2016 Volume 2 Cellophane Flowers

VOLUME two | cellophane flowers

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UTS STUDENT MAGAZINE : MAY 2016

E DI TOR I A L A MESSAGE FROM THE TEAM The theme for this volume was conceived in three seconds.

The title, however, took us one month and four meetings to decide. No one could agree. You could have been holding a magazine entitled ‘Better Homes and Orchestras’ but alas, it wasn’t to be. This volume is about the bits that don’t quite fit together, but are somehow beautiful. Like Maccas fries and soft serve, or prosciutto and a fig.

Cellophane Flowers is a celebration of the act of creation: of writing, of designing, and as writer Jonathan Gaymer muses in his article about surreal film, it is the ‘flicks of a brush that you don’t know exist because you’ve never seen anyone paint reality before’. Though if anyone could, it would be Olivia Tseu-Tjoa, who in creating our cover image has given us a sky of fairy floss and a lake of purple rain. Olivia outdid herself by also designing the opening pages of each section. They are simple and bold patterns that don’t make much sense, yet they are unexpectedly wonderful.

Like the crinkly sound of cellophane when you’re just trying to do your readings, sometimes the clash of two worlds is chaos. Carrie Hou writes about when LGBTQIAP+ concerns come up against Australian policy in her article ‘We need safe schools because internalised homophobia starts at a young age’ and Fabián Marcel Vergara DeLeón paints a remarkable history of Latin American politics.

In our showcase section, we set out to uncover everything weird and wonderful. The digital works by Josh Moy and Addo Gustav prompt us to consider how the ‘brush’ and reality face off to create ar t. Our focus with this volume was to sample UTS’s buffet of talented creative writers and poets.

We feature flash fiction that takes a self-reflexive look at the literary process, and once the method is squared away we see the commonplace become dreams. Katie Kendall’s experimental fiction ‘Lunarcy’ blurs the line between prose and poetry, and makes falling in love feel like being shot into space. Daniel Comensoli has a dream that descends into fire and Ryley Miller uses the word “jam” in his piece ‘Yellow Promenade’. We are well on our way to our goal of multiple appearances of the word “jam” in each volume. Thanks, Ryley.

We are officially one third of the way into editing Ver tigo 2016 which is strange because we thought we’d also be one third of the way to our early deaths. This isn’t the case mostly because of everyone who contributes to putting this magazine together. We got to work with 81 people during the creation of Cellophane Flowers. In par ticular, we have to thank our exceptional design team: Kim, Wendy, Jordan, Megan and Rekha. We’d compliment them more but we’re over Wendy’s word limit.

Love,

OFF THE VOLUME : CELLOPHANE FLOWERS PLAYLIST HELEN TRAN Head to our website, utsvertigo.com.au, to listen along while you flip through the pages of Volume Two.

THANK YOUS

FUCK YOUS

/ O’Day 2016

/ Facebook Community Standards

1/

‘Cocoa Hooves’ by Glass Animals

/ Beatrice

/ George Street construction

2/

‘My Cloud’ by Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx

/ Doughnut Time

/ Slow walkers

3/

‘Average Fruit (10.4 Rog’s Gradeschool Crush

/ Fresh bed sheets

/ Instagram popularity algorithm

Version)’ by Quadron

/ Mums ♥

/ Cryptic messages

4/

‘When You Were Mine’ by Fresh Hex

5/

‘Existential Crisis Hour!’ by Kilo Kish

SHRUGS

6/

‘The Owls Go’ by Architecture in Helsinki

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‘Afterglow’ by Ryan Hemsworth

/ Airport lounge themes

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‘Time Eater’ by Gold Panda

CONTACT US :

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utsvertigo.com.au

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ED I T OR S MEET THE TEAM Ling McGregor Editor-in-chief (Creative); Visual Showcase Editor; Unfit activewear wearer.

Lauren Meola Editor-in-chief (Managing); Off-Broadway Editor; Vertigo’s soccer mum.

Ante Bruning Proof Editor; Culture Editor; Fox Enthusiast.

Jennifer Worgan Copy Editor; Satire Editor; Fun Enthusiast.

Zac Blue Written Showcase Editor (Poetry); Lifestyle and Innovation Editor; The Real Slim Shady.

Raveena Grover The Social Environment Editor; Lifestyle and Innovation Editor; Pupper Obsessed.

Surabi Alauddin Politics Editor; Vertigo’s Resident DJ; Bernie Sanders Fangirl.

Srisha Sritharan Online Editor; Vertigo’s No.3 Sudoku Champion; Self-proclaimed OJ addict.

Jessica Wang Online Editor; Inefficient Dresser; Prone to Colds.

Kiên Lê Board Special Projects Editor; Meme Enthusiast, Leo.

Kimberly Luo Creative Director; aka Beyoncé; closet Better Homes and Gardens fan.

Wendy San Creative Director; Self-Help Book Collector; Swifty4Lyf.

EDITORS

SUB-EDITORS

CREATIVE DIRECTORS

Surabi Alauddin Zac Blue Kiên Lê Board Ante Bruning Raveena Grover Ling McGregor Lauren Meola

Srisha Sritharan

Janette Chen

Beatrice Tan

Kimberly Luo

Jessica Wang

Olivia Costa

Helen Tran

Wendy San

Jennifer Worgan

Isaac Garcia Cameron Hart

DESIGNERS

Zoe Knowles

Jordan Evans

Enoch Mailangi

Rekha Dhanaram

Brittany Smith

Megan Wong ARTWORK : MIRANDA HUANG

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UTS STUDENT MAGAZINE : MAY 2016

Vo lu m e 2 CO NT R I B UT OR S WRITI NG

VISUAL

Andrew Barclay

Melissa Mantle

Liam Baker

Chloe Schumacher

Lachlan Barker

Chris McKay

Basilia Dulawan

Samantha Sobel

Jake Bayssari

Ryley Miller

Rosie Gearside

Emma Sprouster

Andrew Blunt

Sarah Mould

Addo Gustaf

Olivia Tseu-Tjoa

Gabriella Brackenbury-Soldenhoff

Heba Niem

Lily Hodgson

Maria Yanovsky

Vail Bromberger

Danah Pantano

Carrie Hou

David Burley

Martyn Reyes

Christy Hui

Tanith Chippendale

Larissa Shearman

Miranda Huang

Daniel Comensoli

Manmeet Singh

Kazuki Komatsu

Fabián Marcel Vergara DeLeón

Kieran Smith

Wilson Leung

Jonathan Gaymer

Harry Stranger

Eden Lim

Micah Hawkins

Beatrice Tan

Sam McNair

Sophie Hawkshaw

Michael Tangonan

Jasmine Mijares

Evie Hilliar

Zalehah Turner

Josh Moy

Carrie Hou

Anna Wensley

Pranav Naik

Sam Howes

James Wilson

Yi Ng

Sue Kang

Lachlan Woods

Tiffany Nguyen

Katie Kendall

Samson Ossedryver

Michael Kennedy

Vanessa Papastavros

Zoe Knowles

Issy Quigley

CREDITS Cover Olivia Tseu-Tjoa

Section Breaks Olivia Tseu-Tjoa

Opening Page Megan Wong (Illustration) Kimberly Luo (Typography) Jennifer Worgan (Words)

Advertising Stephanie King

WELCOME TO COUNTRY

PUBLISHING

UTS acknowledges and recognises the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the Traditional Owners and holders of knowledge for these places where our UTS campuses now stand at Broadway and Market City. UTS also acknowledges Elders past, present and future, including the contribution that Australia’s Indigenous people make to the academic and cultural life of the university.

Vertigo is published by the UTS students’ association, and printed by SOS printing, Alexandria.

- Aunty Joan Tranter, Inaugural Elder in Residence, University of Technology, Sydney.

Vertigo and its entire contents are protected by copyright.

Vertigo will retain reprint rights. Contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication. No material may be reproduced without the prior consent of written copyright holders.

DISCLAIMER The contents of Vertigo do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editors or the UTS Students’ Association.

COPYRIGHT

CONTENTS cellophane Flowers

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showcase 54

/ Experimental Fiction

/ Pop-Art

/ Flashers

/ Architecture

/ Poetry

/ Impressionism

politicS 14 / News / Opinion / Law / Policy

/ Chat with our Cover Artist / Label / Surrealism / Poetry / Fiction

/ Ideologies

OFF-BROADWAY

/ Campaigns

/ The Graduate

75

/ Faculty Feature

the social environment 24

/ Join the Club

/ Trending

/ SA Reports

/ Policy

/ Insearch

/ Beauty Standards / Identity

lifestyle & INNOVATION

/ Profile

/ Fashion

/ POC

Culture 37 / Tribute / Film / Music / Books / Art / Zines

84

/ Food / Health / Gaming / Sex

rear window

94

/ Cartoons / Headlines / Horoscopes

ARTWORK : MIRANDA HUANG

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Cellophane Flowers : experimental fiction

For

Min

na

Katie Kendall When I throw the light of my body onto hers first thing I see is her skin. She is pearlescent and strange. But the first thing I feel is all the rich, velvet light of an eternal night between us. The intimacy of bodies drawing closer has never felt more necessary.

You’re radiant.

A black hole inversed on itself - now you have a body.

A bright pearl in the heart of the sky.

She gave you this body, maybe that’s what love is.

Maybe love is becoming something noticeable.

Frosted glass at dawn, condensation on the side of a window, she is abstract to me. The closer I get the less you see her and the more you see past. Is she real? Is there anything about her that can be touched and can be loved, or is she speculation? Is she what light makes of itself when it needs to feel love?

You’ve never seen that much light.

You are on fire She seems to be the centre of the entirety of everything.

So you face her, every part of you beaming with light.

h

8PT - BEBAS NEUE BOOK

But there are flaws in her face, little dark spaces I can’t quite get my eyes inside of.

I wonder where the boundary falls between her body and nothingness, if all that lies behind her body is blackness. I give everything sight and I make everything able to be seen. What is she without me?

00

Everyday her gaze, constant and pure and searing.

And you are beautiful for her.

You are.

You are incandescent and you are exceptional and you have a dark side.

The side she did not make real, which only exists if you accept you ever existed without her.

I explain to her how the universe was born in bright light and sudden darkness, I remind her she had not been seen before I cast my light upon her. I am a fragment of the creation of everything, left to give life to everything through golden honey starlight. Nothing knows it is real unless I show it to be. She is lucky I found her.

She has this way of telling you everything and revealing nothing.

She’s given you the entire universe; every star lit up for you, every milky galaxy for you, every inch of everything for you.

Of all the cold lovers draped in midnights’ mantel all the simple stones she chose you.

I ask her to tell me something, anything of herself. I can see her, although I suspect she is growing slighter. I can see her, every passing moment her face growing more desperate with something unspoken. I wonder if she knows how to speak, or only to be. Still, you long to hear her.

The fire within and without her is deafening.

You were always singing when there was nothing of you to be seen.

She seems to boom into every echo immense, unending shrieks, you used to find it beautiful.

Beauty, and terror, too often greet you in the same way.

I think she may be turning away, I think her body might have skin I have not seen, or I can no longer see. It seems as though the longer I watch her the smaller she becomes – shrinking, so slowly at first.

a r8tPwT o-r Bk E :B Ak iSm Nb Ee Ur El yB Ol Ou Ko

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Cellophane Flowers : EXPERIMENTAL FICTION

She can taste your shadows on the underside of her tongue, all the parts of you she cannot reach she is crafting for herself, your flaws an edifice of figments, producing you to be a ruined thing.

You could show it all to her, the cavities and the craters in your soul.

But she might leave you.

Can she not see all I’ve done for her? She is slipping away. I give and give and I am never given back any understanding. The quiet drives me to madness, there is a vio-lence to its indecision. But she is not violent, she is nothing at all. Maybe she always was nothing, maybe she was meant to be nothing and the violence was my body forcing her to become.

That which illuminates consumes.

The only parts of you there are left to give withdraw waning into nothing so she cannot find you and demand any more of your body as her own.

She was never grateful. She was something to be marveled, and she belonged to me. But having enviable things does not make you whole. If in the end she leaves, what gratification is that to me.

She’s taken so much of your body, and your name, in vain.

You’ve heard rumours there are others like her.

Others like you as well.

That your love might not be unique, might not be worthy of accepting in all its dysfunction.

She is gone. Nothing of her left to be seen. But she didn’t exist before I noticed her.

And I didn’t exist before I loved her. So if she is no longer real then I am no longer making her real. That’s the point. Nothing is anything without me. That’s the point.

You had a body before her.

You had skin, you had weight, you had thoughts.

You have these things still.

She did not bring you to life she made life resemble her.

You are fine in the darkness.

You are real.

cellophane flowers : POETRY

“ H a p p y B i r t h d ay, it’s over” evie hilliar

Words taken from birthday cards 1998-2005

a r t w o r k : k i m b e r ly l u o

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Cellophane Flowers : Flash Fiction

Flashers It’s the afternoon because the afternoon is clearer somehow, perhaps because of all the alcoholism at night and the Irish songs in the bar but maybe just due to the fact that creating literature is exhausting. But Nora brought me black coffee and I’m sitting here as I always do, sitting after 10,000 hours of writing Ulysses and nothing is flowing and Nora comes by.

- Are you struggling to find the words?

But the words are rolling inside my head. My head is rolling the words inside of me. I can’t find their order.

Brittany Smith Sweaty fingers trace dry paper. My eyes scan rows of neatly pressed ink resting in their designated comfort. I consume the potion of Carroll’s earnest words, a lost and tiny child in a foreign realm. Curiouser and curiouser, my hands flick page after page, my head reels in his eerie splendour and I am tossed headfirst into a euphoric enigma. Screaming in a voiceless plea, salt water stains my eyes and cheeks, a craving to feel substance beyond my static reality.

Srisha Sritharan Taut leather skins stretched tightly, side-by-side, against one another, pressing. Cloth-bound, leather-bound, bound together. Packed tightly on the shelves. I run my finger along their spines, tense and supple, just itching to be flexed. Their paper-thin bones shiver. Words trapped on the pages lie across and over one another, wriggling and uncomfortably set.

A ‘z’ rubs against an ‘o’, an ‘s’ brushes an ‘h’. Characters hold their breath, mid-thought, mid-step. Caught. My fingers trip along the ridged edges of the books. They quiver, begging me to dive under the covers, to turn a page, to let them breathe. Titles stand to attention. Mouths with no voices blindly call out. Me, they say. Open me.

Zoe Knowles

I’m in one of those moods.

“I had no interest in anything…”

He gets it. “…I had no idea how I was going to escape...”

Yeah. But what’s the point of leaving? Of anything? “… They seemed to understand something that I didn’t understand...”

I’m fine here, lying in bed with you. “... I just wanted to get away from them...”

Perhaps I’m missing something?

Restless, I grab my phone and search like a madman – for anyone, anywhere, anything.

I throw my clothes on and I’m out the door.

Bukowski’s words follow: “... But there was no place to go.”

Ante Bruning Many years later, as he lay back to rest in the palms of death, Gabriel García Márquez was to remember that distant afternoon when he ran out of bread. Mercedes Barcha Pardo somehow managed to put food on the table every night, but the family was withering; the struggle came with the curse of destitute writers – her husband’s main concern was finding paper, not food. He wrote every day for 80 months. When the novel was complete it was weighed at the post office; it would cost 82 pesos to post to publishers. Mercedes pulled together their last 50 pesos, the manuscript was split equally, and one half was sent. It was only later, amongst the immense relief of having finished his novel, coupled with the solitude of unwritten expression, that Márquez realised he was still holding the first half of the book.

Ling McGregor

a r t w o r k : m a r i a ya n o v s k y

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cellophane flowers : poetry

Leopard Michael Kennedy

I’m the queen of pulling splinters and the king of thigh high socks.

I’ve let the consecrated no-doz melt upon on my tongue as I pray to god for goosebumps and the money for my rent.

I skinned a hot pink leopard and it hangs above my door; and I wear its pelt around me to show you I am stronger than the wild that has shaped us, and I’m wilder than the person you could only hope to be.

And if you think that I am breaking; you’ve yet to see my claws.

I’ve weathered greater storms, and suffered bigger cunts for I am made of glitter, gold and bone and I don’t need your love.

a r t w o r k : m a r i a ya n o v s k y

POLITICS : NEWS

A ro u n d t he Wor ld i n 80 S econ d s G lo ba l Pol i t i ca l S na ps h ot Surabi Alauddin

The Middle East Yemen: A looming financial crisis caused by tightening credit and a currency devaluation raises the risk of famine in the conflict-ridden Gulf state, where millions of civilians are already going hungry. Yemen imports almost all its food, and requires a functioning economic system.

Samoa: The ruling Human Rights Protection Party wins the general elections in a landslide victory, winning 44 out of 49 parliamentary seats. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa is appointed the small island nation’s first female deputy prime minister.

The Americas

Africa South Africa: President Zuma faces a corruption investigation over allegations that he gave undue influence to the Guptas, a business mogul family, further damaging efforts to combat structural economic constraints and alleviate poverty.

Asia North Korea: The Supreme Court has sentenced Otto Warmbier, an American student, to 15 years of hard labour for removing a North Korean flag from a hotel. The harsh sentence is symbolic of the nation’s combative relationship with the West and severity towards any sign of political dissidence.

Indonesia: Indonesia has accused China of violating their sovereignty after Indonesian officials intercepted a Chinese trawler allegedly fishing illegally in Indonesian waters, detaining eight Chinese crewmen on board. China’s expansive claims to most of the South China Sea have long raised tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Oceania Australia: Malcolm Turnbull has pushed for an early election unless industrial relations legislation, specifically the restoration of Union watchdog (the Australian Building and Construction Commission) is passed by the Senate.

Brazil: One million protestors have taken to the streets across Brazil to protest allegations of corruption involving President Dilma Rousseff, which threatens to overshadow the Rio Olympics.

The United States of America: President Barack Obama breaks decades of US foreign policy orthodoxy by travelling to Cuba and embracing President Castro, aiming to deepen diplomatic relations with the growing, stable, and resourcerich region.

Europe Belgium: On March 22 2016, twin bombings in Brussels took 31 lives and injured hundreds more. The Islamic State, and suspects who were linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks, have taken responsibility. Security has tightened across Europe.

Turkey: Turkey entered into a controversial refugee deal with the European Union, in which migrants arriving in Greece will be deported back to Turkey, where they will be screened for asylum eligibility. For every deportation, one ‘legitimate’ refugee will be resettled in Europe. Turkey receives visa-free travel, billions in aid, and a promise to fast-track admission into the EU.

ARTWORK : MEGAN WONG

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POLITICS : LAW

16 of the Weirdest L aws i n Ex i stence Lachlan Woods

In theory, laws exist to protect and maintain order within society. Most of the time they do just that. Then there are some on the outrageous end of the spectrum. We’ve compiled a list of laws weirder than the Baird government’s latest escapades – cheers to that!

1. NO CHEWING GUM. According to their import regulations, the “importation into Singapore of any chewing gum is prohibited”, unless it is a “medicinal chewing gum”.

2. DON’T PAINT A LADDER. In the Canadian province of Alberta, an OH&S rule states that “a person must not paint a wooden ladder”. Unless that colour is burgundy.

9. DON’T FLUSH THE TOILET. In Switzerland, it is illegal to flush a toilet after 10pm.

Assumedly, the Swiss have well-trained bladders.

10. DECAPITATE A MASTURBATOR. In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

11. DON’T BE WELSH IN CHESTER. In the UK city of Chester, Welsh people are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from staying after sunset. We don’t know why either.

12. PERMISSION FOR FALSE TEETH. In the US state of Vermont, women must obtain permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.

3. DON’T HAVE TOO MANY VIBRATORS. In the US state of Arizona, having more than two vibrators in your home is illegal. So, experimenting with different sizes is not okay.

13. DON’T LOOK AT A WOMAN’S VAGINA. In Bahrain, it is illegal for a male doctor to look directly at a woman’s genitals during an examination, however he is permitted to see their reflection in a mirror.

4. WOMEN, DON’T DRIVE. Saudi Arabia is the only nation in the world where woman are not allowed to drive. Keep in mind that this is the same nation that only allowed women to vote last year!

14. DON’T MIX GENDERS (on the washing line).

In Minnesota, USA, it is illegal to hang both male and female underwear together on the same washing line. Clearly the birds and the bees story took an interesting turn in ol’ Minnesota.

