NHS – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Fashion East and NEWGEN Menswear Installations: London Fashion Week A/W Presentation Review

Sibling A/W 2012 by Gabriel Ayala

The Fashion East and NEWGEN installations were a riot of colour, innovation and design again this season. I always have the best intentions on menswear day to see everything – the schedule is quite thin in a morning and leads you into a false sense of security that you can casually amble around taking in every designer in your stride. Serenity soon turns to chaos about 1pm though – the installations open, they’re rammed, and all of a sudden there are back-to-back catwalk shows dotted around town.

So in typical Matt stylee I raced around the installations in between shows, juggling my camera, a glass of plonk and a bunch of handouts in unison. Here’s my whistle-stop tour of both the Fashion East and Newgen designers:

Christopher O’Brien
Christopher O’Brien‘s name wasn’t one I’d heard of before, but I was captivated by his devilishly good looks and, more importantly, his A/W 2012 collection. His innovative crinkled cotton in white, navy and aqua across jackets and shirts really stood out.

Kit Neale

Kit Neale A/W 2012 by Krister Selin

In a separate room, Kit Neale‘s presentation was one of the highlights. A mixture of models stood and sat across wooden platforms, wearing Kit’s weird and wonderful digital-print fabrics. Matching jackets and trousers came in garish patterns, styled with scarves and backpacks. Across the room, a video of models performing karaoke to Elvis hits in front of a sparkly curtain played – one of my favourite digital presentations of this season.

Dr Noki’s NHS
In typical Noki fashion, his two models were adorned in all sorts of recycled materials: back-to-front New Era caps (a Noki staple), faces covered with t-shirts and comic book illustrations, which had my pal Gareth A Hopkins – Amelia’s Magazine contributor and comic perv – proclaiming that he was on trend long before Noki was; a fact I wholeheartedly agree with.

Sebastian Tarek
Lovely, lovely shoes.

Sibling

Sibling A/W 2012 by Gabriel Ayala

On menswear day I find myself desperate to see what Sibling will present each season. Last year’s fairground-inspired collection bowled me over. This ‘Marked Man‘ collection drew inspiration from ‘the relationship between a protective matriarch and her beloved – but wayward – son’. Queue glittery knits, tattoo imagery, a bleeding heart motif – this design trio certainly know how to interpret a theme. My favourite pieces were those that carried the leopard print knits – just incredible. To accompany their presentation, Sibling produced a stunning video installation that featured three models behind bars. Three screens acted as contemporary prison windows, where guests could sit opposite, listen to white noise down phone lines, and generally absorb the atmosphere. It was pretty affecting stuff. The three screens worked as a whole, with models moving between windows and animations occurring at the same time. Even visiting children enjoyed it.

T.Lipop
I’m a big fan of T.Lipop‘s contemporary sartorial splendour and this season was no exception. A fashion expedition – models wore contemporary tailoring and were styled with ice-cold beards and eyebrows. There’s a full review of the T.Lipop catwalk show to come soon…

William Richard Green
Last but not least, William Richard Green gave the modern man more ways to mix up his wardrobe. Jackets displayed expert craftsmanship, adorned with large white buttons, reworking classic staple items into statements for A/W 2012. An inimitable mix of wearable pieces and conceptual items (overcoats teamed with polkadot trousers and New Balance trainers), garments in this collection are sure to become future classics and I’d gladly wear any of it.

It was pretty exhausting – not least because one had to manoeuvre around Champagne gluggers like an assassin just to take a photograph – but it’s always worth it.

Written by Matt Bramford on Tuesday February 28th, 2012 9:58 am

Categories ,A/W 2012, ,AW12, ,Christopher O’Brien, ,Dr Noki, ,Fashion East, ,Gaarte, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Kit Neale, ,Krister Selin, ,London Fashion Week, ,Marked Man, ,Matt Bramford, ,menswear, ,Newgen, ,NHS, ,Sebastian Tarek, ,Sibling, ,Somerset House, ,t.lipop, ,William Richard Green

Amelia’s Magazine | 123 Bethnal Green Road – the Sustainable Fashion Concept Store

Latitude 2010-Phil Jupitas by Amelia Gregory

Illustration by Paul Shinn

So I popped along to the opening of 123 Bethnal Green Road this week with Amelia, order who I found outside clutching her phone, thumb looking a little anxious, surrounded by Dr Noki‘s entourage of weird and wonderful fashionos. I hadn’t expected this at all – and then remembered that this new store boasted an entire floor of Dr Noki’s fashions. Amelia and I both remarked what an exhausting effort it must be to be part of his clan, which left me wondering what said clan members wear to the supermarket – surely not this rig-out everyday?

Illustration by Paul Shinn

123 Bethnal Green Road promises to be a ‘sustainable fashion concept store’ and is many years in the making – gosh, that place has been ‘opening soon!’ longer than I’ve been in London. It’s beautiful on both the inside and the outside, though – and a skim of the press release reveals, unsurprisingly, that it’s a listed building – which probably explains the hold up in the opening.

