Artslink UK-France. Aug 2017

August 2017

Charnwood

RTSLIN UK-France

K 1

Above Photo : Š Laura Ghirardello

Contents Aucard Festival 4 Elefent 14 Barefoot Festival 22 The Brandy Thieves 30 Alexandra Riss 38 Ashokkumar 50 Laura Ghirardello 60 Kole Redmile 70

Front Cover: Exhibition - Maladaptive Daydream, 2017.

Alexandra Riss 3

4

‘

‘

Our plan is not to change a thing.

A cheap, electric, with many good concerts festival where we don’t take ourselves too seriously and where above all we go to have fun.

Aucard Festival 5

A

6

ucard is an annual festival in

Pascal Robert, the chairman of the

Tours. It is the largest city of

organisation Béton Production, is

the Centre-Val de Loire region in

the creator of Radio Béton and

France. This local festival is quite

the Aucard festival. The team is

special for the residents or “les

composed

Tourangeaux” as we say in French,

employees, Enzo the programme

it is part of their identity. The name

planner and producer, and Nathan

comes from an isle in Tours called

in charge of the communication

Aucard where the festival originally

and public relations, as well as an

took place but it has been moved

intern who starts working two months

to the Gloriette Park ten years ago.

before the event. In addition there

Five days of concerts and all sorts

are about ten contract workers

of shows for only thirty euros! It has

and between one hundred fifty

already been 32 years since the first

and one hundred eighty volunteers

edition. For the thirtieth anniversary

who take care of the pubs, the

they sold 20,000 tickets!

control room, the ticketing, the

of

'Everything is wonderful at Aucard’

two

permanent

decoration, etc. This project exists

The musical programme of the

thanks to the subsidies given by

festival is linked to what’s on Radio

the city of Tours, Tours +, the region

BĂŠton. Enzo admits that it also works

Centre-Val de Loire, the National

a lot by feel. For example, last year

Centre of Jazz Variety (CNV) and

Enzo was in Belgium and when he

the company of songwriters and

saw Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

music editors (SACEM). But they still

it was so mind-blowing that he

need more support in order to keep

did everything that he could to

the entrance fee low. This seems

bring them to Aucard this year.

compromised

moment

Some artists come more than one

because of the increase of the

time to Aucard, creating a great

production costs.

mix between present, future and

at

the

7

past. But the main aim is really to

performances. Many families come

push the local bands forward, and

every evening and the Wednesday

there are so many of them that it is

afternoon children’s show is always

always hard to choose. Moreover,

fully booked. According to Enzo,

during that special week, there are

Tour’s cultural life is pretty rich even

many free concerts (apérock) in

if there is a lack of well-equipped

the pubs only for local musicians,

small concert halls. But there are

who can be reprogrammed the

many small organisations, which

following

set up concerts every week in pubs.

year

at

la

Gloriette.

So as he would say: “Tours has a

8

Aucard is a young and avant-

rock’n’roll spirit and people there

garde festival but if you don’t

know how to party!” In Tours there is

enjoy concerts, you can find many

another festival in July named Terres

other animations such as street

du Son but which has a different

9

10

11

12

aim. It offers headlines and gathers

beginning and thought it would be

twice as many festivalgoers, so the

the end of the adventure.

tickets are more expensive. Actually these two events are not competing

This year BĂŠton Production, with the

but are complementary.

collaboration of AZ Prod, launches a one night event on the 11th of

Last year a major flood ruined the

November at the Parc des Expositions

festival by causing a lot of material and

in Tours: Rock The House. You will have

financial losses. The residents reacted

the pleasure to hear Mome, Georgio,

with an unprecedented outpouring

Pantha Du Prince, Paula Temple,

of solidarity that really surprised and

Detroit Swindle, Arandel and many

moved the Aucard team. Many small

more!

organisations set up fund-raising gigs and most of the festivalgoers didn’t

Meanwhile we wish them to keep on

ask for refund. It really gave hope

going like they have since the average

and second life to some volunteers

attendance has kept on increasing

who have been helping since the

for five years!

To learn more about it please visit www.radiobeton.com/aucard

13

Elefent 14

‘

‘

To me, music is a way of doing the things that I consider essential: creating, sharing and feeling.

15

O

livier is a 28-year-old man from

intimate and streamlined, and the

Tours. He likes playing Twister,

other as something at once much more

head banging and zouk music. But

energetic and meticulous. Depending

he is also at the source of the Elefent

on the nature of the event and the size

project...

of the stage, Olivier will pick one of the two options, which is also a way of

‘Dug up at the top of the Hill of

breaking the routine.

