MENNO OTTEN CLOSE UP

Current location and where you come from:

I was born in a quiet and peaceful town in the Netherlands called Naarden-Vesting but I have been living and working in Amsterdam for the past 10 years. 

How would you describe your art? 

My films and photographs are a personal journey that explore my fascination for “the close-up”. I love close-ups. I go out every day and wander the streets looking to make something out of the life that goes on around me. 

VIDEO CLIP-Track 04 - Videocip by Menno Otten – one of my earliest works 

Do you remember the moment you realized film and photography were what you wanted to do, what you were meant to do?

It was during a summer vacation with my dad some years after middle school, we watched old Humphrey Bogart film-noirs for an entire week. He thought watching classics was an important part of my education. I instantly fell in love with the style; the stories of tough men and their femme fatales, the beautiful lighting, the way they showed the dark side of the cities - it was cool. I remember that after that week I was totally hooked, especially with classic cinema. 

I got myself a job at a very nice video store and dove into the world of Bresson and Dreyer. I saw a good amount of gangster flicks like Rififi and The Killing, watched the melodramas of Douglas Sirk and Ozu, learned about the work of Artavazd Pelechian and Jiri Menzel. I applied for film school and about a year later I got myself a place in the directing department.

VIDEO CLIP (Snippet from Time within Time)

When I was prepping for my graduation film, someone dear to me went through a very rough time in his life. I visited him at the hospital and we had a long conversation about what was going on. I remember him saying that he longed for quietness, he longed for peace of mind. It touched me deeply; I was looking for the same thing myself. 

I was living my life in a rush back then. The city always seemed to be in rush-hour. I had late nights in the clubs, endless bullshit conversations with loud music while doing drugs, pretending to be cool. I had way too much bullshit going on. Everything seemed like one big blur. I was longing for quietness in my head, silence, a peace of mind. 

Walking through the city taking pictures was my favourite thing to do and it was the closest thing to find that peace. So, for a few months I photographed people drifting away in thoughts. It seemed to me that they were at ease. 

I thought: If I could shoot this moment frozen in time, could I also make a film about it? 

I then started to write the scenario for my graduation film; Time within Time. It ended up being a film about a city in a rush with the people slowly fall into a transcendental state of mind. At the end everyone drifts away into their own world, into their own thoughts. The world becomes more and more quiet until only silence surrounds.  

To me, making that film was the moment I thought: This is what I am going to do for the rest of my life. When the film was done it felt as if for the first time in my life I was able to connect the language of film with the language I was speaking from within. 

When you take pictures, what messages are you trying to convey to the world?

I don’t want to send out a message. I just want to show what fascinates me and try to stay true to this fascination without judging or losing it. 

What are your favourite subjects to capture?

People and the way they are looking. Looking as in “seeing and being seen”. This can be people in the streets; everyday commuters. But it can also be people during a religious procession like in my film Via Dolorosa. 

VIDEO VIA DOLOROSA

VIDEO CLIP Trailer of the film Face to Face can be seen here: Trailer Face to Face 

How are you able to capture strangers’ emotions so well? 

I have one spot in the city where I stand a few days a week for a few hours. This spot has beautiful reflecting light; it has many transport connections and many windows and structures that reflect the people. 

After my usual walk through the city I will stand there and let the trams and busses and people stop right in front of me. It’s like a little movie set where people slide in and out of my frame. 

Because they have to wait there, they drift away in thoughts and spend their time looking at themselves or others. It’s like a mini world within this world. Every nationality and every kind of person crosses this spot. I love it; it’s my favourite spot. 

Sometimes when I’m away on holiday I can really miss that spot you know.

I only shoot when it feels right. If I loose the seriousness of the moment, I quit for the day. I want to feel the moment, be in the moment, be connected, connected to myself, and in some way also to the people I capture. 

Another of my favourite subjects to capture is people looking at themselves, like in my film Face to Face.

For this film I placed a 16mm camera behind a mirror and I invited a group of random people to get a hair cut in front of this mirror. The people didn’t know they were filmed through this mirror only 30 cm in front of them.  

During the shoot I called the barber away and I left the people alone with their own reflection in the mirror. Some of them sat there for about half an hour with their own reflection. What went on in this moment was really magical to me. It was as if I got an opportunity to be part of this very intimate moment between them and their souls. Personally I have the feeling I learned a lot with this film, about human beings and the way we look at ourselves.  

What defines you? 

I leave this answer to the people that really know me. 

What is the one piece of advice you can give to the generation coming after you? 

Years ago I always thought that another place, another city or another country would be much nicer than Amsterdam. I was sure that I would find more work and nicer people and that I could make better shit somewhere else. But really, I was mostly complaining about my own life. 

Take someone like Saul Leiter for example. He basically just shot his own New York most of the time.He shot what he saw, what he felt, and what the world was as it presented itself to him. And believe me, life wasn’t more beautiful or Technicolor-instagram-colourful-or-tougher-looking back then. It’s his point of view on the same street, walked by thousands, but it is only Saul Leiter’s eyes that make the difference to how we see that street. 

If you could change only one thing about the world, what would it be?

Just one thing? I don’t have a fucking clue where to start in this world we’re living in right now.   

To the next generation of street-photographers and filmmakers I would like to say: stay close to yourself and find your own voice. I know that might sound a bit dull and it has probably been said, as it has been said to me a million times. But the more I look at the great minds that inspire me, the more I find that they were unique and special because they were completely themselves in the way that they looked at their world. 

What is reality? 

Reality? I’m not sure what that word means. It’s used for so many things. I do know that when I take out my camera on the streets, I see other human beings. All with their own problems, trying to cope with what they think is their reality. They all seem to have a story to tell. They all have an opinion. They all judge. They all love. They hate me or, at times, I hate them. They all try to escape reality when they get a chance. And they all have something they think is worth living for. And all of them dream about another reality. 

What I do know about reality is that when I press the button, the people are always behind something. They are behind a window or behind a piece of glass in my lens. Behind a mirror I’m shooting through or behind a frame. You see, I never really approach them. I never really get in touch with them. I never speak with them, nor do I ask them for their permission or approval for the pictures or films that I make. I don’t think I should, but I do think it says something about the way I see reality. I kind of hide from them, maybe deep inside I’m a bit afraid of them. Maybe I’m a bit afraid of reality. 

Funny that the same fear of reality is the same thing that comforts me and keeps me alive, and that it is the thing I love to do so much in life.  

What is your biggest influence? 

Really, light is the biggest inspiration for me right now. She creates beautiful things every day right in front of my eyes. She makes me smile. She makes shit happen in my life, in the life that surrounds me. She can make everyone look beautiful. Her light beams feed people. She reflects, she enlightens and she inspires so many people. If she’s not there I long for her to come out. Let there be much more light (and rolls of film to capture her with).

