søndag den 10. oktober 2010

La Hermosa Vida



Life at its most beautiful, at its most unrefined and brute state, simple yet stately. Calm like a chilled winter breeze, soft like rose petals, timid, blissful even.



Los Amorosos. Inspired by Jaime Sabina's touching poem "los Amorosos" ("Lovers")


Ripples (left) and Shimmers (Right)


Cue Shapeshifter "Dutchies"One of the Drum n bass soundtracks of my life.

Janni.



torsdag den 7. oktober 2010

The Last Toast by Nicanor Parra


A poem on existensialism by the Chilean poet, Nicanor Parra.

Whether we like it or not,
We have only three choices:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

And not even three
Because as the philosopher says
Yesterday is yesterday
It belongs to us only in memory:
From the rose already plucked
No more petals can be drawn.

The cards to play
Are only two:
The present and the future.

And there aren't even two
Because it's a known fact
The present doesn't exist
Except as it edges past
And is consumed...,
like youth.

In the end
We are only left with tomorrow.
I raise my glass
To the day that never arrives.

But that is all
we have at our disposal

Nicanor Parra

onsdag den 6. oktober 2010

The war of the colours



The ignominy of the haste with which we stoop to prejudice against each other in this world on racial and other grounds is a most deplorable affair. This is a poem by an anonymous African poet that takes a light-hearted swipe at mans inability to accept the notion of variation within his own species.




When I born, I black. When I grow up, I black. When I go in sun, I black. When I scared, I black. When I sick, I black. And when I die, I still black.
And you white fella; When you born, you pink. When you grow up, you white. When you go in sun, you red. When you cold, you blue. When you scared, you yellow. When you sick, you green. And when you die, you grey …And you calling me colored?"


Say no to racism


The transcendental universe


The transcendental universe. Each person, each physical object, each element of matter, each quantity of time, each abstraction of space from the perspective of eternity, is like a brief, disturbed drop of water from an unbounded ocean. " Maya" is the material world that's been pulled over our eyes to dissipate the transcendental.

lørdag den 2. oktober 2010

My paintings, artefacts and artwork



A mini exposé of some of my artefacts and artwork.




I rescued these drums from the garbage after my dear pal Marcelo had decided he'd throw them out (with good cause too as they are significantly damaged and don't sound as they should) I was listening to a lot of Drum n bass at the time and I couldn't think of a better canvas upon which to express my feelings for the genre than the surface of my newly acquired drums.







"He who wants the world to remain as it is doesn't want it to remain at a all."A birthday present for my mate Marcelo, inspired by a text on one of the paintings on the walls of Berlin's East Side Gallery


"Tagmania" A piece Nicolai Palmblad and myself did together . A tribute to street art.



"May green be the grass you tread on, may blue be the skies above you." A birthday gift for my dear aunt Inger, inspired by an Irish poem and by the unique life of my aunt.





"Corazon" I found this wooden heart lying in a puddle of murky water in Berlin, somewhere between The East Side Gallery and Alexanderplatz. It's cracked on one side and in a dilipated if not serenely beautiful state of affairs. This heart exemplifies the eccentric nature of beauty in at its most rustic , no touch ups, no make - up no vanity, much like Berlin herself.




"El Tocopillas." A mask I bought and painted. The frame of the mask is a green traffic light I found on my way home one Saturday morning in a city in the south of Denmark called Sønderborg. Little did I know when I painted the mask that I would one day come to meet the entity behind this mask. El Tocopillas is an entity of evil, exemplified and illustrated by a certain individual I met a few weeks back, who by his own admission is an enterprise of all things evil. May he one day find tranquility in this life.



"Liebe, Baile Detroit" Inspired by the motorcity and her contribution to the canvas of house and techno.




"Liebe, Baile Detroit" Inspired by the motorcity and her contribution to the canvas of house and techno.


"Money isn't real" For all those who regard the accumulation of monetary "wealth" as being a valid constant in this life. It was, is and forever will be but a mere game, a fictitious entity designed to divide and dismember the institution of love.



"Be you / Died Out " All four of these words appear in the labarynthine sketch above, a tribute to and mockery of the concept of modern day individuality in the matrices of comformity and compliance within which we dwell.



"Press Play" I was sat by the Peblinge lake in central Copenhagen wathcing the sun sink sedately over the horizon when I sketched this.


"Silver meets sketchy black and they lived merrily ever after "





"Rasa" Inspired by a very special someone who probably doesn't realise the impact she had on my life.


"Liebe ist Berlin" I skecthed this quickly whilst working at the entrance to a Student party early in September 2010. The entry stamps dried out (amongst other shenanigans on a rather disorganised night) and I was hence forced to draw little crosses and lovehearts on the hands of everyone that came in and paid for the party. Many wanted designs of some sort of another, which I gladly sketched. Art really is an amazing way to bond with people.



