March and April 2015 saw my biggest challenge to date; I wrote a book. Technically, I ghostwrote a book. It covered the works of Jamie Moakes; an artist who has dedicated his life to one project. You Will Be Rare is the act of tackling the economy. Moakes has spent years buying every single action figure of Ram-Man (from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) in order to change its value. He wants to make them rare. 

The book is 60 pages long, text orientated with illustrations by Lauren Baker. 

(originally posted in The Guardian, April 2013)

This Easter weekend saw the Scottish Tattoo Convention take place in Edinburgh, and with it came awards for the best tattoos. This included a category for the best Scottish-themed tattoo, won by 34-year-old John Cuthbert with his “Taggart” back-piece, featuring Mark McManus’ face and the Finnieston crane.

Inking the star of an ITV drama on your back is a huge commitment, but the act of pop culture references in tattooing is not a new concept. For years, fans of musicians, films and television have been paying the ultimate accolade. Pop culture tattoos are popular beyond recognition now; one doesn’t blink at tattoos embodying references to the Super Mario Bros video games, and portraits of musicians such as Bob Marley on the skin are becoming common.

Analysing the psychology behind tattoos referencing popular culture isn’t easy. One could formulate that these tattoos mean less to their wearer than more sentimental tattoos - often these tattoos appear like a flippant decision. But the truth is, they sometimes mean more. A cartoon Bart Simpson tattoo may not look as beautiful as a portrait piece of Princess Diana, but the thought behind both are the same. Someone appreciated them both enough to get them permanently put under their skin; whether as a nod to their childhood or just something they find aesthetically pleasing.

The step from merely appreciating a singer, band or show to wanting to get them tattooed seems to be a big one, but it depends on the person. The leap from fan to tattooed fanatic would seem smaller to a person deeply rooted in tattoo culture, than to one who uses tattoos not as expression or art, but as something to emphasis the body.

Our immediate jump to, “That would make a great tattoo” does, however, say something about our attachment to popular culture. Tattooing dates back thousands of years, yet, I’ve never seen a vintage tattoo celebrating the work of Shakespeare. We are in a disposable age; technology lasts slightly longer than fashion, but not much, and it appears our appreciation of our own skin is in the same boat. We tattoo freer than ever before, and that’s okay.

It says less about the quality of pop culture and more about the way in which we translate our love for it. No longer will fan-mail or posters satisfy us; every fan is determined to out-do another. Tattoos seem to be the ultimate way to prove ourselves. On a more flippant note, it’s a way of being noticed. Bands and actors rarely acknowledge a compliment, but tattoos get attention. Social media and news outlets will always notice a bold tattoo featuring a popular culture reference - it’s something we can all relate to.

Fans do get their idols tattooed on them; this is not due to a rise in the appreciation for popular culture, otherwise wouldn’t we see more Beatlemania-induced tattoos? This is due to a rise of popularity for tattoos in the mainstream. A change of culture has resulted in a change of attitude; we are now more likely, as fans to want the attention of bands, singers and actor and thus, we push boundaries to achieve this.

Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old activist, killed in Gaza whilst trying to prevent the destruction of Palestinian homes. I’ll let that sink in a little. At 23 years old, this woman gave her life to protect the rights of others. The rights of strangers.

Today, an Israeli court made their

final decision on her death. They summarised that her demise was not the fault of the State of Israel. They have refused to give Rachel’s parents peace. I have a lot of feelings about this decision, but I don’t think a lengthy article about the unjustness of her death is what Rachel would want. Her own mother said it perfectly. After hearing the ruling, she simply said, “This is a bad day for humanity”.

Let’s just take a second and think about the awesome things that this woman achieved in her lifetime. I am 23 years old; I have a flat and a degree. But I’ve never saved lives, or protected the rights of others. I’ve never stared a bulldozer in the face. It’s the size of her dedication and the lengths she was prepared to go to that make this woman an inspiration.

Rachel arrived in Israel in January 2003, two months before her death. In emails exchanged with her mother, she documented the methods she was taught to prevent harm: wear fluorescent coats, don’t run away from or shock the army, communicate loudly. With this knowledge alone she entered the Gaza strip with epic determination to right wrongs. Rachel guarded workers attempting to fix a damaged well that had led to water rationing and deaths. Due to the efforts of herself and her colleagues in the International Solidarity Movement, the Canadian government quietly offered to fix the $450,000 damage and restore safe water to the Palestinian people. 

Rachel Corrie was not the first to die in protest, and she probably will not be the last. But it is true that this young, strong woman will be remembered. Even in death, she is changing the world. The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice has been erected and, in her death there is hope. In her name, the foundation awards scholarships to students working to gain a better understanding of the problems in the Middle East, and they raise money and awareness for water purification, which in turn saves lives. 