Where is the line between insanity and creativity? Is there?

Describe the world in one word: Are you serious? 

“Click!”. 

FLOFFERZ

Silent Stories

Directed by: Andrew Carson and Meredith Jay

We recently met with Gatineau based artist, Jennifer Stewart, to discuss her exhibit “Silent Stories”. 

This collaborative piece attempts to open a dialogue between the survivors and the public about domestic violence.. Using film photography and electronic audio equipment she alters self portraits and voice recordings to create the impression of anonymity. 

The opening reception is this Sunday February 15 at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Ottawa, displaying until the 26th of February. 

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"silent stories"

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upcoming show selfies

FLOFFERZ

THE BORDER CROSSED US

Name: Kelly Hussey-Smith

DOB: 25.02.1982

Current Location and where you come from?

I was raised in subtropical Brisbane, Australia where I am now raising my son. 

What do you do and why?

I'm interested in using photography and storytelling to understand the world a bit better and connect with more people. Photography has shaped the way I see so it makes sense to use it to unpack different questions. 

My work always begins with a documentary process but often blends narrative, tableaux, and art history to express different ideas. The act of looking closely at, and engaging with the world helps me make sense of it. 

How did you start? 

When I was 15, and a bit of a soloist, I fell for the darkroom. I enjoyed the whole practice of photography, but it was the immersive darkroom experience that I found particularly captivating. 

As time passed I became inspired by practitioners like Martin Parr & Joel Sternfeld and my whole process changed. The image making became far more important than the process of creating a print. Over time I've come to understand that both process and product are essential and the constant tension between them drives the resolution of the work. 

Other profession? 

I am fortunate to be able to say that I teach Photography at the Queensland College of Art where I am also completing my post-graduate study. 

In a short sentence, describe an experienced that changed your life… 

Going to the Australian desert and bringing that freedom home with me. 

Describe the world in one word? worlds

First Memory: A very early memory is of my great-grandfather's talking budgie Pete telling me I was cheeky. This was very confusing for a young child who then expected more animals to speak like humans. 

What one piece of advice would you offer a newborn infant? 

Sleep.Please.Sleep. And don't trust a talking budgie. 

Where is the line between insanity and creativity? 

I don't buy the insanity argument. If an artist works passionately on a long-term project that offers little in terms of financial reward, but plenty of personal fulfillment, experiences, and even enlightenment, is this seen as closer to insane? I think this is perfectly sane. 

…Ever read American Psycho?

If you could choose just one thing to change about the world, what would it be? 

Factory Farming. 

What is true happiness? 

A myth. We can be fulfilled, inspired, love and be loved, but I'm wary of the happiness cult.

How do you want to die? 

In Pompeii are the skeletal remains of a sleeping, spooning, couple preserved in lava and debris after Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Asleep and spooning a loved one always seemed like one of the better ways to go.

What happens after we die? 

...art becomes valuable? 

What things hold you back from doing the things that you really want to? 

If I am able to list the things holding me back I'm just making excuses really. 

______

1. The Embrace, a video still from the project: Apart and A Part, is a long-term project looking at the ongoing impacts of institutional and out-of-home care.

If having a narrative is a requirement to making sense of avoiding chaos psychologically, then it is not difficult to imagine the confusion and loss that many children who were raised in state, church, or foster care experienced when trying to construct adult narratives of the self in the care of others. 

Through blending oral history, creative non-fiction and collaborative art practice, Apart and A Part explores how life has played out for individuals after having left out-of-home care. It investigates this through non-linear approaches in storytelling and narrative. This image is of two reunited sisters, Jessie and Marlene. Both amazing women who have become friends.

2. From the series First Zoo in America, is a continuation of work exploring our human relationship with animals.

The series began unexpectedly while I was on a residency at Crane Arts in Philadelphia in 2014 where I found out that the Philadelphia Zoo was in fact the first zoo constructed in America. 

Much of my previous work has explored human and non-human relationships and this work is an extension of those ideas. The image of empty branches was taken at this zoo. I found their emptiness just as potent as the images of solitude and repetition found in my previous works. The zoo is a public and accessible space that I see as a metaphor for not only a disconnect between humans and other animals, but the idea that nature is something to be admired or owned, rather than something we are a part of. 

I find zoos incredibly cruel and sad place and I guess these spaces became part of bigger questions about my own species. 

3. Mundubbera, From the series, Central Queensland Project, co-authored with Alan Hill, is a photographic exploration of the mining boom and bust in Central Queensland.

This image is from the Central Queensland Project - a photographic exploration of a region in transition. Given the complexity of the modern economy, and the insularity of city life, many of us are becoming blind to the reality of what lies beyond the city limits. 

The Central Queensland Project is a photographic exploration of an unknown but economically powerful mining region in Queensland Australia. This long-term project follows the urban and social landscape as it transitions from boom to bust and beyond. I hope to hit the road in our camper-van in 2015 to continue the work. 

Breach

Who are you?

I was born and raised in Panama City, Panama, a little country in Central America. At the age of 22, I moved to Argentina and lived there for ten years. It was there where I experimented with photography for the first time during a chaotic moment in my life. 

With a very low budget, I had to start with what I had in hand: a cellphone. It wasn't smart, and took horrible photographs. The limited image quality served as a bridge to learning image editing with Photoshop.

It wasn't until I came back to Panama that I was able to use a professional camera, and after using one, I wouldn't be able to go back to mobile phone photography ever again.

I do photography as a passion because it lets my body speak in great ways. Our bodies are the best representation of art. I do self-portraits not to focus on myself, but to use my body as a tool for experimentation. I enjoy struggling with my mind until there are no more weird feelings to capture. Capturing the unusual satisfies my camera. 

Q&A

Full Name: Joy Aird

D.O.B: August 28

Where were you born?

I was born in Panama City. I grew up there, but I left to Argentina for ten years. I later came back to Panama and I've lived here until this date.

How would you describe your art?

Definitely very psychological. My photography involves body and mind; my mind (the protagonist), my body (the tool); my mind plays and controls my body any way that it wants. I never plan my photos, all of them are made the moment of the shoot.

When were you first introduced to photography?

2006. I still remember quite clearly, and I keep my first photograph. Today I see that picture and I get a sense of the time passed in my photography.

Why did you start taking self portraits? Do you do other kinds of photos?

I started taking self portraits as a method of psychological therapy, which today represents my work. It took me over 6 years until I was able to call myself a photographer. I've always been very hard and critical of myself.

I've got a couple of abstract works outside of my self portraits but they're definitely not my strong point.

What medium do you use to photograph? Analog or digital?

