disco underworld #12

8/14/2019 disco underworld #12

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discounder

world

issue #12

october 2009


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brigitte bouquetdutch ceramic artist

disco underworldwww.discounderworld.compage 7


BRIGITTE BOUQUETI was doing something I liked and was happyevery day... but I kept having all these dreamsin my head about big ceramic sculptures...

THIS PAGE:

FrozenRiver

OPPOSITE PAGE:

FrozenRiver detail

What is it?

An A4-sized 100 pagemagazine printed by PMP Printin Auckland on 130 gsm stockwith a 300 gsm cover.

Who is in it?

There are 15 stories of thepeople who have been featuredin disco underworld over therst 10 issues and over 50 oftheir beautiful photographs.

The Gold

Edition #1

NOTE:

We will not be publishinga digital issue of discounderworld for November, togive us time to concentrateon publishing The GoldEdition. If you have a problemwith this email my mum:[email protected].

amanda ratcliffenew zealand photographer



AMANDA RATCLIFFE

I admire any musician who feels totallycomfortable with themselves to go out thereand do what they believe in - even if it issomething people dont understand at thetime.

Article by Amanda Gray

AmandaRatcliffe is making aname

forherselfasa photographerintheNewZealand musicscene.

Photographing established and

emerging musiciansat avariety

ofvenuesand locations,she is a

familiarface onthe Hamiltonmusic

scene.B ehind the camera,

Amandaisalso an online album/gig reviewer,radio DJ,MySpac e

bloggerand NZ musicadvocate.

It sverymuch the localmusic

scene inNewZealand that has

seenmywork as aphotographer

noticed and inturn,made a writer

and radio DJout ofme,she said.

Alwaysonthe hunt fornew talent,she particularlyenjoys watching

localmusicians rst performances

at smallervenue s.

Iadmire anymusicianwho feels

totallycomfortable with

themselvesto go out there and

do what theybelieve in evenif

itssomething that people dont

understand at the time.Those are

the oneswho inspire me and make

me want to push myselfand forgetabout tting into acertain mould,

Amandasays.

Asmusicianscanbe nervousand

self-consciousin front of the

camera,Amandatakesa

documentaryapproachto band

shoots.Thisrawstyle captures

impromptu momentsonand off

stage.A particularlymemorableshoot wasthe KnivesAt NoonEP

release gig.

There wasalot going onat the

time,so insome ofthe photos

theyre yelling at people acrossthe

room.Viewers connect with

pictureslike thisbecause the

subjects are doing what anyotherpersonwou ld be doing inthe same

situation.

There was a lotgoing on at the time,so in some of thephotos theyreyelling at peopleacross the room.

THIS PAGE:Knives at Noon

Just2ofthe15artistsandtheir

photographsyoullfndinsideTheGoldEdition

When is it beingpublished?

It will be published at thebeginning of November and inyour mail box in time forChristmas if you order beforethe 20th of October.

Where is it being sold?

Entirely online on our blog. Youcan pay via Paypal or banktransfer.

How can I get my hands ona copy?

Click here :)

Facebook fans who woncopies of The Gold Edition:Marie Young, Emma Dyer andAmanda Gray. Congrats! Wellsend you out a copy whenits published.


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Mikes space:

L o s t .

www.discounderworld.com. issue #12 contents. page 5

18 3658

living and experiencing

life in another culture

Legal Alien:

Jason Burgessissue #12features

50

8

michelle ransomemma kidd

30


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www.discounderworld.com. direct address. page 7

direct address

disco underworld is published byOnline INsight Limited copyright2009. By reading and interactingwith our magazine and website, youagree to the terms laid outunder the terms of use on thesite www.discounderworld.com.

Editor: Stacey [email protected]: Mike Woodruff,Blanca Gonzlez, Amanda Gray,Dillie Baria, Stacey Childs.

disco underworld, october 2009

Coming up in the nextfew pages:

Vera Alves

Emma Kidd

Coverimage byEmma Kidd.Read herarticleon page18.

Next issues theme is Vice.

