Contents

News UK arts news

5

New works Michelle de Kretser

Excerpt of new her book The Lost Dog

16

Features Sean O’Brien

Social, cultural & political

10

The Vienna Lit Festival 2008

When we teamed up with Vienna Lit

Stella Duffy

Diversity, creativity & charisma

Strangely Familiar

Journeys through Leeds: 1969 - 2008

Double Agent

Exploring ethics, performance & authenticity

The Design Awards

Design in the 21st Century

13

14

22

26

28

Nigel Hall

Sculpture + drawings 1965 - 2008

32

Jerwood Contemporary Painters 34 Twenty artists with great futures

Jamie Lidell

Funk, soul and rhythm Tall Firs

The spectre of the second album

Merz

On the go, moving with the times

36

38

40

Surrounded

More than harmless beauty My Brother Is An Only Child

Family crisis, revolution and conflict

XXY

Gender, identity and inequality

41

42

45

Hull International Short Film Festival 46 Exposing the talent of the short film Belarus Free Theatre 49 Performing for freedom of speech

Live On Stage Spring 2008

Theatre round-up

Reviews Books

Music

Aesthetica 

52

17

37

14 Stella Duffy

28

The Design Awards

46

Glimmer: Hull Short Film Festival

The Aesthetica team are:

Cherie Federico: Managing Director/Editor Dale Donley: Production Director Bruce Corrie: Director Shona Fairweather: Development Officer Chloéé Doyle: Media Sales Executive David Fenshaw: Staff Writer Alexis Smith: Finance Officer

Interns Samantha Noakes, Rachel Nardiello, Beth Underdown, Rachel Booth, Neale Long, Belle Crawford, Pauline Bache.

With thanks to Deborah Ellis: Former Development Officer

Advertisement enquiries contact Chloéé Doyle 0844 568 2001 chloe@aestheticamagazine.com

Distributed by Post Scriptum Distribution and Marketing Service. Tel 020 8526 7779.

26

Double Agent

36

Jamie Lidell

49 Belarus Free Theatre

Aesthetica Magazine is trade marked worldwide. © Aesthetica Magazine Ltd 2008. All work is copyrighted to the author or artist. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without permission from the publisher. Published by Aesthetica.

ISSN 1743-2715.

Aesthetica Magazine PO Box 371 York YO23 1WL, UK 01904 527560 info@aestheticamagazine.com www.aestheticamagazine.com

Cover image: A collage of press photography from articles in this issue of Aesthetica Magazine. Please see individual articles for image credits.