raw ink magazine – october 2012

a r t | d e s i g n | m u s i c | w r i t i n g | c r e a t i v e | c u l t u r e

Issue 14, October 2012www.rawinkmagazine.com

magazine

brisbane gold coast tweed coast

Liana talks to Jackson from Oceanics

Ruth interviews neon artist, Darren West

Roxy went to this year’s Analogue Digital and gives you the lowdown.

In this Issue:

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THE RAW INK TEAM

Roxy CoppenGraphic designer and editor.roxy@rawinkmagazine.com

www.roxycoppen.com

Ruth DunnJournalist.

ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

Liana TurnerJournalist and photographer.

liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com

Cover design by

Roxy CoppenFACEBOOK

www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine

TWITTERwww.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine

Hello Readers,

Thanks for holding tight with us while this edition was being preped!

If you know of any creative events happening in your local area, or would like to contribute to the magazine, feel free to send us an email to:roxy@rawinkmagazine.com

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter-tweets.

We’ll see you next month.

From,

The Raw Ink Team xx

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contents‘ Illuminating Art’Ruth Dunn

‘Jackson Haswell fromOceanics’Liana Turner

‘Hide’n’Seek: Snapshots of Brisbane with LadyP’Ruth Dunn

‘Analogue Digital GC 2012’Roxy Coppen

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illuminatingartruth dunn

Light has a captivating and powerful quality. We’ve all witnessed the entranced flight of an insect hopelessly mesmerised and enchanted by a lamp. As kids we are fascinated by glow sticks, as teenagers the lights at rave parties and concerts dazzle us, and there’s nothing like a house covered in Christmas lights with a heart constricting power bill. These unique qualities of light are harnessed by Darren West, a UK based visual artist who creates illuminating and remarkable artworks using neon lights. Starting out at the fresh age of 17 and studying at the British School of Neon, Darren has developed a refined and rare skill in the art of neon glass blowing. His artworks are a result of patience, mastery and precision as he sculpts neon lighting to accentuate detail, add luminosity and create an aura around artworks.

Darren was drawn to the hundred year old trade of neon glass blowing after working for a big sign company with a small glass blowing department. After the neon sign industry went into decline, due to cheap lighting imports, Darren was determined to continue using his rare skill. It was at this point that he set up his own art studio and began exploring the potential for neon lighting in artworks.

‘Having no art training, I started adding neon in collaboration with other artists, then as neon art became more popular within the UK, I started painting and making sculptures myself and adding the glow of neon tubing.’

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the who neon scooter

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the dream is over 2012 hate love

mickey mouse distorted

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The ideas that fuel Darren’s artworks derive from a variety of sources, including urban graffiti art, television and music. In some instances a simple line from a song can inspire a whole art piece, but in other cases it can take Darren months of research to come up with an idea. After a concept is developed it can take up to 6 weeks to manufacture a neon piece. Darren says the trickiest part of this process is the difficulty in handling molten glass and forming the treacle-like substance into what you want it to be.

‘The feel and the timing to blow a uniformed neon piece and to keep it straight and flat takes skill and patience.’

Despite his mastery, working as a neon artist in the early days of the neon art movement brought with it some big challenges. As a reasonably unknown genre in art at the time it was very hard to show neon art in exhibitions and develop appreciation for the movement. As the movement blossomed, interest in this unique art form has grown and it has found a place in the art world. As one of just a few neon artists in the UK Darren’s work is now in great demand and he has experienced positive feedback from all of his shows.

As well as receiving strong positive feedback from audiences in the UK, Darren has received positive feedback from Australia which has him seriously considering bringing his artwork to our shores. As a big fan of edgy, urban graffiti, an extra incentive for Darren to make the leap to Australia is the graffiti and street art scene this country has to offer.

‘I think that Australia could offer a good platform for my work as the urban graffiti scene seems to be well received there with lots of cool and contemporary artists and art galleries.’Darren recently created a neon art piece for an Australian commission and hopes for an opportunity to share more of his illuminating artwork with Australia.

Darren West is currently exhibiting in Brighton and celebrating 30 years since he first started working with Neon Glass.If you are drawn to the light head to www.neonartist.co.uk

hate love

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Jackson Haswell

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liana turner{ }

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After your debut show in 2010, did you expect to wind up where you are today only two years later? Well I suppose not. To be honest, when we first started we would have been thrilled at the idea of playing on the local stage at Big Day Out or supporting bands we listened to in our teens like Sparkadia. But like anything, when those things actually happened, eventually they didn’t seem as life changing as they may have initially.

