Magazine
~ Second Issue ~ April 15
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." Robert Heinlein, "Time Enough for Love"
Doom Drawin
Contents Edito........................................................................................................................................................7 I ~ The Undercurrents Gallery.....................................................................................................9 Current exhibition :..................................................................................................................10 Next exhibition !........................................................................................................................24 II ~ Events..........................................................................................................................................26 POP UP FUCK OFF.................................................................................................................26 The Minesweeper in Number 3..........................................................................................52 Worshop in Gravelines...........................................................................................................53 Coming Soon !...........................................................................................................................59 Party in the Park !...................................................................................................................64 III ~ Minesweeper Publishing.....................................................................................................66 The Booze Book........................................................................................................................66 Metamorphosis project............................................................................................................71 IV ~ Renovation................................................................................................................................72 V ~ The adventure of the Minesweeper................................................................................76 VI ~ Minesweeper Mexico............................................................................................................78
Edito We are very pleased to present the second issue of the Minesweeper Magazine. So many things are going on, so many things are coming up... If you want to be involved (that is we want, because things run & change with everybody...), if you want to support us, if you want to know more or if you only want to have fun with us, the best way is to suscribe to our mailing list. And where can you suscribe to our mailing list ? At the footer of our website (we are working on it, soon it will be clearer & more efficient) and you will know everything about our events, gigs, publications & so much more : http://minesweepercollective.co.uk/ We organise private events aboard the ship every now and then, once or twice monthly. Invitations are sent to all our contacts and followers, so please do make sure you join our mailing list to get yours. Entry is free & all kinds of music are represented. You can also have a look at the vessel : we have screenprinting workshops every week on Tuesday & Thursday, from 5pm to 8pm (come directly or call before), on donation. & we are more & more involved in DIY screenprinted hand-made books. If you draw, or if you write, send us more information : Contact us to the Minesweeper mail So, you will find here : I – The exhibitions at the Undercurrents Gallery, at the Birds Nest II – All the past, present & future events (we have loads!) III – the publications (just edited & coming up)
After that, you will find more informations about the Minesweeper adventure, the renovation projects (IV), & the fascinating & so damned good written story of the vessel by Camden McDonald (V), & the tricky journal (VI) of one of our members, the great Joe Fur Long, gone to Mexico to see what is going on there & how not to be a simple tourist but rather, to be incorporated into daily Mexican (though it could have been everywhere...) life. If you have any questions, any submissions, don't hesitate : intersweep@gmail.com
So, get involved ! come & see come & propose come & enjoy...
I ~ The Undercurrents Gallery www.undercurrentsgallery.tumblr.com
The Undercurrents Gallery is a Public Exhibition Space in Deptford leaving egos at the door since 2013. Bringing Fresh Art to the People. Out of the mainstream channel of official art giving everyone the opportunity to exhibit their artwork for free. The Undercurrent Gallery space managed by the Minesweeper Collective, is part of The Birds Nest Pub (32 Deptford Church Street, Deptford, London, SE8 4RZ)
Current exhibition « Drawn Closer » by Vesna Parchet & Peter Sulo April 2015
To have an idea of the high quality drawings of Peter Sulo, have a look at these...
‌ & Vesna Parchet... (& come to the Birds Nest before the 28th of April to see everything !)
http://vesnaparchet.com/ http://vesnaparchet.tumblr.com/
* http://www.petersulo.daportfolio.com/ *
Next exhibition ! Kids love ink Tattoo shop in Deptford : website
(Meanwhile, Enrico Polpo Cornuda is at Auroville, India)
II ~ Events POP UP FUCK OFF 28TH MARCH 2015 TOOTING BROADWAY STUDIOS
Last month The Minesweeper Collective participated in P U F O at a cool warehouse squat in Tooting Broadway. The Minesweeper Collective made an Action Painting and gave a short introduction about the collective.
