unmasked photography Lelen Reute

hiding in plain sight IDEAS, ART, MUSIC, CULTURE & YOUTH FROM ROCHDALE WITH GRANDMA EATERS, RING FIGHTERS, TV WATCHERS, SKIN WEARERS & SIGHT SEE-ERS You are reading unmasked, a zine from Rochdale. We bring you tales from precarious times. We are hidden in plain view. We are not enough and too much. We are unmasked. So venture outside your comfort zone. Read, absorb, engage, pass it on. This is issue two. If you’re interested in reading or even contributing to what comes next send us a message on unmasked@ fluxmagazine.com. We’ll be tuned in. photography Katherine Eggleston

2 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 3 Unmasked asked our writers to tell us about their hopes & fears for the future....

#1 - Hopes & Fears by Hana Hussain ˈfjuːtʃə/ “a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come.” At eight, the word was used as a spark for my imagination to be set ablaze. Flying cars, spaceships, holograms – all were to be included in my realm of impossible things. You would be able to mingle amongst robots and fly on top of clouds. There would be no war, no famine, no poverty, humanity had made it a thing of the past. Humanity had learned. At thirteen, the word caused my excitement to overflow. Soon, I could lead life away from the prying eyes of my parents. Soon, I could make my own choices and live my own adventures. Fuelled by wistful movies and story books I would mould my own version of the future as anything I wished it to be. The world was mine. At fifteen, the word would spring fear into my heart. Suddenly, the future was used as a threat, something to hurt me with whenever I wouldn’t cooperate. It began to be ingrained in me that the future Get into was something to be feared. The beautiful mystery I had once seen it as, slowly became a deep fog that etting into the ‘Headz’ of the youth was to trap me. Exams, college, career choices – all began clouding my future. Seizing her, distorting of Liverpool, this is a collection of her and plastering her with fear. I was scared. Gstories seeking out the heart of urban Now at seventeen, the word future still shakes me to my core. But a new feeling is embedded with the your life with a hard-hitting dose of real and powerful word. Intertwined with the word future is an array of emotions. The innocence of my flying cars lies issues. It’s a performance full of secrets and stories just amongst my future. The excitement of a young teen ready to grow up lies amongst my future. Above all, waiting to unravel. the beaming hope and ambition of an ordinary seventeen year old not only lies amongst, but decides If you want a historical reference for ‘Headz’, look to Alan my future. Headz Bennett breaking ground back in 1988 with his televised A reality monologues ‘Talking Heads’. Bennett’s tales gave us a privileged window into the inner thoughts of ordinary people often revealing check on what more about the subject than they might have intended. But whilst makes young Bennett’s stories focussed on the poignancy of middle age – a widow, #2 - Hopes & Fears by Raafe Anjam minds tick, an actress, a vicar’s wife – these stories give us a window into the young and disaffected. One of my hopes for the future is that I turn out to be a brilliant actor as I want to achieve the best Headz gets to grades in drama and make being an actor my career. My second hope for the future is that I can support the heart of Theatre company, 20 Stories High, are behind this series of gritty my family and friends as I don’t want to leave them behind in my quest to become a good actor and I urban life. and humorous contemporary monologues. They are not pulling any also want to send them enough money to help them with the things that they need. My third hope for the punches. You’ve got ‘Black’ where Nikki watches the reaction of her future is that I can take part in a movie as I love movies and I want to appear in one as a main character Dad who is ‘not a racist’ to an African family over the road. Or ‘Home’ (or at least an extra!). where we see the reaction of kids to the bombshell of their parents’ separation. Or ‘Soft’ on moving a relationship past just a booty call. My first fear for the future is that I might be fired from the movie I was in. It would not look good on Developed from stories from real life, 20 Stories High present an my record and it would affect me as an actor and as a person. My second fear is that my family and intense look at modern life that’s a reality check on what makes friends may split up as they all want to pursue different dreams and goals and they may have to go their young people tick. different ways. My third fear is that I might have to move out and I may not be able to take all the things I want and need into my apartment and it’ll be hard settling as I’ll have to look after myself - something See Headz as part of Rochdale Literature & Idea Festival on 20 October I’m not that used to. at Heywood Sports Village.