Illustration by Andrea Peterson

Brought to you from the people behind Vintage For Sale, these guys know their fashion and the store stocks a range of sustainable goods – from Dr Noki’s somewhat strange NHS range featuring the now ‘iconic’ New Era reworked hats, to vintage finds with the ’123′ label. The latter being more my cup of tea (with no offence to Dr Noki, of course), here there are lots of interesting finds. Reclaimed fabrics have been reworked by the 123 design team, featuring the most covetable cuts – mini skirts, layered tops and ruffles are aplenty, making using of fascinating fabrics with all sorts of colours, patterns and textures.

Illustrations by Natasha Thompson

The store dedicates an entire floor to whacky Dr Noki, described as a ‘fashion rebel’. The doctor (I’d like to see his accreditation, please) is famed for said New-Era re-workings and outlandish creations, including turd necklaces for pregnant women. Yeah, you heard me. His ethos is a good one, though – he’s challenging the corporate giants of the fashion industry and creating one-off art pieces that, for all their nu-rave connotations, are pretty stunning – especially after a few free Salto cachaca cocktails.

…and the evening will remembered for Noki and his harem of followers, who push the fashion boundaries and are aching to be photographed (which suits me fine). Here are some photographs from the event for you to feast your eyes on:

Look at this guy. ACHING to be photographed, I tell ya. Pubis tattoos will be everywhere come SS2011.

All photographs by Matt Bramford

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday July 23rd, 2010 3:46 pm

Categories ,123, ,123 Bethnal Green Road, ,Amelia, ,Andrea Peterson, ,Dr Noki, ,london, ,Matt Bramford, ,Natasha Thompson, ,New Era, ,NHS, ,Paul Shinn, ,Turd necklace, ,Vintage For Sale

Amelia’s Magazine | 123 Bethnal Green Road – the Sustainable Fashion Concept Store

Illustration by Paul Shinn

So I popped along to the opening of 123 Bethnal Green Road this week with Amelia, who I found outside clutching her phone, looking a little anxious, surrounded by Dr Noki’s entourage of weird and wonderful fashionos. I hadn’t expected this at all – and then remembered that this new store boasted an entire floor of Dr Noki’s fashions. Amelia and I both remarked what an exhausting effort it must be to be part of his clan, which left me wondering what said clan members wear to the supermarket – surely not this rig-out everyday?

Illustration by Paul Shinn

123 Bethnal Green Road promises to be a ’sustainable fashion concept store’ and is many years in the making – gosh, that place has been ‘opening soon!’ longer than I’ve been in London. It’s beautiful on both the inside and the outside, though – and a skim of the press release reveals, unsurprisingly, that it’s a listed building – which probably explains the hold up in the opening.

Illustration by Andrea Peterson

Brought to you from the people behind Vintage For Sale, these guys know their fashion and the store stocks a range of sustainable goods – from Dr Noki’s somewhat strange NHS range featuring the now ‘iconic’ New Era reworked hats, to vintage finds with the ‘123′ label. The latter being more my cup of tea (with no offence to Dr Noki, of course), here there are lots of interesting finds. Reclaimed fabrics have been reworked by the 123 design team, featuring the most covetable cuts – mini skirts, layered tops and ruffles are aplenty, making using of fascinating fabrics with all sorts of colours, patterns and textures.

Illustrations by Natasha Thompson

Look at this guy. ACHING to be photographed, I tell ya. Pubis tattoos will be everywhere come SS2011.

All photographs by Matt Bramford

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday July 23rd, 2010 3:46 pm

Categories ,123, ,123 Bethnal Green Road, ,Amelia, ,Andrea Peterson, ,Dr Noki, ,london, ,Matt Bramford, ,Natasha Thompson, ,New Era, ,NHS, ,Paul Shinn, ,Turd necklace, ,Vintage For Sale

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with fashion designer Ramil Makinano

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Milly Jackson

I first saw the weird and wonderful work of Ramil Makinano at the Toni&Guy Hair Show during London Fashion Week last month. The show, which I very much enjoyed, was all about hair as you can imagine; the clothes were selected to compliment the hairstyles and were pretty basic. That is, except for the final pieces. Vibrant colours and odd shapes flooded the runway, and as a result of my review, Ramil got in touch to introduce himself. I couldn’t wait to find out more about this unique designer.

I met Ramil on a chilly Monday evening at Bar Music Hall in Shoreditch. It had been hard to pin him down, and I was about to find out why. Born and raised in the Philippines, Ramil moved to London fifteen years ago on a nursing scholarship with the NHS, despite being thoroughly passionate about fashion from an early age. ‘It was a good way to move away,’ Ramil told me as we took a seat with our beers. ‘I was interviewed in Manilla, and was one of the first few people to be brought over by the NHS.’ Ramil’s passion for nursing and inevitable need to fund his collections still see him working at St Thomas’ Hospital at weekends.

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Maria del Carmen Smith

After 8 years working as a nurse after qualifying in London, Ramil decided to return to his desire to become a fashion designer and had naturally heard of the world’s most famous fashion school – Central Saint Martins. By this time Ramil had obtained British citizenship and secured a place on the foundation course, professing to the degree specialising in print.