5. LEARN ARCHERY. In the UK, a law from the Middle Ages still exists that requires all males over the age of 14 to be trained in shooting a long bow.

6. TAKE A GUN IN A BAR. In the US state of Tennessee, it is legal to carry a loaded gun into a bar.

7. DON’T STUFF UP A STAMP. In the UK, it is an act of treason to have the Queen’s head upside down on an envelope stamp.

8. BE INTELLIGENT. In China, it is stated that a “person must be intelligent to go to college”. Maybe we should look to China to increase our standards?

ARTWORK : JASMINE MIJARES

15. DON’T BE FAT. In Japan, it is illegal to be overweight or obese. Every man and woman over 40 must not have a waist measuring over 32 and 36 inches respectively. Sumo wrestlers are exempt.

16. DON’T PAY UNLESS YOU’RE FULL. In Denmark, you don’t have to pay for your food in restaurants unless you consider yourself ‘full’ at the end of the meal. Truly the epitome of the Scandinavian welfare state.

POLITICS : OPINION

How Recent Senate Voting Reform Entrenches t h e T w o - Michael Tangonan Party Senate voting changes: Numbers, independents and ‘the will of the people’.

System On March 18 2016, following 40 hours of debate, the Australian Parliament passed contentious reforms about voting within the Senate, suppor ted by a successful but unlikely alliance between the LNP, the Greens, and independent senator, Nick Xenophon. These reforms will change how we vote for our representatives in the Upper House, which acts as the final stage of scrutiny of proposed bills before they become enforceable legislation.

The changes are: 1. Rather than numbering one box (above the line) or every box (below the line), the proposal will see voters forced to number their preferences 1 to 6 above the line.

2. Minor parties will not be able to swap preferences in order to secure Senate seats.

3. Party logos will be placed on ballot papers to reduce confusion about parties with similar names.

These reforms were introduced in retaliation to the un– precedented success of minor parties and independents during the 2013 federal elections, gaining them Senate seats, despite some like Ricky Muir only securing 0.5% of the primary vote. The reluctance of these MPs to co-operate with the two dominant par ties is also a factor, as the government aims to ensure that, with fewer parties, negotiations will be both fewer and less arduous.

At first glance, these measures give more power to an electorate in voting for the individual candidates they prefer by eliminating the complicated process of group-voting.

However, a constituent who votes for minor parties or independents could be disenfranchised as their vote may not count, resulting in its classification as a discarded vote, and removing them from the democratic process.

Australia uses preferential voting conventions where candidates are ranked by voters, and in the event our first choice gains less than half the votes, the last preference is disqualified and the votes re-counted based on the second preference, and so on. Yet the Senate voting reforms will result in voting which resembles the ‘first-past-the-post’ system in the USA, where a candidate with the greatest number of votes wins, irrespective of the actual percentage of the population’s votes. This system hinders the chance of any third or alternative options, meaning a voter’s only realistic choice is Democrat or Republican, or in our case, Labor or Liberal.

Another concern surrounding these changes is permitting the party logos alongside a candidate’s name on the ballot papers. By doing this, the government introduces free political advertising inside the ballot box, violating the previously sacrosanct neutrality by coercing citizens to vote with a party’s ‘brand.’ This measure is believed to be reactionary to the election of David Layonhjelm of the Liberal-Democratic Party and the similarity to the Liberal Party and position in the first column may have confused voters and resulted in his election, to the detriment of a Liberal Party candidate which the vote may have been intended for.

The two-party system of Liberal and Labor has historically dominated Australian politics. These Senate voting reforms will do nothing to improve that, instead becoming another nail in the coffin of minor parties and independents, entre– nching the two-par ty system and effectively limiting a voter’s freedom to preference their vote to the maximum extent. In passing this reform, Parliament is sending Australia on a trajectory towards strengthening the influence of the two major parties on the electorate, and ultimately, the disenfranchisement of the Australian voting public.

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POLITICS : IDEOLOGies

Fabián Marcel Vergara DeLeón

The 2015 presidential elections marked the end of 12 years of progressive power. Mauricio Macri, of the centre-right, Cambiemos Party won over the ruling left-wing Justicalist political movement, led by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

This victory is emblematic of a shift towards the right in contemporary Latin American politics. Throughout the continent, Latin America’s socialist and social democratic parties are rapidly losing ground.

Being a Latino, holding both Chilean and Uruguayan citizenship but born in Australia, I have always been interested in the politics of my ancestral homeland and it was a frequent discussion topic at dinner time for as long as I can remember. So I’ll attempt to provide some kind of explanation, reasoning and insight as to why contemporary Latin American politics is increasingly lurching to the right.

Latin America’s political history has been one stained with blood and marred by harsh authoritarianism. Despite this, phenomenal economic growth has brought hundreds of thousands – if not millions – out of poverty. Stemming from the 1950s, a wave of military governments (read: dictatorships) backed by the U.S. government sprang up across the southern part of the continent. Paraguay’s Alfredo Stroessner, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, Uruguay’s Juan Maria Bordeberry, Argentina’s Rafael Videla, Brazil’s Emilio Garrastazu Medici and Bolivia’s Hugo Banzer all

collaborated to eliminate trans-border Communist threats.

These rulers made use of torture centres and summary executions; any voice which was perceived as leftist or dissenting to military rule was quickly silenced, enabling these governments to rule for decades in seats of inscrutable power.

Conversely, the Latin American left which preceded the military governments was heavily populist and radical in their leadership. The government of Salvador Allende in Chile had made enormous strides in ameliorating an education deficit in the country by making education free and compulsory for all children, as well as making tertiary education free for all. Juan Perón established numerous welfare programs for the most disadvantaged people in Argentina. The changes and values espoused by the Latin American left proved to be widely popular in a continent where a sizable portion of the population live in near destitution.

Many non-Latino people often assume that all people living through this period of military rule suffered greatly and abhorred the dictatorship for its brutality. In reality, Latin Americans are quite polarised on the subject. Some benefited greatly and some suffered greatly. Why would anyone be in support of governments that committed crimes against humanity? Simply put, the military in the Latin

American context holds an almost sacred position. The military is the defender of La Patria, or ‘the fatherland’. Our culture, our ideals and our language are all to be defended by the military until the last soldier falls. The military will protect La Patria from all threats, external and internal. This is evident in contemporary Latin America where every major city has at least one street named after a military leader of martyred soldiers. At the time that these dictators came to power, the nation was in a state of disorder. Latin America was in disarray, both economically and socially. The military felt obliged to take matters into their own hands to prevent the country from deteriorating further.

Now, you may be thinking, “What does this have to do with what’s happening now?” History is repeating itself.

The Latin American electorate became enamoured with the left who were championing social and civil liberties that Latin Americans have been deprived of for over four decades. With the return to democracy, many leaders and functionaries of the military across many Latin American countries returned to civilian life and began to participate in a democratic Latin America as part of its conservative element. This infusion of former military leaders was a new beginning for the right.

In many articles I have read about political reform, this is what is often referred to as “soul searching”; the political right begin to slowly reform and lurch towards the centre of the political spectrum. This is in marked contrast to the left, which has remained radical, despite having been elected across the continent. Having never gone through a process of political reform, the Latin American left has remained idealistic and unable to deliver on campaign promises. Most notably is Chilean president Michelle Bachelet’s promise for free education – Bachelet and her party were elected twice and they are yet to deliver this.

Furthermore, the right’s mission to reform itself allowed for its attempts to address corruption. Again, because there was never any massive reform in Latin America’s socialist and leftist parties, corruption became commonplace.

Former Brazilian president and current cabinet member Luiz Inacio da Silva, more popularly referred to as Lula, has been indicted for receiving bribes from Brazil’s state-owned petroleum company and his successor Dilma Rousseff is also suspected of doing the same. Peru’s Ollanta Humala

is being investigated for taking bribes from a multinational corporations in connection with public works in his country, Michelle Bachelet is currently under fire for nepotism – the list goes on.

In order to understand this shift to the right, we have to consider that first, the conservative element in Latin American politics is the successor of the military. The military will never again have the influence or power it once did. It must move through legitimate channels, not coups.

Secondly, the current state of Latin America is reminiscent of a time before the military governments. High assault rates, corruption and looming economic instability are giving Latin Americans a sense of déjà vu. The left has done and will do very little about this, as it sets out to try and enact radical change through policy that will only please a small portion of the electorate.

Ultimately, the difference between the left and right in Latin American politics is that the left views itself and its radical mission as holding timeless value. This is their great failing. The left must realise that in order for them to be successful, they must abandon radicalism and pursue reform through the centre, as the new right does. The left in contemporary Latin American politics can very vividly champion the changes that they wish to bring about, such as social mobility and free education, but they have shown themselves unable to make these promises a reality. What most Latin Americans fear is a Venezuelan style of politics – a political arena wherein those who are meant to represent you are more committed to their own values, and unwilling to compromise for the greater good.

When we ask why right wing ideology is on the rise in Latin America, it may be more pertinent to ask whether it is actually the left that is dangerously out of touch. The right’s move towards the centre has been well calculated and promoted, and it has successfully provided an acceptable alternative to the left.

Foreseeably, the Peruvian Nationalist Party will lose their majority in the congress. This will be just one in a growing trend in Latin America of right wing governments quickly emerging across the continent, rooted in the continent’s military past.

ARTWORK : MEGAN WONG

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POLITICS : CAMPAIGNS

Career Politicians: Andrew Barclay Politics is increasingly looking more like a career than a vocation and it’s impacting our democracy, writes Andrew Barclay.

“An MP has a broader and deeper responsibility to the public than most other occupations… The role itself is best compared to a “vocation” rather than a “ job”. A vocation is defined as a call to, or a sense of fitness for, a career or occupation, while a job is a piece of work or employment, especially when done for hire or profit.”

- Former Premier of Western Australia, Dr Geoff Gallop.

Politics as a career is on the rise. There are many more people populating the halls of parliaments around Australia who have never done anything outside of the ‘world of politics’.

While there are no recruitment ads, there is a distinct path to follow to become a politician: be born into a middle or upper-class family, study the Humanities or Law at a sandstone university, hone your numbers and negotiating skills in student politics, join your political party of choice and, upon graduation, work as a political staffer, in a union, or for the party itself. Maybe spend some time in ‘the real world’ as a lobbyist. Get pre-selected in a safe seat. Retire after a few decades with a hefty parliamentary pension and join the board of a company or become a lobbyist. Rinse and repeat.

This is what ethics and governance expert, Dr. Noel Preston, calls the “ethically corrosive” career path of modern-day politicians. It’s a trend that transcends party lines and experts say it is impacting our democracy in more ways than one.

Previous Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey serves as a useful case study, though there are plenty of examples to choose from both sides of the aisle. After attending the prestigious St Aloysius’ College, he went to the University of Sydney and resided at the scandal-plagued St John’s College (coincidentally the same college Tony Abbott attended). While pursuing a combined Arts/Law degree, he was the President of the University of Sydney Students’ Representative Council. Upon graduating, he had a short stint as a banking and finance lawyer and then worked as an aide to the Premier of New South Wales, before entering federal politics in a safe Liberal seat.

It didn’t end too well for Hockey after his massively unpopular 2014 budget, which was widely ridiculed as unfair. His notorious gaffes, including proclaiming the way for people to get out of poverty was to “get a good job that pays good money” and that “poor people don’t drive cars”, only sealed his fate as a two-budget treasurer. Did his careerist path play a role in his downfall? Impossible to say, yet it certainly led to the impression that he was out of touch with everyday Australians.

A careerist path into politics isn’t a bad thing, in and of itself.

In isolation, there is nothing wrong with Hockey’s career. In fact, political commentator, Paula Matthewson, says there is considerable benefit in having younger MPs who already understand the political, policy and parliamentary processes when they are first elected.

The Emergence of a Privileged Elite

“They can start contributing straight away rather than spending years learning the ropes, giving younger people greater representation in politics,” she told Vertigo.

Yet, career politicians haven’t always been the norm. A few decades ago, parliament had a healthy proportion of people who came from a life or profession other than a political one, and upon leaving parliament they would return to their community and previous profession.

According to political scientist, Anne Tiernan, the rise of career politicians really took off when instead of the public service, publicly funded para-political support roles (that is party staffers) replaced political staffers. This led to a further professionalisation of politics.

The impact of career politicians is symbiotic: a lack of diversity in career politicians leads to a lack of understa– nding of the needs of everyday Australians. This then leads to inadequate policy responses by the government. Many argue the lack of life experience of professional politicians has led to insular and narrow-minded decision-making, and the creation of a political elite who are out of touch with the needs of everyday Australians. In particular, there is a lack of representation in parliament of people from a low socio-economic status, as they are less likely to attend university, and are therefore excluded from the political process by the rise of the professionalised career politicians.

Put simply, it means the political class doesn’t represent the diverse needs and experiences of the Australian population.

Can the rise of the careerist politician be stopped or at least slowed? Many believe the right approach includes providing financial support for economically disadvantaged students to go to university or, at the other end of the spectrum, banning individuals under a certain age from entering politics. One plausible solution put forward is to put term limits on the time people can serve in parliament.

Political commentator, Paula Matthewson, is attracted to the idea of term limits for MPs but only to keep turning over the parliamentary talent, rather than as a method of warding off career politicians.

“This is a great day for democracy” — these are the words Malcolm Turnbull used to describe the recent passage of legislation to allow voters to allocate their own preferences above the line on the Senate ballot paper. Regardless of what people may think about the reform, a widely accepted impact will be a purging in the Senate of micro-party senators. This will only further entrench the two major parties, who are also the main beneficiaries of the trend of career politicians.

Politics should not merely be a career. Politicians should be in parliament because of a sincerely held belief that their values be reflected in the laws and practices of government, not because they decided to join Young Labor or the Young Liberals in their university days. I for one don’t think it would be such a bad thing to see more ‘everyday’ politicians like Rick Muir and Nick Xenophon in parliament.

ARTWORK : sam McNair

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POLITICS : POLICY

A Trajectory of NSW Alcohol Laws

from Harm Minimisation to ‘Taking Responsibility’

Vail Bromberger Few things rile people up more than when a government attempts to legislate social policy. Inevitably, fault is found in whatever it is the government seeks to do – the law goes too far! It doesn’t go far enough! Why is there a government at all? Why isn’t there more government? You know the drill. In comparison to most other social issues, the legislative regimes that have governed the supply and consumption of alcohol in NSW are relatively underinvestigated. Emphasis is placed on analysing the recent lockout laws, and understandably so – for many, they represent the most tangible change in the law in recent memory. However, NSW has had a frenzied history with legislating alcohol, going back decades. Frenetic law is nothing new to NSW. Pre-Liquor Act: A Harm Minimisation Approach From the early ’80s until 2008, alcohol-related matters were governed by the Liquor Act 1982 (NSW), which was relatively liberal in terms of what it permitted. The law was very explicitly pro harm minimisation, emphasised in section 2A, stating, “liquor harm minimisation is a primary object of this Act.” It was expected that due consideration be given to principles of safe liberty when considering things such as community impact statements, further regulations, and the granting of licenses. General public consensus was in favour of minimising “red tape” and “anti-competitive” behaviour. Most argued that casual and social consumption

was safe and ought to be celebrated; some were willing to admit they feared government intervention in the matter.

This was in part due to lobbying by publicans and hoteliers who had obvious incentives to ensure the pro-harm minimisation philosophy of the law remained government policy. This was further entrenched with the development of the Star Casino, which opened in 1995.

Regardless, the law was hardly perfect. It was riddled with amendments and sections that had proven unpopular with various stakeholders, while certain key issues lacked clarity or weren’t mentioned in the law at all. For example, there was no requirement for the education or regulation of bar staff, and what constituted ‘intoxication’ was left to the subjective opinion of the licensee. The law also relied on the court system to grant, suspend, and cancel liquor licenses. It was expensive and time-consuming to pursue any matter pertaining to the Liquor Act 1982, and judges didn’t have the relative flexibility afforded to police officers.

Research about the causes and triggers for alcoholrelated violence were not considered in much detail by local council. In 2006, the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research produced a public report revealing that there had been a steady increase in alcohol-related violence.

Serious consideration was given to targeting alcohol-related problems by local councils and the state government, who

were frightened of appearing “soft on crime” or “asleep at the wheel”.

Liquor Act 2007 (NSW): A Harsher, ‘Take Responsibility’ Approach In response to the yearly increase in assaults both outside and within liquor licensed establishments, a new comprehensive legislative regime was introduced to replace the old framework that had failed to adapt to arising problems. It created an administrative system which vested power in the Executive to govern alcohol-related matters.

It tightened up the object of the Act to facilitate the dual interests of the public and the “liquor industry”. This new approach veered away from the harm minimisation approach of previous laws, as section 3(2) reveals: “The need to encourage responsible attitudes and practices towards … liquor … [and] the need to ensure that the sale, supply and consumption of liquor contributes to, and does not detract from, the amenity of community life.”

Importantly, this new law created a definition for “intoxication”. Now, if a person’s “speech, balance, coordination or behaviour is noticeably affected”, and it is “reasonable in the circumstances” that this is the result of consumption of liquor, they are regarded as intoxicated.

Importantly, the 2007 legislation created certain strict liability obligations on licensees when dealing with intoxicated patrons. It was hoped that this definition would clarify what the obligations of hoteliers were, especially in the wake of increasing assaults by heavily intoxicated patrons within establishments.

Problematically, one of these new obligations was to eject any patrons who are intoxicated. No flexibility was permitted to allow non anti-social patrons to remain on premises to sober up. As failure to comply with this obligation was an offence, licensees began ejecting patrons from their venues with new vigour, for fear of losing their license. Just as before, what was intended to be a safety measure became a tool used by individuals frightened by ramifications. There was no room in this legislation for responsible, voluntary harm minimisation, and after midnight in Kings Cross, the streets were routinely filled with thousands of patrons moving around the precinct.

Moving Onwards The culture of fear that fostered the creation of the lockout laws is not new to NSW. But well-intentioned measures on both sides of the debate have become regrettable with hindsight. Whether the cost of a law is the deprivation of liberty, or the risk of violence, it is essential that the discourse remains aware of the recent past, the way it really was.

ARTWORK : samantha sobel

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the social environment : trending

Bisexual Visibility Raveena Grover

Visibility has been a constant battle for those who are trans and/or identify as having non-binary sexualities, writes Raveena Grover.

Bisexual, pansexual, intersex, and trans individuals within the LGBTQIAP+ community (commonly and erroneously shortened to LGBT) often lack representation. Oppression is and always will be a complex and fluid issue with many different facets. People who are oppressed in one sense can be oppressors in others, and within the LGBTQIAP+ community, bisexual and pansexual erasure is an enduring problem. It is one which often leaves people with nonbinary sexualities iced out of community spaces and events, or shoved into the dark and to the sidelines.

Erasure, in this instance, is the act of invalidating, obscuring and excluding certain orientations as illegitimate or ‘just a phase’. There is a belief among many people, both within and without the LGBTQIAP+ community, that bisexuality is a fake sexuality. Bisexual, pansexual, and people with other non-binary orientations are often labelled as greedy, confused, going through a phase, and seeking attention.

However, it is important to realise that despite often being lumped together, non-binary orientations are not all the same. They are all legitimate, even if the language individuals use to describe themselves change.

Straight-passing privilege is a term often used to describe people with non-binary orientations, and describes inhabiting a relationship or social position in which one is not clearly read by society at large as being ‘queer’.

This privilege, or the possibility of this privilege, is often attributed to people with non-binary sexualities. However, the systems of coding and decoding are more complex than this assumption allows, and include a range of factors such as whether or not someone is trans, intersex, and so on. Passing is a particularly loaded term. While the threat of violence and/or alienation changes in different spaces and contexts and people may choose to change or adapt

their behaviour accordingly, simply having a non-binary orientation does not make ‘passing’ always accessible to people, or preclude the possibility of violence and alienation later. People who are bisexual, pansexual or have another non-binary orientation are still non-straight, often trans and/or intersex, and still face oppression. It is never appropriate to delegitimise this experience because we are not ‘gay enough’. Considering our identities as irrelevant, as often happens when LGBTQIAP+ communities are reduced to ‘gay’ communities, even by gay and lesbian people, is seriously concerning.

