IN CHAINS

"Spirits surround us on every side... they have driven me from hearth and home, from wife and child."

Image source.

MUGSHOTS

The Historic Houses Trust opens special exhibitions at different venues in its native Sydney, Australia. The below is a sample of one of their current exhibitions. The below photographs are:

"...a series of around 2500 'special photographs' taken by New South Wales Police Department photographers between 1910 and 1930. These 'special photographs' were mostly taken in the cells at the Central Police Station, Sydney and are, as curator Peter Doyle explains, of 'men and women recently plucked from the street, often still animated by the dramas surrounding their apprehension.' Doyle suggests that, compared with the subjects of prison mug shots, 'the subjects of the Special Photographs seem to have been allowed - perhaps invited - to position and compose themselves [for their photographs]...' "

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Title: Mug shot of Alfred Ladewig. possibly Central Police Station, Sydney.
Creator: New South Wales. Police Dept.
Date: [192?]
Format: [Picture] Glass plate negative
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots
Description: An entry in the Police Gazette, 15 September, 1920 reads "Alfred Ladewig, alias Wallace, and John Walker, alias Atkins, charged on provisional warrant with stealing by trick the sum of $204 AUD, at Brisbane (Q), the property of Alfred Walter Thomlinson have been arrested by Detective-constables Matthews and Jones, and Special-constable Bladen, Sydney Police. Both remanded to Brisbane." 

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Title: Mug shot of De Gracy (sic) and Edward Dalton. Central Police Station, Sydney.

Creator: New South Wales. Police Dept.
Date: [c1920]
Format: [Picture] Glass plate negative
Place: Central Police Station (Sydney, N.S.W.)
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; fedoras (hats)
Description: A cropped print of this photograph appears in a police photo book from the 1920s, annotated in pencil "magsmen," with no further information offered.

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Title: Clara Randall. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW.
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 12 November 1923
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Place: State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: Clara Randall worked as a travelling saleswoman for a jewelry company. She reported to police that her Bondi flat had been broken into and a quantity of jewelry stolen. It was later discovered she had pawned the jewelry for cash. A career criminal, Randall was sentenced to 18 months with light labour. DOB: 1884.

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Title: Kate Ellick. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay.
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 17 February 1919
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Place: State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: Kate Ellick had no family to support her and no fixed address. In the early 20th century employment options were limited for women of her age and there was no aged pension. Ellick was homeless when arrested in Newcastle and was sentenced under the Vagrancy Act to three months in prison. DOB: 1860, Murrurundi.

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Title: Dorothy Mort. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 16 October 1929
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: Mrs Dorothy Mort was having an affair with dashing young doctor Claude Tozer. On 21 December 1920 Tozer visited Mort's home intending to break off the relationship. Mort shot him dead and then attempted to commit suicide. She was released from jail shortly after this photograph was taken and disappeared from the public eye.

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Title: Janet Wright. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 16 February 1922
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: Convicted of using an instrument to procure a miscarriage. Janet Wright was a former nurse who performed illegal abortions from her house in Kippax Street, Surry Hills. One of her teenage patients almost died after a procedure and Wright was prosecuted and sentenced to 12 months hard labour. Aged 68.

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Title: Emily Gertrude Hemsworth. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 14 May 1925
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: Emily Hemsworth killed her three-week-old son but could not remember any details of the murder. She was found not guilty due to insanity. Hemsworth was to be detained in custody until judged fit to return to society - it is unknown if she was ever released. Aged 24.

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Title: Phyllis Carmier, alias Hume. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW.
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 1 April 1921
Format: [Photograph] glass plate negative
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; prisoners
Description: British-born Carmier was known as 'Yankee' Phyllis because of her peculiar accent. She stabbed her 'bludger', or pimp, to death during a violent altercation in Crazy Cottage, a sly-grog shop in Surry Hills. Carmier attracted much sympathy in the media, who labelled her crime a justifiable homicide. Aged 32.

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Title: Eugenia Falleni, alias Harry Crawford. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW
Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 16 August 1928
Format: [Photograph] Glass plate negative
Place: State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay
Subject: police detainees and suspects; mug shots; male impersonators; prisoners
Description: Convicted of murder. Eugenia Falleni spent most of her life masquerading as a man. In 1913 Falleni married a widow, Annie Birkett, whom she later murdered. The case whipped the public into a frenzy as they clamoured for details of the 'man-woman' murderer. Aged approximately 43. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964. 