"Tagmania" A piece Nicolai Palmblad and myself did together . A tribute to street art.

With Baited Breath I Wait







A poem written in the midst of the annual contrast clash between summer and autumn. A time of restlessness and uneasiness within the ether. The warm, succulent rays of the sun shine fretfully and unrepentantly through the perturbed mass of wind and strain, scorching lush green vegetation in a kaleidoscope of the shade red. It is within this intense purlieus that my questions pertaining to existensialism and meaning gain a purpose. With baited breath I wait...






The decadence of the shapes and shadows around me.

Stark, shrieking shards of wit and disdain, deranged and withdrawn.

The sullen dejections of the wind, the intimacy of causality.

Deranged, delinquent ornaments of time, desperate and forlorn


The cacophony of the chambers and chariots before me

Sharp, sudden silhouettes of truth and lie woven intimately

The implicit imperfections of the elements, the suspense of glee

Devout, resolute instruments of space, withered yet stately


The stillness of the sun and the stars above me

Sage, shackled shadows of the then and now stately and sedate

The somber spirit of the time, the luxury of a more independent me

Dissolute, insoluble infractions of relativity loyal to the shelter of trait.


Allan Mutuku Kortbæk

fredag den 17. september 2010

Excerpt from Dave Courtney’s book “Raving lunacy"



"Raving Lunacy" is a book of a different sort. It’s the sort of book that charms, disgusts, repels and attracts all in one. The sort of book that raises heckles and tickles funny bones, the sort of publication that none other than the loved, hated, famous and infamous Dave Courtney could write. Amongst the many intriguing anecdotes of his escapades on the rave scene back in the day is the entertaining tale of the two police officers that Dave and a mate of his called Wolfie spiked with speed whilst they were on a routine patrol. Whether this is a true story or not, or whether the facts have been exaggerated or distorted in one way or another is irrelevant. It’s downright hilarity all the same.


Over summer we’d have all night barbeques at Queen’s on the veranda and these dopey police would call on their rounds at midnight and then later at two. So this time these two plods came around. I offered one a drink and he refused cos he was on duty but said he’d have a burger. Fair enough. I went to get a burger. Now the geezer doing the burgers and hot dogs was also the geezer that sold the speed…and I bet you’re doing now exactly what I did then aint’cha? Putting two and two together to get a big fucking four! – Yes! How could I resist? I felt it was almost my duty, my duty as silly cunt who likes seeing other people be silly cunts to do it.

So there’s the burgers, a dollop of mayonnaise, a good sprinkling of amphetamine sulphate, a piece of lettuce and a dab of mustard all put expertly together in a sesame seed bun. I believe it was what you would call in your local burger joint (if the cook was a whizzhead) a Quarter Ouncer. Me and the hot dog man were fucking wetting ourselves.

So the coppers walked off munching on these burgers and saying thanks. I said, No, thank YOU. You are very welcome officer.

An hour later the diesel astra comes up the hill, going a fair bit faster than usual I can tell you. The windscreen wipers were on as well, and it was dry. Not a good sign. They both jumped out of the car like a couple of keystone cops. Their hats are off, their ties are loosened, top buttons undone and red sweaty faces. If I hadn’t known better I would’ve thought they’d been shagging each other in the back of the squad car. One of them said “ I think I’ll have one of those beers now, mate” We were going “OK Sarge, whatever you want” I was cracking up so much I had to go inside.

Eventually they realised at some point that they had been spiked – I think it was when they found themselves doing 50mph in first gear with the windows down and the radio on full blast chasing an aeroplane’s wing light over a field. Or was it when they broke the Astra Diesel In Reverse Taking a Roundabout land speed record? But when they got back to the club it was too late. We’d all fucked off. So they had to wait until the next Saturday to catch us.

* Dodgy" Dave Courtney (born 17 February 1959) is a self-proclaimed former British gangster who has become both an author and celebrity-gangster figure. He often refers to himself as Dave Courtney OBE–"One Big Ego"–but is not an Officer of the order of the British Empire. His house in south London, called 'Camelot', is decorated with Union Flags, a painted depiction of himself as a knight and a large knuckle duster. Courtney is now an author, having had six books published: Stop The Ride I Want to Get Off, Raving Lunacy, Dodgy Dave's Little Black Book, The Ride's Back On, F**k the Ride, and Heroes & Villains. He has also starred in, directed, and produced his own film, Hell To Pay, and took on the leading role of Mad Dave opposite Manish Patel in cult British film Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajias. Courtney has claimed to be the inspiration for Vinnie Jones's debt-collecting hard man in the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. (1)