Whether the courts choose to acknowledge it or not, Rachel was killed. But Rachel Corrie was not a victim.

Today would have been Roald Dahl’s birthday. The British author and poet sadly died in 1990 and to mark his amazing body of work for children and adults, on his birthday every year National Roald Dahl Day is celebrated.

His books were something I read over and over as a child (and should probably take the blame for my twisted sense of humour). I know they taught me a lot; Roald Dahl truly supplied the life lessons that our generation lives by. I hope that the next generations will get the same from his work.

There are some deep themes to his children’s books. The BFG (that’s Big Friendly Giant to those who don’t know) is a guy who comes and takes a little girl named Sophie, to Giant Land. Of course, he explains to her that he is benevolent and distributes happy dreams, but seriously?! This dude comes to your house and takes you to Giant Land and you aren’t scared? No way. This story used to leave me scared to sleep… but I never let a stranger in my bedroom after that.

Throughout these deep issues of abandonment, in James’ Giant Peach, and parental abuse, in Matilda there are lessons for us to keep.

“My dear young fellow,’ the Old-Green-Grasshopper said gently, ‘there are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t started wondering about yet.”

If Roald Dahl taught me anything, it was to keep wondering. Be the bright-eyed child in every situation. It’s necessary in order to continue being amazed. Roald Dahl taught me the importance of being stunned. Let the world take your breath away, and you will enjoy your life. I feel like this is the lesson that Roald Dahl himself whispers to you as you turn every page, urging you to go out into the world… as he has said, “You should never, never doubt something that no one is sure of.”

“These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message, 'You are not alone.’“

This is a quote that I used to repeat over and over to myself as a child. “You are not alone, you are not alone.” As an only child, realising the amazing presence that books could have in my life was vital to my happiness. How would I have gotten through all those lonely summer holidays without them? Even now, whenever I’m feeling lonely, I don’t reach for the chick-flick, I reach for the bookshelf.

“If you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

My favourite life lesson from Mr. Dahl is from The Twits, the scariest of his books for me as a child. Not so scary anymore. The Twits were negative people, who had negative thoughts and although they were once young and attractive, as these thoughts continued their faces became contorted with them. This lesson does not need explaining. Be happy, shiny people, and that happiness will show on your face. You will be beautiful.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

When it comes to talking about the first one of anything, it can be a bit difficult; sometimes you can hesitate to say what you want due to the problem of having nothing to compare it to…sod all of that though. I will say loudly and proudly, that the first ever PhotoBooth Festival by Booth Nation was a complete success.

The World’s first Photobooth Festival was coming to London town, and boy oh boy, we were pumped. We implored you to get your bums down there, and if you did, you know what we’re talkin’ about here…

A collection of bespoke, handmade photo booths, ready and waiting to be abused by the public. Props? Oh yeah, they had props. Makeovers? Check. The Powder Room girls handled that business. What we were not prepared for was the pure and utter joy it would bring to our lives, and that that feeling would last all weekend.

With booths ranging from the Disco Booth, which played the Bee-Gees at full  volume whenever anyone pressed the green button inside, all the way to the Underwater Booth, which left any user with some great snaps of themselves being stalked by a superimposed shark, there was without doubt a booth for everyone.
 The festival was brilliant for adults and kids alike, with the latter being supplied with their own Toddler Booth – which, of course, I was quick to crawl on into and get snap happy.

Boothnation really laid on a show for us – music, food, drinks. All were covered and absolutely divine. We got there nice and early, to avoid the inevitable crowds (come on, you know we’re all gonna queue for the Disco booth first) and were blown away by the amazing venue. Ever want to see Gary Oldman, poking his tongue out and hugging Ron Weasley – ahem, I mean Rupert Grint – well, this was the place to be. Celebrity shots littered the walls, and each time we looked we certainly saw something different; overall, a beautiful way to spend an evening. We entered a world in which it was impossible to be embarrassed singing into a giant, glittery microphone, a world where a feather boa is can make or break a picture and in which, anyone can feel special… with the help of a giant pair of star-shaped specs.

But, of course, you know why what we really wanted. Hardcore posing and some bloody memorable photographs. We certainly were not disappointed. The photos speak for themselves…

Bring on the world’s second Photobooth Festival, please.

(Originally posted on BitchBuzz on 31st July 2012)

Can we all just please take a moment and have a look over at Zoe Smith, please? As I write this, I am eating a cheese sandwich and nervously glancing over at my 5lb dumbbells in the corner. I’m willing to admit to Zoe, I am not worthy.