4 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 5 Here’s a little story about Jenny & Rosa and what they’ve been calling experimental sludge pop. Let’s Eat Grandma

tarting out as old friends singing funny ditties other when the girls were 7, but they kept the to each other, their dueting led them to a connection and now at 17 they are as close as Scontract with indie label Transgressive. Let’s ever. Eat Grandma are my favourite band, and I just Rosa and Jenny never planned a career in music - wanted to tell you about Jenny Hollingworth their little ditties were invented just for fun - but & Rosa Walton and what they’ve been calling when musician Kiran Leonard heard what they experimental sludge pop. were up to he passed the teenager’s tapes to his When I first heard the name Let’s Eat Grandma manager who quickly became their manager too. I thought it was a reference to Little Red Riding Their debut album ‘I Gemini’ consists of 10 Hood, so I was surprised to find out it was absolutely unique songs including Deep Six actually taken from a punctuation joke about a Textbook, Eat Shittake Mushrooms and Sax In The missing comma - get it? I bet that surprises you City. It’s one of the weirdest, most unique and too. And that’s what Let’s Eat Grandma are all special albums I have listened to. about - the unpredictable. Instead of being inspired by other artists, the Jenny Hollingworth & Rosa Walton express girls prefer to take inspiration from news show every part of their personality in their music. talking about unusual types of fungus or murder They despise genres. In their world, they think documentaries. They’re not listening to Ariana that if you have to make a song in a certain style Grande, Little Mix, Megan Trainer or Justin Bieber; you cannot express yourself fully. Thoughtful and always thinking, they both claim that together they you’ll find them tuning in to Mozart and Debussy are misfits yet alone they are normal. which they pronouce DE Boosie. Often mistaken for sisters, the girls in fact share Let’s Eat Grandma are not your normal teenage an abnormal bond as friends that they’ve felt ever girls. The culture of their music shines along with since they first met in reception class when they their friendship and enlightens the whole music were 4 years old. Their friendship outshines other scene. Let’s Eat Grandma are quirky and unique. bands like a million dollars to one dollar, but their Though still at music college their music is like an unusual friendship is not exactly storybook. Rosa unusual sonic flower with strange colours and a and Jenny say they either hang out just the two beautiful shape. Have a listen and see what you of them, or absolutely separately. At childhood think of Let’s Eat Grandma. words Evie-May Taylor parties the duo would sit completely away from See Let’s Eat Grandma at Lost Village Festival, Lincs the other kids, content in their own world. (24/8); End of the Road Festival, Salisbury (31/8 to Rosa and Jenny’s families moved away from each 3/9) & at Manic Street Parade, Munich (27/10).

6 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 7 Catching Sight From childish he four storey climb to Rachel Goodyear’s sketching studio through the corridors of Salford’s TIslington Mill has the nostalgic familiarity to mythology of a high school art department. Encouraged from books to Louise a young age to pick up pencils and paper by her school teacher parents, and inspired by leafing Bourgeois, Rachel through illustrated classical mythology books, Goodyear has Rachel tells me she’s always been interested in art. always been an A key moment for Goodyear was a Louise art fanatic. With Bourgeois exhibition at the Tate Liverpool. “It blew my mind,” she smiles, remembering the spark of her ‘Catching inspiration and the feeling of connection. A piece Sight’ solo of herself, not so much found but uncovered. show fulfilling As part of the last year of students to attend university without fees - Goodyear did her art her ambitions, foundation at Rochdale’s Hopwood Hall College the Oldham born before going on to Leeds University - she believes artist chats to this experience and the people she met were part of building her character. Her strong views on the Emma Conroy. governments’ cuts to the arts and her opinion that “education should be for all” serve to highlight the passion she has for the creative industries. “Places like Walsall Gallery are under threat… the closure would be devastating,” she says. “It’s important that everyone has access to the arts.” I asked about how links with others can work for artists like her. “I used to be this anxiety ridden, shy person,” she says.“The idea of networking made me shudder…but it can just be chatting to like-minded people.” Rachel herself started simply, getting together with a group of friends to discuss art and get constructive feedback before showing work more widely. This is a more personal kind of network - like the creative community at Islington Mill with its, “on-going friendship and conversation.” It’s helped on a practical level too, with collaborators bringing the technical know how to realise her largest piece yet; a huge ‘Over her Shoulder’, 2017, installation of three animated panels paired with pencil, watercolour and ink on paper, 72 cm x 53 cm an instrumental soundtrack, that is part of the