Drop me a line if you have

anything to contribute:[email protected]

Click on the cover above to

read the rst issue of MusicSandwich!

Free music downloads, upand coming musicians,

music videos... what morecould you want!

www.music-sandwich.com

get a thrill out of living in a

country that isnt my own... fora little while anyway. Thepeople in this issue have livedaway from home for over ayear, and they share theirexperiences and outlooks in thisissue.

The next digital issue will be outin December, as we are busygetting things organised forThe Gold Edition, the very rstprint issue of disco.

Special thanks have to go to

Amanda and Blanca for theirhelp this issue.

Thats it from me, pleaseenjoy this issue, and if you haveany thoughts/photos for nextissues theme be sure to sendthem through,

Stacey

[email protected] by Jo Sowry

October!?

This issue of disco we arelooking at Legal Aliens, thoseof us who live and love in acountry which is not that of ourbirth.

Its an adventure, and I always


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www.discounderworld.com. vera alves. page 9

By Dillie Baria


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M


ost foreignershave interesting

reasons for immigrating to NewZealand. Vera Alves isnt anydifferent.

It all started with a postcard.An image of Lake Tekapo madeVera wonder about NewZealand the country in thePacic, that was almost exactlyopposite her suburbanPortuguese town on the globe.

For months, she fed hercuriosity by reading up aboutNew Zealand and couple ofyears later, she was there,looking at turquoise colour ofLake Tekapo from theexact same perspective thatthe photographer had stoodwhen snapping her postcardshot. The beauty of it tookher breath away and she wasshocked to see it really existed.


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One of Veras main worriesabout immigrating to anEnglish-speaking country was

not being able to nd a job as aprint journalist with Portugueseas a rst language. So beforeher arrival, she sent off dozensof CVs, succeeding in securingan interview with an ITcompany.

Weeks after the interview,having heard nothing back,Vera decided to give it one lastshot by writing an article onthe iPhone being launched inNew Zealand. She sat on QueenStreet outside the Vodafone

store, in the cold, her ardorturning to words. She got thejob.

Three months later, Vera movedto her current job writing forimmigration sites andmagazines, where she learns alot about her new home (one inevery four people in NewZealand is an immigrant) andhas made a lot of friends.


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Vera thought she would beperceived very differently whenshe rst arrived in New Zealand,

thinking shed be one of veryfew immigrants. To her pleasantsurprise, she was in for a literalculture shock, making her feelmore at home. In my circle offriends, my partner Chris is theonly Kiwi!

Additionally, herdisheartening misconception ofbeing the only Portuguese inNew Zealand was soon put torest when she found an advertin the local paper. A womancalled Jenny was looking for

Portuguese people to celebratethe Portuguese National Daywith. Although Vera found ithard to believe she wasPortuguese with a name likeJenny, she still got in contact,discovering not only that Jenny(real name Maria Eugenia) wasPortuguese, but that there wasa 900 strong community ofPortuguese people around NewZealand.


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As is widely known, Vera ndsNew Zealanders a verylaid-back people she claimsthat back home inPortugal, people tend to bequite stressed. I was shockedto see people were so friendly,I was into a shop and the shopassistant starts chatting like wewere close friends! Itsamazing!

Having lived in an apartment inPortugal, Vera is stillgetting used to having to live ina house. The lack ofskyscrapers took her bysurprise. Her partner Chris haslabelled her a mall-girl, becausethat was a past-time of hersin Portugal. Here, we go forbush-walks!


If you would like to vote forVera to appear in our printissue, enter your email here andhit vote. Your vote will countonce your email has beenveried. Only one vote willcount per email and person.

To Vera, home is truly wherethe heart is. Albeit living in NewZealand in complete bliss, thereare times when it strikes her

just how far away home is, andhow much she misses herfamily. I rst realised this when

my grandma had a stroke.Although she is much betternow, at the time, I stoodfrozen at hearing the news, notknowing what to do, if it wouldbe too late by the time I ewthrough ights and throughthose hours!

The semi-distant future seesVera moving closer to home.It is something she and Chrisare planning on; but for now,theyve decided he needsto hold on to his good

job amid the recession.

