Innholdsfortegnelse for September - October 2019 i frankie Magazine

while putting this issue together. The joy of making an unexpected new pal; the comfort of knowing there’s someone close by to rewatch The Golden Girls with for the billionth time; and the ways a good chum can help us learn and grow. Within these pages, we’ve spoken to folks who probably wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing without a close pal along for the ride. There’s the troupe of mates who spend their days swanning about on rollerskates, for instance. Or the pair of self-taught ocularists whose collective mission is to travel the world crafting fake eyeballs. But then there are those trying times when a friendship comes to an untimely end – when someone you’ve come to love and trust decides it’s time to move on. We dig…

Hi Maja! Tell us a bit about yourself, please. I have a background in sociology and have always used it to inform my photographic practice. I find it interesting to think about what an image does to us – how it plays a role in the way we see others and ourselves, and thus negotiate our identities. I’ve always been interested in hybrid formats and shaking up genres. For this project, I’m mixing constructed ‘documentary’ work with elements of fashion photography. Who are Monette and Mady, and how did you meet them? Monette and Mady are identical twins. They’ve lived their whole lives closely together and are, as they say, inseparable. Neither woman has married or had children, and they always eat the same kind of food in identical portions.…

There’s something about shoes on wheels that inspires even the toughest of cookies to skate down memory lane. “I love hearing people’s rollerskate stories,” says Andi Dextris, one-seventh of Melbourne performance troupe Skate Odyssey. “Nearly everyone has one, and it’s usually steeped in joyous nostalgia.” Whether for a first kiss or a near miss, most of us have donned the skates at some point, but Andi and the rest of this colourful crew never left the rink. Skate Odyssey is a party on wheels, bringing rollerskates, ’70s disco bangers, kooky monikers and customised space-age costumes to a festival, album launch or music video near you. “It’s like a non-stop disco on skates with your best friends,” member Asphalt Bitumen says. A last-minute request for a birthday party flash mob was…

Zindzi Okenyo is a busy woman with a lot on her plate. If you didn’t believe it when she spat out those exact words in her catchy song “Woman’s World”, just have a glance at her ongoing projects: there’s Zindzi Okenyo, the long-time theatre actor, currently playing Beatrice in Bell Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing; OKENYO, the aforementioned singer and rapper, who recently toured with electro-pop icon Christine and the Queens; and Zindzi, the affable Play School presenter who sang “Little Peter Rabbit” so nervously in her audition that she thought she’d never make the cut. The Zindzi Okenyo we speak to on the phone has just got back from Kenya. She’s trying to find words to describe her trip, where she met family for the first time, but it’s…

In the aftermath of the very worst plane crashes, forensic science can find itself pushed to its absolute limits. Amid the flames and wreckage, getting a fingerprint, dental record or even a simple DNA sample can be next to impossible. Wallets are burned, belongings destroyed. But some personal artefacts do survive the carnage: metal, precious stones, diamonds. Enter a forensic jeweller. Well, the forensic jeweller. “‘Forensic jewellery’ is actually a phrase I coined myself to try to make it easier to describe what I do,” says the world’s first/foremost/ only forensic jeweller, Maria Maclennan, with a laugh. “It just seemed like a nice universal phrase to describe using items of jewellery to try to identify victims of disasters, homicide or crime.” A petite 30-year-old Scottish woman covered in tattoos and…

There are many, mostly unspoken rules about what adults can be openly sad about and for how long. For example, the death of a parent and the end of a romantic relationship are generally considered worthy of extended periods of overt grief, while the death of a pet and the end of a friendship aren’t. It’s almost like there’s some sort of invisible sympathy stopwatch that calls time on public displays of emotion about dearly departed pets, bust-ups with mates and other hardships after just a few days. I mean, sure, friends and family generally outrank pets in the grief pecking order, but not for everybody. For some people, a beloved animal buddy is their primary, if not sole companion. And why are platonic relationships considered undeserving of prolonged mourning?…

ANNAPURNA CIRCUIT, NEPAL If reaching 10,000 steps a day brings you joy, why not up the ante and book yourself a walking trip through the epic snowcapped peaks of Nepal’s mountainous regions? “Next year marks five years since the massive earthquake, and while the country has recovered from its shocking effects, tourism has not fully bounced back,” Bruce explains. “It’s a good time to visit and support the Nepalese, as tourism is a huge industry there.” The Annapurna Circuit through the Himalayan region of Central Nepal is one of the country (and world’s) most famous long-distance hiking treks. It can take up to 20 days, depending how speedy you are, but there are plenty of opportunities to warm up in tea houses and lodges lining the trail. “This trek is…

