Beijing – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Little Women AW15: an interview with Renli Su

Renli Su by Bonaramis
Renli Su AW15 by Bonaramis.

Chinese born designer Renli Su first caught my eye when her collection appeared on the catwalk as one of the Fashion Scout Ones to Watch crew in 2013. The designer explores the idea of Time and Memory, with each season expanding and developing on this theme. For SS15 and AW15 she has been inspired by the tale of Little Women, resulting in two ‘strong yet feminine’ collections that reflect the typical dress sense of elegant and charming girls living in the mid-late 19th century.

Renli Su AW15

Where did you train in fashion design and what was your biggest design inspiration growing up?
I began studying painting and then completed BA Fashion Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Being surrounded by artists I found an appreciation for fabric as a material for my work, which is where my fashion education began. After my BA, I came to London to study MA Fashion Design and Technology Women’s wear at London College of Fashion, and I’ve been based in London ever since.

Renli Su AW15

How did you first start researching the Little Women collections?
The most part of my research came from my travels. The materials used were Chinese Summer Fabric, Indian hand-woven cotton, Indian black print cotton and Irish innovative cotton linen, so this meant I spent time in all of these countries, finding the fabrics and exploring the traditional techniques used to create them.

Renli Su AW15
I source fabrics from all over the world. For AW15, again I used the four materials that made up the SS15 collection, but I also added Tibetan Yak Wool and Chinese Silk. I am passionate about sourcing and reviving traditional techniques from different parts of the world as each of the materials are made in a different way and I meet interesting people who have dedicated their lives to creating these fabrics, it’s something I want to explore further.

Renli Su AW15

What have been the biggest hurdles in terms of getting the collections together?
There is a lot of research involved in the early stages and then in the later stages it requires a lot of dedication to create a collection that will stand the test of time in elegance, cut and quality.

Renli Su AW15

Where can your garments be bought?
Young British Designers in the UK, Dongliang in Shanghai, China, Dongliang in Beijing, China and Berween in Changsha, China. And of course online from www.renlisu.com.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday March 20th, 2015 12:39 pm

Categories ,AW15, ,beijing, ,Berween, ,Bonaramis, ,Central Academy of Fine Arts, ,Dongliang, ,Ecofashion, ,ethical, ,fashion, ,Fashion Scout, ,interview, ,Kristel Pent, ,Little Women, ,London College of Fashion, ,Ones To Watch, ,organic, ,Renli Su, ,SS15, ,Time and Memory, ,young british designers

Amelia’s Magazine | Life Cycles: an interview with cyclist, world record breaker and author Julian Sayarer

We have been following the adventures of Julian Sayarer for several years, since I first met him in the now defunct (and much missed) Foundry Pub in Old Street. This week sees the official launch of his debut travelogue Life Cycles at cult cafe Look Mum No Hands, so we caught up with him to find out more about cycling, breaking records and writing books.

It’s been a while since you cycled around the world – would you do it again? And what would you do differently if you set off on a similarly long cycle ride?
I’ll definitely be cycling a long way again sometime in the future. There are vague plans for riding to Beijing in 2015, and Latin America still has a really strong appeal. The chances are that, if I set out again, there wouldn’t be a world record involved. Once you get into a routine, riding 110 miles a day isn’t quite as daunting as it sounds, the element of a race did add some fun, and I really like the intensity of all those fleeting impressions, but that said, I wouldn’t mind going a bit slower… it’d be nice to stop for longer in the really amazing places, and not having to cut short some of the encounters.

How did you find a publisher for your book, and what would you recommend to other would be travel writers looking for a deal?
I went for the Writers & Artists yearbook, which includes a directory of agents, and submitted the standard first thirty pages to those that sounded suitable. A handful offered to represent me, and I went with my instinct, and the advice that most people in the industry had given: to go with whichever agency I felt most comfortable with. I’ve got a good relationship/friendship with my agent now… he’s really helped me to develop my writing, and gives me a lot of time of day, and feedback, that I don’t think the bigger agencies I turned down would’ve had much interest in helping with.

In retrospect, I potentially could have got a publisher with just a sample chapter and a covering letter of what I’d done, but that isn’t always the case. Although the agent takes a cut, they certainly open up options that quite probably wouldn’t otherwise exist, and allow you to focus on the creative side of the work.

I think the main thing, with any sort of writing, and however cliché, is just to do it for the love of it. It’s a slow and poorly paid world, and unless you simply love the act of writing, it’d soon get a bit dispiriting.

What is the book about and who do you think it will appeal most to?
Human scenery… the politics of the world at 12mph? I’d like to think it would appeal to anyone with an interest in the world or writing, really. There are a lot of cycle touring books that just describe headwinds and hills and mechanical problems… it ends up a bit of a list of everything that happened (with a dash of self-help and motivational stuff thrown in) and that’s really off-putting to me. I try and create places and experiences with the words, and only really mention the bicycle when it’s really necessary. I always loved writing, and storytelling in particular, so it was always my intention to go for something that tried to be a bit literary, creative, experimental. I’m not sure how much that’s been done before, on this subject.

