If you're particularly blessed, it'll happen every few years. For those of you with fortune similar to mine (verging on obsolete) you might just be able wish on it hard enough to manifest it. 

For me, these beings appear when they're most needed; when I'm at my lowest ebb. Just about to give up control of my life, sit back and become the oxygen-stealing, sack of wasted potential I'm expected to be by what commonly passes as society. I'm trying to be careful here, not to sound too much like a foolish girl with a misguided crush for my soul has grown gnarled and hardy in recent years so as not to allow such things to happen. So, for the sake of a little clarity; your looking glass wont always appear in a form you'd be happy to fuck. Though, for the cost of a little extra gnostic(j)ism, they just might.

I detest the use of the word 'Familiar' in this context. Such a lackluster title to give something that's showing you your path, your way through the mire to who you could be, to essentially an Eden of you're own making. Familiar.  'Oh, yes, I thought your face was familiar' or 'That smell is familiar, I must of stood in some shite' are perfectly acceptable uses of the word 'Familiar'. 'I would never have created my own little paradise on earth without my familiar' isn't. 

Looking glasses inspire. Not through preaching, but by creeping under your flesh and opening you up so fully you're flushed through with their lucidity and purity.  An elysian soul-douche, if you will.

Sometimes they're temporary. Most of mine have been. Trick is, I think, to garner everything they're prepared to gift you, suck it up, miss them when they leave, but always grow.

With hard rock at my back she pushes me into earth, and I reach up and touch sky; round, soft, and dark.

One Picture Per Month project from FP photographer Yiannis Katsaris. One Picture Per Month explained One picture per month is a monthly mini newsletter by photographer Yiannis Katsaris. The newsletter will feature one of Yiannis’ recent pictures or one from his archive. This communication platform aims to be a gift in your inbox rather than a traditional newsletter. 

http://www.yianniskatsaris.com

Z's little brother reached into the military drab duffel and pulled out our standard. We passed the spiked bat brother to sister, sister to brother; I still remember how it felt in my hands for the last time before his brother tossed it on the pyre. Paint fumes and glowing nails. "I'm my own man." How many times had I heard that? How many times had I said it? That idea like the day itself disappeared forever beneath the pink and orange waves of the setting sun. Each of us was pieces of the other; broken children making each other whole. This is fact not philosophy, and that is why without knowing reasons we burned the one thing in the world that was the most all of us.

Still, the world does not end in Winter, and that day was the coming of our Spring. Some people are born to sew seeds, it gets to where they don't even know they're doing it. That was Z to a fucking T. Sarah put her hand in mine."Brian, I love you." "I love you too Sarah." We all grew together that day, crawling up and over old walls like ivy. Children of the vine ready to blossom. You would have been proud Z, I'm sorry you missed the birth.

 

On 30th May 2010, John Harrigan made an appearance at Storytails, at the Pangea Project in Stoke Newington. Extracts from his works “Dead Language”, “The Book of Hate” & “Cirxus” were read, and are presented in this episode with sonic manipulations created from the recordings.

Weaponized is brought to you by FoolishPeople. John Harrigan is writer, dramatic catalyst and performer alongside Lucy Harrigan and the rest of the FoolishPeople cast. Atmosphere, electronic voice phenomena and the occasional character sketch are provided by P. Emerson Williams. The scope of the Weaponized ranges from darkly humorous vignettes to claustrophobic occult horror. From abstract soundscapes to monologues to full on audio theatre.

Listen to or download show @alterati

Teeth hard as stone and sharp as spear tips snap. A great gaping maw snarls death's invitation. There is no mercy or quarter in the hound's eyes, and this is but one way in which we are the same.

"I am here at the behest of the King."

But this mountain of muscle, fang, and claw would not give passage to the mightiest of men, let alone to a boy as small as I.

Still, even now I am mightier than most men.

Eyes full of hate; straining sinews; a body taught to tear men asunder. Springing forward heavy paws dig into my shoulders, jaws snap at the air where this young child's head should be.

Blood boils. Steam rises.

Preternatural strength contorts muscles, spine snaps, shifting; I am somewhere between wolfhound and man. Hand balled tight around the sliotar shoving, unstoppable, greased with slobber, down the dog's gullet. Not even those wet choking sounds that announce certain death can stay this rage. The beast will die and die and die again. The writhing body breaks apart between me and the standing stone.

