DUPE

DUPE speaks to illustrator RICHARD KILROY about his practice, tools of the trade and Liverpool

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:39:00 +0100

DUPE: How would you describe your style?

RK: It’s mostly a mix of realist pencil work and playing about with space and line. It’s predominantly black and white for now with occasional colour but I plan to expand on this a lot this year. Pencil and realism are the starting point for me, I aim to take that and play a lot on spatial work and breaking it up further.

DUPE: Have you ever explored with any other mediums? Are you ever tempted too?

RK: I’m beginning to work more with photography when it comes to getting my own images of the models that I draw. I practised photography in university but not much beyond that. I was originally told my tutors I should actually do photography over illustration as they preferred it. I’m confident in my eye as a photographer, but don’t actually see myself as one. Material wise I’m planning a lot with cards, acrylics and rougher materials this year. I usually like to include pen and ink, again something I plan on pushing further this year too.

DUPE: What are your tools of the trade?

RK: 0.35mm pencil led, bristol card, felt tips, gouache, patience.

DUPE: If not illustration what else would you be doing?

RK: I would definitely be involved in publishing in some respect for another. I’m always very keen on looking for compositions and layouts in things, so to some extent could see myself doing layouts and graphics. Same for photography but there’s already enough photographers out there.

DUPE: You grew up in Liverpool, studied in Leeds and now live in London. Do you miss the north?

RK: I miss aspects of the north but I do love living in London too much. I miss the prices, the space, the fact everyone is generally a lot more open, because they’re not used to walking through hundreds or thousands of people on a daily basis and switching off. Also no-one in London seems to get drunk that often. Especially with Liverpool, there’s the whole thing with people really going to town with their hair and beauty and outfits. A lot of it is kind of awful but I love the excess and fun of it too. It’s a love/hate thing for me.

DUPE: What’s next for Richard Kilroy?

RK: Well I’m working on a book featuring a lot of fashion’s leading illustrators, so continuing with that. Planning the next issue of my publication Decoy, and experimenting with my work further.

DUPE: You know how dogs have a tendency to look like their owners… I think this is the case with you. You look like the drawings you make - Do you agree or disagree with this?

RK: No I totally agree and I think most fashion illustrators I know do too! Well, I don’t look like a model obviously, but it terms of how I dress is similar to my work. Lots of black and white and usually one big bold colour, usually fairly graphic. I’ve been called ‘clean’ and ‘neat’ before haha. I draw the outfits I’m drawn to. I find it strange when illustrators or designers don’t embody their work in some respect.

DUPE: If you could travel to anywhere right now where would you go and what would you pack?

RK: Like anyone else in the UK it is ALL I have thought about these last few weeks ha.

a) I need a holiday

b) Somewhere hot with a beach

c) Now

My main plan is to go around Italy for a few weeks this summer, Sicily, Venice, Florence etc. However if it was more exploring than a hot getaway, I’ve always had a fascination with Western America and road movies, the photography of Keith Davis Young and movies like Boys Don’t Cry and Into The Wild, so to explore those kind of areas would be amazing.

http://richardkilroy.com/

DUPE meets up with artist / curator GALA KNORR to talk about her pratice, projects and travels

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:25:00 +0100

DUPE’s Georgia Lucas-Going and Gala.

DUPE: First of all Gala, where are you from?

GK: I was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, it’s a city on the Basque country in the north of Spain, but I left when I was 16 and came to school here with a lot of American people hence the accent!

Dupe: So I’ve read that you’ve studied in Paris, but also in London?

GK: I went to the Parsons School of Design in Paris , it’s an English speaking school, so my French was slowly building but my art was quickly growing, and then I went to Central Saint Martins.

Dupe: You’ve moved around so much where do you feel is your home?

GK: That’s the crazy thing, it sounds really cheesy but home is where your heart is so I try to build a secondary family everywhere I go. My family’s in Spain but in Paris I have this family of people who are similar to me, e.g. a friend who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia but was studying there. Everyone who has a similar background always seem to stick together wherever we go. In London it was actually really organic because I embraced all these people who I studied with and we all shared a studio like a little united nations!

Dupe: So right now we’re talking in your studio and you share with 4 other artists? And this work behind us, isn’t it travelling soon? Where’s it going?

GK: Yes this is going to Madrid in 2 days. Then hopefully coming back to London. We’re opening this show in there, in a studio called Bunkhouse, which actually used to be a bakery! The recession has made Spain really poor, but has also given artists really good opportunities to start up small galleries or pop up shows everywhere. I think after our show it’s going to be used for music, as a place where people can come to Spain to play and rehearse.

Dupe: Free things! As there’s no bloody funding anymore! So you’ve mentioned the USA, have you done a show there?

