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Day: 29 January 2018

Review: John Stezaker’s Still Life

Conceptual artist John Stezaker has arrived at the Whitworth, showcasing work that challenges the assumed conventions of photography and aesthetic sensibility.

The exhibition is a combination of 19 pieces gifted by Karsten Schubert to the Whitworth, as well as the presentation of three more collages by the artist himself.

The focus of this exhibition is a collection of studio portraits, actors’ head-shots, postcards, and book illustrations. Combined, this collection unsettles the context of the original photograph.

By splicing dissimilar imagery and weaving them together, these collages communicate a mood of distortion and evolution.

In the space provided by the Whitworth, a sense of interruption was certainly felt. With nothing decorating the walls and the space, save the portraits themselves, it crystallised this pause.

The act of taking a photograph preserves a piece of time within an image, and this was communicated in the exhibition room — time felt as though it was on hold.

Though it initially appears to be a random collision of imagery, Stezaker’s work is incredibly precise — there is method in his madness. Each collage is linked, starting with the original image and through to the secondary image.

These collages force the pictures to evolve in conjunction with each other, as Stezaker’s use of them imbues them with a new life and purpose.

By organising the imagery in this manner he creates a sense of renewal within the frame, a studio headshot being innovated from its original purpose.

This theme of renewal is most evident in images such as Mask XII (2005) that features a landscape picture of a bridge paved across an actors’ headshot.

The positioning is purposeful, the two arches within the bridge resemble that of the eyes when combined with the man’s face underneath. The image of the actor becomes useful when combined with the landscape of the bridge and vice versa.

Stezaker’s work also contains an element of mischief. By crafting imagery in this manner his work misleads the viewer’s brain as it scrambles to find a face within a faceless image and familiarity in an unfamiliar image.

This challenge to the viewers’ brain, to find a pattern in something alien and unrecognisable, creates a communication between the artist and the viewer through the medium of his creation.

In an article in The Guardian, Stezaker commented on the unnerving nature of cutting through a photograph — likening it to cutting through flesh, and perhaps that is why his work is so surreal but so enrapturing.

The viewer is hooked by the interesting and unusual image that contradicts the assumed rules of a photograph. But this is refreshing as it serves to challenge the viewer, forcing them to analyse and understand Stezaker’s work.

John Stezaker Photo: Eleanor Forrest
John Stezaker. Photo: Eleanor Forrest
John Stezaker Photo: Eleanor Forrest
John Stezaker. Photo: Eleanor Forrest

Interview: The Amazons

The Amazons are undoubtedly one of last year’s biggest success stories in the world of breaking British rock bands.

Their self-titled debut album smashed into the album charts at #8 when it was released in the summer, and it also landed two places higher on the vinyl album chart.

They made a triumphant return to their hometown festival Reading when they played to a packed Festival Republic Stage, while their autumn headline tour was entirely sold-out in advance.

The foundations for their success were set long before the year started. A Music Week survey demonstrated they were the most hotly-tipped guitar band of 2017, and now, at the start of 2018, they are about to embark on another UK tour.

Matt Thomson, singer and guitarist for the Reading band, took some time out to chat with us about the upcoming tour and where the band go from here.

How did you all deal with the madness of the last year?

Badly. We’ve had sunglasses stuck on our faces for the last 4 months. Going to the cinema, showering, driving at night: makes no difference.

You played a lot of gigs and festivals — what was your favourite show of last year?

Toss up between Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and our headline show at Kentish Town Forum in London.

How important is it for you to celebrate being from Reading?

At the beginning, when we’re introducing our music to the world, it’s really important. It’s part of our identity and we’d be fools not to acknowledge that.

In celebrating where we’re from, however unglamorous, it is has helped us connect with our fans from around the world who come from a small, slightly dead-end town. We just wanted to show you don’t need to be from one of the major cities to achieve something.

Was the album’s reception what you expected?

No. We have to admit it exceeded all expectations. For a rock band releasing a debut record in 2017, a top 10 chart position wasn’t really on the radar. I think we under-estimated the appetite for this kind of music.

So, you’re back on tour this February, are you excited to be getting back on the road?

Hugely. Our UK Tour in October last year was incredible and we learnt a lot. It’s going to be great to hit the road again.

What will the new tour bring?

We’re in the process of working out how long a bass solo we can get away with. It certainly won’t be a note for note recital of the record. We like to keep the audience on their toes.

Can we expect some new music soon?

We’ve been working on a lot of new material recently, so maybe…

Will another album be a while off? And how do you think it will compare to the debut?

Not sure. All we know is that unless we put together a record we love and would fight to the death defending, nothing is coming out.

Who is your biggest musical influence?

Influences change and morph all the time. It’s about being open to anything and everything, you never know what’s gonna cause the spark.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Joni Mitchel’s ‘Blue’.

You can catch The Amazons on Saturday 3rd February at Albert Hall.

