Bubblegum Club

Tag: pure

  • INFINITY STUDIO Residency // unpacking privatization, militarization and escapism in South Africa’s urban landscape

    INFINITY STUDIO Residency // unpacking privatization, militarization and escapism in South Africa’s urban landscape

    “Militarized urbanism” – a term coined by geographer Stephan Graham. A term that describes the existence in South African cities, and is lived through the ubiquity and perceived necessity of concrete and electrified boundaries, pin codes, guard posts and CCTV.

    INFINITY STUDIO, a residency curated by Bubblegum Club and CUSS, will see invited artists from various disciplines explore the meaning and everyday operation of privatization, militarization and escapism in South Africa’s urban landscape. The residency taking place from 29 March to 2 April is the first step for the INFINITY STUDIO program at Kampnagel in Hamburg in the frame of the Live Art Festival #8: SUPERSPACES.

    This residency is organized as a curated tour which will see participants travelling to various spaces and events around Johannesburg. It is treated as a form of fieldwork or immersive brainstorming, and real life critical engagement with ideas around enclave communities, boundaries and surveillance in relation to fears about real or imagined dangers in urban spaces.

    Participants include Bubblegum Club, Bogosi Sekhukhuni, CUSS, Daniel Rautenbach, FAKA, Hlasko, Kerry Chaloner, Michelle Son, Mona-Lisa Namér, PURE, Rich Mnisi, Rose Bonica and Zandi Tisani.

    INFINITY STUDIO is produced by Kampnagel and Bubblegum Club, with the support of TURN – Fund of the Federal Cultural Foundation of Germany as well as the Goethe Institute.

    Freedom Park- Here to Make Everything Perfect

    Freedom Park is a lifestyle experience unparalleled in the Gauteng city-region. An oasis of peace and community, our estate residents enjoy both easy access to the thriving financial and business center of Johannesburg, and complete security from the chaos of the urban environment.

    It is no secret that Johannesburg is dangerous, and that hard-working, decent citizens like yourself are threatened by depraved and squalid crimes. But it’s falsely believed that only the elite can afford total protection. At Freedom Park, we offer the complete security lifestyle experience at a competitive price. You and your family will wake up to the sounds of bird singing and go to bed smiling, safe in the knowledge that any dangers will be anticipated and removed with no mercy. You don’t need to be a multi-millionaire to enjoy multi-million peace of mind.

    Our beautiful facilities cater to all tastes, from the rustic to the modern. Housing units are designed to the utmost architectural standards, and you may never want to leave your home again.  But we hope you will come and enjoy our family restaurants, affordable mall space and driving range.

    Your children will love the dedicated play areas. And for those looking for adult playtime, our resident’s leisure committee organises discreet thrills, which push the boundaries of sanity and morality. You can even try on a new personality for size, with Freedom Park selected as one of the pilot sites for an experimental augmented reality center, offering experiences that are out of this world.

    Freedom Park enjoys guaranteed tranquility.  Our estate security committee is prepared to get their hands dirty when the police won’t. Onsite staff bring in a wealth of combat experience from their time in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Mexico, Nigeria and Syria. The recently opened community detention center is on offer to resolve family disputes. And as an exclusive service, our guards are happy to assist in aggressively resolving any offsite challenges.

    Freedom Park offers a complete lifestyle paradise, free of all anxiety. Why should you have to die to go to Heaven?

  • PURE wants you to treasure yourself

    “It was amazing being part of this collective voice but I had my own voice that I think for a while was dying to have its day,” explains PURE in an honest conversation about her decision to pursue a solo career. This has seen the former front-woman of Fruit & Veggies, and later The Pranks, do a 180 degree turn, both sonically and personally. “There’s always issues [in bands] and I was tired of that. In my life I was also approaching this massive shift. I stopped drinking. My daughter was the main beacon of light for this shift that happened. When I was fell pregnant it was a chaotic time. I was a mess. I was still in Fruit & Veggies to sum things up.”

    The shift that motherhood had catalysed led her to return to herself and to a type of simplicity that isn’t present in bands. “Soul, neo-soul and the voice prominent music was my first love, before I even got into the punk scene in Durban. I had this weird a cappella thing I used to do with my friends. I think in a sense it’s coming full circle of that. It’s so important because for a long time I’ve been pulled away from myself. Now it’s PURE. Now it’s time to focus on myself.”

    Inspired by a series of events that involved over consumption of drugs and alcohol, and culminated in a painful weekend spent in a tent at a festival dealing with the repercussions leading to an intense period of self-reflection, “Treasure”, the follow-up single to her debut “No Secrets”, explores themes of the self and how we so often neglect the world within oneself, trying to fill the void inside with worldly pleasures rather than through deep work from within. “The idea is to transcend into this glorious and magnificent being, rising high above and taking pride in the scars and pain that have brought you to this place. Projecting a future of hopefulness and powerful transformations through embracing the light as well as the dark in one’s own path.”

    The music video, co-directed by PURE alongside Bastien Lienardy, echoes this interplay between the light and dark parts of the self. A visual representation of a dream she had, the video shows the interplay between these two aspects of the self. “In the video you can see a little bit of friction, back and forth battles and it kind of represents how sometimes we try to fight that dark side but in all fairness it’s very much part of who we are. And the more we try and fight it, the more we give it power.”

    Having found her path this year, PURE is ready to forge ahead and start her journey as a solo artists. “I have a lot of plans for 2018. I feel like 2017 was a lot about getting into the rhythm of being a mom, juggling job, juggling career, trying to make time for this, trying to make time for that, and now I’ve found that balance. I really want to just spread my wings in 2018.”

    Photography by Nick Gorgon