“the LYRICS DELIVER an ALMOST HAUNTING STORYLINE that INVOKES the FEELING of NOSTALGIA as the LISTENER WITNESSES a CONVERSATION BETWEEN a THERAPIST and THEIR PATIENT.”
Following on from recent singles ‘Jigglypuff’ and ‘Storm’, Tora has announced their fourth studio album Temps De Flors - a musical journey that travels through a broad sonic spectrum. Over the course of the record, on some of the songs Tora lean deeper into the more dance world to explore a more daring, electronic and futuristic side of Tora’s sound, balance with other songs that are more stripped back and very intimate and organic, showing the bands musicality with diversity and the confidence to experiment. The title ‘Temps De Flors’ is Catalonian for ‘Time Of The Flowers’, inspired by the recording process which took place in the north east of Catalonia during the spring.
New single 'Happy To Have Today' brings a new flavour for Tora, incorporating elements of acoustic guitars (that we rarely see within Tora’s catalogue) that bring a very intimate feeling which compliments the lyrics themes of the song. The lyrics deliver an almost haunting storyline that invokes the feeling of nostalgia as the listener witnesses a conversation between a therapist and their patient.
Off the back of the album announcement, Tora have also announced their Temps De Flors Album World Tour, revealing a stacked run of live shows across Europe, America, and Australia over October, November and December this year. In Australia, the homegrown Byron Bay band will take their magical live show to Melbourne’s 170 Russell, Sydney’s Liberty Hall and will wrap up their whole world tour at The Triffid in Brisbane. “We took our time to reimagine our live show, with a whole new set combining songs from all 3 of our old albums plus the new album. Bringing listeners on an emotional journey, with some of our slow jams, singalongs, and a whole bunch of dance bangers, one things for sure we’ve packed some thick bass in our suitcase. Really looking forward to bringing this new music to the world” Tora say of the upcoming live shows. With additional supports to be announced soon, Tora are super excited to announce that they will be bringing with them two very special guests for the American shows - Montreal duo Mayfly and fellow Australian artist Milan Ring.
My project started with me developing a treatment for a music video with the theme of embracing one’s differences. I was exploring the concept of a black family having a child with Albinism. The idea had powerful visual and emotional impact but as I began to research the story - it became so much more than that. The voice of people with Albinism is seldom heard, and their faces rarely seen. It is a genetic condition inherited from both parents that occurs worldwide, regardless of ethnicity or gender.
What isn’t known, is that Tanzania has one of the highest populations of people with Albinism in the world, with 1 in every 1429 births having the condition, compared to 1 in 20,000 elsewhere in the world. As I delved deeper, I uncovered a shocking truth, these people are not only marginalised, but hunted for their body parts, which are sold for a high price in the black market. Violence against them is largely met by social silence and indifference.
Determined to shed light on this under-the-radar issue, I made multiple trips to Tanzania. It wasn't easy. The government is wary of outsiders exposing this sensitive topic and I faced many challenges, including being detained twice. I discovered people with this genetic condition really only have two options - to either live in remote rural areas, or in heavily populated urban areas. There are compounds specifically for orphans with Albinism in Tanzania. They are often abandoned by their parents in order to protect them from being hunted. These compounds can house up to 250 children, providing them with a safe haven.
I met the remarkable, Sister Helena who takes care of 22 children near Lake Victoria. Unlike other compounds, her children are well taken care of and she goes to great lengths to protect them. She shaves their heads to prevent them from being targeted and scalped. Sadly, their hair is believed to bring good luck to fishermen when it is woven into the fishing lines.
I photographed many parents who shared their heart-breaking stories. It was both humbling and eye-opening. While the human rights of people with albinism in Tanzania and other countries, remains dire, it is important that we step outside of our comfort zones. By challenging preconceived ideas, we can create pathways for growth and transformation.
I am grateful to have met and documented the lives of these incredible individuals. I hope these images, show their beauty, and help create a future where every voice is heard.
KERAN WOODS is well RESPECTED in the INDUSTRY for her ABILITY to BUILD BRANDS. She has held SENIOR ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR roles WITHIN AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST ADVERTISING AGENCIES, COLLABORATING with some of the COUNTRY’S best DIRECTORS and PHOTOGRAPHERS. KERAN is an AWARD WINNING CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER and PASSIONATE ILLUSTRATOR.
