Nothing Magazine #6

THERE'S A CERTAIN CULTURE HERE...

Victoria Birkinshaw climbs the grandstand steps and passes me a hotdog. While my tolerance for mystery meat on a stick is normally low, we are, after all, at the Demolition Derby. When in Rome, and all that. I'm playing Tag-along Journalist to Birkinshaw's Documentary Photographer, and whilst I'm a little disconcerted by the high proportion of mullets (sans irony) here, I am getting into the swing of things. I can barely hear her over the noise of the stockcars: she's explaining why the grunting Ford Escorts have a layer of mesh over the open windows – apparently it prevents the drivers arm from flying out if they crash. “I didn't know a thing before the National Geographic assignment,” she explains, “but I seem to have picked up these odd facts that I have no real use for. Perks of the job, I suppose.”

Birkinshaw's cleanly austere photographs are often at odds with her subject: groupings of people who meet to express their love for (often bizarre) activities. Stockcar races, circuses, Sausage Appreciation Society Meetings, greyhound races, the Medieval Guild of Wellington... In the grand tradition of documentary photographers in New Zealand, she maintains a fine balance between gaining the trust of her subjects, and capturing them with some degree of objectivity. She also treads a fine line between art photography and documentary photography. She aims to give each series two outings: one in a magazine format, and one in a gallery context. For her Circus Series two years ago, Staple magazine ran a spread of her work, and City Gallery Wellington included a grouping of the shots in the Hirschfeld Gallery. Mary Newton Gallery has been representing her for the last two years, and she has also exhibited in artist-run spaces such as Enjoy Public Art Gallery.

When her motives are probed (“Is it a sociological experiment? Would you see your work as playing into the realm of portraiture?”), Birkinshaw will concede that the ritual associated with her groups of people fascinates her. She speaks of the members of the Medieval Guild, who get their kicks from donning archaic armor and beating the bejesus out of each other, then going out for a beer afterwards... this is the stuff of great photography, according to Birkinshaw. Action. Interaction. People finding excuses for social intercourse.

Is your work art? Or documentary?
It seems to me a strange tension between documentary and art, and in all honesty, I’m not entirely clear where my work sits. My natural inclination is to think of it more in terms of documentary – images that faithfully represent the reality of a place I encounter. Maybe the defining aspect is the context within which the photographs are seen. So in a magazine, a photo is a different beast altogether, if compared with hanging them on a gallery wall. Each outing has its own limiting and expansive factors which can help to define it as an object, whether that be a document, or perhaps as art.

Do you feel that the scale you choose for your work alters the tone? The Speedway series was enormous in scale, whereas works in your Greyhound show at MNG were tiny. Thoughts?

The scale, for me, asks something different of the viewer… the almost grand scale that the Speedway series was printed made them very bold works, easily viewed from across the gallery, thereby letting the viewer take in the whole show at a sweep before looking at the detail of each piece. The choice to show the Greyhound series at a relatively diminutive size was a very conscious reaction to the ‘loudness’ of the Speedway show – my desire was to make the work intimate. Anyone looking at it is, in a way, forced to be very physically close to the works.

What’s next on the cards for Victoria Birkinshaw?
I’m in the beginning stages of a new project: ‘Clubs & Societies’. Essentially, I’m on the hunt for activities people do in their spare time that qualify as being a club or society. It’s been splendid fun so far, dipping in and out of worlds that are created around an activity.

Bex Galloway

www.victoriabirkinshaw.com

SPECTACULAR SCRIBBLES

1) You decribe your style as "unrefined", a conceptual artist might cringe at this; do you think this works in your favour?
I like to refer to my art as unrefined because I never went to art school. I am happy with my choice of formal education but just found that art was way more fun than science at some point. Art is great like that…you can just pick up a pen and paper and after a few years of sketching call yourself an artist...successful or not (yeah right…I wish it was that simple). I think it is much harder to be a formerly trained artist and pick up science in a couple of years in your spare time. I started drawing because I stopped watching T.V. Seriously, in College I realized how much of my time I spent watching T.V and decided that if I was going to do anything with my life I was going to have to take a hard line on that shit and turn the tube off. I allowed myself to watch movies but T.V was out and still is for the most part, but I have been known to indulge in the discovery channel every now and then but not a lot….it still makes me feel old and stupid when I do.

Does this work in my favor?? Probably not. I have had to find everything out the hard way which makes it much more “real” to me…but I don’t think being unschooled really helped me any.

