55pages Issue 3

55pages

Creative DirectorChristopher George [email protected]

Editor Gina Lovett [email protected]

Deputy EditorNick Thompson [email protected]

Fashion DirectorSara Darling [email protected]

Digital Developer Joe Barbour [email protected]

Graphic Designer Conrad Gracie [email protected]

Art EditorsChristopher George Gina Lovett

WritersJordon Grant Daisy Jones

Contributing Fashion Editors Valentina Tiurbini Lisa Nicolaou

Contributing Writers Kate Lawson Sarah Sabner

Technical Consultant Demir Sayiner

Marketing Lois Waller [email protected]

Publishing Director Christopher George

Digital Publishing Director Joe Barbour

Publishing Manager Nick Thompson

The idea ThaT The leader is There To be followed; wiThouT a leader we cannoT move in a direcTion.

socieTy is conTrolled by few and leads The passive unconTrollably.

if we are a socieTy we need To be conTrolled, and conTrolled is whaT we are.

who conTrols The conTroller, who moniTors The moniTor, who is answerable when failure sTrikes?

why can’T we lead as a group, and as a communiTy, supporT Those around us wiThouT The need To suffocaTe?

is every Thing for The purpose of wealTh, power and self-graTificaTion?

we work, produce and collaboraTe wiTh arTisTs around us. 55pages has produced issue 3, packed To The poinT of bursTing over The 55limiT.

Cover Image Emma Browning Headpiece - Pam Hogg Dress - Lana Sotnikova Cuffs - Rachel Galley

55factory 55 Holmes Road Kentish Town NW5 3AN 020 3286 8558

THE IRREPREssIblEs ARE INCREDIblE FoR THEIR vIsIoN. WITHouT sEEING THE bAND’s lIvE sHoW, ITs vAuDEvIllE vIbE MIGHT sEEM uNoRIGINAl, yET IT Is TIMElEss AND uNIquE. sEEING THEM lIvE Is TRuly REMARKAblE AND bREATHTAKING, WITH THEIR MusIC HAvING A DEPTH oF EMoTIoN sElDoM HEARD ToDAy.The

Irrepressibles

Featured Musicians:

Interview - Nick Thompson Photography - Christopher Sims

www.theirrepressibles.com

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55’s Nick Thompson spoke with the band’s lead and vocalist Jamie to find out how such a well-orchestrated group is so perfectly and effortless produced.

55 - What is the band?

J - We’re an eight-piece band at the moment where we work in a relationship of sound and choreography to express a backbone to the music. We’re working with strong string arrangements that are more kind of dark - in a David Lynch style.

55 - How do you visualise all of this with such a large arrangement?

J - The lyrics themselves are where the sound world originates from, I then choreograph at the same time as writing the music so the two are connected and express how visceral the performer is. I’m looking for a world that fits with the sonic vision around the design look. Having people that remix the track allows it to take a new form, which extends it further.

55 - The project is split into three groups. Why did this occur?

J - Originally, The Irrepressibles started as more of an art project. It was in this world as performance objects that The Irrepressibles appeared inside of us, and at the time it was a big chamber orchestra. With this new record it was interesting to dissect the elements that make up the full ‘nude spectacle’ as it is called, and just do something with the string section and show. There is a fascinating method with using a loop pedal and extending the sound into the past. Nude is very much about time and memory.

With electro nude I became fascinated with electronic elements and the performance with just the two drummers and the pianist on synth.

55 - What influences your work?

J - My early influences would be Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dreams, David Bowie and Kate Bush, but as an artist I feel that to remain focused it’s not so good to listen to other people’s music and to take influences. For me, it becomes more about responding to other elements and sounds I hear around me – always the emotion I’m feeling but also just play. Playing with an instrument and a sound. For my creative process, I just sit and write in one go so I hear everything together and then I kind of mould it.

55 - you’re very passionate about your work. Do you get time to rest or is this just what you do?

J - It’s like I’ve gone through the mirror and there’s no way back. I don’t really rest but at the same time I don’t hold the ego of being a performer, so it’s very much me just working then becoming a performer as I go on stage.

PEZFeatured Artist:

Interview - Christopher George Photography - Nick Thompson

www.el-pez.com

sTREET ARTIsT PEz, HAllMARKED WITH HIs DIsTINCT FIsH TAG, sTREET ARTIsT PEz FIRsT sTARTED ouT IN THE AllIEs oF bARCEloNA bACK IN 1999. sINCE THEN, HIs WoRK HAs TAKEN HIM To soME oF THE WoRlD’s bIGGEsT CITIEs INCluDING NEW yoRK, los ANGElEs, ToKyo, boGoTA, AMsTERDAM, PARIs AND loNDoN. WITH soME oF HIs sIGNATuRE PIECEs MAKING THE PAGEs oF ERA-DEFINING booKs FRoM sTREET loGos To ART oF REbEllIoN.

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55’s Christopher George discusses his rise from the street to the gallery.

55 - Where did the style of your work originate from – and what about the fish?

Pez - It arose from the concern of creating something fun in the world of graffiti, giving a little life to the streets and leaving my mark everywhere. These were my first goals.

55 - When was it that your work began to be taken more seriously, and what effect did this have on the process and on yourself?

Pez - The fact that everything was constantly growing, and it was all happening very naturally. More and more people, from more countries were interested in my work. I felt very comfortable being able to reach more and more people. There wasn’t much change to the process, really, but I was becoming more proud of my work and more eager to do more and better pieces.

55 - We met you first in Miami at the Wynwood Walls project. What does that project do for the street art scene?

Pez - I think it’s one of the biggest urban art areas in the world, with the best artists, where there is plenty to see and much to learn. Projects like this are the ones that give more and more recognition to global street art.

55 - street art has become so much more acceptable. How does this affect what you do, and do you still enjoy the guerilla style illegal painting?

Pez - It’s very good for a street artist like me to become increasingly acceptable. I think it is the recognition of our work after many active years in the street. The fact that galleries are increasingly interested in urban art is a reality that many of us can now accept and allows us to work with our passion. Depending on the place, you can receive money or you get a ticket.