Her PERSONAL work REFLECTS her PASSION for the UNEXPECTED, she SPENDS her TIME TRAVELLING BETWEEN AUSTRALIA and NYC.
For enquiries contact @sarahtammer
ORIGINALLY from STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, JONAS CLAESSON MIXES STRONG REFERENCES FROM his NEW HOME in AUSTRALIA with HIS SCANDINAVIAN ROOTS. In his COLORFUL DRAWINGS, MOOSE, POLAR BEARS, REINDEERS, SEALS and SURFERS COHABITATE in a WONDERFUL WORLD. HIS TRADITIONAL HAND DRAWN ILLUSTRATIONS are SOMETIMES DIGITALLY COLORED, RESULTING in a BOLD and EXPRESSIVE STYLE.
MICHAEL JALARU TORRES is an ARTIST and PHOTOGRAPHER FROM BROOME, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. He is a DJUGUN/ YAWURU MAN with TRIBAL CONNECTIONS to JABIRR JABIRR AND GOONIYANDI. He is INSPIRED by the LANDSCAPES and PEOPLE of the KIMBERLEY and EXPLORES his PRACTICE THROUGH INNOVATIVE, CONCEPTUAL PORTRAITURE and ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE IMAGERY.
Michael has felt the creative spark from a young age, from drawing to photography. He has always had a strong pull to showcase the Kimberley, and the colours and texture of the Australian landscape. A significant influence in his life has been surviving cancer.
Michael’s life was put on hold for three years as he battled Non-Hodgkins disease in the year 2000, a time he refers to as a ’turning point’. Michael gained a stronger creative drive to grow as an artist and showcase his art for now inspired by his personal life experience.
Hailed as one of the most exciting emerging Aboriginal artists on the national scene, Michael has exhibited works consistently around the country for over two decades in both solo and group shows. His recent photographic works ‘Songlines’ evoke Dreamtime stories and contemporary ‘light bending’ techniques which critics acclaim as being ‘wonderful balance of Dreamtime imagery, landscape and colour design’.
A NEW BODY of WORK by BILL MOSELEY BOLDLY RECKONS with the PAST in MEDIUM and SUBJECT, REIMAGINING the SUBLIME in a VOYAGE into the WILDERNESS.
DARK, SMOKY IMAGES that SHIFT in TONE and LIGHT
Moseley embarked on a voyage aboard the historic brigantine ‘Soren Larsen’ sailing from Hobart to Sydney in February 2019. Across the ten-day passage, Moseley worked as artist and ship hand, completing four hour watches and capturing footage. Drawing from his own maritime experience, Moseley was a shipwright and charter boat skipper in the mid-1980s, and from 1992 chartered his own boat ‘Reliance’ for eighteen years on Sydney harbour. It is this close understanding of his subject that anchors Moseley’s examination of the metaphor of man and the sea across a series of ambrotypes and a large scale three-channel video work.
Capturing the shores of Tasmania and the sea of the Bass Strait, the ambrotypes imbue a timeless, otherworldliness to the voyage narrative. The unpredictable process of imagery combined with wet collodion emulsion onto Perspex, results in dark, smoky images that shift in tone and light. Developed on Perspex, the ambrotypes carry a weight and materiality to them that enhance the presence of the work.
‘A Lake, a Forest and the Dark Voice of the Sea’ is a timely exploration into the human condition and nature. Whilst metaphorical in its existential exploration of man and the sea, the exhibition resonates with a parallel contemporary experience that is faced with the reckoning of a new might of nature today.
A TIMELESS, OTHERWORLDLINESS to the VOYAGE NARRATIVE
Excerpt from the Bill Mosely exhibition catalogue.