GK: Actually the show that we’re doing in Madrid is called ‘Journey to The Center of My Mind’ and the first edition of it was made in LA, in this artists commune venue called ‘HM157’. I was trying to find a spot to do it in London and I emailed everyone and their mothers basically! Everyone wants money for that and we had none because we’d all just graduated, so I made a Facebook page about this idea and then I realised Facebook pages could get messages and I got a message from this lady who runs the space and she offered it to us for free, so of course I was going to do it. It would be crazy not to do so, so we chose 5 London based artists, and 5 based in California, as we thought it would be a nice bi-continental dialogue. All the artists were women as well; that was the little twist. It’s like how do you make a show with only women artists without being all cliché and feminist, which isn’t bad, but people have a pre-conceived idea of what it’s going to be like.

Dupe: We know you’re a traveller, does that influence your work a lot? It must do?

GK: My work is really inspired by the people I meet or things that happen which spark this revolutionary idea of people going over the street and changing the world with art, which sounds really utopian but I think nowadays you really have to have this kind of mindset in order to survive the negativity of today and continue. I remember my second solo show was based on everyone I’d met on a trip to America, and it was all small portraits made with ink, like on the road, and just finding people who are different and unique and live outside bureaucracy and off the grid, but still have this creative ability to change things, and that’s what basically inspires me.

Dupe: Do you have any road trip/journey stories; something that sticks out in your mind, be it whether you met someone mental or saw somewhere really beautiful?

GK: The most extravagant story which sticks out in my mind was in LA and I was staying with someone I’d stayed with in Paris really briefly who would later go on to become a really good friend of mine. The first night she took me out in Venice beach and we hung out with her boyfriend who was this big, very loud Mexican guy, who everyone knew. He was like ‘oh my friend Danny’s coming’ and he turned out to be this badass Mexican actor who’s in a movie called Machete. We went out to some bar and this guy was trying to dance with me even though he was about 60. My friend’s boyfriend was basically trying to set us up and I was like ‘Oh my god I’m 23 what am I doing with this old man!’ Then her boyfriend got a call and he said ‘oh yeah girls my friend Eminem is coming over’ and I was like ‘what no?! this cannot happen! I’m wearing pyjamas!’

Dupe: If you had to make a mix tape for a road trip who would be on it? Name two people.

GK: One has to be Neil Young, I really really love his album ‘Harvest’. When I was 24 I played it on repeat, he is such an amazing songwriter and his voice is so peculiar, he’s just awesome! The other one…it’s not really a road trip singer but I’d have to say Nina Simone, I listened to ‘Sinnerman’ on repeat for so long, it’s so epic and crazy.

Dupe: So you’ve got the show coming up, and then what’s next? Anything in London?

GK: Well, we want to have the upcoming show again in London, but it just seems impossible, we’re all based here but opportunities are very low. I realised that if you don’t have a gallery or anyone who wants to show your work then you have to invent this gallery and curate it, and this involves a lot of meeting people and earning their trust, so we’re in the process of earning people’s trust and showing them this project is really worth their time.

http://galaknorr.tumblr.com/

http://www.facebook.com/journeytothecenterofmymind

Mosh pit in Blues, Chemically Transfered Ink on Canvas, 2012

DUPE speaks to artist duo KEELER&TORNERO about inspiration and collaboration

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:15:00 +0000

D: Could you explain how you operate as a collaborative duo?

K&T: We’ve known each other for nearly twenty years and have been working together on and off for about ten, so we know how each of us operates and generally we’re interested in the same things. Collaboration requires a level of mutual understanding and this develops the more you work together.

Everything we do comes from the input of both artists, we work on the same piece, sometimes at the same time. It’s a process of give and take and if we don’t agree, we have to negotiate until both are happy. Sometimes we have to just let things go because we can’t arrive at the same standpoint, but this is ok, there’s never a shortage of ideas.

We’ve found that when collaborating it’s important to suspend personal preconceptions about outcome and in some ways this is the most exciting thing – you’re never sure how something is going to end up. Even if one of us has a strong vision, it’s important let go of this if it appears to be going somewhere else. If you give yourself up to the process, you enter uncharted territory every time but the pay-off is being able to get to a point that you could not have anticipated on your own.

This way of working can be daunting because it doesn’t matter how many times you do it, you never know exactly where you’re going, you’re forced to leave your comfort zone but it’s also exhilarating for the same reason. It never seems to get easier and you don’t get used to that feeling of uncertainty. The only thing that possibly changes is that somewhere in your subconscious you know that it’s all going to be ok, it always is. It’s not the easiest way to work but it can be the most satisfying.

Another benefit of working collaboratively is that you have an ever-present support mechanism. When you have a problem, you can talk about it, if you’re stuck you can get guidance and if you’re uninspired you can get a pep-talk. We tend to balance each other out in terms of skills and motivation and usually what one of us doesn’t like doing or isn’t good at, the other takes over.