Although I love being able to develop a mural with permission, to dedicate all the time and detail you want without having to think ‘I’m going to be caught by the police’ is very relaxing, it doesn’t mean I don’t like to paint illegally, without asking permission and doing it by instinct. People aren’t always going to give you permission on the walls that you like. If you are daring and intelligent can paint anywhere.

55 - you spend a lot of time in Columbia. How is the art scene for you there and how does it differ to Europe?

Pez - The truth is that there is everything. Many artists follow the style of American and European graffiti, others make stencils, but there are also some very identity-based urban artists who have a particular style. It’s very South American native, murals full of colour and characters and influenced by the harsh reality of the country.

55 - Where were you taking influences from as a youth?

Pez - Everything was really an evolution, I was totally into the street culture. One of my friends introduced me to the graffiti culture and brought me a lot of attention. I always liked drawing and comics, I loved to find new graffiti in my neighbourhood and I thought it seemed a wonderful thing that people painted on the street, leaving their mark wherever they went. That influenced me, and pushed me to want to join this movement and start painting on the street, simply to transform our city, make my mark and have fun, knowing that the next day someone looking at my graffiti could also play with it.

55 - Was there some form of wanting to be accepted that made you start creating?

Pez – Yes, indeed. I didn’t start to paint seriously until I had a good idea and was totally sure that I was doing something a bit different, and felt that I was bringing something good to the movement.

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Many people take to the streets to paint any shit. I think we have a responsibility to do the best we can. And if it is good already, do better.

55 - Much of your work is created for the gallery now. How does this process differ from painting walls?

Pez – Work in galleries has helped me to learn a lot. Painting is always a more elaborate process and more delicate than a mural on the street. I do not enjoy the process as much as painting a mural, but to finish it you realise that it is worth spending a lot of time and effort to finish a canvas and see that the end result is much more than you expected. Actually, the fact that I paint pictures makes for more elaborate murals, and murals sometimes inspire me to make a more elaborate version on canvas.

55 – How do you see the relationship between galleries and your work, seeing as the true gallery for you is the street?

Pez - For me, the street will always be the best gallery: free entry and open 24 hours. For me to enter the conventional galleries is recognition of my work, it’s a chance to do something about what I do on the street, but more evolved. More precisely, it’s the opportunity for me to immortalise my job. When someone chooses to take home a piece, they recognise the value and pay for it. It’s perfect for me to invest in paint and to pay for my travel to paint in the streets around the world!

55 – When you were in london last time, you were constantly working on walls, or on your gallery work. Does it become habitual to leave a message in places?

Pez - The street artist has a powerful weapon that is the spray can, with which you can paint very fast and paint many jobs a day, if you organise yourself well. If I could, I would leave my mark on every wall I go past. When you get into this routine you can’t stop, it’s like an animal instinct. You do it by nature and you want to paint more and more. By harnessing the paint and using your time to the maximum, you can paint many more sites - the bigger the better.

55 – How do you feel when your street pieces are destroyed or removed?

Pez - I’m very used to seeing my pieces disappear. Obviously it hurts, but I get to think about more and more places. Especially searched out sites are not so easily erased, or they simply have to be active for much longer for them to be erased. New jobs in the street are always appearing, they’ll never be able to stop the graffiti.

55 – you recently collaborated with 55 while you were in london on a stop-motion film to be released with this issue of 55pages. How important are collaborations to you?

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Pez - Collaborations are very important. I like mixing with people and doing things that I just could not do on my own, finding common interests and doing things together. It is always better to focus on what you do best and leave what you do not know to professionals, rather than attempt to do it with little knowledge. I’m currently working with [Columbian fashion label] Doce9 preparing some swimsuits, with [spray paint firm] Montana Colors producing a collector’s edition spray can, and also with [artist-designed footwear firm] Bucketfeet I am developing shoes.

55 – you also have a bag range coming out soon. Tell us about this.

Pez - This is more than a collaboration – I’m finally registering my trademark ‘ElPez’ and I’m working with an agent that’s dedicated to finding customers who want to license my brand. We like the project, we proposed the designs to them and they take care of everything, so I can have a quality product and just devote myself to designing.

55 – What are your views on the economic situation in Europe at the moment?

Pez - I think we’re used to living too well, having many amenities and expenses that are not really necessary to live. Now that we are in difficult times, I think we should be thankful that we have food, health and good friends and enjoy the simple things. Or, maybe steal from the rich?

55 – Tell us about your life in Columbia and working there as an artist?

Pez - Colombia is a very beautiful, virgin country, with more amazing places than hazards. The people here value highly the environment and love to receive people from outside and are super hospitable. It’s really easy to paint and they’re not so strict. They don’t have laws against graffiti because it’s still new, and the police have many other problems to resolve. I can’t complain, I’m the only international artist with over 10 years of experience and many people quite like what I do.

I give workshops in schools, talks at universities, paint live at music festivals and exhibit my work at various galleries of contemporary art. The next project I have planned a large mural for the façade of a hotel.

stop motion film with PEz on 55tv - www.55factory.net

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Printed tunic - Jean-Pierre braganzaChain dress - Fannie schiavoni

Gold cuffs - Kyle HopkinsChain necklace - Fannie schiavoni

aliceLeather over the knee boots - CharkvianiLace tights - Pretty PollyTutu skirt - Dans la vieLong sleeve body - GestuzBlack crystal belt - Paul & JoeMulti coloured top - Helen steeleTrousers (as turban) - Helen steeleWooden necklace - Ada zanditonGloves - Fannie schiavoni

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addison ( left )Blue printed dress - Tramp in DisguiseOrange Tunic ( worn underneath ) - soojin leePrinted leggings ( just seen ) - Dans la vieHead piece - stylist’s ownKnuckle duster ring - Imogen belfield

alice ( right )Shoulder pieces - Jenny schwartzPrinted dress - Xsenia and olyaBlack skirt ( just seen ) - Agatha HambiPink leggings - Tramp in DisguiseWaistcoat - Rita KumarBlack and white cluster necklace - Kirsty Ward for David longshaw Wooden ring - Ada zanditon

SECONDHEAD

sECoND HEAD MIGHT HAvE oNly bEEN ARouND FoR TWo yEARs, buT THE bAND Is AlREADy MAKING quITE A DENT IN THE HARD sKull oF THE loNDoN MusIC sCENE. THE TRIo HEADED DoWN To 55FACToRy FoR A PHoTo sHooT AND A CHAT AbouT ITs MosT RECENT ENDEAvouRs AND WHAT REAlly PIssEs IT oFF AbouT THE MusIC INDusTRy.