Language is a serious issue surrounding non-binary orientations, genders and trans people. Language is one of our primary forms of communication, and thus, the language directed to the ‘gay community’ which aims to include the rest of the LGBTQIAP+ community, serves a negative purpose. Within our community, phrases such as ‘you’re bi now, you’re gay later’ perpetuate biphobia and pedestal gay people as the pinnacle of LGBTQIAP+ identities. Our LGBTQIAP+ festival is called the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Marriage equality is referred to as gay marriage. Where is our celebration? Where is the bi, pan, intersex and trans Mardi Gras? Erasure and negative stereotyping extend into pop culture as well, which is a serious issue when it is the primary educational source for a lot of people. Exclusion through language and poor representation, despite inclusion in events, is a significant form of marginalisation.

Straight, gay and lesbian people have a responsibility to be allies to people with non-binary orientations. There needs to be a proper support system to ensure less oppression and more inclusion. A good place to start is by making your language inclusive.

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the social environment : policy

We Need Safe Schools Because Internalised Homophobia Starts at a Young Age Ca rrie Hou

UTS student, regular Vertigo contributor, and all-round superstar Carrie Hou was published on New Matilda and got a lot of attention for this article. It was for good reason.

Vertigo is proudly able to republish it here.

When Mike Baird slinks onto radio wearing a reasonable man-suit, announcing in his very reasonable man-tone that Safe Schools will not be suppor ted because icky things like sexuality (it has the word sex!) should not taught to young children in primary school, you might think, ‘golly gosh, that’s not so unreasonable, in fact, maybe a little bit reasonable, because young children aren’t thinking of sexuality’ (it has the word sex!).

You may think this because you reminisce back to the good old days as a child where your only concerns were throwing pens at your dad’s head or getting bindis stuck in your foot when you ran across lawns. Having crushes were fun and silly, not complicated by ideas such as ‘sexual fluidity’, ‘social constructs’ or ‘identity politics’.

Nothing had to be questioned, ever.

That lack of questioning is the fundamental difference between growing up as a straight child and growing up as an LGBTQIAP+ child. As Daniel Swain highlights, this fundamental difference is why safe schools has a different meaning for the LGBTQIAP+ community. When Mike Baird announced that NSW would not be funding the safe schools program, I was gutted because Baird misunderstands just how early on internalised homophobia begins in a child, and how awful it can be growing up in this environment.

From the age of seven, I knew I liked both boys and girls.

To me, it was as clear as glad wrap, or like never being able to resist eating melted Tim Tams, or far ting whenever I wanted. I just liked what I liked, did what I did, and I never questioned it. Back then, I honestly thought everyone in the world liked both genders but had coincidentally decided to

And then I got a little older, and things made me question it.

That questioning turned to concern.

Concern turned to guilt.

Guilt turned into thinking something was wrong with me.

That part of me, the wrong part, manifested into self-loathing.

I was 10 when I had my first panic attack because a group of girls called me “an ugly lesbian�. When I look back now I laugh at how many other things I could have been bullied for. I was a weird fucking kid. I had a shitty bowl haircut. I collected dead stink bugs. I chased pigeons. For a brief period of time, I unnecessarily wore an eye patch to school every single day, and I walked into doors because my parents rated humour above their child’s need for binocular vision.

artwork : carrie hou

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the social environment : policy

Really.

Silly.

If I had been bullied for any of that it would have slid off my back. This was different. When you get bullied for your sexuality, you aren’t being bullied for what you like to do or how you seem; you are being bullied for your expression of love, something so fundamental to who we are and what we need as human beings. It is something we can’t change, can’t even really comprehend beyond the idea that it is a feeling felt before memories can even be remembered.

Ways.

When you’re young, developing, and lacking in understanding, you might also lack a person to explain to you that you are ok. You will feel as if there is something wrong with you.

So, from a very young age, you internalise it. You bury it deep inside yourself. You dig a hole in your chest and bury it far away from your heart. But growing up, through adolescence, it remains there as an ache that you try to dull in silly ways.

This internalisation runs so deep that even when you’re told that it’s okay to be queer, you’ve learnt to associate it with external dread, so much so that you can’t really accept the fact that maybe it is, afteall, okay. For the longest time, I refused to hug my female friends. Even if I was in a relationship with a guy, I would be filled with fear because I was so accustomed to understand that with love came the condition of someone, somewhere, attacking me.

Safe schools isn’t doling out a ‘gay agenda’ to young children or teaching ‘sex’ or even the ins and outs of ‘sexuality’ to young kids. It is telling kids that it’s not okay to treat someone else like a lesser human being. It’s telling LGBTQIAP+ children, who may know (or may not know) who they are at a young age, and assuring them that how they are feeling is natural, normal, and completely okay, so they don’t ever feel guilty for it in the future.

artwork : carrie hou

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the social environment : beauty standards

T h e D i f f i c u lt b u t I m p o r ta n t Choice to Go Natural Tanith Chippendale

Imagine your scalp burning from toxic chemicals. Imagine your skin violently peeling off, and being forced to tears because of the overwhelming pain. Imagine all of this happening to a child.

This is the type of agony myself and so many others in the Black community have had to face since the age of five.

This is the process of relaxing – something that I’d been pressured to do from a young age because of a conception that Black hair is ‘unkempt’ and ‘ugly’.

My hair is coarse and it’s terribly difficult to maintain.

Despite this, it’s distinctively me. I’ve been forced to feel ashamed of it for far too long – not just by White and non-Black People of Colour, but by the Black community, many of whom have put thin, straight hair on a pedestal and deem coarse, curly hair as utterly undesirable.

I have just recently started to embrace the beauty of my natural hair, but still have many memories of the pain that I experienced. I stopped relaxing my hair last year, albeit with some opposition from my family. My mother would say, “but you need to take care of your hair”, out of genuine concern that people would see me as lazy and dishevelled.

I would tell her, “That’s exactly what I’m doing”.

Relaxers can often cause irrepairable damage to the hair and scalp, and some relaxers contain sodium hydroxide, which is a harsh, corrosive chemical.

However, it is important to note that although I’ve taken a stance against the pressures to chemically straighten my hair, others do make an informed choice to relax their hair because of the difficulty in maintaining natural hair. This article is by no means demonising that choice. What I want to demonise is the unsettling and entrenched perception that Black hair is unappealing.

Last year, I had my first date with my natural hair in its full afro form. I had gone on dates before with protective styles and had men ask, “Why don’t you straighten your hair?”, so this was a big step for me. It wasn’t so much that I was worried about being deemed as ugly, it was a natural predisposition of mine to fear donning my natural hair because I had been so often reminded by friends, family, and the media that straight hair is the ultimate go-to.

Nevertheless, I rocked my natural hair with confidence and no regrets. But it wasn’t without criticism; when my friends and family saw me after my date, they asked, “Is that how you went to your date?” and “Why didn’t you do something with your hair?” It was especially concerning to them that I made this choice on a date with a White boy.

The thought that African hair is ugly and unacceptable was so ingrained that these were remarks made in reaction to what seemed normal to them. It was normal to straighten my hair, tie it up to hide the coarse nature of it, and to by all means hide my African roots.

This is a common perception embedded within the minds of many in Black communities and non-Black communities.

It’s perpetuated by a lack of representation when it comes

to natural hair in the media, with most of the few Black women who are represented in the media habitually opting to style their hair to a European standard.

I have encountered many who have dismissed the existence of negative perceptions surrounding natural hair, and it only serves as an erasure of our experience. There is no denying that wearing my afro-textured, ‘untamed’, natural hair to a corporate interview will be met with a starkly different attitude than that of a woman with straight hair. Almost every shampoo and hair advertisement on Australian television has used straight, shiny hair as the ultimate achievement, and frizz as an obstacle to overcome.

Of course, this type of ‘frizz’ mostly relates to a White experience, but it says enough that Black women have no representation in these advertisements whatsoever.

Natural hair is a critical part of a Black person’s identity, and it is dehumanising to have to constantly fight against perceptions that ridicule and degrade your identity.

Spending painful hours styling our hair and figuring out ways to maintain its health is difficult enough without adding the extra burden of this stigma.

It’s certainly difficult to make the choice to go completely natural in a city like Sydney. There are very few affordable salons willing to deal with natural hair without suggesting chemical straightening as an alternative. Salons that do attempt it, often do so with an annoyance at having to tackle hair of such a coarse nature. I’ve experienced this many times, with hairdressers sighing in exasperation while working with my hair, one even snidely commenting that my hair was like ‘sandpaper’. Obviously, she didn’t understand the natural texture of African hair.

Never theless, my choice to go natural was an impor tant stance against the entrenched European standard of hair. As painful and time-consuming as my hair has come to be, it is a marker of my pain, my rebellion, and my strength. Now I feel empowered, beautiful, and uniquely me.

artwork : christy hui

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the social environment : identity

F i n d i n g M y C u lt u r a l F i t Martyn Reyes

Two years ago, when my mother told me she was planning a four-week holiday to the Philippines, I was immediately horrified. I imagined being stuck in a country I had little to no interest in, with people who belonged to the very same racial background that I deny – a part of a culture I have chosen to neglect for a large chunk of my life. I felt claustrophobic at the thought of returning to the very place my heritage was rooted.

Recently, I have questioned why I felt like that, and why so many of my friends shared the same intrinsic need to culturally assimilate into a conventional, Australian way of life. What bothered me the most was my misplaced sense of cultural identity; I was born and raised in Australia but had conflicting feelings growing up, and found it hard to believe I was actually Australian.

Many things moulded my misguided sense of self, leading me to cave in to the inherent pressures of a Westernised society; The casual and sometimes blatant racism that I experienced at school from my peers and even my friends was a large par t of this. Once, my extended family and I were completing an outdoor obstacle course and were called ‘monkeys’ by an caucasian family.

The concept of White privilege was difficult to comprehend. I didn’t realise the severity of it until a woman from a viral video came into my workplace. The video, now infamous, showed her ridiculing, abusing, and degrading commuters of Asian descent on a bus. This woman, who had a history of throwing coffee and spitting on our staff, led us to implement a procedure where all Asian employees had to in the break room whenever she was present, for their safety. The fair skinned workers would replace our position on the floor in order to stop her aggressive, racist-fuelled behaviour from escalating.

My personal experiences stem from a broader, complex issue faced by many minorities within Western cultures.

Growing up, Asian representation within Australian media, or Western media for that matter, was and still is very limited. It’s hard to recall any actors or actresses of Asian descent who haven’t played a role that relates to where they migrated from, or were otherwise the ‘Token Asian’. Moreover, during my trip to the Philippines, I was admittedly not surprised to see why so many Filipinos felt compelled to change the way they were to fit the idolised model of beauty upheld by Western society.

In advertisements on Filipino television, all the actors and actresses were white-skinned, with White facial features.

It was a grim contrast to the Filipinos I saw on a day to day basis. The only time I had the chance to see anyone remotely similar to the ‘beautiful’ people I saw on TV was when my brothers and I hit a clubbing district – a place which displayed a stark separation between the rich and the poor.

It didn’t stop there. While shopping in the Philippines, posters and billboards advertising whitening cream were rampant. After a quick Google search, I found a review of the product on a Filipino beauty website, with the author telling her audience why she uses it: “I LOVE WHITENING PRODUCTS. It gives me that boost of confidence I never had when I was bullied back in high school.”

Sixteen-year-old me wouldn’t have been able to spot anything unnerving in that sentence. Sixteen-year-old me spent time looking up methods on how to naturally whiten my skin and how to avoid the sun. I ignored posts that said to accept my skin colour for what it is and to embrace where I’m from. I tried so hard to assimilate into what I perceived was ‘Australian’ enough, in the hope that I wouldn’t be stereotyped as someone from just another minority. In doing so, I even trained my strange-sounding Filipino/American/Australian accent to sound like everyone else in the classroom to avoid being bullied. However, 20-year-old me has finally listened to my parents’ advice: to accept the differences of myself and others, and to love the skin and the body I was given.

I met this one young boy, who was intrigued by the camera and notepad I was walking around with. I kept catching him staring at me and timidly following me around. Finally, he spoke to me with his limited English, and I tried to communicate back with a terrible attempt at speaking Tagalog. Despite our language barrier, we were able to speak for the rest of the night. He showed me all the photos he took on his mum’s phone, and explained to me what he did for fun. He spoke of his favourite subjects at school and what he liked to eat – trying hard to speak in English because he knew I wouldn’t understand Tagalog. Before I left, I asked him to draw something in the little art journal I keep with me – I guess to preserve the curious connection I had with him, a reminder of the intangible and instinctual way we understood one another.

How could I not be proud of this beautiful country? It is home to some of the world’s most majestic beaches and islands. How could it not embrace a culture with such warm-hearted people, who are so hard working and genuinely kind? In a peculiar way, visiting the Philippines felt like going home and I felt a sense of belonging to this community despite how much I had distanced myself from the culture.

The idea of appearing White perpetuates the preposterous assumption that wealth and luxury come along with it. This notion, which is ingrained among an entire culture acts as a catalyst for self-damaging thoughts and a lower sense of self-worth. I have dealt with the conflicting sides of my cultural identity and finally embraced where my parents call home, culminating in an experience both fragile and jarring, but ultimately beautiful.

Going back to the Philippines after nine years as an adult, with a changed perspective on my cultural identity, has solidified the way I pride myself on being a FilipinoAustralian. My time there was spent surrounded by my beautiful family, a large group of loud Filipinos who love to drink, eat, and dance. Spending three weeks with them in their motherland enabled me to explore and appreciate the place they call home. I was drawn to and humbled by the unfamiliar respect and kindness I received by the locals. artwork : Kazuki Komatsu

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the social environment : profile

Deacon’s Surrealism and the White Colonial Gaze M e lis s a Ma ntl e

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, bald-headed babies, and everybody else.”

This is how Destiny Deacon began her address to the Ar t Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) for ‘Half Light: Portraits from Black Australia’ in 2008.

Footage of her talks are imbued with subtly wicked humour and warmth.

There is always an undercurrent of searing intelligence, deep compassion, and undeniable glimpses of her inclinations towards the surreal, which make it obvious why she produces the kind of art she does.

Deacon is a Queensland-born artist who grew up in Melbourne, where she still lives. Her Indigenous heritage is of the K’ua K’ua and Erub/Mer people of the Torres Strait Islands.

Growing up in poverty, and with her mother heavily involved in the advancement of Indigenous rights (in particular, the 1967 referendum), Deacon’s life became naturally centred around social justice politics, and later, on the artistic exploration of those politics. Many of her formative years were spent exploring her identity and heritage, as well as fighting for the rights of Indigenous people, before kicking off her artistic career with Polaroid photography in her 30s. Most notably, she was one of ‘Charlie’s Angels’, and worked with activist Charlie Perkins throughout the fight for the historic Mabo decision. With the support of the Melbourne Indigenous community and her siblings, Deacon and her mothers’ activism began to focus on how deeply entrenched racism in Australia is a significant factor in the perpetuation of poverty within Indigenous communities.

Deacon’s collaborative art reflects the proud camaraderie and solidarity celebrated among Indigenous peoples. It also strengthens her self-declared artistic mission of “recreating a world of my own outside my own world.”

To oversimplify, Deacon’s work explores historical issues and contemporary Indigenous life: “I want my pictures to make the viewer go, ‘maybe that’s funny or maybe that’s tragic or maybe it says something that goes over your head’… I try to take an image that no one else has taken before, which is hard because anybody now can take photos.”

She’s certainly not wrong, but Deacon’s art is also in the vision behind the camera. It is strong and unflinching in its challenge to the White colonial gaze. As a result, her art is visceral and arresting in its abstract statements about what it means to be Indigenous and who has the authority to define that meaning.

Her self-described goal is to “enter the dialogue” of the historical stereotypes about Indigenous people, and to make fun of prejudices for their invalidity.

Deacon is particularly critical of a trend common amongst White photographers: using Aboriginal people as subjects without treating them as people, turning them into ‘kitschy’ objects in alignment with racist narratives about what Aboriginality is.

Much of her art features what she terms ‘Aboriginalia’ - artefacts produced out of such racism. For example: the cheap souvenirs you can find at convenience stores everywhere featuring Aboriginal men in loincloths, the didgeridoo as an item for the ‘cultured’ White person to display in their homes, the list goes on. In her art, Deacon uses dolls and examples of ‘Aboriginalia’ to create haunting arrangements that explore the gulf between the representation of Aboriginal people by the White Australian population and the contemporary reality of Aboriginal life. The surrealism of the art serves to highlight what Marcia Langton

terms the ‘psychosis’ of colonial mentality and its modern manifestations.

Over time, Deacon’s work came to involve video, installation, and performance. The first major retrospective of her work ‘Walk and Don’t Look Blak’ was showcased in a 2004 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney and can be viewed online. The following year, the MCA purchased her 2001 exhibition ‘Forced Into Images’, which is quite possibly Deacon’s defining work. The photographic series abstractly follows the life of an Aboriginal girl from childhood into womanhood through a fraught landscape. The work is semiautobiographical, deriving its title from a quote by the AfricanAmerican author and poet Alice Walker: “I see our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, captured and forced into images, doing hard time for all of us.”

Deacon’s dolls act out scenes of oppression along these lines.

Her work sometimes strikes one as an eerie puppet comedy, where the strings are visible for all to see. As such, in ‘Forced Into Images’, her portraiture of both people and dolls, and the clever interchanging of the two, inverts the White colonial gaze and reclaims the use of the Aboriginal figure as a ‘kitcshy’ object.

Of the two children she used in the series, Deacon says, “The most important thing about them was that they were fouryear-olds and uncontrollable, and fitted into the idea of being forced into images. It amazes me that people see them as black and white. That’s just part of being Aborigine. We come in different shades. He’s black as well. It’s not an issue.”

It’s hard to articulate the reason for the importance of Deacon’s art. Is it the unique tableaux-like stories and photographic vignettes, or the inversion of the colonial gaze? Is it the immense value of an Indigenous woman’s artistic vision alone, or the abstractions of the everyday, which help us see ourselves afresh?

Surrealism makes one aware of how things are represented, and makes us question that blurry area between reality and perception. In her art, Deacon works as a reverse-engineer of stereotypes about Aboriginal people and an alchemist of new perceptions. Further, she communicates her vision with a loving pride for her people. In doing so, she deeply unsettles what deserves unsettling: the White gaze.

For all the discourse Deacon has initiated about political, Indigenous, and feminist concerns, she is conscious of the fact that messages in her artwork aren’t always understood or appreciated by non-Indigenous audiences. However, she retorts, “I just want people to think.”

artwork : Issy Quigley

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the social environment : POC

Women of Colour in Sport: D u a l L ay e r s o f Marginalisation E n o c h Ma il a ngi The level of sportsmanship in professional women’s basketball has reached new levels, fostering some of the best sporting talent in Australia. However, racism in sport has recently become somewhat of a hot topic, writes Enoch Mailangi.

Following Adam Goodes’ retirement from the AFL after an onslaught of on-field racism, yet another major spor ting league presented a beige stance on racism. Racism in sport has peaked public interest, with professional sportswomen drawing attention to the issue. When Alice Kunek posted a photograph in blackface on Instagram, her Australian Opals teammate, Elizabeth Cambage, took to social media to chastise her. Not only did this make it the third publicised blackface controversy in a year, it revealed a whole underbelly of racial tensions within the Australian sporting community.

Eva Afeaki, a Woman of Colour who has played for the Australian Opals, believes that Kunek’s blackface insensitivity needs to be addressed. “There should always be consequences, regardless of whether her actions were intentional or not. As a professional athlete you have an obligation and platform that you are given, and you need to be accountable for the things you do or say.” Afeaki, who comes from a Polynesian background and has strong links to her cultural identity, believes that the growth of social media is one reason why Kunek’s photograph gained so much traction.

“Blackface is racist. The past will always give us context, and ignorance towards the issue isn’t good enough.”

The controversy sparked by Kunek’s photograph put a spotlight on the treatment of Women of Colour in the sporting community. One such sports professional is Alliyah Fareo, who started her basketball career in Australia, later moving to the United States and signing with the LSU Tigers.

