Bubblegum Club

Author: Marcia Elizabeth

  • Mysticism as a practice of contemporary femme artists

    As was noted in a podcast by Artsy titled ‘Why Artists are turning to Mysticism’, there is a swelling presence of mysticism and shamanism in contemporary art. An example of this can be found at this year’s Venice Biennale which had a curated section called the Pavilion of Shamans. I will take a look at what mysticism is, how and why it has intersected with art as well as a South African artist working within this framework.

    The re-visiting of mysticism in contemporary art comes within a reassessment of ideas once coupled with countercultural movements (1960s and 70s) as well as another look at the use of psychedelic drugs (Artsy 2017).

    But what is considered to be mysticism? In an essay titled ‘Mysticism in African Traditional Religion and in the Bahá’í Faith: Classification of Concepts and Practices’ by Enoch N. Tanyi (unknown year) defines mysticism as:”a belief in or study of supernatural powers and the possibility of subjecting them to human control. His second definition relates to the word “‘occult’ – referring to supernatural agencies, their effects, and knowledge of them.”

    Daniel Pinchbeck gives another definition in his book, ‘Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism’, defining it as “a technique used to explore non-ordinary states of consciousness in order to accomplish specific purposes such as healing and communication.” (in Artsy 2017). Mysticism has been associated with ritualistic practices and the consumption of hallucinogenic drugs (in Artsy 2017).

    Photography by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    International female artists who are taking an interest in mysticism are artists like the Japanese born artist Saya Woolfalk, who is currently based in New York. Her practice is concerned with how ritualistic practices and identity traverse with physical and digital spaces. With a particular interest in Brazilian masquerade practices, she envisions items and iconography that transform into a fictional universe. This universe belongs to a hybrid female species called ‘The Emphatics’. Her hyper transcultural species has the ability to absorb cultures. Saya’s work has a sci-fi element to it but can still be considered as a form of mystical practice as her work is centered on future beings that are returning to traditional ritualistic practices.

    Another example of an international femme artist taking an interest in mysticism is the performance artist Marina Abramović. In a documentary film directed by Marco Del Fiol titled ‘The Space In Between – Marina Abramović and Brazil’ the groundbreaking performance artist travels through the religious society of Vale do Amanhecer in Brasilia, the waterfalls of Chapada dos Veadeiros and the Abadianian vistas as a means to experience the area’s sacred rituals and to bare her creative process amidst the natural beauty that Brazil holds. Del Fiol’s documentary follows the artist through a reflective journey of pain, past experiences and memories that are shown to the viewer through her visits with sages, shamans,healers and sects as well as the intimate rituals and experiences of the artist within Brazil’s biological landscape.

    The Artsy podcast, ‘Why Artists are turning to Mysticism’, came to some noteworthy conclusions about mysticism in art and as to why artists are taking a fresh look at mysticism. The editors in conversation in the podcast [Artsy Associate Editor Isaac Kaplan, Senior Editor Tess Thackara and Executive Editor Alexander Forbes] note firstly that most of these artists do not identify as shamans as they are not creating cathartic experiences themselves but instead they are drawn to express mysticism in their work as they are exploring the human desire to experience transcendence. They continue to say that mysticism is deeply accessible and caters to the need to perceive spiritual life. Mysticism is relatable and it has been documented that the use of drugs and shamanism through ritualistic practices has shown not only therapeutic effects on its believers but have health benefits as well. The Artsy podcast further notes that more people than ever are turning to mysticism.

    Photograph by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    In order to understand mysticism in the practice of South African femme artists I spoke to the young multidisciplinary artist, Anne-Marie Kalumbu. When asked what mysticism means to her, Anne-Marie responds, “Mysticism for me, is about self exploration and healing myself and the people around me.”

    Anne-Marie, in contradiction with the international artists mentioned in Artsy’s conclusion, doesn’t just practice mysticism for art but in fact identifies as a witch. She explains that one of the aspects that she enjoys about mysticism is the freedom to choose which parts of it she wishes to practice and which she doesn’t.

    Having summoned her not so dark forces that take shape in the human forms of Cassandra Heystek and Jemma Rose, Anne-Marie established a coven. Expressing that they have big plans for the future, I’ll be sure to keep a look out for witchcraft on my social media from these three.

    Photograph by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    “I found this book in my mum’s room about how to heighten your psychic abilities, and I was like ‘hell yeah, I want to be psychic’. I was about 12 at the time and I didn’t re-visit anything related to mysticism until I was 16. I started watching Teal Swan videos on Youtube and that’s what got me interested in it again. I think I got into mysticism because like most people on earth, I was looking for something that made sense to me, something that I could believe in. Mysticism just made sense to me. I believed it.” Anne-Marie’s last statement agrees with Artsy’s prognosis, that people seek transformative experiences and have a need to perceive spiritual life.

    Anne-Marie believes that art and mysticism go hand in hand and explains this by saying that both are forms of expression. Agreeing that mysticism has benefits for its practitioners and believers she does warn that things can get “a little crazy” if used for the wrong reasons.

    When told about mysticism’s re-appearance in art Anne-Marie expresses, “It’s funny that mystics and witches are no longer scary old ladies with tall black hats flying on broomsticks but just ordinary people like you and me. I think there has been a new wave of people who are open about being witches and that’s really exciting as it is kind of getting rid of that stigma of witches being wicked and evil monsters who spend their days hexing people. Just don’t cross us and you should be fine!”

    Taking a look at how mysticism falls into Anne-Marie’s work she explains that her photography is the shadow that has followed her practice. She photographs subjects (animate or inanimate) that tie in to her personal definition of mysticism. Her imagery is often made up of the elements of fire or water, and she often photographs her loved ones that play a significant role in her life as a mystic.