8 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 9 ‘Catching Sight’ show. As we chatted, Rachel took out prints of her art and laid them on the table, discussing how her work has developed over the years. Where previously characters and images floated in infinite white space, more recent pieces use abstract washes and landscapes, mountain ranges and empty rooms to prop up her figures. “The tension between, for example, a bear and a girl,” she explains of her past work, “has moved to the techniques I use.” The precarious relationships are now spelt out by the method, rather than a conflict of characters on the page. She uses triangles or “mountains” and circular “blind spots” which interrupt space to alter the dimensions and add layers of tension. The female figures in her ‘Catching Sight’ exhibition have their eyes covered. Goodyear sees it as “obscuring, not blinding” and compares it to seeing with alternate vision or being able to sense things instinctively. Goodyear admits to leaving pieces of herself in “Carry on making her art, and her personal response too is almost your art even if it entirely emotional. When looking back she feels like no one’s remembers how she was feeling at the time of creation. “Other people might not see it,” she says, watching.” but adds, “it’s really important to me for a viewer to have their own response.” On asking what advice she’d give to her 18 year old self, she muses, “I’d say not to worry but worrying is fine! It’s healthy.” She thinks for a moment before adding, “Stick at it. Carry on making your art even if it feels like no one’s watching.” However, Rachel laughs at being called a ‘real’ artist, saying the concept is always something that seems out of reach. “You always feel you’ll be outed for being fake!” Art isn’t the end of Goodyear’s creative endeavours, as the small black moleskin she carries with her shows. A self-proclaimed “obsessive journal keeper”, she confesses that writing her thoughts daily helps her to keep things ordered and unwind. “I solve a lot of things through writing,” she says, recounting her recent trip to New York in which a notebook from years gone by fell from the shelf which coincidentally ‘Travellers’, 2016, contained her notes from the last trip she took pencil, watercolour, ink & charcoal on to the Big Apple. Reading it back she saw how paper, 72 cm x 53 cm. Right: ‘Oracles’, 2017, much she’d changed, “I was a completely different installation at The New person…the way I viewed the world.” Art Gallery Walsall, 3-screen animated film ‘Catching Sight’ is at The New Art Gallery, Walsall, until with soundrack (photo: Jonathan Shaw) 3 September 2017.

10 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 11 ontrary to the beliefs of many, the stigma damage, just to try to alleviate Caround adolescent the endless drones and screams mental health still thrives. With the of the ‘characters’ you see, but recent Netflix series ‘13 Reasons others don’t? But of course, the Why’, mainstream teens seem to best part is when the CAHMs be shocked by the effects of mental psychiatrist verbally assaults and illness. But I doubt they understand the screams at you until you’re a real ‘face’ of mental disorders. I don’t retching mess on the floor, just mean to be obnoxious, it’s just mental to assess whether you really do health difficulties vary for everyone, and have ‘panic attacks’ or just ‘the I feel this programme highlighted only the odd anxious wobble’. most notorious; depression. Apart from this being utter word- Anxiety is another well-known issue. But, vomit recalling many different do people even realise that OCD branches mental health experiences, the as an anxiety disorder? If so, I think people main point is to say that mental would stop throwing about the ‘oh my god, my health services need to be better. OCD is so bad today’ when all they’ve done Whether that’s being given more is organised their school planner. What about budget, more training, more staff, eating disorders? People still aspire to be ‘skinny’, whatever; something needs to thinking binge eating and starvation are just change. I underwent 25 weeks casual dieting cheats. And schizophrenia? A very of DBT, 18 weeks of CBT and sheltered topic, not allowed to see the light of saw a psychologist once a week day. It’s just a bit too scary for us ‘children’. for almost 3 years, and still, my Mental health issues are not pretty. They’re awful, mental health was worse than and sickening and will more than likely affect you it had ever been. Following the for the rest of your life. It’s not all taking walks in trial of some medication (an Mum: a nature forest, and pampering yourself. Self-care antidepressant called Fluoxetine) does work, but there’s such a dark, clinical side I was diagnosed with moderate to it all. There are times when you’re lying on a clinical anxiety, second hand depression and emotional Please don’t words Molly Parker, image Lelenhospital Reute bed on the pysch ward, waiting to have your stomach pumped because of the amount behavioural dysregulation (as of ibuprofen you desperately swallowed to well as suspected autism, which, blame yourself try and just shut your own head up for one surprise surprise, I was never goddamn minute. There are times when definitely diagnosed with as you have to attend group therapy sessions they’d discharged me from the for weeks on end with short tempered service before they managed to workers and handfuls of messed up kids, get some ‘paper work’ about my From the dark side: just to try to appease your parents; ‘I’m assessment through). getting better Mum, honestly’ (please By all means, I support the NHS. Self harm, anxiety, OCD, don’t blame yourself). And let’s not forget However, it’s not right that budgets running out of your classroom to vomit are being cut on mental health depression. Mental and hyperventilate so much you black services when they need drastic out, all because of ever-looming exams improvement. CAHM’s waiting health, stigma & a lack that ‘dictate your whole entire life’. lists need reducing for a start. I’d People still don’t understand self-harm. love to have something improve of priority in the health Some people can’t even recognise it. for young sufferers following the Of course, people still view ‘cutting’ release of this article, but I can’t system leave sufferers in as a joke. What about banging your imagine anything changing. Instead head violently against furnishings, we are left struggling without the a no-win cycle. almost giving yourself minor brain support we need 12 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 13 they say “TV rots your mind.TV is a waste of time.You should be