Calvary by modern slaves, the Elefent reappears in spring of the year 1989.‘

‘I prefer playing in a band because it provides more sharing, but the solo is

What is Elefent? It is a musical project,

a challenge for me. In middle school, I

which can be presented solo or

used to wet myself when I had to play

in a foursome. Olivier is the singer-

the flute in front of everyone.’

songwriter. When the songs are played in foursome they define the musical

Apart from sounding like ‘elephant’

arrangements together so that the

the name of the band doesn’t ring the

musicians can add their personal

bell - it is on purpose. Olivier didn’t want

touch and make it their own. The aim is

people to be able to guess the musical

to offer two different worlds - one more

style just by the name, so he picked up a word with no meaning. We could put Elefent in the folk/blues category but actually it is influenced by Olivier’s musical tastes: Hip Hop, Math-Rock, Blues, Negro Spiritual, World Music etc.

‘Fuck stylistic consistency. I never understood this concept, I find it simplistic and boring.’

16

The coherence is provided by the lead

voice that he qualifies as ‘beautiful,

singer and his mahogany Weissenborn

clear, powerful and croaky.’ If ever

made by the French instrument-maker

Pura Fé was reading this article, she

Olivier Bataille. A Weissenborn is a lap

should know that Olivier confessed

slide guitar, invented in Los Angeles in

that he would love to do the first part

the 20s-30s by the German instrument-

at one of her concerts, as she often

maker Herman Weissenborn, it is for

goes to France. The other members of

example used by Ben Harper and

the band are Marine at the percussion

John Butler. But the person who helped

and the choirs , Clément the bass

Olivier discover this instrument was the

player, and Alban at the drums. Olivier

Native

singer-songwriter

and Clément are long-time friends,

Pura Fé. In 2008, he attended one of

both interested in music and science

her shows and was astonished by her

and unable to choose between the

American

17

two. He was the one who encouraged

2017 they played for the ‘Apérocks’ of

him to make something serious out of

the Aucard festival, hoping that they

Elefent and introduced him to Marine

will come back again in two years. The

and Alban.

big difficulty for them, and for current music bands in general, is to export

Music is a means of communication

themselves out of their region.

so it would have been more logical for Olivier to sing in French. But because of

‘For now, we’ve played in Nantes,

the particularities of the type of music

Poitiers and Bourges. Why not

that he plays, it had to be in English.

Loughborough?’

‘Thinking about it, all the music I listen

The songs of the album ‘The Client is

to is either Anglo-Saxon or traditional.

King’ were recorded three years ago

French music almost never moved

just for fun. He wanted to discover

me.’

more about home studio, musical composition, mixing etc. so it is mainly

The first goal of Elefent was to be known

cover songs. The decision of making a

in the surroundings of Tours, that seems

living out of Elefent is quite recent.

to have been done. On the 12th June 18

The new EP is expected by the end of

If you check out their website, which

the year. It will still be Home Studio but

I recommend you to do, you will find

only made of new compositions. Olivier

two amazing videos recorded in the

did not tell me much except that it will

wilderness. The ‘live’ condition enables

be really acoustic and clear. The whole

people looking for new bands to have

is meant to be accompanied by videos

a much more precise idea of what

but keeping it quite simple. At the same

they sound like for real. In addition, it

time of the evolution of his project,

was a technical achievement that he

Olivier is discovering the musical world,

took to heart. A lot of events are yet

the contracts, the contacts etc.

to come, such as Mfest, La P’tite Maiz, which are festivals set up by friends of

‘I like doing one thing at a time. Slowly

Olivier. Also, concerts at the University

making my desires and ambitions

of Tours, at people’s home (a local

evolve, in order not to jump in at

concept), at the Balkanic pub, in

the deep end or be disappointed

Nantes, in Châteauroux and many

because of too high expectations.’

more!

19

20

To learn more about the band please visit www.elefent.fr21

22

‘

‘

Barefoot Festival is all about getting back to basics, getting grass in between your toes and taking time out from the pressures of modern life!

Barefoot Festival 23

so many activities that there must be something you haven’t tried or seen yet.

In the Arts Tent you will enjoy art projects and art installations that develop over the weekend with your participation, unicorn horn headbands, medusa inspired self-portraits and fairy wands for example. If you like to go back to childhood for a moment the theme dress up days are for you ! For the mythical creatures theme on Saturday

B

arefoot miss

Festival summer

is

a

event

not-tonear

come as a mermaid or even a dragon and just have fun.

