| dayfour home | contact |
|
DayFour issue 7 You Can't Always Get What You Want
Published 2009
Cover: Ben Roberts
On Saturday November 16 1968, the Rolling Stones were in Olympic Studios in south London to start work on their new album, Let It Bleed. The first track they cut, late that night and into the early hours of Sunday, was a disillusioned reflection on love, politics and the drug scene that was enveloping the Stones and their friends. It was also a poignant message from Mick Jagger to his then girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull. It was called ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ The idea for this issue of DayFour was to explore something we in the affluent West have become very used to over the last few years: the ability to have most of our desires satisfied with comparative ease. But we also live in turbulent times. Getting what you want in 2009 is a lot less straightforward than it used to be. We need to think about what is significant. What makes us happy? What (who) do we really want? And what do we really need?
Contributors
© All photography and text in Dayfour is copyright the contributors. All rights reserved
 |
 |
 |
 |
Buy me
I built the story around the idea of prices and price tags and shop windows. The price tags are significant to me as they illuminate the subject. I like looking at the things in the windows.These photos were done with a disposable camera. I’m saving up for a camera. I hope to have a camera of my own soon.
Contributor Heath Wicks says, ‘All the stuff I do is almost impossible to put into words. I was homeless. I’ve been on the streets. I’ve come into St Mungos and started a photography course. I’m really enjoying the photography. I live around W1 in London. I’ve been in central London for 25 years, since I was sixteen, and seen lots of changes. I had an old Nikon FE a long time ago but I ended up getting rid of that camera. I’d like to earn a crust being a self employed photographer dabbling in art and straightforward work.'
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ashura
Every year Shia Muslims worldwide celebrate the Day of Ashura, their most important holy day. It falls on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Husain ibn Ali who was killed in 680 AD during the Battle of Karbala in present day Iraq. Husain is recognized by the Shiites as the third Imam, the rightful successor to his grandfather Muhammad and the greatest hero of Shiite Muslims. Husain ibn Ali is the epitome of resistance, the martyr who fought tyranny and died for his religion and his people. Shiites believe the Battle of Karbala was between good and evil and was fought to keep the Muslim religion untainted by any corruption. The death of Husain led to the split into Shia and Sunni Islam. Nabiteyeh, a town of some 120,000 inhabitants located 10km from the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, is one of the few places in the world where Ashura celebrations are still conducted in the so called 'traditional' way which includes self-injuring.
Contributor Aleksander Bochenek, is a freelance photojournalist based in Krakow, Poland. After acquiring an MBA in Economics, he spent some years in the corporate world but turned to full-time photography in 2005. Aleksander studied photojournalism at GrisArt Escola in Barcelona, Spain.
More Aleksander at www.aaleksander.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Mythologies
I desire his darkness and the mysteries the black of his skin holds. I desire the scars and blue of his handmade teenage tattoo that tell me of places I have never been, of a life before this one, before me. His closed pores, his hardened back turn away from me and shut me out and it is then that I know that I will never be sure of his return, will always wait for it with anxious tremors, relieved each evening the key turns and his footsteps echo on the stairs...
Contributor Esther Teichmann is a German/American artist, born in Karlsruhe, Germany. She has an MFA from the Royal College of Art and was one of Art Review’s top 25 new artists of 2005. She is a senior lecturer on the Photography MA course at Brighton University, as well as following her own photographic practice. Esther’s work has been internationally shown and published, with recent group exhibitions in Los Angeles, Berlin and Dubrovnik.
More Esther at www.estherteichmann.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
The botanical thread
This work inherently speaks to issues of destruction/creation, ruin/repair and manipulation/transformation. This series began as an aesthetic exploration of botanical subject matter and transformed into a series of images intended to confront the viewer’s desires and wants of the botanical. The desire for absolute control of the botanical is realized in the images but not without asking the viewer ‘at what cost?’
Contributor Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant is a fine art photographer who lives and works in upstate New York. She is currently teaching photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, in both the School of Photographic Sciences and School of Design. Kaitlin says she ‘cannot stop photographing plants.’