2) What inspires you? What's your favourite thing to draw?
At the moment I am into drawing and painting women, animals and religious iconography in an offensive way. Previous to that it was tigers. I was obsessed with tigers for the better part of 6 months…it was really unhealthy I think. As far as inspiration I am freaking out on Hindu Folk art…so fucking creative those kids.
I find myself digging through the internet for inspiration entirely too often these days. It’s good I suppose in a way because everyone is on here. You can find all types of art to rip off on the net. But there is something a bit soul less about it all. I haven’t quite put my finger on it…maybe if internet sites came with smells it would feel more soul full.

3) You're originally a trained scientist, are their any similarities between drawing and science?
I used to think so…I mean there is creativity involved in both but the deeper I get into art the more I am realizing how different they are. Scientists are first and foremost creative personalities always trying out new and different things. But they (we) are so freaking anal and German about everything now. It’s a necessary evil when you work at the limit of mental capacity that you forget shit, and that’s what the scientific method tries to prevent…it helps guide you through the darkness of uncertainty when you have no idea where you are going or where you are. In art the creative process is there but if in science the creative process is a spark than in art it is a burning inferno. Art has no rules and is only limited by imagination. Chance and observation still play enormously integral roles in art…but have become limited to the hypothesis stage in science. I suppose they are both from the same mother….but one child is the quiet observer and the other is lighting the quiet observer on fire and roasting marshmallows on the heat.

4) If you could have any one person sit for a portrait who would it be?
Mohamed…nah just kidding that wouldn’t go over too well right now would it! How about Abe Lincoln…but I would only draw his head and draw his body as a naked hooker with a crack pipe wearing the American flag as a diaper.

5) You're showing some new work at in Los Angeles this June, a show called "Rattle the Chandelier", tell us about that.
Ya that is going to be RAD… It's at a gallery called Lab101. Keith Andrew Shore is curating the show along with Freddie and Derek from Lab101. It was a really random hook up. I dropped one of my zines through the mail slot of Lab101 a while back but figured I would never hear anything back from them and I didn’t. It wasn’t until I went back there a couple of weeks later to drop off some show flyers that Derek recognized me and hooked the whole thing up. That place is so great and I am just so humbled that they want to show some of my work. I’m going to be bangin’ out some seriously new work for the show.

6) So what else do you think the future holds for Kelsey Brookes?
Hopefully some more traveling and shows. Nothing better than a plane ticked and a pack full of paint and brushes. All I want to do is paint and push myself to the ends of my abilities….ride this little art train until the end and then get out and push the train off the tracks.

www.kelseybrookes.com

Prints by Kelsey Brookes are available from
www.picturesonwalls.com and www.lazinc.com

"LE TEMPS QUI RESTE" (TIME TO LEAVE)

"I wanted to see the body dying, I wanted to accompany Romain on his journey toward death and explore the different phases he goes through, from anger to denial... to acceptance."

Le temps qui reste (Time to Leave) is the latest work from ingenious French filmmaker François Ozon, last year saw 5x2, the year before that the fantastic Swimming Pool and this year it is Le temps qui reste, a harrowing look at life and death– in Ozon’s typical melancholy style, the film has a terminally ill young man as its protagonist (Romain, played by Melvil Poupaudmiddle). Le temps qui reste flounders roughly between overt sentimentality and extreme emotional detachment. There are times when we cringe at Romains arrogance and wish his death sooner, and others when we feel his pain and fear like a sharp kick in the guts.

Romain is a hip fashion photographer with a great career and a cute boyfriend, maybe one of Ozon’s most full-bodied (yet still superficial) creations to date. When Romain discovers he suffers from terminal cancer he decides to do without chemotherapy and tell no-one except for his aging grandmother (Jeanne Moreau), whom in any case, or so he informs her dryly “Is like him, and is also going to die soon”. Romain tries to come to terms with his mortality and in doing so pushes people away, including his sister Sophie (Louise-Anne Hippeau) with whom he has always had a rocky relationship and his current boyfriend Sasha (Christian Sengewald). As painful as Romain’s decisions are to watch, they are realistic. Who are really say what one would do when faced with death?

Ozon chooses to linger on the seemingly insignificant in-between moments of Romain's life to explore his character; Romain sitting alone at home, eating noodles; Romain out walking; Romain. It is these moments, coupled with vivid childhood flashbacks that give insight into his character. The physical effects of the illness clearly show and we feel we are privy to Romain’s thoughts throughout the film even though he hardly speaks, and never wants to give much away. The subject of Le temps qui reste could make for an infinitely depressing film, but Ozon’s ultimate message seems less upsetting that one would expect. Sure, his death literally looms just beyond the next scene, but the film’s focus is not on that end but rather on the expedition that Romain takes: a search for something, of inner peace and the understanding of life and death.

www.francois-ozon.com

MAKING A MARK

Henrik Vibskov was born in Denmark and graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. He is well known for his creative talent in film, music and fashion. He was already making a name for himself, winning prizes for his film "The Monk" and "The Egg."