Black paint on the wall (credit : Vytautas Vobla) POP UP FUCK OFF was a one day underground art event with Music, Performance and Visual Art in Broadway Studios on Tooting Broadway. The space is on the verge of being pulled down and redeveloped into luxury flats, but before that happened, Samuel Brzeski, the last surviving resident of Broadway Studios, and India Roper-Evans thought up a one day event and invited artists, musicians and performers to come and fill up the 25 empty rooms and large courtyard to celebrate and bid goodbye to this amazing space in South West London. They had just two weeks to pull the show together and given the last minute nature of the task and the hasty exit afterwards, the show was aptly named Pop Up Fuck Off. The building used to be an affordable business centre and studios run by Wandsworth council for about 20 years, housing a drug and alcohol counselling service, a youth enterprise centre, a music studio and affordable studios for local artists and designers. However, the council sold it off to a developer in 2010 as they could no longer afford to keep it open. While the site was being owned by the developer, it became a hub for artists in the area who used the rooms as studios and live/work spaces, putting on exhibitions and events throughout the time they were residing there. The Pop Up Fuck Off show was curated by both Samuel and India who share a belief that affordable space for artists and musicians to occupy is a real priority. With many art centres, studios, galleries and alternative nightlife being sold off to become vacuous non communities of yuppies and yummy mummies, London is becoming in danger of losing all sense of any grass root arts and culture. In celebration of the life of Broadway Studios and of young and poor
artists across the city, Samuel and India invited over 50 non commercial artists to display whatever work they chose in a last hooray for another art space. The show opened it’s doors at 3pm with art works, including site specific installations, projections, painting, photography, drawing, sculpture and even a live drawing machine who sketched non-stop for 6 hours in one of the empty rooms. After 9 pm there were live bands all the way from North East London and a couple of cool DJs spinning tunes, the party went into the early hours of Sunday and the remaining people danced the last dance at Broadway Studios. India Roper-Evans is a Hungarian/British photographer and a curator living and working in London. She has had several large-scale commissions across her eight year career as a photographer and also co-founded Art Crunch, a platform to support emerging young artists through the credit crunch. http://www.indiaroperevans.com/ Samuel Brzeski is an artist and writer living and working in South London. He has also curated a series of exhibitions in alternative spaces across the past two years and has an active studio practice. www.samuelbrzeski.com
India Roper-Evans
Samuel Brzeski
Samantha Wolf
Elod Beregszaszi
Glenn Fitzy Fitzpatrick
Flora Deborah
Desdemona Varon
Gzillion Artist
Lukasz Janiszewski
Julia Maddison
Sean Worrall
Matthew Rose
Susana Sanroman
Silvia Cruz Del Alamo
India Roper-Evans
Aerial Sparks
The Minesweeper in Number 3 The Minesweeper Collective has been invited by Number 3 to present their work. Nice place, nice atmosphere. To be continued...
Worshop in Gravelines The MusĂŠe de l'Estampes et de l'Imprimerie (The Museum of Prints & printing), located in Gravelines (France), asked the Cagibi to organise a screenprinting workshop. The Minesweeper has been invited to collaborate with the Cagibi on this event. This worshop took place the 28th of March with around fifteen people & it was a great pleasure.
The Museum was built on the flank of the fortifications of the city, the works of the famous architect of Louis XIV, Vauban.
This place is warm & intimate & quite suitable for creation.
The aim of this workshop was to realize a tiny collaborative, hand-made, DIY fanzine around the theme of Calaveras.
JosÊ Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) – collection of the Museum (screenprinted for the workshop)
We presented the screenprinting process & how to make a little DIY handmade book. So we choose the technique of ÂŤ cut paper Âť : we cut shapes on paper and we stuck on the screen. It is like the process of the stencils.
When we have printed both faces of paper, we can bend & cut, and get, in this way, our very own book...
It is an easy & lovely way to have a fun DIY fanzine, without chemical or big needs. * For more information, If you want to organise a workshop in your place, contact us ! internsweep@gmail.com
We want to thank especially Virginie & Nathalie for their welcome & kindness.
Coming Soon ! Alternative Press & London Radical Bookfair organise a book fair on the 9th of may on 47/49 Tanner Street (London Bridge)
Party in the Park !
