Visioni e Metalinguaggi

Kaya Brown: The Act of Seeing

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Kaya Brown

Kaya Brown, Wat?! giovanissima Art Director nordirlandese, ci racconta la sua esperienza e i segreti dai set di Body Snatchers; nuovo progetto in corso della meteora artistica di Belfast dopo il successo di ‘Belfaskating’

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the WAT?! Art Director, Kaya Brow

Miss Brown, what’s Body Snatchers? And how is it realized?
Well, to be honest i started watching alot of Lordi videos and i thought it would be fun to do a zombie themed shoot. We tried it: the zombie make-up didn’t go to well, so we improvised and did alot, as you can see, with weapons, blood, and general violence.

You are very young, an amazing achievement. Which are the areas of the project you are operating beside Aska?
I am the art director of the project, so I do things like helping aska and choosing locations etc. (Basicly I get to boss people around=3). All shots are discussed with Aska, so I get a say in most things. such as visual criterias, costumes, and other things towards the final project etc.

What’s your experience with the group?
Well I’ve been part of WAT!? since sometime near the end of the summer holidays. I was already friends with alot of the group and most of those I didn’t know have become good friends, we usually have alot of fun at the shoots (even if we do complain alot) Its good that most of us get on well or it wouldn’t be as enjoyable.

How do you actually see aesthetics in violence? The theatrical element on your Art is an eartquake of colours. Where are coming from your insipiration (and contamination), as we can see, several titles are in Japanese. Can You explain that for us?
Is your question, how did we achieve to make the ultraviolence so acceptable for this society through our images?

Yes. A sensory level of violence and beauty in the art.
Alot of the pictures for Body Snatchers are violent, but they are also very beautiful, due to good photography and choice of locations. And yes, we do really love to revise Japanese mutant culture

Locations, yes. We are seeing a so much different Belfast from the usual european stereotype of this post-conflict city. So much Hi-Tech and underground from your shots. How do you select with Aska the locations? What’s the criterias behind?
Well alot of times aska will have a good location in mind, but sometimes we’ll drive by somewhere especially beautiful and we just get out and start shooting.

Blue cobalt, one of the predominant chrome of the shots. Like an iceberg underwater. Is that the chromatic colour wich rapresents best your visions of an Hi-Tech architecture and cityscape?
Not particulary…. It is very modern and Hi-tech looking, I agree with you in some way, but thats not the only reason we do it. We do it simply for the fact we think it looks good, however I do like the fact that it makes everything seem more futuristic, but if you look at many of the shots from Body Snatchers that you will notice they are completely different, taken in wrecked buildings etc. If we think a location etc. looks good then we’ll use it

What’s your next projects? Is Aska going to stick with the group?
Well im not sure to be honest. He is currently shooting for ‘Nocturno’ with the group, however I believe he plans on going to japan for a project in the near future.

…and your projects?
To be honest I haven’t though about it yet. I’ve had alot of fun over the past few weeks with body snatchers, so perhaps, I’ll just have to see what happens.

Tell us about the other creative personality in the group, Carl Elliot aka Kyo Paige. How’s to work with him?
Carls great, I consider him one of my best friends so hes fun to work with (Although he gets a little stroppy from time to time…

How exigent Aska is on stage? Notoriously “grampy” and perfectionist. Is that true?
No, he is normally ok with everything, we’ve actually been quite shocked the few times hes got annoyed. He is a perfectionist but hes usually very patient.

How do u see the future for Northern Ireland. If we consider the WAT!? a signal of this new era, with a team of creative youths crosscommunity, can we hope for peace?
I doubt it. Most of the alternative sub cultures are peaceful and dont bother with all this catholic protestant stuff, people are people so it doesn’t matt what ther religion is or what area they live in, I personally think all this prejudice over religion etc. is stupid and maybe people should try getting to know the people before they judge them, but sadly there are still alot of people who are like this.

what’s that pushed you to re-discover some building that we can consider today “industrial archaeology”? The final result is reallly impressive. Iron, smoke and industrial cityscape. Why?
Like I said before, anything we think looks good we will shoot, no matter how awkwerd it is we will find a way of doing it and the results are normally gorgeous.

We know that you make the costumes for yourself and for some other components in the group. Is that right?
Yes. I’ve managed to make tops etc. out of some pretty odd materials. I’ve managed to make one that alot of people asked me where i got it the reply has been “I made it out of a pair of tights, a swimming suit and a witches hat” Lol i’ve got some pretty odd looks from that, but over all alot of my friends have liked them and been impressed so im happy.

Where the costume design ideas are coming from?
Nowhere really. I just start chopping up random things and end up with clothes somehow.

From Body Snatchers is clear to spot the needs for a movie. Where are, in your opinion, the Art frontiers between Photography and Cinema? Do you and Aska may thinking to make a full story hi-tech movie in the future? Or still photograpy satisfy you enough today?
I’m happy enough with photography, a movie would be interesting but it would also be quite difficult I think, and im not sure what it would really be based on either. But you never know, could happen.;

To close this interview, Miss Kaya Brown, what’s your message to Belfast citizens casually past beside one of your bloody gore stage in the city?
I know alot of you would consider us “freaks” etc. so I hope this interview may have opened your eyes and showed you what we’re really like and perhaps you can judge us on that rather than our looks.

Miss Brown, thank you very much.

Body Snatchers Gallery

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Appunti di una crociata contro la parola intesa e interpretata come ribellione al diluvio verbale che segna la deriva dei nostri giorni. L’occhio avido del giornalista si tuffa in un luogo chiuso a tutti gli sguardi e profana il tempio dei silenzi dell’ultra-nazionalismo in Europa. Un Candide del terzo millennio che esplora, dissacra e perturba.

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