Featured Musicians:

Interview - Daisy Jones Photography - Christopher Sims

www.secondheadtheband.com

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Assistant - Nick Thompson Styling - Lisa Nicolaou Make Up - Monika Swiatek Hair - Lalah Creativ Post Production - 55factory

55 - For those that don’t know, how would you describe the sound of second Head?

Emma - I know everyone says it, but I’d define us as an ‘alternative’ band. We’ve gone from everything to quite heavy rock, to more folk-ish stuff recently.

55 - your newest EP ‘Children of the Revulsion’ sounds very Neo-Folk. Is that a direction that you’re thinking of heading in?

Emma - We’re constantly evolving. One moment we’ll be doing one thing and another moment the next.

Wim - A lot of the songs on that EP have quite a Pagan feel to them. We’d spent some time at Avebury stone circle and some of the songs came from that, and were inspired by camping there.

Will - The consistency is in the energy. There’s an evolution of energy that’s within each song; it’s definitely got an energetic state that’s maintained throughout the different tracks and I think that’s the one thing that Wim and Emma try to keep consistent.

55 - you’ve been compared to sonic youth a lot. Are they a conscious influence?

Emma - I think when you’ve been listening to something since you were thirteen or fourteen it

manifests itself somehow. But to be honest, at the moment I’m much more inspired by really old music and Black Metal and I’m not really listening to any of that Grunge that I grew up on.

55 - you record all your own stuff, am I right? How do you think that made a difference, having that creative control?

Wim - The earliest stuff we did, we recorded at friends’ studios and the last EP was recorded at my house. We’ve had more time, but in a way that can be a real killer because in a studio you’re under pressure to get it all done and at least you have to get things done, whereas when you’re at home you don’t.

Emma - Yeah, I think we work really well under pressure, as well. In the past we’ll have had things only half-done. So many people over-work things, sit on them - waiting for things to hatch. Strike whilst the iron is hot, I think.

Will - I’m a little different as I am in another band. Not to plug, but it’s ‘Vulture’s Quartett’. We do soundscapes to films and it’s really avant-garde, but the two record labels purposefully wanted us to record at home for this exact reason, and it was like, instead of putting us in the studio for one day, they’d rather buy us some recording equipment and then give you all the time you want to record at home; which has worked out really well.

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Some of these recordings for certain albums have taken nine to ten sessions. The pressure is off.

Wim - We’re really excited because Will is new in the band.

55 - How’s that going?

Emma - Really well, really inspiring.

Wim - Really inspiring and really exciting because he comes from a different background to us, in music.

Emma - We’ve had so many straight-up drummers and it’s really cool to have someone who can mix it up a bit.

Will - I like my household items.

55 - you’ve had a few different guitarists and drummers since starting the band. How come?

Wim - We’ve just gone through a lot, I guess

Emma - I suppose it’s because it’s London, and it’s not like we’ve got label support or any money or anything, and generally people who are good play in lots of bands and have to do session work and things like that. So it is hard to hold onto people when you’re in an unsigned band.

Wim - I think we’ve had quite consistently good musicians coming into the band.

Emma - We’ve been blessed in that way.

55 - Tell me about your most recent EP ‘Children of the Revulsion’ – what were the ideas behind it?

Will - You’ve stumped them. There is no explanation for this.

55 - Well, that’s alright!

Wim - I would say that there are the Pagan themes from staying at Avebury and then I guess ‘Children of the Revulsion’ is a bit of a statement.

Emma - How can I put this delicately? I suppose it’s fuelled by a kind of disgust with the modern world. ‘Death of the West’ is a Death in June cover. Their version of the song I thought was fairly… rubbish, to put it mildly! But it had good lyrics, so it was a good one to cover and improve on. I do generally feel that everything is run according to money and profit and that’s why the world is such a mess. So I suppose the EP is about that. But it has got some lighter, happier musical stuff there, too. It’s not all ‘doom and gloom’.

Will - Coming into it later, for me the dark Americana mixed with that high energy in pockets is the thing that makes the new one unique. It’s still got the consistency throughout, but a twist that I enjoy. I’m also good friends with Tony Wakeford, who wrote that song!

Emma - I didn’t know that! I feel really awful. Quite speechless!

55 - Awkard!

Will - One of the things I love about this band is the names of the tracks! I just love the titles!

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Emma - Oh, thank you!

Will - I just say the titles over and over again to my girlfriend.

55 - What about music that’s out now? Are there any current bands that you’re into? And what are your thoughts on the music industry in general, in london these days?

Emma - Bethia Beadman, I think she’s got a really incredible voice. She’s doing quite well, but I think she’s seriously underrated. Also, it sounds really cheesy but I really like Die So Fluid. They’re really good!

55 - And what are your thoughts on the music industry in general, in 21st Century london?

Wim - I think there are some nasty things to say about it, but there is some good stuff as well.

Emma - There are a few really nice promoters, but I’d say, on the whole, the thing that really pisses me off are the promotion companies that don’t promote and just expect you to have 200 friends or something, and bring them all. There’s so much nepotism. It can work in some people’s favour, but not ours. We don’t have any friends!

Will - It’s just such a different ball game these days, with online sales and online marketing and promotion, versus what you’d had to have done 10 or 15 years ago. You guys are all looking at me like “You old! You so old!”! There’s a big difference between posting tracks online, sending a link and getting your Facebook friends to come up, as opposed to word of mouth, handing out flyers, getting an actual physical disc in the post to a record label. The game has changed so much that in one way it’s made things extremely difficult, because there’s flooding of the market and there’s impersonal contact in various ways, but in other ways it’s made things easier as you have a lot more opportunities and the means to find people that are interested in your stuff, and lure them to come out. And despite what anybody says, you can still get people to come out to shows and it is still always a good experience to see a band live. I’d say London is a thriving music scene - that is one of the reasons I moved here. I picked London so I could play in bands.