What do you love most about the act of writing?
The absolute freedom of a page, the fact that it’s mine to create anything I want with. The fact that I can put all of my thoughts into words and then, for good or bad, they lose their weightiness and become only a form upon a piece of paper. My writing has become a really good friend to me, it’s helped me through a lot.

You are also making films and I believe that you recently spent time living with the Moken sea gypsies – can you tell us more about this particular adventure?
I’d written a series on the EU financial crisis, for the New Statesman, as I cycled through Europe to Istanbul in 2012. A producer had read the articles, really liked them, and got in touch in search of a writer for a documentary project in Asia and the Pacific. The Moken are an indigenous people of southeast asia, they live on the water, but that life, and the islands they move between, are all being threatened by the usual advances of modernity: land speculation, overfishing, mass tourism, oil exploration, border disputes between Myanmar and Thailand.

The documentary is still in post production, but Aeon Magazine commissioned an article from the trip. I looked a lot at indigenous culture, the way that economically developed countries can fetishise it. The Moken lead a hard life, many of them would perhaps like it to be easier, many young Moken are abandoning their traditional ways of life to move to the mainland, but often experience a lot more difficulties than they do on the water. It’s not to say that anything or anyone is timeless, Moken included, but development and change should be sensitive to culture, and too often it isn’t.

You have also been involved with arts projects – have you got anymore of these in the pipeline and if so what?
I’ve exhibited photography, and am a trustee with a charity that does participatory arts workshops with youngsters who are marginalised by either poverty or social stigma. I don’t know really, I think writing is more my natural calling, and it probably helps to focus on one thing. I’ve got a few ideas for exhibitions, but they’re kept company by lots of other ideas, most of which are unlikely to come to fruition, or will crystallise into something that right now I don’t see coming!

How much do you cycle today and what kind of bike do you ride?
How much I cycle depends a lot on where I am. Sometimes I’m cycling somewhere and working on a piece of travel writing, sometimes commuting on a bicycle in London, sometimes in a city without a bicycle and just walking around a lot. To be honest, I do miss it when I don’t ride at all for a while… cycling really gets me thinking, somehow looking at the world differently, and I think the exercise is good for the brain as much as the body.

I have a steel frame touring bicycle which was given to me as sponsorship, and I generally find too expensive to leave anywhere. I also find it hard to get attached to things that are worth a lot of money. I cycle around London on a shabby old fixed gear that must have done just as many miles, on the streets of the city.. I find that one much more charming.

I hear there is a second book in the wings… can you tell us more about it?
I spent three years working as a cycle courier in London, and if I see the first book as the story of the world on a bicycle, the second is the story of the city, plus a bit of me adjusting to standing around with strangers in lifts, while I could still remember riding through deserts in central Asia.

It’s a bit of an unseen London really; my brother delivered flowers to the MP who was stabbed by a young constituent in Whitechapel, I had the painful experience of delivering flowers to congratulate Cameron and his wife when they formed the government in 2010. I delivered administration notices to Lehman Brothers in 2008. There’s a really strong subculture to the couriers, I wouldn’t say I’m one of them as such, but there’s a really tender sense of kin there, and it’s valuable to work with the sort of people that it’s all too easy not to come into contact with in society… bicycles are good for that in general.

I know a courier who occasionally rode around with a beer can, with pierced holes in the side, where normally you keep a water bottle. He used the can to smoke crack, clear as day, off a fairly busy street in Soho. There are a few riders who’ve done time in jail, a lot of them have perhaps made their lives harder than they needed to be, and a lot of them were probably just born into lives that were always going to be difficult. They’re all incredibly good, tender people, and the job and the culture of London’s roads is hard enough that it can really harden your soul. I don’t know, I think we live inside a system that doesn’t honour human beings as it should, and I want to make some small mark against that, by chronicling a lot of the realities of cities, poverty, class. It’s probably quite ambitious, but you’ve gotta try.

You can buy Life Cycles from Hive here, and help support independent bookshops. Julian will launch the book at Look Mum No Hands at 49 Old Street, London on Thursday 5th June at 7.30pm and all are welcome, join the facebook event here. He will be on tour in the autumn too, so look out for him then!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday June 4th, 2014 9:10 am

Categories ,Aeon Magazine, ,Album Launch, ,Author, ,beijing, ,book, ,Cycle Courier, ,cycling, ,Foundry Pub, ,Hive, ,interview, ,Istanbul, ,Julian Sayarer, ,Latin America, ,Launch, ,Life Cycles, ,london, ,Look Mum No Hands, ,Moken, ,Myanmar, ,New Statesman, ,Record Breaker, ,review, ,Thailand, ,travel, ,Travelogue, ,Writers & Artists

Amelia’s Magazine | London 2012 Olympic Games Team Opening and Closing Ceremonies Illustrated

Jessie J by Laura Hickman.

