One month of looking up... a reflective document -Kathy Beckett
Talk about culture shock. The first few days in Sao Paulo were extremely overwhelming. You forget that Brazil is a ‘developing country’. Well I mean you don’t forget, you know. I just didn’t think. I suppose I didn’t have any particular expectations of the place before I went. I was interested in seeing a different culture. The journey’s aim was essentially, to experience new things, new ways of seeing... and new ways to be seen. In honesty I expect I could have gained the same insight from any country outside of Europe. What took me to Sao Paulo was the prospect of work experience. Once I started researching the city it became clear that it was more and more relevant to my areas of interest; the absence of billboard advertising, the extreme street art, the ethnic diversity of its twenty (plus) million inhabitants; to name but a few. Of course every experience is what you make it. And I really hope I did the opportunity justice by throwing myself in the deep end and saying YES.
The work experience with Liria Pristine was simply amazing. I couldn’t have imagined anything more suited to the way I work. Our relationship steadily grew throughout my time there. Again I didn’t really expect anything. I didn’t have time to, in between working at Korres, pursuing my festival work and the end of the academic year... my feet barely touched the ground. I was on a plane to Sao Paulo before I knew it, and there Liria was waiting at the airport for me (after a six hour delay on land!!!). Miss Pristine had already taken care of my accommodation and I had a lovely flat to rent with a friend of hers in Villa Madalena. Villa Madalena is a trendy neighbourhood filled with art galleries, beautiful boutique shops and ‘out of this world’ murals. After exploring the city in quite a lot of depth (although saying this I don’t think even residents can make such a claim), I have come to the conclusion that I couldn’t have lived in a nicer place.
I touched on the fact that Brazil is still very much a ‘third-world’ country before, I have to say I was extremely lucky to live in a place where I felt safe in the ally-ways at night. (Lucky enough even to live in a place where you can leave your keys in the front door all day long and for the entirety of your house to be intact!!! - My flat mate Manu was less than careful!) Having been to Kenya (albeit almost 10 years ago) I have had some experience of poverty. But the extreme contrast between rich and poor in Sao Paulo, was shocking. In Kenya I experienced poverty that was pushed into the countryside, in Sao Paulo inhabitants step over sleeping homeless men (and women) on a regular basis to get to their car. It is not unusual to witness crack addicts getting their fill by the road side, even in the nicest of areas.
We are driving around Barra Funda (the location of Liria’s studio – a ‘good’ neighbourhood) and Manu nonchalantly points out “Oh... there are those Favela things”. “Those Favela things?!?!”, I ask. It is not a problem to locals that there are cardboard complexes with thousands of people living beneath them. It is simply normal. I will never get over the sight of the Favela’s. There are just no words to express the shame I feel, that human kind can allow such squalid conditions to exist. More importantly while areas like Higienopolis (translating as clean city), exist so closely beside. For the residents of the Favela’s – when it rains, it poors. After a week or so, I became more numb to these sights, but they are etched in my memory. It was extremely humbling. I feel fortunate to have the life style that I lead. We in the ‘developed world’ are all very lucky. Its a shame that those people who are well off in Brasil don’t feel the severity of the class divide. I am told in Rio de Janiro it is even worse.
Unfortuantely I didn’t get a chance to travel outside of Sao Paulo city (except the ride to the airport!). We planned a trip to Rio which did not go ahead. Which I do not regret. It was planned for my last weekend. So the other four weekends I had spare were jam packed with walking walking walking, the last weekend felt like a bonus because I was free to go back to places I had already explored. Every weekend was an adventure and Manu was an amazing tour guide. By the end of the trip I felt very comfortable getting around the city on my own. The public transport system was something to be desired; although it was possible to get a fair distance via the Metro, the coverage was poor. I was a car passenger a lot of the time which really helped me to get to grips with the city. When you only travel underground (as I find so much with London), you don’t really know where you are geographically.