The majority of my photographs are taken with a Canon 60D.

Have you ever tried experimenting with other forms of photography?

I've only experimented with digital photography but the doors are very open for analog photography. That classic and nostalgic touch in analog photography seduces me, as well as the ritual of developing the photos. 

What makes a self portrait different than a selfie? 

A selfie doesn't say much about a person. It's a superficial way of showing ourselves to the world, and most of the time we lie about the way we (seem to) feel in one. On the contrary, with self portraits there's a lot of work put into development and there is always a story to tell. 

Do you consider these photographs self-portraits or selfies?

Self portraits.

Has selfie culture influenced how you work?

Definitely not.

Can strong sexual process be empowering?

Sexuality has always been a potential weapon for many past generations. In this day and age, I don't believe that's the case anymore. Everything has been seen and shown, so common methods do not seduce or entertain anymore. You need to perform in a distinct manner. We need to re-invent.

How do you feel about your sexuality as a woman?

Like an undiscovered continent, which I've been roaming and still have not discovered everything.

What is your definition of beauty?

I find beauty in imperfection, in what breaks the rules, in free spirits, in rebels… Beauty for me is completely intangible, yet very easy to capture with photography.

When do you feel the need to take your next picture?

Once a new day starts I'm already breathing my next pictures. I have no need in going out and scouting for locations; I could be in-between four walls and still be able to take pictures. Even if I had no resources or elements, I can always count on my body and mind as my main engine.

How do you feel when you finish a shoot?

Complete and anxious but in a good way. Yet, definitely the peak point is when I see what came out of the shoot. In terms of body, I feel as if I was in the gym for 3 hours straight.

How does your creative work reflect into your life?

Happiness and passion

What is something that you bring into your work that helps you?

I only ask for silence and my personal space. Everything else is luxury.

What influences you to create?

Definitely cinema. I really enjoy feeding my senses with a great story and even more with equally or better visuals. Look at shots, photographic angles, scenes, character gestures and reactions. Cinema always enriches the creativity in my work. 

Who is your muse?

My mind.  

FLOFFERZ

Fated Recognizance

Full Name: Mika Trottier

Instagram: @mikapedia

DOB: 16.02.1986

Current Location and where you come from? Currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, I live to travel. I grew up in the Yukon.

How do you describe your art? Fine arts portraiture meets iPhoneography.

Can you elaborate more on your processes? I use only my iPhone to create pieces – from the original photograph(s) to the final edit. I use a series of applications with no set process. 

It is art by trial and error. 

I sometimes have a clear vision, and other times the end result is shaped entirely by experimentation. Some pieces are created in an hour and some take days. There is no real methodology to it, it’s a fortunate mix of inspiration and mood. 

How did you start? I studied formally in high school and have always been into art. I started experimenting with mobile photography about three years ago.

What made you gravitate towards mobile photography? I love the ease of it all. As a medium, it is incredibly accessible and experimental in nature. There is certain spontaneity about having a tool at the – literal – tip of your fingers for when the inspiration strikes. I’ve also found the online community of mobile photographers to be incredibly inspiring and mutually supportive.

You focus mostly on auto portraits with your art, what message does it have? I’ve always been drawn to portraiture. There’s an aspect of human connection that can be striking in portraits compared to other forms of art. Truthfully, I don’t over-think the messaging behind the pieces: my face just happens to be the closest thing to my phone when I find myself with time and inspiration.

There’s no overarching message and no analogy or driving force. My work is rooted in my emotion and I hope that there is a level of raw vulnerability that comes through it. The process of exposing this version of myself can be equally thrilling and yet terrifying.

Do you do other kinds of photos? I dabble in architectural photography and I occasionally like to capture natural landscapes. I am fascinated by the dichotomy of urban and natural elements in photography. This also translates into the juxtaposition of technological and anthropomorphic components in my portraits.

What makes a self portrait different than a selfie? A selfie is a subdivision of self-portraiture. I think both involve a level of introspection. Both are biased. Both are egotistical.

As an artist, the self is a fascinating subject, and a challenge to capture. The self-portrait is intertwined with your own perception; it is laced with ideas of who you are and who you want to be.

Has selfie culture influenced how you work? I wouldn’t call myself a selfie pioneer, but I have to admit I was “selfie-ing” when film cameras were the only option. I don’t think my work has been impacted by its recent popularity.

From a psychological standpoint, I do find selfies fascinating. There’s a tangible cultural impact of this phenomenon: it truly has affected how we perceive ourselves and how we chose to capture memories.

How do you feel about your sexuality as a woman? Equally empowered and filled with self-loathing? I struggle to encapsulate the complexity of it in a sentence, but I certainly see how it translates into all aspects of life, including the creative process.

Why do you most focus on your face and your eyes? By default; my arm can only reach so far.

What is your definition of beauty? Simplified complexity. Balanced asymmetry.

When do you feel the need to take your next picture? When inspiration strikes. It can be as simple as a brick wall, or as breathtaking as the ocean. Sometimes it’s not even about the subject matter; the desire to capture and share something is driven by crude emotion.

How do you feel when you finish a shoot? I wouldn’t package anything I photograph as “a shoot”. I spend all day capturing bits and pieces of things I like, and I mash them together when I feel inventive. My inspiration is cyclical: something I feel the need to create often, but I also take hiatuses, which can last months.

What influences you to create? Feelings - usually not positive ones. Art is a release.

Who is your muse? The Internet.

Other profession: Project and Account Manager. I manage technology and digital marketing projects.

Does your job have an impact on your art? Absolutely. I’m submerged in new technology and surrounded by creative minds. It’s equally exhausting and inspiring.

What advice could you give us based on an experience that changed your life? Embrace the journey. It is something I've learnt while travelling.

Can you actually tell us a personal story that happen to you that changed your life? I’m an academic at heart, and I’ve always been highly driven in my career. I chose to travel over pursuing post-graduate studies and it was difficult for me to accept my own perceived failure and fear of the unknown. I’ve since learnt to appreciate the uncertainty. There’s a strange comfort in having the ability to shape your own path.

What is your largest flaw? Striving for perfection.

Where is the line between insanity and creativity? It doesn't exist. Taste and sanity are equally relative concepts.

What makes you, you? A clever blend of cynicism, humour and sarcasm.

What is reality? Reality is perception: it’s clouded by bias.

What is true strength? The courage to admit weakness, and the willingness to learn.

What defines you? A drive for creativity and freedom.

What is beauty? Fleeting. Ephemeral. Unattainable. And always in the eye of the beholder.

How do you want to die? Tragically.