It was whilst studying at Saint Martins on a sandwich course that Ramil undertook placements with some of fashion’s greatest talent, experiences that he remembers very fondly. Internships at Matthew Williamson, Elisa Palomino and Diane Von Furstenberg allowed Ramil to fully explore his penchant for print. As I rub my hands together hoping for some juice on these fashion figures, I’m only slightly disappointed when Ramil has nothing but great things to say about the designers. He tells me a story about Von Furstenberg calling all the interns to the rooftop apartment of her 14th Street studios for lunch. ‘We were just sitting there, having lunch, on the roof, with Diane Von Furstenberg. It was INCREDIBLE!’ he exclaims. He attributes his successes whilst studying to course lecturer Natalie Gibson. ‘I owe her so much,’ he tells me, ‘she’s an incredible woman.’

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Estelle Morris

We move on to talk about Ramil’s breathtaking final collection that I saw at the Toni&Guyshow and that he presented during the CSM presentations in the summer. He digs out his portfolio and comes across a little nervous when talking me through it. ‘I feel like it’s a job interview!’ says Ramil. I feel like Diane Von Furstenberg for a mere moment, and I’m not complaining. Ramil’s inspiration for his collection came from two disparate sources – Medieval armour and Margaret Thatcher. Well, not that disparate when you consider satirical cartoons of the Iron Lady in Medieval garb, I suppose.

Pages from Ramil Makinano’s sketchbooks

His obsession with colour, texture and the aesthetic properties of materials is all over this collection. It’s fascinating to see where a designer started with their research and where they finished; where the collection has come from. Ramil leafs through page after page of design inspiration; vibrant patterns, sketches of Thatcher, photocopies of Medieval source material, grabs from movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars. His journey began at the Tower of London, and it is the armoury he saw there, with its bold silhouettes and sense of purpose that inspired Ramil so much. Throw in a powerful woman like Thatcher and you’ve got a seriously ambitious collection on your hands. ‘I didn’t want it to be serious, though,’ Ramil informs me. ‘I wanted to keep it playful; to be fun.’ Even the hardest-nosed critics would have trouble not finding any fun in this set of outfits.

Shapes in the collection are visibly inspired by the curves and sculpture of armoury, constructed from neoprene using techniques Ramil created himself. These are presented in a variety of bold colours, and the ensembles feature playful, almost childlike, prints of rockets and spaceships. It wasn’t a easy task by any means. ‘I had to make at least 8 toilles per garment,’ Ramil explains. ‘I am always seeking perfection.’ We discuss the surge in digital printing. ‘I do like digital prints, but I prefer traditional methods. I spent hours in the studio matching colours, testing colours – I like the interaction between fabrics and dyes that you don’t get with digital methods. I spent my whole student life in the print room, but I have no regrets. It’s not glamorous either, it’s dirty work!’

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Milly Jackson

So who does he admire? ‘Matthew [Williamson] and Diane [Von Furstenberg] especially – people who are successful in fashion but have their feet firmly on the ground.’ He also likes labels that continue to employ traditional methods – only Eley Kishimoto and Zandra Rhodes, he believes. What else does he get up to? It’s a pretty packed week, researching Monday to Friday and nursing at the weekends. ‘I love London galleries!’ he tells me, ‘because there’s so much to see. The Design Museum, the V&A, the National Gallery – they are all so wonderful.’ He try to persuade me to get a National Trust membership, one of his favoured possessions.

Pages from Ramil Makinano’s sketchbooks

He tells me he’s a ‘child of the MTV era’ and finds much inspiration in the graphics of music videos. It was an MTV show, House of Style, and Style with Elsa Klensch, that are amongst his earliest fashion memories. He tells me ‘I used to fight with my brother all the time because Elsa Klensch‘s show was on at the same time as American Basketball!’

So what’s next for Ramil? He’s currently researching his next collection – A/W 2012 – which promises to be ‘something completely different.’ It will most likely be print-based, but that’s all Ramil can tell me at this stage. One thing he is certain on is that he’s staying put here in London, and currently applying to various fashion bodies in the hope of a debut solo show during fashion week next September. I look forward to seeing his name on the schedule.

Photographs courtesy of Ramil Makinano

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday October 28th, 2011 5:11 pm

Categories ,2001 A Space Odyssey, ,A/W 2012, ,American Basketball, ,Armour, ,Armoury, ,Bar Music Hall, ,catwalk, ,Central Saint Martins, ,CSM, ,Design Museum, ,Diane Von Furstenberg, ,Eley Kishimoto, ,Elisa Palomino, ,Elsa Klensch, ,Estelle Morris, ,fashion, ,House of Style, ,interview, ,Iron Lady, ,London Fashion Week, ,margaret thatcher, ,Maria del Carmen Smith, ,Matt Bramford, ,Matthew Williamson, ,medieval, ,Milly Jackson, ,MTV, ,Natalie Gibson, ,National gallery, ,National Trust, ,NHS, ,print, ,Ramil Makinano, ,shoreditch, ,Star Wars, ,textiles, ,Toni&Guy, ,Tower of London, ,va, ,Womenswear, ,Zandra Rhodes

Amelia’s Magazine | BTCV Green Gyms

My muscles are aching as I type, treatment my cheeks are glowing more than ever and I have a satisfied grin on my face…why? I’ve spent half the day clearing woodland and sawing huge branches in the name of biodiversity and, no rx admittedly, doctor fitness…

hedge stage 1 [All photos by Zofia Walczak]
Today I took part in my first ever Green Gym session, an initiative run by BTCV (the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers). Funded by NHS Camden, the Green Gym is basically a combination of volunteering on biodiversity projects in London’s green spaces, getting a good work out and meeting new people. As someone who detests gyms (positively loathes them), I was keen to find out exactly what these ‘Green Gym’ sessions entailed. The thought of working out in a green area, fresh air and not doing exercise just for the sake of exercise appealed greatly.

