Author: mdxstudentmedia

Miles George Daniel is an experimental visionary. The Middlesex University graduate and natural-born punk desires to be different. The designer has managed to merge art, sculpture an fashion into his extraordinarily unique pieces. An emerging talent with a mind like no other. 

The knitwear major made the conscious decision to create a ‘zero spend’ collection for his final year piece. A sustainable and very considerate move that saw the re-purposing of second hand garments and the use of more experimental eateries (such as that of wire and cardboard); thus heightening the effects of Daniel as a sculpture and bringing this element to the forefront of his work. 

With inspirations drawn from graffiti and punk motifs, the basis of the designer is most exciting. The ability to take a simple scrap of fabric and create it into an elaborate and one-of-a-kind design that then leads into an entire look-book – the mind of Miles George Daniel is fascinating.

Daniel has most recently been signed to Agency Eleven so it goes without saying that there are more great things are expected of the designer in the near future. 

Written by : Shenel Wickramaratne

Charles Jeffery is shaking up the industry with an emerging label – Loverboy. Winner of the 2017 Fashion Award for British Emerging Talent; the Scottish-born designer moved to London to pursue a BA in Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins. During his time, he was able to obtain an internship as a design assistant at Jack Wills and subsequently; a three month internship at Christian Dior. 

His work has attracted the attention of many. Those amongst them is none other than LuLu Kennedy – Editor-at large of LOVE magazine. Through this relationship, Charles Jeffery has styled the pages of LOVE for several issues.

In the face of COVID, Jeffery live-streamed his S/S 2021 Show (entitled The Healing) and presented the collection through the medium of a four-metre long concertina book which he told Vogue was “like a tapestry on my thought: my thought process”. In turn, the collection acts as a reflection of Jeffery’s reaction to the pandemic in his interpretation of “what panic looks like”. 
Loverboy encapsulates the self-proclaimed ‘club kids’ vision and brings it to the forefront of fashion. Unapologetically bold and untamed; much of what the industry has been lacking in recent times. Even the designer’s website immerses you into the mind of Charles Jeffery through ‘receiving the healing’ (an option on the site that then plays the soundtrack of his most recent S/S 2021 show). Loveboy is undoubtedly breathing new life into the industry.

Article written by: Shenel Wickramaratne @shenel_w

I went to visit my friend and student mate Neda last Sunday. She was giving away her cat litter box and I have a friend who just got a six kittens litter so …. Bartha system at its best was the excuse for our conversation.

The discovery

We prepared ourselves a cup of tea, I said hello to her son Adrian, and then we headed for her studio room. Now, I had a great shock, I admit. Neda’s flat walls are covered with her work: paintings, digital prints, photographs, mishmash wall-framed pieces, all which I have seen already in the studio and in some exhibit last year, and … the great surprise: seven works that can be all grouped together as line drawings, that I never saw and that I totally love!

What are they

They are all very minimalistic line drawings on canvassed plain background. It’s acrylic paint in the background and marker pen on top. They communicate a strong sense of humanity and love in their simplicity, linked to the very spontaneous, quick, un-technical look and feel of them, the figurative subjects and the very personal take that Neda applies on composition and perspective.She didn’t use to have them hanged, she always hid them but as soon as she made them visible, all her friends, all the ‘everyday’ people that walked in her flat, the plumber, the postman, the meter reader woman, all the not-artist-defined people and of course the odd musician friend, the south African owner of Persian carpets gallery, they all love them. And she loves them too, of course.

The person inside the artist

When I ask Neda where do they come from, why have I never seen them and why is she not showing them all, the answer is very interesting.

‘I love them because nothing I have seen in the art place, nothing is in the correct way, the right order, all is messed up. The bottle is not straight and the eyes out of the line… dreamy to me, not real and I don’t know who they are. I didn’t know I was going to draw three women, why I don’t know.’

It makes people happy as well which is also good.

They are slightly surrealist, they remind of Picasso’s composition, no shadows, the laws of perspective applied differently, suggestive in the shapes, figurative in the elements they are portraying and pure. It is not about the skills but what is inside Neda’s heart thrown out in the world.

“It makes people happy as well which is also good.” 

The battle inside the person inside the artist

And maybe, as we proceed in the conversation, we realise together, just …maybe …it is because of this very direct, very out-of-the-technical-laws-of-drawing, very dreamy, unreal feel that cannot be pinned down, that Neda doesn’t show them in the classic, institutionalized art spaces, where she is instead known for her detailed pictures with drawing on tops, her super realistic paintings and here digitally manipulated pics.

