MONDOmagazine

Paria Lambina

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

A recent graduate of the Ryerson University fashion design program, Paria Shirvani has done nothing by excel in fashion industry. She has been featured at the Holt Renfrew flagship store, has interned with designers such as Arthur Menonça and is actively involved with New York Fashion Week. Debuting in Toronto on [FAT] Day One, Paria Lambina is a ready-to-wear collection for women. The designs are body-conscious, classic and elegant. The collection worked both structured and flow in her 2009 Fall/Winter collection and audiences can expect a similar collection for Spring 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

youth.inAsia

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Last year’s debut of youth.inAsia’s collection at [FAT] was theatrical, outlandish and experimental. It was a collection that boldly mixed pattered pencil skirts with short fur jackets. The complexity of the collection was impressive and the couture-based signature creations of youth.inAsia are unforgettable. Aidan Mayner and Josh Shier are the creators behind the label.

Collaborators since art school, Mayner and Shier’s geometric designs caught the eye of Sandra Robert, the editor-in-chief of IMAGOzine. Roberts loved youth.inAsia and helped propel them into editorials, television and fashion shows. The designs are beautifully sculpted with architectural shapes and help enhance the female form. Read the rest of this entry »

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Christabel Couture is one of the most dramatic and intriguing artists in Toronto. Creating risky clothing lines, starring in hilarious videos and leading an extraordinary daily life, Christabel’s creations are one-of-kind and are, without a doubt, on the way to be a ‘household name’ in couture.

How to explain Christabel’s style? Take the alien aspect of The Fifth Element, add a hint of Alexander McQueen (with emphasis on the Queen), and maybe drop some acid. The light-hearted and multi-disciplined artist is one of the featured photography and video artists  at this year’s Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week. My interview with Christabel had me laughing out loud, and here’s how it went. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview by Owen Craig

This Wednesday, April 14 the first issue of a new comic from IDW called Kill Shakespeare launches. The series is written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with art by Andy Belanger. MONDOcomics has an interview with the writers.

MONDO: For those of us who don’t already know could you tell us a little bit about the concept of Kill Shakespeare?

Anthony: Kill Shakespeare is an upcoming comic book series that comes out from IDW Publishing on April 14^th. It is an action-adventure series where we take all of Shakespeare’s greatest heroes and all of his… most menacing villains and put them all together in the same world, the same story. They’re all on a quest to track down the reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare to either kill him or save him.

Conor: To kill or not to kill, that is the question.

MONDO: So where did this come from? Is Shakespeare something that has always been interesting for you guys or is this concept something you stumbled upon?

Conor: Both, actually. Anthony is a huge Shakespeare fan, I was a minor in theatre and did a lot of theatre in high school so I did a lot of Shakespeare and was exposed to it and always enjoyed it, but Anthony’s the one who, he goes to Stratford every year for, (to Anthony) what, fifteen, sixteen years now?

Anthony: Woah, I’m not that old!

Conor: I thought since high school.

Anthony: Yeah, I guess so. I guess I am that old. Read the rest of this entry »

Mice Templar #6 pinup

By Owen Craig

For those of you checking out the Wizardworld Toronto show this weekend I’ve got a great recommendation for you.  Check out the table for an artist named Stuart Sayger. If you’re not familiar with his work you definitely should make sure you are by the end of this show. In addition to being extremely friendly and having an awesome Indiana accent his work is really, really good.

