Polyester zine Issue Two

Issue Two

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Ill Illu us s tr tra at ti io on ns s by by B Br ri ie e M M o or re en no o

Issue Two is % Here!

Amongst the sea of a thousand think pieces, faux acts of feminism and the women’s rights movement making its way in to the mainstream media, many saw 2014 as the year feminism became a fad. Whether this is correct or not, what’s important is that the issues discussed do not fade away. Polyester’s mission has always been to shine light on artists and creative people working online who are represented as part of a ‘trend’, or who’s work is subliminally communicated as being temporarily important. For this reason, our second edition doesn’t have a theme. As Angela Washko said, “Twitter is the new public space in which you can loudly and publicly air grievances against companies. Secret Facebook groups are the new salon, in which discourse is being debated into the late hours of the evening and early morning.” In short, just because a conversation was initiated on the net, that doesn’t make the thoughts raised any less valid offline.

So instead of tying a reductionist theme to our second issue, we’ve featured a bunch of artists exploring different motivations through their chosen medium.

Whether it’s Hobbes Ginsburg’s exploration of gender and depression, Elizabeth Ilsley’s sexually saturated clothing and digital canvas’ or Celia Edell taking her Tumblr inbox in to the IRL becoming our agony aunt, all are taking important steps to shaping the way we view current social issues. Whether that be through a computer screen or in this zine.

-Ione Gamble EDITOR IN CHIEF

www.polyesterzine.com

SENIOR EDITOR

FASHION EDITOR

Claudia Walder

Rosie Williams

ART DIRECTOR

JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR

Kayla Martinez

Jilian Banjoko

Special thanks to Afi Baaqi, Alfie Gleeson Amy Exton and Siobhan Hogan

COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from publishers. © 2014 Polyester. The views expressed in Polyester are those of the respective contributors and Editor, and are not necessarily shared by the publisher. These parties cannot be held responsible for them.

Cover by Ione Gamble. Tallulah wears Meadham Kirchhoff

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Who’s That Girl?

Scrolling through twenty-year-old Elizabeth Ilsley’s Instagram page, the amount of selfies is slightly overwhelming. Damn girl, you is fine. It also seems that she’s a fan of a red lip and overlaying pink text on top of grainy, illusive photographs, something she is becoming known for.

Photographer: Lusha Alic Styling: Rosie Williams Model & Designer: Elizabeth Ilsley MUA & Hair: Alice Lonnblad Photography assistant: Alex Rod

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Currently studying Fine Art, Ilsley’s working on a solo project called ‘Femme’, “where I take old vintage porn stills from either the films themselves or the promotional images of the starring actors, and print on top of them with my own drunk texts and sometimes embarrassingly personal thoughts about my failed loves.” These will be shown in Birmingham in the New Year, as having a physical viewer is important to Ilsey.

“Every girl after a really bad break up, thinks ‘what if’ at least once! I’m just projecting my ‘what ifs’ and sometimes quite angry and emotional thoughts out loud so they don’t just stay on my phone, unused and ignored forever. These are powerful feelings and I like to see artists being open to the viewer.” They’re relatable, Tumblr ready and will undoubtedly be as effective off screen as they are on.

However, Ilsley doesn’t limit herself to just the one artistic medium. A collection on her website entitled ‘I Shave My Legs For You’ features emblazoned jackets, jeans and underwear. She says choosing clothing as a canvas made sense, “because you can wear clothes, it’s certainly a lot harder to wear a canvas or a board.” You can’t argue with that. Mocking high street terms such as ‘boyfriend jean’ and ‘boyfriend jacket’, Ilsley wanted to create pieces that people could relate to. A devoted Mapplethorpe fan, she explains that the leather jackets were inspired by his work.

“During the start of my previous relationship I was reading Patti Smith’s ‘Just Kids’ and admired the melancholy, the passionate relationship she and Mapplethorpe had, and how frank she was throughout the whole book. My favourite image of his is of him wearing a leather jacket with all these band names painted on the back. As a result of that I created the ‘I Shave My Legs For You’ jacket.