Not only was Zoe the first ever English woman to win a weightlifting medal at the Commonwealth Games, but she was only 16 years old at the time. Two years on, she has broken all records in England with the massive lift of 121kgs. That’s over double her own weight. There is no denying, that, at 18 years old, this young woman is inspirational.

Yet, sadly Zoe has faced discrimination. But we aren’t here to focus on the haters, why should we give them more airtime? We’re here to focus on how she has dealt with the haters; like a woman. A graceful, charming woman (who definitely has a sense of humour.) These disrespectful and hurtful comments started after a documentary featuring Zoe and her weightlifting training was aired on BBC3, entitled “Girl Power: Going for Gold”, but sadly continued as she’s gone on to represent Team GB.

Zoe has hit out at the abuse she has faced on Twitter in a way BitchBuzz fully endorses - taking to the keyboard. She has used her own blog to hit out and say, “Thanks, but no thanks…” to those who don’t support her. Not only is her writing a piece that sticks up for her own life choices, but she’s sticking up for weightlifting women all over the world!

Amazingly, she manages to stand up for herself and others without justifying the hate. She points out that what she does isn’t for anyone else. After all, isn’t that how we all want to live?

“We don’t lift weights in order to look hot, especially for the likes of men like that. What makes them think that we even WANT them to find us attractive? …  This may be shocking to you, but we actually would rather be attractive to people who aren’t closed-minded and ignorant. Crazy, eh?!”

She has called her performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics her two fingers to the haters.

Zoe Smith may not have got Gold, but she’s a winner in my eyes. YOU GO GIRL.

(Originally published on BitchBuzz on September 17th 2012)

Under his birth name, Donald Glover wrote for 30 Rock, had a cameo in the latest Muppets movie and plays lovable jock, Troy in the (hilarious) sitcom Community. To add to his resume, his alter-ego Childish Gambino raps. We’re talking geek-core rap witty enough to impress the harshest of critics. He’s so undeniably hipster that he’s virtually crashed Tumblr’s servers.

Childish Gambino is a name adopted by Glover after taking a Wu-Tang name quiz on the internet, so of course his lyrics are meme-tastic. They are jammed with literary references, including a colourful mention of E.E. Cummings. Needless to say, the innuendo writes itself. There is a real attitude behind his songs. It’s not safe for work, but it’s fun. Gambino shows an impressive amount of intelligence referencing Cummings, who is known as a writer who is the typical Jack-of-all-trades, much like himself.

He addresses critics, as hip-hop music often does, but in a way that really inspires me. A lyric that stands out is, “You are now listening to my mouth on vacation” in reaction to those who question his ability to act and perform musically. His music is confrontational against his rivals, in his cocky way; “You started rapping when you wasn’t good at basketball, I started rapping because I needed Adderall.” He’s confident, and that is a trait shared by all brilliant performers. Hello, Gaga.

Gambino’s lyrics may contain sexual references that might make some wince – in fact; I’ve even heard men comment on this aspect of his music. But sometimes I just want something that isn’t all about the politics. Yes, the misogyny in Childish Gambino’s music seems especially pronounced but I don’t actually believe that Donald Glover believes the things that his alter-ego says. Women appear in his songs as hipster groupies, and women cheating on their boyfriends, which is not really cool. Is this a way to shake off the stereotype of his sweet-guy character in NBC’s Community?

I do believe there is an inconsistency to his work. I dug a little deeper into his personality. I read interviews and listened to his stand-up and it led me to believe perhaps he takes his role as an actor to heart – he seems to interchange between his two different personas rather than being either the nice guy, or the misogynist. It is clear to me, as someone who is a fan, that Gambino has changed his style, and with that his lyrics, he has gone from casual, borderline nerd-core style in his older productions, to a more eclectic and branched style including some more pop-oriented songs and some low-key gangster rap, which features the lyrics often used to demonstrate his disrespect towards women. As his popularity has risen, he’s had to stick to the formula that gave him his musical success. In other words, don’t hate the player, hate the game.

As Gambino said himself, in an interview with the Guardian, that rap needed to change. It has become thuggish…until Kanye, who essentially wears a handbag and glasses. Now, he’s trying to change things like Kanye did. “For a long time music was black or white, but now there's people like Tyler the Creator making a huge impact. Like me, he’s a middle-class black kid that dressed like a member of Good Charlotte and got called a faggot. I got jumped once simply for having a skateboard. We need to change the norms. I can’t wait till there’s an Asian rock group, and kids can’t tell the difference anymore." 

Most of his albums are available to download for free on his website, and I think this is just a modern spin on the music industry. 