Tell us about your photo series, Nuoto da sola. Nuoto da sola is Italian for ‘I swim alone’, and is a series of photos from the seaside city of Rimini in Italy. Along 15 kilometres of sand, umbrellas and beach lounges are sectioned off by colour. Travelling solo for the first time was my final test to prove my own autonomy after a big break-up, and these photos are a reflection on that experience. I felt awkward doing some things by myself while travelling, but always felt content swimming in the ocean alone. What do you know about the town? It’s on the Adriatic coast, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and is a popular holiday spot for Italians and other Europeans in summer. The film director and writer…

Dear frankie, As a student currently submerged in the dreaded HSC, I wanted to thank you with all my heart for issue 90. Every day recently has been spent obsessing over marks, ranks, assessments and ATAR calculators, but with the help of those clever life mottos, I found myself more empowered than anything. I know now that despite every negative thing this year has and will throw at me, I’ll be kind to myself, say no when I need to, never settle and work hard while shaking my hips. Thank you endlessly, Jen x Dear frankie, I’m a complete flower fanatic, so no one was surprised when that was my first tattoo. By my fourth, I’d fallen in love with the idea that someone versed in ‘petal talk’ could read…

Friendship origin stories are just as important as any meet cute, and for Francesca Gelai and Nelly James it was love at first sight. Literally. The pair met while working as dispensing opticians at a Melbourne optometrist. Soon, they began hanging out outside of rostered hours, but it wasn’t a series of brunches that launched their segue into true friendship – rather, it was starting their side project, Eyes For All. “We always knew we wanted to work on a special project together that helped others, and ocularistry was the perfect hybrid of our love for eyes, craft and people,” Nelly says. The decision to become ocularists – folks who make and fit prosthetic eyes – came after watching the documentary Saving Face, which follows the rehabilitation process of three…

You mightn’t know it from the endless Marvel and DC superhero reboots, but there’s a thriving indie comic scene out there – one where writers, artists and publishers dream up entirely different kinds of superheroes. Lee Francis is one of those people. The Albuquerque-based writer, educator and owner of book and comic store Red Planet also runs Native Realities, a publishing house for stories by and about First Nations peoples from around the world. With roots in the Native American Laguna Pueblo tribe, Lee spent his childhood between Washington DC and his grandma’s place on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. His science fiction and fantasy-obsessed dad encouraged him to pick up comics from a young age. “I remember getting really excited when I saw a Native character,” he says.…

On one of our romantic first dates, my girlfriend and I took a trip to Bunnings (yes, she bought me a sausage, with onions – that’s just the kind of girl she is), followed by a leisurely spot of mattress shopping. Flopping ourselves down on one bed after another, we embarked on one of those rituals that has cemented relationships since time immemorial: the joint purchase of Important Adult Things. Fast forward through four years of laughter, grief, major surgery, culinary disasters, new jobs, tear-streaked jubilation on ‘YES’ vote day, and countless failed attempts to film our cat Sharon doing funny things… and here we are, surrounded by notes in that winning bed, peering at 40 profiles on a computer screen. We’re buying a sperm donor. Well, not the whole…

Where is it? 44 Cremorne Street, Cremorne. Describe Glasshaus Inside in a sentence. Paul Hyland: An urban, green oasis for plant lovers and partygoers. Nada Glumicic: An industrial take on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. What goes on there? NG: The Glasshaus engine constantly churns out exciting new plant stock, plus green designs and installations for various clients. Events are also hosted in the space. How did it all begin? PH: In 2017 I started Glasshaus nursery, which is a horticultural outdoor nursery in Richmond. Noticing the demographic of my customers, I saw the need to service a more transient population of inner-city apartment dwellers – people who didn’t necessarily have a garden, but loved having plants inside. As we already worked in the events industry with green styling and…

THE DISPOSSESSED by Ursula K Le Guin From one of the most influential names in sci-fi (who sadly passed away last year), The Dispossessed is a gripping tale of two planets torn apart by centuries of conflict, and a physicist, Shevek, trying his darndest to bring them back together. Even though it was written in 1974, it tackles topics that are still incredibly relevant, like feminism, anarchism, capitalism and utopianism. (And a few other ‘isms’, too.) If you can’t get enough after tearing through this novel, check out the other books in Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle series, which is set in the same universe – The Left Hand of Darkness is particularly popular. KINDRED by Octavia E Butler This time-travelling tale follows an African-American writer, Dana, as she flits between…

When I was 18 and living in Perth, I walked past a sex shop that said ‘dancers wanted’ in the window. It was a peep show. I’d been working at McDonald’s and was on Centrelink before that, and I was like, “This is not sustaining my life.” I’ve always seen myself as an outsider, living on the fringe, so the sex industry wasn’t particularly scary to me. I had a super-liberal upbringing and was fascinated with strippers and sex workers. I remember being a little girl in the city, always wanting to see sex workers on street corners. I was obsessed with glamorous ladies and loved the idea of Kings Cross in Sydney, where it was a hotbed of debauchery and sin. No one explained the job to me at…