Words by Lucy Stranger. Curator, Orange Regional Gallery
ISSUE 04
MARK CLINTON’S IMAGES have the ABILITY to TAKE you RIGHT into the HEART of a SCENE, WHETHER it be the MOUNTAINOUS FJORDS in NORTHERN NORWAY, or the MAJESTIC SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS SURROUNDING WANAKA in NZ. MARK’S SIGNATURE USE of NATURAL LIGHT, and UNIQUE COMPOSITIONS have ENABLED HIM to DEVELOP a STYLE of PHOTOGRAPHY in the LIFESTYLE and TOURISM SPACE that has LED to HIS GROWING REPUTATION BOTH HERE in AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONALLY. With an EXPANDING LIST of CLIENTS that INCLUDE AIR NEW ZEALAND, GOOGLE, QANTAS, RED BULL and NORTH FACE, MARK LOOKS FORWARD to a WORLD WHERE the FREEDOM of TRAVEL can RESUME AGAIN and HIS JOURNEY to these VAST ENVIRONMENTS can CONTINUE, FOR US ALL to ENJOY THROUGH HIS LENSE.
Mt Aspiring National Park, New Zealand
Hakuba, Japan
Kosciuszko National Park
Lofoten Islands, Norway
Lofoten Islands, Norway
Moke Lake, New Zealand
Mt Cook National Park
Ring Road, Iceland
South Coast, NSW
ISSUE 03
In 'GIANTS,' AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER JEM CRESSWELL EXPLORES the AWE-INSPIRING BEHAVIORS and UNDENIABLE ANTHROPOMORPHISM of the HUMPBACK WHALE. This BODY of WORK OFFERS an INTIMATE GLIMPSE of the 'GENTLE GIANTS' as THEY COMPLETE THEIR ANNUAL MIGRATION to TONGA.
THE GIANTS PROJECT
1. What motivated you to embark on this long term project?
I grew up exploring the rugged desolate coastline of The Great Australian Bight, surfing, diving and camping with friends. This sense of escape and freedom grew my love of the ocean. Below the surface it feels like you’re entering another world, it’s such a multi-sensory experience and there is always something new to see. I initially found it quite intimidating, but now I am in awe of what lives below.
I now live in Sydney on the east coast of Australia where every year numerous whales travel past on migration to the warmer breeding grounds of the pacific. I was initially drawn to humpback whale’s due to their gentle nature, sheer size, and the feeling of insignificance in their presence. I began this project with the aim of creating portrait images of the humpback whale with eye contact to camera, on lenses that I would normally use in the studio to photograph the portrait of a human. I wanted to try and capture the expressive emotions and individual personalities of these gentle giants.
An estimated 200,000 humpback whales were butchered between 1904 and 1980, seeing the global population reduced by 90%. It’s amazing to witness the numbers slowly increasing and hopefully people will feel connected and inspired to care about the natural world. There is still so much to be learned from these intelligent and complex creatures.
2. What was the biggest challenge you faced in order to complete the project?
There is very little you can control underwater, except for the technical side of your camera and your body language. You are at the mercy of the elements, and of the wildlife, which makes it all the more rewarding when everything comes together. The biggest challenge was the pure amount of time out on the water. To have the opportunity to capture the portrait style images I envisioned required a genuinely curious whale to come over to investigate you, which is where the moments of eye contact and interaction were evident. Every encounter with a humpback whale is unique. The possibility of what you might capture is endless, especially when you let these incredible creatures dictate the terms of the interaction.
3. What are some amazing things about humpback whales you feel that most people are unaware of?
There’s so many amazing things I could list here. One of the things that fascinates me is that only the male humpbacks sing the complex songs. All of the male humpbacks migrating to the same breeding ground sing the same song, though it may evolve over time. Every few years the song is retired, and a completely new song is created. A study of whale song over a 19 year period has shown that whilst there can be some general patterns, the exact combination of sounds are never repeated.
4. What has been your most favorite part of the project?
My most favorite part of the project would definitely be the overwhelming close up experiences I was lucky enough to have had with the whales. Some moments felt so otherworldly compared to daily life back in Sydney. Despite the constant struggle with my terrible memory, certain moments are forever etched into my brain.
Some of these being: watching a mother whale gently lifting her newborn calf to the surface to breathe, being in the midst of a 12-whale heat run as male humpbacks competed for the right to mate, having a playful calf interact and mimic your body movements in the water, and, freediving down near an adult male humpback, poised upside down, with its head on the reef, singing so loud that on the deeper tones my entire body was vibrating, and on the high-pitched notes I would need to put my fingers in my ears. It's experiences like these that will always draw me to the natural world.