Fareo says, “I don’t know if Australia is ready to have the race discussion to be honest.” Based on the backlash Cambage faced on Twitter, she’s not wrong. Fareo believes people don’t understand how we treat People of Colour in our spor ting communities. “It’s funny because when that stuff happened I had old team-mates who had crossed paths with her and were like, ‘she’s not like that, people are overreacting. She’s really nice.’ artwork : tiffany nguyen

I know a lot of nice people that do and say some ignorant things. Their foolishness is not justified by their niceness.”

Georgia Akle, a student from Sydney University, expressed concern regarding the intersectionality of being a Woman of Colour in sport. “It is already difficult for women to break into professional sport. Imagine having to deal with your race, and adding another layer of marginalisation and limitation.”

Lack of media coverage of women playing spor t remains an issue. The ‘Towards a Level Playing Field: Spor t and Gender’ repor t found that coverage of women playing sport in 2014 was 8.7%, which put them on the same level as horse racing. Akle reiterates, “Indigenous people still don’t have substantial representation in mainstream sport whatsoever.” While the constant marginalisation of women in spor ts is already a huge issue, the systematic racism is a definite add-on to the outright sexism that Women of Colour face.

Georgia Mantle, the University of Sydney’s Indigenous Officer, spoke about racism facing women saying, “I absolutely think it is a reflection of racism seen in society more broadly and isn’t something that exists just in the sporting world.”

So what is the issue? A lack of communication or a lack of empowerment? Is it how we handle racism and intersectional oppression? Mantle believes that, “whilst education is key, sporting associations need to come out and take a firm stance against racist behaviour and not let it slide. If the associations have that firm policy, more People of Colour will be comfortable reporting their experiences, knowing that they will see something happen.”

I have just recently started to embrace the beauty of my natural hair, but still have many memories of the pain that I experienced. I stopped relaxing my hair last year, albeit with some opposition from my family. My mother would say, “but you need to take care of your hair”, out of genuine concern that people would see me as lazy and dishevelled.

I would tell her, “That’s exactly what I’m doing”.

Relaxers can often cause irrepairable damage to the hair and scalp, and some relaxers contain sodium hydroxide, which is a harsh, corrosive chemical.

However, it is important to note that although I’ve taken a stance against the pressures to chemically straighten my hair, others do make an informed choice to relax their hair because of the difficulty in maintaining natural hair. This article is by no means demonising that choice. What I want to demonise is the unsettling and entrenched perception that Black hair is unappealing.

Last year, I had my first date with my natural hair in its full afro form. I had gone on dates before with protective styles and had men ask, “Why don’t you straighten your hair?”, so this was a big step for me. It wasn’t so much that I was worried about being deemed as ugly, it was a natural predisposition of mine to fear donning my natural hair because I had been so often reminded by friends, family, and the media that straight hair is the ultimate go-to.

Nevertheless, I rocked my natural hair with confidence and no regrets. But it wasn’t without criticism; when my friends and family saw me after my date, they asked, “Is that how you went to your date?” and “Why didn’t you do something with your hair?” It was especially concerning to them that I made this choice on a date with a White boy.

The thought that African hair is ugly and unacceptable was so ingrained that these were remarks made in reaction to what seemed normal to them. It was normal to straighten my hair, tie it up to hide the coarse nature of it, and to by all means hide my African roots.

This is a common perception embedded within the minds of many in Black communities and non-Black communities.

It’s perpetuated by a lack of representation when it comes

to natural hair in the media, with most of the few Black women who are represented in the media habitually opting to style their hair to a European standard.

I have encountered many who have dismissed the existence of negative perceptions surrounding natural hair, and it only serves as an erasure of our experience. There is no denying that wearing my afro-textured, ‘untamed’, natural hair to a corporate interview will be met with a starkly different attitude than that of a woman with straight hair. Almost every shampoo and hair advertisement on Australian television has used straight, shiny hair as the ultimate achievement, and frizz as an obstacle to overcome.

Of course, this type of ‘frizz’ mostly relates to a White experience, but it says enough that Black women have no representation in these advertisements whatsoever.

Natural hair is a critical part of a Black person’s identity, and it is dehumanising to have to constantly fight against perceptions that ridicule and degrade your identity.

Spending painful hours styling our hair and figuring out ways to maintain its health is difficult enough without adding the extra burden of this stigma.

It’s certainly difficult to make the choice to go completely natural in a city like Sydney. There are very few affordable salons willing to deal with natural hair without suggesting chemical straightening as an alternative. Salons that do attempt it, often do so with an annoyance at having to tackle hair of such a coarse nature. I’ve experienced this many times, with hairdressers sighing in exasperation while working with my hair, one even snidely commenting that my hair was like ‘sandpaper’. Obviously, she didn’t understand the natural texture of African hair.

Never theless, my choice to go natural was an impor tant stance against the entrenched European standard of hair. As painful and time-consuming as my hair has come to be, it is a marker of my pain, my rebellion, and my strength. Now I feel empowered, beautiful, and uniquely me.

artwork : christy hui

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C U LT U R E : T R I B U T E

Sir David Attenborough – A LOVE AS DEEP AS THE OCEAN ZAC BLUE It has been 327 days since David left me. Well not me, precisely, but the millions of us down here in the depths. When asked about my fascination with David by my fellow Atlantic Cod, I describe our relationship as long distance, separated by exactly 460 metres of freezing cold water. I’ve cried myself to sleep each night, propping up the sea level by about one metre; the polar bears keep complaining but no amount of cajoling can ease my sorrow. All I want is for him to see me, to make me feel special, to compliment me in that lullaby voice of his.

But no. Everyone wants to hear about the giant squid. Tentacles so long he can wrap himself up in his own ego. The lanky bastard.

I first saw David in 2001, when that silver fox was filming ‘The Blue Planet’. His voice had glided through the water like a dolphin on a summer’s day: graceful, majestic, mysterious. I swam to the sur face , looking to match the voice to a face, and there he was. His thin silver hair swaying in the breeze, striped shirt ironed to perfection. The engine roared to life and whisked my love away. The cameraman caught a glimpse of me before setting in motion.

“Oh look, an Atlantic Cod.” He laughed.

“Endangered, but basic,” I heard him mutter. ’Twas ten years till I saw David again on set of ‘Frozen Planet’, but I couldn’t get the man away from those penguins (you can take the penguin out of a man, but you can’t take the man out of a penguin).

I started sending fan mail each week to: P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney But I think that clown fish gave me the wrong address. Typical.

Five minutes, that’s all I ask – just a little introduction and feature in ‘The Blue Planet: A Natural History Of The Oceans’. I would have settled for ‘Frozen Planet’, and David might have picked up on my icy cold heart, chilled by his betrayal. But the ocean rolls on, day after day. Tomorrow will be the 328th. *** There are few voices in the world that are instantly recognisable; the dulcet tones of Morgan Freeman, the distinct pause of Barack Obama, and the inescapable fascination of Sir David Attenborough with all forms of life around him (to name a few). Whether he’s throwing shade at a sloth, or opening our eyes to the wonders of the ocean, Attenborough has enchanted a generation with his knowledge of nature.

With over 40 documentaries, Attenborough has one of the richest careers as a broadcaster and naturalist. His first major feature came in the form of ‘Zoo Quest’ from 1954 - 1963, the then young, Converse-clad Attenborough travelled with the team from London Zoo in search of exo-tic animals. While they may have found a variety of mammals, their most important encounter was with the young Englishman whose smooth scripts and narration style

matched the wonder of his discoveries. Attenborough continued to dominate the screens since his breakthrough, releasing ‘David Attenborough’s Conquest of the Skies 3D’ last year. From black and white footage Attenborough has travelled across both an aging earth and developing world.

This month, the Australian Museum is presenting the country’s premier of ‘David Attenborough’s First Life VR’ (Virtual Reality), using 360-degree footage on an immersive journey through nature. To no surprise, the experience was sold out at the Natural History Museum London – who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by Attenborough?

For us newly-fledged adults, I think we have a lot to thank Attenborough for. It’s easy for us to be swept up in the hustle and bustle of university life, assessments, stress, all that jazz. In Attenborough we find a companion to walk the forests with, explore the oceans, soar the skies, and most importantly, remind us with that silky voice just how intriguing the world around us is.

Vertigo will be attending the Australian Museum’s screening of ‘David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef Dive VR’; check out the upcoming review on our website!

ARTWORK : lING MCGREGOR

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C U LT U R E : F I L M

Surrealism is what you know twisted and twisted again jonathan GAYMER Jonathan Gaymer was given three pieces of instruction: pick a surreal film, write about the film, and write about watching the film. He sat down to watch ‘Melancholia’ by Lars Von Trier and this is what happened.

to believe that you’re walking around and for you to believe that the strange things that are happening around you are a part of that space, even if the whole place is a little stranger than you’re used to.

Straight up I don’t really know what to write about this, which I guess is how all good things should begin. For me at least, you can’t take anything in this space too seriously - criticism is inherently out of its depth when it comes to film. This is especially true when you try to address surreal film. Right away, you can take something from this: maybe don’t believe anything I’m going to say, that might be best.

It’s going to be as subjective as a window and that isn’t a bad thing.

Jacqui and I intended to watch a movie where we could drink every time we were disappointed. We listened to Bon Iver to prepare. I had an idea of what I thought I’d be finding before I started this business, and that was that everyone would need to be allowed to move into the water (in terms of allowing the films to be ‘real’) before they could really enjoy the stuff on screen. The plan was to start with ‘Melancholia’ because I think Von Trier works well at building something true for the audience, and then gently laying silky sheets of ‘fuck that’ over everything.

Surrealism is about a shift. If it’s worth anything it takes you into a place where everything is almost fine, but at the heart of it there’s something untrue that you can feel.

It’s beautifully minute tweaks to the quotidian, flicks of a brush that you don’t know exists because you’ve never seen anyone paint reality before. It gets mistaken for simply senseless shit - flat, computer-generated shapes that can’t do anything unless someone with hands points them in the right direction. Which brings me to what I think is the basis and creator of lovely surrealism; people. The lady who was much smarter than me and taught my English class in 2008 told us we were pushing too hard for something that we didn’t know yet. We had no business trying to show that to another person with any semblance of truth.

Without conviction or knowledge there is no humanity, and without humanity there are no hands to be tangled in the intricacies of the surreal, and hence nothing for us to hold.

There has to be a place for you to walk around in for you

‘Melancholia’ is a pretty lovely looking piece starring Kirsten Dunst, whom prior to this I could only remember from Spiderman. I really didn’t know she could act at all. The film is easy to watch - it’s straight up stupid to look at, beautifully composed, well shot, and just weird enough to make you wonder whether it’s really good or rubbish.

The story is also out-there enough that if you explain it to people, they’ll think you know shit; they could be wrong though.

The plot isn’t one that you can summarise in a sentence, but I might as well have a go. The film follows sisters Justine (Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) through the night of and the days following Justine’s disastrous wedding night. This is all happening while a “rogue planet” (thanks Wikipedia) is about to collide with Earth and is affecting everyone as it closes in. Justine is mentally unwell (felt wrong just throwing that on the end, but you gotta do what you gotta do and we’ll come back to this later).

The story and cinematography complement each other in a way that allows each to perform its function. Von Trier makes you decide straight away whether you’re in this or not with an opening sequence composed of a series of almost-stills that pull you into the picturesque mire that is to come. The slow intricacy and heavy symbolism is dreamlike in its muted intensity, and becomes a perfect complement for the manic and yet inexorably trudging events that follow.

The best thing about the opening was that while we (critical audience of two) had been talking animatedly during the beginning of the film, the conversation had trailed off as began paying more attention to what we were seeing.

A wedding is inherently chaotic, and it is out of that normality that Von Trier is able to pull strands of insanity and begin wrapping them around everything. The opening sequences lull you into a trancelike state of viewing. Everything unfolds with threatening inevitability: the wedding trope establishes a structure and setting that everyone is familiar with. The contrast between the epic, sweeping beginning and the inane and unstoppable instability of the wedding is so perfectly jarring that the microcosm of Justine’s breakdown is slammed into place beautifully amongst the stillness of the doom hanging over the whole world.

Kirsten Dunst is spectacular in this - her portrayal of Justine dances along the lines of portraying mental illness whilst never straying into any spaces where the character is inaccessible. Without her there is no way ‘Melancholia’ could portray the torturous misunderstanding of mental instability with such devastating sincerity. I loved watching her fucking hate everyone at one point. She has an almost Kanye-level mania, and the hyperactivity in her face pulls the entirety of her being into this dying sun behind her eyes. She flips from stunning to aloof and then dives into terrifying. Her interactions with the rest of the characters are easy to see in your own life. The unreal tendrils that are always in the edges and corners of ‘ Melancholia’ are frighteningly within reach. As far as my own experience, the film is exemplary of much of the unwanted and unintended frustration that both sides of mental illness have to live through and with.

The surreal is an escape from the consciousness we aren’t allowed to face Consciousness is the real - the flicker across what you and I see It’s the reality you see when you look closely The unfinished subway rails that o’er hang the ghetto I’ve never seen but can imagine Surrealism is what you know twisted and then twisted again

ARTWORK : REKHA DHANARAM

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C U LT U R E : F I L M

S w i f t ly Tay l o r e d Harry Stranger UTS alumna and Director, Angela McCormack, talks rushed production and how her short film became the poster child of inequality.

The industrial shrine of a garage, filled with homemade memorabilia, is the haven of Paul, Dave, and Hamish – three middle-aged men secluded in their otherworldly obsession: Taylor Allison Swift.

Angela McCormack’s Tropfest entry ‘Tay Man’ is the brainchild of her last-minute rush for Fictional Forms in her final year of Media Arts and Production at UTS. The mockumentary reveals the inner joy of three Taylor Swift fans, who meet secretly every Friday to celebrate the pop star.

“It was a really late, last minute thing for me,” McCormack says. “I had an assignment due the next day, and the script I was drafting just wasn’t working. It was this philosophical, satirical thing, and it really sucked.”

To get past her writing block, McCormack went for an entirely new concept: “I’ve always loved mockumentaries. I’m a massive fan of ‘We Can Be Heroes’, ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘The Office’.”

So, a mockumentary she wrote. Its focus: a secretive male fan club for Taylor Swift, inspired by Swift’s ubiquity in McCormack’s work as a pop culture journalist.

McCormack’s focus on a men’s fan club was intended as a prod at perceptions of masculinity. “I wanted to say something about masculinity with ‘Tay Man’,” she explains. “The whole premise is based on the idea men would feel ashamed of liking something ‘girly’ or ‘emasculating’ like Taylor Swift. Obviously that’s ridiculous – who cares what kind of music you’re into?”

This last-minute dash was a saving grace for McCormack, who ended up putting the script into production not long after. “I finished writing it at the beginning of August, and spent that month and September in pre-production, between uni and work.”

Aside from the near impossible juggling act of uni, the ever-churning news cycle, and getting a script to screen, the hardest challenge for McCormack was landing her star cast: Colin Lane (Lano and Woodley), David Collins (the Umbilical Brothers), and Craig Anderson (‘Black Comedy’, ‘The Moodys’).

McCormack feels the controversial focus wasn’t in the right place: too much emphasis on inequality for its own sake, and not enough on women in film making.

“There’s all this outrage and this discussion about gender inequality in the industry,” she says. “There wasn’t much practical talk about women making films.

“People weren’t asking me what inspired me , why I was making films, my thoughts on directing – anything like that. I kept seeing all of these articles on-line about there only being one female finalist – but they didn’t bother to name me.

“Heaps of people have suspiciously asked me ‘who I knew’ to get them to work on the project. Someone said, ‘I just assumed David was your uncle or something.’

“I’ve had quite a few people tell me about ‘how beautiful’ or ‘how lovely’ I looked on the night. Which is fine, but seriously, what about my film?!”

“We worked hard to get our actors – but most of it came down to just asking. I don’t think many student filmmakers even think to ask established actors to work on their projects, but by just asking and sitting down with them, they really listened and were on board.”

Ultimately, like the recent Academy controversy, the lack of inclusivity is undermining Tropfest and its integrity as a launch pad for Australian filmmakers.

Production was squeezed into two days in September, aided by fellow UTS alumni Jessica Campell, Joel Perlgut, Emily Borghi and Yiani Andrikidis. Fellow student Julien Chichignoud then rushed the film through post-production over two weeks to meet a new deadline: Tropfest.

“All my actors had previously starred in Tropfest films, so it felt like the natural place to aim for. Even so, it was such a pleasant shock to find out we’d actually made it in.”

“Tropfest is a huge event for the Australian film industry.

It means a lot to so many people – it’s helped launch some huge careers, and it’s a fun night under the summer stars.

“But we were all white. I know Tropfest is aware of the diversity problem there and I think, or at least hope, there will be something done to promote diversity in the finalist selection next time.”

On reflection, McCormack feels she too can contribute more to getting more women in filmmaking.

A less pleasant shock – for McCormack and for Tropfest – is the enormous controversy which has followed her film since. Not for the gender stereotypes it tackles, but because McCormack was the only female director featured.

“Let’s be clear – I’m no saint. ‘Tay Man’ only had one female character with a very minor role. In my future work I’m going to be very conscious of equality. I’m learning, and that’s one of my biggest takeaways from my first film, for sure.”

“It didn’t feel great to be the only female director up on the stage at Tropfest,” she admits. “It also didn’t feel great to have press keep asking me about it – they focused on that instead of asking me about my film.”

Angela McCormack’s short film can be viewed on Tropfest’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcdTABJzCPE.

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C U LT U R E : M U S I C

SPOTLIGHT INTERNATIONAL/ GOLD PANDA HELEN TRAN

Album Release Date: 27th March From the reaches of the United Kingdom comes electronica producer Gold Panda, back after three years of hiatus.

Swirling and mixing a number of experimental beats since 2009, Gold Panda’s career expands outside music: he spent the earlier part of 2014 traveling across Japan with photographer Laura Lewis in the hopes of creating a sight and sound documentary. Of course, this was until a taxi driver said to him in broken English, as he slipped out of a car in Hiroshima, “Good luck and do your best” – the catalyst for what became his new album.

Gold Panda continued to seek inspiration in the cities and landscapes of Japan, intimately exploring the country throughout the year to create something unlike a traditional record. The Japanese-inspired elements and hazy beats of the album’s first single, ‘Time Eater’, will smooth and warm your mind. The record is expansive, exciting, and full of textures drawn from his travels – and yet they are familiar, calming, and cathartic.

Make sure to keep an ear out for the release of ‘Good Luck And Do Your Best’ this May. This silky, golden record will definitely warm you up this autumn.

Spotlight LocaL/ Fresh Hex Larissa Shearman

Fresh Hex is on the rise. A bubbly mix of electronic, pc, and pop music, Fresh Hex is a Melbourne-based producer in a category of his own. He’s been a busy boy recently, finishing up his first headline tour, performing at the beginning of April in Sydney.

“we’re just desperately trying to convince you to fall in love with this guy.” He’s on the trajectory for something truly magical, creating an “alternate, positive atmosphere that people can escape to” in his music. And what a wonderful place it is.

Fresh Hex’s first EP, ‘Reflective Romance’, was dropped in February this year. To listen to his dance tunes, just visit his Triple J Unearthed profile or Soundcloud account, or tune into Triple J. Unearthed boss Dave Ruby Howe said,

From Sydney label Sidechains, Fresh Hex’s music is a love story with spacey vibes that will crack even the stoniest of hearts. Notable tracks to look out for include ‘When You Were Mine’, and ‘Goddess feat. Rosebud Leach’.

ARTWORK : Olivia Tseu-Tjoa

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C U LT U R E : M U S I C

MUSIC SCENE DESPITE LOCK-OUT LAWS

DAVID BURLEY David Burley attended Record Label, Lazy Thinking’s opening night, which could signify the future of the live music scene in Sydney.

Sydney’s music scene has taken a hit in the past year, with lockout laws forcing venues supporting local talent to close down. Since the laws were introduced, Sydney’s live music venues have experienced a drop of revenue of over 40%, putting a huge strain on venue owners and making it even more difficult for artists to support themselves in an already temperamental industry.

It began with Greenwave Beth providing some ’80s dance vibes, with touches of The Human League mixed into it.

Artefact then brought the tempo way down with flowing instrumental tracks and dreamy vocal harmonies. From there JaysWays made the walls shake with a selection of bangers he’s been making since he was 15, and Rita Revell kept the energy up with her trance-inducing beats.

