Bread and Circuses.

The phrase 'Bread and Circuses' was first used in ancient Rome by Juvenal to describe the preoccupations of a Roman citizenry who, though once politically active, had now become  politically uninvolved, bought off with cheap grain and entertainment (1).
This piece points to two contemporary equivalents of 'Bread and Circuses' which both placate and distract people enabling the elite to carry on unchallenged. To quote Mark McGowan football is a "distraction from the realities of being a slave" (2).
(With a bigger TV this piece could be more effective!)   


(1) 'Bread and Circuses', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
(2) 'Mark McGowan (performance artist)', https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_McGowan_(performance_artist)
 

Introjection/Projection.

One aspect of Introjection and Projection is the belief that our social interactions and experiences leave psychic traces and residues in our internal life/unconscious. These psychic traces colour and constantly reconstruct the psychic screen that we view the world around us through and thus affect our subsequent interpretations and experiences of that world. This process is ongoing- our internal life modified by our experience of the social; our experience of the external coloured by the residue of our social experiences (1).

This piece attempts to give expression to the above, when it is exhibited there will be an accompanying paint set so that the public can add to the colours building up on the visor thus giving physical expression to the affects of their social interactions.


(1) Redman, P. and Whitehouse-Hart, J. (2008) 'I just wanted her out': the psycho-social and media texts, in Redman, P. (2008) 'Attachments. Sociology and Social Worlds', Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York.
  

IDestroy/Interview.

Courtesy of IDestroy.

IDestroy are a Bristol based punk/garage rock 3 piece comprised of Bec Jevons, Becky Baldwin and Jenn Haneef. Formed in early 2015 they cite influences as wide ranging as Sleater Kinney, Gossip,  X-Ray Spex and Iggy and the Stooges. In February this year they released their debut EP ‘Vanity Loves Me’ to positive reviews, mosh.hitthe floor.com commenting ‘this is a true punk EP’ (1); thegirlsare.com described it as ‘raw and powerful’ (2) while Punktastic described the title track as a ‘short, sharp slab of garage-rock glory’ (3). After coming across them via Facebook and checking out their highly impressive EP I contacted them for an interview and, between gigs on their current tour, lead singer Bec Jevons kindly obliged.

Q: Could you give us an overview of IDestroy? How did you meet? When did you start?

We are Bec, Becky and Jenn, three-piece rock ‘n’ roll band. We met whilst studying in Bristol and formed the band about a year and a half ago. Since then we have been playing shows all over the UK and into Spain. We put out our first release ‘Vanity Loves Me’ (EP) in February this year.

Q: What had you been doing before? Had you been in other bands?

Yes, we’ve all been playing in various other bands since we were in school, I currently also play with The Blue Aeroplanes and Becky plays with Triaxis and Dorja. We’re the kind of people who love playing and collaborating with new people.

Q: Was there anything specific that made you decide to form a band together? Similar ideas musically?

I’d been writing a bunch of songs that I specifically had in mind to play with a three piece, powerful and energetic line up. I knew Becky and Jenn would be the ideal people to ask for the job, luckily they were up for it!

Q: Who would you list as influences-would you identify with Riot Grrrl?

I love riot grrrl! Sleater Kinney in particular have been a big influence of mine, along with The Gossip. We’ve each got a big list of different influences though. But for me Nirvana, Bowie, The Thermals, Jack White etc etc

Q: How did you decide on the name?

One of the first songs I wrote to be played in the band was a track called I Destroy. We were really excited about this song and we felt it summed up the direction of the band, so we decided to make it one word and name the band after it.

Q: Did you have a fairly clear idea of the sound you were aiming for from the start or has it been more of an evolution?

Yes, I had a pretty good idea when we were forming the band what I wanted it to sound like. It has come together in a really natural way, particularly our live show.

Q: You released the 4 track 'Vanity Loves Me' EP earlier this year. Could you talk us through the tracks, what sort of subject matter were you exploring?

The subject matter ranges from feeling the need to destroy everything, to enjoying getting drunk with your friends… so I think there are a lot of relatable themes in the lyrics! The theme of the whole EP is an observation of human feelings and behaviours.

Q: Are you happy that it 'captures' where IDestroy are now? Often musicians feel their releases document where they were!

We’re really happy with how it’s been received, we’ve sold far more than we imagined and it’s had great reviews. I think it’s a good introduction to what we’re all about. We’re currently focusing on the next release, it’s important for us to develop on the sound though and put out even better tracks.

Q: How does the creative process work in IDestroy? Is there one main songwriter or is it very collaborative?

I usually start with getting some lyric ideas down and then I’ll write the song around them. I’ll get a rough demo recorded with all the riffs, chords and vocal melodies to a basic beat. We’ll then all go into a rehearsal room and work more parts of the arrangement and getting a solid structure down.

Q: What sources do you draw on in lyric writing? Personal experiences, books, films?

All of the above! You can find ideas and inspiration from literally anywhere if you really put your mind to it.

Q: Often female musicians have to put up with sexist attitudes and comments from men with essentialist viewpoints. What's your experience been like so far?