Can it really be a week since the Olympics ended? Here’s my final blog post inspired by the visual drama of the ceremonies that opened and closed London 2012.

Antonia-Parker-London-2012-Olympic-Opening-Ceremony
Olympic Opening Ceremony London 2012 by Antonia Parker.

Opening Ceromony by Lizzie Mary Cullen.

I watched the Opening Ceremony from a small cottage in Wales, where we marvelled at Danny Boyle‘s very British spectacle and wondered what on earth other nations would think about the pastoral scenes, the ironic exploding industrial landscape, the skydiving Queen, the swing dancing NHS nurses, the children’s choirs, the awesome Dizzee Rascal, the brilliant volunteer disco dancers and, erm, Emeli Sandé (can anyone explain the fuss?) It was a fantastically oddball celebration of real everyday Britain, a two fingers up at the hugely expensive perfection of the Beijing Olympics.

London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Industrial Revolution by Helen Beeston.

After two weeks of mind boggling physical feats it was a shame that the Closing Ceremony did not wow in quite the same way – instead it resembled a badly put together festival, including as it did mainstream bores such as Elbow, Muse, Kaiser Cheifs and Liam Gallagher (singing out of tune!) two appearances too many from the apparent reigning queen of British pop Emeli Sandé, Jessie J in a series of crystal encrusted flesh bodysuits and no shows from the legendarily (and shy) Kate Bush and David Bowie. Don’t even get me started on the truck bed catwalks – as one commentator pointed out, clothes horses suddenly look very untalented set against the athletic prowess of Olympic medalists. And Victoria Beckham mentioned in the same breath as Burberry and Alexander McQueen? The price paid for a reunited Spice Girls, perhaps? Mind you, call it a guilty pleasure but that was one performance I did enjoy.

Olympics Closing Ceremony Newspaper Cars by Olivia Cook.

London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony The Spice Girls by Helen Beeston.

And so now onto the Paralympics. Last night I watched the brilliant BBC drama The Best of Men, which follows it’s creation in the 1940s at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where the remarkable refugee Dr. Guttmann took a radical new approach to the rehabilitation of soldiers with spine injuries. It’s still available to view for a few more days and I highly recommend you do catch it before the Paralympics start. I for one am really looking forward to the ‘Lympics round two.

Russell Brand by Victoria Elizabeth James.

Olympic Ceremony by Helen Dodsworth.

Don’t forget to check in with our previous illustrated Olympics blog posts here and here. And find out more about the true cost of the Games here, outlined in a series of thought provoking illustrated blogposts by designer and theoretician Jody Boehnert.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday August 20th, 2012 5:08 pm

Categories ,2012, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Antonia Parker, ,beijing, ,Closing ceremony, ,Danny Boyle, ,David Bowie, ,dizzee rascal, ,Elbow, ,Emeli Sandé, ,Helen Beeston, ,Helen Dodsworth, ,illustration, ,Jessie J, ,Jody Boehnert, ,Kaiser Cheifs, ,Kate Bush, ,Laura Hickman, ,Liam Gallagher, ,Lizzie Mary Cullen, ,Muse, ,NHS, ,Olivia Cook, ,Olympics, ,Opening ceremony, ,Paralympics, ,review, ,The Best of Men, ,Victoria Beckham, ,Victoria Elizabeth James

Amelia’s Magazine | London 2012: The XXX Olympic Games

Olympic Gymnastics by Lucy Palmer

Tonight’s the night. After what has quite possibly been the longest warm up for anything to happen ever, seven years in the making, the 30th Olympic Games launches tonight in spectacular style in East London with a lavish opening ceremony directed by Danny Boyle. I’ve only just recovered from my Diamond Jubilee excitement, too.

Now this might come as a massive surprise to my friends, but I don’t care much for sport. I do, however, love the Olympics. There’s something pretty magical about it, don’t you think? The dramatic opening ceremony, the fastest, strongest people in the world coming together in one place and Russian weightlifters walking into walls. I’m still terribly upset that Disco Dancing hasn’t been recognised as an Olympic sport, but I’ll be writing to the IOC again re: this oversight.

Olympic Snacking by Helena Maratheftis

Here, in no particular order, are a few things that have got me going so far:

• I (sort of) love that florists in Stoke-on-Trent are threatened with legal action by the International Olympic Committee for making replica rings out of tissue paper and Bostik.

• I love *grits teeth* listening to berks on the tube moaning about how busy the city is, as if London is a sleepy little hamlet suddenly invaded by Charlton Heston and the cast of Ben Hur. You’ve had seven years to moan about it, pals.

• I know that we’ll never compare to China and their fastidious approach to drumming at the opening of the 2008 Beijing games. Our highlights include a farmyard of animals, the Coronation Street theme tune and Boris Johnson slobbering as he waves a flag (I know I’ll be eating my words come 9pm).