We tend to work in intensive blocks, fully immersing ourselves in the process that we have chosen to follow at any given time. We usually have several pieces on the go at any one time so we can put things in rotation, wait for things to dry, talk about the next step for each one and there’s always a definite dialogue about where each thing should be going.

D: Are you inspired by other dynamic duos, artistic or otherwise?

K&T: We’re interested but not necessarily inspired by anyone who collaborates, the Chapman brothers, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Ren and Stimpy, Laurel and Hardy etc, etc… In fact it’s been pointed out on numerous occasions that we resemble L and H when we’re in the studio.

We’ve always loved Gilbert and George and the main reason for that, apart from the obvious, is that they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. We’re especially fond of their ‘Singing sculpture’ from 1970 in which they sing ‘Underneath the arches’ for hours on end.

D: How do you organise yourself between your personal practice and your commissioned works, how does one influence the others?

K&T: Working on commissioned art outside of our usual practice helps expand horizons in terms of what’s physically possible. We do a lot of stuff which involves working large and fast and that requires that you wear a different head to the one you’re used to, and in this way you tend to see the whole thing from a different perspective. There’s always a cross-hatching going on, personal work being inspired by outside commissions and vice versa. Sometimes personal work is put on hold when commissions come up because of time scale issues and this is when self-discipline becomes important to get back into the personal work. This is why we always end up working intensely in the weeks before work goes up on a gallery wall.

D: What is the inspiration behind your surreal and somewhat grotesque imagery/narrative?

K&T: We get inspiration from all over the place and are constantly collating and adding to our library of digital and found images.

It’s interesting you say grotesque because when most people see something in this way, we often see it as beautiful. We love old horror movies in which the horror is pretty funny and we’re obsessed with anatomy, so I guess if you mix the two you might get what could be considered grotesque but at the same time there’s always an element of humour. It’s all about juxtaposition for us and that’s where the surrealism in our work comes from. Our inner compass seems to drive us towards humour and the absurd. When you contrast absurd elements, things that are unexpected, you enter the world of surrealism. That’s not to say that these juxtapositions are arrived at just so we can have a good old laugh but rather that we are processing or filtering imagery through our already established mode of operation. All this imagery fits into a larger scheme, as if all the characters and scenarios belong in a vast soap opera.

D: Where do you source the found imagery you work with?

K&T: From our extensive library of books and magazines procured over the years from car-boot sales and charity shops, plus people are always giving us stuff.

D: What’s next for KEELERTORNERO? What are your future projects and works? Any road trips?

K&T: This year is already filling up with solo and group shows in London and across the country, a theatre project, a big mural, illustrations for magazines, poster design and set-painting plus we are getting into film this year.

If we do a road trip it will be on bikes. In fact that’s what the film for DUPE TV will be, a documentary about our bicycle road trip to the bits of London that we don’t know about yet….

www.keelertornero.com

DUPE zine is back at Parisian bookshop OFR

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:48:00 +0000

20, rue Dupetit-Thouars, 75003 Paris

http://www.ofrsystem.com/

Want to be interviewed by Georgia for DUPE TV? Get in Touch! XOX

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:53:00 +0000

email us at: contactdupe@gmail.com

DUPE zine is now on sale at Zürich's artist run space KARUSSELL

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:40:00 +0000

KARUSSEL is a platform for all types of upcoming creatives to showcase and sell their work. A wide variety of products are shown, from furniture to paintings or independent magazines . Discussions, gigs and other cultural happenings take place in this cosy café where people can work and meet up with friends. Second hand furniture is also sold at low-prices. It is a space for experimentations and as the organisers put it, Karussell is one itself. So go, watch, enjoy, contribute within a space that is constently changing.

KARUSSELL
Zweierstrasse 38
8004 Zürich, Switzerland
+41 78 804 12 54
www.karussell.co
www.facebook.com/karussellzuerich

New Road Trip submission deadline!

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 17:20:00 +0000

Attention future Dupers ———————->
We are extending the Road Trip submission deadline by a WHOLE MONTH

to the 28th February.

We’ve had some great submissions so far but reckon there are still some visual and written gems out there..don’t miss out….DUPE WANTS YOU!!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - - - - -> THE ROAD TRIP ISSUE

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:51:07 +0000

DUPE is calling for submissions for its second publication: “THE ROAD TRIP ISSUE” due for release in Spring 2013.

We are looking for original and creative material in the form of photography, illustration, collage, writing, poetry, reviews, etc. The work must respond to the theme ROAD TRIP but can be interpreted as literally or abstractly as you like.