Vera blogs here:www.paudecanela.net/kiwivera


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www.discounderworld.com. emma kidd. page 21

F rench living providedits own challenges forseasoned traveller, Emma Kidd.The Australian multimedia artistwas in France, hearing Frenchbut thinking in Italian a legacyof studying etching in Italy.

Emma says she had to go to

Europe and thinks travellingalone to Italy was one of hergreatest achievements. It wasalso her rst real internationalexperience.

Until moving to France, Iseemed to nd otherforeigners to interact with whenI felt alone. But there, in Lille,I felt utterly alienated for therst two years.

In Lille, I felt utterlyalienated for the rsttwo years.


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Emma works under the nameben conservato, which meanswell-preserved in Italian and isalso a reference to Emmassecond passion, cooking.Previously a chef, her last majorexperiment with food was jam,

hence the name. One of herfavourite foods is cake.

Cake would be it. I amparticular though. The differentthings I like have to come fromthat particular patisserie orbakery. Here and also in France.But all types of cake arewelcome, she said.

At present in Australia, hercreative schedule is notdictated by a 9-5 routine. Heronline ben conservato

identity includes an expandingFlickr photostream, Moleskineexchange blogs and two Etsyonline craft stores.

Emmas ben conservato Etsystore sells her screen prints,lomography, photography,prints and etchings. HerVelvet Ribbons store sellsvintage clothing and handmadecuffs and purses.

Her illustrations recentlyfeatured in the Etsy publication,We Are Scared. The Halloweenspecial edition was part of theregular We Are.. series, where15 Etsy illustrators are chosenmonthly to interpret differentthemes.

Emmas attitude towardsAustralia has changed sincereturning.My country is very young andvery old at the same time. Weare all immigrants and thepolitics surrounding my country

and the Aboriginal People justastonishes me, she said.

My country is veryyoung and very old atthe same time.


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If you would like to vote forEmma to appear in our printissue, enter your email here andhit vote. Your vote will countonce your email has beenveried. Only one vote willcount per email and person.

Now comfortable with herAustralian identity, shenevertheless misses her Frenchhusband, who is currently awayskippering and Lille, despite itsbad weather.It is true what they say youcry when you arrive and you crywhen you leave.


I am a Gen Yer, working to getmoney, following my dreams.No children, still strangely notinterested.Thankfully my Dadhas stopped askingme about that.

Visit Emmas site:www.benconservato.com

It is true what theysay you cry whenyou arrive and youcry when you leave.


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www.discounderworld.com. feature: legal alien. page 31

Feature article byBlanca Gonzalezwww.cuttingsonablog.blogspot.com

living and experiencing

life in another culture

Legal Alien:

I have lived outside Spain,my country of birth, foralmost 10 years. I'm still notsure of how this happened. Asa child, I never travelled far on

holiday, and I didn't even havea gap year before University. Iguess I wanted to travel, but Ididn't really imagine myselfdoing it. But then afterUniversity, I was somewhatlost. I had always been a verygood student and that was all Iknew how to do. However, thistime, it was clear that everyoneexpected me to face the realworld.

I wasn't ready to embracereality fully so I decided tosettle for something in themiddle and went to England tolearn the language. You maythink that going to live inanother country was facing the

real world in a rather drasticway. The truth is, at the time, Ijust thought I had a very goodexcuse to have a smalladventure, and I didn't knowhow hard it would be to liveabroad. Of course, I didn'trealise how fullling it wouldbe either, and I couldn't haveimagined that 10 years laterI'd have created my own homeaway from home.

When I ask wherehome is, Im askingof course, somethingfar more profound,

and difcult toanswer: Who am Iand where do Ibelong?


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Michelle Ransom

Mikes Space: Lost


For a while, my life in a newcountry felt temporary. I neverreally decided to stay. It justsort of happened that way. Istudied, I made friends, I hada boyfriend, I got a job (not agood one), I said goodbye tosome friends, I met others, I gota better job ... And one day, I

realized that my place was inthis other country that wasntmine. That I had grown up andnally taken the rst steps intothe real world, only I had doneit away from what I had alwaysknown as home. I had built myown space in which to grow.