Having been exposed to comics at an early age, Stuart spent his high school years working at a comic book store. He was there to unpack new copies of The Dark Knight Returns #1 and Watchmen #1. “Anyone out there remember the way Elektra Assassin #1 smelled fresh from the case?”, he remembers. “Something about that book, maybe the paper or the ink, made it smell differently than the rest!” After studying journalism for a while Stuart put together some samples and brought them to a comicon in Chicago. Despite positive response nothing panned out. “It’s kind of a drag when people say, ‘Oh yes, this is good work, we just have no job for you’. So I decided to make my own opportunities.” Read the rest of this entry »

Fashion Week: Interview with Jason Meyers

Interview and photos by Helen Fylactou

Jason Meyers may not have been the winner of Project Runway Canada, but being on the show definitely helped establish him as a fierce competitor in the world of fashion. Meyers recently unveiled his Spring 2010 collection at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week, exciting his fans and surprising the skeptics with street-savvy-meets-old-Hollywood designs. Although the collection was not flawless, the evolution in the types of designs and craftsmanship of Meyers was remarkable. This season, Meyers’ eclectic style incorporates his signature fishtail hems, busy fabrics, and explosion of ruffles. Refusing to stop until he has made his designs a household name, Meyers continues to educate and grow his collection.

MONDO: In comparison to last year, how did you prepare differently (if at all) for this year’s Fashion Week?

Jason Meyers: This year I really focused on quality of fabric, workmanship, and price point. I wanted this collection to be very marketable to get to the market place with customer satisfaction. Read the rest of this entry »

By Miles Baker

Like most things, I learned about Screen & Racket on Facebook. But, unlike most events on Facebook, I was actually interested in this one. The show is billed as a showcase for four original short films with live performances of accompanying musical scores. It will premiere brand new works from emerging filmmakers Pouyan Jafarizadeh (previous works screened at the Images Festival, TIFF Student Showcase, and Calgary Independent Film Festival), Doug Nayler, Brodie Spaull, and Lesley Chan (previous works screened at Pleasure Dome, the Images Festival, Alucine Toronto Latin Media Festival, as well being featured as a Canadian Spotlight at the 2008 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival) with dancer Laura Kappel.  Each filmmaker worked in close collaboration with a group of musicians, respectively: Alex Unger, The Weather Station, ­­­Destroy All Humans, and EXERCISERS. I sat down with Doug Nayler (who longtime MONDOreaders will know as our former film editor and as an awesome writer) via the Facebook chat to talk about the show.

MONDO: So, to kick things off, tell me about what we’ll be seeing on Friday.

Doug Nayler: Well, we’ll be seeing four original short film collaborations, projected onto a screen with the scores performed live. Each film was produced by a different team consisting of filmmakers and musicians, and everything is completely new and original for this event.

MONDO: How did these collaborations start?

DN: Well, we started with the idea of the event and then began recruiting whoever was interested. Generally the filmmakers involved sought out musicians it would be interesting to Read the rest of this entry »

Mud Flap Project: Herman Kruis's Truck - Highland Transport

By Carolyn Tripp

“A friend of mine and I were sitting on the sidewalk one day,” artist Steven Laurie explains, “and wondering out loud what it would take for people who didn’t typically talk about art to be compelled to come into a gallery or be interested in a contemporary art show.”

The possibilities often seem stunted by the fairly insular environments that many art communities tend to foster. This is equally perpetuated by design or lack of funds, and a conundrum that many artists choose, understandably, not to address when creating work, especially when it pertains to those exhibiting in galleries. Typically one would choose to have art appear in spaces that specifically appeal to those of the local “known” and “cultured” audience (who are assumed to want to attend a show), versus those who never typically show interest, but might if they felt compelled (those we assume may never attend). Read the rest of this entry »

Plaza at the Intersection of Highway 7 and West Beaver Creek Road.

The commercial areas of Toronto’s suburbs are weird and wonderful experiments in postcolonialism. In many ways, they’re blank slates, plazas filled in gradually with a combination of big-box stores and shops and restaurants that are representative of the area’s predominant cultures and ethnicities. Morris Lum calls them ethnoscapes. Here, he says, “you may encounter a Chinese restaurant beside a Caribbean roti house and a Tim Horton’s.”

But as day turns to night, these car-centric areas of commerce grow quiet and lonely. It’s in this still, brightly-lit period, in these “monumental signifiers of North America,” that Lum documented New Cultural Topographics, a commentary on his self-proclaimed hybrid heritage.

