremely positive.
This action was the first of it’s type for the Victorian Climate Movement. For the past few years people have lobbied, rallied in cities etc but never actually taken action at the site of the pollution and been prepared to be arrested.
We had 500-plus people from all possible walks of life turn up. A lot of families, older folk and a massive representation from the quite mainstream ‘Climate Action Group’ demographic that is strong in Australia. We had 22 people manage to scale the security fences and police lines that were put up prior to our action. In that list of arrestees are doctors, teachers, electricians, stay at home mums… the list goes on.
Our state government tried to label us as eco-terrorists in the lead up to the event. This failed dismally, as our lead up media campaign was very solutions focused (just transition to renewable energy) and we were very open in our aim of civil disobedience… this combined with images of the people who were at the action, got out to the wider world of so many kids, families, professionals and respected members of the community were taking action. We have had a lot of support from the public and arms of the mainstream media.
The feeling post this action is that people are ready for more peaceful community driven direct action, and more people are prepared to get arrested to push the government into some real action on climate change.
How did the mainstream media and the public react?
In the lead up to this event we put a lot of thought and energy into talking about our message of switching on a transition to renewable energy and switching off coal. Part of this outreach included a public meeting at the town of Morwell, which is the heart of coal country in our state. This was a ‘robust’ meeting but we got great feedback from everyone who came about the transition message and we were supported by unions representing coal workers that we were pushing for a just transition to renewable energy.
In terms of media – we ran a pretty tight messaging strategy around the fact that this is a community driven event that is calling for a switch from renewable energy and this requires that we switch off coal.
At first we got very little interest, but as the word that people were going to partake in peaceful mass civil disobedience got out, the interest grew. On the whole, we got a pretty fair run in the media in the lead up to the event. A lot of time was spent explaining what civil disobedience was, as Australia has not had a strong activist culture in recent years. Once again the core message that we were calling for a switch from coal to renewables, with a just transition was central in a lot of the willingness of commercial media to hear us out.
Obviously on the day of the action some of the conservative media ran the ‘rowdy protester’ line and showed the fence shaking but considering the sort of coverage we usually get in the mainstream Australian press, I think we have seen a shift in how community protest and civil disobedience is being covered. That said, the large representation of families and ‘ordinary looking folk’ really did help that.
Do you think Australia is ready for a broader movement relating to climate change and what do you think the comparison is to movements across the world?
Yes. We had our first climate camp last year in Newcastle [NSW] and from this it was decided that in 2009 we would have state based events, of which the Switch off Hazelwood event was one. The reasons for this were many, including the fact that Australia is so geographically large that it’s not feasible (financially or environmentally) for people to trek across the country to come to a single climate camp.
For the next 3 months there will be Climate Camp style events across the country from South Australia, New South Wales to Western Australia. The interest and willingness is there for a movement that is prepared to take action at the site of the big polluters and put some targeted pressure on government and the big polluters who are shaping the climate policy.
In terms of the broader movement relating to climate change there is definitely a lot more scope for more varied forms of action and campaigning. We are currently organising a bunch of movement building events and workshops using the lessons learnt from many countries and campaigns, including elements of the Obama community mobilisation strategy.
Comparisons are hard to make as we live in a massive continent with quite a sparse population, in comparison to many other countries who have strong climate movements. We also have a populace that has been alienated from the concepts of protest, civil disobedience and strong social movements from previous (and still current) governments who have demonised such things as ‘Anti-Australian.’
As one of the organisers of the action, what have you learnt from the process?
Honestly, the importance of networks, community and talking to people face-to-face to get them involved and part of creating the event they want to be a part of. Another lesson we always learn from these events is that people need to have fun organising and being part of events like this – best way to keep them coming back and get more people involved.
The Affinity Group and Working Group model was central in making a lot of elements of this event work. From the public meeting, the promotions, independent media to the action itself.
What’s next for Climate Camp in Australia?
There are still a number of state based Climate Camps to come in the next few months across Australia after the ‘Switch off Hazelwood – Switch on Renewables’ event. The next immediate one is in South Australia and after that is the one at the Helensbugh coal mine in NSW. So much more Climate Camp action is on the cards. And here in Victoria we are looking ahead to what is next in the lead up to Copenhagen as a national climate event.
Looks like a lot going on in Australia, shame it would have to be a carbon intensive flight away, that or a 6 month cycle mission, hmmm.. now thats an idea.