Since then, inevitably, thequestion of what home meanshas never been far from mythoughts. When a friend inEngland reminisces about achildhood memory of a TVprogram that I never knew.When someone in Spain tellsme about the latest gossip andpeople Ive never heard about.When back in Spain, I sit withmy friends overcoffee as if Ive never left orwhen I do the same with arelatively new friend here andtalk about the many memorieswe already share. I'm alwayswondering where home is.

language, the ability tocommunicate and participatefully that made me feel at homein my adopted country.

A year travelling in SouthAmerica fueled new questions.I felt at home in many of theplaces I visited, even though I

didnt stay in any of them forvery long. More surprisingly, Iwas at home on the road, andit was incredibly easy to live aspart of the travelingcommunity. But how can youbelong anywhere if you keepmoving? Home wasnt a placeanymore, home was being onthe move, looking forward tothe next adventure. But beforelong, I felt a sense ofdetachment from mysurroundings, I stoppedinvesting in building a home,not even a temporary one, as Iknew Id be moving on.

When I ask where home is, Imasking of course, something farmore profound, and difcult toanswer: Who am I and wheredo I belong? And so, more andmore I wonder: Is home reallya place, a country, a city, ahouse? Is it a familiarity withthe customs of the region

where you live? Is it theability to communicate withthose around you? Can youreally feel at home in aforeign country? For a longtime, I thought of home as theplace where you choose to live.Then, home became a

I had built my ownspace in which togrow.


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And so I decided that maybeothers were right, that to ndhome, you have to stopmoving, go back to your roots. Ithought that going back to theplace where you started from,you'd be nally arriving home.But that place is in the past,

and you can never really goback. Even if you dont move,others do, people and placeswill change. You may never feelcompletely at home in a foreignland, but once you leave, it'llalso be difcult to go back tothe way it was in your ownnative country.

All this wondering andsearching just shows my fearof not belonging anywhere. ButI may have been looking forhome in all the wrong places.

Maybe we can only feel at homewhen we build one for ourselveswherever we are, and in orderto do it, we should look within,and not outside ourselves. I'mstarting to think that being athome is knowing that you arewhere you are supposed to be,at least in this verymoment, even if youwon't stay there forever.



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www.discounderworld.com. michelle ransom. page 37

Eds note:

Normally I send the people

featured in these pages a seriesof questions and go aboutmaking an article based aroundtheir answers, highlighting theinteresting things and ignoringthe dull.

But Michelles answers are

brilliant: hilarious, touching andhonest, and I think they workbest just as they are


Michelle Ransom cont.

Mikes Space: Lost

michelle ransomInterview by Stacey Childs


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1. What are you currentlydoing day to day?

One moves cities, countries, orcontinents for love or money.

Thats it. Test it out on anyone it is foolproof.

For me, this time it was love.We moved to Madison,Wisconsin (three hoursnorth-west of Chicago) for mysweetheart to take an

ever-elusive tenure-trackfaculty position at a decentuniversity.

Since then, Ive been trying tobreak in as an outsider to builda freelance consulting businessthat will allow me to reside withmy family in this damn smallcity and keep sane at the sametime.

Case and Point: Typical rstinteraction with Madisonian...

Me: Hi, Im new and happy tobe here. Can you tell me a littleabout Madison and how to getto know folks?

Them: Are you a University ofWisconsin Alumni?

Me: No, but.

{The rest of the answer isnt

heard, and the person turnstheir head away to locate thebar/snack table/bathroom andpurposefully saunters off}.

Oh did you ask what am Idoing day-to-day?

Trying to cope with theprofessional rejection that hascome my way for two years inthis town, er, city.


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2. Ten years ago where wereyou?

Just arrived back from avolunteer gig in EconomicDevelopment with VoluntaryServices Overseas (VSO.org), inSkopje Macedonia,sponsored by USAID and

British ODA, where, amongother things, I was coachinga group of Albanian women inZitoshe, Macedonia to grouptheir cows together to start acheese cooperative.

