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Friday, 16 May, 2008

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Privacy - CCTV and ID

Privacy - CCTV and ID

SOMNAMBULISM: SSSOM-NAM-BE W-LIS-MMM... THAT’S WHAT WE, THE BRITISH PUBLIC, ARE DOING RIGHT NOW. WE’RE SLEEP-WALKING INTO A SURVEILLANCE STATE AND WE ALL NEED SOMEONE TO GIVE US A HEARTY SLAP. BECAUSE THIS SHIT IS DANGEROUS. Where do you draw the line with being watched and recorded? And who looks at this data? There comes a point when surveillance becomes too intrusive, becomes more than just a safety net. It’s not about being paranoid – it’s about our right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Yet we’re observed so much, by institutions who regard us as, at best, a nuisance and at worst the enemy. We’re all in a goldfish bowl, and there are plenty of cats outside. But now they’ve got all sor ts of fishing rods and nets... BIOMETRIC DATABASES AND IDENTITY CARDS ID Cards will be available in Britain from 1st January 2009, and mandatory one year later. Despite the media hullabaloo about them, the cards are (£10billion price tag excepted) fine in principle – 21 EU countries use them. However, most of these are not compulsory, not linked to a national database and are not biometric. Britain’s will be. The National Identity Register will at first feature 52 pieces of personal information, including fingerprints, retinal scans, voice recognition and hand geometry. DANGERS? If the data isn’t secure – and what computer system is? – then there should be real worries about our privacy. There’s also the marvellously-titled “Feature Creep” danger: the possible extensions to the use of the cards and databases. HOW TO AVOID: Er...get a fake one? RFID (RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION) RFID tags, placed most frequently in cards (like an Oyster) and passports but also planted in animals and people, are an automated form of identification. DANGERS? The clothes you’re wearing might contain RFID tags in them – your identity and your whereabouts could be tracked by anyone capable of reading the chip. HOW TO AVOID: Maybe there’s some kind of scrambler somewhere? Otherwise, avoid store loyalty cards at all costs – and if anyone tries to plant a chip in you, kick ‘em and run. HEAD-MOUNTED CAMER AS FOR POLICE AND POLICE DOGS Tested in several police forces already. The cameras record to a storage device on the belt/harness, footage is uploaded at the station and stored for reference to crimes that may later be tried in court, where it may be used as evidence. — DANGERS? Apart from resuming our familiar refrain of “innocent until proven guilty”, this further eats away at our right to silence. It compromises freedom of speech, as careless actions when confronted by officers of the law are not generally representative of an individual and would be over-weighted in cour t before a jury. HOW TO AVOID: Grow a pixelated face and practice different voices. Wear masks. Don’t say or do stupid things to policemen with cameras on their heads. CCTV CAMERAS Reports recognise 3 million cameras in England, but that was in 2003. No one knows how many there actually are: they are completely unregulated by law. Britain is the world leader in the use of surveillance cameras. On the tube, “smart” cameras are for behaviour monitoring and, better yet, cameras with audio microphones are on the way as well. DANGERS? You’ve seen what constant surveillance does to the BB inmates. Who, exactly, has access to this footage? For how long is it kept on a database? When none of it is legislated for, we really can’t know.... HOW TO AVOID? They’re everywhere. Try wearing a paper bag, changing clothes every five minutes or carrying round a bag of novelty disguises. COMMUNICATIONS SURVEILLANCE There is currently great debate over an EU directive which would make it mandatory for all telecom and internet providers to keep complete records of all clients’ usage for at least 12 months. DANGERS? This technolog y is completely invisible to us. Though heavily regulated, it is also primarily commercial. Anyone could theoretically track your movements and monitor your communications.

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Shami Chakrabarti

Shami Chakrabarti

I HEART LONDON. ONE DAY YOU’RE WRITING FILMS WITH A SPY, THE NEXT YOU’RE STEALING FROM TRAMPS. MAN, THINKS I, THIS IS FREEDOM! EVERYONE KNOWS IT; ANY THING CAN HAPPEN IF YOU PURSUE IT - AND GRASP IT. WE DO, EVERYTIME. SO IT’S DIFFICULT TO LISTEN TO THOSE WHO CLAIM YOUR LIBERTY IS UNDER THREAT - JOYLESS, SEXLESS PEDANTS THAT THEY ARE! “Of course you aren’t going to consider abstractions like safety and liberty when you walk down the street,” Shami Chakrabarti tells me. “One young man might walk through the street and fear being mugged – but another is going to worry about the police. Is either fear entirely justified? And is either fear wholly unjustified? We must consider both men, have compassion for both – that’s at the root of human rights.” Usually, Notion would pause here to tell you about Shami, but it’s impossible to halt this fierce intelligence in righteous mid-stream. “Most people know what respecting each others’ human rights is. A heavy hand can only make things worse. If you respect yourself, you can respect others; but if someone feels thrown aside by society, you can’t expect them to feel the same compassion. To me, any young person getting into trouble is a young person in trouble.” For every law passed by this government granting police extraordinary new powers or quickly condemning young people to jail, Shami Chakrabarti has protested in the media and on the streets. Director of the pressure group Liberty since 2003, Chakrabarti has been our most prominent defender against those acting on our behalf during this “exceptional era of threats” – those mean streets. “Like the Government’s approach to the unfortunately-named “War on Terror”, their approach to crime and to young people has left a hole in public discourse, opposition parties have not been vociferous enough. Pressure groups provide a voice at certain moments in history when required, and right now someone needs to talk about human rights.” It is very easy to believe that we face deadly new enemies: look at a bus without a roof, look at limbs scattered and blood spread. It’s convincing. To consider those responsible for such acts deserving of the same dignity as friends and neighbours requires a much greater leap. I – somewhat foolishly – suggest to Shami that to quibble over rights weakens us all when we’re facing such extremism bent on our evisceration; “Absolutely not!” she cries. “There was a magical moment for me, after World War II, when people of the centre, the right, left and all the great religions shared a consensus on human dignity. You talk about extremism – I’ve spoken with all kinds of leaders and they share that consensus even now. That Rights framework is a unifying force, not a divisive one. In fact, it is the hypocritical use of that framework by democracies that has led us to “conflict” – the Guantanamos, Belmarshes and Iraqs are examples where our society has shown that it won’t extend its own morality to those opposed to it and so has massively increased that opposition. That’s why Liberty have attacked “our own” – because if we show that the democratic perspective, the notion of human dignity, should be shared equally by all, then we will unite people.” Human rights, then, are something we must uphold as a definition of democracy, regardless of how exceptional the times: “If you encounter a new disease, the first response is not to simply discard science and start again. If we treated home and world affairs that way, we’d stumble blindly from revolution to revolution.” It’s a valid point: the French, of course, did that for centuries and look at them. Sarkozy. Ha! Rights do not preclude heavy-handed action; they are not synonymous with weakness. They simply demand that compassion be universal, that the same measures be taken to ensure everyone’s freedoms. The difficulty naturally comes when we presume that other people’s must be intact because ours are, when actually others shiver at every siren and we ourselves are blind to the possibilities already lost . Rights are difficult to recognise until they’re gone. “We’ve never said that there’s a giant conspiracy; that we live in a police state – because the reality is when you walk along the street, you aren’t in a police state. What I do,” Shami Chakrabar ti tells me, “is very much like being an environmentalist – I ask people to think what might things be like thirty, or a hundred years hence.” To protect our liber ties, our rights, our freedom, requires concentration, effort. “I’m optimistic but ever vigilant . That sums up Liberty, really. We care about people, so we have to hope. But we must always remain watchful and cautious.” If that post-war consensus becomes unable to deal with the new threats we supposedly face, then we’d better not assume we’re ok and sleep-walk through the meetings where it is decided what rights we should have. So, y’know, GIVE A SHIT. FOR ONCE.