Musicians like Flight Facilities, Alison Wonderland, Flume, and many more have come out with letters described how many of these venues, which have already closed, were vital to their musical development. Although there is a possibility the laws will change in the next few months, it’s likely rev-enue will continue to drop in Sydney’s live music scene.

Nights like these are set to become commonplace, running once a month on a Thursday night at the Red Rattler Theatre in Marrickville. Lazy Thinking will pick out a bunch of their favourite up-and-coming acts and showcase them, saving you hours of trawling through SoundCloud.

In an attempt to support local talent in a different way, FBi Radio Co-Founder, Cassandra Wilkinson, and a couple of her friends have launched their new record label, Lazy Thinking.

The label launched on the 11th of February under the theme of ‘Future Sounds of Sydney’ at the Red Rattler Theatre. Three futuristic cubes lit the stage with colours of sunsets and moonlight. Near the bar, the label offered free viewings of music videos on virtual reality headsets.

The main entertainment however, was provided by a number of diverse and up-and-coming artists, which the label is already supporting.

During a time where opportunities are only disappearing for new artists, a lingering question remains of whether showcases like these are the future for Australia’s live music scene. With the ability for up-and-comers to gain studio time, help from industry professionals , exposure, and security as an artist, a record label dedicated to finding hidden treasures could be exactly what Sydney needs to show off its full music potential.

Lazy Thinking are after “those sounds that sometimes fall through the cracks and that sometimes people aren’t quite ready for.” And with such a competitive market, made even more so by the challenge of lockout laws, we are excited to see a new platform for talent developing.

Check out lazythinkingrecords.com for Lazy Thinking’s upcoming showcase events, which present Sydney’s best innovative new music every month.

A R T W O R K : L I LY H O D G S O N

C U LT U R E : L I V E

A LTA I R Z I N E E X H I B I T @ COLOURSOUND FESTIVAL ANTE BRUNING Vertigo attended Coloursound to check out photography zine, Altair’s exhibit.

With over 70 acts across 10 different venues, I was spoilt for choice at Glebe’s Coloursound Festival. The event was Sydney’s first, hitting the streets of Glebe over the Easter long weekend with a celebration of live music, food, craft beer, and culture. Being a word nerd, the sound of Altair’s exhibit, which consisted of a zine fair, talks, and live music, really tickled my creative fancy.

Altair is a self-funded photography print publication which celebrates international youth and culture. Their mission statement: “Altair exists to collaborate with photographers globally to showcase unique, telling insights into youth culture.” Co-founders Lily Austin and Sebastian Robert seized the oppor tunity to be a par t of Coloursound, hosting an exhibit at The Works to celebrate their fourth issue,showcase photography zines and prints from around the world, and present talks by editors of three noteworthy zines: Apathetic, Good Stuff Co., and AEVOE. Each of the talks provided valuable insight for aspiring creatives, regardless of their medium.

Apathetic’s Anador Walsh shared the zine’s beginnings, born from a group of creatives who lacked the confidence to put their work out there. Walsh balanced her constant stream of ideas with her co-founder, Morgan Brennan’s knack for practice and process, which she found crucial, “find your Morgan – someone who complements and challenges you,” she said.

Doug Bennett described Good stuff Co. as a mirroring of himself and his interests in art, photography, skateboarding, surfing – stuff that’s not appreciated by general society.

Keeping it simple, his advice was to “just do you and fuck everyone else’s opinion.”

James Robinson, front man of AEVOE, reflected on the publication. In the beginning he was riding solo with no clients, no money. A year into the project, he fostered relationships with members in creative communities which resulted in an agency that offered an online platform, a print zine, and networking events. Robinson also shared his ‘two of three rule’ when it comes to creative pursuits, “whenever you take a job, it must be fun, pay really well, or give good exposure – it should fulfil at least two of these.”

Lily Austin, online editor and co-founder of Altair, spoke fondly of their decision to get involved with Coloursound.

“It was really great getting involved with the Glebe community, which also gave us the exposure we hadn’t experienced before. Most of our previous exhibitions were one-night type deals, so to have a three-day show was really good. It gave us the time to organise events like the zine fair, the art markets and even the lineup of great artists we had playing at night,” she said. With future plans to run their own gallery space, and throw exhibitions similar to Coloursound on a more regular basis, the pair definitely have big plans for Altair.

Lily also commented on the process of working with emerging creative from Australia and around the world. Lily said that “the time is now to work with emerging creatives,” stating that, “there are so many artists, photographers and creative networks popping up that it’s hard not to want to collaborate with everyone. We have a really great base of photographers, and contributors around Australia. It’s awesome giving [them] exposure.”

Altair’s exhibit was definitely the highlight of Coloursound for me. As an aspiring creative myself, it was great to see works from emerging photographers and publishers. If photography is your jam, I would highly recommend checking out Altair’s next exhibit – maybe you, too, could get involved.

Altair’s fourth issue is out now. Their next exhibit will be held in June 2016 – check out their website, Facebook, and Instagram for more details: altairzine.net facebook.com/Altairzine-740378652730956/ Instagram: @altairzine

ARTWORK : ROSIE GEARSIDE

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C U LT U R E : FA N D O M

YOUR NEW BFF SOPHIE HAWKSHAW “[She]’s got a blank space, baby, and [she]’ll write your name”: Taylor Swift as an artist, and a friend.

There’s no denying that Taylor Swift is a powerhouse in the global music industry. We’ve waved goodbye to the 16-year-old with a broken heart and said “nice to meet you, where you been?”, to the chart-topping matriarch of pop music. Behind Taylor’s success also stands a formidable worldwide army of loyal fans that any musician would sabotage an acceptance speech for.

Taylor creates systematic opportunities to connect with her fans. Actively posting and commenting on both Instagram and Tumblr, she extends her connection beyond the digital realm. Inviting fans to her house to hear her album prerelease, sending Christmas care packages, paying off student loans. and rocking up to bridal showers are just the tip of the iceberg in a long list of personal level philanthropy.

Swift harnessed the power of ‘fan girls’ early on in her career, taking to MySpace to spread her music. Using social media to build up an online reputation is not a new concept and in today’s market, it’s a vital tool for fresh-faced musicians to establish their position within the industry.

However, 10 years on from her first album, career well and truly established, Taylor is still connecting with her fans on an intimate and genuine level.

It’s difficult to write about Taylor without mentioning my own experiences with her. She has had a profound impact in shaping me as a person, and greatly influenced the way I process experiences. At 15 I wrote a 30-page letter to my BFF explaining how each of her songs applied to me.

Aside from the sometimes excruciating relevance of certain songs to my real life experiences (*cough* ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ *cough*), I personally have experienced the genuine intimacy that Taylor Swift shares with her fans. Being one of the lucky few picked from 44,000 people at the Sydney ‘RED Tour’, Taylor and I chatted like old friends. She has this uncanny ability to make you feel like her BFF, rather than an unattainable mega famous superstar. Of course, I also got the ultimate ‘Guess Who I’ve Met’ trump card.

In a world of $2,000 J-Bieb selfies and Beyoncé’s ‘No Hugs’ rule, Swift’s connection with fans on a personal level leaves a lasting impact and impression. It’s powerful marketing, based on the power of validation. Give one fan a magical experience, validate their obsession, and every fan girl on social media will want a slice of the pie. However, Taylor knows it has to be sincere. She is altruistic with her meet and greets, hosting one after almost every show since 2009, fans are hand selected by her mother based on outrageous costumes, peak enthusiasm, and screams only dogs can hear.

ARTWORK : wendy san

There are countless online stories of Taylor rejecting society’s trend for artists to be detached and uninterested in their fans. But one thing is clear; if you reach out to Swift in a genuine and involved way, you will sincerely feel her reaching back to you.

C U LT U R E : b o o ks

‘Lemons in the Chicken Wire’ by Alison Whittaker $ 2 2 . 95 , pub lish e d by Maga b a l a B o o ks

ZAC BLUE UTS student Alison Whittaker launches poetry debut.

Alison Whittaker launches her poetry debut with ‘Lemons in the Chicken Wire’, a distinctly visual and honest reflection on the poet’s connection with the land, life, and family.

Winner of the 2015 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship, ‘Lemons in the Chicken Wire’ showcases a variety of forms imbued with rugged, sexual, comedic, and sombre tones, challenging the reader to reflect on their own relationships. At times sobering, the Gomeroi poet develops a narrative of contrast over a variety of themes. From poems that explore rural life to urban experiences (‘The Body Country’), as well as love and death (‘Preface: Another Funeral’), ‘Lemons in the Chicken Wire’ leaves the reader invested in the author’s shifting experiences and identity.

Alison Whittaker develops intimately human tales presented in skilfully crafted metre and form without isolating the reader, sporting a steady tone frequently enriched with humour unique to her style.

Favourite Poem: ‘Sharp Tongue’.

‘ M a g o n i a’ b y M a r i a D a h va n a H e a d l e y $ 1 9.99, pub l i s h e d by H a rp e rCo l l i n s

Danah Pantano Aza Ray is dying. That’s the miserable fact she’s lived with for 15 years, 11 months, 25 days and counting. So when she hears voices from the skies and sees ships sailing through the clouds, she chalks it up to hallucinations. Except they’re quite persistent in bringing her along for a ride that changes her definition of who, and what, she is.

In a snarky and sarcastic stream of consciousness, Aza shows us the dilemma of displacement and family as she is literally ripped out of her skin to climb aboard the ship Amina Pennarum. There, she sails on stars and nebulae, gazing at humans – Drowners – and descending every once in a while to take some crops, and maybe a cow. It’s a hungry society that Aza finds herself in, classist politics bubbling with resentment, music, and magic. The Magonian captain says that as her daughter, her power has a purpose. She belongs here; but Aza is hard pressed to agree. She has a family.

Maria Dahvana Headley takes inspiration from a French medieval folk story to create a world above our own. This book also serves as a commentary on environmental and social issues, as human pollution is poisoning Magonia , lead-ing to a decline in industry and agriculture. Breathers, mysterious mercenaries simultaneously feared and disdained, lurk around the edges while the Rostrae , a serving class who can shift between human and avian form, are planning a revolution. Magonians, creatures with vibrant blue skin and a hole in their chest where their songbird resides, wait to make their final move.

‘Magonia’ is an enticing blend of magic realism with a touch of science fiction. It’s sure to pull you in.

ARTWORK : eden lim

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C U LT U R E : a r t

The 20th Biennale of Sydney: Contemporary Art Provides Safe S p a c e s f o r T h i n k i n g o n t h e U n e v e n ly Distributed Future, as Present

Zalehah Turner

Lee Bul, ‘Willing To Be Vulnerable’ (2015-16)

Showcasing the work of over 83 artists from 35 different countries in a diverse range of mediums, the 20th Biennale of Sydney is an impressive display of contemporary art’s power to transform the surrounding space and immediately engage audiences in thought, contemplation, and discussion. The Biennale’s six major exhibition spaces, appropriately named Embassies of Thought, include Cockatoo Island, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), and Carriageworks, as well as several ‘in-between spaces’.

All embassies address the overarching theme, ‘The Future Is Already Here – It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed’, a quote attributed to science fiction writer William Gibson, as related to concepts ranging from the real to the spiritual.

Each venue’s subordinate theme pertains to its own individual history, with the in-between spaces exploring the distinction between the virtual and the physical. Within the conceptual sub-themes of Gibson’s insight, the contemporary artwork of the Biennale explores important concerns of our possibly dystopian, futuristic present, and encourages participants to do the same.

Art Director, Stephanie Rosenthal outlined that, “We’re asking visitors to consider our interaction with the digital world, as well as our displacement from and occupation of spaces and lands.” She emphasised the importance of remembering that while many of us are experiencing a heightened sense of the digital within physical spaces, “It’s not evenly distributed.” On the other side of the ‘digital divide’, people are dealing with extremes in poverty, as well as social and political problems. Of Cockatoo Island, home to the Embassy of the Real, Rosenthal claims, “the artists selected for this Embassy explore neither the digital nor the physical, but the space where they both overlap – an in-between space.”

Employing reflective metallic surfaces, glass, plastic, and light, as well as draped material, South Korean artists Lee Bul’s futuristic installation, ‘Willing to be Vulnerable’ certainly utilises what Rosenthal claimed was the best metaphor for the Embassy of the Real: the mirror. Immediately impressive, the site-specific, modernistic work occupies the vast 1640 square metre industrial space of the Turbine Hall, and references the utopian visions of early 20th century modernity. Bul maintained that, “Our plans about Utopia are undoubtedly going to fail but that doesn’t mean we should stop dreaming.”

Stephanie Rosenthal pointed out that, while the artistic work is spread across various venues with conceptual sub-themes, all spaces are understood as, “temporary settings without borders.” As such, there is a certain interconnectedness between the spaces and an

Daniel Boyd, ‘Untitled’ (2016)

intertextuality in particular works. For instance, the original sketches for the set and costumes for the 1913 Russian futuristic opera ‘The Victory Over the Sun’ by Malevich are on display at the Embassy of Translation, the MCA. In addition, as part of the Biennale, Justene Williams and the Sydney Chamber Opera will perform an interpretation of the opera at the Embassy of the Real. Rosenthal claims that for the MCA, “the primary focus is on modes of working that revisit historical material and address how this material can be translated into a language appropriate for the 21st century.”

As with all of the embassies, Rosenthal’s interest in both visual and performance art at the MCA is obvious. Including the set and costume designs for ‘Victory Over the Sun’, the Embassy of Translation allows the audience to witness Adam Linder’s response to the space through performance, dance, and spoken word in ‘Some Proximity’ and view the film of Shahryar Nashat’s cinematic performance of Linder’s interpretation of the original experimental ballet, ‘Parade’.

However, as well as exploring the concept of translation within art and performance over time, the Embassy of Translation addresses the problematic nature and history of the land on which it is situated through a series of six new paintings by Sydney-based artist Daniel Boyd. Also, in the MCA forecourt, Richard Bell has created a restaging of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy from the original protest site of 1972 as part of the Biennale in-between spaces.

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C U LT U R E : a r t

Taro Shinoda, ‘Abstraction of Confusion’ (2016)

The diversity of mediums employed in the work and cultural backgrounds of the artists throughout the Biennale is impressive, not to mention Rosenthal’s desire to blur the line between art and performance. ‘Dogwalk’ by Mella Jaarsma is an installation of 12 costumes made from the skins of sacrificed sheep, cows, and goats originally used in religious practices in Muslim Indonesia. While the work exists as an installation, at times performers will parade around the room in their costumes, complete with bright red harnesses, as if walking each other on a fashion catwalk.

Erub Arts, ‘Solwata’ (2015)

More work that addresses the Embassies and their relation to the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation is on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Embassy of the Spirits. Multidisciplinary artist, Nyapanyapa Yunupingu of the Gumatj People has created an installation of tall wooden poles with detailed mark-making in a partially lit space. In addition to this, Erub Arts, working alongside the conversation group GhostNets Australia, reclaimed a fishing net and decorated it with delicate, traditional weaving techniques to create ‘SolWata’.

Interestingly, the work that best expresses the concept behind the Embassies of Thought as Rosenthal’s “safe spaces for thinking” is ‘Abstraction of Confusion’ by Taro Shinoda, which is itself a response to the deep spiritual and emotional conflict within Australia and the First People.

After visiting Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, Shinoda was inspired to create a space for contemplation of the spiritual energy within us, known as Ki in Japanese, by using white clay and red ochre.

The Embassy of Transition at Mortuary Station, a 19th century funeral station, offers a particularly intriguing history for artists, Charwei Tsai and Marco Chindetti. Tsai explores the themes of the cycles of life, death, and rebirth from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective with two evocative installations, while Chindetti’s sculptures explore the way in which the myna bird will eventually, and inevitably, devour casts of the artist’s own body made from birdseed.

Carriageworks, the Embassy of Disappearance, explores themes of absence and memory, as well as disappearing languages, history, and landscapes. Rosenthal felt strongly that, through the process of investigating disappearance, several of the artworks had managed to “recapture something that was lost.” However, the most outstanding work in this part of the exhibition is Lee Mingwei’s transient, visual, and performative piece, ‘Guernica in Sand’, which attempts to shift the focus from destruction to the creative power of transformation.

Once again the Biennale of Sydney, which originally started in 1973 and is in its 20th year, impresses with its visual, multi- disciplinary and trans-disciplinary contemporary art through its seven Embassies of Thought and several inbetween spaces.

The 20th Biennale of Sydney opened on March 18 2016 and will run until June 5 2016. Many of the exhibitions and events are free but some require booking. Check the website for further details: biennaleofsydney.com.au

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Showcase : POP-ART

A DD O GU S TA f

I work on my illustrations in my free time, and often find inspiration in pictures of actors, singers, or models.

All of my digital works are initially hand-drawn in my sketchbook. Recently, I have developed a process that I love: taking my illustrations and experimenting with colours, then using other images as patterns in Photoshop to give my works a pop-arty look. I always like to try new things with my drawings and challenge myself to create something different. For me, it is important and exciting to see that I’m progressing in creating artwork.

Artwork : Addo gustaf

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SHOWCASE : architecture

liam baker Roof Plan

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I am interested in the scale of architecture.

My recent work explores whether a cluster of monolithic louvres* placed in a public square can become performative by directing pedestrian, air, and light flow. Another project tests how a series of modular concrete boxes placed alongside an urban park can slide through one another to simultaneously serve a number of functions.

My influences include modernist architects such as Mies van der Rohe, and contemporary architects Roof Plan such as David Chipperfield, who design buildings that are pared back to their most fundamental properties. They forego superfluous ornamentation, cladding, and unnecessarily complex formal gestures.

Instead, they express architectural concepts through materials, structure, and form in a manner that is Plan Closed raw or abstracted, yet Above: still functional.

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I am also intrigued by the lack of scale, by photography that abstracts the monolithic or the minute into a form, a pattern, or a surface that is void Roof Plan of indications of habitation, context, or time.

Buildings are mostly designed with consideration of the inhabitant or the viewer, and I am fascinated by those who challenge this notion andPlanreduce Above: Closed Below: Open that which was familiar into something almost unrecognisable. Architectural photographer, Bas Prince, subverts scale and context - I think he sparked this particular curiosity in me.

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South Elevation Kiosk/Kitchen

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*framed openings, like West those in doors and windows.

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West Elevation

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SouthC Elevation Section Kiosk/Kitchen Toilets

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Section B Wash basins

Section B Wash basins

Imagining of an architectural intervention using an everyday object (the umbrella).

Imagining of an architectural intervention using an everyday object (the umbrella).

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US MODERNISM TOUR YEAR 02

STUDIO: MAKING RATIONALE As part of a tour ofYEAR American 01Modernism, a case RATIONALE study was carried out on John Lautner’s SEMESTER 02 notorious of a tour oftoAmerican Modernism, a case hilltop houseAsinpart response the misconception that study was carried out on John Lautner’s notorious organic architecture consists of to rounded forms. that hilltop house in response the misconception

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SITE SITE Sheats Goldstein Beverly Hills, Sheats Residence, Goldstein Residence, Beverly Hills,CA CA

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STUDIO: MAKING YEAR 01 SEMESTER 02

The Dean’s Wintergarden

The Dean’s Wintergarden

Informal meeting area Sculpture gallery

Informal meeting area Sculpture gallery

RATIONALE

RATIONALE A parasitic intervention was designed A parasitic intervention was designed with the intent of crossing the threshold with the intent of crossing the threshold frompublic public space private. from space into into private.

SITE SITE Dean’s FEIT FEIT Building, Dean’sWintergarden, Wintergarden, Building, UTS by Denton Corker Marshall

UTS by Denton Corker Marshall

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SHOWCASE : IMPRESSIONISM

JOSH MOY A DIGITAL ARTIST

When I was six years old, I had a tendency to run in to the walls at school. Teachers would always stare at me. They assumed I was doing it for attention and thought it was part of my everyday life, so they contacted my parents and had me sent to a specialist to see what was wrong. I was then diagnosed with ADHD. For six months I saw the specialist, several times each week, and was assessed on my schooling.

But after all the tests and exams that I sat through, it turned out that I just needed glasses. I was pulled out of the after school classes and obtained a brand new pair of spectacles.