FLOFFERZ

"UNTITLED"

Jen Whitaker is an American photographer and visual designer living and working out of L.A. With an attraction to imperfections, the illusion of matter and the unknown, her work is defined in sterile, icy, and dusty tones. Most of her images are based around capturing texture and structure. Flofferz asked Jen to take a photographic diary of a week of significant achievements in her life. From the discerning eye of a creative, she chose things of meaning to her as she encountered them, giving us a close up, more personal view of her L.A. life.

FLOFFERZ

The Tom Tom Club

Photographer: Dan Cristea

Directed by: Ramata Coulibaly

Hair and Makeup: Amanda Blair Robertson 

All clothes provided by Thomas Balint AW15

Models: Taylor W, Nadiya S @Elite Models Toronto

Daut B, Rob @Nam models Toronto

Dan Cristea and a Toronto-based team took us around monumental locations in Toronto to develop a never before seen editorial shot entirely in Thomas Balint FW15 Collection, directed by Flofferz Editor-in-Chief, Ramata Coulibaly. Documented with a Ricoh Camera and iPhone, Cristea’s first-ever fashion shoot proved a success. As the co-founder of Tiny Collective, a group heading the creative movement in mobile photography, Cristea is known as an iPhoneographer, an international pioneer in the digital age of photography.

FLOFFERZ

DBLX UPTOWN

Photographer @uptowneastnyc recently self published his first book DBLX UPTOWN, a collection of double exposed photography taken from his neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Theo has gained wide success in his photography through social media. This is the first of his works that cannot be viewed online. We interviewed him on his career as a creative and how he came to produce his book. Theo gives us an exclusive to his creativity and newfound direction, paired with never before seen images exclusive to Flofferz.

You recently self-published the book DBLX UPTOWN, exposing black and white images you captured from your Uptown Harlem neighborhood. Why do you think now is the appropriate time to publish this particular book?

I have been a resident of Harlem for over the past 10 years. I have seen the rapid transformations from gentrification with my own eyes. I wanted to make something that reflected the old school Harlem that I love and respect, but with a new twist.  

What was the most profound moment you've experienced during the creation process of the book? Can you share it with us?

I came up with the idea for the book in January 2014 and had printed a first draft by early March 2014. Then I sat on it for a few months and let it breathe in my brain. When I could see the light, I quit my day job, threw away the first draft and started shooting what you see today. Quitting my job was my most profound moment. I allowed myself to fully submerge into my project.

Did you have a hard time releasing it - making sure it was perfect, living to your ambitions and expectations?

Not really. I like that I had complete control over what went into to the book and the layout. I never had anyone telling me what I should or should not do. I knew my time off from having a day job was limited so I worked quickly.

What impact do you hope it'll have on its readers?

Each image in the book is actually two images double exposed in real time on my camera with no post production. There is a story inside each photo. The layers reveal themselves over time. Like a great movie you will notice new things with each viewing.

Why choose Instagram as a platform to expose your images? Aren't you afraid it's making your art too accessible for people to appreciate its true value?

Instagram is a double-edged sword for me. I got my start in photography with Instagram and an iPhone 4. It’s true. I was an early adopter on Instagram and very quickly realized something was happening. Camera companies started giving me cameras, I was in the first ever Instagram exhibition in Times Square and I started getting hired to advertise on my Instagram account for large corporations.

I got bored very quickly with advertising. I’m not interested in taking another postcard photo to promote crap, I’m only interested in showing the world how I see New York. When my focus changed I started working on private collections and groups of photos that I keep off the internet. DBLX UPTOWN is the first collection I have released.

How did you select the images you decided to publish: What was your thought process?

My very patient boyfriend allowed me to take-over our living room. I had a few hundred photos printed out all over the floors and walls for a few weeks while I did the layout of the book. I only selected the photos that I felt were my strongest. I trust my eye and went with my gut.

What’s the main message behind the book?

The message behind DBLX UPTOWN is that first impressions are not always accurate. Like an onion or a person I have created many layers within each photo. Only time will reveal these layers.

What mark do you hope the book will leave on world?

A red line across the buttocks.

If you could ensure one thing about yourself that would never fade away, even after death, what would you choose it to be?

My art, of course!

Did you choose your previous answer based on selfish reasons, or by altruism?

Selfish

Would you ever give up your entire life to make someone truly happy?

No, true happiness can only come from within yourself.

What are 3 dilemmas/problems that touch your soul that you judge to be way underrated/unaddressed?

LGBTQ rights for people worldwide. I feel so lucky to live in a time and place where I am allowed to fully be myself. I wish we could get the entire planet on the same page.

Television controls the mind, throw it out your window.

I long to live in a more peaceful world.

DBLX UPTOWN is exclusively available on http://www.uptowneast.nyc/#!dblxuptown/cah6

FLOFFERZ

JONNI

Who am I? 

My full name is Jonathan Dantas dos Santos Cheatwood. No one calls me Jonathan, unless I'm in trouble. A couple of people call me Jon. I just go by Jonni. I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, to Penha and Ed Cheatwood. My mom is from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. My dad, Cleveland, Ohio. I am Brasilian, English, African American and Native American. Essentially, a walking scholarship. 

I am a very apprehensive and pensive being. I generally keep to myself looking out the window with my head in the clouds. I am an observer more than a talker and I have always expressed myself in momentary expressions, quick and almost unconsciously executed. This goes for my work too. I've always been this way. I like process. Everything is a process and you have to trust the process. I used to often look back at events that have shaped who I am, not as an artist, but as an individual and how I arrived to where I am today and it's been an incredible, but unlikely journey as I often feel that this wasn't my master plan. 

It's wild to think that if I had gone to this school and made these friends or moved here or there, then I wouldn't have met my wife and if I didn't come home that one winter then I probably would've never been inspired to paint, and it just goes on and on. I'll explain segments of that process below. It's one great big process. I have to look in the mirror from time to time and literally tell myself it will all be ok. 

Now I don't even dare to mock up a new plan, I'm in this for the long haul. This is my job. I was created; therefore I create. I have to and I don't want to do anything else. The best thing about creating artwork is that there is no limit or restraint for me to make my work. 

I don't do personal commissions because of the idea that there are restraints and I feel limited and then all of my insecurities come out and I don't like it. I'm an artist, I am insecure and I get bummed out sometimes when things aren't going well in my studio. 

I have an exhibit coming up on the 9th here in Phoenix and my work so far has been shit in my opinion. I have almost no time, but I know that somehow I'll work it out; but I hate the fear of reception and rejection, it makes me feel like I have vertigo standing on the ground. This is also why showing your work is one of the most terrifying things that I can think of. However, it can also be one of the most rewarding.