More Kaitlin at www.kaitlinwilson-bryant.com
 |
Princess. At first glance
Mrs Victoria was a thin, apparently fragile and sweet woman with her long hair, dark eyes contrasting with a very pale skin. Everybody would see how beautiful she was. She got married in 1921. Everything looked so normal. Everything looked so under control. Nobody would see a tear from her. Never. Nobody would say a 22-year-old beautiful woman was tired. One day, everybody got to know how tired she was. How sad she was. A bit too late.
Contributor Luisa Santos is a contemporary art curator. Luisa recently graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, London, and is currently in a residency programme at OK-Centrum, Linz, Austria.
More Luisa in d4.6 and at www.luisa-santos.blogspot.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
One more night
Come to my club night on Wednesday night, said Dan. I thought, Why not? Six months later I was spat out of the other end with bags under my eyes and 12,000 photographs to edit. My short journey into London's indie and electro scene swiftly became addictive. Set to a soundtrack of MGMT, Justice and the Kings of Leon, missing the last train from New Cross every Wednesday became a ritual, the heartbreaking finale to a blur of glowsticks and lager. It wasn't the music or the drinks that kept me coming back though. It was the fleeting encounters with strangers that punctuated the mayhem. all that time and I'm not exactly sure who or what I was searching for, or whether or not I found it.
Contributor Ben Roberts is a portrait and documentary photographer based in London. He sells his work through Picturetank in Paris and GalleryStock in London.
More Ben in d4.6 and at www.benrobertsphotography.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
The score
Germany during the World Cup 2006. Everything was going well for the German soccer team, and the German people wanted to show how proud we are of our country and the team, and how well-organized we are. These pictures show some desperate attempts to find identification with our country and to find a way to celebrate. Is the solution to blindly paint everything and everywhere black-red-gold, and to shout, ‘Deutschland! Deutschland!’? While 50 kilometres away are places called ‘No-go areas’ where foreigners are told, ‘Don’t go there because there are also Germans shouting, “Deutschland! Deutschland!” But there are not celebrating with you. They are beating you.’
Contributors Jens Utzt and Florian Emberger say, ‘We call our group “Up’n Land”, which means travelling through the countryside. Sometimes we are two people and sometimes we are much more. It depends on the project. We do photo projects and make documentaries. We are interested in recording our presence. There is no higher concept, just the inner personal drive to do Something!’
More Up'n Land at www.jensutzt.com
 |
Love and family: a union of unachievable perfection
Contributor Robert Burton says, ‘I like to create imagery that appears ordinary and comfortable and clothed in reality, but with a twist. My personal work is fuelled by underlying memories of childhood experience, with recurring themes of age, infidelity and identity.’ Robert is based in London.
More Robert at www.robertburton.co.uk
 |
 |
 |
 |
Happy ever after
I am in Tel Aviv for a couple of days. I can’t check in until much later today so I’ve been sitting on the beach since 7am. The last time I was at the beach this early was in Cannes a few months ago. It was hotter, just the beginning of the summer. Instead of coffee I was drinking wine, pushing an omelette around my plate, giddy not from a terrible night flight but having been willfully awake for too long, just having fun. I have been living in London for six years, always with one foot on this island and another one on the plane. Home is an idea that seems harder and harder to grasp and define, as I jet around visiting friends and family that life has spread all over the world, and sometimes I wish I could combine all my favourite places, my work, friends, languages, lovely weather and food into one magical place that will work for one and all and where we will be happy ever after.
Contributor Julieta Sans is a native of Buenos Aires. She studied photography in Argentina, in Barcelona, and at Central Saint Martins, London. In 2007 she was awarded second prize in the National Portrait Gallery’s Photographic Portrait awards. She would like, 'to spend the next Argentinian summer in Ushuaia among gigantic flowers, watching the sun come up at 4am and go down behind the Blue Mountains nineteen hours later.'
More Julieta in d4.5 and at www.julietasans.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
I'd like a moment of clarity
I’d like clarity and focus. I’d like an open road stretching out before me. I’d like the power to do what needs to be done.
Contributor Hin Chua was born in Malaysia and brought up in Australia. He studied computer science and first picked up a camera, he says, ‘in an attempt to get over a girl. It worked and things just seemed to progress from there.’ Hin lives and works in London.