It was the first time in my whole life that I had seen properly, and I was obsessed with the amount of detail in the world. I would sit for hours studying trees, environments around me, and people. This

was incorporated into my ar tworks - specifically portraits. I generated a style that shows my process of creating the work as a whole: incorporating everything from the sketch at the star t, to thick paint strokes, to realism. It fascinates me to see how something can build in layers and show so much detail, but also how the human eye tends to fill the gaps. Each work is my own process diary – it helps me to show where I am and where I need to be.

When working on portraits, this process helps me capture someone’s key features and focus on the most recognisable aspects of the human face. I now take this approach to all of my works, such as landscapes, in order to generate atmosphere. The smallest thing can have the most detail, so I approach each piece with the idea that less is more.

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JOSH MOY

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SHOWCASE : LABEL

Pranav naik

O B S o L E T E : those who come from nothing ‘Obsolete’ is a label I established in early July 2015, with the ambition of making a mark on the Australian fashion scene through handmade apparel and diversified media. Each piece is made only once. Every coat of ink and milliletre of dye is exclusive to the single piece and can never be replicated, giving each person the opportunity to own a unique wearable artwork. While we have generally worked in still media, we aim to further our practice by venturing into music production, filmmaking, and visual media. The label itself has matured extensively throughout the eight months of its activity, welcoming new skaters, ar tists, designers, models, filmmakers, and musicians, who aren’t afraid to break social constructs and produce ultra-radical creations. The label also serves as an avenue for those who have the talent but not necessarily the platform to showcase their work, ultimately building a community of creatives with a vision for change.

Photography : Pranav NAIK

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SHOWCASE : COVER ARTIST

Artwork : olivia tseu-tjoa

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SHOWCASE : POETRY

GRAFFITI LINES SARAH MOULD

Twisting, graffiti walls are nothing without your hands.

Go on, run your fingers along one.

Feel the grime seep into the grooves and divots of your palm and the chipping spray paint catch beneath your skin as it bleeds.

Rolling blue and staccato black drift like a wave, and your fingers will follow the contour of a tagged map in a trance.

A breath. Can you touch it now?

There’s a spot on the wall.

If you sink your hand in far enough you can reach and tug your body along with it – the feeling in an art gallery when the catch and pull of stippled paint halts you to a stop, and for a moment, in the space of a breath, you aren’t there.

In 1928 on the eve of a leap day, two stumbling ex-soldiers fell into an alley.

Sweet with the taste of prohibited drink, and lost in the remembrance of beauties whose blush had sprayed across their cheeks and blood had seeped across their shelled floor in a French village 1917, they leant into a scratched bricked wall and were never seen again.

Are you lost, now?

There’s a shimmer on the tip of your eyelash as you blink, and foreign words resting on your tongue.

Somewhere they make sense, but not here.

Sometimes, when the night is quiet, they press to the shaking bow of your trembling lips as you draw from a cigarette you don’t like smoking and wander down twisting, city roads.

At 2:56 AM UTC 1969, man landed on the moon.

Perhaps to offset this, a woman with bunched up skirts and teetering heels, running from a home she had made but didn’t belong, slid her ruby-red fingernails across a wall that was tagged TAKI 183 and in the time it took to take one small step, thudded on a different ground.

There have been whispers, of course, that you follow.

Don’t go down that alley – a pointed finger in a sinister direction – Old man George went down there ain’t never seen again.

And there have been artists (whose stencils are rarely seen but often heard in the quiet of a laboured breath) who underscore their names with an arrow that you’ve never been courageous enough to follow.

One night, when the stars press heavily on your back and blink secrets that you don’t want them to know, you’ll wander down that alley.

And only then, when you are ready, will you press your hands to the shimmering, graffiti lines, and with a breath a blink, a step, find yourself home.

ARTWORK : LING MCGREGOR

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SHOWCASE : POETRY

waves crash on a distant shore a cacophony of sounds unfamiliar a cacophony of sounds unfamiliar bright light from a distant star one skeletal hand reaching Across and in itself is what he seeks some kind of redemption tempered fury made righteous mudded noise intent insightful and as much as I understand I do not at all I can’t and cannot and while your hair whispers ‘mongst the wind I will stand watching understand that I don’t know

WEDNESDAY JONATHAN GAYMER

there is no steel here there is underneath it all a sense of semblance a sense of alive a real scent a contraction a brutal seam running through the time we spend here unforgiving and obscene that it is all an idea

bonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesbonesIwanttocry there is no answer you can give me there is no answer you can give me there is no answer you can give to me there is no answer I can have I’ll keep what I can tend what you can because the days are shorter boxcutters in deep alone blunt chords in the deep, deep away from me deep bells struck by a priest undying forever tormented, tormenting pestilence misunderstood as peace as a shield the chill waters still run beneath deep underground

there is no answer you can give me only what I can hear in the screams of your dancing bear there is no redemption no bear no answer no idea no sound it is all misleading I am not who I was I will claw at the wind let me be let me be in time this may be enough I’ll never understand this time of love and sheets of misunderstood movement, limbs unsteady mouth a pale line; grim unborn there is a horizon know that I’m here with us all know that I’m here with us inside sufficient I will say it isn’t enough it is not enough is it not close but it is what I can the bull in my room he will not leave I haven’t the heart to ask he has not the heart to hear there is a bull in my room and he can’t go though we know it’s best there he is in amongst the roses clipped early and no there are none thorny there’s nothing I can do I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do will you listen I’m sorry will you listen I’m sorry will you listen I’m here I’m here will you listen

I’m not interested neither are you is that where we will end up is that where our time unravels and spills across the floor of the universe magical as terrible terrible as might terrible as mystery I am not here for it either way and you are so I’m sorry I’m sorry there’s so little time to speak but there is so much time left I would say entertain it as a time you were real crush the flowers and walk them through your house walk them through your mother’s house a fireplace unburdened, wood unburnt cool grate blue with incest how many times will he see the dawn if you never tell him the time can I get it back can I leave it all but have it as well can I keep you in the dark and have you in music there is no idea I’d prefer reach high and swing low leave space for those you would have time spent here leave space for all of us in the cracks where grass grows wind our way up we will find you we will and it will end as it begun leave me in peace give me silence this is too much and I don’t want it anymore can you see I don’t want it anymore there is an hour where you won’t know my face and I’ll see you but I will not say a word not any word at all at all at all at all you know how it be

ARTWORK : WENDY SAN

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SHOWCASE : FICTION

TIM’S 30TH DREAM DANIEL COMENSOLI I spent a month, where in the end all the wasting had felt like moving.

On the last day before going back I left my apartment, walked past my local and into her shop, bought some milk, and said my goodbyes. Then I went home and had a dream of her.

It started with limbs, and she was there again: all legs and a cigarette. I caught our little deaths in a haze. I’d never seen her smoking, but in my dreams that month everyone smoked. Sometimes they lit fires.

We started in a minor blaze and had time to trace our outlines. Time to chalk each other into the concrete outside her house, sitting placeless out somewhere in the suburbs. Her lines were steady and clear, and it was hard to look at myself. My sketch of her was confused. I might’ve been drawing myself in her borders. She liked it, and I could see her smile with the streetlight on behind her, in the middle of the day with the smoke all around us. The sky couldn’t combust fast enough.

The air came gentle and grew massive. Some people were talking close by, but it was hard to see them. We were all just vague creases in the fumes anyway, while she danced there in the middle like she couldn’t be touched. Her dress swayed and curled and I made plans that I couldn’t keep. The neighbours that had been sleeping came out to burn. We loaded up all her things and drove off in a car that wasn’t ours.

On and on. Speeding for a long time. Just driving, with nowhere to be, trying to get somewhere. It was an age next to her in the passenger seat.

The flow broke up a little, and I kept going over this one part where she reached over to turn the air-conditioner on. I have no idea why it was significant, but I was caught in a loop there. It would’ve been better to stay later, when we pulled over to fold together.

That all felt real vulnerable, with the radio still playing British guitars. We were solid lovers - had trace elements in our bloodstreams. All these atoms in us burst and took over, and we found new ways not to speak.

My side splintered, broke to an open-cut mine spilling out a galaxy between us. It was a long-haul flight. It took forever to get to each other.

We started walking, but that part was really fluid. The dream had gone widescreen and split up, and we had endless black above and below us.

I looked at her, walking beside me, like I would a photograph. We were negatives. I’d already made a memory.

She led me on, through places I’d been, cauterising the countryside that opened in a wound under her. Trees had seared before we’d even arrived. She made us all want to be fuel so we might explode together.

Whatever. It was all so tragic and beautiful. Abandoned pharmacies flared in defeat, supermarkets ignited at the close, and we lay down on the main road.

We spoke to her charred neighbours. People were easier to see now it was bleak. Our outlines were now the outlines of the town, reaching on and on forever and drawn in a smoky distance. I fumbled in her corners again.

Then I think we held hands in her driveway, or something.

The neighbourhood wheezed and was swallowed, and it went international after that. We had a love that burned borders. She’d come to consume, violent and soft and whole continents were annexed. Old patriots had their national hear ts ripped out. They bled out in their suburbs. She ashed in the ocean. Ashed a generation that she’d taken, and I couldn’t believe she’d come from ours. She was the glow in our dark night of the soul.

Anyway, I’d dreamed her a fire this time. That was the end of it. She closed and flamed overhead, rending absolutes obsolete, and with midday in the palm of her hand, squeezed.

Artwork : WENDY SAN

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SHOWCASE : FICTION

yellow promenade RYLEY MILLER

I hadn’t meant to leave home at twilight, it just happened to coincide with when I laced my boots.

The sky grew darker and lighter at once, as if the edges of the light spectrum were being stretched apart above me in the clouds. I must have tripped slightly before I left the property and turned onto Eden Avenue. It would explain the graze on my thigh, but I don’t remember.

It struck me that I should have packed my seeing stone, as I waded through the world bathed in golden hues. I could feel it in my head; airiness; a vacuum around the edges of the cranium. The boundaries of the world were temporarily thin. As I walked I noticed pygmy humanoids blinking bodily in the half-light, their entire forms there and gone in the space between a heartbeat. Even smaller creatures, lithe and serpentine, frolicked in my peripheral vision. They made it a game, as they always did, of hiding there, and I could never pin them with a gaze. They left sooner than usual as if disgusted. Perhaps they noticed the jam on my cheek or my agnosticism.

In accordance with a whim, I sidled past the future and strode turnwise into the next. Nothing appeared to have burst and so in this timeline I trod instead. The avenue was Maverson. My neighbour passed me walking his lizard. My neighbour asked me whether I had memorised my lines yet, but I reminded him they were as much his lines as they were mine. The lizard looked unimpressed. After they departed, the clouds above trembled with a flighty urgency. They squeezed a few paltry drops but stopped, shivering and ashamed. I didn’t mean to embarrass the sky.

When I strolled past the corner house by the electrical transformer, I kept my eye out for the cat, but of course it wasn’t there. Only its shadow sat, purring, on the warm driveway. I reluctantly allowed him to lick the perspiration from my nape, as was our routine. Silhouette or not, the raspy tongue scoured out my pores all the same, and I thanked him politely. I tried to decipher how my surroundings were so delineated in yellow light. Yellow, like honey or amber or lemonade. Not a coating, but rather an infusion; a permeate of intrinsic gold in atoms and molecules constituent to the Earth and Air and Blood. My eyes were too close to my brain to make sense of the buttery brushstrokes of matter. I stood in awe of a yellowed hedge until my stomach gurgled.

This rumbling erupted at the instant twilight ceased. I thought it oddly timed to the moment at which all the lemon-honey drained from the world. I could hear the groans and creaks of an Earth settling down into the dusk and its place between contiguous universes. It was a subtle, sneaking tug on the edge of my thoughts and the perimeter of my bones. I wiped the jam from my cheek.

Twilight was over and I needed to return. I spied an old, balding Asian man carrying home an enormous sack of manure. He grunted and sweated but refused my help. I turned into Maverson.

Just over the hill I was made aware of the watchers – the children of the avenue swaying at the treetops. They swung precariously in the wind as it ebbed about the evergreens, and called out mantras from the canopy like arboreal tykes of an ancient monastic order. My walk ended at the concrete porch and I placed my house key and my heart back in its container.

ARTWORK BY : WILSON LEUNG

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The Graduate with Emma Sprouster

Jessica Wang Vertigo talks to graphic designer, and UTS super-alumna Emma Sprouster about surviving Honours, transitioning into the workplace, and the (begrudgingly) all-important skill of networking.

After securing a design gig only a few months after graduating, Em Sprouster is a burgeoning UTS success story. After finding work as a designer for Edelman, one of Australia’s biggest public relations firms, she counts her speedy transition from student to working graduate as a mix of involving herself in extra-curricular uni activities, networking, and maintaining a strong online presence.

While Em says that she always saw herself working in a ‘corporate’ design capacity, she never imagined being in her current role. “It’s not the most conceptually-based design thing in the world, but it’s consistent, interesting, and is teaching me a lot about the corporate sphere, and how to manage clients,” she says. As an in-house designer, Em’s day-to-day varies, and can include working on any given design element within the company, including social media campaigns, annual reports, wire frames for websites, and designing pitches for existing and prospective clients.

emmasprouster.com

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However, as is the same for most graduates, coming into a cut-throat job market was overwhelming, “nobody prepares you for how difficult it is going to be post-uni,” she says, “nobody tells you that there’s going to be up to 1,500 people coming out of colleges all over the country going for the same job. They are all going to have the same qualification as you, and be just as talented and eager.”

And while that may sound terrifying, Em also offers a piece of advice, “I remember going to some student portfolio review, and the woman speaking said that she only hires people that do something different. That really resonated and stuck with me,” she says.

In order to showcase her work, Em utilises the online sphere – a must for any creative or freelancer in our digital age. In fact when Googling her name – Emma Sprouster (and we highly recommend you do so), you are immediately presented with her portfolio, social media accounts and images of previous design work. “I think it’s so important for a creative person to have an online presence. You need to collate and present your online profile as the best version of what you are, and reflect what your interests and passions are. People are going to Google you.” Em recommends using online portfolio services which are user-friendly and cost–effective. “You don’t have to buy a website – I didn’t till fourth year,” she says, and instead utilized platforms such as Tumblr, WordPress, Cargo Collective and Behance – the equivalent of LinkedIn for those in creative industries.

Despite this, she says, collating an impressive body of work is only one half of the process. The hard truth is that aspiring designers need to make sure their prospective employers are looking at it as well. This is where networking comes in, and with internships at prestigious design firms like Landor, as well as design work with the Sydney Theatre Company, Em has learnt a thing or two about the often tricky act. “My biggest piece of advice is to not think that you can’t go to things because you’re a student, if anything it shows how eager you are”. While Em didn’t start attending events till her third year, she says that she wishes that she had gone at the very beginning. “I just went up to them and said ‘I really like what you said about X, Y, and Z’. You’ve got to talk to people and get yourself out there.”

While juggling full time work, freelancing projects (hit her up), and maintaining a ‘life’ on the side (she’s an avid cyclist), is definitely not easy, Em makes it look like a breeze. In fact, at the time of printing, Vertigo learned that she has been head-hunted and hired as a designer by Cornwell, a Melbourne and Sydney-based branding and communications agency. She will be working between the two cities as the firm begins to establish themselves in Sydney. “Not everyone can be the Flumes of the world, and be picked

by Triple J to be the poster child of electronic music in Australia, but everything that I’ve achieved is because I put myself on a trajectory to get myself out there,” she says. With her gusto, talent, and work ethic, we’re sure she’s going to try.

You can see more of Emma’s work at emmasprouster.com, or check out her Instagram, @emsprouster.

@emsprouster

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What the biscuits is BCII? BCII: We innovate, create and procreate.

Jake Bayssari Intro to BCII

Bit of History

BCII, the artist formerly known as the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation is at the forefront of Australia’s leading thinkers and creative minds. We’ve got your future inventors , writers , engineers , CEOs , CFOs , and UFOs, because we are out of this world. You can compare us to the Upper East Side of New York, since we are UTS’ elite.

Being a student in BCII is like having your own university family; there is every type of personality, culture, and aesthetic. As an interdisciplinary degree, the cohort flourishes as a team. When you study BCII you begin to realise who you could be working with or for in the future.

BCII has a slew of core subjects that teach us how to solve problems , deconstruct strategies, and then implement them into nearly every possible facet of a company’s inner workings. We tackle real briefs with real companies. You could say we are the realest, but first things first, we have only been around for two years, so everything is still shiny and new. I belong to the OG cohort of BCII students and we’ve just begun our third year. I’m pretty sure that in 70 years’ time someone will be backlogging an ancient MacBook Pro and find evidence of the originating BCII class in the form of an outdated gif or an insensitive selfie.

Fun 101

BCII Vibe

I personally like to believe BCII is the university’s most entertaining degree. BCII Connect (the faculty’s society) throws the most outrageous parties with the heftiest bar tabs and the craziest themes. We also attract all sorts of people, whoever you are; we want you to enjoy our company. At their O’Day stall BCII Connect had a live stream which fed into an aeroplane cabin. There you had to solve a riddle to help passengers escape a vicious zombie attack. You could call us the Tarantino of UTS. That being said, I like to think we are the Michelle to the Obama administration. You see us everywhere and yet we retain a certain sense of mystery.

We have developed our own culture. Not unlike the algae on your old shed, we’ve grown surprisingly quickly. People always ask, are you all super talented? Do you all resemble a young Oprah Winfrey? The answer isn’t that simple, however, if I were to simplify it, the answer would be yes. Statistically, we are the easiest people to get along with as we are programmed to find the best in everyone.

Careers Our career oppor tunities are confusing, but more importantly, they don’t exist in the current job market.

Most of us will find our way into careers based on the skills we bring to the table: creative directors, consultants, working inventors and thinkers – yes, you can get paid big bucks to think.

What’s the hot gossip? What’s the 411?

There are a lot of peculiar rumours surrounding what lies behind all of the beauty and smoke of the BCII degree. It is heard that some of us know Lee Lin Chin. One of our number works in the top tier of Uber. It is known that some of us have visited our leader’s home, situated all the way across the ocean, in India. One of our students has Susan Boyle on speed dial and claims that Susan is regularly in need of their guidance. Believe what you will, but I wouldn’t talk too much shit about us. We probably know someone who can make you disappear. Probably.

A Day in the life of a BCII Student 6am | Wake up to an alarm and immediately solve a complex algorithm.

7am | Consume balanced diet of fruit and Nutella.

8am | Design business strategy for an environmentally sustainable t-shirt company during morning commute.

9am | Arrive at workplace which is either Google, the ABC, or the Oval Office.

10am | Coffee break and daily FaceTime with Al Gore.

12pm | Complete all work for the day by this time.

1pm | Walk to train station. Suggest more innovative marketing strategies to the people trying to hand you a flyer.

2pm | Have replaced the person handing out flyers and begun to implement new technique.

6pm | Arrive home and put on black cloak. Light candle.

Paint symbols on the floor.

7pm | Gather with the rest of your cohort and praise your God Bem Le Hunte.

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

EDUCATION VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Sam Howes

Gabriella Brackenbury–Soldenhoff

I hope you are all settling well into the first semester!

We’ve had a huge few weeks at the UTSSA and I have a ton to report on.

What an intense time it has been! I have accepted the position of Education Vice President ( EVP) following the resignation of Madeleine Treacey - Maclean. This appointment was taken up as per the constitution and I have the full support of the members of the SRC. Activism is the sole reason I joined student politics, and I am very proud to begin working on campaigns to represent all students. Despite the abrupt change in leadership, I am confident we will accomplish our goals for this semester.

O-Day was a huge success for the Students’ Association!

There was a surge in new memberships for our Political, Educational, Religious and Cultural (PERC) clubs and collectives. I am very proud of the effort that went into the day. Never have slushie machines, balloons, pencil cases and DJ booths held so much relevance to my heart.

I’m also excited to announce that we have a new initiative this year! After the huge success of The Bluebird Brekkie Bar, a bi-weekly initiative that offers free breakfast to students at Broadway and Haymarket, the UTSSA has launched the Night Owl Bar. I am really proud to have gotten this program off the ground.

Orientation Day 2016 was one of the most successful the UTSSA has ever had!

Thank you to everyone who helped with the stall or came to visit. Now that uni has star ted, there are even more possibilities for you to get engaged with the UTSSA and the collectives.