I paint for myself, I paint as an act of hope. All I need to do is show up at my studio, stand on my ashes, look up, thank God and create like a madman, some times. Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong, or if this is where I'm supposed to be, or is this what I want to be doing, but this has to be where I'm supposed to be. It's all a process and this process for me is hard. I have a family to provide for and there have been times where I was working 3 jobs on top of painting just to make sure that we're ok. But we always are. I have all of the support in the world so how can I ever fail? All I have to do is look up and paint wildly. 

I didn't start making artwork until I was 23. I was an athlete my entire life up until my second year in college and a series of [then] unfortunate events happened and suddenly the only thing that I was ever good at was taken from me. 

I left school in Flagstaff, Arizona and moved down to Phoenix to attend Arizona State University as a film major with no real end goal in sight. I lived in a rundown motel next to campus, by choice. I was an insomniac addicted to HBO shows, late late night Fresh Prince marathons and I bought this old electric piano because I convinced myself that I would write music. I never played it. I lived off of microwavable salmon and a campus meal plan, but I was rarely on campus, so frozen salmon. 

I had some friends and we hung and did life together. I eventually moved in with them and during this time I dropped out of school to work full-time at a restaurant. For two years, I became jaded at work and got so fed up with my schedule that I needed an outlet. 

I started reading Keroauc and Donald Miller books and obsessed over them and then I began to write and I thought that writing was a new passion for me, then literally one day I told my roommate that I was going to start painting again.

I thought I wanted to make wheat paste and put them up over town, but I didn't have the patience to learn how to wheat paste so instead, I picked up some paints and a poster board, some brushes and painted absolutely terrible renditions of the album cover to Every Waking Moment by Citizen Cope and an awful copy of Male and Female by Jackson Pollock. Somehow I became so interested in how certain artists painted the way that they did and how they did it I tried to figure out how Makoto Fujimura painted and how Pollock did it, then I got into artists like Connor Harrington, Jaybo Monk and those artists opened up the doors of contemporary history for me. Basquiat, Warhol, Richter, Baldessari, Ruscha, Joe Bradley. Those are my go-to creatives now. 

Anyways, I ended up going back to school and decided that I was going to be a teacher after I took a 2 month trip to New York City to tutor kids in Brooklyn. I was so far out of my comfort zone that I had nothing to cling onto except prayers and coffee, but I fell in love with what I was doing so much that I needed to go back to school so I can do that again. So my degree is in secondary education with an emphasis on the arts, thinking that I would be an art teacher somewhere, but I manage a restaurant and paint. 

I am absolutely not mad.

Name: Jonni Cheatwood

DOB: July 21, 1986

What is your current location and where you come from? Born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, which is a suburb of a suburb of a suburb of Los Angeles. I currently live and work in Phoenix, Arizona. For now.

What do you do? I guess I would describe myself as a mixed media, abstract artist. I don't know how to entirely stay in one medium or one practice. I can't help but work with materials that probably shouldn't go together like tar and coffee with denim, bleach, acrylic and photography. I'm all over the place and I am entirely satisfied. 

Why do you make art? I do what I do because I don't think that I have any other option. I finally arrived at the conclusion that I was created; therefore I create and this is what I am supposed to do.

How did you start? I never meant to be an artist. I was an athlete my entire life; well, until my sophomore year in college - but I just assumed that basketball was it for me. It was kind of my end-all because I wasn't really good at anything else. 

I was never really artistic, I suppose. I dropped out of college for a bit and got to a point in my life where I desperately needed an outlet creatively, so I told myself that painting could be dope. I bought a poster board and stole some paints from my younger sister and just tried to figure out how to make this hobby my own and I just haven't stopped. I don't see myself stopping any time. Ever.

Other profession: Before I started painting I began working in restaurants. That’s my sane job. I am currently a trainee opening up the illest restaurant in Phoenix. 

In a short sentence, describe an experienced that changed your life. The day I decided that I was going to pursue painting.

First memory? I don't remember how old I was, but I used to live in a house that shared the backyard wall with the highway. We had massive trees along that wall but I remember my father was holding me in the pool and I was just looking out towards the highway seeing the tops of cars speed by through the trees. I don't know why I remember that specifically but that is my first memory. 

What is your largest flaw? I think that I am a workaholic. I don't know how to relax and just sit and unfortunately, that has recently become my biggest flaw. I can be stubborn, but not as much as I am a workhorse. 

If you could choose just one thing to change about the world, what would it be? I wish that we could all just take a deep breath and look up. Just look up and inspire others to do the same.

What one piece of advice would you offer to a newborn infant? Don't ask what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and do that. The world needs people to come alive. (that was a quote from somewhere)

Where is the line between insanity and creativity? I get this odd rush knowing that I have a show coming up in a week and I am over my head in tasks like finishing my pieces, stretching them, framing them, figuring out how to get these pieces from point A to point B, etc. It's electric to me, but I feel that I have walked this line once or twice. I have the ability to push myself to exhaustion and I do so because I know that this is my passion and livelihood and if I work hard enough and make good work then my reward is more work and with more work, I am one step closer to my goal of being a full time creative. But when that work is getting in the way of the most important things in this world, especially my wife and family, then I have gone insane. Very very insane.

What is true happiness? I can't think of anything greater than knowing that you are loved, encouraged and supported. Also, being able to reciprocate those feelings outward to me is legitimate happiness. 

What makes you, you? I am genuine and my objective is to make the world a more beautiful place to live in.

What is the truth? 2+2 absolutely equals 4. And that's the truth Ruth!

What defines you? Grace and mercy.

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SUTURE

Featuring: Comme des Garcons, Costume National, Yohji Yamamoto, Acne Studios, Common Project, Masion Martin Margiela, Hendrik Vibakov

Muse: Nadiya Svirsky (Elite Mode)

Art Direction + Photography: Neva Wireko

Styling: Othello Grey

Hair + Make Up: Amanda Blair

Hair + Make Up Assistant: Rodrick

Full Name: Neva Wireko 

DOB: Jan 26th, 1989 

-Where were you born? 

I was born in Toronto. 

-When were you first introduced to photography?

To be honest photography kind of found me. I went to college for both Fashion Arts and Graphic Design but didn’t know entirely what I wanted to do with my life. I spent a lot of time doing part-time jobs (that I hated) that were close enough to fashion and art that they maintained my intrigue. 

I had a slight interest in photography but wasn’t really sure where to start- then a friend sold me a Canon Rebel for $50 which gave me my start. Before buying that camera I had never done photography but I was excited about the chance to experiment. After that first introduction I had no doubt of what I was meant to do with my life.

-What influenced you to create?

As cliché as it might sound, music was the catalyst for me. The sounds and rhythms of music opened portals in my mind that allowed me to visualize textures and feelings and essentially imagine all the things that I create. It was as though every new sound I would hear was a new image being formed organically. All I had to do was continue to feed that love for music and allow it to grow (find new sounds and rhythms that created new feelings I had never felt) and the rest of my creativity flourished on its own. 