More Hin in d4.6 and at www.hinius.net
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sightseeing
A ‘viewing point’ is a location from which to observe the landscape. Favoured locations for viewing points are generally high up. Looking down on the world below is the privilege of kings, conquering heroes and sightseeing travellers. These pictures are from a journey in the Portugese countryside, an exploration of ideas of landscape, beauty, and expectation. The viewing point becomes a metaphor for our dreams, hopes and plans of conquest. We climb up, looking for beauty and success. Which isn’t always what awaits us when we get to the top...
Contributor Bruno Santos was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and studied Visual Culture and Photography at IADE, Lisbon. Bruno’s work has been published in magazines in Europe and the USA, and is included in photography collections including Maison de la Photographie, Lille, France. His photography has been shown in group and solo exhibitions, recently including XX Encontros de Imagem, Braga, Portugal.
More Bruno in d4.6 and at www.brunosantos.com.pt
 |
 |
 |
 |
One country, two systems
What they want: ‘One country, two systems.’ I was able to get a glimpse into Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, the most insular nation in the world. On the trip I was guided and monitored by three observers. We traveled like a delegation. Driving through the city we saw monuments and places full of people, but when we arrived no one was there. It was like an abandoned film set that was only built to praise the leader.
Contributor Felix Brandl is based in Munich, where he combines full-time work in a commercial photostudio with personal photography.
More Felix at www.felix-brandl.de
 |
 |
 |
 |
Passing
On October 22, 2007, my father, Doug Pollard, passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack. At the time of his death I was living in Scotland and was woken up in the middle of the night to receive a horrific and haunting phone call, telling me that my father was gone forever. I immediately moved back to the States. My father was an amazing figure in my life and all of the stability I always knew was wiped away in an instant. I decided to turn to my camera to understand my own grief. It was all I could do to help myself and to also show my dad what he meant to me – what he meant to all of us.
Contributor Kate Pollard has a BA from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Design degree from Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland. Her work recently featured in Best of Photography 2008 from Photographer’s Forum. Kate’s latest photographic series, Passing, was shot with a Rolleicord camera given to her by her friend and mentor Larry Fink.
More Kate at www.katepollard.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
And sometimes not at all
These photographs were taken at the place of my childhood, in a typical suburb of Munich. The place itself is actually fairly ugly. You don’t really want to take pictures there. But as a child I didn’t mind that. I had everything I needed: other kids to play with, a hill for sledding in the winter and a lake to swim in in the summer. There were no parents sitting at the playground with us to make sure we weren’t throwing sand. We could get to the river, the cornfields or the ZDF TV studios by bike. My mother did not have the money for a bicycle with gears, so I stuck a clothes peg with a playing card between the spokes and the sound imitated the cool clacking of a bike with gears. That was enough to make me feel extremely strong and happy.
Contributor Bettina Koller studied photography in Munich, where she is now based. Her photographs have been published in magazines such as brand eins, Neon, and Die Zeit. Her work has been exhibited in group shows in Berlin and Munich.
More Bettina in d4.6 and at www.bettinakoller.de
 |
 |
 |
 |
I erase you
Restless soul. A lacking sense of purpose. Trying to break free from the inner monologue. As time runs through her lines, she intends to find peace. To let someone go even when it contradicts the heart. (...You can not always get what you want.) There will be no more of this, she thought. Even when it stood against the love she kept for him. Yet again. She thought, there will be no more of this.
Contributor Lina Persson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She spent two years assisting photographer Tomas Giden, then moved to London to study at St Martins College. After nearly nine years in London, working at galleries, on personal projects, and exhibitions including a show at Claire de Rouen in 2008, Lina once again changed cities. She is now based in Barcelona, and has recently exhibited at Galeria Tapiceria.
More Lina at www.linapersson.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sensitive dependence
We need to think about what is important: the future of our world and the legacy we leave our children. 'Sensitive Dependence' is a series of images that explore our relationship with the natural world as though through the eyes of a child. It looks at the fragility of the world around us, a child’s affinity with nature, and concerns I have with environmental damage and what we are leaving for our children. The images all relate to the idea of cause and effect and the transience of existence. A bubble floating in the sky, sunlight through a leaf, ripples in water, a child blowing a seed. We hold this fragile world in our hands...
Contributor Kelly Hill says, ‘After a career break to spend time with my children, I graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2006. My work is atmospheric and reflective, savouring the details of a quotidian existence and the inherent beauty of everyday experiences.’ Kelly lives in London.