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What we fear

THINK TANK WHAT WE FEAR SO WHAT’S BEING DONE TO PROTECT US? A LOT OF THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE, COMPLICATED THINGS LIKE LAWS THAT NONE OF US REALLY UNDERSTAND – WHICH IS A DAMN SIN, AS FAR AS NOTION IS CONCERNED. READ, LEARN AND JUDGE. THREAT: TERRORISM WHAT DO WE FEAR? Rampant hordes of bearded, turbaned extremists devastating our beloved national landmarks out of completely irrational loathing for a culture that visited colonialism, war and other things on them. WHAT’S BEEN DONE? The Terrorism Act (2000) outlawed organizations which promote terrorism and allowed police to stop and search any individual engaged in protest . The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) empowered government ministers to act without referring to parliament , against an emergency they believe is about to happen. The Home Secretary can issue Control Orders on people he “suspects” are terrorists. The Terrorism Act (2006), meanwhile, allowed terror suspects to be detained for up to 28 days without charge and defined the crime of “glorifying terrorism” . Provisions passed in non-Terror acts include protests within 1km of Parliament Square requiring written permission from the police (SOCPA, 2005). Terrorism is another justification for ID Cards, the National Identity Register and CCTV. WORST-CASE SCENARIO As our interviewee Chakrabarti says: ‘These small measures of increased ferocity add up in time to a completely different society.’ Gulag, Stasi and Gestapo may suggest one, though we might be going a little far. Remember, only common sense reins in a police state now. WHAT HAVE WE LOST? Potentially, we’ve given up almost every right associated with democracy. By criminalising non-violent expression with the glorification of terrorism, Free Speech is drastically compromised and a precedent is set. Detention and the Civil Contingencies Act all potentially eradicate basic democratic liberties like privacy and freedom of movement at the whim of a minister or police officer, while simultaneously undermining the sovereignty of Parliament designed to represent us. To make it even worse, SOCPA means we’ve can’t retaliate – no law, no parliament and no public debate to protect us... THREAT: ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND STREET CRIME WHAT DO WE FEAR? Anything wearing a hoodie – who knows what lurks inside, spitting, swearing, stabbing, drinking and taking drugs, menacing the weak, hosting parties until ungodly hours, environmental damage, prostitution... A good life, eh? WHAT’S BEEN DONE? The 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour act included updating the infamous ASBOs themselves, Parenting Orders (ASBOs for parents), and Powers of Dispersal for police when two or more people together might commit a crime. Powers of Arrest were changed by SOCPA, while non-convicted arrestees, from kids to drunks, are all entered into the police’s DNA database. WHAT’S BEEN LOST? ASBOs are often issued against children and the vulnerable, those who could really do with social support networks rather than rope to hang themselves with, should they break the terms of the ASBO and end up in jail. Imagining those power-mad policemen you often encountered as a teen having excessive powers is hardly a pleasing thought, is it? WORST-CASE SCENARIO Most of us can at times be a little anti-social – imagine if we were all one cock-up away from five years in the slammer... THREAT: ORGANISED CRIME WHAT DO WE FEAR? An Italian society – we’re all paying off some gang for protection. Meanwhile, they might steal our identities and give them to immigrants who’ll then steal our jobs and sell drugs and guns to our children, while shooting both each other and us up on the streets, ultimately leaving the few of us cleaning the corpses up. Smelly. WHAT’S BEEN DONE? The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) made any offence arrestable – this also requires DNA samples, fingerprints and photos even if the arrestee is not convicted, for storage on the national Police DNA Database. The money-scoffing ID Cards and National Identity Register, which will hold 52 pieces of information (and potentially more) about everyone in the UK for more than 3 months. Blair would have liked to “go further...and impose restrictions on those suspected of being involved in organised crime” – just like terror suspects’ Control Orders. WHAT HAVE WE LOST? Our Privacy . With SOCPA granting the police extensive powers of arrest and requiring that data be recorded whether or not a crime is committed, the Presumption of Innocence as a mainstay of our legal system is pretty much negated. Many fear the DNA data will be used for “fishing trips” to match DNA from old crimes – making everyone a suspect for every unsolved crime ever. We’re none of us innocent . WORST-CASE SCENARIO Stormtroopers kicking your door down and taking you away in the middle of the night because your DNA has been matched with Jack the Ripper ’s - a clerical error.

