Shopping : Paranormal Activity

French magazine

  I already told you about my aliens-inspired aunt. I have also a cousin who locks herself in each time there is an eclipse or a change of year. We all have those persons in our circle who believe in supernatural events, who throw salt behind the shoulder, who are mystical or superstitious. I am agnostic, I have a black cat and I don't believe in poltergeists and chupacabras. But, lately, I was quite unlucky, you know these days were the car broke down, you have to walk under the rain without your umbrella, you catch a cold and everything goes wrong. So, I guess than having a little something against a potential "evil eye" can't be bad. You can chose something simple, such as Kate Moss and her necklace with a horseshoe, but here is a little supernatural shopping guide ...

Helmut Lang at Matches £165

 If you believe in life after death and that good spirits could help you, you can go for ghost-print t-shirts, such as tops by Helmut Lang and Rick Owens. You would also need a good Ouija board.

Les Chiffoniers at Shopbob $560 - Shroud of Turin

 For centuries, Christians have believed in the power of the relics. I guess than leggings inspired by the Shroud of Turin are better than reducted heads or bones of a saint. But if you like bones, I advice you to read my articles on Vanitas. Plus Givenchy t-shirts at Louisaviaroma and the jewellery designer Corpus Christi.

Ann-Sofie Back for Topshop £45 - photo Eric Lafforgue, all rights reserved

 If you are not christian, I guess that voodoo and black magic can be useful too. Paint yourself with protection symbols or buy this mysterious top by Ann-Sofie Back for Topshop. You can also buy voodoo dolls and clothes inspired by them at http://loveandbones.com/. Complete your attire with a star hat by Justin Smith Esq.

Lito Karakostanoglou at Galerie BSL, price on demand

 But perhaps something older could be more efficient. In Ancient Egypt, the scarab was a strong protector and always worn as an amulet. Jewellery creator Lito Karakostanoglou offers us a lot of these little bugs. If you hate insects, you can always turn yourself toward the power of the Daisy Jewellery chakra charm bracelets : http://www.my-wardrobe.com/daisy-jewellery or to Peruvian inspired charm by Nadka.

Albion Triketry by Pete Doherty - DimePiece collar $40 t-shirt $32 - Urban Outfitters 12 euros

 But every movie about supernatural and evil forces have taught you that the best weapon was the cross. Pete Doherty might have been influenced by his former girlfriend Kate, as he has launched a collection of crosses. Ideal for exorcisms.

Truly Madly Deeply 12 euros

But if bad luck still follows you, you can always cheek her with a survivor attitude : to Hell and back ! The important thing is to believe in your good star, isn't it ?

Want to dive without leaving Singapore? It's possible!

Pulau Hantu is located South of Singapore, and part of the Republic. It is famous for fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts because of its sheltered beaches, swimming lagoons and inviting waters. The island are also popular with campers and day-trippers who prefer a unique outdoor experience.

The island's name:

In Malay, "Pulau" means "island" and "Hantu" means "ghost". Therefore "Pulau Hantu" means "ghost island". However, you won't find any ghost there...

The explanation is much more rational: During the low tide, Pulau Hantu can be seen as one island with two large bays on the northern and southern side of the island. However during the high tide, the water level in the bays would rise and the mid-section of island (which is geographically lower than other parts) would disappear under the tide and resulting in two smaller islands. The disappearance and reappearance led to it being called "ghost".

But ever since stone and concrete embankments were built up, the island does not behave like a ghost anymore.

Activities:

The best site is the reefs located at the western shoreline of the island.

There is a large mangrove swamp but coconut plams and trees have been planted everywhere making it shady. Visitors can spend a whole afternoon exploring the swamp and at low tide, watch hermit crabs digging and mud skippers jumping from one mudflat to another, or even spot a starfish buried in the ground.

Popular with divers, the seabed around the island is shallow and flat and safe as a training and recreational area for newcomers. Migratory birds like cranes, herons and magpies can be seen here during certain times of the year.

Wildlife pictures: http://www.pulauhantu.org/ & http://www.flickr.com/photos/torvaanser/

Some facilities, including toilets and fresh water on tap are available on the island.

However, there is no electric power.

Legend:

Pulau Hantu is also the place of a myth! There were once two great warriors locked in a fierce battle at sea. Many people died and the blue seas slowly became polluted with human blood, upsetting the Jinns at the bottom of the ocean. In anger, one powerful Jinn created a whirlpool and sucked the 2 warriors into the deep sea to drown them. Not deterred, they continued their battle. Suddenly, the Jinn sprayed water on one of them, and the o

ther warrior seeing his opponent blinded, thrusted his sword into his abdomen. At the same time, the wounded warrior forced his sword into the other man. Both collapsed and died.

The gods felt it was wrong for the seas spirits to interfere in human affairs, thus, the Jinn transformed the two warriors into islets so that their spirits can continue to live on them. As one of the warriors was smaller than the other, his islet was known as "Pulau Hantu Kecil" while the bigger one was called "Pulau Hantu Besar".