More Kelly at www.kellyhill.co.uk
 |
 |
 |
 |
One life
An intentional community is a planned residential community with a common social, political or spiritual vision. There are over 100 intentional communities in the UK, many of which remain hidden from mainstream society. In the turbulent modern day world they represent experimentation in what is possible in the humane and social development of political, economic and cultural relations. The communities I visited include a Quaker Community in Derbyshire, Tipi Valley in Wales, Hedgehog Eco-Community in Sussex and Redfield Community in Buckinghamshire. In all of these communities I found kind, compassionate and interesting people looking for a better way of life. Although not always harmonious, the communities embody the possibility of an alternative way of living and the search for a utopian lifestyle.
Contributor Alys Tomlinson studied English Literature and Communications at the University of Leeds, and did a Postgraduate Certificate in Photography at Central St Martins. After a year in New York, she moved to London and now combines commercial photography with personal work. She was named one of PDN’s 30 Photographers to Watch for 2007 and was one of the UK Winners in the Magenta/Flash Forward Award 2008.
More Alys in d4.5 and at www.alystomlinson.co.uk
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Basement
‘The Basement’ is a series of portraits taken in my three-bedroom
apartment. The house has just four windows and the only bedroom with one is
mine. My roommates, and friends who feel like roommates, play second string
to the dweller we rarely see at home: natural light. She freckles herself throughout
every photograph, in sometimes the sparsest of ways. She’s never in the
same spot twice, with the ever-changing landscape out my window dictating her
path.
Contributor Missy Roll lives and works in New York, and says she wants, 'To be closer to my family, an infinite supply of marijuana and more silence.'
More Missy at www.flickr.com/photos/mroll/
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shooting into the light
These pictures are part of the ‘-26,8 mag’ project. ‘-26,8 mag’ describes the visual brightness of the sun, a physical measure for the brightness of a star as seen by an observer on earth. The whole series of photographs is dedicated to making this photonic power (which is the basic energy of life) visible. I need an intact natural environment to capture these pure streams of light. But during my recent photo trips to British Columbia, Scandinavia and the Black Forest in Germany, I realised that ecologically intact areas are becoming increasingly rare and hard to find. Even though a lot of us are able to buy nearly everything today, we run the risk of losing these essential experiences of life.
Contributor Alexander Binder has a degree in Economics and is a self-taught photographer. All he needs, says Alexander, are, 'the simple things in life: family, good friends, a beer and a camera.' Alexander lives and works in Stuttgart, Germany.
More Alexander at www.alexanderbinder.de
 |
 |
 |
 |
Let down
You can't always get what you want. You really can't. I know that from experience. I know that because I know what I wanted. And it definitely didn't feel like this.
Contributor Stephen Ledger-Lomas says he wants, 'to know that I will always have my friends around me. I want the time to think about which direction I am heading in. I want to remember what it’s like to be so excited that you can’t sleep. I want to work with inspiring and ambitious people. I want to know that I tried as hard as possible and did everything I could have done. I want to know that there will be long sunny days again.' And what does he need? 'Curtains in my bedroom.' Stephen is Photographic Director of Dazed & Confused Magazine in London.
More Stephen in d4.5, d4.6 and at www.stephenledgerlomas.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Desire
This series of photographs was taken in German brothels. The pictures show the working places, the leisure activities and the everyday lives of prostitutes. Every time I visited a brothel, I spent at least one working day in each house. Throughout the day, the women explained why they had started doing this job and have kept doing it for so long. Often they had debts and needed cash. And the fact is that women can earn a lot of money by offering sexual services...
Contributor Natalie Kriwy was brought up in Munich, studied photography in the UK, and gained a Masters degree in Conception of New Media in Paris. In 2002 she moved to Berlin and started a second Masters course in Art in Context. Currently Natalie is living in Lübeck and working in Hamburg, Germany.
More Natalie at www.nataliekriwy.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
...Unless you've conquered the world
If you’re ‘lucky’, you come to this world privileged. Spoiled rotten by Western ways, gold-digging thinkers. Brainwashed by overindulgence that took you beyond comprehending the origin of a pure heart and led your heart to die. Now you’re searching for a high so you can finally feel something and you discover power. Suddenly you’re addicted and don’t know how to stop. The worst thing about it... you're not the only one.