Lum is part of the first-ever DOC/now, Ryerson University’s MFA Thesis Festival. Organized by its students, the festival celebrates work by the first graduating class of Ryerson’s new documentary media program. The festival opened on Thursday, June 11 and runs until June 23. MONDO had a quick conversation with Morris about his series.

By Kerry Freek

MONDO: Tell us a bit about your project.

Morris Lum: Well, my initial proposal for the program talked about trying to make sense of my hybrid heritage. My upbringing essentially culminates three different countries: I was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but moved to Canada when I was five. My dad was also born in Trinidad and Tobago and my mother was born in Macau, China.

Essentially, I had wanted to—through photography—make sense of this hybrid heritage. It took me a year-and-a-half to figure out a mode of image making that would best represent my heritage.

MONDO: The busy bright lights contrast with the late-night, abandoned suburban locations in your images. How do these images represent your hybrid heritage?

ML: They represent my Chinese heritage and my suburban Mississauga upbringing. The spaces metaphorically represent the wave of Chinese immigrants that have moved to Canada’s suburbs and have adapted to western culture.

Shooting these spaces at night represents how I see myself in relation to my Chinese heritage. I’m not necessarily inside of the culture, but I’m not necessarily outside of it, either.

MONDO: Is it okay to be half-in and half-out? How do you feel about this particular convergence of cultures?

ML: I think there are advantages and disadvantages. I can love the culture, and at the same time I can critique it.

Growing up it was very difficult. After moving to Canada, my mother wanted me to learn Cantonese, but I hated it. I went to Chinese school and felt like I didn’t fit in because for the first five years of my life I lived on an island, speaking English slang and drinking coconut water.

So, it was difficult not being able to fully understanding one culture. But I would rather think about it as growing up in a great position. Now I know many cultures.

I guess that’s why I’m still making work about my heritage. I’m still trying to figure things out.

MONDO: Do you think you’ll ever figure it out?

ML: No. But it’ll be a freaking great ride trying to figure it out.

MONDO: What would you like to explore in future work?

ML: I think I’ll being taking vacations away from my heritage. I’d like to live in a place foreign to me and explore how I see that space in relation to what I know.

MONDO: Where would you go?

ML: Japan, specifically Okinawa. I would revisit it from time to time, documenting its evolutions.

You can see Morris’ images, represented on a giant panoramic scale, at Toronto Image Works (80 Spadina Avenue, Suite 207) until June 27.

Plaza on the Intersection of Highway 7 and Commerce Valley.

By Julia Baird

Lyndall Musselman is on a quest to show that “Who’s Emma” is not just a rhetorical question without proper punctuation.  As a part of the DOC/now festival (presenting work by the first graduating class in Ryerson University’s MFA in Documentary Media program), Lyndall’s project,  Remember Who’s Emma, is an interdisciplinary documentary portraying a time, community, and place in the history of Toronto’s grassroots culture.

Prior to studying at Ryerson, Lyndall Musselman majored in Contemporary Studies and History, and attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for interdisciplinary art, focusing mainly on photo and video.  Stemming from a conceptual art background, Lyndall notes that it has been a shift for her to move from the art world to a more traditional documentary approach — especially because matters are complicated slightly by having to grapple with documentary concerns like impartiality and historical accuracy. That being said, Lyndall has found that exploring the issues and shortcomings that surround representation has been a common thread throughout her artistic practice.  Fittingly, she sites Martha Rosler and Allan Sekula as influences, noting that they are also “really into social justice issues, really kind of grounding their art practice in real life concerns.”

So what was Who’s Emma anyway?  And who was Emma, while we’re at it?  Who’s Emma was a store that was located on Nassau Street in Kensington Market in Toronto from 1996 to 2000.  Frustrated by a lack of venues and stores supporting DIY culture and independent punk and hardcore music, Who’s Emma was opened by a collective of people, and was staffed and run entirely by volunteers on a consensus basis through monthly meetings.  On top of being a store, Who’s Emma hosted shows, workshops, and provided a space for community, activism, and collaboration.  And the Emma in question is Emma Goldman, an anarchist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who lived out the end of her life in Kensington Market after being deported from the United States for her political views.