-What relationship do you have with your subjects?

When it comes to agency models I create a character and setting for them, essentially a role for them to play in a beautiful universe that we’re creating together. Prior to them coming on set, I make a distinction between who they are and who they are while we’re shooting. I want to translate their likeness into a new world that they most likely have never been to either. I enjoy when afterwards models see the photos and are surprised by the outcome, some can hardly believe that it’s them in the photo.

When I am shooting friends or people I’ve met on my journey, we’re sort of searching for beauty. It’s like two friends hunting for a treasure that we’ll create together. 

I’m fascinated by people who have come to understand who they are, whether it’s their look or how they dress- when I’m shooting people I’ve approached because of that reason, I sort of become a visual analyzer and do my best to capture their essence and show it off. 

-How did photography change your perspective of the world?

Practicing photography has conditioned my mind to see things out of context. To pull aesthetically beautiful images from what would be perceived as mundane while capturing complex things in a simplified style.  

-What is beauty?

Beauty is a label that is associated with different qualities, perceived by our senses. 

I am not interested in the typical qualities associated with beauty. I prefer to discover the beauty in something unknown.   

-How did mobile photography have an impact on your creative process?

Mobile photography has allowed for more possibilities, ease of access and more freedom to experiment and document frequently. There doesn’t have to be a plan anymore, I can stumble across something beautiful and capture it on the spot with my phone. 

I am able to take from every moment at any given moment without having to have my digital camera on standby.

Mobile photography has acted as an active stimulation to my creative process because it has enabled me to constantly have my 3rd eye open. It has opened a creative passage in which I am able to take from every moment and make it into something of my own.   

-By analogy how would you describe your relationship with your art?

My relationship with my art is very simple and very similar to the relationship I have with my houseplants.

They need nurturing- ‘Water’ as I need inspiration and they need ‘sunlight’ as I need positive energy to grow. 

-Can you describe a time you were most inspired by a total stranger?

I can’t think of a particular time I was inspired by a total stranger. But I will say that I am inspired by individuals who are creating for their own purpose and following their dreams. Seeing creative people find their road to success is extremely inspiring to me. 

-What would you say is the purpose of your photography?

My photography is meant to show an altered perspective on fashion. It is to blend all of the elements of art, photography and fashion into a new, more whole perspective that can’t be entirely classified but is instantly recognizable. 

I like to challenge the standard perception of what “fashion photography” is by adding elements of art that have influenced me. I explore the relationship between fashion and art and I am always aiming to blur the line between which one is most prominent. 

-Do you think photography can be taught? And why?

Like anything else, I feel the technical skills of photography can be taught. But teaching someone how to use a camera and lighting is only giving them the skills to express their own creative instincts.   

I feel like creativity is an instinctive characteristic that can’t be taught but can be nurtured and harnessed. If there is any trace of it within someone I believe there are ways to access it and build upon it, but I do think it’s extremely difficult to give someone the ability to ‘see things differently’.  

-Why do you photograph? What message are you trying to translate to the world?

I take photos because it is my gateway to a sense of freedom. I am always free when I’m taking photos. I am always doing the exact thing I want, always capturing the exact thing I want, always expressing the exact thing I want. There are no boundaries. No borders. No one dictates what I can and cannot do. It is my passage to that bit of pure freedom that we all chase and desire. It is my peace of mind.

When someone sees my photos the message I want them to take from it all is to chase what you desire. The underlying message in every editorial I’ve ever done is to follow your dreams. Become what you desire most. Express what you’ve been told to suppress. You are already who you want to be, you just need to believe it first, so that everyone else can.  

-If you had to entitle your autobiography, what would it be? And why?

I would title it ‘Chasing Freedom’. Because it is the pursuit we all have before us - it is the journey that all of us share even if we don’t realize it. Everyone wants freedom. It can be at different degrees but it is the one thing we all want. 

If someone wants to be a millionaire it is because those millions of dollars gives them freedom- to do whatever they like, spend their time doing whatever they want most. If someone wants a nice car it’s because it gives them freedom- freedom to go where they want, when they want. If someone wants to pick up a camera to take photos its because that gives them freedom- freedom to express what they want and how they want. I could go on forever but essentially it is the universal pursuit. And for my autobiography I would want to elaborate on that chase and the extent that I have gone through and continue to go through in order to make it come to be.

-Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

I would say my mother and my boyfriend. I say my mother because she has always shown me that you must go after everything you want in life and work hard for it – nothing real is easy. She’s always inspired me to never let the ills of life control you. You always have to overcome. She’s shown me this by example as well as with words. I cannot say how much that has done for me- as this world seems to do its best to belittle your dreams and tear you down at every step. 

I also say my boyfriend because of his strong sense of self and his work ethic. He has the quality of self-awareness that allows him to know his flaws, know how his actions affect the world around him and how to sort of live outside of himself so that he can be very critical of himself without falling victim to self-doubt. It’s inspiring to see someone who is very talented have that demeanor. The glamour of being talented doesn’t phase him, we share that same quality and to have someone so near to me that is purely focused on the ‘creating’ and not the ‘recognition’ that comes with it, is truly inspiring in itself. The work ethic he possesses is also very inspiring, to see how much of himself he invests into his artistic ventures is very motivating.

-What’s the most fulfilling thing that ever happened to you?

I can’t say that I have experienced that event just yet.

-What impact did social media have on your creativity?

It gave me a platform to showcase my work internationally and it has also introduced me to other creative people who I am very inspired by. It’s a great tool when used effectively because it takes you away from your immediate network and allows your work to reach people in places you couldn’t imagine. I think social media is wonderful for allowing you to show “who you are” through you work, beyond a face or a name, you can solely understand someone from what they create and give to the world. 

-Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture?

I feel that nurture shapes our personalities. The experiences we go through, the people we associate ourselves with, the choices we make, molds our character.

-In your opinion what makes a good photograph?

The perception of what makes a photograph "good" revolves around the idea of "taste". Through the development of my own personal sensibilities I’ve learned that there are different degrees to a ‘good’ photograph. To pinpoint specifically what makes a ‘good’ photograph I think would be a bit egocentric.

There are so many ways to create something that’s good and there are many different styles of photography to express what you want. Someone can ignore all basic principles of photography and make an astounding photo. When it’s good though, it’s good, and you don’t question it. 

-What is photography to you?

Photography is a passage to my child-mind. It keeps my imagination alive in a society that seems to burn out the flames of imagination.

-How does your life reflect into your creative work?