Written by Adam S on Thursday September 17th, 2009 11:39 am
Last weekend I went to the premiere of Just Do It in a central London squat: a beautiful old chapel on Shaftesbury Avenue that once housed a nightclub and a Walkabout pub. It was a fitting venue for the big official screening of this amazing film, healing one which I feel closely involved in – my photos have been used for publicity, pharm I was at almost every direct action or event that is shown in the film and we’ve written about it many times on these pages as they’ve struggled to raise funds to finish it over the past few years.
All photography by Amelia Gregory.
The fact that I only spotted my arse three times in Just Do It (taking photos, always) is a miracle, frankly. Thankfully you will only know it is me if you know my bottom well, but for its appearance I did have to sign my very only release form when I viewed the final rushes a few months ago.
We had popcorn, goodie bags and delicious alcoholic smoothies and ice cream made from unwanted fruit by A Taste of Freedom.
It’s hard to write subjectively about a film that features so many people that I know. A film that follows the thoughts and actions of a bunch of friends that I have taken action alongside for many years… and for awhile I worried that Just Do It would seem insular, knowing, and wouldn’t really appeal to those outside our inner circle of activists.
Marina Pepper.
Emily James.
But I was wrong: I am so proud of what director Emily James has managed to produce, admirably aided and abetted by producer Lauren Simpson, editor James Leadbitter and a huge team of creative volunteers including our very own Sally Mumby-Croft. It’s even got an amazing soundtrack, featuring music from former art editor Luisa Gerstein’s Lulu and the Lampshades.
When she first started filming Just Do It we didn’t know how it would turn out, and I don’t think Emily did either… she just knew that she wanted to tell the inside story of activism, particularly around Climate Camp – something which has been enormously influential in climate activism and activism in general over the past few years.
Just Do It is personalised through following the stories of a few figures, including some very dear friends of mine… but it is undoubtedly Marina Pepper‘s unique way with words and hilarious delivery that makes her the film’s star.
By showing the human face of activism it is made more accessible – proving that activists are far from scary and unapproachable as often portrayed by the media, but rather some of the most amazing, inspiring people I know. I hope Just Do It will prompt many more people across the world to stand up for what they believe in to make a better world.
Watch the trailer here:
Please please go watch this film – it hits cinemas nationwide this week and you should tell all your friends about it to make sure that it shown and seen as widely as possible. Find your local Just Do It screening here. It’s fast, it’s fun, and most of all it’s inspiring. There’s never been a more important time to stand up for well, just about everything, really.
Watch interviews from the premiere here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday July 14th, 2011 2:16 pm
Last weekend I went to the premiere of Just Do It in a central London squat: a beautiful old chapel on Shaftesbury Avenue that once housed a nightclub and a Walkabout pub. It was a fitting venue for the big official screening of this amazing film, healing one which I feel closely involved in – my photos have been used for publicity, pharm I was at almost every direct action or event that is shown in the film and we’ve written about it many times on these pages as they’ve struggled to raise funds to finish it over the past few years.
All photography by Amelia Gregory.
The fact that I only spotted my arse three times in Just Do It (taking photos, always) is a miracle, frankly. Thankfully you will only know it is me if you know my bottom well, but for its appearance I did have to sign my very only release form when I viewed the final rushes a few months ago.
We had popcorn, goodie bags and delicious alcoholic smoothies and ice cream made from unwanted fruit by A Taste of Freedom.
It’s hard to write subjectively about a film that features so many people that I know. A film that follows the thoughts and actions of a bunch of friends that I have taken action alongside for many years… and for awhile I worried that Just Do It would seem insular, knowing, and wouldn’t really appeal to those outside our inner circle of activists.
Marina Pepper.
Emily James.
But I was wrong: I am so proud of what director Emily James has managed to produce, admirably aided and abetted by producer Lauren Simpson, editor James Leadbitter and a huge team of creative volunteers including our very own Sally Mumby-Croft. It’s even got an amazing soundtrack, featuring music from former art editor Luisa Gerstein’s Lulu and the Lampshades.
When she first started filming Just Do It we didn’t know how it would turn out, and I don’t think Emily did either… she just knew that she wanted to tell the inside story of activism, particularly around Climate Camp – something which has been enormously influential in climate activism and activism in general over the past few years.
