ELUSION
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“LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE ABLE, EVERY NIGHT, TO DREAM ANY DREAM YOU WANTED TO DREAM.” (ALAN WATTS, PHILOSOPHER)
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ELUSION Welcome to the first issue of ELUSION Magazine. To elude is to escape from an instance and this magazine is and can be your escape. As Tom Hiddleston said, “People love escapism and there should be a place for it.” This magazine offers the chance to escape from the normalities of everyday life even if only for half an hour - and indulge yourself in daydreaming, letting your fantasies take control. This magazine caters to those of you who want to be exposed to endless possibilities and have
the opportunity to get lost in an idea. A place where nothing is impossible and everything is normal. The aim is to evoke a new sense of reality free from control, convention, reason and revel in the subconscious mind. Explore this issue now and dream about the bag you’ve always wanted growing in a cherry blossom tree or find inspiration in an unusual place. Where will it take you? yours, Lynn
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CONTENTS
LOLA DUPREE INTERVIEW ~ Graphic Designer P6 GIRL, LOST IN THE THRILL OF IT ALL ~ Photo Shoot P14 BLOOM ~ Photo Studio P26 MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY, HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? ~ Photo Shoot P34
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RORY PRICE INTERVIEW ~ Artist P44 THE ROMANTIC FORM ~ Graphic P52 BLURRED LINES ~Photo Shoot P60 LUCID DREAMING ~ Article P68 ALTER YOUR THOUGHTS, ALTER YOUR REALITY. ~ Graphic P70
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LOLA DUPRE In a search to provoke new thoughts and ideas in a mediacrazed world where very little is deemed ‘original’ - Lola Dupre sets herself apart from the rest. Dupre works heavily with photo manipulation and creates pieces of art thats aim is to ultimately invoke new perspectives on society and challenge what is deemed as normal. Appropriation of imagery is a commonplace among artists today but Dupre is determined to make an impact with her surreal and arresting collages
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that are created by going back to basics - paper, glue and scissors. Using iconic images both historical and contemporary she transforms, warps and manipulates familiar canvases to create an alternate universe inside her work. It is reflective and innovative combining elements of what we already know and what we can learn - it challenges the information we have spent our lives so diligently absorbing. Dupre has given us an insight into her kaleidoscopic, dreamlike world‌
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Can you tell me a bit about yourself? I am an Artist and Illustrator. I experiment with scissors, multiple prints and PVA glue. I choose to work with the basics but I am influenced by Photoshop too. Does living in different places influence/progress your work? I think so - yeah. Being constantly exposed to a stream of new influences is always interesting - although it does sometimes makes things more difficult too. When did you first find you’re love for photo manipulation? Since I was around 9 or 10 I spent most of my teenage years experimenting with paper mache and this was my real initiation into photomontage. At first I began making 3D forms, the surface of which was composed of many pieces of paper stuck down upon paper. I was always very interested in this accidental photomontage and it led me to my first experiments towards the photomontage style that I do today.
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What is your technique - how does a piece come together? Each piece I make is different. Usually I try to map out the more difficult areas, and then the rest creates itself. I have went through a few mediums in the past, such as paper mache, stopmotion animation, film, photography and writing. I am very interested in digital media, but for my own work I prefer the tangible results of paper.
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“AND BECAUSE THE HUMAN BODY AND IDEAS OF BEAUTY AND NORMALITY ARE UNAVOIDABLE.”
You experiment a lot with body perceptions and illusions. What inspired you to manipulate the human body? Perhaps the proliferation of images of the human body in popular culture. And because the human body and ideas of beauty and normality are unavoidable. Do you see the body as art? Of course. Life is a continuous stream of experiences, and everything is art. Where do you find your sources? Various places such as vintage magazine and books, and of course the vast internet. Usually I use images which either have significance to myself, or hold some kind of broader role in society, such as collages I have made of the Mona Lisa, David Cameron, Pope Benedict XVI. This is something I want to do a lot more of in the future, the reaction to my work I see in people is generally more interesting if they are viewing a piece that is based on an image that is already very familiar to them. I try to choose my subjects carefully, but it’s funny how that works when your feelings for the subject change over time, or the well-known scene you portray takes on new significance in the media. 11
Is there a message you are trying to communicate through your work? I have my own ideas and and revelations from my work, but I think most importantly the message is for the viewer to decipher. Sometimes I think merely covering a topic is enough, I like my work to start a dialogue. What is your dream opportunity? Difficult to say, I am lucky enough to work with some very talented individuals. I would like to continue collaborating with other artists all over the world until I find the perfect project. What’s your plans at the moment and where do you see yourself living in the future? I am moving to a town by the sea in Spain at the end of March 2014, I have always wanted to live by the sea and this will be the first time. In the future? Who knows! It would be great to settle one day when the right place is found. I am planning on living in Ireland, Peru, New Guinea and eastern Europe in the coming years but I am always changing my long term plans.