My life and work are direct reflections of one another. My work shows my natural progression and coming of age. If you go through my work you can see certain changes, certain things highlighted more, certain experiments that you may or may not have seen before. All of these reflect that I am changing. I am understanding myself more clearly and I am understanding how to exist wholeheartedly without fear. 

I’m lucky enough to have very inspiring people as my closest friends, they are constantly growing and evolving. Their advances push my advances and so translates into the evolution of my work as well. 

-What is the most recent thing you have learned?

Most recently I’ve learned the importance of stillness of the mind. I’ve learned how this closely relates to creativity and the overall aura. It is very important to not be rattled by the world, not to allow the world to shift who you are all of the time. You must flow with the changes while still remaining true to yourself. To be stirred by the roaring ocean but remain afloat is stability- to be swept within the waves and beneath the tide is doom.

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FUCK ME

Written and photographed by : Smuel Aresenault-Brassard

Location :Ottawa Canada

Graphic Design :Peter Tomasek

I was instantly intrigued by the space and inspired to start a photography project on sex and architecture in Ottawa. I set out to create a contemporary taxonomy of the city’s sexual spaces. The project was bound to open up academic, sexual and philosophical discussion.

The first part of the project focused on bathhouses and glory holes. Throughout the process I discovered a whole sub-world hiding in plain sight. A world filled with its own rules, intricacies and landscapes.

There are many configurations of bathhouses, few of them including baths. The main areas are the rooms and lockers for rent. Customers have the option to rent a single or double room for a set amount of time, allowing them sexual encounters with other customers. Most establishments contain socializing areas such as dry or wet saunas, showers and bars. Some locations have glory hole cubbies, open or closed pornographic cinemas, or feature rooms with sex swings.

The darkness of the spaces surprised me. The darkest ones, in which the most sexual activities take place, such as glory holes, peeping booths and cinemas, are generally the gloomiest. The architecture is unseen, hidden in the dark. It remains cloaked, implied, furtive. In some spaces, the only source of light comes from the television playing porno videos in the neighbouring room. 

The walls, floors and ceilings are often painted black. It creates a surreal atmosphere, as if someone built a very specific part of our subconscious: Jung’s shadow materialized.

The sling room is dark and dimly lit with one red light. A Leather sling hangs by two metal chains from the middle of the room. FUCK ME is written in giant red letters on the back wall.

Sex through a glory hole is probably the most intimate relation humans can have with architecture. Users are essentially having sex through/with a building. These types of rooms inherit the potential to become an incredibly intimate space despite their traditionally abject status.

The actual shape of glory hole is different than that of the popular imagination has fashioned it to be. It is not an oval, but a tall rounded strip. The design is meant to increase accessibility and accommodate the varying heights of the patron’s crotches. Other variants include the wider hole that allows for anal intercourse, smaller circular holes (2-3 inch diameters) and glory holes with a sliding door. 

Sexual environments do not often enter the public conscience. A closer look reveals a series of intricate devices and erotically charged spaces. By exploring these territories, we can gain a fuller understanding of sensuality in architecture.

——

Samuel Arsenault-Brassard is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist studying architecture at Carleton University in Ottawa. He has played with pencil, ink, acrylic, dance, photography, wood, cloth, computer modelling, and 3D animation. He is interested in the intersection of performance art and architecture as well as the continued advances in digital hyper-realities.

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Into the world of Gianluca Fellini

Written by: Chelsea Elizabeth Vickers

Graphic design: Peter Tomasek

Into the world of Gianluca Fellini brings much light to what comes out of this man’s mind, his work, and the vibration of his spirit. Coming from a day of exploration at his home in Italy, we discuss the last time we felt the feelings of bliss from within. 

When was the last time you felt eternal bliss?

“I think it was this morning, when I was trampolining, doing flips and feeling that unity, it is incredible like hanging in space”

As an artist Gianluca’s life’s work is on directing and creating art, films and photography. His recent one man show was featured in collaboration with Obylon in Barcelona last year. Having worked commercially for quite some time, he is now taking the time for himself to explore his spirituality and new mediums in which to express himself.

What are you working on now?

“I am experimenting with tattoos.”

Why, what inspired you to this new art form?

“Well, I started learning about shamanism and how your body is your temple, and how archetypal symbols of have power to them. Tattooing is a part of many cultures and means many things like healing, protection or social declaration.”

And the tattoos that you have? What do they signify for you? 

“I got this one tattoo on my ankle meaning friendship which is very important to me. Funny thing is, a month after getting it I ended up sleeping with my best friend’s girlfriend.”

Do you mind if I write about this?

“Not at all, it determined a huge change in my life. In fact, it is what inspired me to move to New York. What I thought was something so strong and secure in my life - the concept of friendship - had been wiped out with my animal instinct. But what became the most horrible time of my life brought a huge change in my self and showed me new ways to become who I am today.”

What happens to your thoughts when you are creating?

“I just let it happen. At first, I was shooting everything, 100s of photos every day to develop my technical skills - that is how you get good at it. The more I shoot the easier it becomes, and then I let go and let the photos just come.”

When you first started out you were in New York, how was it living there as a photographer?

“New York has a certain drive to it, the energy of the city, there is so much to do and see. Then once experiences begin to repeat themselves, I know it was time to leave.” 

How did you find that high-energy urban setting?

“Sometimes I walk with very slow music on my headphones to reconnect to my own pace. I had to find my strength, a way to refresh my energy and to not always play the game.”

What do you mean?

“It is more like, reminding myself that I don’t need to ‘be’ anything, but if I have something to say, I have to work.”

Does your work define you?

“My work feeds my soul, it consumes my soul. You have to work to live, but also, to take rest and optimize your system.”

Your work has this tendency to get in very close and use a lot of darkness in it, it truly defines the senses, why do you think that is?

“There is something about the love of detail and darkness. My dad was into macro photography which influenced me greatly. I have found that anything up close can look like something interesting even when it is very small. Darkness is similar to a vacuum, it has more energy and strength. It holds the infinite in information. 

Gianluca is currently working on his next prints called “Totem” that will be in New York this 2015.

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PARIS ART WEEK

Written and photographed by :Maria Shakhova

Neon and glitter on a monochrome background shone in the light through the glass wall of the entrance to the Grand Palais. People standing in line wearing chic outfits inspired the photographers who were waiting for the great businessmen and politicians to arrive. Were these people to attend one of the many grandiose styled shows that are usually displayed at this national gallery? Not this time. No supermarket full of products wearing the interlaced double C and no improvised demonstration with feminist slogans. This year, after the extremely efficient Frieze in London and before the particularly festive Art Basel in Miami, the Parisian FIAC attracted a more human - less celebrity mix of art and fashion.

Greeted for a formal event, open bar and some sweet snacks, this year's biennale tackled the digital art wave with a concentration of technical beyond the natural.

