Space Puppy

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Women on the Verge - Plastik Magazine

Hell hath no fury like a woman who’s interacted with a man. Really enjoying this series of photos for Plastik magazine by a sick team of women.  

SET DESIGN: AMY FRIEND PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEKSANDRA KINGO ART DIRECTION: GEM FLETCHER FOOD STYLING: NATASHA PIPER FASHION STYLING: NATASHA FREEMAN NAILS: KATE CUTLER MUA: ANNA GIBSON HAIR: FABIO PETRI

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HARMONICS IN SPACE

I’ve been a big fan of Fred Butler’s work for coming up to ten years now which makes me feel ooolld. 

In collaboration with NOW Gallery (a teeny tiny gallery space in Greenwhich who have have also collaborated with Camilla Walala and Molly Goddard) Fred has created an environment to sooth our souls and counteract the affects of SAD (Seasonal Defective Disorder) and city life. 

If you follow Fred on socials (Twitter / Insta) you’ll know she’s in to fitness, well being and colour! She comes across as incredibly down to earth which I find encourages me much more to engage with her ideas of wellness etc. 

The exhibition its self is inspired by Rudolph Laban’s theory ‘Harmonics in Space’ of how our bodies are formed of polyhedral shapes within the environment. The thought process and research behind the exhibition is incredibly thorough and you can read more about it on the galleries website here.

My friend Nat and I went to the Private View on Tuesday evening which featured Ghanian food by Just A Likkle Taste and performances by The Majorettes. We chilled out, made some questionable looking origami and enjoyed the novelty of being in what felt like a grown up play pen. 

10/10

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Janelle the Babe

This week Janelle Monáe dropped two videos from her forth coming album Dirty Computer - Django Jane and Make Me Feel. 

Monáe has spoken about her relationship with Prince and his involvement on this album and you can really hear it on Make Me Feel - you can’t help but move your body to it. 

The visuals are bold and modern with strong reference to every decade from the 60′s with the colour block tights and synchronised choreography, Bowie mullets & makeup and glitzy chain mail ensembles. 

Monáe has never categorised her sexuality sending a message of validation to those who do not want to conform. There are nods to queer culture within the video; the neon lit bar at the start where people are free to be and be with who they want, the body pushing against a wall of latex in a very LaChapelle-esque style and the scene of indecisiveness, Monáe torn between Tessa Thompson and the dude, but fuck it, why not have both? 

This is an anthem of self expression, empowerment and validation for people who just want to live!

Queue brands dropping sheer jeans. I’m here for it. 

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Oh shit, I think I actually like the Moschino show. 60′s vibes, bold colours, aliens. I’ll go back to hating Jeremy next season. 

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Book Update

I’ve been reading a lot this year and I’ve really enjoyed it. It hasn’t felt like a chore and I feel like I’ve really benefited from putting my phone down and picking my book up. My brain feels less frazzled and more enriched. 

Here’s a quick run down / 3 line review of the books I’ve read so far:

The Vegetarian - Han Kang A beautifully written story exploring a South Korean woman’s mental health from three perspectives.  An epic dream sequence hints at something dark in Yeong-hye’s past driving her to become a vegetarian much to her husbands dismay. A family is fractured and relationships are tested as Yeong-hye stays true to herself. 

The Wages of Sin - Kaite Welsh Victorian murder, feminism and the streets of Edinburgh make a fun and gory read. The frustrations of female oppression are real in this one and did nothing to improve my #MenAreTrash stance. Cheesy in bits as with any flutter of romance but the descriptions of the scent of death make up for it. 

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides  As Madeline studies the marriage plot in Victorian literature she lives out her own dramas as she transitions from college life to adult life. The characters aren’t wholly likeable but I quite enjoyed disliking them. What I enjoy most about Eugenide’s books is his ability to touch on academic subjects or world history, in a way that contextualises the plot but doesn’t swamp the prose - a master of recommending further reading. 

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Empowered women empower women

Listening to Nicole, Paula and Carys talk about how they made their activist ideas a reality could easily have made me feel like an underachiever, instead I walked away feeling empowered and inspired. Not only did I feel ready to take my own ideas seriously but I felt reaffirmed in how I can use my privilege to amplify and lift other people. 