Various cultural magazine and newspapers from around the world have recognized his flair in fashion. He has displayed his work in Midwest - Tokyo, The Future Map Exhibition - London, and Sotheby Gallery - New York. His work also appeared in the London/Paris Fashion Week and the Hyeres Festival (First Dane ever to be represented) in France.

An interesting tidbit to know is that, Henrik Vibskov has been playing the drums since 10 and won a break dancing competition at 12. He has played live on radio stations, and has previously worked with the Danish Grammy winner Marie Frank. He brings a multi-talented perspective to the fashion world, and is someone worth keeping an eye on.

www.henrikvibskov.com

UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY

Under Penalty of Perjury is a new collection legendary American photographer Ari Marcopoulos’ works presented as they have never been seen before – as large scale black and white photocopied prints on paper. This collection continues his long term documentation of private moments within his own family and the in-situ families built amongst skateboarders and hip-hop artists.

Born in The Netherlands but based in California, Ari Marcopoulos has earned widespread esteem for his photography over the past two decades. He has worked alongside the likes of Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquait and his photographs have been exhibited internationally, including a show at MoMA/PS1 and the Whitney Museum in New York City. His work has appeared in books and magazines worldwide, including The New York Times, Interview, Blind Spot, and most major snowboarding magazines such as Transworld Snowboarding and Snowboarder. Marcopoulos’ previous books include Pass the Mic (Power House Books), Transitions & Exits (Power House Books), Out & About (Alleged Press, NYC) and Kids Born Out of Fire/The Maestro (PAMBook, Melbourne). Swiss independent publishers Nieves are publishing a limited edition Under Penalty of Perjury book (edition of 200) to coincide with the exhibition.

The Under Penalty of Perjury collection presents quintessential Marcopoulos works - hauntingly beautiful moments captured from the everyday lives of recognizable figures such as professional snowboarders Terje Haakonsen and Craig Kelly; Beastie Boys member Mike D; Kids scriptwriter Harmony Korine and recently passed-away professional skateboarder and actor Harold Hunter; as well as the near and dear members of his own family. These black and white images are spontaneous and compelling – Marcopoulos’ control of light gives them an incandescent quietness that is part eerie, part uplifting.

Works by Ari Marcopoulos
31 March - 23 April 2006
Someday Gallery
Level 3 (above Cookie)
252 Swanston Street
Melbourne

RELOCATING THE 2D IMAGE

1) What do you love the most about being a graphic designer?
The ability to get the junk out of my head. Graphic design is such a broad area to be able to play with, incorporating and manipulating such a huge range of media and mediums…I mean you can just pick up a different discipline and you instantly have a crazy scope to work with and create something new. And I guess since I was a kid, I always wanted to doing something creative, and design really has become that avenue, so I guess I am a happy lad.

2) What / who inspires you?
Can I say everything? The mad access we now have to information is almost daunting, and gives me with loads inspiration.

3) What would be your dream project?
Umm, that’s really quite a hard question. For some reason designing a car comes to mind, but then there’s the car Homer designed in the Simpson’s, so maybe flag that. I like the idea of messing around with the actual idea of product design, taking these things and warping people’s perspectives. So maybe looking at something well established and basically screwing with its environment.

4) So the big move to Melbourne is looming; how do you feel about starting over?
Excited and a little like running into the bush and hiding for a week or two. It really is gonna be interesting, seeing as I have never even left New Zealand before, but a new surrounding is very appealing. Just looking forward to a new city, new people and new opportunities for my girlfriend and me.

Professionally its slightly pretty intimidating, I am happy with where I have gotten here, but I’m really looking to just push myself further. And I hope to get a full time job…I enjoyed freelancing, but I think I need to start working with other people that have similar ideas to design as me, or the opposite, which could be even better, who knows?

5) Plans for the future?
Not get bitten by snakes, spiders and crocodiles.

www.nolovelost.co.nz

COMFORT OF STRANGERS

1x Beth Orton = 51 x Joss Stone, according the alegbra of taste...
Unfairly known as the ‘comedown queen’, Beth Orton has been mining a particular furrow of the frail chauntese for a decade now. Or, more accurately, as the credible female singer-songwriter for whom massive commercial success has always eluded her. Singer-songwriter. What a dreadful phrase that is- Dylan’s a singer-songwriter, hell, even Robbie Williams is a singer-songwriter. So the phrase is itself absolutely redundant. But Orton is a truely "talented" singer-songwriter.

