+ HISHAM BHAROOCHA

+ C•NEEON

+ JESS ROBERTS

+ RYAN PFLUGER

+ YOUNG SUN HAN

+ ANDREA DEZSö

+ SHAUN KESSLER

+ YOUNG & THE RESTLESS

+ SHE WANTS REVENGE

+ + + HISHAM BHAROOCHA + + +
Interview by LULU CHANG

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“I do not want to create work that is only for the intellectual, or only for one type of person.”

Self-analyzation… self-realization… self-actualization… then what? In his visually vital collages, installations, and photos, Brooklyn-based artist Hisham Bharoocha wants to bring us back to nature, seeing and experiencing the challenges of daily life from a balanced viewpoint.

Born in Nidata, Japan, the Soft Circle musician and artist had his first show at The Vleeshal, Netherlands this year, and has since shown throughout Europe and the United States. Meditation is his inspiration, and in itself, Bharoocha’s work seeks to unite all of us in mind and body.

What is more satisfying and viscerally true for you, making music or making art?
When one plays music the effect on the musician is immediate, as well as for the audience, so I'd have to say that is more visceral to me. If you play any kind of instrument whether it's a triangle or a guitar you feel the vibrations physically and that has an effect on ones senses immediately.
Sometimes you can create a work or see a work that gives you immediate satisfaction, work that makes you feel before you go into thought. I am trying to create work with this in mind. For me it is important to create work that draws any type of person into the image. I do not want to create work that is only for the intellectual, or only for one type of person.

"That which is not present in deep dreamless sleep is not real," according to Ramana Maharshi: there is some underlying current of awareness when we dream. What kind of things do you dream about?
If I don't clear my mind before I go to bed I usually have dreams that relate to my anxieties about what I need to get done in my life. If I don't get to bed until late I have very psychedelic dreams, sometimes blissful imagery, sometimes images that I fear. In one blissful dream I remember I was diving into a very clear ocean and I could swim as fast as a fish without coming up for air. In my darkest moments I dream about going into the basement of a castle that leads into an endless labyrinth filled with deadly creatures from another world, I usually can't seem to get out.

I recently caught your exhibit at Jack Hanley Gallery and it seems you have been quite busy. Where are you now? And what do you have planned for the future?
I'm back in NYC and getting ready to play some shows (playing with The Sea and Cake this Saturday, putting together a band for legendary musician Damo Suzuki from Can), planning out recording schedules, planning out a tour in Europe, also getting ready for another art show in January in France. So yes busy as a bee, but delighted to be blessed with people being interested in what I want to create. There are so many things I want to create! It's endless. The limit is only created by the mind.

+ + + C•NEEON + + +
Interview by Jason Lingard

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“...our collections major focus is on bold graphic prints, strong silhouettes with volume, symmetrical shapes, and architectural construction.”

1. Where are you from?
Clara is born in Berlin, Doreen in Thüringen, former eastern germany.

2. How did you get into fashion?
Doreen: I grew up in East Thuringia, just a few kilometers from the Bavarian border. In our house there was a sort of daily improvisation– we especially had to improvise with clothing for instance. I barely had any store-bought clothes, my mother made a lot of them herself.

Clara: I studied textile design. The basic principle that guided my work was always based around very small pieces consisting either of paper or of woven materials. Complete and fully finished products to fit a specific body were rarley created. Then I got to know Doreen and we realized quickly that we worked really well as a team.

3. What do you love about fashion design?
Ending one collection and starting the next from the very beginning.

4. How would you describe your style?
Doreen: Our collections major focus is on bold graphic prints, strong silhouettes with volume, symmetrical shapes, and architectural construction.

5. How important is pattern and shape in your design process?
Clara: Extensive prints are typical of a c.neeon collection, designs are always related to pattern. But it's not that I just hand over the finished fabrics to Doreen, there's otyher considerations, for example, the depth of a skirts' folds are determined by the width of the block stripes, just as the size of a print depends on the way a dress may fall.

6. Do you think German fashion has a distinct style?
Doreen: Of course, there is this generalisation of typical German design– but if you look carefully the designers are quite different; for instance Frank Leder or Wunderkind or Jil Sander. We don´t think that you can put all german designers in one catagory.

Clara: Last year we were invited to the fashion summit in Vienna. There were designers from all over Europe and we were selected to represent Germany. During this exhibition a lot of people were very suprised when they saw our work, and asked us if it was typical german design... it's difficult to talk about a distinctive German style.

7. You won the Hyeres Festival young designer competition. What did that mean to you?
Clara: A lot of things have changed since Hyeres. We travel more and have more possibilities to collaborate with other people. Personally though, not so many things have changed.
Doreen: I definitely notice that we have to work more in the predetermined industry cycles: fashion shows, trade fair presentations, etc. So of course that has an effect on our personal lives. But luckily there`s still time to meet up with friends and sometimes do things that are not just about fashion...