Boris and Bradley by Angela Lamb

London 2012 by Katie Laura Wood

• I love the mindboggling stories of the piggish sponsors; the ludicrousness that McDonald’s are the only vendor allowed to flog chips. Please.

The Olympic Park by Sam Parr

• I love that we’re hosting the XXX Olympic Games. Arf.

• I love that we haven’t even performed the opening ceremony and we’ve already offended everybody in North Korea and Welsh footballer Joe Allen, who’s listed as English in the Olympic programme.

• I love how brands fall over themselves to be the official provider – Official Cereal Bar had me proverbially ROFLing. I’m just hoping that the Official Ironing Board Provider comes forward soon.

Nevertheless, no doubt we’ll look back at how wonderful the next few weeks ill inevitably be. In celebration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games on home turf, here’s a wonderful selection of illustrated images by some of our favourite contributors, and a few other surprises along the way!

Olympic Girl by Angela Keeler

Paralympian Aimee Mullins by Laura Hickman

Usian Bolt by Lucy Palmer

Olympic Hoola Hoopers by EdieOP

Olympic Hair by Isher Dhiman

Olympic Stadium by Sinead O Leary

You can rely on Maiden in Shoreditch to deliver something hilarious as an Olympics tie-in. Take your pic from unofficial Olympic bags and Great British tea towels…

Olympic tea-towels

Olympic Bags (unofficial…) by Toby Leigh. All products available at Maiden, Shoreditch

Good luck to all of the athletes involved. Enjoy the opening ceremony. Come on Team GB!

Olympic swimmers by Lucy Palmer

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday July 27th, 2012 2:32 pm

Categories ,Angela Lamb, ,beijing, ,Ben Hur, ,Bethan Wyn Williams, ,Boris Johnson, ,Bostik, ,Bradley Wiggins, ,Cereal Bars, ,China, ,Coronation Street, ,Danny Boyle, ,EdieOP, ,Helena Maratheftis, ,I’m renting my flat to a fat American family, ,IOC, ,Ironing Boards, ,Isher Dhiman, ,It only took me three hours to get to work this morning, ,Joe Allen, ,Katie Laura Wood, ,Laura Hickman, ,London 2012, ,Lucy Palmer, ,Maiden, ,Matt Bramford, ,Olympic Games, ,Olympics, ,Sam Parr, ,Sarah Bromley, ,shoreditch, ,Sinead O’Leary, ,Stoke-on-Trent, ,Tea Towels, ,Tess Redburn, ,Toby Leigh, ,Tote Bags, ,Veronica Rowlands, ,xxx

Amelia’s Magazine | London 2012: The XXX Olympic Games

Olympic Gymnastics by Lucy Palmer

Olympic Snacking by Helena Maratheftis

Here, in no particular order, are a few things that have got me going so far:

• I (sort of) love that florists in Stoke-on-Trent are threatened with legal action by the International Olympic Committee for making replica rings out of tissue paper and Bostik.

Boris and Bradley by Angela Lamb

London 2012 by Katie Laura Wood

• I love the mindboggling stories of the piggish sponsors; the ludicrousness that McDonald’s are the only vendor allowed to flog chips. Please.

The Olympic Park by Sam Parr

• I love that we’re hosting the XXX Olympic Games. Arf.

Olympic Girl by Angela Keeler

Paralympian Aimee Mullins by Laura Hickman

Usian Bolt by Lucy Palmer

Olympic Hoola Hoopers by EdieOP

Olympic Hair by Isher Dhiman

Olympic Stadium by Sinead O Leary

You can rely on Maiden in Shoreditch to deliver something hilarious as an Olympics tie-in. Take your pic from unofficial Olympic bags and Great British tea towels…

Olympic tea-towels

Olympic Bags (unofficial…) by Toby Leigh. All products available at Maiden, Shoreditch

Good luck to all of the athletes involved. Enjoy the opening ceremony. Come on Team GB!

Olympic swimmers by Lucy Palmer

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday July 27th, 2012 2:32 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | I stole an Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seed from the Turbine Hall…

In June, information pills site Amelia’s Magazine previewed Just Do It: get off your arse and change the world, see a feature documentary (in production) from Age of Stupid executive producer Emily James. At the time of writing, case Just Do It had just launched their innovative crowd-funding scheme to help raise the final funds required to complete the film for release in early 2011. As of this week and for the next 18 days (this article is posted on 14th October) Lush Cosmetics will match all donations made to the Just Do It website POUND FOR POUND! The challenge? If Just Do It can raise 10K, their final sum -as matched by Lush- will be 20K.

You might be wondering why a feature film is asking for money now, rather than at the box office? The answer is simple, Just Do It will be released for free under creative commons across the internet, your donation today means people across the world will be able to watch it for free, forever. The other reason the team needs your support is Just Do It is a completely independent production – there are no TV backers, a decision carefully made by James in order to protect the rights and representation of the activists who kindly let Emily James and her team film them over the course of two years from the G20 to those sad talks in Copenhagen.