our mind does wonders with what’s studying.” playing before us. Whether that’s be- ing an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and taking lmost every down Hydra, a citizen of Rosewood words Aroob Raja adult you and finding out who A is, or surviving meet will tell in a zombie apocalypse, we all deserve A that time to live in a dreamland, and you these things, just because they don’t see beyond a teenager sitting in front of their TV and not revising or working productively that’s exactly what TV does for us. Let’s towards a future that they fear. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m only forget about our responsibilities, wor- speaking for a handful of teens here. But for those I am speaking ries, anxieties, and instead distract our- for, we can surely agree that sitting down and taking a break from selves from it all. life is usually frowned upon by those who aren’t able to pull off Sometimes, our momentary escapism skinny jeans anymore. can lead to an engagement that lets us actively participate. Fandoms for your School, college – whatever it may be, can begin to feel favourite shows exist where we liter- overwhelming at certain points, and the natural instinct for ally just talk about the show. The plot, our species is fight or flight. However, last time I checked, you our favourite characters, our theories can’t fight life, so the only remaining option is flight. Running. for what may come next. We develop Leaving. Escaping. We need some sort of exit, and out of the tv an emotional attachment to our fa- many options society has to offer, television seems to be the vourite characters. We can relate to most popular one. them. We can see ourselves in them, Television is something we’ve been watching since we could, and trust that if they can overcome well, see. We used it to help us speak, to help us learn, even the obstacles in their life, so can we. to help us to do mediocre tasks like cook, so why is it so This moves on to appreciation of the terrible for us to want to use it as a form of escapism? cast themselves, which leads on to ad- Adults love to give us grief for watching TV shows, but miring them and seeing them as role what they don’t understand is maybe it’s the only thing models. No, this isn’t an “obsession” or that gets us through our day. Maybe we need it to lose “creepy admiration”. It’s us, as young ourselves, even for an hour, in order for us to get back adults, showing gratitude to those who on task. Adults, I’m sure, do it themselves when they’re helped us learn ourselves, better. catching up on last night’s episode of Eastenders, or I guess, what I’m trying to say here staying up to watch tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, is ‘you do you’. If watching TV shows so why the backlash? helps you escape from reality and learn TV shows offer us an opportunity to forget who we yourself, go ahead. Nobody can learn are or where we’re going. They offer us a chance to you better than you. become immersed in a world that isn’t our own. They’re literally the next best thing after time ma- chines (or for all you Doctor Who lovers out there, the T.A.R.D.I.S). It’s an experience that should be impossible, but isn’t. We literally just sit there and

14 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 15 FLEISH- MANN The trains weren’t running today. There was something in the tunnels. The ‘meat man’ has now moved. They call him Fleishmann Like the model of the train. Apparently, he wears peoples’ skin. Still, passer-bys ignore him Whilst he punctures his flesh with a pin. “The longer I wear it the more it grows on me; She has such pretty skin.” Insult after insult is thrown But still, he bares his uncanny grin, words Stitching his flapping skin together Molly Parker In a desperate attempt to fit in. photography Katherine I actually spoke to him earlier. Eggleston Apparently, he’s a former priest. “Oh Father up above help me please Oh Father up above help me please.” Through rain, sleet and snow he sings Pulling the skin around him like a cloak. He’s void of most emotions Accept ravenous hunger. He’s tried on so many different skins. He’s never actually hurt me. I get strange looks when I approach him; I’m only trying to be friendly. Lonely, desolate and desperate An outcast from society.