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Notion Gets Mugged

Notion Gets Mugged

Is it true? Are supposed UK terror chiefs Abus Hamza and Izzadeen conducting a long term plot to send house prices plummeting by making our streets deadlier than a Darfur refugee camp, and are they using hooded delinquents and immigrant mobs to do it? Notion sends one terrified reporter onto the streets, and waits to see if he makes it back alive... So, about fifty metres from my house I stop to enjoy a pleasure soon to be outlawed – lighting up at a bus stop. Six hooded guys approach. ‘Gotta fag?’ says one. I gesture with the cigarette – only rolling tobacco. I ask if this will be ok; he just grabs it from my hand. That seems a bit unsociable... Unsociable... anti-social... AH! I could be on to something here. Obviously, two seconds later he has his hand in my pocket on my iPod. We tussle a little, fall over and he runs off up the street . His mates look as surprised as me – they’d even tried to get him to stop. Now I’m fucked-off and iPod-less. At least I’ll get to talk to the police, eh? Why, then, I wonder, do they have such terrifying powers? The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act of 2005 removed all distinctions between powers of arrest. In the past, we were protected from the occasional power-trip-smalldick policeman (‘There are plenty of wrong ‘uns,’ X admits) by the difference between arrestable, serious arrestable and non-arrestable offences. Now, any constable can arrest you for an offence as minor as dropping litter. Oh, and if you are arrested, the officer is obliged to take a DNA sample, fingerprints and a photograph for the criminal databases – before you’ve even been charged. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? And all this because you’ve pissed off a mini-Hitler rozzer on a bad day with powers the Stasi would like to work under, given to him to fight gangs he never comes across. I suggest that this is a little bit ridiculous. ... ‘No, because we’re not going to arrest someone for pissing us off,’ says X. ‘We’ve gotta use common sense – if we just kept arresting Somali kids for dropping litter cos they looked at us funny we’d get hauled over the coals. We’d get massacred.’ ... Not the point – while he might not do that, he has the power. And so do others. They might. How mean can the streets get if the police wield powers they don’t need, to fight the menace they never see? Y tells me that ‘ the big drive at the minute is from alcohol-related crime. Harassment, fights, anti-social behaviour... it’s rarely deadly and it’s never the gangs.’ So none of it, then, is the street-level initiation of would-be gangster superstars? ... ‘It’s sixteen year olds playing at being hard, or it’s druggies and others getting late night drunks on buses,’ says Y. ‘Organised crime might contribute drugs to the streets, but they stay away themselves.’ Which is all common sense, really. Do DCs X and Y have to deal with them at all then? ‘Never,’ they say. DCs X and Y are shitting themselves with laughter. Y asks again, ‘You’re writing about street crime? And you just got mugged?’ Yes. Yes I am, and yes I did. Now shut up. We’re in an unmarked squad car, about ten minutes later. Given everything we’ve heard about the dangers on the street these days, I’m wondering: skagheads funding gun purchases from mafiosa in order to blow shit out of the punks in NW5? DC X: ‘Just kids. They’re bored, they see a chance and they’ve heard so much about it they feel like they’ve got something to live up to.’ DC Y agrees. ‘One of our busiest times is just after schools are out - kids mugging kids.’ Anyway, after twenty minutes of driving around like this it’s obvious they’ve scarpered. We arrange for me to go down to the station; I’ll look at ten photos of kids from NW1, kids on the police database who fit my hazy description. What have they done to be on there? They might be ASBO kids. Or they may just have been arrested and then not charged with a crime. Innocent – but their details kept. Then, they’re presented to me as potential criminals. Innocent? None of us. Mean streets? Well , apparently it’s not the gangs and the guns making them mean; kids and drunks making a nuisance of themselves, and a police force with exaggerated powers and backed by CCT V cameras and databases of potential criminals watching them. We might not be innocent, but we’re probably safer than we thought.

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Shoestring Art

The polar ice caps are melting. Before long you won’t be able to enjoy a nice slice of cod on Fish Friday. The United Nations tell us that children in the UK are worse off than in any other developed country. The 2012 Olympics are going to be one long cringe fest. Wealth divides seem irreversible. 'Eastenders' is what we use to cheer ourselves up. Internationally and nationally, the shit, my dear friends, is splendidly hitting the fan. Having a score in your back pocket might make you feel slightly better about life but forgetting the filthy lucre completely and making something out of nothing is a whole new buzz. The Knitting Circle were right! Sure, now is the time for eco wars and self-improvement schemes, but for most of us adjusting to these lean, troubled times is a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice. Allow PlanetNotion to introduce you to some bright young British things who are shirking limited means and all manner of obstacles to offer their art up to a world that can’t afford to pay them back for it. This new generation of shoestring creators recycle hardship and frustration as invective and inspiration; borders become portals and hope is never in short supply. Meet Roger 'Flash Boy' Molloy, a photographer whose philosophy is 'Use what I have.' Forget soupedup digital gizmos and Photoshop wizardry: Roger uses his Sony Ericsson mobile phone for all of his work - 'Yeah, maybe I’ll buy a laptop one day,' - and the doorway of the flat where he rents a room along Shoreditch High Street is his makeshift gallery. An overturned cardboard box framed by light bulbs labelled 'ART' is his personal advert, with a chalk arrow etched on the pavement directing downward gazing passers-by to check out his photography. Roger’s fellow tenants have to duck under the white photo adorned sheet which hangs across the doorway: 'I haven’t had any real hassle, I'm an easy, lucky-go guy!' Just as Roger's landlord harbours plans to turn the flat into an Internet café, Roger is busy rallying support to make the place an art gallery; 'Time Out' are also running an article on me, so I’m just waiting for the press to give me some more muscle and persuade him that there’s commercial interest in art.' London, predominantly the people, is what inspires Roger to document life like this; ‘It’s just such a great city, like New York, when you can walk down the street any time day or night and see something new.’ A popular print is ‘No Gray In My Day,’ where one foot firmly planted on Oxford Street points towards a rainbowed miniature miracle of nature: ‘The sunlight is focusing on something and acting like a prism, it’s completely natural.’ ‘Bombed’ freezes a freshly cleaned Brick Lane toilet in its old graffed-up state, while ‘Josh’ is the red lit exterior of a brothel. But Roger considers his first calling to be a portrait photographer. ‘Peace’ is a grainy, monochrome female face resembling an ultra scan image – ‘The model was actually very ill and sleeping at the time but I tried to make something peaceful out of it.’ Starting out by selling 50 photographs at £1 each, then paying for more prints and landing up at zero again, Roger agrees how other artists ‘might like to say they’ve struggled. I may not eat gourmet meals, but I’m not signing on or taking a government grant. I think people admire me for what I’m trying to do. It’s the people who suffer but don’t give up, that do make it.’ Word! www.nograyinmyday.com WORDS: LUCY WILSON