From then on my imagination just ran a bit wild.”

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Despite also citing Jenny Holzer, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin and So how Petra Collins as major influences to did Ilsey get to her work, Ilsey is cautious to not this point? “Probably just by use the word inspire, “because I being an attention seeking don’t want to copy any of these little shit,” she says, “but wonderful artists that I follow. I when Damien Hirst held his feel more like I’m part of the girl big retrospective at the Tate gang. Girl gangs are the best gangs Modern in 2012, I watched after all.” Her work is undeniably it on TV and when I saw it female orientated. She believes, in person, I just couldn’t get “us women make certain choices over how smart he was. and I’m embracing the taboos we That’s when I knew I could share.” Ilsey certainly doesn’t and would do this for a shy away from sharing her own living.” In the New Year, she’s personal experiences, like many teaming up with good friend of the artists she admires. With and “fellow trashy artist” Jack phrases such as ‘We were lying Marder, creating a one off zine on the floor fucked on gin and and online exhibition called beak when he said I think I love you’, her work can seem painfully ‘Cherub’. Showcasing different works through submission - or personal. For the more prudish from Birmingham School of Art types amongst us, Ilsley’s by past and present students, work could be interpreted as confrontational, but she believes, ‘Cherub’ will highlight work they find important, “we just want to “the crude, tongue-in-cheek show off amazing artists to the aspect of my work is just my personality and humour showing world!” Ilsey’s short term plans also include, “collaborating with through. I don’t want to arouse artists I admire, holding a lot of as such; I would rather make shows in 2015 and seeing where my audience laugh. I guess it’s it takes me.” She also hopes to just my cheeky character release more work, make some and dry sense of “huge ass” sculptures, and take humour.” her art across borders over to the states. So, a pretty chilled out schedule then. Not bad for a girl who in school and college, “could print quite well, but never drew a dog with a graphite pencil.”

Words by Beccy Hill

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Why Chicks Cry

Photographer: Denelle Kennedy Styling/ Concept: Jilian Banjoko MUA: Jade Sophia Kpekwa

“Somehow, the world will make everything your fault.

He’ll be a martyr, and you’ll be a succubus”- Courtney Love

All by Rebecca Rimmer

“More concerned with my pay gap than my thigh gap�

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Dress: Cassandra Verity Green Wallet: Jump From Paper

Dress: Cassandra Verity Green Wallet: Jump From Paper

“We as women are trained to see ourselves as cheap imitations of fashion photographs, rather than seeing fashion photographs as cheap imitations of women� - Naomi Wolf

Bodysuit: Emma Love

“a woman’s first blood doesn’t come from between her legs but from biting her tongue” Meggie Royer

"Your entitlement doesn't make me feel like smiling"

All by Lucky Dame Couture

Donnika Anderson

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How to be a 21st Century Riot Grrrl Words by Ione Gamble and Edward Meadham

Photography by Ahida Agirre & Ione Gamble Styling by Claudia Walder Hair: Terri Capon MUA: Ellie Tobin Assistant Stylist: Rosie Williams Assistance: Rosie Newton

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Meadham Kirchhoff, for me, has always been about more than just the clothes.

Perhaps almost unique in the sense that the house has the innate ability to represent a mood - whether that be aesthetic, political, or both - felt by all the girls that follow them. If there were a design duo to represent the Tumblr generation, it would undoubtedly be Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff. In the same way that Polyester aims to throw light on young creative people who aren’t experiencing the exposure they deserve, Meadham Kirchhoff’s brilliantly street cast SS15 show, perhaps subconsciously, worked to the same sentiment. Casting all types of girls and boys from illustrators to club kids, photographers and design students, the show yet again proved that that the pair are always thinking beyond the clothes and to the people who would love to wear them. For our cover editorial we asked a handful of our favourites from the show to create a piece of work, to accompany their portrait, inspired by Meadham Kirchhoff and what they represent.