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Title: Ruby Furlong. State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay, NSW

Creator: New South Wales. Dept. of Prisons
Date: 15 November 1920
Format: [Photograph] Glass plate negative
Place: State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay
Subject: mug shots; prisoners; prisoners of war
Description: Petty thief Ruby Furlong was involved in an altercation with a drunk musician at Newtown. She pulled out a razor and slashed his face, leaving an ugly scar. Furlong was a feared criminal who had a string of convictions in the early 1920s. Ruby, aged 34, was serving time for malicious wounding when this photograph was taken. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964.

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Links and text stolen with love from the Historic Houses Trust. So many more.

TOOTH FAIRY

Deviant.

A STILLNESS

"Brody felt a shimmy of fear skitter up his back. He was a very poor swimmer, and the prospect of being on top of—let alone in—water above his head gave him what his mother used to call the wimwams: sweaty palms, a persistent need to swallow, and an ache in his stomach—essentially the sensation some people feel about flying. In Brody's dreams, deep water was populated by slimy, savage things that rose from below and shredded his flesh, by demons that cackled and moaned."

H(ART)

Check out more stuff by OkioBDesigns on Etsy.

GRIEF

"There must be millions of people all over the world who never get any love letters. I could be their leader."

"Realistic" Charlie Brown by  Tim O'Brien.

THE GRAND FINALE

"I separated the joints - the arm joints, the leg joints - and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex for each one; put in the upper portion of the body and boiled that for about two hours, and then the lower portion for another two hours. The Soilex removes all the flesh, turns it into a jelly-like substance, and it just rinses off. Then I laid the clean bones in a light bleach solution, left them there for a day, and spread them out on either newspaper or cloth and let them dry for about a week in the bedroom."

HALLOWEEN, WE HARDLY KNEW YE

Farewell, Halloween.

Hello...Thanksgiving...

Ugh.

Hurry back, October, would you?

Image source.

DAY 29: SO CLOSE

Another great piece from my buddy Drew Falchetta. Check out his site.

DAY SIX: MR. PUMPKINHEAD

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

See more at my good buddy Drew Falchetta's site.

DAY FIVE: STICK, MEET MUD

"I think we ought to close Halloween down. Do you want your children to dress up as witches? The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice... [The children] are acting out Satanic rituals and participating in it, and don't even realize it."

-Pat Robertson

Image source.

DAY FOUR: THE WITCHES

"I am not, of course, telling you for one second that your teacher actually is a witch. All I am saying is that she might be one. It is most unlikely. But - here comes the big but - not impossible."

Buy this print from the artist.

DEAD IS BETTER

"Dead fields under a November sky, scattered rose petals brown and turning up at the edges, empty pools scummed with algae, rot, decomposition, dust..."

Image source.

KARLOFF

 

"Mr. Carl Laemmle feels it would be a little unkind to present this picture without just a word of friendly warning. We're about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation: life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now is your chance to, uh... Well, we've warned you."

 Frankenstein woodcut by Loren Kantor.

BLOODY ART

World-famous surrealist and New York City native VINCENT CASTIGLIA is pleased to announce his upcoming solo art exhibition entitled ‘Resurrection’, taking place from October 4th-31st at Sacred Gallery NYC (located at 424 Broadway 2nd Floor between Canal and Howard, NYC). The gallery will host an opening reception on October 4th from 8-11pm. This retrospective encompasses all of Vincent’s available work from the beginning of his career and aims to examine the congruency of life and death. Propelled by correlated personal experiences just this year, his deep and continually renewed understanding of the consistency between the two themes will come to prominence at this haunting and memorable exhibition.

‘Resurrection’ will include a striking collection of Vincent’s paintings, which are created exclusively in his own human blood. Vincent’s figures, their musculature and skin, are painted with what could be thought of as “liquid flesh”. Its tendency to quicken the subjects is likely inapproachable by any other medium—as it is actual tissue with which it is being rendered. In this way the subject’s realism is not merely an optical illusion due to its level of detail, but rather is an actual transference of flesh and blood to each work.