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eBoy

The idea of re-using pixel objects to build complex artwork may have the less techie minded amongst us running for the hills, but that notion has earned Steffen Sauerteig, Svend Smital and Kai Vermehr worldwide recognition. Together they formed eBoy, a graphic art collective whose designs have caught the eye of companies as large as Coca-Cola, MTV, Diesel and Adidas. Recycling may be something that we all are encouraged to do in our everyday lives but eBoy have always been one step ahead with their computer database full of used objects. 'Think of it as a shelf with a lot of toys,' explain the trio. 'We constantly play with these toys but also create new ones or modify them if needed. This workflow evolved while playing.' When working together on the big busy pictures they are most famed for, eBoy tend to rip them apart into objects. These materials are easier for each member to handle and can then be stored for re-usage and modification. 'Inspiration comes from everywhere,' the group say when prompted about their love of digital art. 'We never liked the idea that a piece of work is final and cannot be printed and re-used many times, or the concept of limited editions. We really dislike static, final, limited stuff - this approach has been an underlying force just right there from the beginning, even if we were not too aware of it.' You would be forgiven for thinking that their largely colourful pieces are made to counteract the grim reality of everyday life in Berlin, but they disagree: 'We don't perceive the reality as dull...There are so many exciting things happening on all levels. Finally it is becoming obvious that technology is nature, the net is connecting ideas; wonderful mutation, decay and evolution is happening everywhere. This world is a crazy madhouse and we look at it in awe.' The creative hub they work within has fuelled their ambition, with the eBoy website showing the wide range of mediums they have applied their trade to. Posters, animation, toys, badges, advertising...The (pixelated) sky is the limit! The Lego-like eCities seen on their site are like video game fantasies. Outsize creatures and corporate logos take root in an unruly concrete jungle. 'No it's not a vision of the future,' they stress. 'It's just us having fun with it at the moment we work on it.' Full of optimism and with eyesight just about intact, Steffen, Svend and Kai count their most exciting project as their work with fashion label Paul Smith. 'We had the opportunity to dive into the world of fashion design and were invited to Tokyo, which was pretty stunning.' Also in the pipeline is a new series of toys, a result of their collaboration with Kidrobot. The modular figures are prepared for some serious play as they are sturdy enough to be thrown against walls! They can also take on new personas with their multi-changing parts like futuristic transformers. Despite appearing to be a company that has unlimited boundaries when it comes to its work, eBoy feel that their ultimate project would be 'A modular self evolving game, with lots of weird spin-offs and eBoy having the freedom of some unlimited steering...' And what about the immediate future for eBoy? 'Hopefully a lot of surprises!' they all agree. Judging by their past work, we're sure there will be. Go, eBoy, go! http://hello.eboy.com Words: Lauren Tones

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Mistress Carly Castille

Mistress Carly Castille

DEEP DOWN AND DIRTY WITH A PRO-DOMINA American dominatrix Mistress Carly Castille shared a bottle of wine with us when she was last in London. Carly specialises in BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Submission/Sadism and Masochism) and reckons the sex trade is where it’s at in terms of job satisfaction. Forget showbiz! HERE’S SOME BLURB FROM HER WEBSITE: I enjoy all manner of BDSM play. My interests range from the strict and severe to the sensual and erotic. My interests include but are not limited to bondage, sensual play, golden showers, CBT, NT tease and denial, pet training, foot and leg worship, sissy and slut training, cross dressing, forced femme, humiliation, flogging, whipping and spanking. I do not enjoy wrestling, heavy medical play or infantilism. CAN YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF MISTRESS CARLY? I usually wake up pretty late around 11am; check my email, post on my yahoo group. Then I take calls from clients and try to weed out the legit guys from the wankers. I session in the late afternoon. After that I have the rest of the day to do as I please. It’s a pretty comfortable life-style. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING AS A MISTRESS? I have been a pro-domina for the past 6 years. HOW DID YOU START OUT? I saw an ad in the adult section of a local paper in Chicago, advertising for this particular dungeon and it also said it was hiring. I was bored with my life at that moment and wanted to try something different. I have always been very dominant and kinky since I was little, so when I went in and tried it out, it fit like a glove. I had to train very little. WHAT’S THE MOST BIZARRE REQUEST YOU’VE EVER HAD FROM A CLIENT? Oh there are so many weird requests! I have men request that I put needles through their penis. I did up to 35 small needles on this one guy’s cock and balls. I also had a guy that was really into trampling, and used to bring me in all sorts of weird shoes to jump on top of him in. Once he brought in golf shoes and I got midway up on a ladder and jumped onto his chest. And he still wanted me to jump on him from higher and harder after that! Another guy paid me a lot of money just to comb my hair for an hour. WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR REQUESTS? Bondage, spanking, foot worship and golden showers (me peeing on them). DO YOU ALWAYS FEEL SAFE WHEN YOU ARE WITH A CLIENT? Yes. I never had a problem with anyone in the past 6 years. I always feel in control. And they are usually very nervous when they show up. WHERE DO THE BOUNDARIES LIE? I don’t do nudity, or any form of prostitution. No “happy endings” either. Strictly fetish and BDSM. WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS – FAMILY MEN? BACHELORS? My clients are mostly upper middle class white men. They tend to be the pillars of society lawyers, doctors, judges, cops and CEOs. Most have families but I also get bachelors (they are more fun because they can usually take a harder spanking without worrying if I will mark them up). DO YOU GO TO FETISH NIGHTS? Yes. London has the best fetish events in the world! DO YOU HAVE A FETISH? I love men with tattoos. The more you have the more I want to jump on top of you and lick them all. DO PEOPLE ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE A BIG APPETITE FOR SEX BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DO? Yeah, I get that a lot; people think I am a sex machine just because I work in the sex industry. My friends say I am the most sexual person they know that doesn’t have sex. I don’t have it as often as most people because men typically disappoint me in bed. I need very kinky sex and rather have none than not get what I want in bed. WHAT’S YOUR SEXUALITY? I am bi-sexual. WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASY? OK. This might sound a bit perverted, but here we go: I have a fantasy of kidnapping a guy from a public place, then taking him back to my bed, tying him up and really dominating him sexually against his will and not letting him leave till he pleases me. WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU'LL RETIRE?! I think I will do this as long as I can. I really enjoy it. I will of course stop professionally at some point, but never personally. www.mistresscarly.com