A look at Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Back in 2006, Animal Crossing: Wild World was released — the first time I devoted an unhealthy amount of hours to a video game. I promised my nine year old self that I would never again fall into the trap. And look where I am now. Then in 2012, when Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released, I promised myself that I wouldn’t spend more hours playing than revising for my GCSEs. And look where I am now.

On the 22nd of November 2017, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was released. A follow up to New Leaf’s update last year, which was to include a campground within their game, and at first I was excited for this game.

Like the majority of previous Animal Crossing releases, you start the game by creating your character and finding out that you’re in charge of something — in this case a campsite — where your task is to try to get as many visitors as you can by befriending them with gifts of fruit, fish, bugs, and sofas — the usual stuff.

photo: Nintendo
photo: Nintendo

From this point on, you are constantly levelling up, trying to finish your goals in order to receive crafting items, trying to level up your tents, and fulfilling all the typical tasks you would expect in a free-to-play mobile game such as this. A formula found in abundance across the mobile market, most notably in games like Clash of Clans and Pokemon Go.

In the past, such games that lack a narrative like this and expect you to carry out the same tasks everyday would bother me, but then I found my nine-year-old self saying “Keep tapping the sea!” or “No, you are enjoying this!”

Whilst I was enthusiastic about this game at the start, I was aware of some problems. For starters, I opened the app to collect my daily rewards, and then checked the map to see what items I needed to collect for each animal. After helping one of the animals enough to reach a high level with them, you can’t just ask them to visit the camp. No, no, that’s not how it works. You need to craft at least four different furniture items for them to even agree to move in.

photo:Nintendo
photo: Nintendo

Then after a week I just stopped playing. Full stop. You find yourself stuck in a cycle, doing the same tasks every time you open up the game.

This is exactly what I expected, but I was still disappointed to find Animal Crossing — a game developed by 2017’s good guys, Nintendo — still reliant on a decade old model that uses tedium and repetition to encourage you into making in-app purchases to alleviate the boredom.

Whilst you can argue that the Animal Crossing series has always been about repeating the same tasks daily, it feels all too familiar in a market saturated with such games. Whenever I try to look in the mobile market for a game that I can commit to in my free time, I am greatly disappointed by the saturation of microtransactions.

At this stage my enjoyment of mobile gaming is slowly declining, and with the Harry Potter Mobile RPG being released in Spring 2018, I am not as excited as I should be, especially given the confirmed inclusion of in-app purchases.

I find myself asking the question of whether I’ve grown tired of this mobile gaming model, or whether playing this childhood favourite as an adult has shattered my nostalgia, making me realise how monotonous it has always been. Or perhaps it is the abundance of such practices in mobile gaming that has helped me realise this monotony. It may just be all these points combined. It certainly seems that way.

Student burglary victim feels sidelined

Students do not feel safe in South Manchester and not enough is being done to support them.

That’s the view of University of Manchester student Henry Carey-Morgan, who was the victim of a burglary.

The 22 year old was sat with a friend in the living room of his property on Kingswood Road, Fallowfield when a brick was thrown through his bedroom window, which had blinds that were closed at the time, and his laptop was then taken from the bedroom.

The incident was reported to Greater Manchester Police at 12:30 AM on the 15th of January and the student was told that an officer would be along shortly but was called three hours later to say that no-one was available.

Henry said: “I received an apologetic call saying that no one was available and would I prefer to wait up or see someone in the morning. I had an exam that day so I went with morning and was told an officer would come by between 7 and 8 AM but no-one arrived and I didn’t get another phone call.

“Then at half three in the afternoon [of the 15th], I got a text message saying my case had been filed in the event further evidence should come to light.

“I understand it’s not an emergency and that the police are busy but the thousands of students who live in Fallowfield are part of this community too and we deserve to be treated as such.

“It’s a sad state of affairs when the people who are meant to protect us don’t even bother to show up. ”

The Physics with Philosophy student said that the police were helpful on the phone and felt the problem could lie more with a lack of available resources to the police.

On the 16th of January 2018, MP for Manchester Gorton, Afzal Khan, spoke about the issue of police funding in Parliament and said:

“Greater Manchester police has faced eight years of real-terms cuts and has lost 2,000 officers. Week after week, constituents come to my surgery in deep distress over antisocial behaviour, muggings and burglaries to which the police cannot attend. As a former police officer myself, I know that they are doing the best that they can.”

In response, Conservative MP Liz Truss said that the government “have given police authorities the power to raise additional precept to be able to deal with those issues,” adding that “it is a decision for Greater Manchester police.”

Based on his experience, Henry did question whether or not students’ concerned were always taken seriously by police.

The third-year student said “It feels like students, perhaps because individually we are temporary in Manchester we are slightly sidelined.

“There’s almost no police presence in Fallowfield and although my incident wasn’t lethal there have been other occasions of students being threatened with knives.”