Organised by a new platform launching this year, WeHuddle’s mission is to support women campaigning for change, fronted by activist superwoman Kat Sladden. 

Kat was one of the founding members of Change.org who now, as well as launching WeHuddle, helps organisations to create strategic campaigns and build grassroots movements.

The panel spoke about their achievements so far (Black Girl Festival, I’m Tired, Level Up) and what they hope to achieve going in to 2018. All three spoke openly and candidly about the ups, downs and practicalities of launching campaigns, including how to fund raise and the all important topic of looking after one’s own mental health during the process. Paula and Nicole are the ultimate female friendship goals - supporting each other, teaming up on projects and most importantly knowing when they need some time apart. 

Anyway check these ladies out on Twitter (all linked above) because it is endless lolz and endless education. 

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Neon Dreams

On Tuesday I went along to the PV of London based artist Eve De Haan at the recently opened Not Just Another Store on Shoreditch High Street. 

The shop is a concept store collaboration by UTTER Couture and Marr  stocking their (beautiful super hot cool) brands, hosting events and showcasing art. 

Eve De Haan is a London based artist with a theology degree which informs her art. Although neon art is nothing new, it’s an aesthetic I will never tire of and Eve’s works speak to me on a single-millennial-living-in-London-trying-to-figure-shit-out way.  

Eve’s work will be up in the shop until the end of the month, when a new artist will rotate on to the walls. 

Not Just Another Store run weekly evening events but also serve coffee all day every day so stop by and take a look and say hi!  

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This Acne Studios campaign, shot by Talia Chetrit, is giving me life. 

I’ve been a big fan of Juliette Lewis for years, especially her music with the band Juliette and the Licks, her Instagram is pure joy and now she’s serving attitude for Acne in a very 90′s cinema inspired collection, complete with slip dresses, snake print and an acidic colour palette. 

“The shoot became a cinematic experience, as “Juliette came on set, saw the clothes and just started to create this character,” said Johansson. “It was exactly what I wanted. Talia followed her mood and movements and the images turned out great,” he finished.” - Read more on Dazed here

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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 The more I’ve opened my mind, the more I realise that my enjoyment of films and television, art and music, (basically anything in the mainstream) is seriously influenced by my standing of privilege in the world. I am a white middle class woman who grew up in the South West and now lives in London with a nicely paid job. So when I say I enjoyed watching this film, I mean that I enjoyed watching it through the lens of my life experience. One of the reasons I started this blog was to give me a platform to challenge myself & to think critically. 

FYI this post will contain spoilers. 

The film follows Mildred Hayes  as she erects three billboards in the small town of Ebbing, questioning why no arrests have been made in her daughters murder case. 

It’s a story that is not unfamiliar, in the current climate of endless sexual assault allegations and the stories of women being silenced it’s easy to at first feel distrustful of the authorities in the film. In addition to the general feeling of unease that comes with men being left to deal with violent crimes against women, is the constant complicity of Willoughby in his colleagues racism. 

To me the handling of race and race relations in this film seemed lazy and felt like an excuse to have white actors use the n-word. I believe Jason’s alleged racism was used as a device to highlight his gross character, however he is never held accountable for it. Instead he has excuses made for him and although he is later fired, it’s not for being racist, it’s for throwing someone out of a window. As the film draws to a close we are supposed to soften towards him; his efforts to retain DNA from a suspect, a tender moment with his mother, his apology to Red. Marc Bernardin has written a wonderful piece here that articulates this with more depth.  

A second, blinding misjustice was Peter Dinklage’s character James. When his character is introduced he is playing pool with Red and hints at a crush on Mildred. Naively I was delighted that he was cast in to a role that wasn’t defined by his dwarfism, however it’s not long until the punchlines roll in. I understand that in rural America it’s highly likely that he would been seen as ‘other’ and these prejudices and ‘jokes’ would be common place but surely his character and his story lines would have held up without that being a punch line? [Alyssa Rosenberg writes more on this here.]