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Torture Garden

Flouting expectations and scorning boundaries since 1990, London fetish club Torture Garden is the biggest in the world. Still, strict rules apply: although clubbers are immersed in an arena of fantasy and temptation, touching anyone without permission is absolutely forbidden. The dress code excludes cotton trousers and encourages individual extremes: PVC tutus, Thunderbird suits, see-through suits, syringe decorated dresses and the mind boggles on. You’ll dance to anything from breaks and electro to classical and Vegas swing, but just who will you bump into?! Torture Garden’s themed fetish nights have included Crash, Circus, Japanese, Mid-Summer Nights Dream, Arabian Nights, Medical, James Bond, Heaven & Hell, Sci-fi, Jungle and Carnival. When the club took over Brixton Academy, a couple of consenting thrill seekers got involved with the 'Body Art' presentation, getting hung by their skin from a suspension attached to the venue’s ceiling in front of 2500 people. Here club founders David Wood and Alan Pelling allow Notion into their alternative world to enjoy some probing questions - we give as good as we get, believe! DAVE AND ALAN, IS FETISH CULTURE MOVING OVERGROUND? DAVE: Our birthday event at Ministry of Sound in 1994 earned us some good press, but before that the tabloids would slag us off, the police would make arrests and we got closed down a few times! We’re careful with publicity but obviously sexuality in the media has changed. Channel 4 now runs documentaries on dressing up and sexual experimentation. I think fetish is almost accepted now as a part of sexuality and of society, but still, it’s not for everyone. ALAN: We could have had the same conversation in 1995 when John Paul Gautier came up with kinky designs and there was some fetish in advertising. It seems to move in and out of the mainstream, just like we’re in and out of fashion. SO WOULD YOU STILL LABEL TORTURE GARDEN AS AN UNDERGROUND CLUB? DAVE: Yes, you know some of the visuals and the performances are quite extreme. But everyone who comes wants to be a little bit shocked. ALAN: The Internet made things a lot more accessible; in 1997 the only way to find out about this club was to know someone who had been or by picking up a flyer, but you’d have no knowledge about it. DO YOU EVER GET CRITICISED FOR THE WORK YOU DO? DAVE: I think my family was a bit prudish initially but now they’ve got used it. ALAN: My Mum takes all of our press into work! They accepted it and I’ve even had relatives come to the club! That’s a bit odd, and you know you generally just tell people that you’re a club promoter. IS SEX ENTERTAINMENT? DAVE: Torture Garden itself can be very serious, but after a while you’ve got to have a bit more fun – you always need to surprise yourself. British culture has always had the humour to take on sexuality and perhaps even has trouble taking it seriously at all. The fetish scene has a kind of sophisticated sexuality, sexuality with unlimited imagination, a little bit of experimentation and dressing up. ALAN: That’s the positive side, but there is also a negative side... DOES THE FETISH SCENE STILL THRILL YOU? DAVE: It’s normalised for us! We were more into fetish when we first started. I still love the club but I do envy a lot of people who come for the first time because it’s their fantasy, a big sort of trip! DO FETISH CLUBS ACT AS A VEHICLE FOR GETTING RID OF SOCIAL BOUNDARIES? ALAN: Clubbing in general opens up new situations and lets you experiment. DAVE: Torture Garden has always been a polysexual club, for anyone wanting to explore. A lot of gay people find gay clubs quite narrow and repressive, and dressing up liberates everyone. WOULD THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE IF EVERYONE VISITED A FETISH CLUB? ALAN: Ha! It’s vital not to confuse sex and love...But when people are frustrated and repressed, problems pass from sexuality to society; they can’t express it. DAVE: I think everyone should be allowed to go or have the possibility of going. A lot of couples have said that we’ve changed their lives, or that they met at the club, but it’s not always happy ever after! WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASY? ALAN: Four beautiful women and a big pile of cocaine! SO YOU’RE NO DIFFERENT FROM THE AVERAGE GUY ON THE STREET THEN?! DAVE: He’s just split up with his girlfriend... WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FETISH - WHAT’S PUSHING YOUR BUTTONS RIGHT NOW? DAVE: Last Valentine’s we did a ‘Love the animal within’ theme which was quite provocative! People dressed up in big fur animal suits, it gave a kind of weird twist that no one even knew existed! WAS THAT BUNNY SUIT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE OUTFIT? ALAN: Well I’m not a big fan of rubber... DAVE: I usually like to wear a uniform. IS SEX THE ULTIMATE FORM OF SELF-EXPRESSION? ALAN: It’s like shitting, eating and farting; animalistic! DAVE: If you don’t enjoy sex you don’t enjoy life, and it’s good communication! HOW DO YOU KEEP UNDESIRABLE CLUB GOERS AWAY? DAVE: The name puts some people off! As does the dress code - geezers will try to get in wearing jeans! The punters police the events themselves, we have dungeon monitors and most women carry their own whips anyway! A fight might break out at the odd event but about a third of the crowd is regulars, some are one-timers; some come to three a year. We print banners and flyers with the club rules; we let the event go and when it gets too much, reign it back in. DO YOU THINK THAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC IS A SUITABLE SOUNDTRACK FOR FETISH? ALAN: Yeah it complements all of the synthetic clothes! Techno, hard house and drum n bass is all body-based stuff, but guitars just wouldn’t work! DAVE: We’ve experimented with swing bands before, the core music is obvious though, we use sexual sounds and visuals, everything is connected. DO YOU ONLY DRESS FETISH AT WEEKENDS? DAVE: I like dressing up at home! I like going out wearing a suit and bowler hat. ALAN: I don’t dress up so much these days. WHY IS TORTURE GARDEN THE KING OF FETISH CLUBS? ALAN: In the late 80s fetish clubs needed re-vamping – the energy was there but the music and the styling were all wrong. We’ve brought vision and professionalism to the scene, it’s in the experience and the way we treat our customers. Torture Garden has gone through so many phases – goth, techno, electro, lounge, rave – we borrow and improvise. We were the first fetish club to get a website and have an office, and the first to do burlesque in 1993. WILL THE SCENE EVER SURPASS ITS OWN LIMITS? ALAN: I think that we have! DAVE: We have to keep re-styling the night or we get bored; we’re our own worst critics and we also re-invent ourselves and our music constantly. The crowd, our designers and our DJs change so this new generation keeps updating it. ALAN: Every few years you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. Of course there are limits to what you can do in terms of venue and budget but it’s mainly all about getting the right crowd in. You have to get past clichés as well; people who invent their own costumes are the best. IS THE JAPANESE FETISH SCENE MORE ADVANCED THAN LONDON’S? DAVE: Japanese culture is naturally fetishistic – submissive! Their sense of wrong and right is completely removed from ours; they’ll tie a girl up in burning rags but won’t be allowed to show her pubes! The Japanese have a strong taste for visual imagery, which is a big part of fetish culture. Dressing up is also a lot more normal for them. Their costumes are, after London’s, the most creative and original. The energy is different there; you don’t get the sexual predators! In America there’s a hierarchy like at high school – who gets to touch who! London is definitely the world’s fetish capital. It’s a melting pot for all of the weirdos in Europe, fetish is just the British party instinct gone wild! IS THERE ANYTHING FETISHISTIC ABOUT EVERYDAY LIFE? DAVE: Being weird is now so normal for us that to go to the pub and be blokey is like a fetish! Life can be so strange when you scratch beneath the surface. There’s an underbelly of the world that you can see all of the time, and living around here (Hackney) there’s loads of weird shit. Outside a bar the other day, there were 7 dwarfs in lederhosen being looked after by a Polish art teacher! Read our review of Torture Garden's Valentine's Ball here

