ISSUE #3

Marianne Faithfull

                     

                                                                 

 

ISSUE THREE: FAITH I’ll admit that it has been a challenge trying to think

of a foreword that somehow avoids making reference to George Michael’s hit of the 80s. It’s inevitable, so I thought I’d just get it out of the way. George says you

“gotta have faith” and although his chart-topping single does not directly cover the depth and

intricacies of faith per se, it still shines a light on what it means to be “faithful”. What is this

mysterious energy that everyone seems to believe in, want, need or lose? Maybe we don’t need to try to answer that question. Perhaps the mystery of it is what makes faith so personal. There is a certain

intimacy in talking about what we have faith in and why that is, so I’ll let this issue speak for itself.

- ANDIE PHILLIPS  

FOREWORD // Kanye and Yeezus Jesus

MANY THANKS TO THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS (ALPHABETICAL): Claudia Mancini, Hannah Saxon, Maria Elige Aliaeva, Polly Godfrey, Taylor James and Zoe Delprat.

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diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks i s s u e 3 p l a y l i s t

everyday people // sly & the family stone

higher ground // stevie wonder

changes // 2pac

you can make it // otis clay

your love keeps lifting me // jackie wilson

move on up // curtis mayfield

respect // aretha franklin

waterfalls // TLC

i’ll be missing you // puff daddy & faith

Now playing at 8tracks.com/stylomag

What is faith to you? Does it necessarily involve God, an omniscient presence or a spiritual guidance? Is it just a matter of belonging? A lack of faith does not have to mean that you are neither less spiritually or emotionally intelligent nor does it make you of a higher status. Having an affiliation with God is wonderful and empowering, yet it isn’t the only lifestyle of creed. Can being agnostic, atheist, Christian, Muslim, or Jewish allow you more fulfilment than your counterparts – if not, why do we need it? In answer to that question, I cannot begin to explain to you the essence of faith and the spiritual draw one has to their God or Gods without understanding the animos- ity of the human condition. In fact, as humans, we are prone to faith of celestial proportions – the stars were the first to encompass this man-made vision. From there on we have founded institutions based on portals to the afterlife. I don’t seek to trivialise religion to any extent, I’m an advocate for freedom of speech and the belief in one’s personal relationship with devoutness.

After all, the essence of humanity is really just a series of fulfilments. We are accustomed to exploring every facet of this condition whether it be through literature, art, philosophy or science. I personally find solace in the likes of music and art. The musician Father John Misty, whom I have referenced in the illustration, is a prime example of the gospel in pop music.

The series American Horror Story Coven is also relevant in discussing the spirituality within womanhood. Whether we choose to or not, we are subliminally being exposed to the likes of faith in the framework of our contemporary culture. It is with this note that I will leave you with an illustration that

loosely depicts a notion of my faith-complex. My unorthodox approach to faith and the arts is undoubtedly apparent but I am continuing to learn. As lovely as the faith in the sky was, Shakespeare still got it right, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

CELESTIAL CONQUEST

“As humans, we are prone to faith of

celestial proportions”

WORDS/DRAWINGS: Zoe Delprat | Sydney cargocollective.com/zoedelprat

ART //

   

 

 

 

IN BETWEEN

These in between times. Warm days, freezing nights

summer in the sunshine and winter in the shade. We sat in the grass, cut our hair on our own,

breathing in each other’s smoke, cigarettes we barely touched

only when the weather stayed so perfect we couldn’t pass

them up. Everything in flux.

There’s never enough certainty, enough clarity to plan out

our year, our week. The only constant our togetherness

and the knowing that I can rest with your hand in mine and the knowledge that we seek

that great perhaps side by side, always

even in these in between times.

Hannah Saxon | Tennessee, USA overmountainsblog.blogspot.com

POETRY //

Frida Kahlo with husband Diego Rivera

I've got heaven on the tip of my tongue but all I taste is lemon and the sour taste of living in a melancholy state seeing my own happiness right before me just inside of me my Soul is ripping free of the confines of this body made of flesh & bones my happiness runs through my mind and I feel it in my heart Feeling like I'm dealing with two puzzles at one time trying to piece the pieces of humanity together as we all fall apart to the floor we crumble like old stone reborn into dust free to wander and roam where we could never step foot before This is a message for all We are transcending this fall of corruption illusion dillusion humanities slavery is ready for calamity no more silence, insanity we'll now have transparency Love, and compassion Balance, restoration, creation Abundance So above is below as in Now our true nature is Goodness and Nature is Ruler  

NATURE IS RULER

Maria Elige Aliaeva | Okanagan Valley, British Columbia elige.tumblr.com

Screengrab  from  Antonioni’s  Zabriskie  Point  (1970)  

                                               

                                           

I AM FAITHFUL  

PHOTOGRAPHY //

   

If I’m being honest, faith is a really difficult concept for me to understand. So bear with me, dear reader, and I will try to be honest with you. Boil the kettle. Put your comfy socks on. Let’s have a heart to heart.