Loughborough (East-Midlands, UK)! It

24

takes place every year during the last

The real children have their own

weekend of July at Prestwold Hall. It

creative

used to be a small gathering that just

company running interactive shows all

got bigger over the years. As with any

day, bed time stories, face and body

other festival, Barefoot wouldn’t work

painting and kids yoga. While your

without the help of its volunteers. All

children are being taken care of why

the profits are used to improve the

not relax in the chill out area? You have

festival year after year. Some of the

the choice between many workshops,

volunteers became regulars, forming

Gong Bath, Didgeridoo, Acro Yoga,

a ‘Barefoot Family”. And it is, in fact

Meditation, Cuddle Therapy, Tai Chi,

a truly friendly “hippie” reunion, great

Kundalini Dance, Aromatherapy, Qi-

to relax from everyday life. There are

Gong… and hot tubs!

space

and

a

theatre

25

If you’d rather be a spectator the

This year, caterers from around the world

Barefoot

famous

will be selling street food style gourmet

Talulah Blue Burlesque Show and the

delights. The best way to end the day at

Combust UK Big Burn Fire Show are

Barefoot is with marshmallows around

made for you. And of course what

the campfire watching shooting stars. If

would be a festival without music?

you are still hesitating to come, check

The headline bands this year are The

out the latest reviews on Barefoot:

Cabaret,

the

Brandy Thieves, Goldwater, and The

26

River Chickens. Rock, gypsy, blues,

“Best Festival EVER! Art, music, yoga,

folk, pop, country…

everyone can

dance, circus, burlesque, tarot, fire,

find something one likes in the Band

friends... the list goes on! If you go to one

Tent.

festival this year, do it Barefoot style!”

and

“Great festival, sixth time

relaxing weekend of the year! Full

we have been, the kids

of beautiful people unleashing their

said it was the best one

creativity - whether you’re taking part

yet. The great thing about

in the workshops or just sitting back

the festival is you can bring

to observe the magic with a drink.

them from a young age

Barefoot is a perfect small festival with

and there is something for

a relentlessly positive, fun atmosphere

all ages to do.”

“Always

the

most

magical

and totally family friendly”

27

28

To learn more about it please visit www.barefootfestival.com

29

The Brandy Thieves 30

‘

‘

Joy. Friendship. Freedom.

Rock’n’ f’n Roll!

31

I

had the chance to exchange few

but Cain (bass) comes from Northern

words with Andrea, the marvellous

Ireland and Andrea is a ‘southern pansy’

lead singer and guitarist of The Brandy

as she would call herself. These unusual

Thieves.

musicians met on an online ad five years ago. For Cain and Andrea who were new

Some of you might just have seen their

to Leicester it was also a great way to make

performance at Barefoot while reading

new friends.

this. Anyway, they come from Leicester, as you must know since it is the most

‘Unfortunately James, our accordion,

famous band in the area. Well, to be

moved to Bristol and we have yet to

honest Joe (trumpet, vox) and Chris

replace him. So, if there are any accordion

(drums, backing vox) are Leicesterites

players out there, please get in touch.’

32

The unique sound they created is not

the old swing singers and Andrea’s heroes

easy to define but I will go along with

are Tina Turner and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

‘Gypsy punk with Soul’. The mad lyrics reveal a whole world, made of story

‘There are copious amounts of great

telling and folklore, in which it’s hard not

bands in Leicester, but a lot of them have

to jump in. At the moment they have

a similar sound, we were something very

started to move a bit away from the

different and I guess that’s why we stood

Ska elements to experience with more

out. ‘

of a gospel/blues feel some of their new tracks. The sound of The Brandy Thieves is

The combination of all these musical

also influenced by its members’ personal

universes leads to explosive performances

tastes. Cain has his roots in traditional Irish

on stage, which have been noticed by

music but loves his punk rock. Chris is an

the press almost since the beginning. But

out and out punk drummer, Joe listens

none of them are novices. Cain had been

to most things but loves a good croon to

performing in bands all over the world

33

for many years, even South Korea! Andrea

‘We’re very much a ‘live’ band,

comes from a musical family and has been

deffo a festival band. So there

in bands since she was eighteen, including

is always an amazing buzz and

a signed band called Two Day Rule for

atmosphere when we perform

six years. Chris also was in a signed band

and word got out we were a

(Neon Sarcastic) and Joe was part of a very

band not to be missed!”

prestigious brass big band in Leicester.

34

Most of the songs on their first EP, Stories from the Cellar, have been re-recorded for the album Old Tattoos launched in 2016. A lot of the tracks are rooted in story telling and folklore and weave a theme throughout the album, which is announced at the outset:

‘If you hear a trumpet late at night shut your door and lock it tight’ ‘If you see a tattooed woman sing you better hide your brandy and your gin’

Even if Andrea has performed in several countries

such

as

Ireland,

Portugal,

‘Didikai Lee’ is about a gypsy fortune

Australia, Thailand, Cambodia… her best

teller, ‘The Muse of Mary Malloy’ is a

musical memory took place in Leicester,

tale of a scorned woman getting her

at the Soundhouse. When they put on

revenge on lovers, ‘Owl and the Pussy

their own gigs they really give everything

cat’ is a play on the poem, a twisted

of themselves, so there is always a theme.

story of doomed love…

This time the theme was ‘Gypsy Cabaret’.