16 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 17 18 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 19 Bodies: What’s not to like? That birthmark on your arm? It belongs to no one but you. Your curly hair? Rock it because it’s yours and it suits you. And that thigh gap you wish you had? Think of all the times it has stopped you from dropping your phone down the toilet!

words & photography Ruth Wheeldon

“Look at my belly fat.” “My legs jokes. “Only if you airbrush my wrinkles”, “you make other people feel intimidated (and well to know what your friend, family member or the are disgusting.” “I have huge better Photoshop my double chin”, “make me be honest you’ll look like a nutter). I just think it’s person sat next to you in class is insecure about. bags under my eyes.” look slimmer”. These genuine responses made important that we all gain some self-confidence to You don’t know how much a compliment me smile at first, but it got me questioning if they ound familiar? In the world say, “Yes that scar on my knee may not be perfect, can mean to them. This is why learning to actually thought these were imperfections. To me we live in where online but instead of verbally abusing my body I’m going love yourself is really just as important these women looked perfect because I got to ‘likes’ equal acceptance, to grow to love it.” as helping other people learn to love S know their beautiful personalities, therefore it themselves. it’s hard to be sure if we truly Something that took me a long time to learn is are valued as people, rather never occurred to me that, “she’d look better if that acne can be cruel, but it doesn’t determine So the next time you find yourself than just our Instagram she lost some weight.” who you are as a person or how valued you are. critiquing an aspect of your username. After hearing women undervalue themselves so There was a woman I met at the event called body, just remember that those When I was asked to take much in one day, I noticed more and more people Margaret. I had never met her before but I noticed freckles you aren’t fond of? photos at a women’s event doing it, including myself! Instead of celebrating the dress she was wearing and I complimented They’re cute. That birthmark on in Rochdale called ‘Flourish’, our body we instead insult and critique it for no her on it. She smiled, said thank you and moved your arm that you try to cover? It I was excited to talk to, and reason. Why can’t we see our own beauty? on. She approached me later on and told me that belongs to no one but you. Your curly photograph, a group of strong, Is it because we think it’s wrong or that we don’t she doesn’t usually wear dresses and that she was hair? Rock it because it’s yours and it inspirational women. When I asked if I deserve to be happy with our body? I’m definitely worried about wearing it, but that my compliment suits you. And that thigh gap you wish you could capture a picture of them however, not saying we should walk down the street shouting had made her feel much more confident. This had? Think of all the times it has stopped you I was met with a series of self-deprecating how amazing we are to strangers, because it can interaction has made me realise that you don’t from dropping your phone down the toilet!

20 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 21 RIGHT: Jessica Rankin, Termagant, 2009. on organdie, Embroidery 84 x 58 in. (213.4 x 147.3 cm) © the artist. Courtesy White Cube and carlier | gebauer LEFT: Jessica Rankin, Flag, 2006. Watercolour and graphite on paper, 11 x 13 3/8 in. (28 x 34 cm) © the artist. Photo © Todd-White PhotographyArt Courtesy White Cube Unmasked asked our writers to tell us about their hopes & fears for the future....