I have tried gyms extensively, and failed. Gyms make me feel tired and bored. The constant monotonous whir of exercise bikes and running machines, coupled with people in their own bubbles looking stressed and thinking about other things, monitoring their heart rates and counting every calorie they burn makes me depressed. Likewise, seeing my reflection in the mirror-covered walls everywhere I turn, under the unflattering lights that make everyone (even the buffest-looking posers in the highest-end gym wear) look like sad, old potatoes, has made me finally admit to myself that gyms are not the answer. After a run in the park (rare, lately) I always feel energised and glowing, but the gym just makes me look and feel grey, sweaty and blotchy…more like I should be in bed on medication than like I’ve just had a 45-minute workout. Green Gym area

So here I was, on my way to Baker Street, battling severe delays on the circle line, and modelling some of the least fashionable garments in my wardrobe. I was wearing a pair of old, black hi-top trainers (NB these were my dad’s old pair from his engineering work, not of the retro ilk). I had baggy woollen long-johns underneath some rather tired looking tracksuit bottoms tucked into long green and red thick woollen socks, about 3 jumpers, big fat bright green men’s fleece gloves, an old bright pink scarf, and a men’s waterproof jacket. Chris, the organizer, had warned me to dress warm and prepare to get muddy. For a second, as I stood on the packed London tube, it struck me that I might bump into an ex in this less-than-attractive get-up, but I soon felt liberated, and everyone else started to seem over-dressed!

Today’s green gym session was in a blissfully serene, snowy, slushy, empty Regent’s Park. It’s incredible how the grey, heavy sky which is a permanent backdrop to the London skyline actually looks so beautiful and poetic in a wide open space, a background for the silhouettes of huge old oak trees and their twisted branches.

Super-keen, but with no idea of what I was letting myself in for, I skipped insouciantly into The Hub, a cafe/sports area in Regent’s Park, where I was greeted by the smiling faces of the group I’d be working with. There were a few more newbies so I wasn’t on my own, but mainly people who had already been to a few sessions. After quickly filling us in on what we might expect they praised us for being hardcore enough to have our first green gym session in the current muddy and cold conditions. Apparently it’s all much easier and more pleasant in summer…

After a brief introduction we wandered to the site that Green Gym participants will work on in the next few weeks. It was so easy to talk to everyone, and it was such a mixed group. There were people who had been referred by the NHS (the scheme is a physical and mental well-being initiative as much as a ‘green’ one), editors and anthropologists who had been made redundant, new graduates and people on volunteering schemes…in all we were about 16 or 17 people, though I’m told groups number between 20 and 30 in spring and summer.

We started off with a warm-up, and then Chris from BTCV explained the tools we’d be using and went through health and safety…basically, the saws and shears used for cutting up big boughs and clearing huge twisted areas of extra-thick bramble are not to be chucked and swung around carelessly if you want to come out intact!

Laurent, who had done the warm-up, showed us around the area, and explained more or less what our aims were. The area had once been a meadow, but was now covered in thick, intricately interwoven ivy, bramble and deadwood. Ivy is a great habitat on trees, Chris explained, but on the ground it acts as a thick barrier preventing birds from finding food. One of the key aims of BTCV is to enhance biodiversity, which the UN has decided to dedicate this year to (see International Year of Biodiversity). We would also be clearing and thinning-out the south-facing side of the space, allowing trees and plants to receive more sunlight rather than it being blocked out by dead branches. The best branches would be used to start making a deadwood hedge.

So we got to work, with smaller groups working in different sections. I worked with Catherine, a nutrition graduate who was taking up volunteering after finding it impossible to find work. It was also her first session, so we stumbled along and asked lots of questions together. With over-enthusiastic use of the huge shears, we quickly cleared a very messy area of the woodland, forming a huge pile of dead branches, bramble, weeds and ivy. Any doubt that an indoor gym session would have actually been a better workout soon disappeared; there is not a single muscle in my arms or back that escaped un-used!

Whenever we found a thicker, straight and strong branch, we would cut it to size (about 5 feet) to make stakes for the hedge. The stakes needed to be sharpened at one end and hammered into the earth, and then long bendy branches would be woven around the stakes.

The session was split into two, with a tea and biscuits break in the middle. The hard work meant a re-fuel was definitely on order, and we got to mingle and chat again. We got back to work, sawed and sheared and chatted some more, and when 2 o’clock came around most people didn’t want to stop. This kind of work can be so refreshingly addictive if your workout ‘routine’ is usually a mind-numbingly repetitive set of excercises you have stuck to on and off for seven years.

I initially planned today to be a one-off trial, but it would be ideal to continue. The sessions will be held in the same place for the next few weeks, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-2. Some people come to every session and some come along sporadically; there’s no pressure to commit but people seem to keep returning. To sign up for a session you can go to BTCV’s website, send them an email, and they’ll reply with all the joining info. The Green Gym certainly beats running around in circles in my small local park, but the disadvantage is that you can only really take part if you don’t work 9-5 full-time.