8. What / who are your influences?
Doreen: Our environment... in Lichtenberg we share an old Kindergarden with photographers, painters, graphic designers, and writers, we all do projects together.

We're also inspired by music, art and books, and we both love Vionnet, Sonia Delaunay and the Constructivists, who stood out for their interesting patterns and the great rhythms on their surfaces.

Clara: There were great people in the ‘Wiener Werkstätten’ too. For me it´s fascinating that they worked not only on people, but that they also encorporated the space. Artists from all kinds of disciplines working together...

+ + + JESSICA ROBERTS + + +
Interview by NICHOLAS HARMER

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“ I strive for each child to be viewed as sophisticated and as endearing as possible, which often revealed a surprisingly mature kind of beauty.”

1. Where are you from?
I grew up in a small town right outside of Philadelphia. I have now been living in Philly for about six years.

2. Does your work relate to your life at all? Maybe your own childhood or childhood friends?

Yes, very much so. The intent for the series was sparked by my heightened insecurity of becoming older, and acclimating myself to the sadness of innocence being lost.

3. Your shots have a very “fairy tale” quality to me. Could there be a narrative for these characters?
Of course a narrative could be told for all of the children, but it would be all too easy for me to interrupt your considerations. I like to leave the story telling up to the viewers.

4. How do you choose a scene for your photographs? Do you photograph at home or a selected location?
Personal space is a huge factor in creating a sense of comfort and trust between myself and the model. It only seemed fitting to create my images within their space, whether it be in their bedroom or on their front lawn. Being overtly aesthetic with every shot is important. I strive for each child to be viewed as sophisticated and as endearing as possible, which often revealed a surprisingly mature kind of beauty.

5. Is it hard to find children willing to model, and where do you find them?
Luckily, I have had the opportunity to be surrounded by an abundance of children who were all very willing to participate.

Also with almost every child, there was already some sort of relationship or interaction established before the shoot. So, the difficulty was never so much with them, but on occasions the difficulties arose from their parents.

6. Which other photographers do you look up to?
Julia Fullerton- Batten, Carlos & Jason Sanchez, Sally Mann, Helen van Meene, Simen Johan, Philip-Lorca diCorcia

7. What’s next for you?
Right now I would like to continue showing work as much as possible, and really dive into a series I barely started a year ago
called "Mama's crooning".

+ + + RYAN PFLUGER + + +
Interview by MARCUS COWAN

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“ ... in the end, it's all about my need to hold onto anyone and everyone I can through the process of photographing them... it gives me a sense of security.”

1. Where are you from?
Brooklyn, New York.

2. How did you get into photography?
I was always interested in photographers as artists, but never in making photography my creative outlet. While doing my Bachelors, I took a photography class and realized how easy it was for me to visually express my ideas through the medium. It's all history from there.

3. Your work is mainly portraits, do you know all your subjects?
Every person i photograph, I know to some degree. I only photograph people that I personally seek out or have known for a long time. It keeps me in control, rather than someone asking for me to photograph them. With that comes a whole string of expectations, thus affecting the work. I like to be in control.

4. How does your relationship with the subject affect the final image?
I think my awkwardness with all my subjects affects the outcome of all my work. There is a real honesty in that. I am not a social person and prefer to stay at home and watch movies by myself while I work. I have a love for all my subjects though.... I choose to photograph them because there is something in them that sparks intrigue to me. However, in the end, it's all about my need to hold onto anyone and everyone I can through the process of photographing them... it gives me a sense of security.

5. Dead or alive, who would you love to have sit for a portrait?
I have a lot of dream people I'd love to photograph... Gaspard Ulliel is at the top of the list. Ellen Page, Rhona Mitra, Parker Posey, Tilda Swinton, Patricia Clarkson... the list really goes on and on.

6, What do you feel makes a good photographer?
Having a complete love for doing it is the backbone to being a good photographer....but only gets you so far. Challenging the medium, working everyday, and always realizing there is more to do.

7. Recently you’ve worked for some high-profile clients, what have your learnt from these jobs?
I am blessed to have the people I do, support my work so much. I recently worked on and eight page spread for the New York Times Magazine... which was quite amazing. It was the first time I had worked with such a large staff on location... and I really couldn't have asked for more amazing people to work with. Time Out NY and Paper Magazine also support my work a lot. It's a different experience working for someone, instead of for yourself, however, I always make the work as I would if it were for myself.

8. What next for Ryan Pfluger?
Well, well, well. I'm working on a few new bodies of work for my first solo show, which will open this January at Envoy Gallery in NYC. This includes some drawing and appropriation of images from the internet. I have work in a few books being published next year, including a small artist book being published by my gallery in an edition of 500. I hope to be teaching next year in the fall full-time. And also next week I'm photographing Bloc Party and Patrick Wolf.