Words to get you inspired: Journey, route, map, exploration, nostalgia, escapism, displacement, pilgrimage, discovery, distance, transient, desire, destination, searching, adventure, A-B, romanticism, possibility, potential, expectations, reality, detachment, necessity, migration, freedom, uncertainty, excitement, unfamiliarity, dreamscape etc.

——————————————————————

GUIDELINES :

Send your final piece of work to be considered for publication to contactdupe@gmail.com by Monday the 28th of January 2013.

Please send all images high res 300 dpi

Maximum 1,500 words for written work.

Please be aware that the zine will be approx A5 in size.

——————————————————————

We are also looking for ongoing contributions to our online content. If you would like to photograph, illustrate, style, write or review for our blog or contribute video material to DUPE TV, on the theme or otherwise please also get in touch! Remember that blog submissions could take the form of non-printable material such as film, music, sound, animation.

We look forward to receiving your submissions,

Love

DUPE

DUPE talks to artist and musician Peter Caul Find out more about...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:48:00 +0000

DUPE talks to artist and musician Peter Caul

Find out more about him: http://petercaul.wix.com/peter-caul

Find out more about his band: http://www.pseudonippon.com/

MERRY XMAS!!! Love DUPE XoX

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:58:05 +0000

MERRY XMAS!!! Love DUPE XoX

'KILL LISTS' - Film 2012 by Out Of The Canon.

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:28:22 +0000

We asked our friends/gonzo film podcasters Out Of The Canon (aka Geoff Glees and Adam Richmond) to write about their top films of 2012. This is what they had to say…

The thing with end of year lists and top tens is all they can do is reflect the tastes of the list’s compiler. To pretend otherwise would be ludicrous. Who are we to say what the best films of 2012 were? We didn’t see all of them for starters (not the most auspicious of beginnings, eh?). Nevertheless, we can but reflect what we saw and what we want others to see. Though we may well have terrible taste. The problem with such a list in print is that it becomes ossified as soon as it’s on the page… there is no space for reflection or debate, which is what a conversation like this should spark with your friends. Although that could sound like we’re advocating message board discussions. And that’s not how we roll. Dissection of the problems of lists over, onto to our list.

Shame - More unsettling and nerve shattering than any recent horror flick. Fassbender delivers another haunting performance. Steve McQueen has proved breathed fresh life into cinema. Eye-meltingly beautiful. Still don’t regret it as a date night choice.

The Cabin in The Woods - Not particularly rewatchable, but funny and gruesome in the right ways. Makes the absolute most of the trashy teen horror. Don’t read up about this one.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - A comforting, intelligent and peaceful ode to dedicating a life to art. A slick documentary that makes you feel a bit ashamed. The good sort. And also makes you want sushi for months afterwards.

Chronicle - Horribly made trailers and a(nother) “found footage” conceit meant this was either ignored or sniggered at. But it is in fact brilliant indie sci fi. Highly impressive non CG effects and great twists on the powers tale. Not the deepest of films, but a clever and entertaining one, with just enough bleakness to work.

Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie - Everyone forgot about America’s best comedians just in time for their movie release. A shame, because this is a very singular and highly funny film. Featuring disgusting scenes of a sexual nature and performances from people who can’t act (on purpose). Watch it. You probably won’t find it funny.

Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists – with Wallace and Gromit Aardman may have fallen into a comfortable rut, but they hopped, skipped and jumped out of that rut with not just one of the funnest animations of the year, one of the funnest films full stop. This is not a film made with love and craft, and it is a joy to behold.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - It’s seems an age since an American indie delivered on every level, but here it is. Evoking Malick at times and with a stunning central performance from Elizabeth Olsen, this is a troubling film that gets right under your skin.

The Raid - You may well be beaten senseless by the (possibly) overlong final three-way fight, but everything else about this martial arts action film is executed perfectly – not least the long steadicam shots to show off every punch and kick of the brutally balletic fights.

The Master - Odd, willful, stand-offish and yet strangely enthralling, The Master continues PT Anderson’s run of bold, off-kilter films. This doesn’t just boast excellent performances, it lets them breathe in what is a refreshingly plot-free dalliance with troubled men trying to fit into 1950s America.

Killing Them Softly - Overlooked and pegged as a light-weight, undercooked Brad Pitt film, Andrew Dominik’s hard boiled crime flick is nothing of the sort. Sly, blackly funny and brutally violent, this continues the directors slow and steady run of films that will last the ages (Chopper,Assassination of Jesse James)

Here’s our handy guide to spotting the critics’ biases and proclivities from their top ten lists:

Rust and Bone French, tick. Difficult subject matter, tick. Nudity, tick. Beautifully shot, tick. Tick tick tick. Never mind that it doesn’t quite hang together and is slightly underwhelming. This is a film that will be forgotten in five years, where Audiard’s A Prophet will never fade from view. Ever.