You’ve had the chance to support some great acts over the last few years. What has been your favourite supporting experience so far? It would come down to two in particular. Last year we supported Sparkadia in Brisbane at Birdees and the venue was at capacity at the beginning of our set right till the end which was a bit of an experience. We also supported British India (one of my favourite bands) in Toowoomba last year to a large and receptive crowd who mobbed us for autographs and what-not after the show. We also got endless free booze and things that night.

Your Triple J Unearthed page claims influences such as The Strokes, Mystery Jets and Phoenix. How exactly do these influences apply to your sound? The Strokes have been around us since our earliest days, even if it took me a few more years to get into them. Mystery Jets are a more recent influence, and Phoenix are a staple part of our sonic diet also. Not taking anything away from those two bands, The Strokes are definitly more of a landmark for us.

The first time I saw Oceanics play live was in a park on the Far North Coast of NSW last year; I think there were between ten and twenty people there. How does it feel to go between something

as small as that to performing to a much larger audience (e.g. Skilled Park with around 27 000 people)? I have absolutely no idea which gig you are referring to, but hopefully you enjoyed it! Actually, we played our Skilled Park gigs in 2010 which would have been before you saw us. Crowds fluctuate fairly regularly. Sometimes they’re excellent, othertimes not so much. We’ve done everything ourselves so far with minimal assistance from Australian radio or prominent booking agencies or larger bands, so I suppose the people who DO come to see us are there because they’ve seen us play before or heard our music online and are legit fans.

Your new single, “The City” - the first taste of your forthcoming debut album - has been described as your “most realised” work to date. While your previous work is a delightful listen, this new material has a somewhat more refined quality. What changes, if any, have you consciously made in the production of this single?Plenty. We needed a single. Something with no bullshit, a solid structure and a hell of a hook. We tracked it with Jean-Paul Fung in his farm house on the central coast and he knew exactly what we needed, and delivered. The City was made to be a tight, sharp and to-the-point song that you don’t necessarily get sick of after a few listens either. There’s enough guitar interplay to hopefully keep people interested in between the strong choruses.

What are you most looking forward to about “The City” tour? Catching up with our mates ‘Rockets’ from Sydney and playing a few shows in NSW with them. We always have a ball, get drunk and talk monumental amounts of shit. It’ll be a laugh like always. Oh, and performing a Divinyls cover.

10NO BODY SMOKES HERE ANYMORE

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shiroi usagi {art and design}shiroiusagiart@hotmail.comfacebook.com/shiroiusagiart

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ANALOGUE

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gold coast 2012

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Exciting, unexpected, enthralling and memorable - all words to perfectly describe this year’s AD/GC. After great talks from icons such as Claudio Kirac and SouthSouthWest last year, there were high expectations buzzing around the Robina Cinemas for this year’s event.

Analogue Digital took us on a journey with shoe makers, graphic designers, 3D illustrators, street artists, magazine editors and artists all with exceptional talents and awe-inspiring work. From Desktop Magazine to The Jezabels to Newtown Flicks film festival, our speakers had worked on big and small projects alike.

This year’s AD was bigger and better than ever. With gold class viewing, the day was a hit.

- Roxy Coppen

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FRIDAY 26th – SUNDAY 28th OCTOBER 2012

Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)

www.islandvibe.com.au

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Hide ‘n’ Seek Project is a one year writing project that will include articles about Brisbane street and graffiti art, as well as interviews with some of Brisbane’s best street and graffiti artists. New material will be published each month exploring the Brisbane street scene and the artists that work within it.

This month Hide ‘n’ Seek is showcasing thephotography of LadyP. Head on over the page and check it out.

If you’ve spied some street/graffiti art in Brisbane and want to publish some photos or let me know where it’s at email me! -ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

HIDE ‘N ‘SEEKPROJECT

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RUTH DUNN

HIDE ‘N ‘SEEK:Snapshots of Brisbane by

LadyPLadyP has an incredible knack for finding and documenting the continually changing street and graffiti art in Australia. This month’s Hide ‘n’ Seek showcases a selection her photographs from the streets of Brisbane.

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LadyP has produced a large collection of photographs from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. To check out more of her photographs head towww.facebook.com/ladypenrhyn

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