+ + + YOUNG SUN HAN + + +
Interview by Owen Leong

http://www.youngsunhan.com

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“You can imagine that a church-going, spelling bee competing, closeted queer boy in the suburbs is going to develop his sexuality through the care and abuse of strangers.”

Young Sun Han is an artist and curator based in Auckland, New Zealand. Subversive and engaging, his latest exhibition invAsian! includes photographs of colossal demigods posing in their underwear. I caught up with Young recently to ask him about his work.

1. You've travelled widely as an artist and curator. Can you tell us about this journey?
The journey has been very instinctual and intuitive. Since childhood, I had been fascinated by Greek mythology and classical marble sculptures. At university, I found an opportunity to complete an artist residency on Skopelos Island. That experience was so rewarding, that I further explored Europe while studying at Goldsmiths in London. Family history drew me to Korea’s 38th parallel, a government grant allowed me to study German in Cologne, and my partner moved to New Zealand for political reasons, where I am currently based.

I grew up in Skokie, Illinois, where the largest demographic of Jewish Holocaust survivors in the U.S. live. As a result, this drew the attention of Neo-Nazis and KKK members who used to rally in my hometown. Raised amongst these diverse views and hearing stories about World War II from real people who had lived through it has somehow fuelled my wanderlust and desire to dissolve into other cultures.

2. What are some of the influences behind your art practice?
Alpha male trapped in the body of a beta – I think that’s my complex. I’m also constantly exploring my social boundaries and appreciate performance art that places an artist in precarious situations. Writers influence how I think about these limits; especially those who pulverise my comfort zones, like British playwright, Philip Ridley. My favourite artist of all time would be Tehching Hsieh – he is so overlooked, and I love his composed but utterly hardcore attitude towards life and art.

3. You often make complete strangers part of the artwork. Can you discuss this provocative aspect of your practice?
You can imagine that a church-going, spelling bee competing, closeted queer boy in the suburbs is going to develop his sexuality through the care and abuse of strangers. This must have set a precedent for how I enjoy working – forming vital and casual relationships with people I don’t know, to allow the work to take on new directions. It also keeps my practice from being too insular and all in my head. I appreciate what other people bring to the process; it’s like going on a series of blind art dates.

4. How does your new work deal with the Asian male body?
Firstly, it makes the Asian male body visible in a way that lies between caricatures of hyper-masculinity (kung-fu masters) and sexual inferiority (overtly submissive boys). The imagery alludes to comic books and underwear catalogues, which are potential sites for adolescent fantasies. Different ethnicities are featured, and I have vamped up exotic qualities in exchange for power. These bodies create desire from a position of control.

5. What are you working on right now?
Perverse ghost sculptures and finishing a series of photographs for a solo exhibition at City Art Rooms, Auckland, opening on October 16. The next body of work will be an exploration of real and imagined North Korea, which is where my father’s side of the family originates. I am hoping to visit the country next year to do some research. At the moment, I am working on some designs of North Korean guard towers, which will be life-size constructions. Curator-wise, I’m organising a ‘young blood salon’ featuring the work of current and recently graduated students.

+ + + ANDREA DEZSö + + +
Interview by Nicky Verdoodt

http://www.a.parsons.edu/~andi

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“I would work on my own projects even if nobody would care to show them or look at them. Art for me is a private matter ... ”

1. Where are you from ?
I was born in Transylvania, Romania and am ethnic Hungarian. I also lived in Hungary for almost 10 years in my twenties.

2. In what way has your mothers advice (from the embroidery) influenced your life?
First it was something I did not question and tried to observe by all means later it was an important source of reflection on culture, family, society and the idea of "facts".

3. In your sculptures, the coffins for the insects, you make death seem so soft and gentle. How you personally feel about it ?
It's unavoidable, unknowable. I don't think it's gentle. I don't have any idealized notion of death.

4. Does your Transylvanian heritage have a big influence on your work?
In my work tell stories about things I know, things I experienced. I lived in Transylvania during a particularly nasty version of communism, cult of personality and corruption. Many of my stories are tinted by this or the memory of it.

On the 'The Demon Bridegroom', your animation project, for example..
Oh, The Demon Bridegroom, that's my current ongoing project... For these animations I look for source materials from a broader area than
just Transylvania-- Eastern Europe. The Demon Bridegroom will be a series of animated shorts based on reinterpreted Eastern European
Jewish mystical tales which I feel are underrepresented in contemporary avantguard art animation and film, considering their richness and visual/contextual potential.