Beasts of the Southern Wild This was both a crowd pleaser and a critical success, so its inclusion in most lists is a shoo-in. It was the ‘little train that could’ of all the year’s films.

The Master A seemingly unassuming choice, but a backlash is brewing for this masterpiece. If this is omitted then console yourself with the fact it tells you that said critic is ashamed of being obvious and agreeing with people. The twits.

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, Holy Motors, Beyond the Hills These will all feature in every serious critics list, to underscore that they are serious about film and will not suffer fools gladly. Whether you should take this as recommendations to see said films is unclear. They come saddled with such high-fallutin baggage, it’s hard to tell a Bicycle Thieves from a Solaris.

The Avengers “I’m kooky and fun and like to show that by putting mainstream genre choices in my top ten.” A choice like this shows the critic in question is a curmudgeon. He likes populist, genre fare. Honest. This will soften the blow and lessen the raised eyebrows when the rest of the list is packed with obscure art house. See also The Dark Knight Rises.

The Imposter For those that haven’t seen The House I Live in and need to put in the required documentary.

The Raid To sidestep the fact they like action films by liking a foreign action film.

Dredd For those that didn’t see The Raid.

Looper For those coming to the end of their list and can’t for the life of them think of anything else they saw this year that was worth a shit (it’s been a pretty middling year).

Moonrise Kingdom For those whom Wes Anderson had at ‘Rushmore’. Overlooking the average performances from an impressive ensemble, this’d be for stuffy, institutionalized middle aged critics keen to sell their childish good humour - and hide the fact they all had a boner for the underage girl.

Cosmopolis This was hit and miss with critics, but for some people Cronenberg’s is a wet dream – and by people, we mean those who prefer to read into films rather than being thrilled or entertained by them. No one seems to mind that he’s repeatedly fallen flat since loosely adapting Naked Lunch, and has yet to better his revelatory remake of The Fly.

Amour It’s Haneke. It’s about death. This film is a bullet-proof critical pick and will be on every list. The fact it is also very, very good makes that fact hard to find fault with.

Out Of The Canon do a weekly podcast, which you can find on iTunes. Or visit them at Outofthecanon.tumblr.com, or follow them on Twitter @outofthecanon.

DUPE now stocked at the ICA Bookshop in London

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:24:00 +0000

Institute of Contemporary Arts,

The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH

http://www.ica.org.uk

DUPE now stocked in Amsterdam

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:18:00 +0000

Wonderbread, Wijdesteeg 3A, Amsterdam
http://www.wonderbread.nl

DUPE talks to fashion designer RICKY WESLEY HARRIOTT about life...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:48:00 +0000

DUPE talks to fashion designer RICKY WESLEY HARRIOTT about life before and after taking part in RIHANNA’s TV Show “Styled To Rock”

DUPE TALKS WIGS AND SELF EXPRESSION WITH TRANARCHY MEMBER PAM VAN-DAMNED

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:14:00 +0000

- Hello Pam Van-Damned! You have quite a dramatic look, can you tell us what inspires your style?

PVD: I thought this would be an easy question to answer, but I’m finding it pretty hard. I think I’m finding it hard because I just love a real lot. I love taking little tiny parts of something and turning it into a much bigger and usually more gruesome creation. My first inspirations came from being obsessed with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert back when I was just a young bunny. Films in general are a real huge part of my life and influence a lot of my looks. I really am just a massive film nerd, and I always want to turn my craziness for a film that I love into something that I can express on myself. So that can be anything from putting together a whole Max Max creation, getting my rollerboots back out for a Warriors shoot and even transforming into an evil witch for a Suspiria look. I guess what I’m trying to say is cinema inspires me, mostly. It’s just all part of the circle of obsession; things can’t just stay behind a screen for me… I need to bring them into reality. So my inspirations come from just being a nerd and wanting to be a deep-sea monster, space creature and biker demon from hell. Oh, and Iron Maiden inspire me too. A lot.

- You seem to wear a lot of wigs, how many do you own and how important is hair in your outfit. Is it empowering?

PVD: Wigs were one of my very first obsessions. I can’t even remember how young I was when I started to collect them, but I just knew that I’d need them throughout my life. I have about thirty wigs at the moment, I think. When I was a teenager my mum used to tell me off for buying wigs, but I told her that I would need and use them all at some point… and I’ve proved that to her now! She is totally down with it all. The wigs that I’ve collected over the years are helping me to be exactly who I want to be, a forever-changing-mermaid. Well, Ursula. I have pretty short, black hair so I need wigs to help me become a character that I have pictured in my head, or created with make-up/clothing. Putting a wig on right at the end of getting ready is my absolute favourite part of the process… so yes, it’s definitely an empowering feeling once all that hair is up there! I would KILL for more wigs. I’d even have a whole wig room if I was as rich and fabulous as Beyoncé … with a slide that takes you past hairsprays, brushes and clips so you can grab all you need on the way down before splashing into a sea of hair.