REMEMBER : The best way to keep in touch with us, be notified of events, fairs, concerts, etc, is to join our mailing list on the website !!!
III ~ Minesweeper Publishing The Booze Book The « Booze Book » is a recreative project, created & printed in 5 days aboard the Minesweeper.
Obviously we had lot of fun for a modeste but tricky book, bottleshaped, with lot of scales of colours and fancy poems (cut-up, « cadavres exquis », drunk inspiration...)
(Supervisor)
(pictures, ovviously, are blurred, sorry...)
Metamorphosis project
We are not able to speak too much about our next big collaborative screenprinted book... But very soon, we will launch the ÂŤ Metamorphosis Âť book project... So keep in touch !
IV ~ Renovation Minesweeper is, first of all, based on the renovation of the vessel...
(Back deck)
(enjoying the mud)
(terrace for BBQ at sunset)
(covering the back deck)
Doom video by Jérémy La DjeyDje Action painting filmed during the event Pop-up Fuck-off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVKSyLRDTQg&feature=youtu.be
Jeremy is a French cameraman/video editor based in London since 2014. He started by directing short movies during high school and more seriously in University where one of his pieces had been selectioned for local festivals. After uni, his passion for electronic music leads him to collaborate with several music festivals in the south of France, where he come from, and with an indie digital music label, Ziris Records, with whom he’s still collaborate closely. In London he’s been involved in the squat movement along with other artists from different disciplines. This is where he met Illustre Feccia. Their friendship and the mutual respect for each other works leads to a collaboration, in a form of a series of time lapse videos about Feccia’s artworks. The last one was made during the eviction party at the Broadway Studio, where Feccia realized a live painting performance, among others artistic creations. http://La-Djeydje.ideastap.com
*
V ~ The adventure of the Minesweeper by Camden McDonald THE FIRST TIME I heard about the Minesweeper was when a friend of mine, Nick StClare called me. "Camden, I'm thinking of buying a boat. Will you come and check it out with me?" This was summer 2002. Nick had recently come into some money he wanted to invest, and he knew I'd been crew on The Yankey in Manhattan. "Ok," I said, "Where's it at?" "Greenwich." "How much?" "Ten Grand. All wooden, ex-minesweeper." I was expecting something interesting. We got there about 11 o'clock on a nice summer morning, and eventually found the Minesweeper tucked away behind an Industrial estate on Deptford Creek. We were greeted by Rainer Cole and Nick Chow who showed us around. The story was that they'd got some friends together to pool money and resources, salvage the vessel which had been abandoned on the river, and turn it into a venue. Their project had been stalled for the past two years and the members had drifted away, so they were thinking about cutting their losses and passing it on to someone else. We were impressed. It's the kind of shipbuilding you don't get anymore on that scale - 110ft long, 21ft wide with a draft of nearly 6ft. Price: £10,000. Flashback to summer 1954 Poole, Dorset. Jack Bilson is getting worried. The hull is completed - triple carvel construction larch with several thousand hot copper rivets holding it fast, each one hammered in by hand by two men – one outside the hull, one inside. But the ship still didn't have any engines. Jack went back to the office, and called Geoffrey Bone at Ruston & Hornsby in Lincoln. "Mr Bone, I suppose you know why I'm telephoning you. I can't complete construction of the rear deck of M2706 until we get those engines. Our launch date was scheduled for 17th June, it is now Monday the 17th of May." Geoffrey took a puff on his Capstan cigarette and sat back in his chair, "Jack, how much are the Royal Navy paying you for this ship?" Jack made a face, "Geoff, I'm looking at a pile of bills from the foundries, from the British Electricity Authority..."