To me what matters is that he is a fantastic performer. I recently saw him perform at V Fest and as the young girls swooned, he just seemed to get more confident. Somehow, the cocky part of his personality doesn’t bother me like it usually would. He just has a certain air about him that makes his womanising lyrics get a little happy sigh out of me, rather than an eye-roll.

I find it hard to know where Childish Gambino starts and where Donald Glover ends. I don’t want to assume because characters he plays are sweet and nice, that he is that person. But I don’t want to assume that because he writes lyrics that might offend some that he holds bad views. It’s all for entertainment purposes, right?

And he definitely entertains.

(Originally published in The Launch Issue of Things and Ink magazine.)

Tattoos are increasingly gaining a mainstream status; with celebrities and even fashion brands raising the profile of the allusive ink in skin, never before have tattoos been so socially accepted and fashionable. 

With the increase in tattoos has come the increase in temporary, more fashion-focused tattoos. Brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Topshop have designed their own temporary brandings for those who aren’t ready to commit to a permanent piece of art on their skin. These tattoos often emblazon the wearing with the fashion house’s logo. Chanel showed the fashion world how high-class ink can be, with Topshop jumping on the bandwagon the very next season. Their own brand of tattoos, nail stickers and swallow incrusted dresses proved that tattoos were here to stay, not only on the skin, but on the catwalk, too. 

In 2009, Rodarte painted their models in tribal patterns, and Jean Paul Gaultier sprayed his models’ names onto their bodies and faces. However, Chanel’s chain bracelets proved most popular. This trend continued in 2010, when Rodarte designed a pair of “Tattoo tights” which were nude, except for “tattoos” in black ink from the knee down.

Dame Vivienne Westwood had a few negative words to say about tattoos recently, despite having used tattoos in the past as a way of influencing her clothing. “I hate them because we have no culture,” she said, “and so people put the most silly things all over their bodies.” Despite taking this stance, Westwood chose to use tattoos as a way of branding her models at last year’s London Fashion Week.  MAC Penultimate Liner was used to draw the classic Westwood Orb and other symbols of the designer on the hands, arms and necks of her models.

Chanel brought tattoos back on trend again, at the Chanel 2012/13 Cruise Collection at Chateau de Versailles. Models were spotted with a beauty-spot-like Chanel logo, in the corner of one eye. Although they don’t seem to have intensions of releasing this temporary Chanel trademark, it certainly has put the idea in our heads.

Adding to the massive rush of tattoo related fashion since 2010, is the increment of tattoos in the media. It’s easy to realise that celebrities impact the fashion industry. With the influx of strong heavily tattooed women, such as Rihanna, Kat Von Dee and Angelina Jolie, it’s clear that this is influencing the ideas of others. These are women that others see photographs of daily, and thus it’s easy to see why fashion has made a job out of bringing tattoos into the mainstream. 

Musicians such as Tulisa Contostavlos and Cheryl Cole have certainly pulled tattoos back into the public eye, but their motives are questionable. While Cheryl Cole seems to maintain that her tattoos are purely of personal preference, Tulisa Contostavlos has been investigated by Ofcom in the past due to hers. The 23-year-old singer has “The Female Boss” tattooed across her hand, and was investigated when filming her role in X-Factor in 2011, due to advertising implications as her perfume was its namesake. This undoubtedly leaves us wondering; did she actually _want _this on her skin forever, or were her motives impure? 

When bearing this in mind, it’s often so blurred that one can’t tell which came first: the tattoo or the fashion statement?

While it is distinct that tattoo culture is prevailing like never before, there is still a category of tattoo artwork which seems to exist purely because of those that have done it before. Whereas hard-core collectors admit to imitating the tattoo styles of the past, it seems that imitating the specific tattoos of celebrities is fundamental to the rising popularity of tattoos. 

Tattoos seem to be as susceptible to trends as the fashion world is, too, we often see women in their forties with barbed wire armbands or Winnie the Pooh characters on them forever, and I remember an abundance of friends being partial to a star or twelve when we were teenagers. Tattoos definitely move with the times, and this makes it difficult to work out if they are art or merely fashion.

Me? My tattoos are art. If only for me, the Museum of Myself, if you will. As obvious as it seems, it does not bother me whether anyone enjoys my curating, it just matters that they are there and always will be. 

Controversial as it may be, it’s clear that tattoos are a form of art, having been assimilated with the human form beginning in the Bronze Age, but perhaps the depth of the tattoo is only known by the owner. Perhaps it is up to each individual tattoo wearer to decide whether or not their ink is something they consider to be a fine art, or something that they got because it was trendy, because all their friends were doing it, or because they just wanted to say that they had one.