Just Do It is personalised through following the stories of a few figures, including some very dear friends of mine… but it is undoubtedly Marina Pepper‘s unique way with words and hilarious delivery that makes her the film’s star.
By showing the human face of activism it is made more accessible – proving that activists are far from scary and unapproachable as often portrayed by the media, but rather some of the most amazing, inspiring people I know. I hope Just Do It will prompt many more people across the world to stand up for what they believe in to make a better world.
Watch the trailer here:
Please please go watch this film – it hits cinemas nationwide this week and you should tell all your friends about it to make sure that it shown and seen as widely as possible. Find your local Just Do It screening here. It’s fast, it’s fun, and most of all it’s inspiring. There’s never been a more important time to stand up for well, just about everything, really.
Watch interviews from the premiere here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday July 14th, 2011 2:16 pm
In June, order Amelia’s Magazine previewed Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world, information pills a feature documentary (in production) from Age of Stupid Executive Producer Emily James. At the time of writing, clinicJust Do It had just launched their innovative crowd-funding scheme to help raise the final funds required to complete the film for release in early 2011. From October 12th and for the next 18 days (this article was posted on 14th October) Lush Cosmetics will match all donations made to the Just Do It website POUND FOR POUND! The challenge? To raise 20K in 20 Days.
You might be wondering why a feature film is asking for money now, rather than at the box office? The answer is surprisingly simple, Just Do It will be released for free under creative commons across the internet, your donation today means people across the world will be able to watch it for free, forever. The other reason the film needs your support is Just Do It is a completely independent production – there are no TV/Film backers, a decision carefully made by Emily James in order to protect the rights and the representation of the activists who kindly let James film their actions over the course of two years from the G20 to those sad talks in Copenhagen.
Meet the Team!
And whilst you’re at it why not sign up for The Crude Awakening action happening this very Saturday? That’s right, as well as putting your money where your mouth is, you can put your feet there too…
Just Do It introduces those of you unaware to the adventurous and inspiring world that is UK Climate Change Activism. A cause that has been documented, reported and championed in these very pages in the Earth Section established by Amelia Gregory. It is a cause that needs your help and your support – watch the trailer, the bike bloc and the guide to Climate Camp. Watch all the videos and if you feel inspired and want to know what to do next, the answer is multifold. First you can visit the website, donate and find out how you can get involved if your time rich but cash poor…
The Crude Awakening is a mass action aimed at waking up the oil industry, to the responsibility they owe the earth. There are three different mass actions to get involved in – click on the links to find out more about each, and to sign up to receive SMS texts as the action takes place, from 10am this Saturday 16th October…
Dirty Money Bloc – Drawing attention to the involvement of BANKING in the oil industry, for example RBS has been linked to extremely devastating practice of mining the Canadian Tar Sands. If you like the sound of holding your own space and being creative to beat the oil industry… If this sounds out like your bag, find out where to meet here.
Building Bloc – The building and occupying of space through structures expressing dissent at the unchecked flow of both oil and finance. If you have a head for heights and want to be actively involved, click here to find out more…
Finally the Body Bloc celebrates the “carnival of life, death, fun and resistance.”
Do you have an imaginative idea of life beyond (and without) oil and wish to turn the impossible possible? Find out more here.
So that’s two things you can do alongside your recycling – the first is find out how you can support Just Do It and the second is to support A Crude Awakening on Saturday 16th October.
A few weeks ago a rather lovely fashion shoot dropped into Amelia’s Magazine inbox. A collaboration from the photographer Paul Cassidy and producerCristina Duran styled by and starring Silvia.
The entirely vintage shoot expresses the dramatic romanticism of Grey Gardens and the personal idiosyncrasies of the stylist. Shot for the majority in Paul’s living room, ordervisit web the beautifully coloured photographs develop (through the relation between house activity and the outfit it requires) the homage to two characters of fashion: Big and Little Edie.
When approaching the subject of Grey Gardens it became clear to Paul and Cristina that Silvia would have to be the stylist, medicine realising “as the concept developed…that an actual model wouldn’t be able to pull it off and that Silvia was perfect… As Silvia is, well, Silvia and they are her own clothes.”
In Grey Gardens, the subplot revolves around Little Edie’s rebellion towards her isolated existence is her outfits. After being introduced to the documentary by a friend, Cristina and Paul “became fascinated by the characters” Despite never watching it fully and Cristina only once, the two creatives built an “interior set without referring to the film too much. Most of the elements were really already in place, and my (Paul’s) apartment took very little adjusting” in order to be used in the photos.”