I spoke to Chris after the session, and he told me some more about what BTCV is up to this year. Green Gyms are soon to start in four other boroughs, and Camden Council is also funding a BTCV Carbon Army project to plant orchards in council estates. To be selected for the scheme, residents of the estates had to express and prove an interest, since they will be planting the fruit and berry trees themselves with guidance from BTCV, starting their own vegetable patches, and later taking care of them. It is a way to get people working together as much as an environmental and local food initiative. We are so removed from most food production now that this will be a great way to start democratising the process again. Having grown up on an inner city estate myself I can definitely appreciate the scheme and it will be interesting to see where it goes.

Ducks recklessly ignoring Police ‘Do not cross’ signs

I’ll be going along to the setting-up of one of these orchards in the coming weeks, so will write up about the experience. For now though, I really really need to go and stretch some more. I have a slight fear I won’t be able to move when I roll out of bed tomorrow morning… but at least I’ll have spent the day breathing fresh air and surrounded by green leaves rather than grey concrete…bliss.

Written by Zofia Walczak on Friday January 15th, 2010 1:45 am

Categories ,Biodiversity, ,bramble, ,BTCV, ,camden, ,Carbon Army, ,climate, ,conservation, ,deadwood hedge, ,environment, ,Green Gym, ,ivy, ,NHS, ,orchards, ,permaculture, ,Regent’s Park, ,UN, ,Volunteering, ,Year of Biodiversity

Amelia’s Magazine | BTCV Green Gyms

Ducks recklessly ignoring Police ‘Do not cross’ signs

Written by Zofia Walczak on Friday January 15th, 2010 1:45 am

Amelia’s Magazine | UK Uncut, Green & Black Cross, Black Bloc & the March for the Alternative.

buy purchase _Another_Level, approved _4x4x3m,_mixed_media_including_reclaimed_wood,_glass_flowers,_taxidermied_bird,_flower_pots,_2009_courtesy_the_artist_and_EB&Flow” width=”480″ height=”320″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-38966″ />
Katie Louise Surridge, Another Level. Mixed media including reclaimed wood, glass flowers, taxidermied bird, flower pots.

Amidst the renovations and general detritus that inevitably comes when you do a top to toe renovation of a two floored building, Nathan Englebrecht and Margherita Berloni are guiding me around the former print works in Leonard Street, EC2 which will soon form the light-filled gallery space for EB&Flow. In the run up to the April 2nd opening, the gallery founders – both twenty somethings who met on an art business course – seem as cool as a proverbial cucumber and in good spirits as we tour the premises, chatting all the while about their vision for the space and how it will serve and suit their artists in residence. While art galleries are certainly not hard to come by in this neck of the woods, there is something very noteworthy about this particular endeavor, and that is the galleries extensive level of support to the artists who will exhibit in their gallery. Their aim is to cultivate long term relationships with the artists in residency, and share an ethos that they will try to make anything happen for them; advising them on their careers, placing them in collections, even paying for material costs if necessary.

A selection of works by some of the 10 artists who will be exhibiting at the group show Since Tomorrow
Gemma Anderson
Albemarlensis, Pahoehoe Lava

Ketil by Shannah Bupp.

Silent Are The Echoes by Nicholas Mcleod

During the time that their work is exhibited at EB&Flow, they are also given studio space within the gallery. (After a period, the walls will be removed and the studio becomes an exhibition in itself). It soon becomes clear that Nathan and Margherita feel passionately about this, discussing at length something which is somewhat of a current hot topic – the sense that artists are not provided with enough support and advice during their time at art school with regards to the business of art; (a subject that was recently discussed in Jessica Furseth’s article here). “We never felt that artists had the right platform in which to exhibit and the support that was needed to develop their careers”, Nathan explains. Born out of this is an additional feature of the gallery; an educational programme kicking off at the end of April that will discuss issues such as collecting, curatorial practice and artist professional development. They list a few of the topics that will be covered, such as the legality issues of selling art, re-sell rights, how to store art, how to do art fairs…..all things relevant and vital to a burgeoning artists career. It’s worth mentioning that these courses and lectures will be open to all. Check the EB&Flow website for further details.

Margeherita and Nathan, EB & Flow.

I ask Margherita and Nathan what they are looking for in an artist, and what type of work will feature at EB&Flow. “There is a certain aesthetic line going through our choice of artists”, Nathan explains, with Margherita adding “we steer away from very conceptual stuff and minimalist art; we want something rich and interesting to look at”. Their first collection is entitled Since Tomorrow, curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini and features work (using disciplines such as installation, painting, sculpture and photography) from ten emerging artists exploring the dynamics of space and providing responses to the question ‘ what is the space we are living at the moment and how do we represent it?’. Work will be shown by Briony Anderson, Gemma Anderson, Neil Ayling, Ross M. Brown, Shannah Bupp, Sue Corke, Dylan Culhane, Alessandro Librio, Nicholas McLeod, Katie Louise Surridge and Cristian Zuzunaga.