Inside the glass wall the happy few who got the chance to enter dazzled in contrast with the minimalistic effects of the booths of artistic works. Verbal messaging, raw material, and the terseness of forms and colors waited for a glance from the specialized collectors. Obviously, the episode in front of the Pierre and Gilles painting was a success. Unfortunately, most of the fierce observers probably wouldn’t even know who posed before him such as Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Edouard Manet or earlier, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

191 galleries from 26 different countries from all around Paris presented their artists during this 41st edition of FIAC. Some artists were displayed in solo shows like with Franck Prazan, other galleries highlighted all of their artists like with Lehmann Maupin. Sadly, this was the last year for Yvon Lambert who exhibited Daniel Buren and Julien Schnabel's work in his gallery.

A significant number of galleries from New York, London and Berlin, represented with their cultural landscape which complemented the French contemporary art market that can often be elitist and self-enclosed.

Moreover thanks to a resolute desire expressed by Jennifer Flay, Paris Art Week was marked by the emergence of a fair in the well-known green building along the Seine banks, a hub of Parisian nights, created by Jakob+MacFarlane.

Over a period of 4 days, la Cité de la Mode et du Design hosted 68 galleries from around the world. Of course, some young gallery owners were lucky to be selected for this (OFF)ICIELLE fair, where the competition is less important. However, the square meter price is dangerously close to that of the Grand Palais.

Still on the right bank of the Seine, under another glass wall, less impressive, but just as majestic as the Grand Palais, 65 galleries shared their artistic messaging. Gathered under the sponsorship of Young International Artists, they dared showing in the labyrinth of the Carreau du Temple (an undercover market), emerging and established artists, like Sarah Bridgland and Karoly Keseru for Patrick Heide in London.

Among the most wonderful discoveries was the idea-based solo show (per the Baron Nicolas Massias' vocabulary) performed by Timothée Talard for Gourvennec Ogor in Marseille and the wood polychrome blocks by Alfred Haberpointner for Hélène Bailly in Paris.

Side by side with Paris Fashion Week and Paris Contemporary Art Week, all overlapped in timing. The places, the audiences, the after parties, everything was the same; except for the hashtags. --

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BNLMTL 2014 L'avenir

Written by: Chelsea Love

Phototgraphed by: Ramata Coulibaly

Location: The Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal

The biennale of Montreal was worth the wait. "I wanted a line-up" says Creative Director, Sylvie Fortin And that's what she got.

Greeted for a formal event, open bar and some sweet snacks, this year's biennale tackled the digital art wave with a concentration of technical beyond the natural.

Curating pieces such as 400 Instagram Girls by Jillian Mayer and Diving Through Europe, depuis 2010 by Klara Hobza all documenting a movement of natural vs unnatural behaviour beyond the internet age. Environmentalism and preservation of the human psyche morphed through paintings, sketches and installations. Human behaviour is analysed through video narrative, discussing collective consciousness and the desensitization of our culture through electronic devices.

A poignant example is Return to noreturn 2 2014, by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, who filmed children in their natural environment left for a sleepover on hard metal bunk beds with their favourite technology devices as they socialized, played and eventually slept on the cold hard beds while a screen played incessant noise and shapes congruent with the effect of white noise.

Overall the biennale satisfied our palette for a new age in digital art and will be running over the next few months at The Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal 185, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, 22.10.14 - 04.01.15

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Myography

Model: Alina Gontar

Photography: Artem Nadyozhin

Location: Ukraine

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WHAT WHAT WHAT

Artist : Jesse Draxler

What is your largest flaw.

What is true happiness.

What is the truth.

What is reality.

What is true strength.

What is true love.

What happens after we die.

What is infinity.

What is beauty.

Where do thoughts come from.

"Everything is abstract. Nothing is truly known."

Skin

Photographer: Rogov Sergey

Written by: Maria Shakhova

Location: Paris

Plain, polished, and frozen fashion photography is a thing of the past. Pristine skin marred with scars and imperfect features have become signs of distinction; the beauty standards that once were are being demolished. Society craves underground edge and new alternative norms. Saint Laurent's runway is laden with tattooed figures, Alice Dellal claims her role in Chanel's latest campaign, and Rick Genest, otherwise known as "Zombie Boy", stuns as the newest muse of Thierry Mugler. Their poses — which at times may appear less than elegant, much like those of the dancers in Degas' paintings — shock, attract and amaze. As a sculptor, Sergey plays with flesh as if it were wax. As a painter, he highlights the use of contrasts and chiaroscuro. As a director, he depicts the story of a fashion thriller played by glamourous models. The century of pinup girls, Barbies and other unrealistically formed dolls is over. Out of his cocoon made from cotton candy-colored feathers, Sergey depicts the world of today through his choice of models. He sees a world of aggression, cosmopolitan, and violence; a world of contrasts where anything is possible.

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Mayakovsky

Photographed by: Jovita Zavi

Models: Gytis Gedvilas

Stylist and Designer: Migle Jansaite

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania outside the Kaunas Sports Hall - the first european arena build in 1939 for FIBA Europe

Immerse yourself in a story about someone's constant search for the unknown. Mysteries are made of miscellaneous events. A private investigator that struggles to solve a missing persons cases when in reality he is the one that is in need of salvation.

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Foggy landscape

Photographed by: Artem Nadyozhin

"My name is Artem, I come from Kiev." Raised in Pervomaisk, a small industrial town in the south of Ukraine, Artem is an artist who finds his inspiration in memories of the foggy landscapes and abandoned factories of his hometown; Influences that have become quite evident in his manner of photography. Lowered contrast, desaturated colors, and slightly blurred contours create the universe that Artem is able to share only through the lens of his camera. The world progresses with a sense of frivolity, so it is with this mentality that Artem showcases with his photographs the constant fading of life's moments—void of permanent stories or emotions. The movement of hair or reflections of the sun's light on the sea's surface become the protagonists of fleeting and irreversible moments.

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Untitled Protest

Photographed by: Simone Steenberg

Models: Laura Cameron at Models 1 / MarianaVansuit Conte at Next Models

Hair and Make Up: Rebekah Lidstone using MAC Cosmetics and Bumble and Bumble for hair

Location: London

Photographer note: My current work explores the relationship between art, fashion and politics in the context of photographs. By using the act of protest with blank signs I invite the viewer to participate in my artwork - the blank sign also represents our current time of confusion where ideologies are not clear. This project is an influence to take action and create new powerful ideologies for the future. A blank page – a new start – we can shape and create the future, as we want to. The futuristic fashion design in this project is hinting at the concept and mystery of the future; what will we wear? While at the same time I use fashion as a tool to express an attitude.

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