News - Archives - March 2006
Stanley Donwood
Monthly download available.
Mode 2
I couldn't make it to the Swish opening, as I was in Cape Town then, having arrived there on Saturday 4th of March. It was super-busy from the word go, but was a real eye-opener for me, and I'm not just referring to the view of Table Mountain from my apartment window.
I had been invited by the British Council to take part in a festival called Lines Of Attitude, focusing on street art, and together bringing five artists to paint a mural, stage an art exhibition, and do workshops, enabling the public to get a different take on what they may have heard about graffiti or Hip Hop, and how it could have some use in social bridge-building for a country such as South Afica. The other artists were Dreph, who now lives in Manchester, Falko and Faith 47, both from Cape Town, and a Kenyan "matatu"-artist Phiks. They had all already worked together on the first leg of the festival in Nairobi, producing murals and doing workshops in various neighbourhoods.
After our Saturday evening ended quite late (even later for me, as I checked out a d'n'b night at the Mercury club until 4 or 5am), Sunday kicked off bright and early by the Dewaal Drive wall; a 3-storey high mural project on the slopes of what used to be the District 6 neighbourhood of Cape Town, bulldozed into rubble from the end of the sixties to 1982, with its people evicted and resettled in different segregated townships miles away from the city itself.
Coming from Berlin, where snow lay on the ground, to temperatures soaring to 40*c on Monday, I got a couple of bouts of heatstroke, as we rushed up and down scaffolding in order to finish the wall by the following Thursday. Then there was this wind that would come down the mountains, almost knocking you off your feet, which made working up there a bit hairy at times. There was a lot of improvisation, though we started with Dreph's main image for the whole festival with a girl carrying a TV on her head; but we got it done on time; good teamwork with people I'd never painted with before.
We then moved on to preparing the gallery space, situated on the top floor of the District Six Homecoming Centre, in what's known as the East City area, an old building shared with a huge old-school textile shop.The following Saturday morning we were out in Mitchells Plain, a coloured township 45 minutes out of town, where we painted on two different walls, since we were far too many for the wall originally planned. Got stuck in front of the wall I was painting with Wayne and Faith 47, until the sun came down, then the rain too...
From the following Monday on I started sketching out a composition of characters in the corridor leading up to the exhibition space, as this was on the top floor of the building, and we were thinking of how to animate the walls along the way to it. The others busied themselves on the gallery floor to get the whole thing to come together, a real mix of different styles and approaches to work, as we all struggled to meet the deadline on Thursday 16th at 6:30pm.
Opening day was hectic, as we finished tying up all the loose ends. Ty and DJ Bizznizzcame in from London, to play on another floor at the opening, before two other gigs they had lined up as part of the festival. Being a creature of habit, I was still painting in the crowd scene right up until doors finally opened. It was a reall ygood turnout, very mixed for Cape Town, with Shoba Ponnappa, head of the British Council in South Africa opening the ceremony for us. After some chatting and looking around in disbelief that it all actually worked out ok, I was totally shattered and retired early after Ty and Bizznizz finished their set, where we had to throw a couple of moves after the week's stress. The spicy food provided on the opening was top quality! Took some samosas back and stored them in the fridge!
From the next morning on, I was focused on a new mission, something I had set my mind on from when I first talked to Mandy from the Homecoming Centre. I had originally wanted to do just silhouettes for the opening, strting on the ground floor and going right up to the stairs leading to the gallery itself. When I started sketching though, I realized that silhouettes would have to be detached one from the other with very "posey" stances; unrealistic. So I started to actually draw people interacting, which made the whole process much longer, and so the ground floor was still bare-walled.
I wanted to leave the District Six Homecoming Centre something inspiring, uplifting, and why not empowering, and set about sketching out a procession of characters of all ages, of different backgrounds, representing a pan-historical reflection of the old District 6 population as they struggle to get over the past and through the present land-reclaim programme that has been set up for the ex-residents.
That said, it was as tough as it was ambitious, needing the approval from those at the centre on making the mural not exclude anybody or issue to do with District 6. On my side I wanted something that other people who have suffered similar hardship could also relate to.