Lyndall remembers her first exposure to Who’s Emma: “When I was 15, I had a friend whose father lived in Kensington Market and I came to visit her in Toronto.  We were walking around the Market and came across Who’s Emma and I was totally blown away by it.”  Here were people about her age staffing a store offering zines, books, and music that would have been basically impossible for her to find in her hometown of Collingwood. And that’s not to mention the community that walked in and out of its doors: “It was a hub of being able to run into people from everywhere.”

Lyndall makes it clear that she wasn’t aware about how the store was organized and operated until later on, but she explains that “Who’s Emma stayed close to me. When I was living in Halifax, if I met someone from Toronto, I’d usually ask them if they knew what they were up to at the store.  I didn’t live in Toronto when it was happening, but I knew it was happening and I thought it was amazing.”

“Working on the project has helped me to integrate into a community in Toronto,” says Lyndall, “A lot of people connected to Who’s Emma have become friends, which has made it a challenge to stay objective.”  In keeping with the consensus approach of the social phenomenon she was working to document, she chose to include everyone involved via posting the rough cuts on the internet and collecting feedback. Lyndall adds that the tricky decisions involved in editing were sometimes painful, but overall, her open-book approach to editing was a positive experience.

For Lyndall, the hardest obstacle to overcome along the way was “realizing that the project wanted to be a film.  Initially, I wanted it to be a collection of video fragments that people could navigate in a gallery setting through an interface, but there was such a strong narrative to it that I eventually had to give in to the story that was there. Accepting the shift in vision took a lot of time and it continues to be difficult to balance the film with the exhibition and installation aspects of the project.”

As a whole, the documentary project embraces a multifaceted mindset. On top of being a film, Remember Who’s Emma is also an archival art installation and a variety of events that chronicle and celebrate Who’s Emma.  Project 165 on Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market will act as the home base for the bulk of it, which was no accident. Lyndall explains: “It was important to situate the project in Kensington Market.  I wanted to base it in that physical place, because that is what Who’s Emma was.” A friend recommended she check out Project 165, because it was similar in size and dimension to the store and it was close where Who’s Emma was located.  Serendipitously, it also turned out that Project 165 was run by Methinks Presents, a network of artists who share some similar ideals with the Who’s Emma collective.

So it does seem suitable that, from June 10-20th, Project 165 will play host to an installation inspired by physical traces from Who’s Emma, including financial papers, meeting minutes, and posters and flyers from shows, workshops, and events.  Creating the installation was a balancing act for Lyndall.  On the one hand, she felt the archival impulse to save and preserve the artifacts, and contemplated whether or not to use photocopies and other reproductions instead of the originals.  “If there are 50 kids in the space (at the all-ages punk show), posters will be ripped.”   Pulling from the other end is what Lyndall calls the punk, anarchist influence: “Things weren’t meant to last, they were supposed to disintegrate. People used scrap paper, sharpies and newsprint.  They weren’t thinking about posterity, they were thinking about getting things done now.”

Remember Who’s Emma:

Thursday, June 11^th
Exhibition Opening: 5 – 7pm
Screening:  7pm
Project 165 (165 Augusta Ave.)

Later that night, there’ll be a punk dance party (DJed by people involved with Who’s Emma) at Teranga, 159 Augusta Ave.

The exhibition will run from June 10 – 20^th.  Project 165 is open on Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 4pm.

Tuesday, June 16^th
Punk Walking Tour of Kensington Market, lead by Stephe Perry of Equalizing Distort (a longtime punk/hardcore radio show on CIUT)
7pm

Thursday, June 18^th
All-ages punk show, presented by Cognate
6:30pm
Place Hands, Tomcat Combat, A History Of & Ancestors
Project 165 (165 Augusta Ave.)

Saturday, June 20^th
Panel Discussion “Whose Who’s Emma?” + Artist Talk
1pm
Project 165 (165 Augusta Ave.)