The skies open, and cold torrents of divine blood stay the wrath of gods beating in my heart. Poor Culann weeps harder still than the sky and I swear to stand guard where his beloved hound once stood until the day I have reared its equal.

Before I am through many mothers will mourn; and the mighty will fear until carrion birds pick at my corpse.

The wise?

The wise will continue to fear.

For many are my sons and daughters, each like that solitary stone at Knockbridge. Their blood burns like a prayer, finding my ears even before that last blade finds my throat. Howls through time, ríastrad answering ríastrad.

Geographically the size of a walnut in comparison to others, Britain has swaggered it's way through centuries of colonial greed and crushing industrialisation like a petulant bully. It exhibits all the stereotypical traits associated with the Naploean Complex like an undersized, horny peacock; attaching itself to authority figures and manipulating itself into positions of control and leadership. Lets face it, our country, on the world stage, has small man syndrome.

The true heart of this land has gradually been forgotten, steadily covered in layers of politics, excess and ignorance clogging up our souls like fat in our arteries.  We've replaced our heritage with a population of us brought up around the legacy and lore of this old country without even an idea about what it represents. One such moron was I.

Vast swathes of my childhood summers were spent drinking cider, listening to folk bands and watching maypole dances. Did I have any inclination of what lay beneath these age old traditions? No. I was too busy getting drunk and taking the piss for that.

I'm not suggesting we all don our bells and and ribbons (there are a great many more wand-waiving, yellow-toothed, weekend-pagans than is strictly necessary here already) what might be fun though, is to put down your frappacino, just for a sec, and explore what this land used to be before it's gone for good.

Full details below and at SpaceEngineering.org.

For this past year machineKUNT Records (home to Experiment Haywire, Trimetrick, Lady Parasyte, Syrenn etc.) are hard at work on the “Sanity is Slavery” compilation to fight against psychiatric abuse through music. This is a 2 digipack CD compilation which also includes a digital bonus disc. 10% of proceeds are going to MindFreedom International which is an organization dedicated to mental health rights. The compilation features 48 diverse (mostly unreleased) tracks from artists across the globe including Attrition, Hanin Elias, Leæther Strip, amGod, Pzychobitch, and Trimetrick. It is mastered by Kolja Trelle of Soman.

machineKUNT is currently giving away packages to anybody who pre-orders the compilation as they count down the last days of their Kickstarter fund. With everything from paintings made specifically for the cause to customized songs by Experiment Haywire and Society Burning to customized photoshoots of machineKUNT models to professional remixes by De-Tached to rare Attrition posters there are 14 different packages available to everyone who helps machineKUNT reach their Kickstarter goal. In an age of digital media the cost of printing physical albums in astronomical but Rachel Haywire of machineKUNT Records is interested in releasing a collectors item that will be remembered for its meaning and message. The large booklet of this digipack will contain pictures, bios, and testimonials from the artists on the compilation along with testimonials from psychiatric survivors all over the world.

You can pledge on one of the 14 packages here: Sanity is Slavery Kickstarter project

Sample clips of the songs are available for listening directly on the machineKUNT website: machineKUNT Records

The compilation features 48 diverse (mostly unreleased) tracks from artists across the globe including Attrition, Hanin Elias, Leæther Strip, amGod, Pzychobitch, and Trimetrick. It is mastered by Kolja Trelle of Soman.

Tracklisting:

DISC 1:

1. Leæther Strip – Happy Pills (Gimmie Gimmie)
2. Pzychobitch – Insane
3. Trimetrick – Beware!
4. Hanin Elias – Do You Know
5. Empusa ft. Miss FD – Therapy III
6. Experiment Haywire – Reality is Dead
7. Necrotek – Supernatural Breakdown
8. Attrition – Predicament
9. Verbalizer – Angels Dwell
10. ICI – Master Slave
11. Society Burning – One Foot Nailed to the Floor
12. UCNX – Burning Slowly Down
13. Azida – Mister Die
14. Psyche Corp. – Wonderland
15. Angel of Violence – Mr. Sleep
16. Psy’Aviah – Demons In Mind

DISC 2:

1. amGod – Like a Prayer (Insanity mix)
2. Cindergarden – Medicine
3. Syrenn – These Skeletons
4. Lucidstatic – Fistula
5. Johan Ess – A Treatise On Dionysian Oligarchy
6. EAT BABIES? – The Tender Surrender
7. Curiosity – Tarpit
8. Nurvuss – Tomorrow
9. Lady Parasyte – Sirens
10. De-Tached – Twitch
11. AfterChain – You Broke It
12. Zen Debris – Lucid
13. Lady Mystery – Breaking
14. Choronzon – Disdain Transcends
15. Darklilly – Happiness Can Be Small
16. Studio-X – Axis Temple