The photographs celebrate the whimsical side to fashion, the belief in an ability to create new versions of the self through personally sourced clothing. It is not surprising that Silvia command’s the viewer’s attention, her individuality bathed in the gentle light of the 1970’s. The cold colour hues are perfect compliment to the clothes, attributed no doubt to Cristina’s “particularly strong connection to retro aesthetic and colour. I guess Grey Gardens was a catalyst that brought everything together.”
A strong compositional element of the photographs is the mirroring of colour between the clothes and the environment. In the photograph below the peach colour of the dress references the cloth on the couch, as the blue occurs in the images pinned to the notice boards.
The fashion shoot expresses Paul and Cristina desire for “something a bit mad (in the sense of someone without normal social convention),” Little Edie and Big Edie were certainly considered that for their choice to eschew society. Paul continues to explain what made Silvia the perfect model. “Silvia in person is quite restrained and formal but like most people she has a flamboyant and eccentric side and really it took very little direction to get her to express that in the photos. She was one of the most interesting subjects that I’ve ever worked with in her manner of physical expression and her posing. So I think that there’s an awful lot of Silvia in the photos but there’s also a lot of fabrication and exaggeration in the story telling.”
Discussing the composition Paul mentioned the importance the collective places on storytelling bordering on “truth, untruth or realism and surrealism.” The collaborations’ synergy –evident in the sequence of photographs that illustrate the article – has developed from a mutual “deep focus on character,” expressed through the model’s ability to convey the concept of the piece through the position of her body within the camera’s frame or choice of garment to illustrate her occupying activity.
Whilst the aim of the photoshoot might not have been to directly encourage people to be thrifty when buying clothes, it cannot help but do so. Whilst thrifty shopping might not new in Madrid or the rest of Europe, what is missing is beautifully constructed fashion shoots celebrating this. As Paul mentions “second-hand clothes are always popular when there’s little money about. You find this strange mixture of a generation of young people that have dressed themselves between H&M and second-hand clothes shops. Both are cheap options and the vintage clothes can give personality and quality to the generic chain store brands.”
Little Edie would be proud to see the continued celebration of the individual and her sense of creative spirit.
A few weeks ago a rather lovely fashion shoot dropped into Amelia’s Magazine inbox. A collaboration from the photographer Paul Cassidy and producer Cristina Duran styled by and starring Silvia.
The entirely vintage shoot expresses the dramatic romanticism of Grey Gardens and the personal idiosyncrasies of the stylist. Shot for the majority in Paul’s living room, page the beautifully coloured photographs develop (through the relation between house activity and the outfit it requires) the homage to two characters of fashion: Big and Little Edie.
When approaching the subject of Grey Gardens it became clear to Paul and Cristina that Silvia would have to be the stylist, page realising “as the concept developed…that an actual model wouldn’t be able to pull it off and that Silvia was perfect… As Silvia is, stuff well, Silvia and they are her own clothes.”
In Grey Gardens, the subplot revolves around Little Edie’s rebellion towards her isolated existence is her outfits. After being introduced to the documentary by a friend, Cristina and Paul “became fascinated by the characters” Despite never watching it fully and Cristina only once, the two creatives built an “interior set without referring to the film too much. Most of the elements were really already in place, and my (Paul’s) apartment took very little adjusting” in order to be used in the photos.”
The photographs celebrate the whimsical side to fashion, the belief in an ability to create new versions of the self through personally sourced clothing. It is not surprising that Silvia command’s the viewer’s attention, her individuality bathed in the gentle light of the 1970’s. The cold colour hues are perfect compliment to the clothes, attributed no doubt to Cristina’s “particularly strong connection to retro aesthetic and colour. I guess Grey Gardens was a catalyst that brought everything together.”
A strong compositional element of the photographs is the mirroring of colour between the clothes and the environment. In the photograph below the peach colour of the dress references the cloth on the couch, as the blue occurs in the images pinned to the notice boards.