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“LIFE IS A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF EXPERIENCES, AND EVERYTHING IS ART.”
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GIRL, LOST IN THE THRILL OF IT ALL
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bloom You who thrived where the horse trod, where the apple smashed, who shot up straight where the river sloshed and rolled, who rose from blood; who ran your flag up from the grifting dune and pulled a pale sky down, who budded on a sodden sack or log, took seed and caught along the track’s edge, who jinked from crags and where walls slip, who broached the lip of lintels, burst on finial and ledge; you who tested luck and unluck, t h r i f t - f e d , d r i v e n b y w i n d a n d w a t e r, frost ticking each petal, roping root and stem, the black of black night lost to hope, you cast the fine day as your fetch and when it knocked and brought your wish a n d y o u w e r e f o u n d , y o u g r e w.
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MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY, HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
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MY N AMES RORY PRICE AND I AM AN ARTIST.
CLUSTERFUCK CONCERTO AGE 22 AN ANTHEM FOR SPATIAL DELUSION NOTHING TO DO WITH BOOZING
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RORY PRICE
SCOTTISH TOURIST
Rory Price is a young artist born and raised in the Shetland isles where remoteness and isolation are normality. Such a location nurtured and influenced his strong imagination and from an early age art became a vital means of expression and communication. Moving to Glasgow, Price studied at the prestigious Glasgow School of Art from 2008 - 2012. Here his talent began to develop and he has came out with a very strong sense of awareness and confidence within
his own style. His paintings are an explosion of ideas bursting out of his own mind. The themes are influenced heavily by his upbringing and his own views around today’s society ranging from politics to drugs. He has deemed himself as an artist and ‘Psychopathsoul painter Extraordinaire’ and here is an insight into the life of Rory price…
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SELF PORTRAIT VIA ANTWUAN DIXION: THE MELANCHOLIC OPTIMIST
AUTO PORTRAIT Forehead Volcano 6 in the morning, still transforming blazed out of his brains. I feel strange in a good way Scrambled eggs and a low budget sex change
Who are you? Who am I? I am Rory Price and I’m an artist..I think. I grew up in the Shetland islands which is an island between Norway and Scotland. It is a very windy and kind of isolated environment. Tell us a bit about your background, when did you decide you wanted to be an artist? I’ve always loved art. When I was four years old I used to play with paper mache and crayons at every opportunity I could. Went to art school. left art school, still doing art. At some point I must of made the decision, at 17 years old maybe, that I didn’t want to get a real job so I think that was when I decided to become an artist Where and when do you work best? I work best on my own allowing my mind take me to wherever and whenever I want. I find it really therapeutic to paint and for all the thoughts in my head to get on to paper. Sometimes my mind 46
“A GOOD KEBAB IS GREAT FOR MIXING OIL.” can go into overdrive and I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. Sometimes I find myself staying up for days and just painting without any social interaction. How long would you spend on a piece? Does it consume a lot of your life? It does consume my life, yes. But I’m happy it does because it shows I was born to paint. One painting can take anything from 30 minutes to 3 days it really just depends on when I feel it’s right. What is your preferred method when creating art? I mainly work primarily drawing and painting. I spend a lot of time scribbling and doodling and paintings the favourite things to do really it takes me back to being a child.
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Your titles are always interesting - what’s your thought process when deciding on a title for each piece? The titles vary from being quite maybe crude and short to a bit pompous and poetic. I like to create a really intense hidden story for my paintings that no one else would ever think of. At first glance my paintings might come across as chaotic and disorganised but theres a thought out story behind each one. What inspires you? What I find inspiring is starting a new piece usually. Just having a large white canvas with new pots of paints. I apply the colour and I can find that inspiring or invigorating. Playing around, moving things around then over time you start looking for forms and shapes figures and ideas. Or also just steal something. Sometimes I find a painting that I like and try making my own version of it just to have an idea to go on or something technical to work around.