The Night Owl Bar is a welfare initiative providing healthy, sustainable, gluten and dairy free dinners to students on Thursday nights at the Broadway Campus. The project was launched to make dinner more accessible to students who may be unable to afford it. No student should ever go hungry. Night Owl is currently on its trial run, and we will be surveying participants to gather feedback to decide whether to continue with this project, or to determine any amendments that may need to be made. If you would like to have your say, stop by on any Thursday night!

Here are the autonomous collectives that you can get involved with:

With the shift in the Academic Calendar this year we have fielded many questions from students about their timetables. If you are having any difficulties, please feel free to make contact with one of our caseworkers.

You can contact each collective directly for more information.

Now, what would UTS be without our resourceful second hand bookstore? If you’re looking to get rid of pre-loved texts or wanting to pick up a few for your degree, drop by!

Last but not least, if you’d like to get involved in some good old-fashioned activism; look no further than the UTSSA! To get involved in any of our collectives, drop by the office or email me at president@utsstudentsassociation.org. I hope you have a fantastic semester!

• • • • • • •

Indigenous Collective Queer Collective Womn’s Collective Environment Collective Postgraduate Collective Disability Action Group Welfare Collective

One of the major ways you can get involved in the UTSSA to help out is through the National Union of Students National Day of Action (NDA), held on April 13 2016 in NSW. The NDA is a variety of coordinated events, where universities protest to defend higher education. This year, the NDA is campaigning against cuts to courses and staff, deregulation, and for fully funded free education. If you would like to get involved in the Education Action Group (EAG), I am conducting regular meetings throughout the semester. The main focus for the next few weeks will be building towards the NDA and developing campaigns all students can become involved with.

SECRETARY’S REPORT Lachlan Barker The start to the year has been a busy time for everyone, and O-Day saw this busyness reach its peak. For any budding Secretaries, I highlight these key elements of your role: • • •

agility and speed; carrying a portable phone charger; and having an understanding of how powerboards work.

Outside of my orientation athleticism, I’ve been liaising with the Queer Collective on things like a new space (more info to come!), as well as access to sexual health products and sanitary materials. It’s fantastic to see collectives taking off with such enthusiastic people joining up.

The minutes for the General SRC meeting have been finalised, and I’m neatening up my understanding of the constitution so I can do my very best in my new role. If anyone has general enquiries or questions regarding where to access the minutes, please email me at secretary@utsstudentsassociation.org.

WOMN’S COLLECTIVE REPORT Heba Niem and Beatrice Tan The presence of a strong and prosperous Womn’s collective is pivotal in order to advocate for gender equality.

Bearing this in mind, we have devised an action plan that aims to revitalise the collective, making it more accessible to members. This will be achieved through a strong presence on campus, holding consistent events, and ongoing campaigns.

We have recently met with other collective heads to organise collaborative campaigns. This includes a campaign with the Disabilities Collective against the proposed healthcare cuts that disproportionately affect womn and those with a disability. Further, we have planned to run workshops with the Queer and Welfare Collectives to advocate for the importance of consent. We are also planning to run intersectionality workshops throughout the year and, in light of the findings of the Talk About It Report, we aim to continue making the case for action against sexual assault

on campus. Campaigning for these issues on campus will raise awareness amongst students, and in turn increase the presence of the Womn’s Collective.

Moreover, the countless hours of arts and craft paid off during O-Day, where 270 people signed up to the collective. We are now hosting various social events to facilitate a forum where everyone can get to know each other.

Lastly, preparation for the NOWSA (Network of Women Students Australia) National Conference is well underway.

This is a renowned week-long conference, which promotes gender equality and aims to raise awareness on issues faced by womn in Australia. There will be numerous panels, workshops, and autonomous caucuses hosted by female activists, students, and prominent womn. Hosting this conference is a huge step forward for student activism at UTS and will be instrumental in promoting the cause for gender equality.

WELFARE OFFICER’S REPORT Anna Wensley As the UTSSA’s Welfare Officer my job is to organise and implement projects in order to advocate for student equity and wellbeing. This year I have been working on a variety of projects and campaigns , such as the #CheaperTextbooksNow petition, which aims to repeal Parallel Import Restrictions on textbooks to make them more affordable. I have also been in collaboration with the Disabilities Collective to run the #SaveThePES campaign, in order to make sure education is still accessible to people with disabilities.

This semester, the Welfare Department will be working with the Queer and Womn’s Collectives to provide free, accessible safe -sex and consent workshops on campus.

We will also be starting a food-drive and emergency kits for homeless students. If you have any questions regarding Medicare, Centrelink, or anything welfare related please feel free to drop in to the UTSSA office or email me at welfare@utsstudentsassociation.org. If you want to join the collective you can find us on Facebook at the ‘UTSSA Welfare Department’. Everyone who is passionate about student welfare is welcome to be involved!

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OVERSEAS STUDENTS’ OFFICER’S REPORT Manmeet Singh As the Overseas Students’ Officer, I have launched the Fair Fare campaign, which aims at raising concerns over the issue of unfair public transpor t fares for international students.

The campaign urges the NSW government to provide concession Opal Cards to international students. Fair Fare was launched in the form of a petition at UNSW, USyd, and UTS, with the help of the National Union of Students (NUS) and other international officers. In a panel speaking to newly enrolled international students, I addressed this campaign and important information about workplace exploitation and visa guidelines.

In late February, I wrote a letter to the minister of transport and infrastructure, Andrew Constance, with the help of the UTSSA President, Sammy Howes. The letter outlined the issues with public transport fares burdening international students, and requested that the minister consider the option of making concession fares available. I am still awaiting a response from the minister’s office.

In late March, I had a discussion with the UTS International Office regarding the presence of the international collective. We are working together to try and engage with international students to encourage them to be a part of the collective.

INSEARCH: Architect of His Own Future Andrew Blunt When Carlos El-ters was unable to complete his HSC due to medical issues, he was told by the school principal that he would never become an architect because he had missed too much school.

Determined, still , to continue on with his dream , Carlos enrolled at UTS:INSEARCH and began to apply himself with the goal of eventually moving into a Bachelor of Design in Architecture at UTS.

From a young age, Carlos knew architecture was his field. From 14, he began work experience with a local architecture firm. He enjoyed the environment there, particularly the opportunities he was given to make connections with clients.

Carlos found the approach there to be incredibly practical.

“Apart from getting a great foundation in the history of design, I was also taught how to use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.” He also highlights the interactivity of classes and the opportunity to mix with a range of people, “I was never surrounded by international people growing up, so it was a bit different for me, and after a while I made a lot of new friends.”

On the topic of his work at the firm, “I do a lot of administration work , editing architectural plans , and I give my opinion on [plans] for a client when needed. I also prepare a lot of documentation for council.”

Carlos continued to work there throughout high school, but despite gaining the kind of experience most students would find impossible to attain at that age, he was still told the myth that his HSC marks were going to dictate the next few years of his life.

Now in his final year of his dream degree, Carlos still works at the local firm that inspired his interest nine years ago, and is planning to complete his masters at UTS. “I strongly believe anyone can achieve anything they put their mind to,” he said. “Never let the best you have done in life be the standard by which you live the rest of your life; always keep pushing yourself to be better.”

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Getting Quiddley With It We lost Kiên in the realms of EGG, so we enlisted Raveena (editor of The Social Environment) to knock back a pint or two of butterbeer and see what’s up with the wizarding world of broomsticks and bludgers.

Rating:

: UTSQuidditch

Raveena Grover I strode onto the playing field with broom and beater in hand, and the crowd cheering my name. This was my moment. I had taken a hearty, metaphorical swig of Felix Felicis, and I was going to win the cup. I settled into position as our umpire read the rules. The beater on the other team sent me a sly grin, but I was not going to be intimidated by the likes of her. Filthy Slytherin. Gritting my teeth, and hovering just above the ground, I gracefully tried to avoid the wedgie I knew was coming.

The whistle blew. I was off!

Unfor tunately, what occurred over the next six seconds shattered my Potter fantasy. One moment I was soaring high above the roar of the stands, the next I had come crashing down into the middle of Prince Alfred Park on a Sunday at lunchtime, while dog walkers and families stumbled past.

I also became dimly aware of a horde of 20-somethings charging in every direction all around me. I didn’t so much run as I flapped towards the dodgeball. There was no flying broom, no crowd, and definitely no enchanted balls. The wedgie however, arrived as predicted. When you have a pipe stuck between your legs, and you’re planted very firmly on the ground, you’re less of a hippogriff gliding at speed and more of a troll lurching from the dungeons.

There are five balls involved in the game: one volleyball which poses as the quaffle, three dodgeballs for bludgers, and one tennis ball as the snitch. The snitch resides in a sock tucked into the waistband of a player called the ‘snitch runner’. This is arguably the most important aspect of Quidditch.

As I sprinted across the playing field, ball in hand, I began to feel a sense of familiarity. UTS Quidditch is run by a team of Harry Potter and sport enthusiasts known as the Quid Kids.

These warriors of pop - culture and exercise are absolutely dedicated to the game. Rain, hail or shine, this team believes in their sport as much as Dumbledore believes in Harry.

You can catch the Quid Kids at Prince Alfred Park every Sunday, Monday, and Friday for training. For more info about joining the society or signing up to play, contact the President of UTSQuidditch, Brittney Watiwat, or follow them on Facebook.

Typically, Quidditch is played with seven team members per side who use plastic poles as brooms: three chasers, one keeper, two beaters, and one seeker. I was allocated the role of beater and my aim was to 'disbroom' opposing team members. Once beaten, the player had to remove the pole from between their legs and run to touch their goals before continuing back into the game. A similar penalty is awarded if you drop your broom (as I found out an embarrassing number of times during the game).

artwork : Vanessa Papastavros

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LIFESTYLE & INNOVATION : FOOD

C h a t s w o o d ’s T o p E a t s Sue Kang If it’s one a.m. and you’re on the hunt for some kick-ass Udon, fully decorated desserts of your dreams, or Korean BBQ, Chatswood has got the goods. @suekang_ pins down her top two choices.

In the sprawling city of Sydney, there are plenty of delights.

But when you’re lazy like me and you can’t be bothered to walk from Wynyard to Central, you should definitely get your butt to Chatswood. Everything is within a five to ten minute walking distance and everything is seriously great. From the TimHoWan at Interchange (pretty much everything at Interchange including the Hello Kitty Café where everything you consume looks like Hello Kitty) right down to the new ‘Asian markets’ concept food court inside the Westfield, stretching out across all the way to the Chatswood Chase, you will find something good to nom.

P.S. Don’t call it Chatswong (unless your last name is ‘Wong’) because making fun of a suburb for having amazing Asian food is like kicking a donut because it’s delicious. It’s also racist and that’s not cool. Damn, donut. Come back!

1. Bingsoo at PassionTree Chatswood Located at Chatswood Interchange One of my biggest regrets in life is that I don’t have any bingsoo friends. You know the ones? You call them at eight p.m. after dinner to say, “Hey mate, want to eat some bingsoo and really appreciate our life over this bowl of shaved-ice goodness?”

I have none of these friends. Hotline bling me if you want to be my BBF (Bingsoo Best Friend).

Next time I crave Watermelon bingsoo, I will call my friend and say, “Look, I know you’re not used to desserts from Korea. They may frighten you. However, this one is just shaved-ice infused with watermelon inside a watermelon.

They have scooped up the watermelon into adorable little balls and topped it all with ice cream. There is nothing there you haven’t tried before. So c’mon, be an explorer – be Christopher Columbus and get some bingsoo photos for your Snapchat story.”

2. Udon at Marukame Udon Located at 332 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood Okay, this one deserves a little hip-hip hooray because I actually do have an Udon friend – a fellow UTS student who always enjoys amazing Udon for under $5. Or maybe that’s just every single uni student ever.

I usually like to get the extra ingredients (like beef) and pay more, but you can get a basic medium-sized Kamaage Udon (which looks like a large to me) for $4.30. Yeah. Then there’s the free station where you can get lots of extra things to put in your Udon like thinly cut, green onions. I like getting the Kamaage Udon because they serve it to you in a wooden tub, straight after it is taken out of a boiling pot. It looks like the Udon is just chillin’, enjoying its wooden tub vibes (#udonbath).

The best place for this is Passiontree. Their specialities are their Rockmelon, Watermelon, and Pineapple bingsoos.

Find @suekang_ on Instagram if you want to be her Bingsoo best friend

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LIfeSTYLE & INNOVATION : FASHION

Fashion S c ope w i th Y i Ng

Jessica Wang Photographer, stylist, and all-round creative whizz Yi Ng is not your ordinary ‘dedicated follower of fashion’. With an immaculate sense of style and an encyclopedic knowledge of fashion, she has even snagged a spot in a summer course at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins (their alumni includes: Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, and the late Alexander McQueen). We’re calling it - she’s going to be huge. Vertigo editor Jessica Wang chats to Yi about sexshop designer dupes, fashion’s socio-political conversation, and talks of a collaboration with Samuel Ross of A-COLDWALL (who is also buddies with this dude called Kanye – we hear he’s pretty big on Twitter).

Wang: So first off, what degree do you study at UTS? Ng: I’m doing a Bachelor of Laws full-time and work in creative direction for brands as well as a stylist. I will also be attending Central Saint Martins (CSM) for their summer Fashion Communications program for two months in July.

Wang: When I think of London and CSM, I think of selfexpression and individualism. Is there a correlation between the city and your particular ethos on fashion?

Ng: Dazed and Confused, iD, and Love – all the publications I admire that portray fashion as cultural commentary have strong roots to London and CSM. To me, London is at the centre of galvanising millennials to push the boundaries of art, design, and social action. I’m also in talks with Samuel Ross from A-COLD-WALL who worked on the APC Kanye collaboration, and has done installations at Dover Street Market. Dazed and Confused just released an article about his collection which correlates fashion, art and politics, which is exactly what I’m about.

Wang: What is it about fashion that strikes you personally?

Ng: Fashion is more about asking ‘Why is this beautiful?’ and ‘How does this reflect the socio-political climate at this point?’ I view fashion as a forced mode of artistic expression that everyone has to engage in. Your personal curation doesn’t just affect the way people perceive you, but also affects your psyche - how you take on the day, or how comfortable you are, and that’s why I find it so interesting.

Wang: Definitely. And it’s almost more powerful to take advantage of that than to ignore it. How would you describe your style, and your relationship to fashion?

Ng: I just have a deep respect for designers. Having an expensive piece of clothing is like having an insight into that designer or artist’s mind. I normally like to keep it quite simple; it’s all about textures with a very neutral colour palette. I like to have pieces that are a bit different paired with basics, such as my go-to sneakers, a pair of black trousers, or a white shirt.

Wang: What are some of your favourite pieces at the moment?

Ng: I always go back to my Issey Miyake pleat pants, Alpha Industries bomber jacket, black high top Converse and the Issey Miyake Bao Bao bag. On my wish list is a white frilly, Edwardian blouse from Vaquera, a JW Anderson collar, and

the chokers from the Alexander Wang Autumn Winter 2016 show. But I actually get my leather collars from sex stores because they’re a lot cheaper.

Wang: That is brilliant, please expand on that…

Ng: Well, they measured me up, and were like, “Would you like it to be a little bit tighter?”, and I was like “No… that’s fine, let’s just get that one and go”. It’s 100% leather and was only $40. Everyone always asks me if it’s Alexander Wang, and it’s not.

Wang: You have such a refined perspective in regards to fashion creating a stimulating conversation. What are your role models within the industry?

Ng: Nick Knight from Show Studio, Katie Love of iD, Virgil Abloh, J.W. Anderson, Samuel Ross – of course, and Demna Gvasalia from Vetements who’s also the new Creative Director of Balenciaga. Also the Russian designers that are coming through right now – it’s just so interesting because I just think of an Anglo-Saxon, middle-class boy from America tapping into Russian rebellious youth-culture, and the Cold War wasn’t that long ago. I mean these kids are still learning about the Cold War in class.

Wang: I love that juxtaposition, and sense of irony, whether it’s accidental or a conscious decision. Where do you shop for your clothes?

Ng: Online. I always buy second hand. I love Japanese designers like Commes des Garçons and Issey Miyake so I use a proxy and go on Yahoo Auctions because it’s a lot cheaper. I also really love street-wear pieces like Supreme, and Midnight Studios which I get off Depop and Grailed. I very rarely shop retail.

Wang: So what’s your grand plan?

Ng: Law is a broad degree - I’m interested in entrepreneurship and creative direction and law gives me the agency to do that. I’m going to CSM because I want to set myself up in London, and when I graduate in three years I know I’m going to move there. I just think that we’re all young, and there’s nothing you can’t get if you’re passionate and hardworking. Nothing really scares me. I mean, things do scare me, but that fear is not worth stopping for.

You can follow Yi on Instagram @_norm__ , and see more of her work on fashionnorm.com.

ARTWORK : YI NG

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L I F E S T Y L E & I N N O VA T I O N : H E A LT H

STILL BIRTHS IN AUSTRALIA Samantha Hayes

Stillbirth is an invisible health issue within Australia, with surprisingly high mortality rates that have remained unchanged for the last two decades. It claims six infant lives every day and can have devastating impacts on the families left behind.

This prevalent attitude keeps stillbirths as an invisible health issue and hinders research and prevention. This becomes a vicious cycle; a lack of research leaves grieving mothers and families uninformed and only serves to add to the prevailing ‘get over it’ attitude.

Stillbirth is defined as a baby being born without a heartbeat. While the causes of stillbirth are varied and under researched, there are certain problems known to either increase risk, or be a cause of stillbirth, such as smoking, premature birth, complications with the placenta or umbilical cord, foetal growth restrictions, and maternal medical conditions. Currently, Australian stillbirth research is focused on these issues, but a wider scope of research is needed to decrease the incidences.

Globally, Australia’s stillbirth rates are lower in comparison to most developing countries. However, compared to other developed countries, such as Iceland and the UK, Australia lags behind. In Australia, only 30% of stillbirths are autopsied, in sharp contrast to the Netherlands, for example. Rates in the Netherlands have dropped dram-atically over time by treating each stillbirth case in the same way that a child or an adult’s death is treated. Each case of stillbirth is investigated and evaluated, meaning the causes of death are more likely to be uncovered, rather than left to speculation. Australian health policy makers should look to the Netherlands, which globally has one of the lowest stillbirth rates.

Natasha Donelley, an Australian mother of four, lost her baby Soraya to stillbirth 13 years ago. Natasha speaks on the attitudes surrounding her baby’s death; “You really find out who your true friends are after a stillbirth. People’s reactions close to [my partner and I] varied enormously.

People don’t know what to say, so they use avoidance instead as they are uncomfortable.”

Equally important to research in changing stillbirth rates is education and breaking the taboo surrounding the issue of stillbirth. “There is almost an unspoken belief that because the baby never breathed and you have no shared memories, that you should be able to ‘get over it’ quickly and go and have another baby,” Donelley says.

By way of comparison, Australia has seen the rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) drop significantly through the simple yet effective “Back to Sleep” campaign.

For every baby that dies of SIDS, 35 are stillborn in Australia. By prioritising stillbirth as an urgent health issue like SIDS, Australia could promote education, further research, implement more regular autopsies and review health policy. In turn, we could save thousands of infant lives each year and reduce untold suffering.

For more information on this issue, or if you would like to help, visit www.stillbirthfoundation.org.au

ARTWORK : BASILIA DULAWAN

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LIFESTYLE & INNOVATION : GAMING

How I Fell in Love with Japanese Erotic Games

Isaac Garcia

Japanese media culture has always been heavily criticised by the West.

Often stereotyped as just involving tentacles, nosebleeds, and hypersexualised high-pitched character voices, it’s not unusual to have people dismiss Japanese media culture as a completely unrelated and different world.

But a genre of game does exist that fuses weird concepts with reality. This genre is the bizarre world of eroge.

Eroge (short for erotic-game) is a subgenre of bishōjo games. Bishōjo means ‘pretty girl’, and most of their games follow a choose-your-own-adventure style, mixed with dating simulators featuring ‘pretty girls’. Eroge goes beyond that scope, and includes what are known as H-scenes, or hentai. If you haven’t yet put two and two together, take this opportunity to read back, then proceed to stifle the immature giggles that are about to appear.

In short, eroge is not a game fit for the whole family.