She doesn’t even show them to our teachers because of the pressure, as artists, that we are under, to define ourselves to the outer world, to give the outer insitutionalised world a simple, basic way to look at our art, to look at us as artists, defined, confident, focused. 

But of course we are not: we are human beings that evolve, change, have different curiosities, different ways of expressing ourselves.

“I’m dying for painting and drawing. It just takes me to a different world. I am not here”.

The artist inside the person

When asked if she defines herself as an artist, her first response is ‘I don’t know’

As Neda repeatedly says, she loves art, she loves what she can do with the freedom of art. 

“I’m dying for painting and drawing. It just takes me to a different world. I am not here”.

She went to visual art school at 16, in Teheran where she is from, as she was ‘discovered’ by one of uncles who appreciated her artistic way of expressing her feeling and – I guess- realized the artists inside the person.

When asked, if she produces to sell, her answer is straight, plain and simple: no! so there it is, there is the genuine honest love for art that  creates so much frustration and difficulties because outside, the insitutionalise world, the dry world, defines artists by what they sell.

So thank you Neda, there, in that answer you can see the totality of the Neda artist inside the Neda person! 

By the way… There is also a technical secret she says that she is not ready to explain yet… so watch this space till next time (:

Written by: Elisabetta Andrea Carlotta del Ponte.

An insight over the photography industry in London by Jessica Austin.

The Photography industry within London is undoubtedly a well-established one, and one that is wonderfully inspiring. Not only is London a wonderful place to shoot in, there is no end to the photographers who have produced work in the famous city. From fashion photographers such as Tim Walker, to more abstract and experimental photographers such as Antony Cairns, there is certainly no lack of inspiration in London.

Need inspiration? Or have a bit of time to view some photography? Then The Photographer’s Gallery is just what you need. No matter what the subject of their exhibitions and style of work they exhibit, there is always something you can take away from their exhibited works.

Currently, their exhibited works include works by Evgenia Arbugaeva, Sunil Gupta, and Vasantha Yogananthan, all vastly different photographers with vastly different styles and ways of working, so it is well worth a visit.

Another way that The Photographer’s Gallery is helping to support up-and-coming photographers is their ‘Folio Fridays’ in which you can apply for a place, and have time interacting with other photographers, and have presentations by two practicing professionals, which can really benefit your understanding of the industry, not to mention gives you an opportunity to find even more inspiration! You can also get one-to-one sessions (for a small fee) called TPG Portfolio reviews, which consists of a 20-minute review of your portfolio with a curator of the gallery. Very helpful indeed considering their experience working with such a vast array of talent! And lastly, there are several social sessions going on (all online now), that mean you can mingle with other photographers, and have some quality time learning from practicing professionals.

And, in addition to all this, there is a wonderful cafe, and a very well-stocked book shop to browse in too! So, for sure, add this little gallery near Soho to your list of places to visit!

Photo credits: Unsplash.

The year is 1907, and in the midst of a financial crisis – the so called “Bankers’ Panic” – a small group of American elites led by the prominent banker J.P. Morgan came together to “save the financial system”. How did they achieve this? By enforcing through law perhaps the largest power grab in American history – the creation of the Federal Reserve act. The creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 led to a predominantly centralised banking system for the US, which although has provided them relative economic stability, also led to the massive depreciation of purchasing power of the US dollar by 96% over the following 100 years. 

Fast forward a quarter century, and the same thing happens again. The stock markets crash, plummeting a devastating 80%. The US is plunged into The Great Depression. Once again, an elite few, seeing opportunity in disaster, “rode to the rescue” under the guise of saving America. President Roosevelt signed the Emergency Banking Act of 1933 as an act of salvation in the interests of restoring public confidence in their banks. However, it also criminalised the possession of gold. Every US citizen was forced to turn in their gold savings, and for each ounce of gold given, they received $20.67 in paper money. And once the Government had taken all their gold? The value of gold mysteriously increased to $35 an ounce, stealing over two thirds of Americans savings. 

There is a pattern emerging here. With each financial crisis being followed by a change to currency, the working class is hurt, and the elite prevail. And this is not the most recent instance of this happening, either. 

In the early 1970’s, President Nixon made the announcement on television that the cost of the Vietnam War and current welfare programs were threatening to bankrupt America. In order to not let this happen, a plan was introduced to delink the US dollar from gold entirely. This decision, yet another major change to the currency, was later dubbed the “Nixon Shock”. 

Once again, the value of the US dollar plummeted at the promise of economic stability. Not only this, but the Nixon Shock also unleashed a power that the US is still suffering from today: It allowed the Federal Reserve to accelerate the printing of money indefinitely, further devaluating the world reserve currency through simple laws of supply and demand. 