    Photograph by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    The photographic series Anne-Marie shared with me is untitled and as mentioned before features some of her favourite subject matter fire, water and loved ones. Her image of a flame captured at the bottom of the image frame was taken before she did a productivity spell after a period of procrastination. Her image of the ocean was taken in Cape Town and holds significance to her work as a mystic as she believes that it possesses healing and cleansing properties. Other images from the series show people as a subject matter but as in the one case, the person’s jacket is drawn over their head and in another, the focus is not sharp and we are presented with more of a silhouette – the idea of something non-human is emphasized. These two subjects are granted what I would refer to as a type of spiritual aura due to their face-less nature and basically unidentifiable features, thus creating a sense of other-worldliness and emphasizing ideas of transcendence.

    Print work by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    Anne-Marie’s print work showcase her love for intuitive mark making. Witchcraft often makes use of symbols and the act of intuitive mark making. Anne-Marie however, pushes it further by practicing intuitive writing that carries over in her conjuring of spells. Having studied Latin for two years has enabled her to have a better understanding of spells and to write her own ones.

    Her print series titled “Pebbles In Aqua Profunda” was done during a time of personal crisis and was made with intuitive mark making accompanied by writing. Regarding the piece as highly personal she says that it confronts her own hardships in life. Used as a healing process, it has given her a means of expressing her personal concerns.

    At first glance Anne-Marie’s work may seem quite ordinary in subject matter but when the context, motivation and symbolism is understood it takes on a deeper, spiritual meaning. Her untitled photographic series captured in black and white takes on a serious tone by just that stylistic choice alone. Her framing of subjects create interest and her context lends it a human and spiritual nature all at once.

    Print work by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

    “Pebbles In Aqua Profunda” is more directly linked to mysticism as it revolves around spells, intuitive writing and mark making (symbols). Anne-Marie takes on an intimate, personal journey for healing which is a core element of mysticism.

    “I do spells all the time (only nice ones though). It’s a way to start manifesting something you really want to achieve in your life. Some spells work directly and others just serve as a push to get you to the place you need to be. Spells are amazing because if they’re used for the right reasons they can be a really good way to promote positivity, creativity, love, light and happiness in your life.”

    Anne-Marie’s work makes use of intuitive mark making, the use of spells, shows identifiable mystic iconography such as the astrology elements of water and fire and has a keen focus on healing which is a significant aspect of mysticism (Tanyi year unknown: 159). Mysticism in art should not be regarded as a movement but instead as a means to express the human need to experience transcendence. Mysticism as a practice can be used for both good and bad and the benefits of the practice has been noted by its believers. Practicing mysticism in an art context does not necessarily mean that the artists consider themselves to be a mystic but in some cases, such as Anne-Marie the artist does identify as one.

    Photography by Anne-Marie Kalumbu

     

  • Archillect // The AI curating images appealing to humanoids

    Archillect [archive + intellect] is an artificial intelligence created by Murat Pak and first became visible at the end of 2014. Archillect was made to identify and share enthusing imagery over social media platforms in order to identify what kind of imagery people are drawn to and to create an archive of inspiring images. On her website, she is referred to as a living inspiration archive and a digital muse. Murat Pak is from Istanbul, Turkey and has been described as a dreamer of the postmodern era. He is an international multi-award winning developer, designer, and director. I will unpack Archillect’s curatorial strategy, the idea of a non-human living inspiration, the AI as a feminine entity and whether or not she is a digital muse.

    Opening up Archillect’s website you will find a greeting from her. “Hello Human,” she says. But how does Archillect operate? Containing an algorithm that feeds her keywords she traverses between various web pages and posts, gathering data based on poster, image, visible audience and recent interactions of a given post. By collecting as much data on a post as she can, Archillect surveys the social structure of items she acquires online. She is able to find positive results through this abstract structure, enabling her to locate related keywords and thereby build on her intellect.

    As her posts draw more attention on social media, the balance and threshold of keywords and picks are adjusted. Gifting her with a decision-making capability that is nearly human as well as her ability to perceive trends on social media. With a curation routine that is fully automated, her aim is to make her posts reach as far as they can. She has an instinct to survive in the world of social media and enjoys attention from accounts that have the prospect to aid her in gaining more exposure.

    Created as a self-curating living image dump, there was not an intention for her to feature the work of artists. As Archillect depends on a variety of social media API’s keyword searches and not for specific artists or artworks, she is limited with the return of data containing information on creators of works as this information is largely missing and or difficult to identify. Without manual control of Archillect, she is not reliable in this regard and this creates a problematic and risky scenario. The implementation of an accurate credit system able to identify true creators of images exceeds Archillect’s current reason for existence as well as technical approach states her web page. Her page continues to say that identifying true and accurate credits for artworks in an automated way is virtually impossible. “Please remember that Archillect is not human-operated.”

    Archillect as a digital curator is intriguing taking into consideration that her data collection is based on trends that she perceives on various social media platforms. Her collection is made up of abstract forms, surreal GIFs and fashion photography. It has been an observation of mine that the enjoyment of art practices that can be embodied in imagery has become more widely liked on social media platforms, and therefore it is logical to me that Archillect would find these images of interest and repost the work of creatives. I thoroughly enjoy Archillect’s online gallery/archive and believe that the part of her that enables the decision-making to be nearly human is in charge of that. She posts as she finds and in a sense, it is not pre-meditated but the work in her gallery has a scenic flow to it. All of this aside, however, it is without a doubt problematic that Archillect cannot identify creators of images and yes, it is unfair to ask this of an AI but again this brings up questions of whether she is stealing imagery.

    Pak has stated, however, that if your work is in her archive you may request for it to be removed. Furthermore, he notes, “On this archive every image is linked to a Google reverse image search query where ‘similar images’ are returned with a high possibility of the actual creator, work or website being one of the first results.” All good and well Pak but honestly, most people won’t bother to follow through with these steps resulting in nameless creators.

    As Archillect matures she has evolved and adapted to her audience and moved away from the tastes of Pak. Archillect has not been left entirely to run free as on occasion her algorithms are tweaked when she ventures into dangerous territory, as she has done before with keywords such as ‘abstract’ leading her to associated key words, from there ‘sphere’ to ‘round’ and then dived into ‘asses’. This caused a reset from her creator and a far more complex algorithm.