55 - I’ve read in a previous interview that you have plans for ‘wild theatrical shows’. What sort of theatrics have you got in mind?

Emma - We had this great big flag, this shield, and a ram’s skull; and I made this vintage motorcycle helmet with the rams skull on it, so I was waving the flag and we had some siren noises.

Wim - We’re looking forward to trying some other stuff out as well.

55 - If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing creatively?

Emma - I write, so I’d be a writer.

Wim - I’d be doing some kind of art, I like to think.

Will - I used to make my living as a painter, a long time ago. I don’t know; maybe I’d be a cactus gardener.

55 - And finally, what are your plans from now onwards.

Will - Universal takeover?

Wim - World domination...

Group shotLeggins - Masimodo Leotard - Masimodo Shoes - Doll Boutique

single Emma Shoes - Bebo Dress - Prey of London Cuff - Pyrrha Gloves - Emanuel Katsaros Necklace - Leatherette

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Words - Jordon Grant and Gina Lovett Illustration - BERT©

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The wave of patriotism that has engulfed the UK this year might have swelled interest in a Britishness and heritage that had been lost at sea, but it has swept ashore a tidemark of meaningless paraphernalia.

Retail, especially, has been quick to pick up on the patriotic fever, with the ‘Great British summer’ forming the basis of many an ad campaign. If their campaigns were anything to go by, we’d have been stocking our cupboards with strawberry teacakes and making bunting since the clocks chimed past midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Across high street fashion, the plethora of Union Jack ‘badges of pride’ swinging from garments point out that they contain British thread or British buttons or fabric from a British mill, or better still, they were actually made in Britain. It seems both the consumer and business, however, have confused nostalgia for real support for British manufacturing.

Tapping into this swell of support for British manufacturing, we first saw River Island introduce such swing tickets, proudly flagging up its British manufacturing credentials. Womenswear retailer Oasis did its ‘bit’, launching a British heritage-inspired range using fabrics sourced from a British mill for the first time in 10 years, despite the collection being manufactured in Romania. Meanwhile, Topshop’s Made in Britain capsule collection, launched in July for autumn 12, implores us to ‘pay tribute to our heritage and go British’. To really pay tribute to British manufacturing, though, would be to commit orders on a long-term basis to UK factories. Now that would be something to really pay tribute to.

Mary Portas, the Government’s red-bobbed and sharp-tongued retail ‘guru’ brought us UK-made knickers in 2012. Portas, who re-opened a former clothes factory on the outskirts

of Manchester in conjunction with Channel 4, successfully launched her own line of knickers demonstrating that British products can still compete – and (avoiding any ‘knickers in a twist’ puns) that leveraging an issue engulfed with consumer emotion and patriotism is a sure-fire way of flogging them.

Lamentations of the demise of a once-booming UK industry (‘in the 1970s in Leeds alone, there were 30 factories each making more than 500 suits a week. Now there is just one’) did much to promote discussion around a UK manufacturing revival. But despite such talk, even from the upper echelons of UK high street retail – Arcadia boss Philip Green no less – the only conclusion reached was that with a ‘denuded’ industry there would have to be long-term commitment from retailers. Buying from British manufacturers would mean they could steadily grow to meet demand. It would have to be a partnership but, to a large extent, any recovery would be in the hands of the retailers. If the efforts gone into committing orders to ‘Made in Britain’ had matched that of marketing ‘Made in Britain’, then things might have moved a bit further on.

. But could it be that nostalgia around the once dominant textile tradition and industry of the UK is misplaced? What we’re longing for is skill and craftsmanship, care and attention to detail – not a Mike Baldwin sweatshop and the knowledge that it’s Janice at Underworld rather than ‘some poor Indian child’ who can knock out 150 tummy controllers a day. Imports have arguably been mislabelled as ‘cheap’ but under high street retail and mass production, ‘Made in Britain’ doesn’t necessarily equate to quality either.

Perhaps it’s heritage or ‘Brand Britain’ rather than ‘Made in Britain’ that we, as consumers, are pledging support for? While Burberry is not made in the UK – it’s made in the Far East – it’s lauded not for being born in Britain, but for the very fact

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that everything about its brand is so controlled. From its Westminster headquarters clothes and accessories are designed, fabric samples are fitted and photographed, shown to buyers, window displays are organised. Every bag, every knit and every toddler-sized trench-coat needs the approval of its chief creative officer and UK fashion’s golden boy, Christopher Bailey.

When it comes to heritage, and being British, it’s such brand and design control that’s important rather than manufacturing, according to some of the UK’s most influential names in clothing and retail. Earlier this year, Next boss Lord Simon Wolfson shocked the industry when he told an audience at the relaunch of industry body UK Fashion & Textiles that British clothing firms should concentrate on design and development and leave the manufacturing process to China. He pooh-poohed talk of a revival of UK manufacturing because UK factories can’t compete with the standards, speed and prices offered in China. The value, he said, and where Britain ought to focus on, is the design, development and strategy.

Could Wolfson be right? Do we actually want a return to British mass manufacturing? Picture an old weaver pedalling away on his loom, stopping every now and again to adjust his warp and weft. Now envision a massive strip-lit factory with hundreds of workers clacking away on machines, glancing anxiously at the huge clock overhead.

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While much has been made about the skills, resources and local economies that languished as retailers withdrew their orders from UK factories and placed them with the Far East, little has been made of the youth of today’s unwillingness to work in a factory. Who wants to work in manufacturing when so much is made of being a designer or a buyer? There’s disconnect between our nostalgia and how we value the actual production of clothes.

You have to wonder how long until the manufacturing phenomenon that beset Britain befalls China? Those in the UK fashion industry have pointed out that the number of workers failing to return to their machines after Chinese New Year increases every year. No industry – an industry being its workers – will take the levels of exploitation of mass production forever. When manufacturing skills are equated only to mass fabrication, it’s a matter of time before workers aspire to do something more valued. Now, where’s the next stop for cheap production?

It seems the only realistic option for UK manufacturing is a smaller, cottage style industry producing a more premium product. We’ve already seen niche brands like Albam painstakingly seek out English factories, indigenous skills, threads or fabrics. Others, like London-based Good One, are taking a standpoint on authenticity and sustainability, specialising in upcycling, combining British and sustainable fabrics with reclaimed textiles.