First, the value of gold was stripped away. Then, the decoupling of the US dollar from gold created further economic turmoil. Now, under the noise and panic of the Covid-19 pandemic, plans are quietly being made to eradicate paper money altogether, perhaps the largest financial change ever seen. And although this article is focusing on the US, as the leading governing power on Earth these changes will be felt across the world. 

On March 23^rd 2020, a draft of the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act was leaked to the public. Within this bill, details of a “digital dollar” and “digital dollar wallet” as a way of Americans to receive their stimulus checks could be found. By the end of the week, these details were redacted. 

What this means is that the US is toying with the idea of creating and issuing their own, centralised cryptocurrency that could cause physical currency to become obsolete. Already we are seeing a move from physical currency to contactless payments, only accelerated by many big companies making this mandatory in shops due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With this move comes great ethical and security concerns to our financial freedom. 

It is only a matter of time before governments adopt this system of centralised digital currency. And when they do, they run the risk (at our expense) of creating a completely financially transparent society. One where every payment, every transfer, to a friend, family member, or company is fully traceable and linked to your bank account. It is already happening. It is so easy to effortlessly tap your phone to make a payment rather than have to fish around your pockets for clunky change. But what if they do away with cash altogether? What if you can no longer hold any money without the government knowing? Should you be forced to pay a bank for your right to own money? 

Is slight convenience worth our financial liberty? 

OP-Ed Article

Author: Tyler Green

Instagram:@___green_tea_

Email: tg392@live.mdx.ac.uk

Image: Unsplash.com

In the Middlesex Student Union, there is a structure of representatives that ensure your voice is heard as well as that, they also organise different events and campaigns to better your life in uni. The three important representative institutions are the Student Office, the Union Council and the Student Voice Leaders. The Student office is comprised of a President and three Vice Presidents. 

The President 

 The current President is Gagandeep Kaur, she was democratically elected by the students through the Student Union Elections, these elections happen each spring (make sure to hand your vote and voice your opinion!). Her obligations are to ensure communication between the Union and MDX students. She is also your first point of contact for campus-wide issues. As well as that she also is a chair MDXSU’s Trustee Board. The Trustee Board’s role is to oversee that the Student Union is meeting it’s aims and that it is acting in accordance to a legal and constitutional framework. Back to the President, she represents the students in the University’s Board of Governors, the highest decision-making body in the university. As you can see the President plays an important and a vital role as the main figurehead of all the students, of course she can’t manage the job alone. That’s why she can rely on the Vice Presidents, as well that they have their own obligations of course. 

You can contact her on her email: GG531@live.mdx.ac.uk 

The Vice Presidents 

The Vice Presidents are elected the same way as the President and they very much serve the same purpose of representing the students in much the same capacity. They have a chair in the Trustee board, but they don’t serve in the University’s Board of Governors (the only student there is the President). They with the Student Voice Leaders to ensure proper representation of the needs and ideas of students in her department. 

VP of Professional and Social Sciences 

Vice President of Professional and Social Sciences: The current role is occupied by Tahmina Choudhery. She represents the students within the Business School, School of Law and School of Health & Education at Middlesex. 

You can contact her on her email: t.choudhery@mdx.ac.uk 

VP of Art & Creative Industries 

Vice President of Art & Creative Industries: The position is held by Nishtha Relan and she represents the students in Art, Design, Media and Performing Arts. 

You can contact her on her email: n.relan@mdx.ac.uk 

VP of Science and Technology 

Vice President of Science and Technology: The current VP is Khalid Abumaye and represents the students in the (you guessed it) Science and Technology departments. 

You can contact him on his email: k.abumaye@mdx.ac.uk 

Student Voice Leaders 

A crucial part of the Student Union are the Student Voice Leaders. Each year one or several SVLs are elected by each course and they serve as representatives of the that course. They work closely with the Program Leader and meet twice a year with the Student Voice Leaders and academic representatives of the whole department to vote and propose meaningful change in the department and in MDX. If you apply for a Student Voice Leader you will have to inform yourselves on the problems that other students face and that they would like to be solved. You can create the change they would want to see implemented. This position is a great opportunity for you to build your connections with your fellow students and it would also look good on your CV. Nominations will open Monday 7th September and will close at 5pm Thursday 15th October, so be hasty! 