Similarly, in lieu of a collection named Reject Everything, it seemed only appropriate to reexamine our relationship with Riot Grrrl. A constant point of reference and source of inspiration for the duo, despite the fact that this season saw Courtney’s kinderwhore swapped in for predecessors Viv Albertine and Siouxsie Sioux’s punk era wardrobe, Riot Grrrl has always been an integral part of the Meadham Kirchhoff girl.

But what relevance does the mid 90’s subculture have on contemporary feminism? We sat down with Edward Meadham to pinpoint five ways we can learn, grow, and perhaps most importantly, move on from the work that the Riot Grrrl’s did.

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Arvida Bystrรถm

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Lola Finch Ariel Finch

Ariel Finch

1 Learn from the Original Riot Grrrls Ione Gamble, (editor in chief): So it’s pretty much accepted now that the original Riot Grrrl’s had some extremely problematic tendencies. As far as I know, Kathleen Hanna still hasn’t addressed her participation in the trans exclusive, ‘Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival’, and the event’s extremely controversial ‘Womyn Born Womyn’ policy, which lead to the assumption that she had trans phobic tendencies. There are also all of the issues of racial exclusion within the movement.

Ultimately the Internet has enabled everybody to know about these things and for ideas to spread. In a way the Internet has replaced the zine, and much more effectively actually, because it was impossible to get those zines when I was a kid.

Ione: In my opinion it wouldn’t have been possible for this Edward Meadham, (one half of Meadham Kirchhoff): In terms of trans phobia and drag phobia amongst feminists ‘fourth wave’ of feminism to exist without the Internet. and within Riot Grrrl, I think it’s anti progressive disgusting The ideas, arguments, artists bullshit. For me drag disrupts and challenges the stupid and everything surrounding it indoctrinations of our societies’ rules on gender, and have been incubated online. highlights the artifice of what culture tells us is ‘feminine’.

Feminism is But I do know that reaching girls at a Kathleen regrets and much younger age has apologised for the "I mean we could sit and than traditionally lack of inclusion of girls expected and of colour within Riot find elements of this I think that’s Grrrl. conversation and find a amazing. But what I find disheartening Ione: But despite the million things that are bad, is that many apology and regret wrong, and unhelpful about people still see I think it’s important work that exists, the Internet but that isn’t to accept that the or is created, on movement did have its progressive. We just have to the net as being flaws and use them to accept that the Internet is frivolous and learn, move forward something not to and better ourselves as now helping us spread our be taken seriously feminists. ideas." Edward Meadham as a worthy form of discourse.

Edward: For me the main issue with the Edward: People who devalue work original phase of Riot Grrrl was the insular almost alienation of the message. They didn’t want to speak that begins, or exists solely online, are just stuck in the way the world used to to a wider audience. I understand communicating be. Some of it is really valid and some with only like-minded people to an extent, and I of it really isn’t, but it’s the same for a get that constantly fighting a cause is exhausting gallery or any sort of physical space. and most times pointless. But for me the essential I’ve always been quite anti Internet, message of girl love, encouragement and female but at the same time it is an endless creativity was too important not to share with the resource of information that we should world at large. I think it was a lost opportunity. be using, and I don’t think that it should be thought of as less than because it is The Internet is our weapon new. I’m not really one for newness, to say the least, but at the same time it is Ione: Do you think Riot Grrrl would have been as proving to be this incredible network in secular if they had had the Internet? the most literally sense. I mean we could sit and find elements of this conversation Edward: Its difficult to say. They wouldn’t have and find a million things that are bad, been able to be, I suppose. My point about the wrong, and unhelpful about the Internet Internet is that for twenty years the Riot Grrrl’s but that isn’t progressive. We just have to seemed to have been completely forgot about, accept that the Internet is now helping us and the Internet has given the subculture a spread our ideas. This is how information is new life. But not only that, it has also created being shared. a way for people to remember and interpret it differently to what it possibly was then, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

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William Howell-Jackson

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Anger is not necessarily a bad thing

Ione: I would say that one positive thing we could learn from the Riot Grrrl’s, and do more of, is to be constructively angry. We’ve got to a point in which our social media feeds are a constant stream of passive think pieces, and I feel as though at some point the thinking should not necessarily stop, but action needs to begin. What I love about the Riot Grrrl’s is that you can hear the anger in their music and message. The way feminism is currently portrayed is that there is a definite lack of raw emotion.