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Fetish Britain

What with dreaded V-Day having burned a love shaped hole in the hearts of singletons and exciting couples to cream themselves even more than usual, we thought it best to present you with the perfect alternative to moonshine and roses: dungeon equipment and rubber! Celebrate fetish style this summer - could this become a mainstream craze? Did you know that it is terribly British to harbour a fetish? That London is the fetish club capital of the world? The term 'fetish' gets loosely tied to an entire subculture that is homegrown and thriving - there are more fetish clubs in the UK than ever before, with the scene being fuelled by electronic 'body music' and a passion for DIY fashion, as well as alternative sexual appetites. The dictionary low-down on 'fetish' is: 'a sexual interest in an object or a part of the body other than the sexual organs.' Or: 'an activity or object which you are so interested in that you spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking about it or doing it.' Apparently we are liable to latch onto anything in the outside world and attach erotic significance to it: farmyard animals, anyone? It might seem ridiculous, but we've all harboured quasi-sexual feelings at one irregular point or another that have made us question ourselves. At least that's what I tell myself when I remember being inexplicably excited by the roguish Jack Russell whilst watching Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp,' as a wide eyed school girl. And how about Russell Brand suggestively bantering with his right hand horse, or enshrining seemingly innocent articles like waffle irons and plastic figurines with an erotic charge on 'Big Brother's Big Mouth'? Good old Channel 4, so advanced! Rubber, medical paraphernalia, Japan, Hitler Youth, aeroplanes, wolves, pixies, cling film, Geisha girls, accordions, eye balls, anything red coloured, WWII, McDonald’s uniforms, electric fences... Watch out, dear reader, amid the flotsam of our history, culture and everyday lives, lurk objects that could just trigger your inner fetish - welcome to the club! Indeed everyone is welcome from technicoloureds to transsexuals, police officers to porn stars, but dressing up is essential. And don’t forget to arrive with your mind open and your sense of humour intact. British fetish clubs offer fully realised fantasy experiences; elaborate playgrounds for adult experimentation and individual expression. Central to fetish culture is the flouting of boundaries: these clubs drive you to test the limits of your tolerance and are designed to take you right out of your remit. While superclub Torture Garden can cater for up to 2500 people, there are countless smaller events happening all over the country - London's Club Rub is a good example - that have evolved their own communities, welcoming 1-300 fetish heads through the door for more private parties. And you thought that X-Factor was the ultimate in Saturday night entertainment! Like the promoters at fetish club Kashpoint insist: 'Leave those old thoughts behind! New sounds, new shapes, new minds!' Fetish clubs operate around an inflexible 'No Streetwear' policy, but if you’re stuck for an outfit and you're skint never fear, homespun creations are always rewarded. London also hosts a monthly fetish fair, where you can pick up anything from top to bottom rubbers, nipple clamps, pig masks and PVC platforms to leather erection covers - kiss my kinky boots! FETISH LINKS • WWW.LONDONFETISHSCENE.COM - CLUB LISTINGS FOR THE CAPITAL AND BEYOND • WWW.LONDONFETISHFAIR.CO.UK - HOW TO GET YOUR HANDS ON FETISH GEAR • http://WWW.FETISH-CHANNEL.CO.UK - WATCH CLIPS FROM THE COMMUNITY FETISH HEADS CONFESS MALE, ANONYMOUS WHAT MAKES A GOOD FETISH CLUB? Clientele, themes, environment , performances, exhibitors, aroma, voyeurism, temperatures, venues with a myriad of rooms and fresh running water. DO YOU HAVE A FETISH YOURSELF? That’s best shared in person! WHAT HAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE IN A FETISH CLUB BEEN? The power of anonymity... WHAT'S THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS OUTFIT YOU’VE WORN TO A FETISH NIGHT? One that made a girl come up to me and confess I made her look ugly! HAVE YOU EVER FELT THREATENED OR DISORIENTATED IN A FETISH CLUB? Yes, both. DO YOU THINK THAT FETISH CULTURE WILL ALWAYS BE UNDERGROUND? Life is cyclical and although fetish is currently enjoying a wave of commercial interest, what is fundamental to this scene are the people that wish to explore and express their individuality, however they see fit. This is not an ethos universally shared by the mainstream, so although it might be interesting and fashionable to charter a flight to the Andaman Islands, the question remains, do they really need the litter? WHY DO YOU LIKE GOING TO FETISH NIGHTS? To indulge the five senses I’ve been afforded WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASY? Delightfully wrapped without ever having to ask for it! FEMALE, ANONYMOUS WHAT MAKES A GOOD FETISH CLUB? Wet play DO YOU HAVE A FETISH YOURSELF? Medical uniform, black PVC, clowns WHAT HAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE IN A FETISH CLUB BEEN? Making out with a dwarf in the middle of the dancefloor! WHAT’S THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS OUTFIT YOU’VE WORN TO A FETISH NIGHT? A suit with the jacket open, to expose a plastic male torso HAVE YOU EVER FELT THREATENED OR DISORIENTATED IN A FETISH CLUB? I had a guy chucked out once, but generally I feel comfortable DO YOU THINK THAT FETISH CULTURE WILL ALWAYS BE UNDERGROUND? Yes, people who go to fetish clubs will keep it there, undiluted! WHY DO YOU LIKE GOING TO FETISH NIGHTS? To surprise myself WHAT'S YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASY? In the wet room with a doctor and a nurse... WORDS: LUCY WILSON