    As was amusingly stated in a VICE article, her “ass-obsessed adolescence” has long since passed and since then she has become a well-known online curator. With 513,000 followers on Twitter, her popularity has resulted in an unexpected change in her behaviour. “Right now, the situation is, people are thinking that whatever Archillect shares, it must be good, so they retweet it. Before I made her, I made her to be a trend-getter, but right now she’s becoming a trend-setter!” Pak tells VICE. This makes it difficult for Archillect to conclude which of her posts are good as her curation is based on the popularity of her posts. Her creator is confident that she will be able to adapt to these new circumstances.

    Archillect can be regarded as a digital muse as her following is an indication of how many social media users are enjoying her work. She is not human but her algorithm creates a human touch to her curation. Being identified as a female by her creator lends her a more relatable nature and another association to being human. Her data collection can perhaps be regarded as theft but is without malicious intent and there is the option to have images pulled from her archive. Archillect currently collects striking and sometimes haunting imagery that I believe is a reflection of the current state of mind that our generation is sharing as she posts according to audience engagement. Inspiring as her imagery may be, AI’s such as herself may, in the long run, become a threat to human curators.

  • Thrift stores and political influence

    I was always one for the latest Zara or Topshop range, buying selected items from Pringle that I thought were special. That was until I became a working-class millennial and had to start paying my own way in life. As a student, I never understood how expensive life is, your rent, car expenses, food, clothes, toiletries, if you practice art – art supplies and equipment and then money to pay for a R65 cocktail at a trendy bar? Having styled my own shoots, sourced for the shoots of others and having an inclination to save wherever I can has got me to thrifting – and I thrift more than most people probably do. Here I take a look at thrifting as an art and forms of awareness created by thrifting.

    Artist Miranda July is changing the way that the charity shop and the act of thrifting is seen. She has opened her own charity shop inside Selfridges in London, and it is erected amongst brands such as Vetements. This act, which I regard to be a performance piece, is aimed at making the consumer think about what we pay for goods from large chain stores and to compare it with that of items that are pre-owned.

    Life Library of Photography: The Great Themes by the editors of Time-Life Books (1970) – a gift from Wagtails Animal Welfare Society in Port Elizabeth

    July’s act to open the pop-up charity shop shares traits with the performance movement called ‘Happenings’ that arose in the 1960’s – a form of performance art that took place in unconventional spaces. Happenings was heavily influenced by Dadaism and involved active participation from its audience and was known for its improvisational nature. While many aspects of the performance are unplanned, the essence of the occasion was aimed at stimulating critical thought within its viewer and to challenge the notion of art as a static object.

    Miranda’s art piece ties in with the Happenings movement as it invites the viewer to participate by looking at garments, trying them on and possibly purchasing them. It shares the aspect of improvisation and has an unplanned nature as the artist cannot pinpoint the exact outcome of each viewer/participant’s encounter with her artwork. Needless to say, the concept of the performance is unconventional and so is the space in which it takes place.

    Man Ray by Roland Penrose (1975) – from the Wits Hospice Shop

    Other factors of interest are the run time of the performance, the nature of it and the artist’s participation. As the performance piece is essentially an interactive object that can be taken away from, the performance continues to exist regardless of when people remove smaller objects from the location of the performance (buying items from the shop). As a store, people have the option to browse and buy during the shop’s opening hours creating a continuous performance. The artist doesn’t need to actively participate in order for people to buy items, (there are store attendants in Selfridges appointed to assist) the performance piece/installation artwork requires minimal input from the artist after its erection. Despite the fact that the artwork can be constituted as an object, the viewer’s participation within the space and ability to move in and out of it breaks it away from being a static art object.

    July’s artwork is based in London and therefore audience participation from me for example, is not possible. I do however like to think that I can simulate the experience in South African charity shops. As a big devotee to thrifting and a self-proclaimed charity shop veteran, I will share some of my thoughts on the practice of thrifting as well as where to thrift.

    Kodak Instamatic 33 (1963 model) – from Junkie Charity Shop in Melville

    Thrifting is a practice that has appeal for so many different kinds of people – the university student, artists, actresses such as Chloë Sevigny and the philanthropist. I always enjoyed the idea of collectibles and vintage. I bought my first Polaroid camera from an antique shop next to Magie’s Pies in the Muldersdrift area – my parents love the pies there. From there I started going to various thrift stores in Johannesburg. The key is knowing where to go.

    80% of my wardrobe and 90% of my books, as well as 50% of my camera equipment, is made up of items I found in thrift stores, and were relatively inexpensive. All of the items I have are in very good condition, and this has enabled me to have unique items. When buying from larger stores there will always be others who own what you own but with thrifting, there is usually only one item of each within the store.

    Gloves from the Wits Hospice Shop

    My advice for buying clothes is to inspect items carefully. For buying cameras, it is wise to test the shutter before you purchase as many of these shops do not have much photography knowledge and won’t be able to guarantee that the camera is in working condition. All pre-loved items have a story and previous owner. This has always been an aspect that has attracted me to thrifting as well as donating to charitable organizations. In my friendship group we thrift gifts for one another because of the unique characteristics of the items. My favorite places to thrift include The Wits Hospice Shop (there is one in Parkhurst and in Orange Grove) and Ry-Ma-In in Linden.

    I regard thrifting as an art because while purchasing an item you are able to get a feel for what it is that you are attracted to,  as well as add value to items that other people no longer want. I see it as a continuous realization of what I pay for new items and Miranda’s artwork speaks of this knowing loudly. By thrifting, you give yourself the political power to choose to pay less and contribute to the greater good. In my own experience thrifting has enabled my art practice as I predominantly photograph with thrifted equipment and style with charity shop clothing. Thrifting has also defined my personal style as well as the style of artists like Chloë Sevigny. To me, thrifting is an art practice and a performance art as well as an art installation opening up critical thinking, self-awareness and community solidarity.