What was truly magical was that their

The outstanding track that was chosen as

friends, One Suspicious Monkey, reformed

the single of the album is The Blackbird.

for that very night only for this show. The

I think a little country made its way into

crowd was absolutely into it, dancing and

that track, especially when the banjo

shouting out all the lyrics.

comes in. There is an animated video of it available online made by Richard

‘IT WAS RAMMED!! The atmosphere was

Leshone, who has done many videos

just so amazing and the feeling of love

for another Leicester band called By the

from our fans was really moving.’

Rivers.

35

We will shortly hear from them again as they are working on a new EP with their brand new material. I wish them nothing but to have a blast and to achieve an international career as big as the Leicester band Kasabian.

‘Come try and catch us play at the following events! Also check out our Facebook and make sure you support your local music scene! We need you!’

36

05/08/17 The Lamb Inn, Norwich 06/08/17 Pagan Pride, Nottingham (HEADLINE ACT) 12/08/17 The Magical Healing Festival, Gloucestershire (HEADLINE ACT) 20/08/17 Umbrella Fair, Northampton (HEADLINE ACT) 01/09/17 Woz Wolf Festival, Matlock 11/09/17 The Musician, Supporting Real MacKenzies 23/09/17 Gypsy Cabaret 2 Soundhouse, Leicester

To learn more about the band please visit www.thebrandythieves.bandcamp.com 37

38 40

‘

‘

ArtMarco and/or the artist is a reflection Dal Maso of the world.

Alexandra Riss 39 39

Art appeared in her life very early on.

Alexandra comes from an art crafts’ family. Her grandfather was a tapestrymaker and cabinet-maker who also happened to be a curator of the Louvre apartments. One of her uncles was a photographer and another a cabinetmaker. In addition to this, her mother, a music teacher, used to take her everywhere with her to see exhibitions among other things. So the fact that she was in the know of art quite young might have had influenced her choices.

A

lexandra

Riss

At first, being really keen on history and

French

art, she wanted to be an archeologist.

visual artist, freshly

But after everyone told her that there

graduated from the

were no job opportunities she decided

School of Fine Arts

to become a museum curator. After

of Tours. She works

she graduated from high school, she

on

is

the

subtleties

thought it would be interesting to spend

between

reality

a year in an art college first. By having

and

an artistic experience you can defend

dreams

an artist or work for an institution as

nightmares.

you would definitely know what you

She creates a lot

would be talking about. Eventually,

of objects linked to

she enjoyed it so much that she went

her fantasies, “just

through the five years of art school.

like any other artist

However, to her, Schools of Fine Arts are

would”, as she says.

like golden prisons.

and

fiction,

between and

40

a

When you are in it, you do whatever you

Although she obtained her master’s

want but when you get out you are on

degree (with distinction) she did not want

your own. They don’t prepare you for the

to start working straight away because she

reality of the world. There were no law,

had had an overdose of contemporary

management, marketing or administrative

art. In the meantime she did vocational

courses. What she regrets the most is not to

training (CEPIA) at the School of Fine

have been told how the tax system works

Arts of Bourges to be able to talk about

for an artist. According to Alexandra, if in

her work with people who know nothing

France they are far behind concerning

about art. This training delivers methods

the development of the artistic creation,

and techniques to engage “inaccessible

it is because they kept a romantic vision

audiences”.

of the artist. That is to say for them be and

learn how to talk about the same thing

live as a martyr. You received a beautiful

in different ways depending if you are

gift but you don’t need to be paid for it,

addressing a pupil, a detainee or an

it’s not a proper job.

autistic person etc. To Alexandra, it is

For

example,

you

can

41

42

not always easy but it gives a more

though the ground has a considerable

sincere approach to one’s work.

place in our lives it is hardly used in

She also loves working with children

the artistic community. Usually in an

because her art is linked to childhood,

exhibition the spectator hugs the

to a kind of naive absurdity. As soon

walls or at the very best he can walk

as a child understands one of her

around a sculpture. Alexandra bets

works, she considers it as successful.

that if we ask people coming out from

Regardless of the type of audience,

an exhibition details about the floor

what matters the most is that they are

most of them would not be able to

interested and understand what she

answer. The floor is her playground,

says. Many of her exhibits are floor

she enjoys disturbing spectators by

installations. She noticed that even

showing

them

other

perceptions.

Wandering around is like breathing,

She was in residence for four months at

it’s natural so we do not think about it

the Octroi Gallery in Tours. It is a non-

but from the time that we do we are in

standard exhibition area, quite small

another mood, much more focused.

and made of exposed stones. It was a challenge to get out of the comfort of

Even if her work deals with her life it is

the white cube. It is a good idea for a

often linked to modern concerns such

young artist to shake up already formed

as gender, standards, coercions…

habits right from the start to decide what

However she is not involved in any

suits them better. During the four months

sort of social or political movement

Alexandra lived in the Octroi to internalise

but as she said: “From the time you

something of the site. It eventually

are animated by your work and

became a whole world between reality

willing to share it, aren’t you already

and fiction that she created. A fantasy

committed?” Her first work as a

space inspired by her grandfather’s

professional artist was very special.