Oh, and a ve monthbackpacking adventure in SEAsia and then in 1999 I wasgoing to save the world (orjust the 800,000 customers ofa electricity company in NewBrunswick, Canada) from thestarvation, thirst and other evils

of the inevitable Y2K disaster.(I was implementing software ifyou hadnt guessed).

3. Where will you be in 10years?

Toronto. A glass and steelhigh-rise condo with threepieces of furniture and greatcookware.

Ill be extremely cool, and my13 year old daughter wont betoo embarrassed to be with me.

No jokes. Thats it. Im donewith being a foreigner. At least

in the UK (7 yrs) andMacedonia (


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4. Do you have any vices/guilty pleasures?

Stupid, girly, romantic comediesfor the intellectually challenged.Though, maybe that should tellme something.

Hmmm. Confession time? Itis so embarrassing that I go tothese movies for therapy, thatI make sure to go alone, to thelate show to make sure no onesees me. I slip in and out like aforeign agent (maybe anothercareer for me?)

Oh, and McDonalds breakfast

hashbrowns twice a year.Embarrassing huh? I have tohide the trash, so no one ndsany evidence. And, French lmswith suicide, indelity andalcoholism braided into theplot. Makes me feel like I donthave real problems it couldbe worse. Wow. I really do havehang-ups! Do you know a goodtherapist? Remind me to re mypersonal coach.


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If you live in or near Madison and need help aligning operationalimprovement with business strategy contact Michelle,[email protected] Just dont mention the university orthe Badgers.

If you would like to vote forMichelle to appear in our printissue, enter your email here andhit vote. Your vote will countonce your email has been

veried. Only one vote willcount per email and person.

greatest good for the greatestnumber of people".

As I said, Im an invisibleminority in the U.S. Imdissolving. I cant bring up mysocialist points of viewanymore, as they areinterpreted as Michelle gettingon her soap box again. Peopletire of differing opinions, and

eventually say why dont youjust go back home if its sogood there?

What Ive learned is that youcant choose a city over lovingyour best friend.Well work it out.We always do.


8. How do you think yourculture and upbringing manifestitself in how you live your lifenow?

There is no one more patrioticthan an expat MichelleRansom (thats me).

Im a product of thepropaganda of my nation. My

sweetheart has identied themain message in Canadianpropaganda as happy, happymulticulturalism --educationand health care are free and ahuman right. While I identifythe main message of Americanpropaganda as We arearrogantly the best ateverything and most obviouslythe only nation with ademocracy, and free speech. Sowhy would we ever need to lookbeyond our borders?

I live in American as a hypocrite.I grew up anti-American andanti-free trade, shouting Donttake our natural resources youAmericans! My family laughedheartily when they heard I fellin love with an American wasmoving to the U.S. like a cruel

joke. Americans are all aboutindividual rights what is bestfor me and mine, whileCanadians are utilitarians the


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In 2005, I went to teach Englishin Seoul, South Korea.

The day I left the verdant hillsof Kentucky started outominously. My parents droveme to nearby Dayton at 6 inthe morning. It was raining. Onthe way there, a grey Cherokeecruising along the Interstate infront of us skipped along a pool

of water, veered sharply to theright, and slammed into the

www.discounderworld.com. mikes space. page 53

railing. It came within inches ofhitting us on the rebound.Not a good start.

I ew out of Dayton to Chicago.At 1pm, I boarded my ight toSeoul. I had an entire row tomyself and quickly mademyself comfortable. At least, ascomfortable as possible. For as

much as I like traveling and theidea of ying, I absolute hate

the reality of it. The feeling ofclaustrophobia and immobilitygets to me, especially after 13hours.

I made due. It was a ight full ofturbulence, romantic comedies,brief rounds of Tony Hawk onmy PSP, and several cryingbabies. I didnt sleep at all.Since we were heading west

over Alaska, we chased the sun,avoiding twilight.