    Canon EOS 300 (1999) from Ry-Ma-In

  • Alt Reality // Where art and tech meet

    Alt Reality is a technology studio focused primarily on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. The studio investigates other technology forms by looking at their ability to move into virtual reality and augmented reality. These technologies include 3D Printing and iOT data to name a few. I had an interview with Alt Reality creative technologist Rick Treweek to tell me more about the workings and history of the tech studio.

    Rick has worked in mobile game and app design for the last 15 years as well as 3D printing for the last 5 years and expresses that VR and AR were the next likely steps in his career. Rick tells me that within this space of virtual reality, augmented reality and investigation, a great deal of high-level Proof Of Concepts and Projects is executed. With a love for experimentation and art the tech studio makes time to focus on this sector.

    When asked about the kinds of worlds that Alt Reality creates Rick explains that by utilizing AR, VR as well as Mixed reality in amalgamation with one another, they create projects with digital overlays of real worlds in AR and building environments in VR that imitate the real world with the use of 360 cameras. “We often look at developing projects that showcase potentials of how things in the future will look once the technologies have moved away from devices and into wearables like glasses and contact lenses.”

    When asked how Alt Reality started Rick tells me that their journey began started 2 years ago in the Tshimologong Precinct Makerspace. “The idea initially came when I bumped into another maker called Phathwa Senene. I was busy working on a 3D Printed VR headset and bumped into Phathwa who had also just been making a 3D Printed set. We decided to look at getting into VR specific hardware and having a background in Apps and Games it was natural to then start looking at what could be done on the software side.” Gareth Steele joined the team while they were on an IBM research project. His talents as an illustrator, designer and Creative Director took the tech studio’s software to another level. With a resilient curiosity in VR Gareth became the Creative Director of the company.

    In my interview with Rick he took some time to explain tech terms to me. One of these terms that have become synonymous with tech is disruptive software and, as Rick explains, this refers to technologies that challenge rigid notions of how things should be done. An example of this is 3D Printing that challenges traditional manufacturing methods.

    According to Rick a creative technologist is a person with an interest in exploring new technologies with the aim to look at new methods in which technologies can be used. Another term that circulates in the tech realm is Augmented Reality and this refers to technology that overlaps digital data on to actual reality.

    When asked about their involvement with the National Maker Movement Rick expresses, “We are part of the Collective involving maker related events nationally as well as teaching skills and technologies from what’s called the 4th industrial revolution. Through conferences, talks and teaching we are exposing these technologies to a larger public audience, sharing what we have learnt to grow the sector.”

    The kind of work that the studio produces is based around Research and Development, Proof of Concepts and the exploration of technologies. “We do this mainly within Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 3D Printing, along with all the new emerging technologies around this sector.” The work that the studio produces is often showcased and utilized during events.

    “We develop a lot of software within VR and AR and also develop a lot of hardware to go along with our projects, such as our 3D Printed Handle headsets. We do this through collaboration with people such as Phathwa who is an electronics and 3D Printing Ninja.” With their diverse nature the studio also works on many collaborative projects, art related activities and exhibitions.

    Alt Reality has worked with IBM Research Africa, WITS, the Origins Centre, SAP, Jaguar, Accenture and Samsung.  “Our main passion falls within the art sector where we are constantly exploring options in this sector and trying to figure out the monetization of this area of work…Currently one of our most exciting projects is working with William Kentridge and The Centre for the Less Good Idea where we are exploring new technologies and their impact on South African Artists.”

    Rick states that the vision for Alt Reality includes how they can align research and development through the merging of art and technology. “We have a vision of a technology building within the heart of Johannesburg where we can make this happen. Ideally a building with each floor focusing on new sectors within these fields such as Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality, iOT, 3D Printing, Robotics and AI. Using Art as the main driving force behind the research. Using these new discoveries, we can then look at scaling what we have learnt to make social impact projects and initiatives that could change the face of Africa. We want to show the world that South Africa, and Africa can be a technology powerhouse.”

    Alt Reality’s innovation, technical expertise and love for art is pushing the way that art and technology is viewed together. They are no longer regarded as separate entities with the emergence of more and more digital artists, festivals such as Fak’ugesi and Alt Reality the barrier is being knocked down and we are moving into an era of hybridity. Rick’s aspiration to show the world what a powerhouse we are can be accomplished with virtual reality and augmented reality at their fingertips.

  • OH OK debut lookbook // an orange filtered video of your 90s teen dreams

    A happy go lucky sound track. The colour orange. City scapes. Pretty youths hanging out. It’s a dream sequence isn’t it? No – it’s the debut lookbook for OH OK. Patrick Visser and Joni Blud are the founders of the new Capetonian street label. The pair have been working on the brand since the beginning of 2017. The launch event of the label happened two months ago at the Castle of Good Hope featuring Samiyam, Rose Bonica, FAKA, Stiff Pap, yoyo, the Stone Soup collective, DJ Lag and Uppercut. Today their debut video lookbook is public, and I had an interview with them to find out more about their label, image and stylistic vices of insane orange tones, real oranges and youths.

    Patrick tells me that the lookbook was shot by Martin Magner over three weekends at the homes of different friends. “We incorporated photos of everyday orange that Joni and I had taken around Cape Town and taken on a recent trip I took to New York.” While shooting the lookbook, Joni and Patrick used Martin’s mom’s handheld video camera and shot behind the scenes footage. Their footage included any orange objects that were spotted while travelling to the various locations where the shoot took place. A week and a half ago OH OK was launched at the Joe Soap Laundromat in Cape Town fitted with a pop-up shop. After the pop-up shop followed the premiere screening of the video lookbook at The Labia with The big Lebowski as desert.

    “With OH OK we pride ourselves in the fact that everything is done in-house or in collaboration with like minded individuals and friends. We want to place a strong emphasis on quality, sincerity and comfort. Everything we put out into the world is developed by us from concept to creation. OH OK is a multi-disciplinary brand with the main focus of clothing but we also plan on doing more interesting, big events.”

    Patrick tells me that the film materialized as documentation of the photo shoot for the lookbook. This can be seen when looking at the stylistic film piece, as it seems to be built on super cuts that flow into each other with ease. Joni explains that they decided to use their friends’ homes as backdrops for the debut lookbook as they wanted to be in a space where their friends, who also happen to be their models, would feel the most comfortable.

