frankie Magazine Issue 106 - Mar/Apr 2022

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from creative people over the years, it’s that doing nothing is vital. Checking your mind in for a whole lot of bugger all helps clear the brain fog. As artist Ulrike Lea Moormann puts it on page 80, “You have to just sit and look and let time go by.” It’s something the frankie team attempted to put into practice over the summer break. While on an ocean-side walk, we stopped at a viewing point atop a cliff. Our local guide pointed out natural landmarks and shared her memories of the area. Eventually, her stories trailed off. She looked out towards the waves crashing ashore, at the threatening clouds overhead. Our group did the same, silently taking in the scenery as we awaited her next…

LETTERS@FRANKIE.COM.AU Dear frankie, I’m a disabled Australian living in Edmonton, Canada. The weather is a balmy -20°C right now. As I approach my two-year anniversary of not being able to meet my family, I find myself gravitating towards bits and pieces from the Southern Hemisphere. So, imagine my joy when I saw Charlotte Allingham’s gorgeous cover for issue 105. And then your “Down under, abroad” piece – oh my god, that’s me! – and then “Things you probably shouldn’t say to a disabled person” – that’s me, too. And then the article on the science of screaming? Perfection. Thanks for seeing me from 12,637km away. Lydia Dearest frankie, For as long as I can remember, Mum and I have bought your bumper issue every December. I grew up in regional Queensland, and…

smitten by pattern Dressing in head-to-toe black may be the height of sophistication according to fashion lore, but it’s also kind of... easy. Of course you’re going to look put-together in monochrome. You know what takes real skill? Rocking a mish-mash of patterns without looking like the entertainment at a kid’s party. For some excellent guidance on combining colour and quirk, we recommend turning to Jakarta brand Smitten By Pattern’s lookbook, where more is definitely more. smittenbypattern.com totally frilled Avert your eyes, minimalists – thar be ruffles and florals this way. But if cosy, traditional fabrics do fill your heart with joy, you might fall in love with the grandmillennial stylings of British maker Rosie Sparks, who describes herself as a “pattern fiend with a sewing machine”. Rosie’s lockdown passion project – sewing…

Astrid Elisabeth SOMEWHERE TATTOO STUDIO, NEW YORK HOW I GOT STARTED I never considered tattooing until I met a tattoo apprentice at a bar and discovered that people could just buy tattoo machines online. I didn’t even have a single tattoo myself, because there weren’t any artists I could find who were making work that I liked enough for that level of permanence. But in that moment, at that bar, I felt like I had finally been shown a future that felt 100 per cent right. I couldn’t find the tattoos I wanted because I was supposed to be making them. I only planned to tattoo myself at first, but once word got out that I was learning, I had more than enough friends and strangers who were eager to lend me…

As a primary schooler, I diligently collected Spice Girls photocards with names such as “Baby blowing a bubble” and “Posh in the Union Jack” (sadly, they have not become valuable collectors’ items). Later, I graduated to hoarding free postcards to artfully blu-tack onto my bedroom walls. The act of intentionally curating these flimsy canvases was thrilling: a way of defining my tastes and exerting my existence in the world, albeit in a small and arguably pointless manner. As an adult, I’ve graduated to novelty mug curatorship. Unlike amassing sneakers or fine art, the barriers to entry for a mug collection are low. There are no arbitrary and predetermined codes of 'good' or 'bad' taste. The more garish and absurd, the better! My enviable collection includes a Real Housewives reunion bingo mug;…

Around 110 kilometres south of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), where the dirt is a deep red and boulders glow in the evening sun, is Pertame Country, also known as Southern Arrernte Country. Its language, despite existing for tens of thousands of years, is on the brink of extinction, with only 10 to 20 fluent speakers left. Shania Armstrong is the great-granddaughter of one of those fluent speakers, Christobel Swan, and is leading the fight to revitalise Pertame and protect it for future generations. “It’s very important to keep language alive,” Shania says. “Our language is our identity and culture.” Shania is pretty humble for a 19-year-old old taking on such an important role. It wasn’t until she moved to Alice Springs in 2014 that she first got to know the language of…