Available from www.giantsthebook.com
ISSUE 03
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PHOTOGRAPHER and FILMMAKER TIM GEORGESON and WRITER CAIA HAGEL TRAVEL to BIKINI ATOLL, the REMOTE and BEAUTIFUL PACIFIC ISLAND ATOLL that the UNITED STATES USED for the 1954 “OPERATION CROSSROADS” NUCLEAR BOMB TESTING that LEFT SEVERAL CORAL ISLANDS RADIOACTIVE and UNINHABITABLE, the VERY SAME TROPICAL PARADISE that the BIKINI SWIMSUIT was NAMED AFTER - and they HANG out in a BOAT on BIKINI LAGOON, the SOUNDLESS SITE of MUSHROOM BOMB MEMORY?
*AN EERIE QUIET.
*STRANGE THOUGHTS in GAS MASKS.
*VISIONS of VOLUPTUOUS BODIES FILLING TIGHT BIKINIS as SHARKS SWIM VIOLENTLY AROUND.
*SOUNDS of MERMAIDS SINGING.
*LOST LUCIDITY, BINOCULARS, BIRDS.
*PHOTOGRAPHS.
An eerie polyphonic quiet. Such a long way from anywhere. Life torn off surfaces, glowing in the dark.
I wear a gas mask in a boat on Bikini Lagoon, wondering how this place could have once inspired the sexy two-piece bathing suit.
The sea is soundless.
My breaths inside the mask have a strange rhythm. I am restless.
I imagine voluptuous bodies filling tight bikinis as sharks swim violently around. They seem to be feasting on inedible fish. They seem to be cutting their fins through the flesh of water like fresh daggers.
There might be a shipwreck below.
There might be mermaids singing over there.
There might be half-lives of mushroom cloud speaking in hot hushes, which I am jealous of but I also admire.
I want to think of something else. In the boat. I am haunted.
I tilt my binoculars skyward, thinking that I am looking at echoes—of radioactivity and the silent tracks of doom, atomic daredeviling smeared invisibly all over the atmosphere.
No.
They are birds.
Tim Georgeson is an artist with
Olsen Gallery, Australia
CAIA HAGEL
CAIA'S the CO-FOUNDING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of SOFA, a YOUTH CULTURE MAGAZINE & TALK SERIES BASED in BERLIN that USES the ART of the CHATROOM to CREATE TRENDS and EXPLORE the FUTURE. Her PRESENTATION on SELFIES at FORUM D'AVIGNON in PARIS CONTRIBUTED to a BILL of DIGITAL HUMAN RIGHTS. SOME of the THINGS SHE WRITES TURN up in VICE and VOGUE. HER IPHONE'S ICE CREAM CONE CASE ENFOLDS a HIVE of SECRET ACTIVITY.
ISSUE 02
ANDREW GOUGH is a CINEMATOGRAPHER and PHOTOGRAPHER, CURRENTLY RESIDING in SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.
Andy has worked on film projects across the globe, from Haitian voodoo ceremonies and Bosnian coal mines, to the harsh Mexican desert, and the dark waters of South Africa. He has also spent much of his film life shooting projects in remote parts of Australia.
At home, in the last two years he’s worked on Feature and Short films for directors like Glendyn Ivin and Matthew J Thorne and commercial spots for brands like Dior, Levi's, Corona, Red Bull and Sea Folly.
Much of Andy's personal photography work is a combination of images shot during the filming of these last few years of projects in Australia.
Local Fisherman Eric sits for a portrait on his Trawler. Tilba, NSW 2020.
Young Girl finds a Shell. North Queensland 2018.
Apatula, Central Australia 2018.
Andamooka, 2019.
Andamookan Portrait, 2019.
Dusk Desert Scape, Andamooka. During the Shooting of 'The Sand That Ate The Sea' Directed by Matthew J Thorne.
York Peninsula Rain Squall, 2019.
Last Light, Broken Hill , 2020.
Ocean Pools at Home, 2020.
Flower Garden with John, Coffs Harbour 2020.
John in His BackYard, Coffs Harbour 2020.
ISSUE 02
“FOR FOUR YEARS I LIVED with the NEZ PERCE TRIBE. I was SHOWN a NEW WAY to WALK and BREATHE. An ANCIENT WISDOM LIVED THROUGH SPIRIT, a JOURNEY GIVEN to ME.” – HUNTER BARNES
One of the foremost documentary photographers working today, Hunter Barnes (1977) has an extraordinary ability to capture aspects of culture and communities ignored by the mainstream and often misrepresented in the modern American narrative. This October Reel Art Press will be releasing Barnes’ latest clothbound edition The People, dedicated to the people of the Nez Perce tribe.