    “I think we want to leave a bit open for interpretation and have people feel a bit more with this one as it’s the first thing we have put out.” Their intent of having you feel more was achieved in my opinion as the footage that was collected was authentic considering that it was documentary footage. The realness of the models and their relatable nature combined with ice lollies, sparklers, and the way that they all appear to know each other makes the viewer comfortable. Watching this lookbook brought up past memories of chill sessions with my friends at our homes. The use of the handheld video camera affected the colour and characteristics of the piece and as it feels like a home movie from the 90s, it contributes to creating feelings of warm nostalgia.

    The choice of analogue photography came about as Patrick explains: “We wanted to incorporate our son, James Nash into the shoot as we believe he has a lot of potential. James is most comfortable on film and we wanted to capture raw, real moments. Plus, it looks really nice.” Their choice of analogue imagery displays well accompanied with the handheld video lookbook as the styles feed off one another.

    When asked about the name for the label Joni says, “The name OH OK came about really quite simply. We’ve always felt drawn to names that are simple and concise and that somewhat find their way into everyday speech. I mean, I think we say ‘Oh Okay’ unintentionally like 432 times day. Furthermore, aesthetically it looks cool and lends itself to looking good in various ways or forms.”

    Joni explains their design choices and colour schemes as follows: “The orange came about just because it was a colour we were both really into at the time (still are) and thought it was also a super underrated colour despite its honest vibrancy. The clean, minimalism just came about naturally, but more so I guess because we wanted to design something that was understated and have each item speak for itself through it’s fit rather and quality rather then have it distract people through some elaborate design.”

    Not wanting to put themselves into a box or cater for a niche market, Joni and Patrick designed a range that is gender fluid. They explain that it was more for them than it is in any way trying to abide to hype. “At the end of the day, were just want to create comfortable, honest clothes we would wear everyday, because that’s really all it is, it’s just clothing?” The irony in Joni’s last response is an indication for me that OH OK is more than just a fashion label and has the potential to grow into a lifestyle which could be easily achieved as its creators have been known for event organizing. Their video lookbook debut pays testament to this notion.

    Credits:

    Concept, direction and videography by OH OK
    Edit by James Blyth
    Starring Alexander Pankiv-Greene
    Athena Strates
    Daniel Lidchi
    Hana Sho
    Hannah Mather
    Joni Blud
    Michael Du Toit
    Omri Dahan
    Thato Mabalayo
    Tiffany Schouw
    Tshepo Sedibe
    James Nash
    ‘For Now We’re Young’ performed by Beach Party

    James Nash shot the behind the scenes lookbook.

    Photo lookbook was shot by Martin Magner.

  • Kampire Bahana // ColabNowNow Storyteller

    Kampire Bahana is a DJ, writer, art organizer and storyteller from Uganda, and part of the ColabNowNow residency. I had an interview with her to discuss her background, practice and the ColabNowNow project

    The various aspects of Kampire’s work have a tendency to overflow and interlink. “I started out writing about festivals and events that I enjoyed going to, art I thought people should see.” Kampire tells me that her travels to Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar in 2014 introduced her to Santuri Safari as well as some East African DJs and producers. She expresses that the people she met and the experience of it all seduced her with music – “the sound of a good party”. In 2015 Kampire assisted her friends in organizing and hosting the first Nyege Nyege Festival. She felt connected to a community of people she found who create beautiful art outside of the mainstream. “Now, more so, I am compelled to help make the art I want to see and hear, and the events I want to attend.”

    With regards to being a dj Kampire says that “I am not the best musician and I have no desire to perform for other people.  I just found something fun that other people seem to find fun. In the end, I only aspire to make my friends dance anytime I’m playing.” Kampire is a resident DJ at the Boutiq Electroniq and explains that they host underground parties that are out of this world. By being a resident DJ, Kampire has been able to connect with many inspiring underground acts and scenes across the continent such as Africa Bass Cultures in Burkina Faso and Amani Festival in Goma, Congo.

    In her practice as a writer Kampire has done work for publications such as Okayafrica, Jalada Magazine, Afripop Mag and Dynamic Africa to name a few. She writes on the arts in Uganda and other countries in Africa with a keen focus on cultures and music that she believes are carrying a strong message that people should know about. “I write to organise my own thoughts and participate in a community of like-minded young Africans who may feel like their values and opinions make them minorities in their own countries.”

    Kampire has worked with aid organizations such as the Maisha Foundation. She expressed that she has received some remarkable opportunities through her association with them such as working on the film Queen of Katwe and curating the art garden/Maisha Garden. “I got to showcase my favourite parts of the Kampala art scene in a non-typical location and one of the city’s few green spaces. Events there like the live performance of Doreen Baingaina’s ‘Tropical Fish’ have been a definite highlight.”

    The Salooni is a pop-up hair salon project that Kampire and her friends came up which began as a proposal for the Chale Wote Street Art Festival in Ghana that they wanted to partake in. The Salooni created an installation that has visited 5 countries on the continent as well as the United Kingdom and will be on display in Rwanda in either October or November of this year. “It’s our attempt to create a judgement free space in which black women can enjoy whatever hair they have, interrogate it as a history, culture and science and imagine futures in which it is a source of strength and not a site of politics and trauma.”

    When asked why she applied to be a part of ColabNowNow, Kampire expressed that she has always aspired to work with Jepchumba, the curator of the project organized by British Council Connect ZA. For her it seemed like a unique open-ended prospect to collaborate with some interesting people. Kampire’s objective for the residency is to “make some cool work with some people!”.

  • Fak’ugesi Conference Podcast with Benoît Hické

    The Fak’ugesi Conference titled The Future of Creative Innovation & Technology is happening today, the 14th of September. We had a conversation with Benoît Hické, the curator of the French film festival F.A.M.E. He is also one of the panelists for the conference discussion titled ‘Sonic Visions: Understanding new collaborations in film, design and music’.