house, her mother’s childhood home

43

- reality, because she used objects

so we can see that her art fits in one

belonging to her family heritage which

sentence : mistaking dreams with reality.

she modified. Her work was also inspired

The objects shown at the exhibition

by the fairytale of Cinderella which

were performative objects, which were

stands for the fictional part. The exhibition,

used by herself or someone else before

entitled “Maladaptive Daydream� is a

the exhibition, such as half satin half

direct reference to the pathology called

glass dancing slippers. At first she was

maladaptive daydreaming. People who

intending to make a video of all the

have this mental illness daydream all the

performances but she did not have the

time, they are trapped in their fantasies

time. It is ironic, because the project was

and can not accept the real world.

about fantasy, so we can say she really

Alexandra also works a lot on oneirism,

created fantasised objects.

44

45

During

your

internship

in

Newcastle, what differences did you notice between the French and the British cultural sector?

It’s day and night. In France everything is too administrative.

In England they are literally punk, that is to say if you want to organize an exhibition in a cinema it is not a problem. It is an independent cinema which is governed by an umbrella group, by organisations, so we can do whatever we want. When I was in England, we attended exhibitions in business districts. A lot of entrepreneurs lend You already have exhibited many times, how are they set up?

their

premises

to

artists

for evening events. It’s much more “underground”, culturally

I don’t have a high number of achievements, quality

speaking in England, things are

matters more than quantity. In fact, in the artistic

easier to set up. You don’t need

community everything works thanks to contacts.

36.000 authorisations and I found

Meaning, you can exhibit wherever you want even if

it great to tell yourself “yeah it’s

your work is crap as long as you have the right contacts.

true these premises are not used

Conversely, you can do an amazing work that won’t

at nighttime, even for a week or

be noticed because you don’t know the right people.

during the holidays sometimes”.

Speaking for myself, I have been requested by

In England or in the US they are

professionals or acquaintances but, most of the time,

looking for stuff like that, they are

I respond to calls for applications. I receive a sort of

more receptive to projects which

newsletter called FRAP in which everything is listed.

are a bit crazy.

46

Most of your work has been done in Tours. Do you think there are enough opportunities there to make a living as an artist?

No. There is not enough budget, not enough things set up for it to be possible. The local scene is way too small and partitioned. I don’t think that it is possible as an artist to extend your work here, at least not as much as I would like to. But regardless of where one lives, an artist has to be mobile and promote themselves. What is for sure is that I won’t develop my work in Tours but it doesn’t mean that I am going to stop living here.

47

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on an exhibition for the Centre RĂŠgional des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires (CROUS : a regional organisation providing student bursaries, university halls of residence, foreign students reception, cultural

activities,

and

restaurants

on

campus) of the 6th district in Paris. For now I won’t say more because it is still at a state of reflection.

48

49

Ashokkumar 50

‘

‘

Art is the manifestation of pure thought - it has no need or function.

Photo by Agostino Osio, Courtesy of Fondazione HangarBicocca

41 51

In order to hit his target he did a predegree course of general art and design at Leicester College and then a fine art B.A. at De Montfort University.

Even though he didn’t work in design, what he learnt was useful for when he worked on commissioned artworks as this required him to think about work flow and time lines.

T

he intriguing visual artist

As a person with dyslexia he has a

Ashokkumar

born

different conception of the world. His

and bred in Leicester. His

work is about understanding other

parents,

from

people’s way of life. Working both

India, came over to England

with physical and digital media, he

via east Africa in the late

explores

1960s. He always wanted to

such as the mediation and formation

become an artist. When he

of data into codes of association,

was around 8 years old, his

the uncertainty of belonging and

teacher entered him into an

the evolution of an individual as

international art competition

they travel through a multiplicity of

without even telling him. It

emerging cultural realities. But he

turned out that he was the

doesn’t “study” people, he prefers

winner and received a big

discovering them by working with

prize of art materials. From

them. Using play, metaphor, repetition,

that moment he chose to

ritual and reflection, his work is meant

become an artist.

to be a mirror to contemporary human

was

originally

insecurities.

52

contemporary

concerns

53

Since 2001 his work has been shown

belonging to British society. They came

many times, in different cities such

up with the creative idea to exhibit

as

Manchester,

the photographs in the front windows

Nottingham… He usually takes part in

of shops, businesses and community

exhibitions organised by other people

centres. As Ashokkumar said: “We

or organisations but his project called

wanted to take art to the people

“From Here and There” is one of the

because the whole exhibition is about

exceptions.

them.’ The exhibition aimed to reflect

London,

Derby,

ideas of ‘Britishness’ during the year

54

He collaborated with the artist Pablo

of the London 2012 Olympics and the

Bartholomew to create an exhibition

40th anniversary of the mass exodus of

of street photography to explore

Uganda’s Asian population, many of

diverse

whom settled in Leicester.

communities’

feeling

of

His

latest

work,

for

example, with ‘Spaces in Time’ he

of

deconstructed time and space to

Things’ deals with the way we relate to

explore how we exist in space and how

technology. This performance, which

we impact an environment. During this

he invented, gave him the opportunity

year he has been working on many

to move into dance. Going beyond

different projects concerning change.

set genres, he created a data driven

One of them is about himself as a person

dance work that has spoken word,

and as an artist. He will also be exhibiting

music, movement and technology. His

in Taiwan next year. If you want to learn

childhood interest for deconstruction is

more about Ashokkumar, please take

now re-used in taking apart ideologies,

a look at his website where you will find

philosophies

other types of artworks such as poems.