Meet the Team!

Just Do It introduces those of you unaware to the adventurous and inspiring world that is UK Climate Change Activism. A cause that has been documented, reported and championed in these very pages in the Earth Section established by Amelia Gregory. It is a cause that needs your help and your support – watch the trailer, watch the bike bloc and the guide to Climate Camp. Watch all the videos and if you feel inspired and want to know what to do next, the answer is multifold. First you can visit the website, donate and find out how you can get involved if your time rich but cash poor…

Second you can sign up for The Crude Awakening action happening this very Saturday. That’s right as well as putting your money where your mouth is, you can put your feet there too…

A Crude Awakening is a mass action aimed at waking up the oil industry, to the responsibility they owe the earth.

Dirty Money Bloc – Drawing attention to the involvement of BANKING in the oil industry, for example RBS has been linked to extremely devastating practice of mining the Canadian Tar Sands. If you like the sound of holding your own space and being creative to beat the oil industry… If this sounds out like your bag, find out where to meet here.

Building Bloc – The building and occupying of space through structures expressing dissent at the unchecked flow of both oil and finance. If you have a head for heights and want to be actively involved, click here to find out more…

Finally the Body Bloc celebrates the “carnival of life, death, fun and resistance.”

Do you have an imaginative idea of life beyond (and without) oil and wish to turn the impossible possible? Sign up here.

Illustration by Faye West

So that’s two things you can do alongside your recycling – the first is find out how you can support Just Do It and the second is to check out A Crude Awakening Saturday 16th October.

Ai Weiwei Tate-child photo by Amelia Gregory
All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Those of you who follow me on twitter will know of my plans for a smash and grab raid on the new Ai Weiwei exhibition Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Turbine Hall this afternoon. I’m gonna get me some sunflower seeds before they all get taken or a small child chokes on one and they have to close it down, viagra approved I thought to myself… it all just sounded a bit too irresistible to a collector and hoarder like myself. Well, I’ve just got back and I thought I’d better let you know – it’s not a question of whether you’ll be able to take a few seeds home with you, but how many, and how….

Ai Weiwei Tate-view photo by Amelia Gregory
Ai Weiwei Tate-close up photo by Amelia Gregory

Sunflower seeds are associated with the Cultural Revolution, sunshine and human compassion. The mind-boggling one hundred million porcelain pieces that cloak the floor of the Turbine Hall were created by the skilled workers of Jingdezhen, a small town near Beijing, folk whose ancestors once made fine china for the emperors. They don’t get much of that kind of employment anymore, and the accompanying film paints them as thankful for the work. “I think the quantity we made for the Tate is already beyond imagination… it is going to be some kind of myth in the history of this town,” says Ai Weiwei as he looks benignly upon his workers like some latter day emperor of mass production.

Ai Weiwei Tate-video still photo by Amelia Gregory

Video stills.

But whilst the sunflower seeds are the antithesis of the complex porcelain work that was once made here, each seed is nevertheless unique, lovingly painted to resemble one another but never the same – just as in nature. The women (for it is only women who do the painting) are shown smiling and chatting in their tight jeans and sparkly high heels as they dip their brushes in black paint. In a family home Ai Weiwei fiddles on his mobile phone – tweeting, perhaps – as an elderly matron delicately goes about her work. Most of the population of this town were engaged in the project in some way, even if they only had a few hours to spare. One can’t help but wonder what happens to them now that Ai Weiwei has taken his leave.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

I haven’t seen the Turbine Hall so busy since Olafur Eliasson’s infamous Weather Project wowed visitors in 2003, and that’s bearing in mind that it’s only been two days since Ai Weiwei’s impressive installation opened. In the same way that visitors played beneath the luminescent sun, so Ai Weiwei encourages you to interact with this visceral artwork. He wants you to stomp on the sunflower seeds, bury yourself in them, throw them in the air. Porcelain, it transpires, is remarkably tough – and that’s exactly what people were doing, both young and old – as I wandered amongst the porcelain dust.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Ah yes, the dust. That’s the bit the other reviews neglect to mention… an employee with a rake was tidying the edges of the sunflower seeds, fully masked up – I can’t imagine what it would do to your lungs to work with this artwork for the next six months.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Ai Weiwei says that “art is a tool to set up new questions” and indeed the very best kind of art does just that. He has chosen one very simple object, laden with cultural metaphor, then used the oldest trick in the book to magnify it’s meaning – repeat ad infinitum. What is special about this piece is the total transparency of the artwork’s creation. We all own so many goods that were made in China, but we never really stop to think about where, from what or how they were put together. But Ai Weiwei invites us all to become part of the process, from the creators profiled on a looping video screen, to the audience, who are encouraged to leave filmed messages and tweets about the artwork. We are all part of something at once mundane and at the same time filled with love. Sunflower Seeds will go down in history as one of the most memorable installations shown in the Turbine Hall.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Now, back to those china souvenirs I was after… I easily pocketed a whole handful, then inadvertently removed a load more in the soles of my shoes. Then, like the bread crumbs left for Hansel and Gretel, I picked up still more as I followed a trail of sunflower seeds leading away from the Tate towards the Thames.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory
Stuck in my shoes…

