I asked the subject of this week’s MOOKS Report, to give me three adjectives that describe a photograph? And he gave me two… not because he couldn’t conjure up a third, but because following rules isn’t really his style.
Growing up in the sun-drenched Karoo, amongst little cave crawlies and lanky desert birds that can’t fly, Chris Slabber sees Cape Town as a place of wonder and surprise. Like a kid in a theme park, everything is a joyride. Aside from the “bergie” (homeless dude with a passion gap that is always drunk and shouting “Jou ma se POES” to his/her fellow bergies) waiting around each of Cape Town’s corner, is a world of opportunity and sensory indulgence. Each day comes wrapped in potential.
In a world of confirmations and calculated speculations, there isn’t much room these days for investing in creative pursuits that have the potential to crumble and fall. Concepts that stand no assurance are – so it seems – fleeting.
But, not all the time and not with every creative mind. For example, Cape Town kids seem to be pumping out insane ideas that shout a big “F**K YOU” to the commercial prossies whoring themselves for cash off the masses. Below the line and off the wall, ideas are being oxidized with new direction. Creatives in CT are making people question the things they think they know best.
By Jessica Hazel
Back in the 90’s, when Britpop was enjoying it’s heyday, Camden was the hip kid’s heart of the capital. Nowadays, artists, designers and musicians have all migrated to the edgier East where Brick Lane has become a rat-run of kids in black rimmed glasses and wearing their Granny’s fur coats, all packing out the vast array of over-crowded and costly vintage outlets to bag themselves a nice Arran sweater for winter.
GRAVE DANGER …. The Skene brothers. Malcolm and Ian. Magnum Hi-Fi & Kid Colt. Two dance floor shaking Crazy Kids and two DJs keepin’ it fresh, keepin’ it real and keepin’ it tidy, in that wonderfully messy kinda’ way.
It’s all about Double Doses and Electronic Love Affairs.
This interview is long overdue….check it out
Bed-Stuy – do or die. This Brooklyn neighbourhood has been made famous by the rhymes of local figures such as Biggie and Mos Def, and also immortalised in picture thanks to Spike Lee and his seminal films such as Do The Right Thing and Crooklyn. Dozens of recognisable names have grown up in this area – Chris Rock, Michael Jordan, Aaliyah, Jay-Z and Talib Kweli to name a few – that New York Times states it as the “largest predominantly black neighbourhood in New York City”.