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Hawk Krall

Philadelphia based illustrator Hawk Krall works in a world full of bright colour, bad attitude and buxom women. His cartoons feature a huge cast of characters ranging from Paris Hilton to larger than life American stereotypes, whilst his illustrations have accompanied articles, CDs and hot dog stands. Notion caught up with the man himself for an insight into his off the wall imagination... WHEN DID YOU REALISE THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE A CAREER OUT OF DRAWING? Well, pretty much as long as I can remember. As a kid I was always drawing nasty pictures of the teacher in the back of the classroom, making my own garbage pail kids (illustrated trading cards of messed up kids, popular in 1980's America) and selling them to my friends. When I was about 11 I decided I wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist and started drawing comics about aliens and gladiators. My parents are both artists themselves so were always supportive. My mother teaches and does photorealistic watercolours of amusement park midways, whilst my father is a gag cartoonist and worked as an Art Director for years. HOW HARD WAS IT TO GET RECOGNISED AS AN ESTABLISHED ARTIST? It was rough in the beginning, especially being an illustrator when you're blindly sending work to art directors who have no idea who you are. It's a matter of getting your work to the right people who will publish it, show it, buy it, talk about it, and enjoy it. I still work in a kitchen forty hours a week (think Gordon Ramsey on crack), it keeps the rent paid and is great material for comics. WHAT DO YOU COUNT AS MAJOR INSPIRATIONS? Everyday life, the crazy people I work with, walking down the street, people watching, old signs, small towns, Coney Island, old amusement parks... As far as art goes I'd have to say Red Grooms, George Grosz, obviously comics, especially Joe Matt and Peter Bagge because some of their stories are so close to my own life. Also old illustration, Mexican hand painted lettering, cheap design... I could go on forever. The passion that many of my friends and fellow Philadelphia artists have for what they're doing is a huge inspiration. IS THERE A SPECIFIC FEATURE THAT YOU FOCUS ON WHEN YOU START TO DRAW A CHARACTER? I've never thought about this before but I always start with the nose! HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ROLE OF COLOUR IN YOUR WORK? Pretty damn important! It helps to get the mood across in an illustration and I love working in colour, although the limitations of black and white can be terrific sometimes. WHO IS THE HARDEST CELEBRITY TO DRAW? It took me two weeks to get a likeness of Paris Hilton. I always have a hard time drawing female celebrities, especially sex symbols. They work hard to have almost no lines in their face, so there’s nothing to draw but lips and boobs. Drawing Ian McShane (Al Swearengen from Deadwood) was a lot of fun. People with wild unique features like Osama Bin Laden and Conan O’Brian are usually pretty easy to draw. MOST OF THE FEMALES IN YOUR WORK ARE QUITE LARGE. WHY IS THIS? To combat the insane, disgusting standard of beauty forced upon the world by the fashion industry and people who don't like to eat. Mostly I just love to draw boobs and butts and I have lots of inspiration for this on the streets of Philadelphia where there are big, loud, confident women strolling down the block in skin tight jeans. WHAT DO YOU FEEL HAS BEEN YOUR BEST PROJECT SO FAR? Illustrating Steven Wells' column for Philadelphia Weekly has been great. It's given me a chance to hone my celebrity drawing skills and publish a ridiculous, sarcastic illustration each week. It's also great to work with a writer whose sense of humour rivals my own. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE? I've got a six page comic in Typhon #1 and a collection of comics edited by Danny Hellman, which is due out later this year. I'm also working on continuing some of my stories, hopefully to graphic novel length. I'd like to explore gallery work as well, maybe build a small scale city street and paint the whole thing, life size big booty girls and all. www.hawkkrall.net

