frankie Magazine Issue 103 - Sep/Oct 2021

This issue comes with some happy/sad news: after five wonderful years putting frankie magazine together, it’s my final edition as editor. (Insert cry-face emoji.) Emma Do – who’s worked alongside me as frankie’s assistant editor since 2018 – will be taking my place at the helm, continuing to produce magazines that make you snort, sob and scratch your chin every two months. As for me? I’m stepping out for a brand-new adventure – though frankie will always hold a big old chunk of my heart. Some folks attribute this quote to author A.A. Milne, some to his semi-nude bear creation, Winnie the Pooh, but wherever the words were uttered, the sentiment applies: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” My time at frankie has been…

LETTERS@FRANKIE.COM.AU Dearest frankie, James Colley’s article “Meaningful Mumbles” really struck a chord with me, as I too am a mumbler. Not just any mumbler, though – a cruel mumbler. It’s so true that I say things to myself that I’d never say to another person; we are our own harshest critics. I didn’t even realise I was doing it until recently: after years of living alone, it was only when my partner moved in with me and pointed out that all the horrible things I say to myself under my breath aren’t true. Now, when a negative mumble slips out, I’ve made a conscious effort to follow it with a positive affirmation afterwards – but much louder! I’m seeing the benefits, and eventually I might even stop with the mumbles in…

What’s the last thing you did that you were proud of? Did you finish a work project that made you super-happy? Maybe you drew something you didn’t recognise as your own because it was just so good. Or perhaps you did the first round on that Couch to 5k app, then burst into tears because you’ve never run before. (Yes, it counts as running!) Well, this is your reminder to celebrate that shit and tell people all about it. I get it – it’s totally unnatural to spruik your achievements, especially if you’ve traditionally been expected to just do your work and get on with it. As a kid, when I told people I’d done something cool, the response was often, “Do you want a medal?” And yes, I’ll tell you…

Ask actor Simon Laherty what kind of music he’s into, and he’ll tell you, “Just Britney.” He collects Britney Spears merch, he has a deep love for her back catalogue, and right now he’s working on an idea for a play about everybody’s favourite tragic and legally constrained pop diva. Simon is part of Back to Back Theatre’s ensemble, a small group of actors with intellectual disabilities who work together developing and performing major theatre works. And while Britney Spears might seem an odd choice for theatrical inspiration, artistic director Bruce Gladwin says he’s come to see her connection to the company’s work. “I'll say, ‘What do you want to make a show about?’ And Simon will say, ‘Britney Spears.’ And in the back of my head, I'll go, ‘I can't ever…

I was ready from the first moment. That’s not to say I expected it. When my wife walked down the stairs with tears in her eyes, I didn’t know they were happy tears. I’d assumed I’d screwed something up, which wasn’t a particularly outrageous assumption to make. Instead she held me and, at last, the moment we’d waited so long for finally arrived: “I’m pregnant,” she said. Then came the real moment I’d dreamt about: “Hello pregnant, I’m Dad.” Or at least, that’s how I wish it had happened. In reality, the moment was too much for me and the joke I’d waited my entire adult life to make – my first official dad joke – was lost to the joy of the event. If you’ve never experienced this moment (and…

Hi Lizzie! Who are you and what do you do? Hi! I’m a full-time mixed-media artist living and working in New York. In my studio practice, I make large-scale mixed media paintings and collages, using found imagery. I also specialise in photo illustration, working on editorial commissions for publications. This year, after several years in Brooklyn, I decided to move upstate into a converted barn/studio, where I now create my work and am adjusting to more space! Tell us about this collage series. What’s it about? When I started these works, I was single and dating at the beginning of the app craze. I went on some pretty awful dates, so I started creating artworks around these interactions, to find the humour in them – a coping mechanism, perhaps? They say…