"These Paxman's are customised for each vessel, they have to be balanced with one another in a twin-screw configuration - that takes time, if you want it done properly." "Half a Million pounds, Geoff. Half a million." In summer 2002 Nick StClare was chewing it over. 10 grand was all he had, it was a big project, the back end needed alot of work, he didn't think he could do it on his own, and Nick was the kind of guy that liked to do things on his own - his way. On top of all that, his father advised him against investing in a wooden boat. He backed out. Towards the end of the summer I got a call from the other Nick, Nick Chow. They'd decided not to sell after all. They were thinking of getting someone in to live aboard and revive the project in return for a share in it. Did I know of anyone? At that time I was being egregiously ripped off by a landlord in Shoreditch. "Well, yes. Me. I might be interested." "Yes? I hoped you might say that. Ok, think it over and write us a letter laying out a proposal." The proposal was accepted, so I went over to Deptford Creek again to look the Minesweeper over in a different light. How was I going to finish the rebuilding? and how was I going to make it livable in the mean time?
To be continued... *
VI ~ Minesweeper Mexico Chapter Two
by Joe Fur Long ~ Hurtling south through the Yucatan peninsula was one of the most liberating and exciting moments of my life. In the newly christened ´Jetta/Badboy´ clocking 100kph through lush tropic scenery with all the fun, weirdness, solitude and of course rinse-out comforts of the Caribbean disappearing fast behind in the wing mirror, a sense of the epic nature of what lays ahead of us started to become apparent. Being a GÜERRO (not gringo luckily) driving in Mexico is not for the fainthearted. You stick out - even in a beaten up VW that looked local but also, to be honest, as if it had been stolen in an 80s US cop drama. Rule 1, the actual cops are crooked. Easily payable in a tight situation, but can make your life living hell if they want. Normally 3 days without food in a shared jail cell for any minor offense or inabililty to pay comes as standard, but also car impoundment and drugs planting for extortion are not unheard of. This federal police system is divided into Municipal, Federal and Army forces. The latter two are not really too much of a problem as they are only looking for drugs and firearms (unless you have drugs or firearms both of which we were not packing) and really don’t care about much else. The ´Pinche Pendejos´ (fucking cheeky dickheads) are the municipal – underpaid, under-regulated local lads and dads who are as corrupt as their municipality allows them to be, but of course without a decent income to support a family there are always the perks of the job to be had from most situations. It’s the fault of the state itself, corruption breeding corruption breeding corruption from the dust upwards. Not to mention road-tripping here comes with a subtle unease of the vulnerability of it all. That if for whatever reason you breakdown in the middle of bandit country you are essentially as easy to robbed or be messed with as a comatosed K-head with his head in a multirig bassbin, and as most people walking by are machete-laden you don’t really want that. However, being hombres with cahones as muy grande as us cabrones happened to be smuggling, we gave little thought to these background elements and ploughed on, blaring old skool Jungle and Rage Against the Machine merrily, stopping for more tacos, taking in the scenery and enjoying the vibes of what we soon dubbed ´Actual Mexico´. The destination was Chiapas, a three day drive from Tulum around Guatamala featuring the jungle ruins of King Pakal´s Palenque Kingdom and the Zapatista strongholds which have been publicly fighting to retain the right to
their extremely fertile (and beautiful) land since 1994. The villages themselves are not villages, they are occupied zones which are developing their own educational systems and have their own hierarchy and local government . We were able to visit and see one of these near Palenque with the help of the most jokes-hustlers you can ever hope to meet, the one and only Amador Rosales (Rose Lover). Very interesting position to be in but after offering one of my drawings in a gesture of solidarity and good-faith, I was welcomed enough at least to stay outside the main compound and see it for myself. The word struggle means different things in this part of the world. The proud residents are truly showing that another way is possible but of course slow – signified by the use of a snail with a balaclava in many of the murals adorning the zone. Mad respect basically and a really humbling experience to actually see the lengths these people are prepared to go to stand up for the right to be heard - ´We wear masks so that we can be seen´. Back in the car with new found understanding of where we were we decided to go off the beaten track to see the preserved murals of Bonampak. They are astoundingly dark with depicting stories that was the forefront of the understanding that the Mayans were not as peaceful and as utopian as once thought. Fingertip-less captives awaiting certain sacrifice and the hierarchies involved are there for all to see. Great experience and my first chance to see REAL mayan paintings. We could have returned back along the roads we came (yawn) but opted in the end to go where we´d been advised not to by most of the Lonely Planet crew, down along the border with Guatamala and Central America, where basically all of the drugs trafficked into Mexico cross over. Again, actual Mexico. The road along the Guatemalan border was filled with clouds so thick we did not always take in the military roadblocks littering the winding roads ahead until we were literally bumping over them. The tropical rain slamming against the windscreen didn’t help either. Highly suspicious but also just curious army youth sticking their noses and assault rifles in our faces became commonplace as we inched further. To be honest they were nice, just a little confused as to why we were there if not to run heavy loads of coke. It´s definitely not your average tourist route. I recall we only really got the heebyjeebies when we started to run out of gas, realizing there was no Pemex´s around (Mexico´s state owned petroleum monster). ¿What do you do in the clouds along one of the world´s most prolific drug borders without gas and no phone signal? Luckily, we didn’t have to find out... We were blessed enough to buy some fuel from some entrepreneurial 7 year olds who were so surprised to see us weirdos there you´d think they were refuelling a UFO. It was a potentially harrowing experience, to say the least, but one that leaves you wondering what really all the fuss is about.