- Who are your icons?

PVD: Well, I sure do love Kurt Russell. Man, I have loved him for a real long time. And with Kurt comes Goldie Hawn, they are just a perfect set of icons. Maybe it’s the hair… those beautiful long, flowing locks of dreams. And that’s just Kurt, don’t even get me started on Goldie. I also class Pam Grier as a super-icon, she is just everything. In terms of my own personal fashion and styling I’d say some of my icons are Adam Ant, Michael Jackson, KISS, Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe, Prince, Arthur Brown and Lemmy. Music and movies from the 1970’s and 1980’s are usually where most of my love and obsessions come from. I do have a main icon though, the real queen of my heart… Wendy O. Williams. She was the most bad-ass woman to ever have existed. Wendy O was tough, fearless, wild and fun… she just didn’t give a shit about what the squares thought of her, and tackled everything with impossible energy, art, stunts and mess. Absolute hero. I also dedicate most of my fun to Ryan Dunn.

- Tell us about tranarchy, how did it start? How did you meet everyone?

PVD: Tranarchy is the light in my life. I’ve never been part of something so fulfilling and wonderful before, and I’m just loving every single second of it. I met everyone gradually as we got more people involved, and even though I had heard of some of our members before they joined, I had no idea just how brilliant they all are. To put it into a few words Tranarchy is a collective of drag queens, trans superstars, queer loverz, singers, dancers, show-offs, magic creators, filmmakers, photographers, writers, performers and switchblade sisters. We have people from all walks of life with very different backgrounds full of extreme creativity, bravery and good attitudes. Our main focus is to make people feel special and part of an ever-growing new scene and community of beautiful minds. We each have our own talents and use this collective as a way to fully express whatever we want to scream out… whether that be with our outlaw parties (on trams and canal boats) to our music videos. Things are real crazy and tough for most people right now, so we just want everyone to get involved with us and have fun. Fun is THE most important part of Tranarchy… so if I had to say anything at all about this, I’d just say listen to Andrew W.K. ‘We Want Fun’ really loud, because that is exactly what we are all about. And watch The Muppets a whole bunch, too!

- Do you have any funny/weird stories from some of those nights? Do you get some abuse?

PVD: Every Tranarchy night starts and ends with tons of gloriously weird and funny stories! We threw an after-party and show for Cherie Lily after she had played a big gig with her hubby, Andrew W.K. and some stuff went down with beer, band members and spandex. Abuse is just something we all have to deal with, as shit as that sounds. The queens/transgender/transsexual members of Tranarchy and my friends actually inspire me to be brave because I see them as the bravest people alive. They walk out of the door with their heads held high every single day… and I think everyone should have the courage to do that, and to have no shame but only pride in putting yourself out there. I’ve always, always, always had to deal with tons of abuse from people, anything from being called a fat bitch to people asking if I’m a man. And now I can say, screw you all; I’m a god-damn faux-queen, get it right! I’m a real tough woman though and I’ve never let it grind me down, no-one should ever be made to feel bad about themselves at the hands and mouths of people who close their minds off from the gorgeous reality. People are pretty awesome things, and the haters don’t get even one minute of my time… unless part of that minute is punching them in the face. I mean, what would Kurt Russell do?

- Describe your lifetstyle in 3 words

PVD: GET. IT. ON.

-When is the next tranarchy night, is Dupe invited?

PVD: We just had our massive Halloween party Zombie Pride V, which really went off. I’m talking naked queens covered in paint, black blood spurting out of mouths, beautiful men covered in slime and people screwing the mannequins in our darkroom of horrors. It’s a shame you couldn’t have come to that, I would have covered you all in ghostbusters gloop and booze! But we will be doing a very special Christmas night which will no doubt be just as divine and disgusting as all of our past events, so get the gold glitter out and JOIN US, DUPE. You can follow whatever we are doing next on our Facebook page, just search for Tranarchy and let us know you are alive!

http://www.facebook.com/tranarchy

DUPE Loves… NAGI NODA Nagi Noda was an insanely talented...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:45:58 +0000

Music video for Yuki - Sentimental journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWCOOzE1nY4

DUPE Loves… NAGI NODA

Nagi Noda was an insanely talented Japanese artist, art director, video director and designer whose work spanned the realms of graphic design, advertising, fashion, art and video. During her short career she created an incredible body of highly original work, before her tragic and untimely death in 2008, aged 35.

Her name has come up time and time again amongst Team DUPE, in particular during the making of ‘The Hairy Issue’ where we have been continuously inspired by works such as her elaborate ‘Hair Hat’ sculptures, as well as her extraordinary music videos and commercials which blur the line between fine art and advertising, such as this one:

Yuki - Sentimental journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWCOOzE1nY

In an age where it is arguably impossible to be creatively original, Noda’s work still to this day stands out as being truly unique.

http://www.naginoda.com/

DUPE now stocked in Ireland. Find us at the Winding Stair...