DISC 3: (digital bonus disc)

1. Hate in the Box – Bloody Ballerina
2. Lip Service – Model Actress Whatever (Nerwrak mix)
3. Produkt – Decay
4. Malfaktor – The Seed
5. Autoclav1.1 – Walk On Empty (Rydal mix)
6. Vernian Process – Unhallowed Metropolis
7. Daniel Cox ft. Wei – Lost in Translation
8. The Tleilaxu Music Machine – Bizzy
9. Amber Codon – Violet (Hole cover)
10. Protea – Anansi
11. Cyranoid – The Polygon
12. Apocalypse Vacant – Behind Fiction
13. Sabotage – God is Dead
14. Catherine Elms – Not Sorry
15. JuL!e D:stroy – Ladie’s Night
16. Strangelette – Send in the Klowns

In association with:

We'll be holding the second in this series of workshops later this summer.

Karma does not exist!  The typical conception of karma is like a delayed reward and punishment system.  We are not talking about straightforward cause and effect, but a situation where the karmic result is hidden, delayed or otherwise not directly connected to the deed.  According to this concept, a bad deed may actually pay off in the short run but a negative result will at some point come back to haunt the evildoer.  Likewise, someone may even be punished for a good deed, but there will be an eventual beneficial payoff.

Life experience shows that this concept is not true.  Ill-gotten gains are enjoyed to the fullest by very bad people and very good people have terrible accidents.  Murderers die peacefully in their sleep from old age while candidates for sainthood suffer horribly.  The believers in karma may explain this away by saying that the person will be rewarded or punished in their “next life”.  This is a theological argument that cannot be proved nor disproved.  As such, karma is no longer a “universal law” that must be obeyed.  Rather, it becomes completely an article of faith, and therefore a matter of personal choice.....

Try something new!  Try some hoodoo- it feels good!  And remember - don’t be afraid of the karma!

Their highly recommended site also has a Guest Sermon section, I'd suggest you start with The Good Luck Mindset: Yetzer Hara and Yetzer Hatov

You simply can't miss this. Ernesto Neto is considered to be one of the greatest artists on Brazil's contemporary art scene.

Dramatic, immersive installations by internationally renowned artist Ernesto Neto transform the Hayward Gallery's upper galleries and its three outdoor sculpture courts. Best known for his sensuous sculptures, Neto creates site-specific installations with an abstract, biomorphic quality – evocative of skin and interior body systems – that investigate the way in which special alterations transform the relationships between people. In this, the artist's most ambitious exhibition to date, visitors experience a sequence of interlinked spaces that skilfully merge sculpture and architecture. Wander through fabric installations, relax in cushioned soft spaces, ascend stairs into artworks overhead and, following on from Neto's signature 'nave' works, venture barefoot through an all-encompassing nylon vessel. Exploring new directions in his practice, Neto also presents his first outdoor installations at the gallery's sculpture courts. Whether submerged in a sculptural pool or balancing on a undulating path, visitors find themselves become active participants in the artworks.

19 June - 5 September 2010 
Hayward Gallery Southbank Centre Belvedere Road
 London, SE1 8XX www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Canadian artist Rodney Graham's exhibition entitled Through the Forest provides insight into the development of his complex body of work. The roots of Graham's work, which is influenced by 1970s Conceptual art and its way of thinking, lie in the adaptation of literary models. Born in 1949 in Abbotsford, a small town in British Columbia, Canada, Graham and his family moved to Vancouver in 1964. From 1968 to 1971, he studied art history and anthropology, as well as English and French literature, at the University of British Columbia.

Graham made his first large photographic work, 75 Polaroids, in 1976. This series of snapshots taken during a night-time walk through the forests around Vancouver was exhibited at Pender Gallery in Vancouver; it was Graham's first solo exhibition and marked the beginning of his career as an artist. 75 Polaroids contains elements that would be essential to his later works, namely his fascination with photographic processes, which transform objects from mere representations to autonomous images, and the idea of illuminating places at night via flash. Following this work, Graham experimented with a camera obscura he made himself and used to photograph archaeological sites during his stay at the American Academy in Rome. This line of work culminated in the series Rome Ruins (1978).

KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIDDEN

A10Lab, noise=noise, and Barbican Lates present an evening of occult and paranormal arts. 

>> Z'EV
>> TONESUCKER
>> RYAN JORDAN & DR. MICK GRIERSON
>> RAYMOND SALVATORE HARMON 
>> PHILIP JULIAN >> NICK LAMBERT
>> JONATHAN KEMP
>> JAMES ELPHICK [Guerrilla Zoo]
>> DISINFORMATION

Unlock Swedenborg's Angel communicants with Jonathan Kemps 'Angelic Helmet'; experience Rorschach Audio through Disinformtion; witness EVP experiments with Philip Julian; hallucinate and have your brain waves read by Ryan Jordan and Mick Grierson; ritual cinematic experiences from Raymond Salvatore Harmon and the first screening of Z'EV's EyEar Event #1; revisit the Dreamachines by James Elphick; journey through the past 4000 years of human culture with Nick Lamberts' Oculus; and psycho-navigate yourselves through Tonesuckers hypnotically constructed performances.

This event is FREE! Saturday 3rd July 2010 @ Barbican Centre http://www.barbican.org.uk/lates/ 6pm --- until Midnight

More info : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117294381647787

From the 14th April until the 5th of June this year their Bob Carlos Clarke retrospective, Full Throttle, caused controversy amongst The Little Black Gallery's neighbours with the display of pieces such as Tite Street (below).

1990 (c) The Estate of Bob Carlos Clarke

This exhibition of one of my favourite photographers may be over, but the gallery is also home to the Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation and has a permanent room of work by the legendary photographer - so make sure you visit, or at the very least, keep track of upcoming shows here.

Private view: Friday 4th June 2010 6.30pm-9.00pm

Exhibition: Saturday 5th June until Sunday 27th June

Open: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm-6pm

Madame Lillie 10 Cazenove Road Stoke Newington

CHIHO IWASE

CHRIS ROANTREE

DAVID ADKINS

EDWARD BAGENAL

EDWARD TODD

LYN GOLDSBY

NOA EDWARDS

PABLO CASTILLO

PAUL CUMMINGS

PAUL WESTCOMBE

ROB LOGAN

ROBERT ORCHARDSON

TAKAYUKI HARA

 

The images presented by the thirteen artists in this exhibition depict views taken on a figurative walk along the frontier between reality and the imagination. On this meandering journey the viewer weaves his or her way across the line that demarcates the boundary between the mundane scenery of familiar places and the surreal landscapes of the individual mind.

The trip begins with portrayals of everyday, humdrum surburbias and industrial spaces but ones which hint at something darker, of failed aspirations and the desire to escape this claustrophobic environment. Hidden amidst the picturesque landscapes lurk fantastic tales and rituals and mystical places. As the artists travel deeper towards the periphery of their thoughts, they conjure up parallel worlds, at times unstable and stormy and devoid of human presence.

 

 

The work is decadent and obsessive. It appears real and is dutifully imagined with intense detail, so that the forms allude to something that could exist. What these artists all have in common is the ability to transform the imaginary into something tangible; an ordering of the subconscious into something we can almost recognize and therefore comprehend. The viewer is seduced into believing that the threshold between reality and the imagination can be bridged.

http://standingonthefrontier.blogspot.com

Standing on the frontier is also on twitter and facebook. 

Like lingering radiation the sounds unnerve even as they decontaminate. The CIRXUS soundtrack, comprised of sounds created for the production of the same name is a sonic and psionic evocation of the Gods of stasis. Take care, for this physical, vibrational and virtual artifact is a highly charged object. A false n illusory Graden of Forking paths where the forks turn out to be the crux of a circle eight.

1957- Seascale, the North of England. CIRXUS is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station. FoolishPeople use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. An old English circus lost in the 1950s, its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters simultaneously inhabit past and future. Immerse yourself in the world of CIRXUS, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds. navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time.

You will not die, for by listening, you have undergone de-contamination. Now, only through the temporal space and psionic locality of CIRXUS may you emerge from the toxic feedback loops of a society bent on suicide. CIRXUS is the tragedy of Marduk and of the Atomic Age. The aural images and gradations and movements between frequencies were chosen and enhanced to plunge the listener into the Black Pool. Upon repeated listens and reflection, the listener is the finally pulled out.

$16.00 USD

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