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By 5pm, I stepped off the planeinto a different country. By5:30pm cleared customs atIncheon International Airport.By 5:45pm, I boarded a bus. By6:15, I was totally, hopelesslylost in a foreign country.

Memory and critical thinkingskills tend to wane afterbeing awake for nearly 24

hours. To the best of myknowledge, here is whathappened: When I bought mybus ticket, I neglected to showthe clerk the note my managersmade for me. I needed to go toa city called Ilsan, with an I andan L, but when I told the clerkthis, she must have heard Osan,which is a completely differentcity in the opposite direction ofIlsan.

I needed to go to acity called Ilsan, withan Iand an L, butwhen I told the clerk

this, she must haveheard Osan

One syllable- ONE SYLLABLE-ruined me. Lesson? If you havea note, use it.

I knew I was on the wrong busin minutes. Highway signs in

Korea are in both Korean andEnglish. Over time, I learned toview this as a blessing. Thatrst day, though, it was a curse.A sign next to an onramp to ahighway running north readIlsan. The bus blazed by it,heading south.

Oh noes.

An hour later, I arrived in thewrong-syllabled city of Osan. Iimmediately went to thecounter and asked for a ticket

to Ilsan. The lady at the counterlooked at me dryly. She raisedher arms and crossed them inan x. This, I immediately learned,was the Korean gesture for no.

Ilsan, no, she said.I need to get to Ilsan, I replied.Ilsan, no.

And again with the crossedarms.



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I called my manager on apayphone.

Where are you?Im lost. Im in Osan.OhhhOsan is very far. Veryfar. You stay there for the

night.Incorrect. Im coming there.Can you pick me up?No, you stay in a hotel.Absolutely not. Im staying inmy room tonight.

No.

PsshhhFor a second, despairturns to white-hot anger. Itcools quickly into a plan. I hung


up the phone. My goal: Get toIlsan before I passed out fromexhaustion.

There wasnt a bus back toIlsan, but there was one to

Seoul. I hitched a ride on one,then made it to the subway.This was easier said than done.The subway stop I chose wasnearly three storiesunderground, which meant thatI needed to lug my belongingsdown three ights of stairs.

I also needed to get mysuitcases through the littletollbooths to get to the train.

My goal: Get to Ilsanbefore I passed outfrom exhaustion.

Since my brain wasnt ring onall cylinders, I made the stupidmistake of passing through thetollbooth before I transferredmy suitcases. When I found Icouldnt reach them to lift them

over, I crawled backunder the tollbooths anddragged them through. Severalonlookers smirked inamusement before helping meout.

Lost? Check.Exhausted? Yup.Humiliated? O.M.G.

And this was only my rst day.

Nearly ve hours after arrivingin Korea, I made it to my city.Several people were there togreet me. When they asked mewhat happened, I just laughedand laughed and laughed.

I just wanted to see the city, Isaid.

They showed me my room. Howthings worked. I passed out onthe bed in an exhausted stupor.

In the morning, I triedcooking noodles in adish dryer. I thoughtit was a microwave.


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Portrait by Johan Dewachter

www.discounderworld.com. jason burgess. page 59

Jason BurgessArticle by Amanda Gray

Apositive attitudepropels travel

photographer Jason Burgessaround the world.

Travelling provides me with anoverview and a connection tothe wider world. Themomentum of travel keeps mepositive and thats an importantmind state for producing anywork, art or otherwise, he said.

Jasons freelancephotographer and writerexistence is a dream role,especially with the benet ofbusiness class travel onassignment.

In the last 15 years, he hasphotographically documentedhis life experiences and is eagerto explore more of the world.


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www.discounderworld.com. jason burgess. page 63

Genuinely getting along withpeople is the key to a smoothjourney and can open doors toother possibilities, he said.

Get a person talking about theirpassion and the rest

of the world meltsaway.

Jason blogs at:www.burgseyephotos.blogspot.com

If you would like to vote forJason to appear in our printissue, enter your email here andhit vote. Your vote will countonce your email has beenveried. Only one vote willcount per email and person.


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disco underworld #12

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