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:58:00 +0100

DUPE now stocked in Ireland.

Find us at the Winding Stair Bookshop, 40 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1.

http://winding-stair.com/bookshop/

DUPE visits Vidal Sassoon: Outtakes with hairdresser Sandi Hudson-Francis

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:52:00 +0100

How One Man Changed the World with a Pair of Scissors

The Sassoon exhibition ‘Outtakes’ included a selection of striking images, short films and quotes celebrating his life and work. His iconic short hairstyles, such as the wedge bob, revolutionised the way in which women could wear their hair. Sassoon’s geometric cuts that didn’t require hours of sitting in a salon and high maintenance styling, seemed symbolic of the 1960’s post-war British woman embracing both a liberation of style and more personal freedom. His haircuts encapsulated a feeling of youth, fun and modernism and as a result continue to be an inspiration to hairdressers worldwide.

Here are Dupe’s quickfire questions with Sandi, hairdresser from 4th Floor:

- How and when did you start hairdressing?

SHF: I started out straight from school when I was 15, the prospect of learning a skill whilst earning a wage appealed to me. So sweeping hair, making cups of tea and rinsing perms is how it all started.

- We’ve just seen Vidal Sassoon: Outtakes at Somerset House. What did you think of the exhibition?

SHF: Vidal Sassoon was very influential in the world of hairdressing in many different ways, creating strong timeless shapes and styles that are still worn by many people today. I think the exhibition portrayed this very well.

- Who or what is influential to you as a hairdresser or how you cut hair?

SHF: I have always been inspired by the person themselves and living and working in London means lots of different kinds of people from all walks of life - which to me is an inspiration in itself.

- Where do you work at the moment?

SHF: I work at the 4th Floor salon in Bloomsbury.

- Who are your favourite clients / who has been your favourite person to cut hair for?

SHF: It would be impossible to narrow it down - I’m very fortunate in that I get to cut the hair of some very interesting people. And I am very lucky to have such a brilliant clientele!

- Do you have a preference between cutting men or women’s hair?

SHF: It’s more the type of hair itself rather than a preference to men or women, but if I had to choose then I guess it would be men. But eyebrow hair is where I draw the line.

- If you could cut one person in the world’s hair who would it be?

SHF: Mmm….Maybe John Goodman….

- What are your top 3 aspects to working as a hairdresser?

SHF: Lots of secrets. Getting your hair cut for free. And meeting lovely people of course.

- If you could do one other thing what would it be?

SHF: Hang out with old people

4th Floor

Somerset House

DUPE TALKS TO WILL ASTBURY, THE BEARDY FACE BEHIND COLUMN ARTS AGENCY

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:37:00 +0100

- Hello, who are you and what are you up to?
WA: I am Sir William Of Astbury and I’m up to beard growing and sorting artists out – I founded a thing called Column Arts Agency not long ago.

- How did you start running your own agency?
WA: This bit is a bit lame but basically I was working as a freelance journalist for three or four years. During that period I worked out a system for doing my own bookkeeping. As time went on I had some arty mates who asked me for advice with their tax returns. Then I realised that I’m dead organised and I’m good at pitching ideas so I could basically earn some money from lending artists a helping hand – doing all the things they hate – writing contracts, bookkeeping, PR and finding projects for creative people to work on. Within a few months I had come up with the name Column, an ideology and I had a few clients. So that’s what I do now.

- What are the ups and downs of doing so?
WA: Ups: I really enjoy the work and I’ve had amazing feedback from lots of creative people. Downs: I’m not yet rich enough to fund all of my ideas – but I’m working on that.

- How long has it taken to grow this amazing beard?
WA: Well, I’ve had a beard for around 5 or 6 years but I trim it. I guess it would take about six months of cultivation and careful pruning to create this current effect.

- Which kind of look were you rocking before?
WA: I’ve been through the whole gamut really. Had long floppy horrors / stone roses hair with stubble. Before that I had a massive mullet and pointy sideburns.

- Which was your favourite one?
WA: I think I may go back to the single handlebar – it’s just furry enough. It looks smart and doesn’t upset my nan as much as the full Russian bear-fighter vibe.

- You know when Beyonce struts her stuff and her hair bounces up and down.. has that ever happened with your beard? Do you feel fierce?
WA: Oh yeah. I feel at my most fierce when a frosty wind is blowing my beard over my shoulders and icicles start to form in it.
Sometimes I like to make my eyebrows stick up with a bit of vaseline if I want to feel double fierce. They’ve started to grow really long since I hit 25.