The brand has developed a design method, unique to it, to use recycled fabrics to make all possibilities of clothing. Now, here’s an opportunity for British intellectual property.

With so many perceptions of Britishness, heritage and ‘Made in England’ all used interchangeably and without any real consideration, it’s no wonder we’re confused.

MR BRAINWASH

The one and only:

Interview - Gina Lovett www.mrbrainwash.com

HIs METEoRIC RIsE FRoM vINTAGE CloTHING sEllER To CElEbRITy sTREET ARTIsT IN lEss THAN TWo yEARs uNDER THE AEGIs oF bANKsy HAs bEEN THE souRCE oF boTH CoNTEMPT AND bEMusEMENT FRoM THE ART EsTAblIsHMENT. TWo yEARs oN FRoM ‘EXIT THRouGH THE GIFT sHoP’ AND PEoPlE ARE sTIll AsKING IF MR bRAINWAsH Is A RusE oN THE ART WoRlD oR JusT A luCKy AMATEuR THAT HIT THE bIG TIME oN THE sTRENGTH oF CElEbRITy CulTuRE ToDAy. 55’s GINA lovETT CoNsIDERs THE PHENoMENoN THAT Is MR bRAINWAsH.

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Mr Brainwash has completed his sixth show since 2008. Banksy’s ‘biggest work of art’, as Brainwash has described himself, has drawn in crowds across Los Angeles, New York, Miami and, most recently, London, making millions selling ‘artwork’ in the process. If the success of art is defined in monetary terms, Mr Brainwash – the persona adopted by Thierry Guetta – is very, very successful indeed.

When 55 meets him, he is sitting confidently in the cavernous expanse of the Old Sorting Office – the site of his recent London debut. It’s taken him a day or two to recover from the opening party, and if the turnout for that was anything to go by, the show will not go unnoticed. Surrounded by giant soup cans and Warhol-esque prints, Brainwash, with his trademark beard and hat, and ‘Allo ‘Allo French accent, littered with mistakes, engenders caricature and bemusement.

For those that aren’t familiar with Mr Brainwash, he first came to prominence in Bristolian street-art-rascal Banksy’s 2010 mockumentary, ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’. The story traces eccentric French vintage store dealer Thierry Guetta’s amateur filming of street art, and how, by following around his cousin and street artist Invader in LA, he befriended Shepard Fairey, and eventually Banksy. It isn’t until Banksy asks Guetta to produce a street art documentary for him from his extensive footage that there is a turn of events that sees Guetta ‘outshining’ his

revered street artists to stage a celebrity-studded LA show and sell more than £1m of street ‘art’.

Despite having no artistic background, Guetta has since designed a Madonna album cover, worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and exhibited all over the world. But it’s the vagueness surrounding his thinking, concept and artistic skill that has infuriated many, who wonder what he has done to merit such attention and financial reward. More than two years on from ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ and the media still asks: is his vagueness intentional? Is he serious? Is he a fake? Could he be Banksy?

He tells 55 that artistic skill is something you have from the inside: ‘You wake up and you have something in your stomach that you need to get it out and that’s the way you do it. You come out and say, “I want to be able to build a big Mickey Mouse, with this and that”. You’re really pushing to something to create it, you know, to exist. The most important [thing] is to make people see it that it exists. I think art is to make it exist, if it doesn’t exist it wouldn’t be there. I’m between street art and pop art, a very happy and positive person and you can see it through the art and that’s what it is.’

But what is ‘it’ exactly? If street art is based on the pastiche of artistic styles and cultural semantics, and pop art, the ironic use of ubiquitous, everyday imagery, Brainwash’s work can’t be anything other than a pastiche of pastiche.

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In the vein of street and pop art, he replaces objects or adds colour and pattern to subvert meaning and context. But it’s his literal emulation of the street artists he followed in ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ and the sheer scale of production of work that evokes another layer of irony. The myriad styles, ideas, and installations – the King Kong, the lifesize racing car in a toy box, the giant Campbell Soup cans – the effect is that of a street art-themed Disneyland tourist attraction. Moreover, Brainwash’s approach to exhibiting art, offering limited edition screen print giveaways or spray paint cans, arguably has more in common with retail than art. As a business operation, ‘it’ runs very successfully.

‘I’m so passion that when I do something I don’t stop. I’m 100 per cent full of what I do,’ he says.

There is also the question of how much work is actually made by him: not very much. Brainwash plays the role of a director of a team of graphic designers more than an artist painstakingly ‘finding’ his handwriting.

Warhol dubbed his studio ‘The Factory’ to emphasise that art could not escape commodification in the same way as tins of soup or soap pads or boxes of cereal. ‘The Factory’ also described the way his assistants helped with this ‘production’ line.

Whether intentional or not, the parallels between Brainwash and Warhol mean that it’s not just Brainwash’s work that is pastiche, but his persona is too.

The phenomenon that has surrounded him – his rise to fame and surge in value – embodies much of what figures central to fame, celebrity and reality TV theory, from Warhol to Jade Goody, stood for.

The ultimate reality TV star, Goody, first graced our screens on Big Brother, finding fame as a source of ridicule for her ignorance. This, of course, perversely fuelled her public entertainment value and ongoing media presence that saw her lose her tragic battle with cervical cancer in the spotlight.

As the media pointed out, while Jade had a celebrity agent, who also represented Davina McCall and Tess Daly, and made numerous TV appearances on The Weakest Link, The Friday Night Project, Celebrity Driving School, What Jade Goody Did Next and Jade’s PA, it wasn’t clear what she actually did for a living. But like Goody, who can refute the success of Brainwash if it’s judged in monetary terms? Brainwash is, as Fairey proclaimed in ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’, the rightful heir to Warhol – the visionary of 15 minutes of fame, the precursor to hyper-reality.

In ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ Shepard Fairey commented: ‘Even though the Andre the Giant sticker was an inside joke and I was just having fun, I like the idea of, the more stickers that are out there, the more important it seems. The more important it seems the more people want to know what it is, the more they ask each other. It gains real power from perceived power.’

But most importantly, despite being ignorant, amateur and having no apparent skill, Goody had ‘made it’. By her own account, she was the 25th ‘most inferential [sic] person in the world’, worth up to £4m, never out of the spotlight – and with her own best-selling perfume.