Ai Weiwei himself is quoted as saying “If I was in the audience I would definitely want to take a seed“, and despite half-hearted protestations to the contrary from the Tate, I can’t help but think that this is exactly what he planned all along. Here’s my bowl of Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds. The question is not only how many will be left on the floor of the Turbine Hall in a few months time but, does it matter anyway? Maybe Sunflower Seeds will quietly and slowly disappear to be cherished in homes across the world – small but pertinent reminders of what it takes to make something, however mass produced and throwaway it seems.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 13th, 2010 5:39 pm

Categories ,Ai Weiwei, ,beijing, ,China, ,Cultural Revolution, ,Hansel and Gretel, ,Jingdezhen, ,Olafur Eliasson, ,Sunflower Seeds, ,Tate Modern, ,Thames, ,Turbine Hall, ,twitter

Amelia’s Magazine | I stole an Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seed from the Turbine Hall…

Ai Weiwei Tate-child photo by Amelia Gregory
All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Those of you who follow me on twitter will know of my plans for a smash and grab raid on the new Ai Weiwei exhibition Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Turbine Hall this afternoon. I’m gonna get me some sunflower seeds before they all get taken or a small child chokes on one and they have to close it down, I thought to myself… it all just sounded a bit too irresistible to a collector and hoarder like myself. Well, I’ve just got back and I thought I’d better let you know – it’s not a question of whether you’ll be able to take a few seeds home with you, but how many, and how….

Ai Weiwei Tate-view photo by Amelia Gregory
Ai Weiwei Tate-close up photo by Amelia Gregory

Ai Weiwei Tate-video still photo by Amelia Gregory

Video stills.

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory
Stuck in my shoes…

Ai Weiwei Tate-photo by Amelia Gregory

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 13th, 2010 5:39 pm

Categories ,Ai Weiwei, ,beijing, ,China, ,Cultural Revolution, ,Hansel and Gretel, ,Jingdezhen, ,Olafur Eliasson, ,Sunflower Seeds, ,Tate Modern, ,Thames, ,Turbine Hall, ,twitter

Amelia’s Magazine | Common Ground Exhibition, China

Monday 20th October
Design Museum, ailment website Alan Aldridge: Until Jan 25th
28 Butlers Wharf, try Shad Thames
Retrospective of Aldridge, an illustrator and graphic designer whose work includes album covers such as the Who and Elton John.

alan%20aldridge%20.jpg

Tuesday 21st
Rich Gallery, ‘Reflect Refract’: Pilita Garcia, Daniel Medina, Esperanza Mayobre, Eduardo Padilha, Lucia Pizzani, Dafna Talmor: Until 30th October
111 Mount Street, London W1K 2TT
Bringing emerging Brazilian, Chilean and Venezulan artists to the forefront, with photos, drawings and objects focusing on the themes on reflection and refraction, spaces and urban environments.

$reflect%20refract%20exhibition.jpg$

Wednesday 22nd
Jaguar Shoes, ‘Something for nothing’: 7pm onwards
What it says on the poster:

something%20for%20nothing.jpg

Thursday 23rd
Beyond Retro, ‘Rob Flowers Vs East End Lights’ at beyond Retro: 6-8pm
100-112 Cheshire St, E2 6EJ
The opening of the new East End Lights exhibition promises Halloweeny frocks, tricks and drinks as well as macabre illustrations and films by Flowers. His influences include Victorian sideshows, seaside images, owls and circus posters.

Friday 24th
b Store, 24a Saville Row, ‘ONGALOO’: Yamataka EYE, Paperback Magazine and Magical Artroom: Until 13th November
24a Saville Row, W1S 3PR
PAPERBACK magazine, b store and Magical Artroom present the first London exhibition of artworks by Yamataka EYE.

paperback%20mag.jpg

Conway Hall, ‘Small Publishers Fair 08‘:Fri 24th-Sat 25th 11am-7pm: Admission Free
Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL
Celebrating books by contemporary artists, poets, writers, composers, book designers and their publishers, together with a programme of readings and talks. Keep an eye out for ‘Pick and mix’ press publications.

conway%20hall%20flyer.jpg

Saturday 25th
ICA, ‘Incredibly Strange Comics’: Until 26th Nov
The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH
The world’s weirdest comics: Amputee Love! Hansi, The Girl Who Loved The Swastika! Trucker Fags in Denial! My Friend Dahmer! Mod Love! are all here for your viewing pleasure. American presidents as musclebound superheroes, warnings about the perils of smoking, communism and the A-bomb and promotions for popsicles, prunes and poultry feed.