A Beautiful Struggle by Katie Louise Surridge

Amongst the core group of artists whose work will be opening the gallery is Katie Louise Surridge, a Slade School of Fine Art graduate. (She will also go on to have a residency at the EB&Flow gallery). Her work will particularly resonate with anyone who lives in grimy, rubbish strewn London because Katie has the ability to make something beautiful out of the underbelly of the city. Her installations use found objects which she sources during scavenging missions done mainly along the Thames, creating a utopia out of what has been left behind and discarded. While I was talking with Nathan and Margherita, Katie was busy getting a sense of the space that will feature her (very big) installation. She works mostly with natural materials, such as aged wood and metal; “natural materials that have been used in this urban scheme, and then reverted back to being natural again”. “I have this fascination with what’s left behind”, she continues, “I like the aesthetic of what the river washes up – it’s been there for a long time and it’s aged and it feels like its got a bit of history behind it”. Discovering Katie’s work makes me realise how little I know about what gets discarded in big cities, and how much waste washes up around us.

So Over by Katie Louise Surridge

It’s impossible not to warm to Katie, especially after discovering the following facts about her:
– She once found an S+M style gag washed up in the river and took it to the pub, thinking that it was a dog collar.
– She was in the Boy Scouts as a child (not the Brownies)
– She is a self confessed obsessive hoarder
– Her beloved dog is going to be featured on a ‘Dog Borstal’ style TV show
– She is saving up to buy a metal detector to assist her scavenging expeditions.

Since Tomorrow: Exhibition Dates, 2 April – 26 May.

Dylan Culhane, and his work Mechanotron which will feature in Since Tomorrow.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut UK Uncut gathers on the South Bank on Saturday 26th March 2011. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Unless you have been living under a rock you will be aware that there was a huge anti-cuts March for the Alternative on Saturday 26th March 2011. In the days since then the press has been dominated with both outrage from the government that “hooligans” should be allowed to roam the streets, order and on the other side, order shock at the way in which once again the police and media have mistreated protestors. As anyone who was following me on Twitter will know I was involved on the UK Uncut action, pharmacy which involved an occupation of Fortnum & Mason… yet another large corporation culpable of massive tax avoidance: This action led to by far the largest numbers of arrests and charges on the day: a staggering 138 of the 149.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

On my way through London I saw the most enormous amount of creativity, from pound coin shields to a Trojan Horse cunningly installed at the centre of Oxford Circus – and of course plenty of banners bursting with witty one liners: included in this blog post are just a few of the amazing sights from the day. With a march numbering possibly half a million and upwards (something the government has been quick to downplay) there were surely many great ones that I missed – especially the legendary message “I was told there would be biscuits” carried by a small child on someone’s shoulders. I broke away from the march early on to take part in UK Uncut actions on Oxford Street and then at Fortnum & Mason.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Demonised by the press for their behaviour, UK Uncut have been quick to fight back with their version of events: really, the police and media should know better. Both UK Uncut and Green & Black Cross – the support network that provided legal observers and arrestee support – have grown out of Climate Camp networks and ways of organising to take on completely new identities of their own. As a result some of those involved are no strangers to wrongful arrest, police brutality and political policing: remember Heathrow, Kingsnorth, G20 and Ratcliffe anyone? These people know what they are doing; naturally the unfair arrests of UK Uncut was filmed and immediately shared, the footage unsurprisingly making the front page of the Guardian.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Some people might wonder what on earth the links between the anti-cuts movement and Climate Camp are, but Climate Camp has always been rooted in a desire to address the social inequalities of capitalism – for example a breakaway group in London is currently looking at ways to campaign around fuel poverty. One of the favourite slogans at the COP15 Climate conference was System Change not Climate Change – we can’t cure the problem with simple quick fix answers, but rather by tackling the whole global neoliberal system. A brutal plan to cut services such as libraries and the NHS will undermine the fabric of a just society, affecting the poor most. Meanwhile the rich are able to avoid huge tax bills at a time when we desperately need to start building a green economy that is not based on endless profit. Clearly these inequalities are something that green activists are keen to tackle.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Climate Camp has also always been a broad mix of liberalism and radicalism, so it’s no surprise that UK Uncut is as well. The very name Green & Black Cross indicates how the group combines the more autonomous anarchist streaks of activism with the skills, infrastructure and ideologies built up within the green movement. It supports grassroots social struggles in the UK and during the March for the Alternative the Green & Black Cross provided Legal Support, Action Medics and Action Kitchens. They even had a basic compost portaloo roaming the streets in a supermarket trolley – but in the event it was never used: it’s hard to get into a kettle once it is formed. They will be independently advising on all arrests during the day at a defendants’ meeting on Saturday 2nd April and were generally out in force to offer biscuits and legal advice as soon as arrestees were released.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Since the arrests UK Uncut activists have had to field a barrage of commentary from the media, which has been ever quick to notice the anarchic element of their protest. Their sit in at Fortnum & Mason was largely peaceful – protestors ate their own sandwiches and listened to performances and speeches – but on Newsnight a spokesperson was asked to denounce all protestor violence. She did a marvellous job of neither condoning nor condemning it: there were people from all backgrounds in Fortnum & Mason. For some it will have been their first experience of direct action (read this shocking report of the arrest of a 15 year old girl) and others were part of the Black Bloc earlier in the day – the two are not mutually exclusive. UK Uncut has an incredibly loose non-hierarchical structure, and to be successful it must somehow find a place for those of all backgrounds.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Inside Fortnum & Mason. They look super scared don’t they?