- What is coming up for William Astbury and Column Arts Agency?
WA: Well I don’t want to jinx everything but we’re currently in talks about creating an international collaboration with another agency in America. Hopefully this particular collaboration will result in an exhibition in a pretty bloody big gallery in London and one in Miami but nothing has been confirmed yet so I’ll say no more…

www.columnartsagency.co.uk

SUNDAY art fair

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:53:00 +0100

The Hairy Issue is on sale this weekend through Aye-Aye Books mobile bookshop at the Sunday Art Fair - check it out!

Aye-Aye Mobo
Aye-Aye MoBo is a mobile bookshop curated by Aye-Aye Books. The MoBo is a ‘pimped up’ VW Westfalia high-top camper van parked on the mezzanine floor. Here you can browse small run and self-published artist books, magazines and zines, as well as experimental fiction, theoretical and radical publications, anarchist tracts and insurrectionary propaganda. The MoBo is a place of exchange and hospitality and welcomes submissions as much as purchases.

http://www.sunday-fair.com/

SUNDAY art fair will present 20 young galleries from 10. SUNDAY, the gallery–led art fair, is a platform for an intimate group of like-minded commercial galleries to present work from a range of emerging artists within a relaxed environment. Already a must-see event, SUNDAY makes a valuable contribution to the most exciting cultural week in London.

DUPE

DUPE speaks to illustrator RICHARD KILROY about his practice, tools of the trade and Liverpool

DUPE meets up with artist / curator GALA KNORR to talk about her pratice, projects and travels

DUPE speaks to artist duo KEELER&TORNERO about inspiration and collaboration

DUPE zine is back at Parisian bookshop OFR

Want to be interviewed by Georgia for DUPE TV? Get in Touch! XOX

DUPE zine is now on sale at Zürich's artist run space KARUSSELL

New Road Trip submission deadline!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - - - - -> THE ROAD TRIP ISSUE

DUPE talks to artist and musician Peter Caul Find out more about...

MERRY XMAS!!! Love DUPE XoX

'KILL LISTS' - Film 2012 by Out Of The Canon.

DUPE now stocked at the ICA Bookshop in London

DUPE now stocked in Amsterdam

DUPE talks to fashion designer RICKY WESLEY HARRIOTT about life...

DUPE TALKS WIGS AND SELF EXPRESSION WITH TRANARCHY MEMBER PAM VAN-DAMNED

DUPE Loves… NAGI NODA Nagi Noda was an insanely talented...

DUPE now stocked in Ireland. Find us at the Winding Stair...

DUPE visits Vidal Sassoon: Outtakes with hairdresser Sandi Hudson-Francis

DUPE TALKS TO WILL ASTBURY, THE BEARDY FACE BEHIND COLUMN ARTS AGENCY

SUNDAY art fair

Ambika P3 (London)
35 Marylebone Road
NW1 5LS

Thurs 11 Oct: 12-8pm Fri 12 Oct: 12-10pm Sat 13 Oct: 12- 8pm Sun 14 Oct: 12-10pm

DUPE

DUPE speaks to illustrator RICHARD KILROY about his practice, tools of the trade and Liverpool

DUPE meets up with artist / curator GALA KNORR to talk about her pratice, projects and travels

DUPE speaks to artist duo KEELER&TORNERO about inspiration and collaboration

DUPE zine is back at Parisian bookshop OFR

Want to be interviewed by Georgia for DUPE TV? Get in Touch! XOX

DUPE zine is now on sale at Zürich's artist run space KARUSSELL

New Road Trip submission deadline!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - - - - -> THE ROAD TRIP ISSUE

DUPE talks to artist and musician Peter Caul Find out more about...

MERRY XMAS!!! Love DUPE XoX

'KILL LISTS' - Film 2012 by Out Of The Canon.

DUPE now stocked at the ICA Bookshop in London

DUPE now stocked in Amsterdam

DUPE talks to fashion designer RICKY WESLEY HARRIOTT about life...

DUPE TALKS WIGS AND SELF EXPRESSION WITH TRANARCHY MEMBER PAM VAN-DAMNED

DUPE Loves… NAGI NODA Nagi Noda was an insanely talented...

DUPE now stocked in Ireland. Find us at the Winding Stair...

DUPE visits Vidal Sassoon: Outtakes with hairdresser Sandi Hudson-Francis

DUPE TALKS TO WILL ASTBURY, THE BEARDY FACE BEHIND COLUMN ARTS AGENCY

SUNDAY art fair

Ambika P3 (London)35 Marylebone RoadNW1 5LS

Thurs 11 Oct: 12-8pm Fri 12 Oct: 12-10pm Sat 13 Oct: 12- 8pm Sun 14 Oct: 12-10pm

Ambika P3 (London)
35 Marylebone Road
NW1 5LS