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Having a minor obsession with denim, cost and more specifically, decease 7 For All Mankind, doctor I couldn’t be more enthused to see what 28-year-old, pop artist, Stuart Semple has created using my favorite brand, along with others including, Levi’s and J brand, as the canvas for his latest exhibition, Cult of Denim.

Last Thursday evening, I strolled into Selfridges for the quite impressive opening. I was expecting the usual, small, crowded room filled with art and free drinks along with a bit of live entertainment if we’re lucky, but this far surpassed my assumptions, as we were graciously ushered from one floor to the next to tour Semple’s work displayed throughout the store. Using mixed-media, his contemporary images can be found on square, denim canvases as well as directly on pairs of jeans. Giving off a street-art vibe, he explores the exponential influence denim has, not only in the fashion industry, but in everyday culture, as he considers jeans a “ perfect second skin for billions of people worldwide.”

It was quite impossible to get bored throughout the night, as we were served a variety of beverages and had an interesting line-up of musicians including an acoustic set by Zac Harris, and ending the evening with a lively performance by the Subliminal Girls, who have worked with Stuart Semple on projects in the past including a music video for their Hungry Like the Wolf remix.

Zac Harris

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Subliminal Girls

Subliminal Girls

The Cult of Denim will be on display in Selfridges from October 17 through November 15, so be sure to head down to Oxford Street to check it out. If interested in making any purchases, the limited edition prints and apparel are for sale, with 20% of the proceeds going to Refuge, a charity campaign to stop domestic violence.

Monday 20th October

No Age, see Los Campesinos and Times New Viking – Shred Yr Face at Electric Ballroom, viagra London
Mystery Jets – Cockpit, website Leeds
Horse Feathers – The Fly, London
Kaiser Chiefs and Esser – The Forum, London
Tilly And The Wall – Brook, Southampton
The Stranglers – Guildhall, Portsmouth
Jeremy Warmsley and Jay Jay Pistolet – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen
Bombay Bicycle Club and Flashguns – Barfly, London

Tuesday 21st October

Sky Larkin – Pure Groove Records, London
Johnny Flynn – Bar Academy, Oxford
Buraka Som Sistema, Bass Clef and Soundspecies – Cargo, London
Esser – Central Station & Yales, Wrexham
Port O’Brien and Orphans And Vandals – ICA, London
Hatcham Social and Silhouette – White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s, London

Wednesday 22nd October

Stricken City, Exlovers, La Shark and Dallas – Oh, Inverted World at Madame Jo Jo’s, London
M83 – The Scala, London
The Last Shadow Puppets – Carling Academy, Glasgow
Burt Bacharach and the BBC Concert Orchestra – BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse, London
XX Teens and Wild Beasts – BBC Electric Proms at Freedom Studio at The Roundhouse, London

Thursday 23rd October

Ed Harcourt, Jeremy Warmsley, Munch Munch and Three Trapped Tigers – Buffalo Bar, London
Hot Chip – Guildhall, Portsmouth
Friends of the Bride, Alexander Muertos and Joe Rybicki – The Lock Tavern, London
Primal Scream – Academy, Bristol
Mystery Jets – Astoria, London
The Streets w/ The Heritage Orchestra and Santogold – The Roundhouse, London

Friday 24th October

James Murphy and Pat Mahoney’s Special Disco Version, The Juan Maclean, Yacht, Planningtorock and Prinzhorn Dance School – Matter, London
Autokratz and Joe And Will Ask? – Koko, London
Lets Wrestle and 4 Or 5 Magicians – White Light at The Lexington, London
Blood Red Shoes and Rolo Tomassi – Astoria 2, London
Mogwai, Fuck Buttons and Errors – Hammersmith Apollo, London
Graffiti Island, An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump and Conmungos – Old Blue Last, London
Errors – Pure Groove Records, London

Saturday 25th October

Vessels, Cats In Paris and Cats And Cats And Cats – The Windmill, London
Cypress Hill, Iglu And Hartley, Sway, thecocknbullkid and The Ghost Frequency – Battersea Power Station, London
Coldcut – The BBC Radiophonic Workshop at Freedom Studio, The roundhouse, London
Tilly And The Wall and Slow Club – ULU, London

Sunday 26th October

Cornershop and Lowker – BBC Electric Proms at Barfly, London
Pete and The Pirates, Chew Lips and more – Proud Galleries, London
Paul Hawkins and Thee Awkward Silences, Li’l Lost Lou, Wolfpack Of One and more – The Good Ship, London
The Last Shadow Puppets and Ipso Facto – Hammersmith Apollo, London
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Photo: CJ Foeckler

If there is a band that offer a more alluring live show, drug I’ve yet to see them. For a band to pull off costume changes and conceptual dance routines, hospital at a less than stadium sized venue seems ridiculous. That’s what they are though, tadalafil ridiculous – but in the most charming way possible.