Most UK Uncutters recognise that there is more to successful activism than a simplistic black and white damnation of violence, but the more liberal end of the spectrum may well be new to the idea that damage to property is not considered violence by many activists – see here for a definition – so there is going to be a rapid need to redefine and educate as soon as possible. Most of the targets for property damage on Saturday were well thought through – big banks that avoid tax, Topshop, BHS and so on. Who threw paint, and who broke windows? It’s not clear, but the targets were clear enough. Some people, whether you agree with it or not, think it is more effective to inflict damage on a well selected target than to simply march from A-B and then listen to speeches. After all, what did it ever do to stop the Iraq war? Direct action through the ages has proven that targeting property can be highly effective – the Suffragettes were never afraid of inflicting collateral damage. Last year at Climate Camp windows were smashed at the RBS head offices in Edinburgh to demonstrate concern against their continued investment in fossil fuels.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

By Trafalgar Square at night some rogue elements (possibly pissed up) were clearly provoked into throwing glass bottles at police, never something I would recommend however bad police brutality gets (and by all accounts it did get REALLY bad) because I personally don’t believe that violence against people is ever acceptable. But I do believe that the Black Bloc as a considered and thoughtful tactic is something that our movement needs: people who are willing to put their bodies and actions on the front line to stop those who are damaging the fabric of our “democratic” society. Many of them were very young, possibly disaffected veterans of kettling at the student demos last year – others were highly organised groups who came to join the march from across the country. Those involved will undoubtedly have slightly different views as to process and outcome but recent online dialogues prove that diverse parts of the movement are keen to work together. Rather than dismiss Black Bloc actions as the nihilistic work of masked “hooligans” we would do well to consider the underlying reasons why this is seen as an appealing tactic utilised by at least a thousand people last weekend. After all, we’re all in this together… and this is just the beginning of our future.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Further reading:
Why Fortnum & Mason?
Video footage from the UKuncut action
An open letter from the Brighton Solidarity Federation of Anarcho-Syndicalists
“People are worth less than property”
A night in the cells is nothing to a lifetime imprisoned by cuts
Reasons why the cuts are a bad idea
Dominic Campbell experiences police brutality in Trafalgar Square
Political Dynamite: We should use the word violence with the greatest care.
Leah Borromeo: Protestors can’t disown the “violent minority”.
Why the UKuncut arrests threaten future protests
What is the Black Bloc? Information page.
Laurie Penny – What really happened in Trafalgar Square
My UK Uncut arrest made me a political prisoner
Climate Camp 2010 in Edinburgh – my commentary
Climate Camp 2009 in Copenhagen – my commentary part one, part two and part three.
G20 Climate Camp in the City – my commentary
Ratcliffe: Did PC Mark “Flash” Kennedy ensure my arrest as one of the Ratcliffe 114 ?- my commentary
Climate Camp at Kingsnorth in 2008.
One of the first UK Uncut protests: Sir Philip Green and his Topshop billions get the UK Uncut treatment.
The Third Estate: A message to Critical UK Uncut activists.
Latent Existance: a report by the 15 year old who was arrested.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday March 30th, 2011 1:27 pm

Categories ,Anarchism, ,Anarcho-Syndicalists, ,Anti-capitalism, ,Anti-cuts, ,Banners, ,BHS, ,Black Bloc, ,capitalism, ,Climate Camp, ,COP15 Climate conference, ,Cuts, ,Democratic, ,Direct Action, ,Dominic Campbell, ,economy, ,Fortnum & Mason, ,g20, ,Green & Black Cross, ,Green New Deal, ,Green Party, ,Hooligans, ,kingsnorth, ,Liberal, ,March for the Alternative, ,Neoliberalism, ,Newsnight, ,NHS, ,Oxford Circus, ,police, ,Political Dynamite, ,Ratcilffe, ,Suffragettes, ,Tax Avoidance, ,The Third Estate, ,topshop, ,Trafalgar Square, ,Trojan Horse, ,UK Uncut, ,Veggies, ,Violence

Amelia’s Magazine | UK Uncut, Green & Black Cross, Black Bloc & the March for the Alternative.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut UK Uncut gathers on the South Bank on Saturday 26th March 2011. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Unless you have been living under a rock you will be aware that there was a huge anti-cuts March for the Alternative on Saturday 26th March 2011. In the days since then the press has been dominated with both outrage from the government that “hooligans” should be allowed to roam the streets, and on the other side, shock at the way in which once again the police and media have mistreated protestors. As anyone who was following me on Twitter will know I was involved on the UK Uncut action, which involved an occupation of Fortnum & Mason… yet another large corporation culpable of massive tax avoidance: This action led to by far the largest numbers of arrests and charges on the day: a staggering 138 of the 149.

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Inside Fortnum & Mason. They look super scared don’t they?

March 26 2011-UK Uncut. Photography by Amelia Gregory

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday March 30th, 2011 1:27 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | London 2012 Olympic Games Team Opening and Closing Ceremonies Illustrated

Jessie J by Laura Hickman.