I missed out Saturday's trip to Robben Island, and Sunday found us out in the isolated community of Hout's Bay for a park jam, loads of children running about, paint disappearing and so on, but hey, it was still great fun, even when the rain came down for a momentary dampening of more than just spirits. Bizznizz and Ty were there again, as we painted a huge mural, with Billy (Bizznizz) taking shots of a rare progression of a piece. I had'nt seen him properly in years, the both of us hailing back to that unforgettable Covent Garden summer of '84. It was nice to catch up again elsewhere than some hectic London Hip Hop gig!
Catching a beautiful sunset on the way back to Cape Town, at the end of my last full day there, I realized I hadnÕt seen a beach or been on safari, or do any of those tourist things, as there was so much more to do, though I was sad to miss out on Robben Island. Monday morning I packed my bags before going back to the venue for the final stretch, and close it was. I had a plane at 8:45pm but was finally finishing at 6:30pm, rushing to the hotel with Brett, the photographer, then quick shower before speeding off to the airport.
It was, like I said, touch and go from the start, but Cape Town was something I sha'nt ever forget. Many thanks to Jean September at British Council Cape Town for believing in the project and backing it fully, for Lisa Stephenson, our tireless Canadian contact there, who handled all the communication with the artists, as well as fixing our itinerary for and coordinating our stay. Another shout to the photographer Brett Rubin, exhibition coordinator Paul Grendon, and Mandy from District Six.
Mode 2
Lazarides launch night : March 9th 2006
Thanks to all those that made the opening such a success last week, and all those who have shown lazinc their continuing support. Hopefully it will be the first of many events. The aim is to create an informal atmosphere where you can view some of contemporary culture's leading icons.
Lazarides Gallery Launch : March 8th 2006
We have now opened a permanent gallery space.
The first show, SWISH, is a group show with all the Lazinc artists plus special guests.
The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am-7pm, it is open to the public from Tuesday the 14th. We aim to keep you entertained, do come visit.
Updated Lazinc website: The site will incorporate music, the artists' views and lots more useless information.
Tempa
A hot music site. Check it out.
Dubstep Allstars
The third instalment in the Dubstep Allstars mix CD will be out this year mixed by Kode 9. Club Fwd>> remains the first and third Thursday of each month, Curtain Road, Shoreditch, east London. Catch the finest in dubstep and grime DJs down there. Ammunition would like to big up all the dubstep supporters worldwide, all first aiders and escapaders.
Jamie Hewlett
Gorillaz Cartoonist up for Award The cartoonist behind animated band Gorillaz has been nominated for the £25,000 Designer of the Year award. Jamie Hewlett, who co-created the group with ex-Blur star Damon Albarn, is one of four nominees up for the annual prize, organised by the Design Museum.
Other contenders are the humanitarian designer Cameron Sinclair, furniture designer Tom Dixon and the design team behind the Guardian newspaper. Shortlisted work will go on display at the museum, in London, on 4 March. The public can vote on the Designer of the Year website before the winner is announced in May.
London-born Cameron Sinclair, 32, is nominated for his work with the humanitarian group Architecture for Humanity. It has been constructing schools, medical clinics and community centres in the aftermath of the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake. The Guardian's design team, led by creative director Mark Porter, is nominated for the newspaper's redesign in its new Berliner format. Tom Dixon, 46, who taught himself how to weld metal furniture after quitting art school, was selected for his new furniture and lighting designs.
The judges who nominated the shortlist were chairwoman Alice Rawsthorn, director of the Design Museum; TV presenter Kevin McCloud; Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey
Further info check :gorillaz.com
JR
JR is an internationally acclaimed street artist and photographer who, with classic wheat-pasting methods and documentary photography, creates an all out assault of in your face street imagery. Originally interested in the landscape of his suburban Paris neighborhood JR found his first real camera inside of the Paris metro late one night.
From that night on JR used his newly found camera and his late night wheat pasting actions to document and exhibit the vibrant Hip Hop culture of Paris.
From touristy downtown to the depths of the ghetto, JR had made pedestrians well aware of his dynamic street presence.
JR's dedication and consistency to get up and move forward has propelled him to status as an international man of artistic mystery.
JR's art is almost always illegal. The galleries are JR's enemy and he believes the street and alternative spots to be the new place for art.
JR continues to rock out wit his consistently illegal and inspiring spots and uses the press as his vehicle for international publicity.
He has a book due out called French Polish.
Check out the website.
