11November 2014

£4.95monthly magazine

art

L I T H E

crimesand other

ways to leave a mark

Granite DreamsLife in a foreign country

11November 2014

£4.95monthly magazine

art

L I T H E

crimesand other

ways to leave a mark

Granite DreamsLife as a foreigner in Aberdeen

ContentsNovember 2014 Issue 11

Issue highlights

3 A r t C r i m e sGraffiti marks and the hidden meaning behind street art.

10 G r a n i t e D r e a m sThe history behind the choice to leave your motherland.Interview with Raya Encheva.

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ContentsNovember 2014 Issue 11

Issue highlights

3 A r t C r i m e sGraffiti marks and the hidden meaning behind street art.

10 G r a n i t e D r e a m sThe history behind the choice to leave your motherland.Interview with Raya Encheva.

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7

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Articles

17 T h e e r a o f v e -g a n i s mIs abstaining from the use of all ani-mal products really healthy?

26 S o c i a l C r i t i c sHow Instagram im-pacts upon our self-perception.

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Regulars

3 4 Letters3 8 Free issue downloads3 9 Subscriptions4 3 Reviews4 5 Next issue

Articles

17 T h e e r a o f v e -g a n i s mIs abstaining from the use of all ani-mal products really healthy?

26 S o c i a l C r i t i c sHow Instagram im-pacts upon our self-perception.

11

17

26

Regulars

3 4 Letters3 8 Free issue downloads3 9 Subscriptions4 3 Reviews4 5 Next issue

artcrimesartcrimes

I was doing re-search on a project about graffiti and I went looking for material the only place I could find it - outside. It is every-where - carved in trees, scratched with a key on tables, sprayed on bus stops. People feel the need to express them-selves, to share opinions, emotions and feelings.

All of those marks people have left be-hind them, are marks of love, hate, hope, con-cern...

Even the simplest of graf-fiti with no artistic value, once meant something to someone, somewhere (and maybe still does).

We start drawing before we are taught to talk, read or write. Drawing is primitive, in a way, but it marks the blossoming of our lifelong, inherent need to express ourselves by creating images.

Then there is writ-ing. It is not much differ-ent, it is, in its essence, drawing certain charac-ters to codify meaning. Therefore, writing is art. Drawing is creating images, writing is the same. Yet art is not just decoration. Humans have always taken ad-vantage of their ability to make images and have used it to communicate with each other, to show social engagement. So why would anyone see the initials, bonded by a heart-shaped figure on the wall of a nearly empty car parking as crime? Or the bright pink heart on the side of a grey building? How could people not look for the emotion behind those

symbols?

The debate whether graffiti is art or crime is ongoing. And while some city councils (like Berlin’s, where they don’t approve of graffiti, but also don’t consider it a crime) put up blank canvases, cities with a bigger need of colour, like Aberdeen, have a total ban on street draw-ings. But as the flower finds its way to grow be-tween the concrete tiles, people find their way to express themselves. Drawing on the ground is still legal, and so in the last weeks of October, someone wrote messages on Beach Boulevard in Aberden. The street was covered in what seemed to be reasons for the per-son who drew them to love their partner. It all ended with a big “YES”.

So next time you go out and spot a draw-ing on a wall or a sign in the tree bark, take time to observe it. It, without a doubt, means some-thing to someone, some-where.

... and other ways to leave a mark

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... and other ways to leave a mark

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GrNEA

The lives of foreigners,

living in Aberdeen.

AI TD R EM S

GrNEA

The lives of foreigners,

living in Aberdeen.

AI TD R EM S

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Living abroad is now becoming an inevitable part of young people’s

lives, rather than a goal. Bulgarian student in Aberdeen

Raya Encheva speaks about the ups and downs of moving away from

home.11

Living abroad is now becoming an inevitable part of young people’s

lives, rather than a goal. Bulgarian Fashion Management stu-dent in Aberdeen Raya Encheva speaks about leaving home and the ups and downs of life in the Granite

City.

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LTH: When did you dec ide to leave Bul-gar ia?

Raya: I think of a person as a traveller who just spends X amount of time in the country Y. I love travelling and when I was little I used to spend my summers in Germany, so I never felt that living abroad would mean leav-ing my country in the way most people would prob-ably understand it. So, I assume it was prob-ably around those years of my life when my mind was already set in the direction of going out of the country that I was in. If I could and if it was up to myself entirely, I would have probably left

Bulgaria earlier.

LTH: Did you ever cons ider s taying in your home country?

Raya: No, not really. But no matter what plans I am making about my life, I am sure it will end up totally different.

LTH: Why did you choose Scot land and in part icular Aber-deen?

Raya: I have always had a weakness for the UK... I mean, who doesn’t? Also, my best friend’s dream had always been to visit Scotland, so two years ago for her 18th we

came here - we had an amazing time and quickly made up our minds. And in the end I chose Aber-deen because of RGU and the high graduate employ-ment rates!

LTH: What do you most l ike and dis l ike about l iv ing here?

Raya: I don’t like that there is no place to buy a cup of coffee at 2am! How crazy is that?! But I like pretty much everything else.

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