Do you prefer working on public art or just your own pieces?
I like working on projects–may those be public or private–that allow me the freedom of expression I need to produce meaningful work. I would work on my own projects even if nobody would care to show them or look at them. Art for me is a private matter in the first place. However it's wonderful and rewarding when I get commissioned to do a
public art piece that will contribute to the lives of people who encounter it and I love making public work.

You have a papercut piece called 'Cropduster of Love', if you had the power, what other than love would you like to spread worldwide?
Peace. Compassion. Open mindedness.

What is you favorite medium to create art with/on?
I have many favorites. I love to draw, paint, embroider, cut paper,
sculpt, cast, film, and now animation is a new favorite.

Finally, your own words of advice for our readers?
Keep an open mind.

+ + + SHAUN KESSLER + + +
Interview by Simon Martin

http://www.simonkessler.com

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All images courtesy and © the artist

“Archaeological excavations of cryptographic information imbedded within the physical history of our communication systems.”

1. Where are you from?
I live in new york

2. How did you fall into being an artist?
I could never spell very well

3. What do you love the most about what you do?
Not having to live by the rules of others

4. How would your describe your work?
Archaeological excavations of cryptographic information imbedded within the physical history of our communication systems.

5. What mediums do you enjoy using?
Pencils

6. Your work has a certain 'bizarre' quality to it. Do your friends or family ever think it's weird?
People that know me, know where it's
coming from...

7. Who or what are your influences?
The internet overmind, macro-cosmic
organisms, sound, ry fyan, 3, stay high.

8. What would your dream project be?
To start a school

9. What next for Shaun Kessler?
Only eye know...

Young and Restless : Self Titled
Released: July 14, 2007 (Aus) : Dot Dash Recordings

REVIEW by Nikki Baumann

Young and the Restless, a band from Canberra, Australia, first came to the nation’s attention after winning Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 2006 and going on to play a guest spot at the 2006 Homebake Festival. After touring relentlessly around the country in the previous year, they have since returned to promote their first full-length release of their own special brand of loud, fast and raw Australian hardcore (and recorded by Tom Larkin of Shihad in his Melbourne studio, no less).

While the album is arguably a diluted version of their explosive stage show, enough of their power and presence is transmitted to make for a rough and brutal listening. Lead singer Karina Utomo is undeniably the driving force of the album– it is her vocals that create Young and the Restless’ unique sound. With a style much like that of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, she screams, shrieks and sings her way through the album with an energy that even the most veteran hardcore performers would find hard to replicate.

Far from being a stereotypical hardcore record, there is still plenty of diversity in sound, as the music weaves through elements of catchy, indie disco drum beats to crazy, glass shattering vocals before plunging into heavy bass drums and relentless guitars and then back again to carefully plucked guitar strings. Some songs even seem to feature all four musical elements at once – the song that defines Young and the Restless, ‘Satan’, is a perfect example of this.

This album may make you feel as if you’ve been throttled afterwards, but there’s no denying that it’s an unforgettable and incredible aural journey. It’s both delicate and vicious, complex and yet primal all at the same time… and let’s not gloss over the fact of how refreshing it is to see a woman get up there and front a hardcore band with as much attitude as Utomo does. There’s nothing left to do but crank it up and surrender to the distortion.

Buy the album here.

What would you expect if a rapper and a DJ decided to get together and collaborate? Whatever you were thinking, I bet that it wasn’t dark dance-rock, but that’s just what Californian band She Wants Revenge have been successfully creating since their self-titled debut album in 2006.

She Wants Revenge have a strange sound– It’s familiar, but different. It’s retro but somehow very now. Beat master Adam 12 may hate the comparisons to Joy Division but there’s no fighting the simple fact that there are certainly elements that sound much like the long defunct band. Combine that with Justin Warfield’s menacing vocals and Depeche Mode-like guitars and you get a very dark, alluring sound.

What really works for them, though, is that while they may take influence from many big-name bands that have gone before, they do much more than just churn out 80’s Goth pop for a new century. The difference is that they are actually fun. This isn’t music for morose teenagers hiding in their bedrooms. No sullen brooding for these boys. They play dark pop songs, with sexy beats and bass lines that you just can’t help but dance to. It is easy to see that Warfield accomplished his goal to create “a record that would make girls dance and cry”.

This mix of dark beats and pop sensibilities is definitely working for them, with their first release selling more than 300 000 copies. Their first single ‘Tear You Apart’ was one of the most played tunes on American radio for 2006, and Joaquin Phoenix went on to direct the video for it.

While She Wants Revenge did manage to make it onto the radar of the Australian public, it has yet to make the kind of impact that they had on America. Now it's their second round, and with the upcoming album release of "This Is Forever" we can only hope that they continue to convert new fans and maybe now get the recognition that they deserve.

"This is Forever" is out out 9 October