#3 - Hopes & Fears by Aroob Raja

I Hope... Talking or even thinking about the future is somewhat daunting for me, but it’s also exciting because literally everything I’ve been learning since I was younger is finally coming into practice. Obviously there’s things I fear, but those will never beat my main aspiration in life: to be happy. Immensely cheesy, I’m aware. Sort of the response one would get when watching some old, cringey romance movie or something. But Jessica honestly, aren’t cheesy, cringey things cheesy and cringey for the very fact that they are true? (No, this doesn’t apply to pick-up lines). Being happy is something that seems so simple to achieve, and I’ve had my fair share of blissful moments whilst Rankin experiencing my “youth”, however, the number of adults I’ve met that are successful in life but aren’t genuinely “happy” is quite a lot. They could be doing something that is The artist whose world retells a journey; but with secure financially, but when I ask them if they enjoy their job, their response is either each recall, you remember a different version. “it pays the bills, doesn’t it?” or “does anyone really enjoy their job?” Now, it may be my naivety as a teen, but I refuse to believe that one can’t be successful and be happy. eing an artist can mean a lot of things. poetry here. Rankin makes art that is all about And well, if that is the case, then I guess I’m going to be in for one heck of a ride. There are very few Damien Hirsts or people; about relationships she holds dear and BTracey Emins or Banksys around, but there adventures from relationships gone but not are loads of less well known, wonderful artists out forgotten. But are they real or illusory? We are I Fear... there producing inspiring work. If you have a local not quite sure. We are invited in, but these are her gallery with forward looking curators, you can get landscapes peopled with her ghosts. Anticipating the future comes hand in hand with fearing the future, and that brings on its own set of problems. There’s a never-ending list of fears I could list off the top of to see work by real international talent in your Her work has been described as ‘mental maps’. my head, but the one that will always come to mind is the idea of my parents not being home town. With that you can lay the seeds of a Imagine you missed someone terribly - a strong there, supporting my choices and helping me through the difficulties I may face. I whole local arts scene so it’s really that important. memory might be a journey you once took, or might only be speaking for mine, but parents practically have their children’s futures a conversation you had on that journey. The At Touchtstones the programme has been moving planned out already, whether they care to admit it or not. Now, the thing with my world of Jessica Rankin is like the retelling of the more and more towards bringing comtemporary parents is that when their children do something that doesn’t meet their expectations, journey. But with each recall, you remember a artists to Rochdale. Take the upcoming show they tend to hint at alternative routes to getting “back on track” that they deem to be different version. The words, symbols or snatches by New York artist, Jessica Rankin. Rankin is more acceptable. But that doesn’t mean I listen. Journalism is something that I want of conversations. Sometimes it’s the geography; or represented by White Cube - the same London to pursue, and even though they appear to be okay with it, I know they truly believe objects or landscapes encountered along the way. gallery that represents huge art names like Emin, that “it isn’t a real career choice”, as they so kindly shared with me once. My fear is Gilbert & George and Anthony Gormley. Until Rankin’s show at Touchstones premieres drawings, that they will eventually give up on me and withdraw the support and guidance they recently, the idea of hosting a White Cube artist in paintings & embroidery inspired by the Parthenon give me now. I’m terrified out of my mind that they will let their disappointment cloud Rochdale would be unimaginable but hey presto - Sculptures at the British Museum, and themes like their judgement and they will leave me to fend for myself. That thought scares the hell Rankin is having a show here to coincide with the mothers and daughters. Bring it on - Rochdale as out of me because, coming from a big family, I depend on having people around me, ever ambitious Rochdale Literature & Arts Festival. pioneer of art sounds good to us! guiding me and advising me through scary circumstances. And not having my parents So what is Rankin’s work all about? Well, at first Jessica Rankin is at Touchstones, Rochdale there to help me and be there for me is my biggest fear for the future, because they sight everything is stark and abstract. But as you from 19 October launching with an evening may not even see that their choice to leave me by myself isn’t something I want, but peer closer, another world is revealed. There is of poetry from 8pm. rather something they forced me to accept.

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why I first fell in love with the art This is progress. These are the of in the first the three words which will soon be chanted in unison place. I stand and wait. And the memories by the sea of humanity crammed into ’s flood back. resurgence O2 Ritz. But right now, I am still queueing outside. Already, there is a surge of electricity in the air. I Forget ‘Who Shot JR?’, the burning question am amongst my own kind here. The line stretches for me as a kid was ‘Who Ran Over Stone Cold of words Daniel Lamb down the length of Whitworth Street and curves Steve Austin?’ This was the storyline which onto Oxford Road. There are over 700 people here captured my imagination and got me hooked British on this warm Sunday afternoon, every one donning on professional wrestling during that first photography Rob Brazier a shirt emblazoned with the secret epithets, sigils, long hot summer of the new millennium. wrestling and symbols of a strange vaudevillian cult like no I couldn’t wait to see Stone Cold solve the other. mystery of who ran him down and settle the An elderly gentleman stops to ask what the fuss is score with the man who took him out of all about. The answer is simple. Progress Wrestling action for close to a year. I would tune in are in town. to Sky One every Saturday and watch as “We are here to watch wrestling,” I tell him. He the so called Texas Rattlesnake caused shakes his head a little and wanders off. He doesn’t chaos across the entire World Wrestling get it. But that’s okay. We are used to this kind of Federation, interrupting matches and response by now. As I stand in line, listening to attacking wrestlers indiscriminately the excited chatter of the cluster of wrestling in an attempt to smoke out the fans in front of me, I can’t help but reminisce on mystery assailant. For me, this was