In the privacy of his studio, Vincent practices a kind of modern-day phlebotomy, siphoning the life force which contains his own psychic energy, while giving it an outlet and form. In doing so, he dissolves the barrier between artist and art in a most literal and immediate sense.

In a personal statement, Vincent states, “This exhibit is the culmination of a lifetime of searching and posing many questions through images, making declarations of truths uncovered and pouring a myriad of emotions, conflicts, and bliss’ into these coagulations which delineate all aspects of the past decade of my life.”

For more information on Sacred Gallery NYC, please visit www.sacredgallerynyc.com or contact Kevin@SacredGalleryNYC.com.

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VINCENT CASTIGLIA is the first American artist to receive a solo exhibition invitation from Oscar Award-winning artist H.R. Giger in the history of the H. R. Giger Museum Gallery. Vincent’s art has been praised by fellow artists, musicians, and other notables throughout his career.

“With such precise technique, his depiction of human musculature is nothing short of outstanding.”

– Paul Booth / World-renowned Tattooist, Artist, Gallery Owner, Fanatical Nihilist

“If the body is the temple, then the heart is the altar and the blood is the sacred flame that enlightens the shrine. Vincent is painting with holy light.” – Martin Eric Ain / Musician, Celtic Frost

“The ominous truth that his art confronts, along with the exquisiteness in which it is portrayed, provides a timeless revelation into human existence.” – Joe Sopkowics, Forensic Photographer

VINCENT CASTIGLIA’s impressive work has seen many sides of the entertainment world, as well. MTV New Media’s Horror-Slasher Film, Savage County, featured his art as its official movie poster, depicting the three murderers in the film. Prior to the film, Vincent painted album art for heavy metal band Triptykon’s 2010 debut release,Eparistera Daimones. Triptykon is founded by former Hellhammer / Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer.

His work has been featured on New York 1 News, Spike TV, as well as the television series, Miami Ink. His work has been explored by countless art and culture, and media publications, in the US and internationally, including the New York Post, New York Daily News, and the recently released, Lexikon Der Phantastischen Künstler “The international encyclopedia of fantastic, surrealistic, symbolist, & visionary artists”.

His work hangs in many distinguished international collections; one of his most celebrated works of 2006, “Gravity” was recently acquired by Rock legend Gregg Allman. Vincent’s paintings have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the US, and internationally, including CoproGallery, (Santa Monica, California), Last Rites Gallery(New York) The Museum of Sex (New York), The Museum Of Porn In Art, (Switzerland), The HR Giger Museum Gallery, (Switzerland), , The Mall Gallery (London, England) Canvas Los Angeles (Los Angeles California), Fuse Gallery (New York), Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (Ft. Myers, Florida), Art @ Large Gallery (New York)Gallery Lombardi (Austin Texas), L’imagerie Gallery (Hollywood, California), Museo De La Cuidad De Mexico, (Mexico), C-Pop Gallery (Detroit, Michigan), Shooting Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Seed Gallery (Newark, New Jersey), The 7th Annual Dirty Show (Detroit, Michigan), as well as The Congregation Gallery (Hollywood, California).

For more information on VINCENT CASTIGLIA, please visit www.vincentcastigliaart.com.

SOMETHING WRONG

"If you're wise, you'll run, dear, run... because to stay will mean worse than your death."

VEILED

Source.

THEY ALL FLOAT

"Let go. Be afraid. You all taste so much better when you're afraid."

Source.

DEMENTIA

"Come with me into the tormented, haunted, half-lit night of the insane. This is my world. Let me lead you into it. Let me take you into the mind of a woman who is mad. You may not recognize some things in this world, and the faces will look strange to you. For this is a place where there is no love, no hope...in the pulsing, throbbing world of the insane mind, where only nightmares are real..."

Source.

BUY ME THIS: OWL SCULPTURE

I am a lot like The Narrator in Fight Club, only I haven't yet hit the bottom of the barrel and realized I don't need to own every single thing in Ikea to feel complete. I like looking at home stuff, and while browsing through Amazon's coffee tables I found this fella by accident. The price at the time hovered around $50, and while tempted, I couldn't justify buying a fake bird to sit on a table and never utilize ever again.

Unfortunately it's listed as "currently unavailable" on Amazon, and who knows if it will ever be back in stock.

But you guys should keep an eye on it and buy it for me for my birthday, which I should mention is every single day, so you can never be wrong.

Sound good?