Hunter is the first photographer to be invited into the tribe’s inner circle since Edward S. Curtis, who photographed them over a hundred years ago in the early 1900s. Barnes’ work is a vital record and unprecedented account of the Nimiipuu people. The People is the result of a four-year journey with the tribe during which time Barnes’ committed himself to becoming their companion as well as chronicler of their daily lives.
Barnes was introduced to the Nimiipuu through a friend and after joining the Tamkaliks Powwow in Wallowa, Oregon, was invited to the Lapwai Idaho Native American reservation where he was introduced to the families that lived there. While he was there, he spent extended time with the elders – one of the most traditional and spiritual parts of the tribe – in their sweat lodge, gaining their trust and learning their ways.
Barnes’ process is integral to his work, emphasising the importance of developing friendship and trust before taking photographs. Fundamental to Hunter’s work is the journey, the people, the place. Then committing them to film before they are greatly changed or gone forever. Friend and Creative Director, Nathaniel Kilcer, writes, “Hunter’s photographs speak to the power of authentic encounters among equals, the rewards of a deeply personal journey—of love, really, for those met along the way.” Hunter shoots exclusively on film, the pace of analogue in harmony with his approach.
Shot in black and white, the photographs are beautiful and stark, his subjects unflinching in their gaze. “In these photos I have seen a world that continues to change. A traditional culture that has met a modern age. A century that has passed and a new world that rises.”
ISSUE 01
INTERNATIONAL FASHION photographer SIMON UPTON INTERVIEWS the INSPIRING LEICOLHN MCKELLAR on DOCUMENTING LIFE THROUGH a FIRST NATIONS LENS.
SU - Leicolhn, we love your images, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and the area you are from? LK - I am a Budjiti woman from south-west Queensland. My people, the river people of the Paroo, are the traditional owners of over 16,000 sq km of mulga scrub, freshwater creeks and artesian springs within the Bulloo and Paroo shires. I belong to the red dirt and opaque brown waters of this semi-arid land, but I live and work on Yolngu country - saltwater country - in North-East Arnhem Land.
SU - How long have you been a photographer? LK - I have been photographing portraits and documenting events for 10 years. I’ve always been fascinated with the power of words and storytelling, so photography was a natural transition from using words to share the beauty and the idiosyncrasies of human experience.
SU - You must have access to some unique places to take photographs, can you share some of these with us? LK - My favourite locations are always natural environments where the scenic hues exist in complete contradiction. Vibrant red earth framed by dry beige spinifex, or cerulean sea meeting charcoal boulders- I adore the drama of the contrast provided. I enjoy shooting in the last light of day when the sun is golden and appears almost ethereal- nature’s lighting is unparalleled.
SU - Your favourite subject to photograph? LK - I love to capture portraits of a photojournalistic nature, especially portraying my own mob, for human faces tell a myriad of stories in a single moment, where that moment is not intruded upon. It’s the raw, candid instances that delight me- I refer to them as the ‘in-between’ moments; when a subject forgets to, or doesn’t care to pose, or their attention is taken by something other than my lens, or they’ve fleetingly given in to self-consciousness and their beautiful vulnerability can be seen. The photos that matter are the ones where a mother unconsciously strokes a child’s hair while deep in thought, where lovers knock elbows and giggle at something known only to them; where a young woman blushes with pleasure at being told how wonderful and worthy she is. To me, a photograph should be evocative and stir emotions and i endeavour to honour that with my imagery.
SU - What are your plans/dreams for the future of your photographic career? LK - I’m a small-town indigenous woman, so my goal is to pay heed to the beauty of the life I know by photographing the majesty of small-town characters and indigenous culture. Storytelling is my cultural responsibility, so my chief goal in future involves me using my camera and my skill to record the stories of my budjiti elders, to safeguard their knowledge and their memory. I imagine there’ll be a book or two somewhere along the line. I also dream of combining my passion for youth work with my creative pursuits and mentoring future first nations photographers, as I’m a firm believer in first nations stories being relayed through a first nations lens.