Contributor Adela Holmes was born in Poland, brought up in Berlin, and now lives and works in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Adela’s work recently appeared in Photographer’s Forum magazine’s Best of Photography Annual 2008, and her book, The Rebel and the Drive-By Shooter, is available now on blurb.com.
More Adela in d4.6 and at www.adelaholmes.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dried out
Three years ago I started a project depicting the disappearance of old swimming pools and baths in the UK. In the 1930s, Britain’s baths and outdoor pools were at the peak of their popularity. Gradually tastes and necessities have changed, resulting in a drop in attendances, leaving the pools uneconomical to run. Many fell into decay and many were demolished. Only a handful of pools remain today as a remnant of a bygone era.
Contributor Gigi Cifali originally trained as a topographer in Naples, Italy. He moved to the UK and studied Photojournalism at the University of Westminster. He is now based in London.
More Gigi at www.gigicifali.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Superstitious minds
Small but powerful rituals thought to bring luck, protection and ward off a lifelong curse… fear that if we don’t perform certain actions in a particular manner the outcome will be negative, (alternatively the same applies for acts to bring positivity). We bring them from the past or create our own for today and we will continue to pass these on like a sneeze, until we cease to take comfort in their capabilities.
Contributor Dayna Clark studied photography in Surrey. She is currently working in a new media company in Cambridge, UK. Dayna wants 'a long holiday and my mortgage to be paid off.'
More Dayna in d4.5 and at www.storiaphotography.co.uk
 |
 |
 |
 |
Wondermachines
Is the world that we live in anything but a great, big, colourful Wonder that
happens every day, again and again? Our problem is that it’s difficult
for us to grasp this idea: it is just far too big for us to comprehend. However,
here’s a stroke of luck: we make wishes, which help us to identify exactly
the wonders that would suit us personally. We introduce our first collection:
WM01! Our brand new range of Wondermachines, for nearly every possible wish!
Each machine is produced in limited editions only. The various models differ
in design and specifications. Each machine is compatible for an array of miracles
and no two machines can make the same wishes come true.
Contributor Jan von Holleben is based in Berlin, London and the south of Germany. He works mainly on personal projects dealing with notions of ‘homo ludens,’ the man who learns about the world and himself through playing. Jan’s photographs are internationally exhibited and have won a number of awards. Occasionally he also works for magazines and advertising clients. He is currently playing serious games with the renowned Steidl Publishers in order to get some books together for autumn 2009.
More Jan in d4.3, d4.4, d4.6 and at www.janvonholleben.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
I heart cruising
Addictions, temptations, needs and desires can take many forms and lots of them are not very healthy or helpful to living life. I have managed to not succumb to many of these vices. However, I have an addiction and it is traveling. I think I got hooked as a child, traveling with my parents. They had me rather late in life, and by the time I arrived they had the time and means to travel well. I was just like one extra bag, except I ate and slept.
Contributor William Greiner is an American photographer born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, now living and working in Baton Rouge. William says, 'It’s decadent, but I want to travel first class.'
More William in d4.5 and at www.williamgreiner.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Oblivion
We can't always get what we want but in the meantime we can at least dream. 'Oblivion' is a series of photographs around the theme of relaxation of the individual. Whether the subjects are reading, reclining or sleeping the overarching impression is one of stillness born of a temporary lull in the ever increasing chaos of modern life.
Contributor Vikky Wilkes lives and works in Canberra, Australia, as a freelance photographer and specialises in editorial work, portraiture and various documentary projects. Asked what do you want, Vikky says, 'Simplicity.' What do you need? 'That’s a tough one.'
More Vikky in d4.5, d4.6 and at www.vikkywilkes.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
Escape
I took these photos in the park because it’s a piece of contrast within London, a contrast to the busy streets of the city and you feel as though you are in a small town, or the countryside, and not in London. And it’s just nice to be there. When I am in this place in the park I imagine to come here again a bit more often but then it’s not so. I don’t end up being there as often as I wish to be. You can’t always get what you want...
Contributor Vjollca Richard was born in Kosovo. She moved to London in the late 1980s. She worked as an interpreter for a number of years. Vjollca loves England and enjoys the British countryside. What do you want? 'Happiness.' What do you need? 'My own home.'
back to top | You Can't Always Get What You Want exhibition | dayfour home | contact