Meanwhile, Beth Orton seems never to make great commercial inroads or revolutionise the music world. This isn’t due to talent (1x Beth Orton = 51 x Joss Stone, according the alegbra of taste), but due to the simple fact that Orton has never been able to transcend the era in which she rose to public prominence. Healthy, but never earthshattering sales, and a preference by cloth eared editors to prefer simpler, more pliable female stars to sell as eye candy on the front cover of their magazines, have meant that Orton sits left of the spotlight.

Two years on from “Pass In Time” we have “The Comfort of Strangers” which is well, yet another Beth Orton album. There’s no stylistic evolution from previous records – then again, if it aint broke, why fix it? The template of previous albums, the gentle, understated music and the fragile vocals sound like your hangover at the exact moment you start to feel completely sober. Delicate, battered, and wise.

Where Orton shines is tapping into that particularly British mood that bands like Pink Floyd, Coldplay, and lesser lights have trademarked – a sense of exhausted, exasperated, quiet desperation coupled with a vague sense of distanced reserve from everything. With a dash of regretful sex, which seems to be Orton’s unique selling point – intelligent, sorrowful lust.

“Concieved”, and the title track manage to convey this sense well : the feeling of the morning after. (and this is nothing new, ‘Central reservation’ carries much the same), but the mogadon pace fails to convey much sense of life until “Shadow of A Doubt” and “Shopping Trolley”. The rest of the album manages to indulge in a sense of vague British regret at something, at everything, and nothing in particular at the same time.

Which, if that’s what you want “Comfort Of Strangers” is perfect. If you want something that doesn’t sound like a dinner party with an ex-lover, you may want to look elsewhere.

www.bethorton.mu

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

The Queen's regalia turned up in Jacuelyn Greenbank's work a while ago now. We've seen Her Chariot, Her High Heels, Her Raleigh 20, and now Her BBQ. This emblazoned barbeque could certainly be seen to function as a clever invitation adjunct to Her schedule and as a delightful aberration from the norm. As a symbolic manifestation of an earnest grassroots appreciation, Her BBQ is unmistakably kitchy but also, quite literally, warm and fuzzy.

Greenbank's fascination with and generosity towards what is now almost a distant memory of the widely held reverence and admiration of our heads of state, kings and queens of country is a fascinating throwback to the narrative possibilities and coincidences of Her Magesty's various Royal Tours. Apparently New Zealanders dyed a flock of sheep read, white and blue as a measure of our devotion, or prehaps more accurately, in an attempt to curry favour via a strange blend of stage-managed charm.

Yet, all this boosterism seems to ring a little more hollow than it did in the 'roaring fifties' as most of the once adoring housewife age bracket are out working, chasing careers instead of prospective husbands and marital bliss. Yet, in this Commonwealth Games yearwhat's more real, what represents devotion more clearly? Buying the commemorative tshirt, coffee mug or teaspoon, or emblazoning royal regalia on your barbeque? Hell, maybe she will fancy a few cold ones if she does drop by.

If in effect it is the Queen's job to be owned by her people, then the role must be more than a little bleak. QEII in Christchurch, NZ, is an ageing sports complex that still bears her name from the last time the Commonwealth Games passed through town in 1974. Now synonymous with aqua-jogging and a seating embankment that's half empty at the best of times, the gloss has well and truly worn off the complex despite numerous attempts to reinvigorate its functions and appeals. But maybe that's why the show keeps travelling? It keeps the ball in the air so to speak ensuring that there'll always be a crowd.

An earlier work by Greenbank called The Royal Releigh Watchers has previously been described as "a harlequin device that indulges our follies" and as a postcolonial nation New Zealand's continued attachment and fascination with "Her Magesty" could certainly seem like a dangerously retrograde inclination. But Greenbank's practice can also be read as a more personal , generously fetishistic devotion to the woman herself and phenomenon that continues to accompany her wherever she goes. Such an approach to Greenbank's practice is also specifically appropriate here if we recall for a moment the widespread description and portrayal of Sydney's Olympic Games as the biggest backyard barbie ever. Melbourne can only hope to pull off an event worthy of such praise and we can only hope that maybe, this time, we might be as lucky to court such attention too.

By Kate Montgomery for the High Street Project

www.hsp.org.nz