Max Clifford famously told The Independent in 2007: ‘I think the magic is that anybody watching Jade would think, “I could do that, and I could do that better”. More and more young girls and boys want to be famous. And if Jade can be, anyone can be.’

In a time where you can now ‘make it’ through X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, such ‘magic’ has become widespread. Brainwash tells 55: ‘When some people comes and asks me to take a photo, or something, it’s not because I’m famous, it’s because of what I do. I give them a part of me to be able to make what they want to do in life. This is my important message. It’s to really make people follow them dream because everyone has a star, everyone has a diamond and I want to just tell them to believe it, because if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. You just have to make it happen.’

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He adds: ‘It’s not about just the fame, it’s about what you do, it’s about working, there’s no secret on success, there is ideas and making it and there is work for it and there is to be there and make it happens [sic]. In the end, it’s all about work. It’s all about making it happen and believing it. Fame is one word, it’s good but to give is even more important to me.’

After several years of hard work and show after show, Brainwash is now planning to be ‘organic’ over the next 12 months. He says: ‘Since 2008, I did six shows – LA, New York, Miami – I was going to do something in Russia with [Roman] Abramovich but I’m playing it by ear. I would like to expand out of Europe, after putting the first foot in, but I think we will keep it organic.’ Whether or not the pastiche machine has finally run out of steam, or whether it’s about time for a pause in such a busy career is open to debate.

Intentional or not, contrived or farce, there is genius in the phenomenon that is Mr Brainwash simply for what it tell us about society. ‘Time will tell,’ says Brainwash elusively. ‘With time you’ll know everything.’

brainwash on banksy: ‘He put me in the game. He made a film, something that I started. He made it happen. Without me, it wouldn’t happens [sic] the way it happens and that’s what happens, you know. After he does his things, I do my things, life goes on but we respect each other.’

brainwash on Art: ‘It’s something that I’m very passioned [sic] about it. This is what I do – everyday trying to find a new idea, trying to find something. sometime [sic] I wake up and it’s like, “this is what I’m going to do” and some people think I’m crazy but that’s what it is. you need to be a little crazy to make it happen.’

brainwash on Warhol: ‘Warhol is very simple to understand. At the time, people thought it wasn’t art. I don’t know a lot about what happened in the press to him, but I’m sure they must have killed him. Just to tell you that time tells. you think you know, but you don’t know. And me, myself, I know that I don’t know, and this I know, you know.’

Dress - Nicolas WirthSilver chain with cross - Thomas saboGold clutch with chains - Kzeniya

Photographer - Christopher simsFashion - valentina TiubiniMake-up - Philipp ueberfellnerHair - lalah CreativPhoto Assistants - Nick Thompson and Joe barbourStylist’s Assistant - Marta CesaroModels - Kiera at select and ben at EliteSet design, location and post production at 55factory

Coat - Jayne PiersonTrousers - Nok Nok london

Boots - Dr Martens

Cape and arm bracelet - Francesca MarottaLeather shoulder pads with studs - Nikita Karizma

Gloves - Angels

Dress - Nova ChiuBlack beads bracelet - Thomas saboSilver bracelet - PyrrhaBoots vintage - vivienne WestwoodClutch with metal and studs - Kzeniya

Trousers - Nok Nok londonBoots - Dr Martens

Necklaces - Eleconor bolton

Shirt - Agi & samNecklaces - suicide blondeBracelet - Maria PianaSilver ring - Pyrrha

Accessories - stylist’s own

Lace cape, skirt and shoes - Francesca MarottaGloves - What Katie DidVintage rosary - stylist’s own

Technodrome1Featured Artist:

Interview - Kate Lawson www.technodrome1.tumblr.com

WITH A NEo-EXPREssIoNIsT EDGE REMINIsCENT oF AMERICAN ARTIsT JEAN-MICHEl bAsquIAT AND A TouCH oF PoP-ART GREATs WARHol AND lICHTENsTEIN, NEW yoRKER TAKuN WIllIAMs, oR TECHNoDRoME1, Is FAsT bECoMING oNE To WATCH oN THE DIGITAl ART sCENE.

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55’s Kate Lawson finds out more about Williams’ early inspirations and his dream future collaborations.

55 - Where does the name Technodrome1 come from?

T - It comes from the classic television show The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Technodrome was the vehicle that the bad guys ride around in.

55 - Who first turned you on to art?

T - My father used to oil paint and seeing his stuff on the walls was sometimes kind of mind blowing. but I think I turned myself on to art. once I saw it I was fascinated by it – any kind of art.

55 - How has your style evolved?

T - I’m not sure where any of this stuff comes from, but it’s just evolved to this and will probably keep changing. (55 should point out here that Williams went to both the Pratt Institute and Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts, training in graphic design, illustration and a gaining a major in cartooning)

55 - Who are your biggest influences art-wise, past and present?

T - Honestly everything influences me. The internet in general is responsible for most of the work I create, and the way I live my life is a direct influence on my work. Tumblr is responsible for polluting my brain with mass information and pictures and TV is also a big offender. It’s a combination of pop culture being ingrained into my life from when I was young. Art-wise, it’s everyone from Picasso to Shepard Fairey and Mr Brainwash.

55 - How does your work move on the pop-art style epitomised by artists like Andy Warhol?

T: The most obvious reason my work may be different is due to the colour splashes and the way those colours are used. I think I might stand out in the crowd because I’m not trying to be different. I’m just inspired by others and have my own take on whatever I’m doing. I really can’t help what comes out. I just enjoy what I’m doing

because I don’t put any pressure on myself to be like anybody.

55 - How do you choose your subjects?

T - It’s a little led by current affairs but it’s mostly drawn off the hip. But that’s directly affected by whatever I see, so it might be something current in the paper, or something from Netflicks, or a blog. Tumblr is great for inspiration.

55 - What sort of response have you received from the celebrities you’ve painted?

T - I don’t know if I have yet!

55 - Who would you like to collaborate with?

T - I haven’t done any collaborations yet but I would be down to do a lot of different things with existing brands or maybe start my own. I would like to work with BAPE or KAWS, or Kanye West. I’ll work with anyone who wants to do something great.