NUCLEAR NIGEL The worlds’ most disposable post apocalyptic teen pop star. ‘In the future, even the ugly will be famous’.
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THE DISASTER CHEFF SQUEEZING TWO FISH FROM A BONE
What other artist do you find inspiring? Recently I’ve been looking at Goya and Picasso mostly. Both of these artists are excellent draftsman, they are really confident in their drawing which inspires me. I’ve been kind of stealing from them at the moment trying to spark my own ideas. I’ve also been looking at a lot of Japanese prints and trying to mix everything together. Can you give us any painting tips? A good kebab is great for mixing oil. What do you expect from yourself in the future? To get a load of new work together. I really want to paint onto some large steel canvas’. I would quite like to go into making some films though. What makes you interested in film? Its quite self indulgent, I find filming really intriguing. I love acting out in front of the camera.
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PURE PARA - THE STONED NED I know that I am not paranoid but I know that you all think that I am
THE WISE RAPSTAR BIRDMAN OF THE NORTH
YUMMY BABY DREAD BRO! Monkeys in terror, the amazon is over skin peeled off, eyes gouged out time to phone my frozen chauffeur really hope I’ve met my sales quota
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THE ROMANTIC FORM
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BLURRED BLURRED BLURRED BLURRED BLURRED BLURRED
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LI N E S LI N E S LI N E S LI N E S LI N E S LI N E S
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LUCID DREAM The average life span of someone living in the United Kingdom is 81 years. We spent on average 22 years of our lives asleep so subtract that and we have an average of only 59. Just imagine what you could do with that time lost. As technology develops, there is now a way to study the science of sleep and make those 22 years mean more than reenergising. Have you ever been asleep and realised you were dreaming? It sounds strange but this is what we call ‘lucid dreaming’ and research has revealed it is becoming more of a possibility to control it. Most people will have already experienced lucid dreaming in their lifetime, but will simply fail to remember so. It is our bodies form of augmented reality, something which we will begin to see more of within our society. Lucid dreaming is allowing the chance for escapism to become a reality. The experience feels as vivid as waking life but unlike waking life, the reality is entirely surreal. Those of us who can induce lucid dreaming at will can consciously choose what they want to dream of. The possibilities are endless! You can live on a beautiful remote island somewhere in the Caribbean; you can travel to anywhere in the world and revisit old friends; you can conquer your biggest fear; without the constraints of science you can defy the laws of physics and fly to the moon and stars or live happily ever after in your dream scenario. So, how do we master lucid dreaming? The first thing you can try is to get into the habit of keeping dream journals. Dream journals are simply a book filled with each dream you have written down the minute you wake so as not to forget any details. If not, you must actively try to remember them each morning. You must
do this so you trick your brain into remembering. It is also important to recognise any recurring patterns in your dreams so as to recognise when you are asleep because this will make a good trigger for you. Another tip to lucid dreaming is giving yourself reality checks throughout the day. Whilst you are dreaming the reality is in total flux, nothing will stay the same for long; colours will chance, the appearance of your surroundings will change every time to you look round. Start asking yourself the question “am I sleeping?” every time you take a 360 degree turn. Eventually the question will become so natural it will be ingrained in your mind that you will remember it even while sleeping and you can induce lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is the perfect form of expressing the subconscious mind. It allows escapism to become a reality giving your mind the opportunity to go anywhere and be anywhere it wants. You are not limited by anything except your own mind. If you think you cannot do it then you won’t be able to. So in order to make the most of your lucid dream state you must always challenge the rational and experience the possibilities of your imagination. Try it, then we can put those 22 hours of sleep to good use.
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ALTER YOUR THOUGHTS, ALTER YOUR REALITY.
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I DREAM... 1.
of a kaleidoscope world
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of a life without limits
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of the colour pink
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of a seeing the world
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of planet Kepler
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of magic
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of geometric patterns
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of mastering a skill
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of the future
10. of 3D printing 11. of robots 12. of living happily ever after.
yours, Lynn
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REALITY IS MERELY AN ILLUSION, ALBEIT A VERY PERSISTENT ONE. (ALBERT EINSTEIN)
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