I suppose faith is foreign to me for a few main reasons. Perhaps the strongest being that I am not religious. I am in no way against religion, but I’ve never been inclined to place trust in something I cannot see. I’ve never been inclined to place trust in something I can see. My immigrant-single-mother accidentally raised a fiercely independent, feminism-inclined daughter, which I will whole-heartedly admit to. In reality, I’m probably a lot less independent than my self-image projects, but it’s never been in my nature to seek safety in someone or something else.

Undoubtedly this attitude dominates modern society. Individualism is key. Don’t trust anyone. Every man for himself. Life is what you make of it. I am in control, I make the calls, I will reap the benefits. This is my life. I think Beyonce would agree.

If you are someone, like myself, that hasn’t come from a particularly religious background, would you agree that instead of your faith being directed outwards and perhaps, upwards, it is instead directed inwards? To yourself; to your own capabilities. You become self-determined, self-reliant, self-answering. I don’t mean this in terms of selfishness, but rather determination, ambition and reassurance. Do you place faith in yourself to fulfil your goals?

I know I do. I am obnoxiously determined but detrimentally hard on myself. Maybe this is a bad thing, or maybe it will push me to work hard for everything I want. I trust myself; I have faith in my capabilities. I am familiar and I am in control. I don’t know anyone else like I know myself.

I am predictable. I am responsible. I am faithful.

WORDS/PHOTOGRAPHY: Claudia Mancini | Perth

 

 

 

 

   

 

TO TRUST AGAIN WORDS/PHOTOGRAPHY: Polly Godfrey | Sydney | leftventricle.tumblr.com

                               

To have faith is to trust. I have faith in my city, I have faith in myself, I have faith in others. But do I trust them?

I took this series of photographs out of a taxi window in Kings Cross. It was the first time in quite a while that I had caught a taxi, since a

friend of mine had been attacked in one. However, it was when I put my faith back into humanity and began trusting without inhibition that I saw the awe and wonder of my surroundings and felt a huge

weight lifted from my chest.

Try it. Take a risk, restore your faith, push your boundaries and have some faith.

 

WRITING //

which has made it much easier for people to take photos of themselves, and share with the world how good they think they look. It’s sad and it might make you feel uncomfortable and cringe admitting to it, but it’s true. Most of the time I believe that a selfie can be fairly innocent, but for the re-offenders, it’s clear that they have an unconscious, psychological yearn for self-validation, seeking acceptance through ‘hits’ and ‘likes’. People have abused the original purpose of the camera: to take photos of things in front of you that you hold a valid interest in, to share beauty, to raise awareness, and to spark curiosity.

Even if you’re taking a photo of your friends doing something, for e x a m p l e , t h e r e ’ s a n underlying question of your motive. Do you want to take this photo as a sentimental memento to look back on one day, or have

you purely taken this photo to post on social media? This opens up another can of worms about trying to prove how fun our lives are to our friends - perhaps trying to ignite jealously amongst our friends - when ironically we’re supposed to be having so much fun that we would never be on our smart phones to begin with. It’s the same when you go to gigs or music festivals. You’re in the front row, a mere few meters away from the performers, you can smell the sweat and the atmosphere is eclectic - but the guy next you is watching it through his smart phone instead. Madness. Don’t get me wrong, the development of technology for our world has had brilliant, momentous effects on how we live today, but I’m just worried about where it stops being ‘help’ and starts becoming a ‘hindrance’. When your virtual self starts becoming more important to you than your real self, then you need to check yo’ self.

In the last 20 years, technology has developed exponentially before our eyes. It has been a basis for many great things today, including being a platform abundant in information, communication, and the ability to share on a global sphere – known as the Internet. Information on anything you desire can appear before your eyes almost instantly, at the click of a button. Technology has brought us search engines, where we can explore any subject easily, quickly, and efficiently. Every rose has its thorn, and I’m slowing starting to lose faith in our society’s obsession with creating a ‘virtual’ presence. The internet has given birth to social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which have given people the opport- unity to create a ‘virtual’ self in front of a mass audience through what they decide to ‘like’, ‘share’ and ‘follow’ at the same time. With this virtual presence comes people trying to conform to certain ‘sub-cultures’ that they want to be associated with. This has created a sort of addiction regarding individuals who feel so obliged to convince people of ‘who’ they want to be seen as. 30 years ago, no one was documenting every thought that aimlessly popped into their head because there was no platform for it, and people made their own opinion of you with no external influences. ‘Selfie’ is now a word recognised in the Oxford Dictionary. Self- photography was once harmless and fun, but at the rate of today, the light-heartedness flair that came with selfies has been completely flipped around and reversed. Shameless narcissism has been ignited through the smart phone’s option of choosing to take a photo from its front camera,

“I’M SLOWLY STARTING TO

LOSE FAITH IN OUR SOCIETY’S OBSESSION WITH CREATING A

‘VIRTUAL’ PRESENCE.”

THE BIRTH OF SHAMELESS NARCISSISM WORDS:  Taylor James | Perth throughthekeyhol3.wordpress.com

         

SELFIE: Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait in Drag (1981)

     

 

   

MORE COMING SOON

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The theme for issue #4 will be EXPERIENCE.

Contributions are always welcome.

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Behind the scenes of Larry Clark’s Kids (1995)