The fashion shoot expresses Paul and Cristina desire for “something a bit mad (in the sense of someone without normal social convention),” Little Edie and Big Edie were certainly considered that for their choice to eschew society. Paul continues to explain what made Silvia the perfect model. “Silvia in person is quite restrained and formal but like most people she has a flamboyant and eccentric side and really it took very little direction to get her to express that in the photos. She was one of the most interesting subjects that I’ve ever worked with in her manner of physical expression and her posing. So I think that there’s an awful lot of Silvia in the photos but there’s also a lot of fabrication and exaggeration in the story telling.”
Discussing the composition Paul mentioned the importance the collective places on storytelling bordering on “truth, untruth or realism and surrealism.” The collaborations’ synergy –evident in the sequence of photographs that illustrate the article – has developed from a mutual “deep focus on character,” expressed through the model’s ability to convey the concept of the piece through the position of her body within the camera’s frame or choice of garment to illustrate her occupying activity.
Whilst the aim of the photoshoot might not have been to directly encourage people to be thrifty when buying clothes, it cannot help but do so. Whilst thrifty shopping might not new in Madrid or the rest of Europe, what is missing is beautifully constructed fashion shoots celebrating this. As Paul mentions “second-hand clothes are always popular when there’s little money about. You find this strange mixture of a generation of young people that have dressed themselves between H&M and second-hand clothes shops. Both are cheap options and the vintage clothes can give personality and quality to the generic chain store brands.”
Little Edie would be proud to see the continued celebration of the individual and her sense of creative spirit. The Bigger Picture: Festival of Interdependence aimed to kick start a transition to a new economy, website looking at everybody’s carbon footprint and educating with a range of talks, speakers and workshops.
Held on 350:Day of Climate Action, the event was one of the hundreds happening worldwide to push people to tackle climate change. The Bigger Picture was held in an old warehouse on the South Bank, which although fairly old and decrepit, had a certain charm to it. The day before was spent setting up the four floors and rooms so that when the public were let in, the warehouse was packed full of leaflets, objects, art and a yellow t-shirted posse, ready to navigate people up the narrow staircases and back-rooms.
I spent the day wondering in and out, generally getting a bit overwhelmed by it all, but I’ve managed to pick out five of the workshops that stood out the most…
1. Climate Camp Climate Camp had it’s own two rooms and had set up a replicate camp complete with tents, a fire made from bike lights, and a huge banner backdrop of tripods from a previous camp at Kingsnorth. All that was missing were hay bales that had been stopped by the determined health and safety who also prevented us from giving away cake, yes cake. Although, that didn’t stop a range of speakers and musicians telling people all about Climate Camps in the past and what we aim to do in the future.
2. Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It
You could pay a visit to the Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It and collect your very own Carbon Ration Book. The issued ration books showed the carbon emissions of our daily activities, like using a laptop or using public transport. This little book is something that we may have to get used to in the not so distant future, when carbon emissions become a commodity, although probably not in such a lovely 1950s design.
3. Magnificent Revolution
Art collective, Magnificent Revolution, was also there to create the world’s first cycle-powered home in a special room at The Bigger Picture. Strangely shaped, bike-like sculptures, with protruding pedals powered various things from washing machines to blenders. You could even jump on and have a go, which is a great way to encourage all of us to take more steps towards low-energy living.
4. Beekeeping
Heidi Hermann, founding member of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, gave an introduction into natural bee keeping with an array of beautiful crafted beehives and advice on how to set up your own. Due to human impact, the number of bees are dying dramatically and setting up your own can help reverse this. Believe it or not, when bees become extinct, the human race can only survive for a few years. Most people don’t realise how much the humble bumble bee is indeed an important part of our delicate eco system.
5. Breadmaking
There was a chance to join master baker and bread hero, Paul Barker of Cinnamon Square, for some bread making lessons and tips to bake the perfect loaf. People could also take home the bread at the end of the day, which meant the lovely freshly baked bread aroma filled the warehouse all day.
With over forty-five leading thinkers, activists, authors and artists attending The Bigger Picture, it meant throughout the whole day people could get involved with a range of debates and discussions, from lively talks on money issues to in-depth discussions about the Copenhagen summit in December.
The one-day event put on by Nef, an independent think-and-do tank, was hugely popular. Huge queues snaked around outside most of the day, with singers and speakers having to keep people entertained outside. The day certainly helped to encourage people to look at their own carbon footprint and it was good to see solutions and not only the problems, with everyone starting to look a little closer at the bigger picture.
Written by Adam S on Thursday October 29th, 2009 4:20 pm