Can it really be a week since the Olympics ended? Here’s my final blog post inspired by the visual drama of the ceremonies that opened and closed London 2012.

Antonia-Parker-London-2012-Olympic-Opening-Ceremony
Olympic Opening Ceremony London 2012 by Antonia Parker.

Opening Ceromony by Lizzie Mary Cullen.

I watched the Opening Ceremony from a small cottage in Wales, where we marvelled at Danny Boyle‘s very British spectacle and wondered what on earth other nations would think about the pastoral scenes, the ironic exploding industrial landscape, the skydiving Queen, the swing dancing NHS nurses, the children’s choirs, the awesome Dizzee Rascal, the brilliant volunteer disco dancers and, erm, Emeli Sandé (can anyone explain the fuss?) It was a fantastically oddball celebration of real everyday Britain, a two fingers up at the hugely expensive perfection of the Beijing Olympics.

London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Industrial Revolution by Helen Beeston.

After two weeks of mind boggling physical feats it was a shame that the Closing Ceremony did not wow in quite the same way – instead it resembled a badly put together festival, including as it did mainstream bores such as Elbow, Muse, Kaiser Cheifs and Liam Gallagher (singing out of tune!) two appearances too many from the apparent reigning queen of British pop Emeli Sandé, Jessie J in a series of crystal encrusted flesh bodysuits and no shows from the legendarily (and shy) Kate Bush and David Bowie. Don’t even get me started on the truck bed catwalks – as one commentator pointed out, clothes horses suddenly look very untalented set against the athletic prowess of Olympic medalists. And Victoria Beckham mentioned in the same breath as Burberry and Alexander McQueen? The price paid for a reunited Spice Girls, perhaps? Mind you, call it a guilty pleasure but that was one performance I did enjoy.

Olympics Closing Ceremony Newspaper Cars by Olivia Cook.

London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony The Spice Girls by Helen Beeston.

And so now onto the Paralympics. Last night I watched the brilliant BBC drama The Best of Men, which follows it’s creation in the 1940s at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where the remarkable refugee Dr. Guttmann took a radical new approach to the rehabilitation of soldiers with spine injuries. It’s still available to view for a few more days and I highly recommend you do catch it before the Paralympics start. I for one am really looking forward to the ‘Lympics round two.

Russell Brand by Victoria Elizabeth James.

Olympic Ceremony by Helen Dodsworth.

Don’t forget to check in with our previous illustrated Olympics blog posts here and here. And find out more about the true cost of the Games here, outlined in a series of thought provoking illustrated blogposts by designer and theoretician Jody Boehnert.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday August 20th, 2012 5:08 pm

Categories ,2012, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Antonia Parker, ,beijing, ,Closing ceremony, ,Danny Boyle, ,David Bowie, ,dizzee rascal, ,Elbow, ,Emeli Sandé, ,Helen Beeston, ,Helen Dodsworth, ,illustration, ,Jessie J, ,Jody Boehnert, ,Kaiser Cheifs, ,Kate Bush, ,Laura Hickman, ,Liam Gallagher, ,Lizzie Mary Cullen, ,Muse, ,NHS, ,Olivia Cook, ,Olympics, ,Opening ceremony, ,Paralympics, ,review, ,The Best of Men, ,Victoria Beckham, ,Victoria Elizabeth James

Amelia’s Magazine | A Review of Mental by The Vacuum Cleaner

Vacuum Cleaner - Mental by Jenny Robins

Vacuum Cleaner – Mental by Jenny Robins.

I have known James the ‘Vacuum Cleaner‘ for many years through activism, and have always admired his openness about his ‘mental’ condition – but I’ve never been a close enough friend to delve any deeper. For his solo performance piece, Mental, James candidly invites viewers into his home, into his bedroom and finally into his bed, where we are invited to snuggle up under his oversized pristine white duvet as James sets about unravelling the 14 years of data that has accumulated since he was first described as having a Borderline Personality Disorder by the NHS. Against the spotless white walls he projects highlighted sections of hospital notes and photos of a squalid bedsit and impersonal hospital room. Indeterminate comments from confused doctors are mixed in with police Forward Intelligence Team notes, until finally the extreme aggression of riot police at one direct action in 2009 (I was there, I remember it well) takes James into a particularly dark period.

Vacuum Cleaner - Mental by Jenny Robins

James tells his story with a cheeky sense of humour that lightens the mood when it threatens to overwhelm, gently reminding us that mental health issues are desperately hard to label, contain and solve. Ever the artist, James has found his own way to work through serious periods of blue – firstly with his Ship of Fools residency in 2011 (when he sectioned himself in his home for 28 days and invited other artists to work with him during this period) and now with this performance. Mental is a visceral eye opener into what happens when someone experiences the extreme end of mental health problems, and a chilling reminder that we really haven’t cracked the best ways to deal with the mental health issues that will affect so many of us during a lifetime.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday November 2nd, 2013 3:32 pm

Categories ,Arts Admin, ,Borderline Personality Disorder, ,Forward Intelligence Team, ,Jenny Robins, ,Mental, ,mental health issues, ,NHS, ,Performance Art, ,review, ,Ship of Fools, ,The Vacuum Cleaner, ,Vacuum Cleaner

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