Jamming With Jamaican Rastas Adventures with the Legends of Reggae By David Tesinsky David Tesinsky is a Czech photojournalist who focuses on exploring global subcultures. His never ending search for the unique and authentic finally landed him in Jamaica, where he went searching for the people who follow the Rastafarian way, in the hills, in the streets and inna di yards. I went to Jamaica in search of real Rastafarians and the living legends of roots reggae and dub music. If you’re a foreigner it’s not easy to meet the real Rastas in the streets, because every other person with dreadlocks says, “I’m a Rasta!”. A “Roots Rasta” should not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, eat meat or chase money. Rasta is not about having dreadlocks. A rasta could be hairless but truly follows the paths of Haile Selassie. Rastas believe all of us have a connection with the universe. One Rastaman told me, “We are all part of one dread”. Although many people told me, “Kingston is dangerous for a white guy”. I had quite a good experience during my 45 days there. I rode my bike day and night around Kingston’s ghettos. I did get caught by the police with a higher amount of weed than tolerated, and a man ripped my wallet out of my hand, but I took it back very fast. In general, I had a good experience - in my own way. Music is very important to Jamaicans. There are sound systems in the streets, and very often they overlap each other, so you will find yourself listening to dancehall and dub at the...
The Holy Black Saints Ancient Black Saints Resurrected Interview by Lauri Lyons Welcome to the magnificent world of Barron “Africanus” Claiborne, a renowned self-taught photographer and cinematographer. Originally from Boston, Claiborne is a seasoned traveler that has mastered the art of weaving historical facts into vivid feats of imagination, that stir the soul and expand the boundaries of the mind. Lauri Lyons: What inspired the Los Santos Negros series? Barron Claiborne: My photos usually come from what I read. I was reading about the saints before the Catholic church was moved to Rome when the church was located in North Africa. I read about Saint Nirvana and Saint Perpetua. They were saints in the early church in North Africa. Saint Augustine was the head of the Catholic church. There were a lot of saints but the first saints were black, and the first popes were black. The Saints were also black in the Christian church. You see images of them in catacombs and in Rome. You will see black Russian icons, a lot of eastern European icons. Even Santa Claus (St. Nick ) was a black man, that’s why today the Dutch recognize Zwarte Piet, his sidekick apprentice, who was also black. What are your favorite subjects to read about? I like archaeology, history, and mythology. What inspired you to start photographing people as saints? The women I know and my mom. Your mom is like your saint. I was photographing women who were around the age of my mother when she had me. Did you pick women that fit into the character of the saints? Yes, that’s basically what...
A Peace Treaty Fashion Without Borders Fashion designer Dana Arbib, shares her global perspectives on life and style. Interview by Lauri Lyons What inspired you to start A Peace Treaty? Dana Arbib: I studied graphic design at Parson’s. I was working in a lot of different fields of design. I was consulting at Sotheby’s, and freelancing at DKNY. I always liked sketching, and I realized that I love drawing patterns, it’s so much fun, it’s so easy, it’s so creative. What is your cultural background? I’m middle-eastern. My dad’s from Tripoli, Libya. He grew up in Tripoli, but he went to school in Italy because Libya was an Italian colony at that time. So he’s kind of a blend of Italian, and Arab, but Jewish. His generation is pretty much the last of the Libyan Jews. Once his generation passes away, it’s kind of gone. I’m from Israel. So we’re kind of like Arab Jews in a way, which is complicated. How has your culture influenced your design aesthetic? I grew up with a lot of scarves, a lot of caftans, that kind of style. I had seen that when the company started, there was a trend in the market for kofia scarves. I realized there was a gap in the market for mid-level price scarves. That’s when I said “Let’s do a scarf company”. I’m constantly researching textiles from all over the world. It’s kind of an obsession of mine. I have a huge database in my head of references from Africa, Asia, Scandinavia, Japan, from everywhere. I’m traveling constantly. My dad, for a living, has a humanitarian background. He does a lot of...