24 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 25 as compelling as television got. seen plying their craft for Progress Wrestling: But it wasn’t just Stone Cold Steve Austin who Progress before inevitably Bang the Drum Results had my attention. There was The Rock, , being recruited by the , , and Kurt Angle wrestling juggernaut that is def. by - some of the most recognisable names in the the WWE. Pinfall to advance to Super Strong Style 16. history of wrestling. Though I didn’t know it at the “This is Progress!” defeated Martina by Pinfall. time, it was a golden age to be a wrestling fan. I was The chants begin as the Sweet Jesus (Chuck Mambo & William Eaver) hooked. Hooked by the larger than life characters, promoter comes defeated The London Riots (James Davis & Rob the ongoing drama, the athleticism, the theatrics, to the ring to introduce the show. Lynch) by Pinfall. the spectacle. He draws attention to a group of While the late 90s and early 00s may have been a lads out on a stag do, each of them defeated by Pinfall. golden age for wrestling across the pond in the US, dressed up as a different wrestler. Nathan Cruz defeated Spud by Pinfall to British wrestling’s golden age had long since passed There is a warm and inclusive advance to Super Strong Style 16. by the time I discovered the sport. Reaching its zenith atmosphere. Then the bell rings and during the 1970s, World of Sport Wrestling would air the show starts and if I ever had any defeated by every Saturday afternoon on ITV and would pull in doubts that wrestling still has the power Disqualification. tremendous television ratings. With a greater focus to awe me like it did when I was a child, PROGRESS World Championship – Three Way – on the mat-based sporting elements of wrestling, then they are obliterated forever at the defeated and Mark World of Sport featured such stars as the dastardly sheer athleticism on show on this glorious Haskins by Pinfall to retain the PROGRESS Mick McManus, the perennial ‘blue eye’ Johnny Sunday afternoon in Manchester. World Championship. Saint, and the mysterious masked wrestler Kendo The action is as hard hitting as it gets. There Nagasaki. However, it is perhaps best remembered are death defying dives directly into the front for the legendary bouts between Big Daddy and row. There are innovative sequences and moves Giant Haystacks. A staple of British television for the likes of which I have never seen before. At over twenty years, World of Sport was eventually one point, during a standout contest between cancelled in September 1985 after a slow decline Trent Seven and Travis Banks, a fan is forced to give in popularity. Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan was making up his seat so that it can be used as a weapon. waves over in the US and it seemed as though all the The fan, of course, happily obliges. The crowd are focus had shifted from the British wrestling scene electric throughout. We recognise that while we towards its more bombastic American counterpart. are all here to watch wrestling, what we are The WWF (since renamed WWE) would continue really watching is a combination of dance and to grow, eventually becoming the global behemoth theatre, visual poetry and storytelling. And it is now. there is magic in there, too. Still. But now, as we file into the building, I reflect that in The days of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks recent years the focus has begun to shift back to the are gone, but British wrestling has evolved. British wrestling scene once again. So much so, that This, I think as I enjoy the chaotic and the WWE have recently added a utterly captivating three way main event Championship to their brand. And perhaps most between Pete Dunne, Mark Andrews, tellingly, after over thirty years off our screens, and Mark Hoskins - is Progress. World of Sport Wrestling will make a return to ITV. British wrestling is back in a big way. Since its humble inception in 2012, there is no doubt that Progress Wrestling has played an integral role in this resurgence. These days some of the brightest stars in the wrestling world can be