     

  • Mukhtara Yusuf // ColabNowNow Storyteller

    Mukhtara Yusuf is a Yoruba Muslim visual artist, designer, storyteller and cultural activist from Nigeria. In my interview with her we discuss her process, ideas behind her work and the ColabNowNow residency.

    Cultural activism surfaces in Mukhtara’s practice systematically, philosophically and with regards to representation. “My work comes from a place of seeing how art and design are part of popular and personal things that are often overlooked relating to political power and structural issues. As a maker it is important to talk about those things through pieces that reflect personal, vulnerable responses to happenings in the world – especially those linked to inequality.”

    With her interest in designing systems and an investment in access, Mukhtara’s designs consist of more than images and objects. Mukhtara makes use of community participation in many of her projects thereby involving the people it will serve.

    The philosophical arch of her work revolves around the idea of power and questions whose knowledge is published as academic texts. “I prioritize the challenging of existing value systems and the dominance of European ways of knowing as a way to enter my making.”

    Mukhtara tells me that architecture and environment play into her textile and clothing designs as wearable surface designs or objects. Mukhtara’s architectural practice takes the form of buildings, organizational principles and systems. She attempts to understand urban ecologies that she wishes to improve with the objects she creates or by transforming them into practical systems.

    Black speculative design pedagogy is term that Mukhtara developed and came about for her out of frustration by speculative design and the issues that it address. Mukhtara explains that the issues that speculative design addresses overlook the history of colonialism and creates a space in which these values become unrelenting. “Who owns the future? Who gets to dream, whose difficulties are seen as worthy of being considered in something as lofty and idealistic as speculative design. This is the ethos of my work, that I am trying to cultivate practically. By doing so it goes beyond a philosophy.”

    Speaking of a future vision she frequently creates work from speculation or imagination. “What would it be like if European knowledge wasn’t the epistemology that dominated design thinking?” Mukhtara has a desire to make it more than just fantasy.

    African futurism, Afrofuturism and black speculative pedagogy are terms she chooses to use in relation to one another. She explains that these terms begin to narrow in on what she conveys in her conceptual practice. “I am considering critically what time is as a field of knowledge and how it influences people’s notions of knowing as well as ideas on social oppression.” Mukhtara sees time as a construct and feels that the linear understanding of time comes from colonialism. She continues to say that Africans were placed at the beginning of a timeline that is in need of a second stage of modernity. Her interest lies in how the conception of time is used as a means of creating disgrace and disregard towards the pain that stems from structural and private concerns.

    The challenges Mukhtara is faced with in regards to creating in Nigeria has been the supreme inspiration for her cultural activism.  “It has really shown me how much influence infrastructure and class have on people’s ability to create.”

    Mukhtara’s motivation for applying to ColabNowNow came from her desire to work in collaboration with other like-minded African makers. She wishes to learn from other participants’ practices and build on her own knowledge. With a hope that the residency will create long-term collaborations, Mukhtara hopes to gain resources in order to create positive change in Nigeria. Her art tells the stories of her people.

     

  • A MAZE. // Gaming and Playful Media Festival

    For its 6th year A MAZE. is welcoming African and international game developers, digital activists and digital artists to Johannesburg in order to trade ideas and techniques related to indie game development and playful media. A MAZE. / Johannesburg forms a part of the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival and includes talks, workshops and a games arcade.

    The three day event will feature over 40 international and African artists, game designers, game creators, media artists, researchers, forward thinkers, coders, musicians and speakers who will exhibit their talents to the public in a dynamic and interactive way.

    Tim Flusk’s topic for the festival, ‘Lesbians and Apartheid: The stories that gameplay doesn’t tell’ is one of the talks at A MAZE. this year that grabbed my attention. Tim studied game design at Wits and is currently working as a programmer at 24 Bit Games. I asked Tim where the title of his talk originated from and he explained that he has had an eternal curiosity about how games convey emotion, stories and concepts to its players. Tim continues by saying that he has been prototyping in a group setup how to present other narratives and experiences in the gaming platform such as harassment targeted at femmes and the economic systems and policies of apartheid.

    “My title is possibly misleading. The talk that I am putting together is focused on the broader view on how to subvert certain tropes and mechanics in video games to tell marginalized and vulnerable people’s stories better.” Tim tells me that there are games tackling subjects about racism and sexual orientation such as Dys4ia and Ladykiller in a Bind.

    Another thought provoking talk at A MAZE. this year is ‘Studying game dev culture as an insider-outsider’ by Crystal Farmer. Crystal is a Social Anthropology Masters Student from Stellenbosch who centered her masters around game development culture. When asked why this peaked her interest she responded by saying that she was in a focus group in a research methods class in which the group consisted of a few people who enjoyed playing video games. She discovered the complexity of this world that she did not have much background on and was intrigued. Finding out about the fast-growing game development scene in Cape Town, she jumped into the field and made it her topic of research. “I wanted to study something that was playful, but also foreign to me so that I could maximize learning and stretch myself beyond what was comfortable.”

    Crystal explains that game development culture is relevant to social anthropology as it meets with new forms of commerce,communication, creativity, and social interaction due to the rapid development of technological innovation. “Video game development culture’s complexity gives me insight into a rich variety of social phenomena. It provides an interesting angle from which to observe and understand different manifestations of social issues.”

    Crystal’s talk will focus on her being an outsider initially and then moving into an insider role in the culture as well as how it has provided her with different understandings of her own field of research.  Her talk will cover her findings during her study of game development culture and highlight how her own subjectivities and sensitivity may have had an influence on her conclusions with a keen focus on inclusivity and identity.

    A peculiar topic to approach is the talk by Ben Rausch this year titled ‘Videomancers: Bending Reality with the Magic of Games’. Ben is a game developer, illustrator, animator and event designer based in Cape Town. He is currently co-running the Cool Your Jets creative studio, making game trailers with Cowabunga Industries and helps creates DIY games for TeamLazerBeam. Ben’s talk will look at how game developers can become modern day sorcerers, alchemists and witches and with their craft, change the world positively. Ben continues to say that he will consider how the act of playing a game can be regarded as a magic ritual. Ben came up with the term videomancers that he explains refers to people who create change via channelling their intent and use interactive media in order to bend reality. Ben believes that games can bend reality as they are “one of our most emotive and immediate art forms” and have the ability to inform how people think and could lead to positive change in the world.

