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Two
paths: Fed
on books, music, films and especially ‘The Avengers’ tv
series from the age of early adolescence Alice for reasons left unknown
to this day, dreams of private college education and of being English.
So she settles in the capital for about ten years.
While Alice Answers loses herself in diverse more or less conceptual
art projects at St Martin's Art School in London, Johnnie Johnnie
is experimenting erotic fetish flavoured photography in his workshop
in Geneva. In London, Alice starts to explore too, that part of herself.
Her first encounter with the bdsm scene is the Torture Garden. There
she discovers that her fear of the unknown and somehow sleazy idea
of a bdsm club vanishes and leaves place to lust and curiosity. Johnnie
Johnnie's thirst for experiment leads him to Berlin.
Sparkling
spank: Both back in Geneva,
What was bound to happen happened. JJ and Alice meet for a friendly
drink that turns into a friendly night out, that turns into a friendly
last drink home, that turns into a friendly 'I’ll show you my
favourite film about a friendly girl kidnapped with friendly Oh so
handsome! Terence Stamp, from the friendly sixties, from friendly
England.
From now on Johnnie and Alice
start working together on multi-media projects as The Happymaniacs.
After
photography comes video and stage:
'After a year spent shooting models in the blue cabinet, we wanted
to involve ourselves physically, to bring the still life to real life,
to tell stories in some way. The opportunity came during the New Year's
Eve gig in 2006, for the Dress-Code Night at the KAB. That was a sort
of revelation.
Alice: "Playing our own creations, a bit hermetic maybe for who's not involved into fetish or magik scene, give us the freedom of experimentation. But we also love to share and entertain with BAKXIII. We don't care of being the center of attention when we play with them, the point is to offer BAKXIII our characters, visual universe to give the best and funniest live show to the audience. On stage this band is pure energy and second degree humour. There is no better occasion for us to get out of ourselves and take pleasure. We serve them as they serve us in a perfect fluid exchange."
On
stage you can really play with energies, you have some freedom within
the frame. You arrive on stage to set your little world within the
bigger one. It works or it doesn't.
Actions are written to serve the overall design and photography,
the meaning is there but you can't help thinking about it, you just
put it aside , we are in a fantasy reality generated from within
based on obsessions.
Johnnie: "It's always interesting to debate and think about what you do, but if the conceptual matter takes over the action it can results in a long justification of an act that just needs to be done, to just do it seems always the best answer to evade in conceptual mazes. This is the first Magikal principle: DO!"
Their inspiration other than fetish and S.M. are especially sort of surrealist inspired film and TV series such as 'The avengers', the Monty Python. Crowley's spriritual son Kenneth Anger and what Johnnie calls "Oxi Vodou" rituals. Happymaniacs use Home-made ritual magic made of obsessions where objects and clothes are alive and where the overpower notion often takes place.
Shooting
films is a way to extend photography but it's also the chance to test
new things. In April 2007 Alice and Johnnie shoot 'supposed to Watch'
a short film featuring perfomance artist Vdrey
on a music by Schultz.
Later that year they shoot again together as actors for Rough Bob
– from VJ's combo Akinetic - the experimental short: 'A house,
a customer'.
The two films are projected side by side during Vdrey's performances.
She still using the film for her shows across Europe.
In February 2008 the Geneva première of ' Johnnie Gloves and
the Bride' takes place at the'Zoo' A 3d film or a 2d play mixing film
and stage perfomance with live sounddrack performed by Music
For the Space (Von Smock). Then at La
SeXorcisto, in may 08, with a soundtrack by Trincea.
Playing with live musicians give a unique character for each show.
It's always the same story but always different. Musicians are free
to give their own interpretation, and then the energy line of "Johnnie
Gloves & the Bride".
Johnnie Gloves & The Bride is the most ambitious project at the moment for Happymaniacs. The story of Johnnie Gloves, a man who loves his gloves but needs a bride to share his passion and use magik to get what he want...
June 2008