A petition started in 2017 titled ‘Greater Manchester Police & Andy Burnham: Help us to make Fallowfield safe for students!’ received almost 10,000 signatures.

In response to student safety concerns, the University of Manchester Students’ Union proposed a ‘Night Owl‘ scheme where student volunteers would be trained in first aid, safeguarding, well-being training, and self-defence to safeguard vulnerable people.

This was due to launch in January of 2018 but is currently under review following initial criticism of the scheme.

Commenting on the ‘Night Owl’ proposals, Henry Carey-Morgan said: “It is a substitute for more police, which is obviously not ideal, but if the GMP’s resources really are spread that thin and they simply can’t afford to have more officers in Fallowfield then it’s either schemes like this or nothing.

“I think it’s a good idea if it’s taken seriously, it will increase the general presence on the street aiding the lack of resources issue and also create stronger ties between students and the GMP.”

Greater Manchester Police was contacted for comment on the burglary and the support they give to students in relation to safety but did not provide a comment.

Anyone with any details in relation to the burglary can contact police on 101, quoting 0037 on the 15th of January.

Interview: Riton

Q: I’m Qasim Akhtar. I’m backstage at Warehouse Project, at the Albert Hall… with Riton.

R: Waddup.

Q: What sort of music genre would you define your music at?

R: I come from classic house — sort of early 80s to like 90s house stuff. That’s why I like bass. Then I’m adding what I have to offer on top of it, like, I find a lot of vocalists. I work with a lot of people from Lagos and Nigeria. It’s like good old-fashioned house with some good melodies.

Q: Are there any other influences on your music?

R: I like any Dance through to Disco. Anything electronic. Even Electronica like Kraftwerk. I work on proper old machines, like 70’s analogue machines. That’s how I make all the sounds.

Q: What sort of equipment do you use on stage?

R: When I’m Djing I just use the CDJ’s. I play all of my own tracks. At home, I have Roland’s like 909, 808. All these old drum machines.

Q: Do you ever use vinyl?

R: No. I used to. Back in the day, I used to work in a record shop so I have a massive record collection, but I go digital now. Records don’t sound as good as CDs anymore. You can’t DJ them out as loud.

Q: Before you started Djing as a full-time job, what did you do?

R: I was always doing music but I wasn’t as well known as I am now. I was on the underground, I had a good living, doing good parties, smaller stuff, but still good. I’d do a couple of gigs a weekend and make music. I did that for twenty years before I had a hit, but I wasn’t trying to have a hit. ‘Rinse And Repeat’ was the first hit. But up until then, I was just making underground stuff, all sorts of styles. I was making DJ music you know?

Q: Nightlife is generally dying around the country, you know the whole Fabric situation, but why is it you think Manchester has still managed to stay so diverse? Warehouse Project wouldn’t really exist in any other city than Manchester…

R: I used to live here — I used to work in a record shop and know that there is a love for music here. A good, deep, proper love for music. You have a very good team that makes these parties happen. They have good taste and basically give the people what they want in a big way and they’ve been doing this for ten years. I actually did a mix CD for the first year of warehouse project for them so I’ve known these guys for years.

Q: Is Manchester one of your favourite places to play?

R: Yeah, in the UK it’s like Glasgow and Manchester and London are the best crowds.

Q: What makes Glasgow and London special?

R: Just the people, the music. You know there’s enough people in the city and enough people who will be into that sound so we can always have a good party.

Q: What draws students to the Warehouse Project?

R: It’s just that time of your life. You’re a student, you’re into music more. The more students there are, the better.

Q: What DJ would you like to back to back with?

R: I’m gonna give a shout out to my old partner DJ Mehdi who passed away a few years ago. He was my favourite partner to ever DJ with. Me and him used to have this crew called Carte Blanche and we were making tunes together. He was the best DJ to work with for sure. He was the best DJ in the world.

Q: As a DJ, what do you think is the most important skill? Dillon Francis said in an interview that it’s reading a crowd. Do you think that’s true?

R: Yeah. It just depends [on] what you want to get out of it. Either you want to say something or you want to entertain. You can sort of do a bit of both and its finding that balance where you’re yourself but not a sellout. You’ve got to satisfy everyone but you’ve also go to be your own person. Do your own thing and also know what you do best.

Q: In terms of your new music. Is there a certain direction you’re going with?

R: I’m keeping to what I do really. I just work on something until I love it. When I feel it in my stomach and my heart that’s when its time to put it out. I trust myself you know?

Q: Who were your inspirations when you were growing up?

R: There’s been so many all the way through the years. I’ve been making music for 25 years so it’s a thousand different people. Todd Terry, Carl Craig, all these old school house guys from the US that’s like when you grow up on something, you’ll always love it the most.

Q: Finally what is your all-time favourite city to play in?

R: Obviously Manchester’s top ten of all time. For me Paris is good — that’s just where I always play. I’ve played hundreds of places there. France is a really big place for me.