Misunderstanding

and

‘Methods the

Nature

processes.

For

55

The joint exhibition in Taiwan was your

from National Cheng Kung University.

only exhibition experience abroad.

We had to work within the context of

How was it?

a very different culture and language.

I managed to learn a great deal and

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This was a very important exhibition

created some of my best work. Time

and very enjoyable. It all came about

was limited so we had to work with the

after I visited Taiwan with Kevin Ryan

resources available. We managed to

and met with Professor Ming Turner.

make a series of installations and moving

This was followed by Charnwood Arts’

image works and also delivered a

annual engagement with students

workshop programme with the students.

Did you ever think about doing a project in India?

Have you got any crazy dream?

I have been to India on many occasions but I find it a difficult place to be noticed. Because I was

Lots! I would like to create

born in the UK but look Indian I find that galleries

live

in India find me a bit of an anomaly. I come

audience

from Europe but am not exotically European

of the work. I love working

enough to be marketed to an Indian audience.

with children and would

I’m of Indian origin but not Indian enough to be

like to explore how children

understood.

impact culture.

works

that members

make part

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Why does the sword motif appear so often in your works?

This is a strand of work looking at how we make ourselves out to be different to others. Straight and curved swords are similar but not the same. In the same way people are similar but not the same. The small difference that exists is enough to create prejudices. Because the sword has a trajectory it can be used to denote a binary difference.

The straight sword and curved sword explore people’s perceptions of difference.

To learn more about his work please visit www.ashokdmistry.com 59

6040 50

‘

‘

Photography gives us a new Marco Dal Maso perspective on the world. We stop to look at small details that would usually seem insignificant to us.

Laura Andrea Ghirardello Boyer 51 61 61

What first got you interested in the art world?

I started painting really young, when I was about 4-5 years old.

At first it was only a children’s activity but then I started being more involved in the art world and practicing more regularly.

Why did you choose to do an Art History bachelor’s degree when you could have done vocational training?

L

aura Ghirardello is a young, humble,

photographer

from

Gièvres (an hour from Tours). We studied Art History

together

for

three years. I had the opportunity to work on several exhibitions with her so I really wanted to tell you a bit about the great job that she does.

62

At the end of high school I didn’t know precisely what I wanted to do yet. However, I knew I wanted to do something linked to photography and art more generally. So I turned to an Art History bachelor’s degree in order to learn some theoretical

basics

on

the

different evolutions of visual arts. This knowledge stimulates my creativity.

63

What made you change artistic medium?

What types of cameras do you use?

I got my first camera when I was three because my mom was tired of me using

I have a digital camera (Canon

all her camera rolls. I got into photography

750D), a Fujica film camera,

much later, when I went to high school. I tried

and an old metallic biscuit box

it when I discovered the principle of the 365

that I use as a pinhole. I also use

Project. You have to take a picture per day

my iPhone from time to time.

during a year. I carried out this project for two years, as a result my practice evolved. At the end of this project, I continued photography while starting to care about Street-Art.

64

Do you have a preference between

When we take a look at your work, we can

these three techniques?

see a lot of varied outdoor photographs in different cities from portraits and landscapes

I mostly take picture with my film

to close shots of objects. How would you

camera because I find it more

define your style?

authentic. But I think I might have a preference for the pinhole, the

I think my style can be defined as immediate.

purest photography technique that

I really want to capture the present moment,

I find poetic. However, the pinhole

the decisive moment (a reference to

requires a lot of time, organisation

Henri Cartier-Bresson), that’s why I mainly

and technical means, so I do not

photograph in the street. I never do set ups,

use it often.

my photographs are varied because I come across many different situations.

65

With

your

photographic

series

Do you love travelling? I’m asking you this

“Beach Break”, would it be correct

because of the series “On the Way” and the

to say that you intended to

fact that you have an Aeronautics Initiation

highlight what is usually driven into

Certificate.

the background?