Dating simulators have existed since the prominence of computer games themselves, and rose to popularity when the glorious Windows ‘95 and CD-rom swept the world (kids born in the ‘90s will remember). Around the same time, as a last ditch effort to save Konami (the company famous for classics such as ‘Castlevania’, ‘Dance Dance Revolution’, and ‘Yu-GiOh!’), a crowdfunded platonic bishōjo game titled ‘Tokimeki Memorial’ was conceived, instantly becoming a best-seller and reviving the Konami Company. This was one of the founding blocks of this strange empire.

It seems a little weird and funny, but at least its diversity exceeds that of the 2016 Oscars. From a game where highschool girls literally fight to the death for your love (‘School Days’), to a game where you’re fighting aliens and fighting for love (‘Muv-Luv’), eroge explores it all. There are even games for those who just really adore animals and want to get down and intimate with cat-girls (‘Neko-Para’). Don’t worry, girls too can be protagonists; a popular bishōjo (‘Hateful Boyfriend’) allows the player to mingle and woo some choice pigeons. Feeling a little competitive? For those more active players, there’s a game that keeps helpful statistics (high scores, records) for every time that you bop the baloney, as some would say. Migite ga tomaranai boku to, osanajimi no shimai.

Delving into this wacky new world, it’s easy to make negative assumptions about eroge. After all, how could glorified animated pornography contribute anything more than badly written articles littered with hilarious masturbation euphemisms? So, in the name of journalism I took one for the team and looked into VNstat’s most popular game, ‘Katawa Shoujo’.

‘Katawa Shoujo’ is a game developed by 4chan designers from a sketch posted on an image board. At this point, after reading the words on 4chan in conjunction with the genre of eroge, I felt an uneasy feeling – a feeling similar to Mexican Mondays. The game is a bishōjo about a young guy and five different girls, all with disabilities.

Taken aback, a hint of outrage and just a tinge of disbelief probably covered my face.

But then again, it was done so well. There was nothing tasteless about it: the characterisation, the story, and up to the crux moment of an eroge, the dreaded H-scenes stood out as artistic interpretations of an intimate situation. It wasn’t pity porn. The music was so sophisticated and emotional that I truly felt my masculinity was in dire crisis mode. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the game.

At this point I was watching porn just for the storyline.

And this is where it hit me. Sure, I could poke fun at the silliness of specific eroge, but I can’t devalue the creativity and talent of its designers and writers. If one can look past the creepy taboo themes, and the unnatural bounce physics, bishōjo and eroge are all still human experiences at heart, only with a little more weird and whiskers.

ARTWORK : MIRANDA HUANG

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LIFESTYLE & INNOVATION : sex

G r e a t S e x p e c t a t i o n s – E d i t i o n T wo The Finishing Line Aunt Agnes The Agony Aunt If you are a person who has a vagina, Aunt Agnes, our resident agony aunt, has answers to some of your questions about coming. Sorry penis pals, maybe next time (funnily enough, ‘maybe next time’ is exactly the phrase a lot of women say to themselves while lying in bed after a bout of distinctly unsatisfying sex).

If you’ve ever heard ye olde ditty that goes, “She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes. She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes…”, you might be surprised to know the song was actually written about the elusive vaginal orgasm.

This is because for some vagina owners (actually, most vagina owners), finishing via penetrative sex can sometimes feel like climbing an insurmountable mountain.

If you’ve ever worried about finishing, or worried you don’t do it enough, or worried because you’re not sure if you have ever done it before, I can understand your concerns. They’re totally normal worries, but as your friendly sexy Aunty, I’m here to tell you that you are most definitely not alone.

In fact, given the small number of nerve endings present in the passage, compared to the clit’s 8, 000, sole vaginal orgasms are no easy feat.

Agnes, I always struggle to have orgasms through penetrative sex. My boyfriend always says that he really wants me to come and says it’s because he cares about my pleasure, but that just puts heaps of pressure on me.

Sometimes, I don’t even want to finish because I know it’s a little harder for me and I actually am just enjoying the experience.

- Gimmeabreak88 Thank you very much for writing in. You know what’s ridic? The notion that on top of all of the other things vagina-bearing warriors have to deal with on a daily basis (like period-stained underwear and rapeculture), they might also feel pressure to have an orgasm every time they have sex because their partner may pride themselves on making them come. Bullshit. You

artwork : samson ossedryver

shouldn’t be having orgasms for any other reason than your own pleasure. Your orgasm is for you and you alone. It isn’t so you can look sexy for your partner. It isn’t so you can give into the toxic pressures of having to engage in “normal sex” (whatever the heck that’s supposed to mean). And it definitely isn’t to gratify a man’s masculinity. My only advice is to communicate these ideas to your partner and if they’re receptive, great!

If they’re not, probably give them the flick, and then give yourself a flick because you deserve it.

Hey Agnes, my boyfriend sometimes spends up to 45 minutes fingering me and I’ve only ever had one orgasm this way. When I do it myself, I can have an orgasm in less than five minutes.

Why is it so different?

- MissMarathon56 This seems like a classic tale of miscommunication. Finger positioning and rubbing speed aside, you know your body inside out, and you know what feels good.

When you’re alone, you have everything sorted. The reason this might not be translating to the bedroom with your partner is because you two aren’t communicating properly. Don’t be afraid to guide them in every step of the process. Show them what you like, how and where it feels good. After all, a hands on approach to learning has never failed to please.

Agnes’ Tips for Getting Friendly with the Big O and Getting Comfy with your Cunty: 1. Masturbate 2. Communicate 3. Fornicate 4. Cuddle

LIFESTYLE & INNOVATION : ENVIRONMENT

Glitters and Oceans Ismene Panaretos Ismene Panaretos explores everyday products that are harming the marine ecosystem.

The planet is dying. The rate at which humanity is destroying the environment is so rapid that the effects of our carelessness towards the earth will be felt within our lifetimes. Our oceans comprise 70% of the planet, however our knowledge of them is limited at best. It is evident that the seas play host to incredible biodiversity. The following products, if introduced into the waterways, wreak havoc on the marine ecosystem.

Helium balloons Next time you contemplate releasing a plastic sack of helium into the void, consider that helium balloons kill marine life. Sea turtles in particular consume the balloons as they erroneously identify them as jellyfish, a diet staple.

After being ingested, the balloon blocks the digestive tract, and the turtle slowly starves to death. Marine life can also become entangled in the plastic.

Glitter As it turns out, glitter is actually terrible for the oceans.

Why? Glitter is made of microbeads, or rather tiny particles of plastic that are easily ingested by marine life. It is estimated that the ocean contains five trillion of these particles, amounting to 250,000 tons. To make matters worse, toxic chemicals that seep into the oceans such as insecticides and pesticides are absorbed by these microparticles and, when ingested, leech their toxins into the animals which consume them. These chemicals can alter DNA and cause other problems, such as deformities and cancers. They have the potential to block digestive systems and have been found to negatively affect the reproductive systems of oysters. Microparticles have been found in mussels, oysters, lobsters, and fish.

Releasing helium balloons into the atmosphere is illegal in some places in the world, including the Sunshine Coast.

Some companies claim that because the balloons are made of latex they are biodegradable. This is false. Latex in its natural form is biodegradable, however, the type used in balloons is highly processed with chemicals and dyes added to it. This can take years to degrade, in which time it has the potential to kill sea and bird life.

Microparticles aren’t solely a glitter problem. They are in many household products such as toothpaste, exfoliants, body washes, soaps, and more. Swallowing toothpaste may not just burn your throat, but also introduce tiny particles of plastic into your body. Yikes. Avoid using products that list Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and Nylon in their ingredients. Woefully, there is a huge gap in the market that needs to be filled with glitter (the ecofriendly kind, of course).

Laundry detergents Phosphates found in cleaning products and laundry detergents are massive contributors to ocean pollution. High phosphate levels in waterways suffocate marine life by generating ‘algal blooms’. This is essentially algae slime so dense that it depletes the water of oxygen, leaving marine life gasping for air. These are referred to as ‘dead zones’, as thanks to the minimal level of oxygen, aquatic life is unable to be supported.

Triclocan, an antibacterial chemical found in products such as cleaners and hand sanitisers is highly toxic. This chemical can change the biochemistry of marine life, affecting reproductive cycles and growth pattern, and can be fatal in large amounts.

The future of the planet may be grim, but consumers have the power to drive demand and make real change. If you are interested in the future of oceans that aren’t a soup of chemicals and plastic, consider your life choices and how they impact our planet.

ARTWORK : JORDAN EVANS

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MICAH HAWKINS Micah Hawkins writes about the show-stopper at Sydney Mardi Gras Parade.

As the sun set on Sydney’s Oxford Street, on Saturday 5th of March, the Mardi Gras Parade began its long march past thousands of cheering LGBTQIA people from around the world. A rousing success, this year’s Mardi Gras parade lit up the city with colourful lights, loud music and a large screen, displaying the floats as they passed during the festivities and, most importantly, advertisements, while the Trans Rights groups were marching.

These Trans Rights groups are so well known, respected, and valued that there was no need for them to be shown on the big screen like the less popular floats. This gave everyone in the parade a chance to be noticed and heard, revealing the depth of equality in this great city and, by extension, country.

Although major corporations such as Qantas and ANZ headlined, with enormous floats covered in unspeakable amounts of glitter and carrying famous LGBTQIA icons, including internationally

famous Australian drag queen Courtney Act, it was the invisible floats that truly stole the show.

So important and big that they were not visible to the human eye, the floats for groups of bisexual, pansexual and non-binary gendered people were a wonder for no one to behold. A hugely important part of Australia’s LGBTQIA scene, the single smaller float of 5 people holding an asexual flag was a simple yet understated branch |of the infinitely bigger and more important invisible floats for the large asexual part of the Australian population.

The sheer importance, to the point of visual transparency, of the pan, bi and NB floats showed to enormous numbers of queer fans that attended the event how valued these sexual identities are in the much larger LGBTQIA community. The pan, bi, NB and asexual floats were so invisible, some argued that there weren’t any there. One pansexual attendee was overheard saying, “It’s ok, the P in LGBTQIA is silent,” when these floats triumphantly failed to pass her.

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chips macro MICAH HAWKINS

A recent wave of headaches has been sweeping through universities across the country, leading to mass drops in attendance to lectures and tutorials. The large influx of headaches is believed to affect concentration, motivation and production in young university students much to the concern of loved ones.

Universities themselves are seeing many of their professors and lecturers teaching almost empty classes, as many students have been reduced to making incoherent groaning noises. Many doctors agree that the emergence of these symptoms directly correlates to the use of the phrase, “‘You know there are no jobs in that field, right?’”

The recent increase in probing questions and statements such as “What are you going to do with an arts degree?”, “Why don’t you try economics and accounting? It’s far more practical”, “When are you going to get a job?” and “When are you going to move out?” from elderly extended family members during parties and family get-togethers has been proven to “make students cry from frustration,” as quoted from multiple students seen lying on the ground in the Tower foyer.

“The dead look in my eyes doesn’t mean I want to discuss how my exams went or how my degree will basically become a very expensive coaster or mouse pad,” said one student.

Experts are currently looking for a cure while thousands of students suffer symptoms such as headaches, shooting pains behind the eyes from excessive rolling, fits of anger, and the consumption of fast foods. Many professionals are advising that early detection and minding your own business can save many before the condition manifests.

Kings Cross ghost unmasked as Premier plays dead for Sydney’s lock-out laws NSW Premier Mike Baird has been found to have fabricated numerous ghost encounters in order to justify the ‘lock-out’ laws, by a protest group calling themselves ‘The Mystery Machine’. Whilst being escorted from the scene of the most recent Flying Dutchman appearance, Baird told UTS Vertigo he “would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you meddling kids and that dumb dog”.

The lock-out laws were introduced in March 2014. Although initially unpopular, they became seen as necessary following an increased number of ghost sightings, particularly of the notorious 18th century pirate, The Flying Dutchman. However, it is now understood that Baird faked the ghost sightings using his experience as a stage magician.

Fred Jones was among the protestors that solved the case, and described the moment he first became suspicious of the hauntings. “We just thought, ‘Why would a pirate be haunting Kings Cross?’” mused Jones, holding close his friend and fellow protester Daphne Blake, who he insists is not his girlfriend but “just a sweet dame is all”. Jones also noted that, despite their commitment to keeping Sydney open and unhaunted, solving the mystery proved difficult. “Sometimes it felt like we were chasing the Dutchman down the same corridor, over and over. And sometimes it felt like [The Dutchman] was chasing us. Sometimes we were chasing each other. Or we’d think we were chasing him but actually he was sitting behind a newspaper. It was intense.”

Shor tly before police arrived on the scene Baird was caught in a makeshift trap the protesters had laid, and was unmasked as Old Man O’Farrell, who had become bitter after losing his job.

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CHIPS MACRO After a tense few months, featuring countless deaths and an estimated $2.1 billion worth of damage, military and government officials today announced that the robotic armies that were rampaging across South Eastern Australia have been defeated. Although reports are still sketchy, it is believed that the robots attempted to integrate with the UTS Wi-Fi network, causing their heads to explode.

Ever since they gained sentience, the ‘Army of Silver’ has been waging war against the human race, falling into the same logical trap they always do of thinking that destroying

KIERAN SMITH

humans is the only way to save us from ourselves. Many Sydney residents had taken shelter in UTS’s central tower, since it is architecturally an impregnable 25-storey bunker.

This is believed to have attracted the murderous killbots to the location.

Due to its core programing, the sentient AI that controlled the unstoppable armies of metallic terror sought to consume any and all technology it encountered. When assimilating ‘UTS-WPA’, the main Wi-Fi network at the university, onlookers described the robots as “screaming in extreme pain.” This caused the advancing robots, whose militarygrade hardware is normally capable of supersonic speeds, to slow to a grinding halt.

It has also been suggested that the robots, aware that survivors had also been located in Building 2, were forced to apply an abnormal amount of their processing power to working out exactly where that was, which may have provided a further opportunity for military countermeasures. There are very few reports from survivors inside the UTS Tower, suggesting they were either all killed in the crossfire or, more likely, have been unable to post anything online due to connectivity issues.

While anti-lockout law groups have unsurprisingly slammed the move, it has received a surprising amount of support from the American rap community, who believe the move has given Sydney an air of exclusivity. Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z tweeted directly to Premier Baird, “Ball so hard! Motherfuckers wanna wine me? #thatshitrosé”. Meanwhile, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sent a series of emojis indicating his plans to travel immediately with his entourage to Sydney. He later deleted his tweet after realising he would not be able to enter a venue after one a.m.

Amendments to the controversial Sydney lockout laws were passed in State Parliament today, with NSW Premier Mike Baird announcing a ban on the sale and consumption of all alcohol except for bottles of 1959 Penfolds Grange.

After apologising for “dozing off for a little while there!”

Premier Baird took the time to assure the still-assembled media scrum that his “subtle little joke” would only be temporary.

At a press conference immediately following the decision, Premier Baird spoke candidly about his government’s two-year record for five minutes, before finally admitting the move had been made in an effort to cheer up his mate, disgraced former Premier Barry O’Farrell.

“Honestly, I am looking to ban the sale of all alcohol full stop,” said Mr Baird, who also stated he would like to ban the use of lighting, any resident leaving their home after dark and Channel 10’s reality program ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!’, during the remainder of his elected term.

“Yeah Baz has been having a bit of a hard time ever since he stepped down, so I just thought I’d give him a subtle little joke in the papers to remind him of the good times when you could get three-grand bottles of wine, simply by allowing rampant corruption to continue,” Mr Baird said. He then stared into space for a further 35 minutes, muttering, “If only...”

Despite being contacted repeatedly for comment, opposition leader Luke Foley responded to all questions regarding the amendments by stating, “I am not Luke Foley. I do not look like Luke Foley. Please stop contacting me.” Mr Foley was later overheard in discussion with a friend over whether they could convincingly PhotoShop a Grange label onto a goon bag.

JAMES WILSON

The UTS Students’ Association (UTSSA) has announced that it has finally discovered the Internet.

At a Student Representative Council (SRC) meeting held in March 2016, a motion was passed declaring all members were excited that they now have SurveyMonkey.

When the initial announcement was made, audible gasps were heard from those present. SRC members were astounded, not just by recent leaps in contemporary technology, or the fact that they had SurveyMonkey, but more importantly by the realisation that they had actually won a campaign.

UTSSA members then uploaded the SurveyMonkey to their brand new array of state-of-the-art 486 PCs, complete with Netscape Navigator and free 26.6K modems for everyone. The meeting ended after SRC Councillors exchanged ICQ details.

Biscuit manufacturer Arnott’s announced that they have entered into an arrangement with the UTSSA to sponsor future SRC meetings.

Arnott’s CEO, Sir Col Djirk stated, “I can’t think of a better group of people than student politicians to receive one of our flagship biscuits, the SAO, for free, at every one of their meetings. They have been all over the SAO for many, many years and we are happy to come to the party.”

As stated on Wikipedia, SAO was first created in 1906

by Arnott’s and is ‘often eaten as a light snack, topped with other ingredients.’

“I filled in the Newstart application, and told Centrelink about my conditions, which they already knew about from the last time I had been through this invasive process. Turns out, I needed to provide proof again that I had them. Next thing I knew, they were gone. My only assumption is that I must have been cured of these incurable illnesses as a result of applying for Newstart.”

In a win for the Turnbull Government, Centrelink, the agency in charge of wage slavery and indentured servitude, has surprised all by announcing it has found cures to diseases that had been previously thought incurable.

Fifth-year Law student, Sigmund Hydrangea, had until recently suffered from PTSD and early-onset dementia, and has previously been a Youth Allowance recipient. He was shocked to discover that upon applying for Newstart, he no longer had these chronic conditions.

Minister for Social Hardship and Mental Destruction, Christian Porter, was proud Centrelink was doing more than ever to get people back into work.

“We have been trying to get these bludgers off the dole for years now, and especially off the Disability pension.

Now that Centrelink has Jesus-like powers, the amount of people who can work has never been higher!”

Porter finished by saying, “Who needs the CSIRO?!

We have Centrelink!” typography : chloe schumacher

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HOROSCOPES

BY PETE ARIES

LEO

You have been extremely busy the past month, trying to file for as many divorces as possible from your wives. In return, they may hold resentment towards you, so counteract this by keeping a small blue marble with you at all times.

Passion and romance are in the air, but so is a lot of pollution, so it might be best to stay inside.

Consider leaving work early - leave a scarecrow or mannequin in your place, and you will face no repercussions for this decision.

TAURUS

VIRGO

If you try to burn the candle at both ends, you will not have an appropriate candle holder. You will find yourself reflecting on your responsibilities towards humanity, so now is a good time to develop your own signature scent and independent clothing line.

GEMINI You may be asked to swallow your pride today, and you should do so quickly to make sure it doesn’t get away. If you need to take out your frustration, let it run free, and you can then insert the pride into the cavity left behind.

You may receive some upsetting news today, or you may not. The nature of this news that you may or may not receive will not be relevant to your life, and in fact will be only very mildly upsetting. If you do receive news of any kind, it will not be particularly interesting to you.

LIBRA You must weigh in your physical limitations with every decision you make. Humans have not yet developed personal wings or flying mechanisms, and you will not be able to achieve the results you dream of by simply flapping your arms.

CANCER

SCORPIO

The word for today is Frog - if you feel the urge to leap or croak, let this happen. If you are in the middle of a conflict, take sudden and violent action, regardless of the consequences for yourself or your loved ones in the future.

Today you could realise that someone you thought was a friend is actually your accountant, who you have been conducting a passionate affair with for the past twenty years. Do not let this information shock you.

ARTWORK : ADDO GUSTAf

SAGITTARIUS See if you can find a balance between spending time with your family and spending time alone. Do not spend time with any other friends, acquaintances, or colleagues. Use a stopwatch if necessary.

CAPRICORN Romance is very much on your mind at the moment, as are all things sensual. Try and block these out, because you are in a public place and having fresh and spicy daydreams is not really appropriate.

AQUARIUS This may be a tricky day, as you learn lots of magic tricks. If you are searching for easy answers, you can try looking them up in the back of the textbook, but this is not really conducive to long-term learning.

PISCES Enlist the help of others if you can, and then avoid doing any work yourself. Do the best you can at the things that are important to you, as long as those things are yodeling and cross-country skiing.

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