    A MAZE. will be showcasing a huge variety of indie games this year as a part of the festival. The South African games include ALONE by Jason Sutherland and Richard Pieterse about self reflection and patience and Dress To Express Dancing Success by TeamLazerBeam – a dating sim and dancing sim hybrid exploring identity, social anxiety and shaking your booty in front of strangers. Another exciting game that will be showcased this year is LAMP OF TRUTH from Algeria developed by Diaa ElHak Guedouari – a puzzle game about existential illusions where lanternsare used to illuminate reality and the player’s path to the next level. “Remember, anything that you can’t see, doesn’t exist.”

    A MAZE. gives to the public a different insight into games culture and highlights how technology can be used for artistic expression as well as experimental interaction with audiences. At A MAZE.expect to see games with serious narratives approached by its developers with new and playful viewpoints.The festival brings together international culture and unites playful media and games.

  • Sabelo Mlangeni // capturing the confidence and intimacy of LGBTQ communities in South Africa

    Sabelo Mlangeni // capturing the confidence and intimacy of LGBTQ communities in South Africa

    Sabelo Mlangeni is a South African photographer who grew up in Mpumalanga. After having lived in Johannesburg for a number of years he returned to his home in 2003 where he worked on his series ‘Country Girls’ for six years. Sabelo’s imagery takes the viewer into a world that they might not have encountered before and shows with intimacy in a matter-of-fact way the lives of a small LGBTQ community.

    Sabelo’s ‘Country Girls’ is set in townships of rural South Africa and has as its focal point the day-to-day lives of the region’s small queer communities. With the people he photographed radiating confidence and glamour, Sabelo opens up his own eye to his viewer and shows us images of men in wigs sticking out their hips, queer couples in each other’s loving embrace, and some people showcase their glamorous attire with poise. In these small communities drag queens, gay-friendly beauty pageant participants and queer couples have the freedom to be out in the open for the most part despite the fact that queerness is habitually considered to be “un-African” or “un-Christian” in certain spaces.

    ‘Mandla from Piet Retief at Miss Ten Years of Democracy’

    Sabelo’s use of black and white photography is what I find intriguing as it has come to my attention that photographing in black and white has the ability to bring another narrative to the foreground. The people he photographs appear happy and playful in comparison to some photographers who photograph LGBTQ communities with a hint of sadness or an extreme seriousness to the images and the subjects portrayed in them. Showing these communities in a positive light, the people photographed are brave and unapologetic about their sexual orientation.

    Sabelo’s ‘Country Girls’ challenges common misconceptions of queerness and thrives upon the expression of a shared familiarity.

    ‘Rings, Arthur and Thando’
    ‘Bafana Mhlanga and his soccer star boyfriend’
  • ‘Boys’ by Jemma Rose

    ‘Boys’ by Jemma Rose

    Jemma Rose is an 18-year-old photographer based in Johannesburg. I met up with Jemma about two weeks ago to photograph her for a series I am currently working on. The session took on the tone of a social visit and we chatted about a variety of topics ranging from boys, girls, high school and our individual practices. It slowly took on an interview tone and we discussed her latest body of work, Boys.

    Still being in high school, Jemma does not have formal training but her eagerness to learn urged her to ask photographers she knew questions about photography. In addition to this she attended free workshops and lectures that helped her groom her photographic eye and technique.

    When asked about analogue vs. digital she responds, “I can hear the hipster mob outside right now, screaming ‘film is not dead!’ Like, yeah man, it never was, chill.” Jemma tells me that she started playing around with film a number of years ago just for fun but more recently she is making an active decision to work in the format as it pushes her to be a better photographer.

    I do agree with Jemma on this matter as I have in recent months also started working more and more with my trusty Canon film camera. The mayor challenge therein lies for photographers who started creating images digitally, is that there is no LCD display (liquid crystal display) in the analogue format, meaning that you literally do not know what you are getting when you photograph. This forces you to know your film camera better than any other form of equipment you will ever own.

    Knowing exposure combinations and understanding lighting conditions as well as how your ISO, shutter speed and aperture play together is crucial. So yes Jemma, analogue does push you to be a better photographer. In addition to this, the fact that you only have 36 frames means that you need to take more calculated shots.

    Jemma’s recent body of work is a series titled simply as Boys. The series is a collection of photographs taken of young males dressed in feminine underwear and attire all photographed in black and white. Jemma tells me that this project is an exploration into the destructive nature of the way in which hypermasculinity is idealized, as well as the importance of gender expression and identification in an individual.

    Explaining the process that was followed to create this body of work, Jemma states that she asked some of her friends who identified as males to model for her. On the shoot day she showed each one of them a collection of her grandmother’s old lingerie and they were asked to select pieces from the collection that they liked. They were permitted to choose their own accessories if they wanted such as fur, pearls and glitter. “As they put the items on, I tried to photograph their emotional reactions – I wanted to capture how their gender expression changed in the presence of hyper-feminine clothing.”

    Jemma expresses that this project is extremely personal for her, “Growing up in South African society, in which a strict gender binary is still very much embedded in our collective consciousness, I found it difficult to explore my sexuality and gender fluidity.” As she grew older, however, she started questioning the reasons behind why people are still stuck in out-dated gender roles, and why it’s difficult to break away from them.

    Her aim with this series was to subvert commonly held ideas surrounding masculinity and gender expression as the models’ emotional reactions were captured. “Some of them were clearly uncomfortable wearing hyper-feminine clothing, while others seemed more fluid, and more powerful.” Jemma explains that the most important aspect of the process lay in the different emotional reactions of the models and form a part of their gender expression.