Edward: Something

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that I observe within the youth today, which I’m not quite sure how to explain without slagging off a whole generation, is that there’s a sort of apologetic politeness. Nobody wants to sound like they are sure of their opinion. I feel like our contemporary culture has no place for anger anymore, to express an opinion is to be considered ‘rude’.

Ione: I agree, it’s awful.

Edward: It’s a fucking dreadful thing. It’s becoming harder to have an opinion, and I can say this with experience, people are terrified of it.

Don’t be defined by the past, you are your own movement

Ione: It’s important to recognise that lots of feminists that are now in their late teens and early twenties discovered Riot Grrrl through the internet during their teenage years. Their work has been heavily influenced by it, but I think it is just as valid and shouldn’t just be seen as a recreation of what the Riot Grrrls did. We have so many amazing talented people like Fabiola Ching who runs the Coalition zine, and artist collectives such as Clandestine and Bunny curating feminist spaces and ideas, that we shouldn’t always be compared to, or seen as an extension of, previous movements. It’s also having the confidence to separate ourselves from our original point of reference and inspiration and accepting that we are different and that is ok.

Ione: It will be interesting to see what happens when the media stops having its ‘Riot Grrrl moment’ and what will be remembered after everyone stops talking about it.

Edward: It’ll definitely be interesting to see what will be left behind. A lot of it wont be, because a lot of it is just a fad and a momentary refocus on feminism because it seems relevant in a Edward: This is why I think people should stop fashionable way, in a 90’s way. talking about being Riot Grrrl and just be a But I always say that anything feminist. Don’t be defined by the past, it was a that brings any kind of feminist totally different context then, it was a different consciousness in to the world, no world. It’s pointless to try and cling to what matter how fleeting or shallow, is the Riot Grrrl’s were, as I honestly don’t think important because at least we talk many people, me included, really know what it was then, because there was only a handful of about it. Even if 10 minutes later them, you know? I think the discussion is really we don’t. important but people shouldn’t harp on about it, because it was something that occured 25 years ago. Concentrate on now.

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Tallulah Haddon

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Elizabeth Farrell

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Remember the messages Edward: Freedom is not reality, change is a possibility, but we choose to ignore the real problems. That’s why I called the SS15 collection ‘Reject Everything’. It’s literally just reject it all, get rid of everything you don’t need, don’t want and just do your way. For me, that is the only way activism makes any difference. I made this heavily punk influenced collection referencing things that were seen as shocking 35 years ago, and people still found it shocking today, and I just think that’s ridiculous, you know? You’re still shocked by this, so you still need to be confronted by it. Confrontation is the best kind of activism and the best source of change, even if it’s in a small, private way.

Ione:

Anna Ryon

Dresses by Alessia Prekopp

The Tragic Party

Photographer: Michal Pudelka Stylist: Alice Whiting Hair: Brooke Neilson using Bumble and Bumble Make up: Amy Conley @ Factory using Nars cosmetics Set Design: Elena Riccabona Food Stylist: Laura Adams Retoucher: Jergus Krizak Producer: Carys Adams Camera Assistant: Tom Ellis Models from M+P models and Leni’s

Dresses by Stylists Studio

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Dresses by Coco Fennell

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Polyester Red Dress by Stylists Studio

Dresses by Ashley Williams

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Polyester

The Selfie Queen: An interview with Hobbes Ginsberg

Hobbes Ginsberg’s work is a harmony of contradictions. It’s light and dark, glamourous and stark all at once. It’s a contemporary cocktail, cinematic like the works Harmony Korine, emotional like the pages of your pre teen diary.

