If you have ever thrashed around in a mosh pit while channeling pure reactivity and fierce expression of ones internalised rage rallied around anti-authoritarianism and disenfranchised futures – then you know that punk has never simply been about the music, but rather, the music is the antidote and nexus upon which intersecting layers of ideals…
Abstract The piece that is to follow forms part of the work produced for our distributed residency with A4 Arts Foundation, an unfolding conversation with the assemblages of Johannesburg’s city space. A first for both entities; working together from a place of distance. City Deep A Virtual Affect Practice, is the working title for the…
American singer Mark Lanegan’s haunted baritone is a force of nature. His deep, gloomy voice sings of the darkest nights of the soul, the deepest heart-breaks and emotional bruises, broken dreams, desperate addiction and longing, failure, desolation and death. From his work with Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age, right through to his…
A culture that is rich and vibrant but one also drenched in humility. All our intricacies — everything we have endured and are still are enduring — without even knowing it, has formed the foundation of what we are becoming. Our history has manifested our art, music, food and even – some would argue –…
Our popular culture imagines the end of times as an external affair; a comet crashing into the earth, cities decimated by nuclear explosions or falling beneath torrential waves, zombie hordes ravaging through the streets. But what happens when the disaster is playing out in a landscape of interiority. In the surrealist dream now, that would…
Social media has scarred the reputations of many prominent people. Offensive tweets, reprehensible opinions or sometimes, just poorly timed efforts at edgy humour, have even ended the careers of a couple of notable celebrities. Politicians – in contrast – appear to enjoy more leeway. Donald Trump is by the far the most infamous example. His…
The Covid-19 pandemic, is in a sense, two interlocking crises. The first is the plague itself and the drastic public health measures to contain its spread through mass shutdowns. The other is the economic shockwave, with predictions that the world will experience the most severe recession since the catastrophic Great Depression of the 1930s. In…
There is an odd stench of apocalyptic reckoning in the air right about now. A virus is sweeping the globe, wars, destruction and many other biblical prophecies of the looming “end times” are seemingly being fulfilled. Human civilisation is being catapulted into this perpetual state of reflection, loneliness and longing to reinforce all our deep…
The 1960s and 1970s were defined by a raging atmosphere of revolt and riot. From the US to East Asia; feminist, Black power, anti-war and queer liberation struggles shocked and shook the establishment. These social upheavals were accompanied by a cultural revolution in pop music, film, fashion and drug experimentation.With their collaboratively edited collection Sticking…
* Disclaimer: this article contains spoilers relating to the show Love is Blind In an interview with philosopher Alain Badiou in a short film entitled The Question of Love, he poignantly speaks of his philosophy on love by stating, “If love didn’t exist what would people talk about otherwise.” Not as a question, the full…
The Covid-19 pandemic has turned much of the world into a society of hibernation. Lockdowns, curfews and travel restrictions are affecting billions of people, while police and security forces keep militant watch on empty streets in cities across the globe. Having been in self-isolation for several weeks, I can’t help but at times feel, that…
The UK Acid House movement of the late 80s is synonymous with fevered hedonism. The peace and love experience – fuelled by copious amounts of Ecstasy – and day-glo painted illegal raves, where thousands of dancers congregated in fields and warehouses. However, this youth culture scene also had an element of serious and transgressive political…