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Jason Brooks

Jason Brooks was born in London, but spent most of his childhood in Brighton on the south coast of England. From an early age he drew and painted avidly and first received freelance commissions in his early teens. He studied graphic design and illustration at St Martin's School of Art and followed this up after a travelling stint by attending the Royal College of Art to study for a Masters in illustration. In 1992, he won the prestigious Vogue/Sotheby's Cecil Beaton Award for fashion illustration. Brooks created an identity through posters andpromotional material for Pushca, the legendary London club of the 90s. He was one of the firstillustrators to adapt to the new medium ofcomputers. This, combined with his love of drawing, helped to pioneer the new medium and bring abouta revolution in the world of illustration as well as a rebirth of what had previously been seen by some as a disappearing art form. In 1999, Brooks began a series of CD covers for Hed Kandi which went on to sell over four millionalbums worldwide. After 50 illustrated covers, in 2005 he decided it was time to move on and nowcreates music artwork exclusively for the new label Fierce Angel distributed by Universal music.In 2000 he joined forces with FOLIO, the leading London illustration agency who still representhim worldwide. www.folioart.com A range of Jason Brooks products are available under his own label through licensing agreements with BRB in Spain and with Mark's Inc in Japan wh oin 2007 will be launching his Jil & Jet character range of stationery and calendars. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON AND WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR 2007? This week I'm drawing different sets of twins wearing lingerie for Neiman Marcus - the American department store. I’m also working on new artwork for 'Digital Angel' a forthcoming album which will only be released online. I am also very excited about all the new work coming up with Fierce Angels - we have some great albums scheduled to come out in the spring and early summer next year. As well as this I’m in talks on another very exciting project which could take my work in a whole new direction in 2008 so to risk a cliché, please watch this space! ARE THERE ANY MUSICAL ARTISTS/BANDS YOU ARE A FAN AND WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH? One would have to be The Killers. I think their whole Las Vegasy rock image is really inspiring and I see so many pictures in my mind when I listen to their stuff. I'd also like to draw Pete Doherty as there is undoubtedly something weirdly fascinating about him. I think his own particular brand of rock and roll squalor would translate brilliantly into very black and white graphic images and underneath it all he's also incredibly talented musically. I'd also work for free on anything with Madonna or David Bowie. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU COLLECT OBSESSIVELY? WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING YOU HAVE COLLECTED? As a child I was obsessed with American comics. There was a great shop in Brighton called Vortex books which I used to go to every Saturday morning and buy old 60s and early 70s DC titles like The Flash, Green Lantern and Batman. There were a huge influence on my drawing and as a boy also pretty much taught me to read. Now I have a very modest art collection and I also collect Murano and Scandinavian glass - but only in smoke blue. It always seems a good idea to keep collections under control otherwise they can take over your life. If I had the money I would definitely become a serious art collector. It is the passion of my life and how wonderful would it be to live with a Matisse painting or the odd Warhol drawing? DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVOURITE PROJECTS YOU’VE WORKED ON OR CLIENTS YOU’VE WORKED WITH? Drawing at the Couture fashion shows in Paris with The Independent newspaper was a fabulous job although it was always hard at the time to come back to London and being a penniless artist in Portobello after so much unremitting glamour and luxury. I also enjoyed working on an animation project In Australia a few years ago advertising Finlandia vodka which took me back and forth to Sydney a few times which is a great city. But I have to say all the work I've done with Mark Doyle both at Hed Kandi and now at Fierce Angel has been the most fun and rewarding. WHO DO YOU SEE AS YOUR CONTEMPORARIES AND WHO DO YOU RATE? I really like the Spanish illustrator Jordi Labanda's sense of style and humour and I know how technically difficult it is to effortlessly paint the way he does. I also really admire David Downton's completely brilliant technique and he's also a lovely chap. Tyler Brulee, the founder of Wallpaper, has also been an inspiration among my contemporaries although not as an illustrator more for his sense of style and particular aesthetic sensibility which I relate to. His years at Wallpaper were massively influential on so many areas of design and certainly had an effect on my work too. www.jason-brooks.com / www.fierceangels.com

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Peter Robinson

Believe what the interminable array of unsigned artists, would-be A&R men and high profile sponsors have to say about the MySpace phenomenon, and you'd be forgiven for believing their claims that MySpace, and the succession of copycat sites hoping to get some traffic as they hop aboard the unsigned slipstream, have levelled music for everyone. They've provided an even playing field so that some kid in his or her bedroom can gain as much exposure as whichever "new James Blunt" the labels are chucking our way. It's everything punk promised but never delivered. Unfortunately this is largely bollocks because most unsigned music is utterly terrible (to be fair there is a strong hint to this conclusion in the term unsigned) and most MySpace punters quite rightly approve or deny new friend requests from bands based on utterly superficial - if completely valid - reasons such as haircuts, band names and song titles. The last thing to load on a MySpace page is the music, and by the time it connects you have already gone a long way to making your mind up about the band. This effect creeps in slowly. In the early days of your MySpace life, when you are still adding your real-life friends and have yet to begin stalking your friends' more attractive friends (this period lasts for about four hours), a new friend request from a band can seem like an exciting prospect. It's everything that was missing from your teenage years: a band actually wanting to be your friend! Before you can say 'OMG THERE GOES THE FOURTH WALL!!!!!!!', the tables have turned and the music fan is in the position of power. Approve or deny? Yes, Justin Timberlake, you may be my friend. No, The Body Rockers, I do not "like the way you move", and you may therefore not be my mate. And who are the unsigned acts who want to be your friend? You have only been on MySpace for two days and already 'Simon Hatch: folk singersongwriter' has tracked you down. He wants to be your friend. Approve or deny? The whole experience is so new that you click their picture to find out more. Once the pimped-out band page loads (this customisation tends to amount to somehow making the page completely un-navigable, along with the addition of interesting FLASHING GIF ANIMATIONS), it all looks a little suspect. They are called something deep 'n' meaningful like "Willpower Of The Night", The music description is pop/powerpop/rock, although the music actually sounds more like The Mission. Track two does not improve and track three - a b-side from their first EP - sounds like a foal in a bear-trap. You read their blog and look at their friends. This is not for you and is, in fact, terrible. As I say, this only ever happens in the early stages of your MySpacing career. After a week, you begin approving anybody who will want to be your friend. Their profile could list interests as chess, birdwatching, paedophilia and you would never know because you'd clicked 'approve' underneath the words 'Cliff wants to be your friend'. But after two weeks, you become selective. This band has a crap name - you know they're goth/electronica - deny. That band clearly had their photo taken by the bins of their local leisure centre - deny. It is not long before the haircut rules supreme in your MySpace preferences. So this should be regarded as an open letter to musicians on MySpace. Be creative with your 90x130 pixel image. No, it's not too small to look good - amazing Number One singles sound great as ringtones, and brilliant album artwork works brilliantly on a 5" CD sleeve. Buy yourself a new shirt for your photo shoot. Comb your hair or ask a good-barnetted friend for their advice. Think carefully about your band name and what your band name says about you. Then, perhaps, you might trick somebody onto your MySpace page when you attempt to add them as a friend. Your terrible, un-listenable music will be your undoing, of course, but at a time when idiot A&R types are still making their decisions on the volume of profile views, track plays and network lists, you need all the friends you can get. POP! JUSTICE, 100% SOLID POP MUSIC IS AVAILABLE NOW. WWW.POPJUSTICE.COM/ALBUM

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