Tuesday, June 23^rd
Screening of Remember Who’s Emma
6pm
John Spotton Theatre
National Film Board
150 John Street

Up-to-date details can be found on the Remember Who’s Emma blog: http://rememberwhosemma.wordpress.com/

By Julia Baird

Project 165, hub of the artist collaboration Methinks Presents, is buzzing with activity.  Several people, including Ryan Ringer, the main instigator of Methinks, work on arranging sale items in the front gallery for a fundraiser that’s four days away.  People mill in and out of the artist studios. When I have trouble finding my pen, Ryan hands me one filled with pink ink and explains that he enjoys the invigoration of writing in colours other than blue and black.

Pinpointing the essence of Methinks Presents is a tricky task, but the collective has something to do with all of the following words: surprise, inclusion, action, spontaneity, performance, disruption, sharing, and support.  Ryan explains, “Methinks is about collective action and collaboration. There’s been a lot of play, make-believe, and ongoing narratives.”

Methinks began in 2003 at the Ontario College of Art and Design with Ryan and Kevin Mayo. Eventually Kevin left for his own ventures and Methinks developed into a more collaborative character.  And the name?  As students at OCAD, their schooling was largely “about ideas, conceptually rigorous.  We were always told to be thinking, thinking, thinking about ideas.”  Taking on Methinks (meaning “it seems to me…”) as their brand to the world encompasses both that conceptual focus and the cheeky attitude that resonates throughout the collective.

A poster for a road trip to New York

Reoccurring performances include Free Psychic Reading Series, where “psychics” share their extrasensory wisdom with the public, and Bark News, a “guerilla journalism faction” that enacts playful news-style video documentation of Toronto cultural events.  There are cardboard-box vehicles of various persuasions: a lemonade truck serving lemonade and conversation to Brooklyn residents, a HypeMobile hurling propaganda at passersby through a megaphone and construction vehicles used to create a monument reminiscent of Will Aslop’s “crayons and dice” addition to OCAD.  Recently, a group of Methinks devotees constructed Video Camera mascot heads, in hopes that a crowd of camera-headed people would be able to rush a Google Street View Car as it documented the streets of Toronto.

Soon after its inception, Methinks’ scope spread to other major cities through organizing a series of Roadtrips from Toronto to New York and Montreal.  “The Roadtrips evolved through building community through adventure.”  They encompass a vacation, parties and events, travelling exhibitions, ongoing performance art, networking and cultural exchanges, and a chance for artists from Toronto and the host city to collaborate on art inspired by the trip.

For most of Methinks Presents’ existence, the collective was spurned on by the fertile conditions at OCAD.  The collaborators were immersed in an environment conducive to connecting with like-minded people and the school building supplied the artists with a place to meet and collaborate as a group.  “Once I was out of school, it was difficult.  We had no base,” says Ryan, “In order to go to the next level, there had to be a hub.  There needed to be a physical space.”

This seed at the back of his mind led to a day when Ryan spotted a “For Rent” sign in the window of a storefront space in Kensington Market.  He decided to give the number a call and two weeks later, he found himself agreeing to rent the space at 165 Augusta Avenue.  Project 165 opened in September 2008, featuring a storefront gallery, artist studios and a common area featuring a blossoming library.  “The fact that we have nine studios is a great addition, so it is more than just a place to have shows.  The arena expands and it’s more tangible.”

Aside from the usual goings-on at Project 165, Methinks Presents is also in the midst of planning an ambitious touring art bonanza called “We Made a Deal with the Devil.”  Taking place during the month of August and happening at locales from Toronto to Halifax, the tour will take six Methinks collaborators (who’ve been dubbed “Collective Action Expedition 09″) on the road to connect and collaborate with the do-it-yourself community across Central and Eastern Canada.  “Deal with the Devil” will have a broad scope, incorporating a traveling exhibit of drawings, a zine exchange, guest performance artists, creative events, cultural reciprocation, a tour blog, and documentary, as well as personal ongoing art projects by the six travelers.