The car journeys were awe inspiring. I found my neck stretched out of the window and my vision pointing to the sky on uncountable occasions. Once, we got so lost in the maze of the cities roads that a twenty minute journey took us almost two hours. Perfect for my Nikon film SLR! Its funny because the most interesting parts of my experience I have no record of. I barely used my digital camera for fear of mugging, so only my analogue made it into public view. Towards the end of the trip I felt more conscious of flashing my film camera because I completely fell in love with using it. There is something quite interesting about the process of photographing the transient moments in travel. By either, not keeping a visual record or having to concentrate more specifically on how to capture a moment the experience is richened; (with film I find a certain symbiosis between your current state of mind/emotion and the picture you produce – for me digital is devoid of this). I took twelve rolls of film in five weeks and about 600 digital photographs which don’t even compare to my analogue shots. I collected hundreds of objects from the streets, which I intend to photograph under a microscope. My ideas are currently rooted in scale.
My jaw dropped every day at the sheer enormity of the place. More and more and more and more. Much, much, much, much. Many, many, many. David Batchelor (author of Chromaphobia – an excellent account of our [Western] society’s perception of colour) speaks about looking at the world as if for the first time, every time - with eyes wide open. Now my experience is a memory, but I never want to take it for granted. Every time I look at my images I want to be able to imagine something new. The objects I collected speak of tactility within the space. To you or anyone else my photographs are t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l documents; but to me they resonate in many dimensions. I want to bring these dimensions to others and I intend to use my collection of physical items to do so.
When I reflect on my images, I can remember the colours. I am frustrated that my amateur technical skills were unable to capture the exact colour in space and time that I remember. But atleast its there in my mind. It is funny, I will look at a particular image and deduce exactly what is missing from the colour I have captured. I suppose that is the important thing. After all a photograph is only one [and often static] view of an occurrence that is ephemeral, fleeting and completely ineffable.
One of my most memorable moments was walking along the Elevado – an elevated motorway-like road of about three miles in length, covering a large portion of the central city. On Sundays they close the bridge and people run and walk along it. It is incredible to view the architecture from that view point – mid way up – above all shop fronts. The desolate billboard spaces tower high above you. With every step visual delights flooded my mind, the vivacious textures and colours enveloping me like a child in a sweet shop. And all of these words speak of the city. A city with more layers than our brains have capacity to create. An experience with more details than I could ever write. I would never want to write them all either, the intangibility is exciting.
Despite my inability to express certain aspects of my journey, one thing I can explain is my placement with Liria Pristine. Not only did I learn so much from her talent. I also taught her a couple of things. Mostly technically. Coming from Central Saint Martin’s Knit for Fashion, Liria has exceptionally powerful conceptual skills. I became more aware that the course at The Glasgow School of Art is very strong technically (an idea I was introduced to during my time in Denmark). So there was a unique balance between the way we worked. I could physically produce anything she could throw at me, but the challenge for me was to understand the genius behind it. The essence if you will. This worked extremely well for us and I became a sort of technician. What I struggle with, in relation to creativity, is the conceptual aspect. Mostly because I attach emotional and personal meaning to the things I make. Working with Liria allowed me to forget those aspects as they were entirely hers. In the same sense she could focus on them and not worry technically because (I believe) she trusted me.
It was a far more collaborative than I could have expected, while Liria still maintained an exceptional ability to treat me as an employee. Her work ethic in relation to material understanding and yarn properties was fascinating and encompasses everything I strive for in my own work. Liria is currently finishing the collection that we worked on with a fellow graduate of CSM – Jillian Corrozza. She has invited me to join them, now based in London; in view of sending me back to Sao Paulo as her representative knitter for a new fashion brand Rosa Cha (creatively directed by Alexander Herchcovitch). Due to visa complications Liria cannot return to Brasil, but is confident in our ability to work on this job together via internet communication. We are waiting on a confirmed contract and I am currently working out where my options lie (plus financial implications!).
In terms of a cultural eye opener and learning experience I could not have asked for more. In addition to this I was also given the opportunity to sing in a band with three other musicians. All of whom were extremely skilled ranging from experienced session musician of eight years (Felipe Pagani) to 80’s MTV presenter and bass player (Luis Thunderbird). We played four shows of ranging audience while I was there. As Liria put it, I was spoilt in Brasil. I had the most incredible trip, which simply would not have been possible without the kind awards I received from The Gillian Purvis Trust and Sir Phillips Reckitt’s Educational Trust. It was also down to the fantastic set of people that I managed to make friends with during my time there. I am wholeheartedly grateful for the opportunity that the Trusts allowed me and it will undoubtedly inform my fourth year. It has already made pact on the person
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huge imam today.