Hobbes is currently 20 years old, living in L.A., taking photos and dying her hair more regularly than I have my period. A member of The Coven, (a feminist art collective that showcases the work of female and non-binary artists), Hobbes’ work has a fashion, gender and identity focus that translates into what the current image of American youth looks like, think Palo Alto meets David LaChapelle.

Images by Hobbes Ginsberg

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Travelling the unconventional road to where she is now, Hobbes spent most of her upbringing in Nicaragua.

“I spent my #teen years in Nicaragua where my mom is originally from.

We moved there from Texas when I was 11 and I lived there until I was 18. I wasn’t too happy there, it was a bit rough for a queer artsy person to grow, but I feel like the longer I’ve been away from it, the more I appreciate the experience. I’m glad I was able to connect with that part of my identity.” Forgoing college, Hobbes nurtured her photography skills, taking candid street photography in New York and Seattle, before refining the, “weird fashion-esque brightly coloured studio portraiture”, she is now known for.

“ I think I definitely use fashion as an exploration of gender.

It’s about finding out what I can get away with aesthetically and politically on a body like mine.”

Colour is to Hobbes’ photos like hand is to glove. The two couldn’t exist without each other. “I get obsessed with certain colours. For the past couple months I’ve wanted everything to be periwinkle. I want the images to look pretty for the viewer and to make them feel good.” Prettiness is an uncomfortable area used by Hobbes to question gender roles and femininity in her work. Whether it’s naked artist Cheyenne Sophia, dribbling beer out her mouth, or a self-portrait in day-old makeup and greasy hair, there is always juxtaposition between elegance and trashiness. “I try to keep these contrasts from being ham-fisted but the trashy style is something very inherent to ‘me’ at this point, so its always going to be an element of whatever I’m doing.”

Trashiness translates into Hobbes’ own sense of style and the enviable wardrobe that her fans fawn over on Tumblr. Describing her style as, “trashy/punk/anti-fashion”, Hobbes’ culmination of 90’s style references adds another element of narrative to her photographic imagery. “I try to work with the same colours in my wardrobe as I do in my photos, they influence each other.” Throw in makeup and some cute hair clips, and suddenly her work becomes less about fashion and more about gender constructions. “ I think I definitely use fashion as an exploration of gender. It’s

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about finding out what I can get away with aesthetically and politically on a body like mine.”

Hobbes describes her gender identity as “queer” preferring the personal pronouns of “she or they.” She elaborates, “you have to navigate between this concept that nothing, none of the behaviours, clothes or personalities, we assign to any gender is inherent. Yet we are in a society that is so heavily structured around this idea of a strict binary. I feel as a “queer girl” that I can decide for myself what is feminine, girly, beautiful and ~me~.

I sometimes find solace in that fact that maybe it is all made up and most people just haven’t learned that yet.”

Her honesty is inspiring to us and others who have made a connection with Hobbes over the Internet to seek advice on their own identity struggles.

Naturally, the vulnerability Hobbes shares with her online and IRL audience is also visible in her self-portraits. “The major theme that I personally try to work through with the selfies is depression. It

has been a major part of my life since I’ve been old enough to really think about it. I like that I can use my images to make myself powerful and make myself positive. It is about transitional identities in general. Gender is just one of the many things that is constantly shifting.” Her selfies practically talk to the viewer, they are so layered with meaning that it’s hard not to believe when art historian, Geoffrey Batchen, said selfies represent “the shift of the photograph [from] memorial function to a communication device”, he was talking about Hobbes.

collaborator and partner in crime Chloe Feller, “the only person I shoot as much as I shoot myself”, Hobbes’ career and talent is growing from strength to strength. For 2015, keep your eyes peeled for a new short film and a book for the L.A. Art Book Fair. Other than that, Hobbes’ dream of “shooting big, famous fashion things but fucking with them and using weird models and unconventional things” doesn’t seem that far off.