Accessibility:

Take a launch from West Coast Fery Terminal. Capacity per launch is 12 persons. A two-way trip costs about S$140.00 depending on the duration of stay. Duration of the ride is 30 minutes each way.

More info:

http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/hantu.htm

Spotlight : The Great Circus of Ruth Hogben

Insensate

 You've already read about Ruth Hogben on this blog (see my article "A Future without Catwalks"). A full article on this artist sounds pretty obvious after my yesterday's philosophical thinking on body and fashion.

Ruth Hogben wanted to be a photographer at first, and she had the luck to become the assistant of one of the contemporary top dogs of this art, the famous Nick Knight. One day, while the master was shooting model Lily Donaldson, Hogben decided to use the photoshoot to make a short video. Interested, Knight decided to encourage his pupil in the way of fashion video, and they repeated the experience, within the framework of the website SHOWstudio.

Ruth Hogben

 The duo have then worked for all the rising stars of fashion and design industry : Alexander McQueen, Lady Gaga, Phillipe Starck ... While Knight was shooting designers Rick Owens for magazine Arena Homme (2009), or Martin Margiela's strange hair clothes ( Make up your mind, 2008), his assistant built an impressive self career of fashion filmmaker. For Punk's heir Agent Provocateur, she created a serie of video entitled like a song of Billy Idol, White Wedding (2008), with kitsch and burlesque collages of Kate Moss in lingerie. More than clothes, what fascinates her the most is the body, the aestheticism and eroticism of its movement, as Buttock proves it. A whole video dedicated to this specific body part with a tribute to burlesque and SM, which seems to have escaped from a bobo documentary from Franco-German channel Arte. Not really my cup of tea though.

Perfect



Gareth Pugh A/W 2009

 What I admire the most in Ruth's work are her more "personal" videos ( understand without the visible influence of Nick Knight ), especially the ones she did for designers Pheobe Philo for Celine and Gareth Pugh. Perfect (2010), her video for Celine, focuses on the discreet elegance of the brand and the sensual body language of the model in a succession of peaceful portaits which delicate light reminds us of Renaissance's paintings. But with Pugh, the filmmaker reaches her height. The unusual shapes and the materials used by the British genius create a genuine alchemy with Hogben's fascination with movement and light.

Gareth Pugh Pitti Immagine 2011

Insensate (2008) is a modern version of Shakespeare's suicide scene of Ophelia. Water, and liquids in general, are a recurring tool in Hogben's videos. For this one, she told us a dark tale, mixing mythology, vampiric imagery and horror movies ( listen to the music ). She starts playing with the Chiaroscuro, a technique used in painting and photography to accentuate the silhouettes. It's a game of shadows, of light and of darkness : the videos are either too dark or too bright, and as Pugh's clothes, often in graphic black and white. The only notable explosion of colours in Hogben's filmography are Frieze (2009), an acid trip in a pop and country music (!) universe, and Untitled (2009), which might have inspired singer Kesha.

Joie de Vivre

But aside her use of classical arts ( painting and classic sculpture ), she seems extremely influenced by burlesque, circus and fun fairs. It is clearly visible in Clown (2009), where model Carmen Kass plays a strange creature, mix of Commedia dell'Arte, of Moulin Rouge's dancer and of prostitute ( the video starts with the words "Dark Annie" which refer to Annie Chapman, a victim of Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper ). In Joie de Vivre (2010), she pictures model Raquel Zimmerman ( who, really, is of all the best parties ) as a sinistrous Marylin Monroe and as a dark gogo dancer. Everything is dark, especially the not-so-visible-but-latent humour. In her latest videos for Pugh, the models are puppets with broken joints, dancing robots, hula hoop players, actors of Kabuki theatre or even women cut by a digital magician. 

Rick Owens

Ruth Hogben's universe has also to do with contemporary ballets, danced on intense electro music ( often made by Lukid ), with the inflatable capes of Gareth Pugh as tutu. The models are moon-walking on the screen, alone or multiplied ( a good way to be sure the dancers will always be synchronized ! ) and offer to the viewer images of a breathtaking beauty.  This beauty remains in the recent video for Gareth Pugh 2011's collection, but one cannot but notice that the artist doesn't renew herself a lot. The effects are the same, the movements too. Take a look at those two images, extracted from her 2009 and 2011's movies. Very similar, isn't it ?

Gareth Pugh 2009 and 2011

But considering that Ruth Hogben is still young and that her career is already impressive, I guess that her talent will find many new forms in the future, and even if her last video is nothing new, I am still an admirer of her sense of aesthetism and her phantasmagoria. Few are able to do such gorgeous fashion ( and artistic ! ) videos and to make Gareth Pugh's clothes more desirable and fantastic than they already are.
 http://showstudio.com/contributors/27349
 All images are Ruth Hogben and SHOWstudio all rights reserved.

Gareth Pugh Pitti 2011 and Clown