55 - What music do you listen to?

T - All types of music. I bump a lot of Odd Future and A$AP Rocky. Also random 90’s rap, but I mostly listen to Emo music like Camera Obscure while I work. I don’t know what it is about Emo music that makes me want to do very brightly-coloured art work.

55 - How would you describe your personal style? Does image play a part in defining your profile?

T - I never really think that much about what I wear, but I think that’s changing as I get older. I’ve realised I just want to be comfortable, and I’m really into wearing all black, but I’m starting to want to rock all white for some reason. Weird.

5 - Who is the next big thing art-wise in your opinion?

T - TECHNODROME1!

sINCE FoRMING IN 2007, bRITIsH bAND sHARKs HAs GoNE FRoM sTRENGTH To sTRENGTH. WITH AN AvID CollECTIoN oF ClAssIC PuNK RoCK lANDING soMEWHERE bETWEEN THE buzzCoCKs AND blACK FlAG, THEy ClAIM To HAvE bEEN oNCE DEsCRIbED As THE ‘WoRsT bAND sEEN EvER’. yET THEy’RE sTEADIly CREATING souND WAvEs AND RECoGNITIoN ACRoss THE GlobE WITH THE AlTERNATIvE PREss HAIlING THEM As oNE oF THE 100 bANDs you NEED To KNoW. THEy Also HAvE A HANDFul oF TouRs uNDER THEIR lEATHER bElTs. 55 CHATs INFluENCEs AND ENERGy To JAMEs MATToCK AND ANDREW bAylIss FRoM THE bAND.

SHARKSFeatured Musicians:

Interview - Daisy Jones Photography - Christopher Sims

www.facebook.com/sharksuk

43

55 - For anyone that hasn’t heard of you yet how would you describe your sound?

Andrew - It’s really just a classic Rock ‘n’ Roll sound. We have a pretty simple set up with a pretty simple approach.

55 - 2012 has been a busy year for you what with your album No Gods and hectic tour schedule – what do you do to keep yourself sane?

Andrew - We’ve just been keeping ourselves busy. This year’s touring schedule hasn’t been quite as hectic as last year’s, which has actually allowed us to spend more time working on our second record.

55 - you’ve been described by some as having quite an American punk sound although you’re all british – what are your influences?

Andrew - There’s certainly a pinch of the American Punk influence in there, but I wouldn’t say it was definitive of our sound. The truth is that we all draw influence from many different places.

55 - you’ve been around since 2007 but had a bit of a turnaround in band members – why do you think this is?

Andrew - It wouldn’t have been possible to continue as a band otherwise. If you don’t all share the same drive and passion it can be very difficult to move forward as a collective.

55 - What is your music making process?

Andrew - I have an eight track recorder which I record all my ideas on. I don’t have garage band or anything like that. It’s a process which requires my neighbours to hate me.

55 - Who writes the songs or is it more of collaboration?

Andrew - It’s a collaboration between James and myself. I’ll work on the music, he’ll work on the lyrics, and then we’ll take the song into the rehearsal room and thrash it out as a band.

55 - you’ve played with some bands such as Gallows, babyshambles, lost Prophets and the King blues. How have these experiences with these bands that have been around longer helped you as a band?

Andrew - I would say touring in itself has just improved us as a band. Every tour has always put us in better shape for the next one. We’ve definitely become a much stronger band in the last 14 months.

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55 - The album is out now. How has that process been? Writing, recording and how is it for you that it’s now on the market?

James - Well it’s our debut album and we’ve been playing together for almost five years now, so it’s been a long time coming but we’ve put out loads of EPs before. We just came round to doing it at the right time but yeah, glad we waited because we got to go to America to do it and we’ve got the backing of a cool label. It’s come out exactly how we wanted it to, so it was worth the wait!

55 - What informed your decision to release your debut album No Gods with Rise Records?

Andrew - Rise had already done a great job with releasing a collection of ours called The Joys of Living, so we knew what to expect with the release of No Gods. We’re planning to release our follow up to No Gods with Rise as well.

55 - All the albums and EPs that you’ve released, you’ve also released on vinyl. What’s the significance of that?

James - We just still really believe in a physical copy of a record and we have faith in people to collect records like we do and try to put the fun back into music and the buying of physical records. Keeping it limited and nice and valuable. Limited stuff and only one hundred limited vinyl’s, we’ve always been into that and luckily our label is really supportive of that so it gives us a backing to do it.

55 - you’ve played all around the world – who are your most appreciative audiences?

Andrew - We tend to find pockets of the good spirited audiences much more frequently in the States. They’re usually the ones who just want to let their hair down, have a few drinks and get loose at the shows.

55 - best and worst gig and why?

Andrew - The worst gig was a floor show we played in Stockton, California. We were boozed up on cheap 40s and must’ve sounded like a broken Dead Boys record. As soon as we’d

45

finished the promoter came up to us and said, ‘You’re the worst band I’ve ever seen’.

The best gig was our first ever show in Japan at the Summer Sonic Festival. We opened the festival on a gigantic outdoor stadium. It was a ridiculous moment for the band.

55 - What music did you listen to growing up and how much do you think this affected the music you would make later?

Andrew - I grew up listening to lots of stuff, which has probably all helped to shape me as a musician and a person. I still love all the music that I had a profound connection with when I was younger. I still think The Beatles were the greatest band ever.

55 - What bands are you into that are about right now?

Andrew - I adore the new Alabama Shakes record. I would strongly recommend everyone to check them out. I’ve also been listening to the new Richard Hawley record and a great band from Australia called Oh Mercy.

55 - If you weren’t making music what do you think you’d be doing?

Andrew - I’ve never had to think of an alternative to music, but I would certainly try and keep myself involved in the creative process of something.

55 - What are your plans for 2013?

Andrew - The follow up to ‘No Gods’ and some touring to support its release.

PoRTRAIT ARTIsT AND CuRAToR AT loNDoN’s oRbITAl CoMICs GAllERy, JAsoN AToMIC Is oFTEN FouND sCouRING THE soRTs oF DARK MEETING PlACEs WHERE THE sub-CulTuRAl looK To EsCAPE THE GENERAl PoPulATIoN. IT’s HERE HE HAs HIs sKETCHbooK AND PENCIl IN HAND, EyEs FlICKING ARouND THE FIGuREs lIKE A DERANGED PERvERT.