Credit where credit is due, however, I particularly appreciated that there were no gratuitous flash backs or unnecessary detailed descriptions of the crime that was committed against Angela. Aside from a glimpse of crime scene photos and two mentions of the incident, the film relied more on Mildred’s anger and determination for justice to drive the plot. The film isn’t about revenge or the crime that was committed, essentially it’s about people and how they deal with pain and trauma.  

In Mildred’s case she channels her pain in to trying to find the culprit of her daughters death which in turn sets off a series of events which polarises the people around hers own pain; Willoughby’s widowed wife, the death of Dixon’s father, Robbie’s exposure to the details of her sisters death. It highlights the ways in which ones trauma can collide with and affect others.

As the film draws to a close we are left wondering if Mildred’s last act of rage will be the death of the man Dixon suspected as Angela’s murderer. Mildred asks Dixon if she’s sure about tracking him down, she’s not. He asks Mildred the same question and she replies in kind, adding that they can decide along the way.  

Despite no arrests being made the open ending still feels like closure. It’s as though Mildred’s rage has almost burnt out, that the billboards have helped her confront not only the police force she believes have been idle, but her own feelings of regret and guilt.  

Oh, and if you’re a typophile, you’ll enjoy this.

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YES ASOS

Look how vibrant, energised and slick this advert is. Did you even bat an eyelid that there was a woman with one leg (that would be the incredible Mama Cax), the black queer kid from Paris (that’s Kiddy Smile, DJ and style icon) or the girl who can handle a ball better than a guy who’s had a pair his whole life? (FYI that’s Lisa Zimouche and she’s 18.) 

The answer is no. No you didn’t bat an eyelid because this is how the real world looks and it’s about time fashion campaigns started reflecting it.

Do you know what the best part of this campaign is? It’s that the diversity and inclusivity isn’t the main event. The main event is the bold colours, the stylish active wear looks (styled by Cobbie Yates), the variety of ways to work out and the focus on ‘reasons to move, above and beyond just keeping fit or loosing weight.’ 

Full credits in the caption of this insta post from Art Director Alfons Valls  

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My first fave music video of the year. 

Director Hector Dockrill  has gone film noir with Jorja as his femme fatale and Stormzy as king pin. The opening scene features ballet dancer Harry Alexander as Jorja’s mark and lover. (Side note; check out his insta, he is quite remarkable).  

The styling by Toni Blaze is on point - the trench, the sunglasses, the basque. And Stormzy looks sharp af in his 5 second close up.

I love a video that tells a story, it’s hard to do with such limited time but Dockrill has nailed it. The chemistry and passion between Jorja and Alexander is intense but her commitment to the job drives the narrative to a cruel end.

I have so many questions; why did Stormzy want him dead? Had him and Jorja met before? Did she feel anything more than lust for him? Where can I get a bead curtain from? 

(Full credits available in the info box on YouTube)

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2018!

So I’ve started a blog. I’ve got that ‘first page of a new notebook’ feeling of not knowing where to start. I’ve made this as a diary to document 2018 and a place for me to dump my brain. 

I don’t have any expectations for this year, all I know is that life got infinitely better when I stopped waiting for things to happen to me. 

Goals:

1. Read more 2. Travel more 3. Make small changes to become more sustainable/ ethical 4. Go pesc. Stop eating cheap, bad meat. Stick to sustainable fish.  5. No men! 6. Support friends and independent businesses before corporations. 7. Keep doing cool fun stuff 8. Continue my education and self reflection so I can be the least ass hole version of myself as possible

The year so far:

1. My first book for book club with Charlotte & Adam has arrived - The Vegetarian by Han Kang 2. On Thursday I fly to Edinburgh to hang with Eris 3. For Christmas I got a bamboo toothbrush and a moon cup (#glam) and at the weekend I shopped on the market in an attempt to reduce food packaging waste 4. Made a delish prawn curry and documented it on Insta #CookWithMol to a great reception 5. There have been no men 6. I commissioned a double flower frame from Emily for Imogen and Hannah’s birthday present and bought my new book via Hive  7. Emily, Nina and I went to see an orchestra play Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Anyway, that’s the first post out of the way. Who knows what will come next. 

BYe.