Art: The scream of Banshee.Zink

Since last 5 October the new Polaroid artist Chiara Aru, 20, aka Banshee.Zink exposes in the "Quattro Morsi" of Cagliari her first solo exhibition.

Polaroid arts are not something really new for Cagliari, but for Sardinia and Italy in general this art is still considered 'of niche'.

With the great boom of Photoshop, Instagram and more, this style of photography is relegated to an 'artists' niche' who try to promote it through exhibitions and online publications.

But photo-manipulation is possible only with the help of the computer?

For Banshee.Zink that is not correct.

"My artistic style been founded in response to the photo digital manipulation, trying to rediscover the beauty of manually photo-editing."

In a time in which you can edit your photos with computer and digital programmes, few people knows the possibility of tools seemingly trivial as, for example, the Polaroid printer.

With it you can create artistic photos who seem edited with computer but with “A higher value because you didn't make it using a virtual program, but with your hands " said Banshee.Zink

So, how does it works?

"This small printer creates images using ZINK technology, which is out of ink because it is already contained in the type of paper created for this printer" explained the artist.

"This paper is called Zero-Ink and is created with special crystalline that, through thermal process give the colour. This peculiarity give the possibility to edit pictures before and after printing by acting directly on the paper"

Sandpaper, acetone, scotch tape can create small or large changes "damaging" the crystalline in order to create really special effect.

For explain how she edit her works Banshee.Zink presented one of her most cherished picture: "Sofi need a ladder" (also chosen 'photo of the month' in March 2012 on 'Polaroid Art Italy'.)

“Before printing I took the sandpaper and I run it on all sides of the card, then I printed and I run the acetone over the hair, the eyes and the mouth of the first girl on the left stripping away the colour and leaving only a blue patina.”

“Then, above the eyes of the girl on the right I attached a piece of black paper with just the scotch tape and I run again the acetone for create a sort of 'cut' between the two faces ".

Every picture stems from the emotions, sudden impulses that rise to the surface almost by accident (a bit like the cry of the Banshee that comes out with violence, overriding everything else).

"I choose only photos that have a meaning for me" explains Banshee.Zink.

“They could be pictures that I took by myself or that I found on internet. The most important thing is that they have a meaning, maybe they represent one of my passion or something that impressed me”

It can be anything, even news items "For example, in one of my next project I want to edit the photos of Federico Aldrovandi and Chiara Poggi who are two murder cases, respectively one killed by the police and the other not yet identified."

The desire to edit those photos stems from the need to keep alive the memory of these events.

Although she isn't personally link with anyone of the two victims, while she was spiking of these events she turned, her expression changed and she started to gesture with more emphasis.

Her words reflected the need to express the feelings that these two events have imprinted on her.

As the Banshee, she needs to scream.

Francesca Rita Loi

Photos by Roberta Lai

Full Gallery on http://www.flickr.com/photos/68915182@N03/

Slim Fit: sound of optimism

The Slim Fit,  new Indie Pop band from Cagliari (Sardinia), born as a joke, a funny way for play music with friends, but soon the guys realized that they can do something more.

Influenced by different kind of music they decided to focus their sound around keyboard and distortion inspired form electronic music and indie rock.
After few changes caused by job commitment the band is now composed by the singer and song-writer Daniele Garzia, 27, the keyboard player and composer Piero Marras, 28, the drummer Roberto Sechi, 24, the guitarist Samuele Zucca, 27 and the bassist Claudio Orefice, 25.

In the 28 September 2012 they present their new song “La fine del mondo” that put in front of the audience their vision of the end of the world in an enigmatic way: is it a beautiful girl that fascinates everyone or a big party with disturbing characters?

"The project of the video 'La fine del mondo' comes basically from the need to have a showcase on You tube and on all platforms accessible through social networks" said Daniel Garzia, so they decided to chose as director a young artist  of Cagliari, Giovanni Piras, 24 aka Joe Bastardi who worked also for other four musician.

“This choose is not random, Joe Bastardi is a boy of our age and so he has the possibility to understand better our point of view.” Continue the singer.
“He had a specific idea on how to make the video and after few meeting we arrived to a compromise. This video has a great particularity because is a 'long take', an uninterrupted shot from the start to the end (something really new for Cagliari) that we made with the collaboration of 60/70 people who play as background actors “

“All this people act as the 'rags of the world' ” said the director Joe Bastardi “So in the video you can't see beautiful or affluent people but prostitutes, pirates, murderers, beggars, mad” a sort of 'Court of Miracle'.
“This acting was perfect for the kind of video I had in mind, 'a long take', a really difficult shot for the necessity of coordinate 60 people without the possibility of mistake. It is a technique that lends itself very well to create some agitation”.
“If I decided to shoot music video is absolutely for the possibility of experiment”.

After the screening of the video, the band began to play in the Old Square (an Irish pub) in Cagliari involving a good turnout of people: friends, or simply curious.
The guys played their four songs, including the most popular on You Tube '1963 ', 'Sta andando tutto bene' and 'Il gioco' plus two new songs, including 'La fine del mondo'.
Without pause, the band pulled in a distorted  loop all the audience who watched mesmerized the
movements of Daniele,  singer and front-man, who acted as in trance.

For now, the future looks bright for Slim Fit, aware of their limits and of the current economic difficulties (which leave little space for underground musicians) the guys remain optimistic and spur themselves to improve.
After all, as the singer admits "Pessimism is not reality and it does not help you to live well"

Francesca Rita Loi
Photos by Roberta Lai

Full gallery on http://www.flickr.com/photos/68915182@N03/page1/