I do indeed. I can’t stay in one place, I always Absolutely! I am keen on ‘sliding’

want to discover new places, new cultures, and

sports and especially surf. I noticed

new people. My series “On the Way” is based on

that when we watch broadcast

that love of travelling. Looking at the negatives

videos of the competitions, apart

of my former argentic prints, I realized that most

from

itself,

of my photos were taken during my journeys.

no other image is shown. Last

That’s when I decided to make photographs

summer, during my holidays I went

out of the negatives by directly transferring

to the Lacanau Pro, a big surfing

them on sensitized paper, in the same way as

competition which takes place

the camera obscura technique. The prints keep

every year in France. As time went

the authenticity of the negatives and thus the

by I started taking pictures of the

journey that they relay.

the

performance

surfers when they arrived on the beach. That way I could capture the concentration time, the way that they observe the ocean before going in and coming out. With this series I tried, without really knowing it at first, to show what happens behind the scenes. “Beach Break” depicts the life of competition, the real life of the athletes who participate in it. I invite you to see beyond the main action on which everybody usually focuses on.

66

67

68

How many exhibitions did you set up?

Have you ever participated in a

What was the last one?

group exhibition?

So far, I did six solo exhibitions in various

I participated in quite a few group

contexts. I have exhibited in youth

exhibitions. I started with several

information offices and in an adolescent

exhibitions

centre, each time by creating a project

artists, then I got involved in a salon

with the cultural team of the organisation.

gathering of about twenty artists

In 2012, I had the opportunity to exhibit in

and was chosen for an exhibition

an urban art festival, the idea was to mix

with three other photographers. My

different types of art (Slam, Painting, Rap

series “On the Way” has been shown

music…). My last event was in a pub in

for the first time at the exhibition

Tours. The owners wanted to decorate

“Movement” you set up, with the

the space while promoting young artists.

Art History student organisation of

We got in touch thanks to a mere email.

the university.

for

young

talented

Are you currently working on

What are your plans for the

a project?

future?

two

In September I will start the

exhibitions at the moment.

third year of cinema bachelor’s

One in August, where my

degree while preparing the entry

series “Beach Break” will be

exam of photography school. In

presented to the public for

a more distant future, I would like

the first time and the other in

to be able to make a living out of

September.

artistic photography.

I

am

working

on

To learn more about her work please visit www.lauraghirardelloart.wixsite.com 69

Kole Redmile 70

‘

‘

I see photography as a lifestyle and a way of living, so I stand out from the crowd.

Photo by Agostino Osio, Courtesy of Fondazione HangarBicocca

41 71

Why did you start parkour?

I guess, I saw everyone going out doing skateboard and stuff like that, I couldn't really skateboard at the time... and I wanted to see something different, I saw all these people jumping on stuff and I just thought it looked really cool.

Who taught you ?

K

ole Redmile is a

For the first year of doing it I taught

promising

non-

myself most of it and then I started

young

training with a parkour group called the

He

Flowflies based in Loughborough. They

was born in 2001 in

taught me a couple of things and they

Barrow-Upon-Soar,

would allow me to photograph and

near Loughborough,

that's how I got into photography.

professional photographer.

and still lives there.

What is so remarkable about him is that he

Would you say it's rather physical or

managed

mental ?

to

bring

together two of his parkour

It's a type of discipline; it's pushing

and photography -

yourself to the limits. I could go and

into

do a jump and I could know for well

passions

result.

an

-

impressive

that I can do it, I know for well that I've jumped that distance but there is a mental block. And parkour is about going past that mental block.

72

73

What’s the difference between parkour and freeruning?

Parkour is going from A to B as quickly and fluently as possible, freeruning is doing it in style. When you see all the flips and stuff that’s freeruning, when you see all the moves and stuff when they are going over stuff very quickly that’s parkour. I do a bit of freeruning but I prefer doing parkour. I’m best at what is called fly, which is fluently moving around, so it’s kind of like dancing over objects.

Did you ever hurt yourself by doing parkour?

I had a lot of injuries. My last one was when I first started off, I was swinging off an 8 foot high bar and I landed on a post on my back. I almost punctured my pelvis and almost broke my back and if it had been 3 cm to left I would have been paralyzed to the waist down and also would’ve been dead in three days without an operation. I had deep cuts into my chin and lots of stuff like scrapes all down my face…

How do you find the courage to

So, why did you start photography?

continue after something like that?

For my 13th birthday I got an iPhone 4S and I You have to sort of build up to it. When

started taking photos at the Flowflies on that,

I did my back it took me a year to get

and I posted them on Facebook and I was highly

back to where I was. I was hesitant on

praised for it. So I carried on and eventually I

everything that I did and I would often

showed James (at Charnwood Arts) the first

bail instead of failing so… It takes a lot

photos I ever took and he thought they were

of mental control to keep doing it.

amazing. And I decided to come in Charnwood Arts and do photography. On my 15th birthday I

74

got my first camera.

Did you continue taking pictures after you where healed because some people said your were good at it or because you enjoyed it?