That lemonade truck serving lemonade that was mentioned earlier.

The theme “We Made a Deal with the Devil” stems from a chance encounter with Maudite beer.  The illustration on the label depicts ‘La chasse-galerie’ (The Flying Canoe), a Quebecois folktale about a group of voyageurs who make a deal with the devil so that they can travel back home on a flying canoe to visit their loved ones on New Year’s Eve.

The Collective Action Six saw a thematic link between the tale and their predicament of putting on such an ambitious project.  “We’ll be six people in a van, camping together for a month.  We’ll also be relying on and working with people we don’t know. It’s a big risk and it’ll be expensive to do, but we decided that we were passionate enough about what we were doing.  We want to find out what other people are doing in other parts of Canada.  So we decided to just do it and the money will follow.  But we felt a bit like we were making a deal with the devil to make the tour happen.”

There are several ways to get involved with We Made a Deal with the Devil (you’ll find full details under ‘Latest News’):

1. The Collective Action Expedition crew are interested in meeting creative people, so if you have a venue or a friend you’d like to recommend along the route, please let them know.
2. If you’re going to be near one of the tour stops and you’d like to submit a performance proposal, the deadline for submissions is June 15.
3. Reserve a spot in the drawing exhibition by email by June 15 (drawings inspired by ‘La chasse-galerie’ are due by July 15).
4. Donations of zines to take on the tour will be accepted until July 25.
5. Project 165 will be hosting a garage sale each Kensington Market Pedestrian Sunday (the last Sunday of the month) to fundraise for the tour.  If you have items you’d like to donate to the cause, visit them at 165 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 12 – 4:00 pm.

And those interested in keeping tabs on upcoming events and projects are welcome to join facebook groups for both Methinks Presents and Project 165.

By Helen Fylactou

Fashion designer Natalie Simms, with her perpetual smile and her bright red hair, is a breath of fresh air in the fashion industry.  She first exploded onto the scene in 2006 with her own design company.  Based out of Toronto, n.s designs draws inspirations from music and nature.

Simms’ street fashion designs can be worn right off the runway. The Hot White Night collection encompasses designs for men and women. Using light linens, and with a hint of bold colour, the garments are natural. The slim pants are tailoring with perfect line making the cut incredibly flattering. Simms has mastered the art of screen printing: n.s. designs makes its mark by customizing all the designs with graphic prints. Simms explains her dedication and love for the process of design as “satisfying and liberating” — her designs a therapeutic expression of art.

In addition to the Hot White Night collection, Simms’ 2007 Swing Tanzen Verboten collection makes you see and feel the connection between self and landscape. These designs are filled with earth tones and warm colours. Always remembering the body’s silhouette, the garments have a crisp lightness and daring prints. Simms’ design motto: “keep it very wearable but with funky details and a hint of sophistication that can be a bit unexpected, but still work.”

My personal favourite collection from n.s. designs is the Desolate collection. The collection was created for an avant-garde fashion show. The dresses range from the “little black dress” with a boat-cut neck line to hooded dresses with an open front (for the more adventurous woman).

Beyond giving the world something more than skinny jeans and leggings, n.s. designs is creating versatile collections for the everyday man and woman. With collections varying from cotton skirts to fluid-shaped dresses to silk blouses, this up-and-coming designer’s appealing and flattering apparel is gaining the attention of industry professionals. Such intrigue has allowed Simms to break into a competitive industry and to showcase her signature style.

Natalie Simms and n.s. designs will be at The Creators‘ Marketplace Show & Sale, taking place on May 31 from 10am-6pm at the Thornhill Community Centre Hall (7755 Bayview Avenue). This one-day event will showcase original and handmade work from artists and craftspeople of all types, such as comic art, fine art, jewellery, food, clothing, photography, toys and more. One dollar from every admission fee, plus proceeds from a silent auction, will be donated to the Hospital for Sick Children’s Foundation.