Yeah it’s a bit sketchy not what you would imagine, the locals were just getting on as in the rest of the state, just highly isolated by rumour and activities which they have very little part in. Sadly these horror stories mean foreigners don’t risk it and venture to see the harsh reality of life for the impoverished locals here. Maybe some would actually better understand how costly the cheap nose candy actually is, even for those not involved in the trade. The clouds cleared, the sun came out, and the streets unwound meaning we could go more than 40k once more. We were en route to San Cristobal de las Casas. San Cristobal de las Casas is magical and I encourage anybody to go there if they can at least once in their lifetime. I also encourage you to try living there. It truly has a sense of worlds colliding, with the indigenous nature of Chiapas in full visibility contrasted by the ever growing tourism and highlife enjoyed by its richer residents. It´s cheap too. It was time to settle and we decided to stay a month, planning to leave after New Year. I needed to find my place here, and quick, because I hadn’t painted for a good while and wanted to get back in the swing of things. Painting murals in hostels for accommodation I realized here was much easier than I previously thought in Tulum, and my style seemed to impress many of the owners I spoke to - which was a big confidence boost . I managed to wangle a mural for what ended up to be 2 weeks worth of free accommodation in a hostel called De Ja Vu, on a beautiful wooden wall in the centre of this vibrant hostel/café/bar/venue which was definitely on the up and a hub of activity locally and with the travellers. Having been around so many ruins and after my time in La Zona Maya I wanted to see how well I could combine my skills with the incomparable style of the Mayans, and picked a piece from one of the stalae (carvings) from Yaxchilan, near Bonampak. It depicts Lady Xook, on the bottom right of the panel, in the hallucinatory stage of the bloodletting ritual. She conjures before her a vision of a Teotihuacan serpent. The god coming out of his mouth is the god of corn and so I combined a study of this in my style: a huge corn cob growing out of an agave, the plant that blesses the land with tequila and mezcal. Peering out are eyes thorough a Zapatista balaclava hole to bring the history into the modern day, two cultures of Chiapas in one, in colour. I was thrilled, it was my first colour mural and also in Chiapas which was fast becoming one of my favourite places on earth.