SEPTEMBER CREATIVE We sell invitations, save-the-dates and other event stationery to suit every style and budget. Choose from ready-made designs or something completely custom! Our work is inspired by our obsession with typography, colour and nature.septembercreative.com.au CRAFT’S GARDEN OF ZEN Based in Wellington, New Zealand, we design romantic, one-of-a-kind jewellery that adds unexpected flare to your wedding-day duds. Our earrings, necklaces and rings are made from sterling silver and raw, natural gemstones like amethyst and opalite.craftsgardenofzen.etsy.com ONE SPOON TWO SPOON PHOTOGRAPHY Based in Melbourne, I’ll travel anywhere to snap pretty pictures of lovebirds tying the knot. I put my heart and soul into making sure I capture the best of your big day, from the ‘I do’ to the small, sweet moments you never want to forget.onespoontwospoon.com QUILL We’re a…

Growing up in Kenya was really cool. I was young when we moved there, to a camp set up to help people transition from war-torn countries (in my case, South Sudan) to getting a sponsorship to go overseas. My mum had eight kids and I’m number five. We'd finish school around midday and go home to help with cooking, or carrying water. We went back and forth between the refugee camp and the capital city, Nairobi – we were pretty much always on the move. They called me the active child – but in the camp, only boys got the opportunity to play soccer. My mum enrolled me in a school in Nairobi so I could get into the different sports they offered. Then, in 2006, we left Kenya and…

GEORGIA PERRY full as a centipede’s sock drawer For my illustration, I chose to interpret the Aussie slang ‘full as a centipede’s sock drawer’. It’s a bit surprising, as I normally hate bugs that move in a worm-like fashion, but this one conjured a cute and funny image in my mind, so it got a pass this time. Strangely, I had never actually heard this saying before, which is unexpected seeing as I grew up in the country and love to use a lot of obscure Aussie slang in my everyday life. I decided to depict the lil centipede in a graphic, pastel world. Somehow, his sock drawer has been transplanted into a field of blooming daisies, and he’s obviously an avid collector, as the drawers are overflowing with colourful…

KATFISH COLLECTION IN A SENTENCE: Daring and artful accessories, designed to liven up any outfit and perk up your home // WHAT WE SELL: Brooches, earrings, bangles, ‘shoe bling’, home décor and custom acrylic art portraits – all made with a sparkly twist // PRICE POINT: $10 to $40 for accessories and $50 to $300 for wall art // WHAT MAKES THE SHOP SPECIAL: Our products are lovingly designed and made in Sydney using laser-cutting techniques. If wearing our colourful, glittery products makes you feel bold and brave, our job is done // FIND US: Online at katfishcollection.com PAPER JEAN IN A SENTENCE: Super-schmick wedding stationery for couples with a refined and modern aesthetic // WHAT WE SELL: Save-the-dates, invitations, seating charts, menus, place cards and envelopes, all made on…

CLUEDO // Look, you’ve got to do something during a World War II air-raid blackout, whether it’s have sex, count to a thousand, or invent one of the world’s most popular board games. In the case of English musician and true-crime fan Anthony Pratt, the third option was the most alluring – although he may have had loads of sexy times and counted upwards of a thousand, too. It’s just that we don’t have evidence of those things – but we do have evidence of his board game (for which he pocketed just 5000 pounds), originally titled Murder!, and later Clue or Cluedo (depending on the continent where you reside). It was a murder mystery parlour game made miniature, created as an antidote to the terribly tedious war, which was…

SHE BELIEVES IN HUMAN CONNECTION I feel extremely humbled when people tell me my lyrics are relatable, and have helped them through tough times. But funnily enough, I find people create their own meaning from my songs, which then helps them get through. I think that speaks to our ability to find ourselves in other people’s experiences and be able to empathise in different ways, which is one of the best parts about being human and compassionate. SHE’S INSPIRED BY DIVE BARS IN TENNESSEE I love the not-secret secret-society nature of dive bars in Nashville. There’s always an open-door policy at these places, but you have to find the door. It makes it a treasure hunt of sorts when you’re barhopping around town. When you do eventually find what you’re…

My husband has already named our dogs. Dogs that we do not have in our possession. Dogs that may enter our lives from a rescue shelter in some distant, unknowable future to be fed and walked and loved like the children we don’t have, either. There’s Geoffrey and Gremlin. In time, there will be more. And in case I forget, Chris has an extremely grating habit of calling every dog or furry creature we encounter ‘Geoffrey’. I’d like to think it’s not just his joy in metaphorically pulling my pigtails that motivates this, but a part of me wonders. You see, I’m not a ‘dog person’. I don’t slow down to pat a stranger’s pet. I don’t favourite friends’ selfies with their fur babies. I might see a puppy and…