Their live show mimics their songs in this aspect though. If of Montreal had any kind of staple philosophy to their music, it’s pretty much trying to make something absurd, but somehow make it catchier than The Muppet’s singing Mahnahmahna. They boast perhaps one of the best songwriter of the last five years, teamed with a super tight rhythm section (why does the use of two drummer always seem to work so well?). That’s not to discredit the rest of the band; they’re all just super talented.

For a band who tour endlessly, you could almost forgive them looking jaded on stage, but their show is as fresh as it could possibly have ever been. Understandably they run through a big chunk of the tracks from their new album, which is fine by me because I don’t think there is a bad song on it. It’s not like those who are yet to hear it would be left with a moment to be bored though. There’s so much going on around the band you hardly know where to look. The high point of this for me was during Gallery Piece. Every time lead singer Kevin Barnes say what he wants to do, the small group of performance artists act out a different metaphorical representation.

The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment was where we ended up having to watch the show from. A late arrival (for once not actually my fault) meant that we ended up scaling the labyrinth that is Koko looking for a decent spot. We settled on a spot right near the back, resigning to the idea that the best view we would get would be on a screen, and with a few stolen glimpses of the stage. It’s a testament to how good they were though to have still be thrilled by the entire show, even if it was probably viewable through some type of special sky+ pack.

They leave the stage to screams of adoration, before cheekily reappearing for an encore. During which they do a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, which strikes me as more than odd. To begin with I assume it’s going to lead into one of their own songs, but it just doesn’t. In fact, it’s just a pretty much bog standard cover of it. The best thing however was the girl we were standing by for it. She had been fairly unphased by most of the gig, but as the opening chords were banged out she started jumping like crazy and swinging her ponytail at the nearby couples that seemed to be having quite a pleasant evening. Although it was undoubtedly a fantastic show, the crazy girl was probably the most interesting thing I saw.

Instores are odd. The glare of shop lighting, view the looming displays of point-of-sale puts something as transcendental as music into its blatant retail context where no matter how tight, click how on–it the band are, and it’s hard to dispel the hard sell of this environment and invoke the magic of their sound.

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No Age
Photos: Maddie Woodcock

No Age look a little bleary-eyed. And of course it being three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon they bloody well have the right to be. What’s more, the LA duo has the affable US college slacker demeanour of men who may well know a great deal of Pavement B-sides. Amidst the racks of Moshi Moshi sleeve displays this is like watching the guys from High Fidelity playing in their own shop. No Age are fine, at their most average a compendium of the best bits of an impeccable set of influences. The moments they truly excel are when the psychedelic oceanic shimmer of the guitar/drumfest merges into crystallized shapes with prime melodic slacker fuzz to create something as untouchably airborn as early Jane’s Addiction.

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No Age

Next we head to Beyond Retro, which has the distinct advantage of not being a record shop and therefore feeling less like a personalized free voucher. Framed in an enclave in Cheshire Street’s slightly overpriced warehouse (go to East End Thrift Store down Whitechapel for the same stuff at a much cheaper price!), Times New Viking look like crazy kids playing in a giant dressing up cupboard. I should really discuss the music here, but I have to say that Beth Murphy is the coolest and damnest most attractive front woman I have seen in ages, a vision of cool, geeky sex with perfect hair. She leads her merry pranksters through a brittle mess of slightly cutesy shambolic discordance.

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Times New Viking

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Times New Viking

Finally we make it to Rough Trade East, passed some kids selling stolen bikes who tell me to get a haircut, to see Cardiff’s Los Campesinos. The exposed naiveties that occasionally grate on their debut, We are Beautiful, We are Doomed, here in a live context add up to the band’s many qualities. Los Campesinos could have never existed in another period of time. The way that out of the murk of the early part of the decade – the post rock of Godspeed and even the self pitying of a countless number of arse cleavaged Emos can mutate into something as buoyant, as upliftingly trivial/epic is, like the energy flash of Rolo Tomassi, a victory sign that kids will constantly and more often than not unselfconsciously find ways to rewire and mutate, finding life in even the drabbest of situations.

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Los Campesinos

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Los Campesino
I received an email from an excited blog writer who is interested in Chinese culture about a new project by Common Ground. Their online showcase of digital art on the theme of the Environment allows a community of Chinese and American artists to focus on ecology whilst also raising money for projects too.

With a touring art exhibition coming up in Beijing, erectile China at the Huan Tie Art Museum on 8th November the public will get a chance to eye ball over some leafy creations. Being a non-for-profit organization, order they hope to raise the profile for sustainable projects around the world. With art works from more than 40 countries and 20 gifted Chinese artists as well as films focussed on the environment, abortion the exhibition promises to stimulate whilst raising questions. A worthy project indeed.

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Written by Tanya Geddes on Wednesday October 22nd, 2008 1:14 pm

Categories ,Art, ,Artist, ,Beijing, ,Digital, ,exhibition

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