A real ambition of mine, to have a solo show in Mexico, was realized in these mountains. After rolling through the many bars, stores and music related hangouts of the town I got a tip about a place called ´El Paliacate´ (The bandana) which as well as hosting music events, political and resistance related events and talks in the city also had a gallery space. This ex-occupation turned legitimate cultural space was the perfect setting and I was ecstatic to hear they had an opening for a week over Christmas and New Year that needed to be filled. After agreeing the dates I set to work, realizing that this self organized show would need a hell of a lot of self organizing, being there without the rest of the Minesweeper famalam. Day to day I found the places to buy my stuff (London needs more Papellerias!!), learned the essential words (tape, boards, frames, glue, prints, paint brushes etc) and slowly orientated myself around the town trying to find all the necessities. I´ll admit I have an issue with streets when they are blocks, it seems simple, but all the corners seemed the same. I got lost more times than I can remember which was slightly frustrating as it coincided with the sporadic opening hours of all the tiendas over the Christmas period. You are going against the grain here trying to organize an art gallery in a place where most guerros are tourists and not really doing much else apart from enjoying themselves or political activities outside of the city, not running into the same photocopies place three times in a day looking for a scanner. The locals celebrate a month long party ´Virgin de Guadalupe festival´ on the run-up to Christmas with fireworks, parades and costumes on show every day creating a surreal setting for my haphazard project, and it was really fun to be doing Minesweeper style shows with all this new energy around me. It helps when you have a crew though and missed the camaraderie of the Undercurrents Gallery. I designed the poster and got to work promoting while also selling my hand-drawn baseball hats (gorras) around the town as I went. This mixed with the mural for my bed meant I was finally self-sufficient in Chiapas, a great feeling, that gave me lots of confidence for the future missions.
The week of the show soon arrived and 3 days before I hit up the venue about painting a mural before the show. I was to be painting the same day as my new muralist friend Armando, a great guy who told me a great deal about the city and the project he was living in - ´Wapani´. We decided to combine our themes, him focusing on Zapatista imagery and written messages and me on my new idea I had been toying with for the last days. It was based on a sketch I had been working on about the situation I mentioned in the last chapter about the student disappearances. A quote I had heard, ´They did not bury students, they buried seeds´ was the basis of the piece. A silent rebellious tree, with the Zapatista skull eyes staring through a balaclava growing from a flaming grave. The floor in the piece was littered with bloody corn cobs, symbolizing the grim situation with Monsanto. I included also memorial candles for the dead students, as well as 1000 peso bills highlighting the corruption behind all of these deaths the country is sadly renowned for. From the blood grow shoots, getting ever larger until finally they become the tree itself. A huge machine gun like the ones brandished here by the Municipal police forces leans against the trunk. The tree I decided needed a positive message as well as these deep themes. Flowering between the leaves I put all the modern forms of non-violent resistance that would be needed for any kind of positive and peaceful continuation from this scene: cameras, smart phones filming equipment, laptops, paintbrushes and musical instruments to share and plan these messages of change that the nation
was crying for. It also features shining lightbulbs to signify the need for new ideas in times like this rather than tired methods which allow people to fall into the traps the police hope for during direct action, usually ending in arrest which, in Mexico, I can assure you it is not fun. I decided to name the piece ´The Tree of Modern Resistance´ and was met with great respect by the many visitors to the venue over these days. I consider it to be one of my favourite works, not only for the position it had in this politically minded city, but for its subject matter. I could see I was progressing in the direction of socially minded illustration as well as surrealism. I had also learnt the ability to put it in mural form again after Tulum, which I had been worrying might have been a bit of a fluke. The people around understood its significance without needing an explanation: that's the root of illustration in my opinion - and something I had always struggled with before Mexico. With the mural in place, the accommodation piece finished and a new rent taken in a shared house at the top of the hill in the centre of town, all that was needed, was to arrange the works for the show. I collected and printed my favourite drawings from the Tulum sessions as well as some new ones and mixed them with my portfolio of UK work that I was carrying with me through Mexico. I wrote up a written explanation of the Minesweeper project as well as my own story and got it translated into Spanish and printed. I mounted the pieces and arranged my canvas for the Live Art I wished to do during the show like I do in England. The last flyers were thrown around town and the music line up confirmed (hiphop-ragga-latin-dubwisefunk). The stage was set, the missions completed. I sat down in a woolly sweaty heap with my well-earned mezcal and free baguette and waited (hoping) for the public to arrive‌
To be continued... *
Digital on paper
Illustration dedicated to the ÂŤNuovi Rumori CollectiveÂť
~ Minesweeper Collective ~ April 2015 internsweep@gmail.com www.minesweepercollective.co.uk