I did enjoy it. When I got injured I would still go down to the park. I got told not to train for a month or so to let myself heal. I used to go down to the park and because I could do nothing I’d sit and take videos. And occasionally I would go through the video frame by frame and take screen shots because back then the iPhone camera was all blurred. If they were jumping, because they were going so fast, the best way to do it would be to take a video.

75

76

You take pictures of your friend’s training

The

organisation

Charnwood

Arts

but also of nature and landscapes.

gave you the opportunity to follow

Is parkour a way of travelling, of

a photography course. How did you

rediscovering your environment?

discover the organisation?

Definitely yea. If you are walking through

At the age of 12 I got kicked out of

an alleyway, you don't know what's

school, I couldn’t cope. And they tried

above, what's on the buildings and I

to get me back in but I still couldn’t

found lots of stuff because of parkour. I

cope because I had severe anxiety

found abandoned rooms, abandoned

when I was younger. Now I still have

houses, drugs and everything. But yes,

severe anxiety but it’s not much. I

it is a way of getting around and this

started going to placements and I

is what it was designed for. I think a

asked my key worker if there was any

couple of famous traceurs have played

photography courses and she found

pokemon go, going on top of roofs just

Charnwood Arts.

to catch some pokemons.

Do you ask them to do some particular stunts or do you just take pictures when you feel it’s the right time?

At first they would just do their thing and I’d just record or take photos and as I progressed they started to notice my photography. Every time they would ask me if I want them to pose because they could see me on the corner of their eye about to take a photo so they would just turn around and go: “Do you want me to pose again?’ Or they would shout me over if they thought there was an opportunity for an image.

77

How does the course take place?

Some of your photographs are more artistic than others. Did you take them

Usually I will be sitting on my own, doing

after starting the course?

my own thing because I’ve surpassed their capabilities. If one of the other

When I first started James wanted me

kids needs help with something they

to learn how to use Photoshop. After

would shout me over to have a look.

trying a few things it progressed to

When I first started here I didn’t know a

the angels. I’ve done one of myself,

thing about Photoshop, didn’t know a

another of a mate and then I took

thing about cameras, only that I had

screen shots of a very famous video

to use them. Since I’ve started coming

and added angels wings. I think it’s

here I’ve learned how to Photoshop,

powerful the way that I do it. You don’t

so I’ve done graphic design, 3D

see us when we’re up there. There

development and I’ve used a bit of

will be the one person who will see us

Lightroom.

and she will keep on walking as if it’s nothing. When we are up there we

78

are practically invisible because if you’re

What would you like to do in the future?

walking down the street how many times do you look up? So we’re practically like

I am going to Leicester College next

guardian angels, we’re there but nobody

year. I am going to study photography;

knows.

I am planning on doing it for 3 years.

I would prefer to be a photographer

Why do you prefer colour rather than

mainly because of the freedom that I

black and white ?

get whereas a normal job you sit in an office and you are told what to do. With

I prefer colour but I’m getting into black

photography you can do your own thing,

and white. I mainly prefer colour because

maybe you get a request or something

I’m used to it and with black and white

to photograph in a certain area but

I’m not to sure what to look out for. I know

you’re still picking the angles, what’s in

usually you want to look out for stuff that

the photo.

will stand out, mainly a black background with something white.

To learn more about his work please visit www.koleredmile7.wixsite.com/home

79

Acknowledgements Contributing: Artists: Elefent The Brandy Thieves

Alexandra Riss Ashokkumar Laura Ghirardello Kole Redmile Writer:

Melissa Pebre

Photographers:

Maxime Hillariaud ARYA Fabien Garou Remi Chanteloup Remi Angeli

Associations:

Beton Production Barefoot

Producing Editor: Melissa Pebre

Series Editor:

Kevin Ryan

Design Assistance:

Natalie Chabaud

Project Assistance: Terry Allen

First published in August 2017 Copyright: Charnwood Arts and Individual Authors All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Charnwood Arts.

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Charnwood Artslink International Charnwood Artslink International was born in the early 1990s through

links with the Indian state of Gujarat and European twinning links between Charnwood in the UK and towns in Belgium, France, Germany and Poland.

Since then we have worked with or promoted the works of artists from over 100 countries.

We began this work even earlier, as since 1977, Charnwood Arts, an arts and educational charity based in the UK East Mildands, has worked with artists and organisations around the world to create scores of exhibitions, events, workshops, festivals, publications and projects.

This current magazine project, initiated in the summer of 2013 is designed to involve people between 16 and 35 years of age in producing magazines about arts and culture in, or from, their home countries.

Most people involved in this project have no direct experience of producing a publication before undertaking the project and with support they are thrown into the deep end of undertaking ALL aspects of originating and producing the magazine for on-line distribution. All of the young people and young adults involved in this project to date have been involved in face to face work with Charnwood Arts. www.charnwoodarts.com

Charnwood

RTSLIN International

K

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Barefoot 2016 Barefoot 2016 Charnwood Arts acknowledges core support from Arts Council England and Charnwood Borough Council.