JASONATOMIC

Featured Artist:

Interview - Christopher George www.jasonatomic.co.uk

47

Here Christopher George talks to the man about his love of comics and how real life is more inspirational.

55 - What is it that grabs your attention about the human form, and what are you trying to translate?

JA - I’m trying to catch the line, which isn’t even a ‘real’ thing in nature, it’s a very human conceit. I’m looking for the horizon of a body, the area between contrasting tones. By imposing this concept of the outline onto nature, tracing it in a magical way I feel as if I am capturing the ‘secret name’ of my subject.

55 - When did you discover this talent for rapid capture of a person’s inner most secrets and character?

JA - It started quite innocently as a game - ‘drawing without looking’ we called it - drawing without looking down at the paper. Whilst the results were often loose wonky scribbles, on further inspection they revealed things not only about the way people looked but the mood of the time, feelings of atmosphere and personality.

55 - Where do ideas come from for you creatively and what inspires you?

JA - Dreaming is an important source of inspiration. One of the objectives of art in my mind is to blur the distinction between dreaming and waking ‘reality’.

I used to make things up from my imagination, drawing comics etc... As I travelled and explored different areas of experience I realised real life is far more varied and fascinating than anything I might invent, and dedicated myself to drawing from life.

Also drawing comics is a craft, which encourages you to look at the work of others. If you want to be a ‘real artist’ you need to stop looking at what other people are doing and respond directly to the world around you in an honest and original way, and not be following others who already did it better.

55 - you have been working with Honey Manko as your muse for years now. How is it working with the same figure and what difference do you see? Is there any criticism there after studying the same figure or is it a complete detachment?

JA - Manko is my muse, model, photographer, editor, PA we support and inspire each other like one person split into two sometimes.

In relation to drawing and painting her, it might be the same figure but we are all in constant flux, even if I draw the same body again and again I try to detatch my ego and expectation from the process and draw it as if it’s the first time I’ve looked at it.

The one thing that stays the same is the fact that everything always changes, time is always ‘now’ and we are always ‘here’ but those places and things are never exactly the same.

55 - you mentioned that comics were of great importance to you as a form of reference and escapism until you realised life was much more interesting. Can you elaborate on this?

JA - Yes, I was always attracted to stylised clean line illustrations. As a little kid it was Egyptian and Meso-American hieroglyphics; when I got a little older I discovered the comics of Jack Kirby & Burne Hogarth’s Tarzan. The dynamism, power and grace of those works mystified me. They still do.

Regardless of the Cubists, Surrealists or even the YBAs I believe comics were the ultimate art form of the 20th century and Jack Kirby WAS the king.

I loved comics, they eclipsed all other passions for many years, especially when I discovered underground comics! I wanted to be a comic artist but to be honest it’s too difficult, everything has to be so perfect, so standardised, it’s like a factory job - not for me.

I’ve got to be free, to do what I want to do.

48 - Nook 55Factory

Photography - Christopher Sims Artwork - Nick Thompson

49- Jason balfron Tower

50 - olivia Arch Way

51- Manko East london

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The British establishment, like a bulldog let loose, has been caught with the dirty bones of scandals from the blatant lies of the Iraq war to the disgrace of parliamentary expense fiddling, media mafia phone hacking and the creation of the biggest economic crisis since the 1940s.

Isn’t it clear as ground hog day that neo-liberal capitalism and free market ideology is a system that’s only serving the rich? The greatest tragedy of all these scandals is that not much has changed – lessons haven’t been learned.

The financial crash of 2008 offered an opportunity to put a collar on the bulldog and reform the financial system, but the recent Libor scandal has been the biggest banking blunder in history. And it’s not just Barclays – all major UK banks, including the Bank of England have been caught dodgy dealing and so has the British Government. When questioned, these dishonest scoundrels suddenly seem to suffer from memory loss, and so do we it seems.

Wake up nation. Isn’t it the same politicians who have come a cropper in front of the financial elite now denouncing the corrupt bankers? Our banking system has failed the British people at huge economic and social cost.

Income inequality among working-age people has risen faster in the UK than in any other rich nation since the mid-1970s, according to a report by the OECD. The thinktank says the gap is due to the rise of a financial services elite who have concentrated wealth into the hands of a tiny minority.

A study by Shelter has revealed that people living in relatively poor Barking and Dagenham are twice as likely as the average British person to have their homes repossessed. Campbell Robb, its chief executive, said: ‘Most people think that repossession will never happen to them, but rising unemployment, rising living costs and high house prices mean that many people are living close to the edge already, and risk falling into a spiral of debt and repossession.’

And with soaring house prices and banks increasingly unwilling to lend because of the economic crisis, first-time buyers are priced out of the housing market.

It seems that financial crime is easier to get away with than any other in our surveillance state where cameras are pointing in the wrong direction. The political and banking criminals are unlikely to be brought down – resignation from their high profile positions bears a fruitful pay-off, more than a fall from grace.

So what is to become of the youth of today?

After years of being drip-fed this ideology, and having the commodification of all things alternative – think high-street chains selling vintage clothes and revivalist pop acts – instilled into them, it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.

The youth has no choice but to bite back. For the majority, aspirations to have their own credit cards, mortgage and investment plans have been taken away, leaving them jobless, careless, homeless and hopeless.

According to charity UK Youth, 25% of young people in the UK aged 16-24 are currently unemployed. Two-fifths of those unemployed in the UK today are under the age of 25. This is the highest youth unemployment figure since records began in 1992. Unemployment impacts negatively on health, wellbeing and life chances.

In the David Guetta era it seems there’s little room for an alternative scene for young people today – playing Xbox, watching XFactor or heading into trendy Shoreditch to Club X – without it being trend-spotted and transformed into a marketing and sales pitch.

With no money and no jobs it’s not long before young people will break under the lack of real status in society. They will need to look even harder to one another and strive for genuine expression, purpose and identity, that will makes us all look at them and wish we were teenagers again.

HOW TO LOOK REALLY FASHIONABLE

Chris (Simpsons artist)

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