Luckily, I think we have avoided sexism at most of our shows. This is possibly because we often play with other female and mixed gendered bands, so most audiences and other bands on the bill are good to us. When we are the only female band on the line up we get comments made about us which just reflects people’s assumptions about female musicians. Sometimes we are approached after our set by people who seem so surprised that we are good at what we do. Sound engineers don’t expect us to play ‘properly’ or to know about our own gear… And people often think that someone else is booking for us and managing us when we've always done it ourselves. We can’t complain about this too much, because sometimes we enjoy proving people wrong!

Q: What are your plans for the rest of 2016 and into 2017 -are you going to be out playing live, do you have any plans for further releases?

We are currently on tour, playing dates all across the UK. In between the shows we will be recording the next release ready to put out early next year.

Q: What bands and writers have you been enjoying lately?

I’m currently checking out Jamie T’s new album, which is sounding pretty good so far. Slotface, Martyrials and a band we met in Spain called The Strangers all get shout outs for featuring on my current playlist!

Thanks to Bec and IDestroy. You can check them out on Facebook and Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/idestroy

Bibliography.

(1) Young, J. (2016) ‘IDestroy – Vanity Loves Me EP Review’.

http://mosh.hitthefloor.com/reviews/idestroy-vanity-loves-ep-review/

(2) Carter,E. (2016) ‘Introducing IDestroy’. http://www.thegirlsare.com/2016/07/11/introducing-idestroy/

(2) ‘IDestroy Premiere New Video’ (2016) http://www.punktastic.com/radar/idestroy-premiere-new-video/

https://musiceyz.co.uk/2016/03/03/vanity-loves-me-by-idestroy-ep-review/

Algorithms.

A trailer for Adam Curtis' recent film 'HyperNormalisation' (1) commented that corporate monitoring of online activity is now so prevalent and algorithms so powerful that our internet experience resembles gazing into a mirror. The internet reflects back to us our interests and is tailored to us according to our online history so that, in affect, we inhabit a cyber reproduction of our self.

'Let Them Eat War'.

'Let Them Eat War' is taken from the title of a song by Bad Religion.

The UK is a significant exporter of arms, especially to the Middle East, the arms industry being facilitated by the state (1,2).
In 2001 Britain, with USA, attacked Afghanistan.
In 2003 Britain, with other states, invaded Iraq.
In 2011 Britain, with other states, attacked Libya.
In 2015 Britain, with USA, trained Syrian anti-government forces (3).
In 2015/6 Britain continued to sell arms to Saudi Arabia despite the deaths of many civilians in Yemen due to the Saudi's bombing campaign (4). 
British culture has militarism entwined in it; through state rituals and commemorations, through entertainment, through education.
The British state is active in purveying, prosecuting and portraying war, the latter as a means of manipulating it's domestic population via civil religion and the media.
This assemblage seeks to convey the above, the black fluid in the beaker acting as a reminder of the role of oil in recent military action.
When exhibited it would be interesting to have a reserve of soldiers so that the viewer can interact with the piece-either adding or subtracting a soldier depending on their position vis-à-vis Britain's military involvement in the world.

(1) Ross, A. (2016) 'UK government works 'hand in glove' with arms firms, say campaigners' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/29/uk-government-works-hand-in-glove-arms-firms-campaign-against-arms-trade

(2) 'UKTI: Armed and Dangerous' https://www.caat.org.uk/issues/ukti
(3) Blair, D. (2015) 'Britain sends 85 troops to train Syria rebels' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11610117/Britain-sends-85-troops-to-train-Syria-rebels.html
(4) Dearden, L. (2016) 'Britain to review arms sales to Saudi Arabia after military blames ‘wrong information’ for funeral air strike' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/saudi-arabia-yemen-funeral-strike-140-britain-arms-weapons-sales-review-jiat-report-humanitarian-law-a7363426.html

Hegemonic Masculinity.

This piece explores the concept of hegemonic masculinity- the dominant way of being a man in a particular time and culture, this dominance being over other competing forms of masculinity (1).
This piece is made up of street photography plus images from newspapers and magazines.
Constructing this made me aware of the discrepancy in the number of photos of female and male bodies in the media, where there is a notable continuation of the 'male gaze'.
The images of masculinity that men (and women) are continually subjected to seem to emphasise masculinity as assured, confident, active, combative and powerful either socially, economically, politically or physically.
The photo of three men (centre top) where (veiled but) sexist comments and objectifying have been superimposed perpetuates the idea that men have the right to gaze upon, and judge, the physicality of women. I felt it was legitimate to add Nigel Farage as he recently sought to play down Donald Trump's sexist comments. 
The reproduction of hegemonic masculinity occurs from an early age through role models, toys and cartoons and continues throughout adulthood, I was interested in the similarity of pose and visual message between Bob the Builder and the serviceman above
I included Jeremy Corbyn outside a fence because, to a degree, he is an example of an alternative masculinity that eschews symbols of power and dominance       



(1) Woodward, K. (2008) 'Boxing masculinities: attachment, embodiment and heroic narratives.' in Redman, P. (2008) 'Attachment. Sociology and Social Worlds', Open University/Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York p.88

The All Seeing Eye.

Online data collection by governments is often contested and challenged while data collection by corporations seems to be accepted by many as part and parcel of online activities. 
Although the symbolism and meaning of The All Seeing Eye has been adopted by several groups historically here it is stripped of any specific religious meaning and has been appropriated and deployed to convey the idea that all and everything you do online is being noted and recorded by various companies.