Words by Claudia Walder

With the support of The Coven, the support of both her fans and peers online, “the Internet has been, without a doubt, the driving force in my success”, and her relationship with

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Dear

Celia

Vloggers may often veer towards the more annoying, less informative side of the net, but nestled amongst the sea of haul videos and bad Paramore covers is Celia Edell. A philosophy graduate with an A* fashion sense, Celia’s feminist vlogs exploring issues ranging from anxiety to make up as an art form rack up over 20,000 views. Her Tumblr inbox may be closed, but that’s not to say you can’t contact her for help. Acting as Polyester’s resident agony aunt, Celia is here to answer all your woes, worries and fears.

Hi Celia, I'm a sophomore in college and I really like a senior in my class who I think miiiight maybe kinda like me too. I don't know him super well but I'd really like to get to know him better, so I want to ask him out for coffee or something casual like that. I'm just super worried that he won't be interested in me that way or that he'll be put off by the fact that I'm only a sophomore. What do you think I should do?

Thanks!

-Nat

Dear Nat, I think you should ask him out. Remind yourself that you are lovely and awesome and he has every reason to like you back. With that said, there is always the possibility he won’t. That is not a reflection on you. If his interest in you is contingent on your sophomore-status, he is probably not the one. I doubt that’s the case, though. If your gut says he might like you too, follow it! The only way to find out is to get to know him better! And if y’all don’t end up together, you might still make a good friend. Almost 10 years ago I had a huge crush on a boy; when I got to know him better I realised I just liked him as a friend and we’ve been best friends ever since. If you like this boy, that is something worth exploring! Good luck!!

Celia

Dear Celia,

\

I met a boy online recently and I really liked him until he suddenly cut off all communication with me. We went on a couple of dates, (which cost us both a lot of money because we live about 250 miles apart), and things really seemed like they were happening. He said a lot of sweet things to me and now he's saying nothing at all…

I don't know what to do. I feel naive and stupid for ever liking him this much because I barely know him, and I don't know what I've done wrong. Please give me some advice!!

Molly x

Dear Molly, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. Your feelings are valid regardless of how many times you’ve met. It’s possible that he has mixed feelings about the distance. Long distance relationships are hard for established couples, so maybe the idea of starting a relationship with someone far away is scary for him. Maybe things in his life completely unrelated to you are causing him to take a step back. Maybe he didn’t feel a connection. There are so many possibilities, but there is one thing I can confidently tell you: It is okay to feel upset, to be confused, to want answers. The Internet makes it incredibly easy for people to disappear when it suits them.

You don’t need to be there if/when he comes back. Keep looking. You will find someone who doesn’t disappear.

Celia

Hello Celia!

All my friends and I live in different towns, (big school catchment area etc.) We haven't made meeting up outside of the school day a thing before because of the distance, but I would like to start to…

Do you have any ideas for starting to add more hours to a friendship? Where could we go?

Thanks, Esmé, 15.

Dear Esmé, I have been in school a long time and I am still learning how to make school friends into outside-school friends. Adding hours to a friendship means finding a new backdrop for your interactions. This could mean showing your friends around your town, seeing a movie together on a weekend, or joining a club that meets after school. If there are places to hangout near your school, that could act as a middle point for all of you to see each other outside of class time. When I was your age I was a mall-rat; my friends and I would loiter and window-shop in the mall for hours on weekends. While I don’t recommend gossiping in the food court as a productive after-school activity, it was a place I bonded with my new friends. In other words, it isn’t the activity that is especially important; it’s the opportunity to talk openly and laugh often. Suggest something and be open to ideas! And have fun!

Celia

DICKTIONARY Miscrolove \ [mis-kroh-luhv] \ adj

miscrolove is a phrase used to desribe an online relationship.

We met online and we’re now in a miscrolove.

Illustrations by Emma Farrant