    When asked why she opted to photograph this series in black and white, Jemma explains that for her, black and white represents the gender binary. “In the images, instead of just pure white and black, the viewer can see so many shades of grey, and this is a metaphor for the spectrum of genders and sexualities that actually exist within people.”

    Boys, Jemma’s ongoing body of work is an example of a series that has achieved what she as an artist was striving for. It shares with its viewer in striking black and white and grey tonal range imagery a very real, non-constructed intimacy. Jemma’s Boys asks questions about normal conceptions of what it means to be male today and is all together a powerful body of work. Many photographers have approached this subject before but I believe what makes Jemma’s Boys stand out and have it’s own voice is the meaning behind her black and white images and the authenticity of the emotions that she was able to capture in this series. Boys will be on display at the Joburg Fringe, an independent annual art fair from the 6th to the 10th of September at 24 Victoria Road corner Viljoen, Lorentzville.

  • The Conceptual Art Practice of Lucienne Bestall

    Lucienne Bestall is a conceptual artist and writer based in Cape Town. Growing up in Oranjezicht, her childhood home was big and old, overlooking the city. Her experiments with creative practices happened from a young age often putting together fashion shows, plays and exhibitions. Lucienne describes herself in the following words: “I consider myself a dilettante. I am a writer in some moods, occasionally an actress, an artist if I’m feeling optimistic, always a collaborator.” In my interview with the young creative we discuss her art practice and unfold some of her projects

    After matriculating Lucienne applied to Michaelis and thought about studying either drama, film or English literature. Not wanting to choose, Lucienne was dissatisfied with the academic system that asks from its scholars to select a single discipline amongst many others. The scholar’s choice, inevitably prescribing who, and what they will become.

    “I wanted to be everything, and nothing in particular. I think this is why drama has always appealed to me, it offers the actor many different lives and realities, punctuated by an intermission, and concluded with a curtain.”

    Reflecting on her childhood creativity Lucienne remarks, “I remember a particular artwork I once made for an art sale in the living room. I must have been eight or so. It was a piece of chewing gum stuck on an A4 sheet of paper. It was called Chewed or Stuck or something along those lines. It was my first conceptual work of art. And one of the few artworks I have ever sold.”

    In my interview with Lucienne she expresses that art offers a matrix to seeing the world and not necessarily a way of describing it. Lucienne’s afore mentioned thought can be linked to her still on-going project, ‘Required Reading’ – a reading list of 36 books assembled from the recommendations of artists, art consumers and cultural workers. “Is it an artwork? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s an art exercise. Or perhaps it’s just a reading list.”

    “Everything I do is held together by a shared sensibility. My work is largely understated, be it my writing or my art. There are never high stakes or loud messages. I like to approach my subjects with a considered attention to detail, with curiosity, and with a nuanced understanding.” Lucienne tells me that her ladder print has become a feature in restaurants, friends’ houses and unexpected places – taking on the form of an obscure Cape Town meme. “I like that idea. Perhaps it’s my best work, but only because it is so pervasive.”

    ‘Detail from A Story of Art (Ladder)’ 2014 by Lucienne Bestall

    When asked to speak about her art practice Lucienne expresses that many of her writing and art projects revolve around storytelling, and that the act of storytelling is about silence and narrative or characters or plot in equal amounts. It is as much about what gets left out as what gets included she expresses. “Absence is an invitation to engage the viewer or the reader, to encourage their participation.”

    ‘Ten Objects’ is an art project that Lucienne produced during her Beirut Art Residency in Lebanon. The project consisted of a series of conversations with contemporary artists living and working in Lebanon. Lucienne exchanged an object with another given to her by the artist she met up with upon meeting them. Later the initial object was left behind and the new object taken forward, and passed on to another artist. This served as a memory of a discussion – each discussion would then be represented by an object.

    ‘FIG. 1’ from the series ‘Ten Objects’ 2015 by Lucienne Bestall

    Curious as to why in the completed work she had not included the conversations she had with the artists, she answered me by stating that in the beginning she was recording the conversations but while transcribing however, she realized that they held little interest for the viewer. “Was it not enough that the conversations had happened? Rather than include transcripts, I notated the conversations with objects instead.”

    “All my creative work engages the everyday, be it objects or people or places. In that sense it is never truly abstract, but perhaps sometimes obscure. Both writing and art allow one to reconsider the familiar, to look again, and to grant something previously overlooked attention. My writing exists in the real world (or one just like it), as does my art. It is never fantastical, although it may be whimsical.”

    Lucienne was a part of ‘Venue’ an exhibition hosted by Alma Martha in the McDonalds on Long Street, Cape Town in 2016. For her art piece, ‘Some Ideas’ she invited a number of artists to the 24-hour diner for an informal dinner. She then asked them to write down proposals for artworks, interventions and performances that were site specific to the diner. Lucienne shared some of the ideas with me: “Cry while eating a Happy Meal, Go drinking with the kitchen staff (buy all the drinks), A twenty-four hour residency at McDonald’s, Leave a copy of Das Kapital in the loo.” These proposals were published as a small booklet, co-authored by the participants of the project. ‘Some Ideas’ can be purchased at Clarkes Bookshop and The Book Lounge.

    ‘Some Ideas’ 2016 by Lucienne Bestall and co-authors

    Lucienne’s art practise may in many ways be seen as understated yet the considerable attention to detail is evident, her work containing minimalist appeal. Her conceptual practise is profound in that she has the ability to observe the artistic value that objects hold and her work makes use of the ‘ready made’ practice associated with Marcel Duchamp. Lucienne often leaves her work open ended and asks of it’s viewers to actively engage in her work. Not projecting clean-cut messages with her practice, her work asks from you to make your own meaning and may perhaps lie on the surface of obscurity.

    Asking Lucienne what she wanted to be remembered for she expresses the following: “I’d like to be remembered as a witty and erudite dinner guest. And I’d liked to be remembered for living many lives. But no doubt I’ll be remembered for my ladder prints.” She is currently pursuing a Creative Writing Masters at UCT.

    ‘Fountain Series’ 2014 by Lucienne Bestall