06
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
ARTESCAPE
Photos: Aumega Photography
We found ARTESCAPE between Australian Rainbow Serpent and
South African Origin Festival and she took a little time from her
busy schedule to talk to Psychedelic eMag.
ARTESCAPE
PM: Hi, i think we should start with
the basics for our readers. Who you
are, what you do and where you live.
Carin: Im Carin Dickson, South African
born artist living in Cape Town.
PM: How & when did you
started with party decoration?
Carin: I started when I was 18
years old, going to nightclubs
when it was still the ‘Rave days’
techno house clubs in mid 90’s. I
started painting the walls of the
nightclubs I was partying in with
trippy psychedelic wall paintings.
I went to my first ‘psytrance’ party in 1997, and fell in love. Then
in 2000 I made my first psychedelic UV backdrops, which went
to the Zambia Total Eclipse Festival in 2000. I sold everything!
And from then proceeded making
backdrops as a hobby/ for fun for
local psytrance parties in Johannesburg, where I was living at the
time.
PM: that sounds great. Do you
had any artistic background or
started totally as a hobby?
Carin: I was born with talent, have always
been good at art all my life. I went to an Art
school for my last 3 years of school. I left
school when I was 17. I have always worked
for myself as an artist.
PM: So that was your “turning point”?
Carin: No, not really. My turning point, the
event that started my career was a Vortex
party in Cape Town in Dec 2005. I painted 2 giant dragon backdrops for the stage
for an Infected Mushroom headliner party. It was my debut, my first chance at doing something big and being paid for it. And
I changed the face of Cape Town trance
parties… from then on it exploded into
what it is now. I basically decorated parties for free for 5 years between 2000 and
2005 until Vortex gave me my first break.
It was my hobby/what I did for fun not
money….. and honestly I never thought it
would ever have turned into a career! Or
ever imagined being where I am today.
PM: Yea, but this is how it goes with
the talented work, never go unnotice :)
So what was the first festival you decorated and what was the feedback?
INTERVIEW
08
Carin: Vortex …Dec with Infected Mushsame design many times, which takes paroom 2005… not really a festival more a
tience. That does becomes a mediation
party. Response was jaw dropping/ fallin itself. Then to rigging it… which can be
ing over, wtf? Was awesome, I even had to
heart braking when the wind wants to blow
sit down when the ‘8m tall’ dragons were
and shred it to pieces.. Decorating outdoor
raised onto the scaffolding towers. Was truly dance floors is one of the most challenging
breathtaking!
things I’ve done in my artistic life.
PM: In international scene? What was
PM: Yea that how it looks to the visithe first festival you made deco?
tors also, as a hard job. But the reCarin: Ok interational was Vuuv, when it
sult i believe is rewarding both visiwas still Voov 2006. The same dragon back- tors and artists. What you believe was
drops were displayed on main dance floor.
your most challenging and hard projMy first time being flown overseas to decoect to make?
rate a festival :) There I met the guys
Carin: Well, theres been a few. Ozora
from Thailand from Black Moon
was always the biggest amount
and The Experience festival.
of work to do in the smallest
And they commissioned
amount of time. Glade fesme to make some backtival was the most chaldrops for them… since
lenging because my
then for 7 years now I
decor that I shipped
have been supplying
from South Africa to
decor to Koh PhanEngland never argan island.
rived on time. So
PM: What is your
I had to make a
insparation when
back up plan in 3
you create a n