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Happy rowing up I have always been a creative always important, to have someone you can look person. It’s probably what I excelled in up to. I remember making songs when I was little Gthe most. I like to sometimes use these about something I liked and singing to my class. If skills to portray a certain idea. From writing you think about it from a creative perspective, it’s songs, drawing, dancing, and acting, I not just a song about friends. It’s a spoken poem, it’s really believe these can take you a a rap, it’s a speech. It’s art. long way as you can show so much I believe that even the simplest of things can be more than you think and really developed into something amazing, something that create something beautiful. I can really speak to the world. There are some things do believe you need maths that bring you down and take you further from and English. But can the goal...you’re not old enough or ma- it show a whole ture enough, you’re a different gender new insight or you believe something different. of beauty Still, we shouldn’t let anyone tell and truth “Art is more us who can do what and break w i t h i n ? the boundaries of modern-day We can rules. I may be a Muslim, but I powerful than d e v e l o p am born and bred in Britain and c r e a t i v e words. It has the a n d I have the same say as everyone. e x p r e s s i v e I want to help the world become arts so much a better place and we can’t let these ability to speak and it can really help small things set us back. Because if you us with future tasks such as could change the world but someone just said NO and show you a cooperation and leadership would you stop halfway through something that could skills. As an aspiring animator and have become a revolutionary achievement? actor, I have encountered many We all have dreams. Some may be bigger than oth- new style of life things that have made me feel what I ers but what really matters is if it’s something that’s would like to do as a career is pointless. personal to you and you believe in it, a dream can without even “You should be more productive - like spread throughout your life to bring enjoyment being a doctor!” However, my goal in life isn’t and happiness. It develops into something beauti- to just have a good paying job. It’s about making ful. That’s how I want my life to be. Full of progress realizing.” others happy and doing it via things that I like to do. from idea to idea. Life is too short for leaving your Shouldn’t this be what we all want? ideas on paper. words & illustration Myiesha Amani I feel inspiration. I feel this way because since I “Art is more powerful than words. It has the ability was tiny I was inspired by Selena Gomez to sing. to speak to you and show you a new style of life Although I wouldn’t call myself a ‘good singer’ it’s without even realizing.”

28 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 29 Unmasked asked our writers to tell us about their hopes & fears for the future....

Generation Z: #4: Hopes & Fears by Ruth Wheeldon I Fear... creative-Work-shops I fear that the future decisions I make now as a 17-year-old aren’t the right ones for me. University? Apprenticeship? Work? What if I choose one and I hate it? Ever since I was young I wanted to be a photographer, but as I grew older my interests changed slightly into wanting to go into a whole range of different occupations – whether Exploring new his autumn, there are a range of creative workshops running that be a writer, artist, TV presenter or even chocolate taster at possibilities, under the ‘Generation Z’ banner as part of the Rochdale one point! With my interest in all these places, and having so many ideas and genres TLiterature & Ideas Festival. For 14 to 25 year olds, it’s a different routes into them, then being told I have to choose just one is a great way chance to try something you might not have done before, or that makes me petrified. What if I change my mind again? What if I reach to open your opportunity to speak to people already working in the genre you’re my current goal of working for the BBC and it’s not what I expected? mind! And you passionate about; and have a great time while you are doing it. Here’s just might find what you can have a go at. something you Motion videography: Mahboobeh Rajabi is a digital artist, I Hope... really love that who’ll be working with you to explore film techniques for mobiles. One of the biggest hopes for my future is that people will care for leads you - well You’ll be filming and using free editing software all on your mobile each other regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion etc. At - wherever you phone, and even creating your own soundtrack! this moment in my life the world is a dangerous place, there’s been want to take it. a terrorist attack in my home city, Manchester, and it just made me CREATIVE WORD: Artists and performers from The Contact wonder if I’ll ever feel safe in public again. However, seeing how So Get work- Theatre will work with you to express your thoughts and opinions via the world came together after such a horrific event, sending love, shopping! exciting activities in creative writing, poetry and spoken word. support and raising money, gives me hope that maybe one day there ACT ON IT: Get your imagination flowing with M6 Theatre’s will be no discrimination of any kind and we can all cherish each directors & writers, Caroline Kennedy and Parvez Qadir in this other instead. challenging, high energy drama workshop. You’ll be taking part in improvisations, creative writing and making instant theatre. MOVED: Artist and creative producer, Amy Lawrence, will work with movement, choreography and visuals to explore how we interact emotionally and the concept of being ‘moved’ by something, someone or some-place. You will discuss experiences in an open, safe space to share and create. Find out about Generation Z workshops at www.rochdaleliteraturefestival.co.uk.

30 WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM WWW.UNMASKEDZINE.COM 31 .....stop press..... check out more from unmasked at www.unmaskedzine.com

Published by Flux Magazine Editors Claire Lomax & Lee Taylor Design Flux Magazine & Katherine Eggleston Words Myiesha Amani, Raafe Anjam, Emma Conroy, Hana Hussein, Daniel Lamb, Ruth Wheeldon, Molly Parker, Aroob Raja, Evie-May Taylor Photography Rob Brazier, Katherine Eggleston, Ruth Wheeldon, Lelen Reute Illustration Myiesha Amani. Cover Image Lelen Reute

UNMASKED [email protected], www.unmaskedzine.com Flux Magazine [email protected], www.fluxmagazine.com Thanks to Punam Ramchurn, Rochdale Sixth Form, Hopwood Hall College and Rochdale Youth Service

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