You can learn more here: https://www.mdxsu.com/studentvoiceleaders 

Union Council 

Other important body you should know about is the Union Council. The Council is the key student committee, with responsibility for determining MDXSU policy and deciding action on student ideas for change. You can also submit ideas that you feel can benefit students in Middlesex by using the Ideas for Change process on the SU website. It can be something about campus, your course and even a political stance you want MDXSU to adopt. Students are also permitted in the meetings of the Union Council which happen three times a year, but only elected Union Council members can vote. This leads us to the question who is in this council exactly. 

There are total of 40 people in the Council: 29 student representatives (Student Liberation Group leaders, students from our comities group and Society leaders), 18 academic representatives, the SU President and the three Vice Presidents. 

You can see the current events and active policies on the MDX SU website: https://www.mdxsu.com/union-council 

Author: Nikola Kalchev
Contact: nk839@live.mdx.ac.uk

Semi-humanoid robots may soon be deployed in care homes across the country to help keep our elderly company. This is following results of an international trial which found that robots helped to improve the pensioners’ mental health and combat loneliness. 

These robots, named ‘Pepper’, can manage basic conversations, play music, teach languages, and offer useful other services such as medication reminders. Their technology has been developed so that they can learn over time, meaning they are able to learn people’s interests and personalise conversations. 

The trial ran in care homes in the UK and Japan. The results showed improvements in the mental health of patients who spent up to 18 hours with these robots and found that they helped with loneliness as well. 

Middlesex University has been involved in this project since 2017 when they joined with several other organisations to launch CARESSES. The aim of this collective was to produce the first culturally competent robot, meaning that it could respond to people in a sensitive manner and adapt to learn culturally appropriate behaviour. 

Before these recent results, Pepper was best known for its appearance in the House of Commons where it became the first robot to give evidence. On 16 October 2018, one of Middlesex’s resident Pepper robots responded to questions about the future of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence in education. 

But could robots really do as good a job as carers? Well, the answer is no. 

“Socially assistive, intelligent robots for older people could relieve some pressures in hospitals and care homes.” Said Irena Papadopoulos, Professor of Transcultural Health & Nursing at Middlesex University, who leads the development of the cultural components for Pepper. “No one is talking about replacing humans – the evaluation demonstrates that we are a long way from doing that – but it also reveals that robots could support existing care systems.” 

At a time where many care home residents are suffering from increased mental health issues and loneliness and dealing with strict regulations on family visits, the results of this trial show that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Deployment of Pepper robots in care homes would cost only £1,000 more than a care worker’s annual salary and would provide our care industry with a more risk-free way of comforting these elderly residents who are unable to see family members as often as they used to, if at all. 

Although nothing has yet been announced about how the associated bodies will respond to the results of this trial, it is clear to see that the future of the care industry needs to change quickly in order to adapt to this ‘new normal’. We cannot allow what happened in March to happen again, and we know now that care home residents must be prioritised and cared for in a much safer way during the second wave of this virus. Maybe now we have found our answer – don’t visit your granny for Christmas, send her a robot instead. 

Author: Natalie Rose
Contact: nr558@live.mdx.ac.uk

Tucked into a small corner on the ‘My Study’ page (on myUnihub), lost among menus is a link, innocuously named ‘Online software tutorials’ that grants access to 1000’s of hours of free educational content. 

Don’t feel bad if you’re just finding this out now. It took me 3 years and a friend telling me about it 5 times before I ‘discovered it’. 

This is all brought to you by ‘LinkedIn Learning’ – an online skill sharing platform, much like Udemy or Skillshare. 

So, what can you expect after spending some time on the site? 

Upon your first time creating an account you’ll be asked to select a few of your favourite topics. This is so the sites algorithm can better recommend courses it thinks you’ll be interested in. However, you’ll still have access to everything through the menus. 

The courses mostly fall under 3 main categories. 

• Business courses: Containing courses covering – marketing, customer service, accounting, leadership, and anything else related to networking or running a business. 
• Creative courses: Everything from sketching, to motion graphics and audiovisual production. 
• Technology courses: Here you can learn a variety of programming languages for coding and web design. With even courses covering iOS and Android app development. 

Length of the courses vary wildly, ranging from 10 minutes to 60 plus hours; with most falling between the 1 to 4 hour range. The positive of this being that there are plenty courses that cover subjects at varying levels of intensity. The negative being there are many courses that differ just as wildly in quality. So keep in mind it may take a bit of time to filter through to get to the good ones – but they do exist. 

As for course recommendations, that’s going to be completely dependent on your interests. I worked through 2 courses this week and skimmed through a 3^rd during my research for this review. Firstly, for pleasure, I explored my artistic side with Amy Wynne taking her sketching course ‘Drawing Foundations: Figure’, which I found greatly enjoyable. 

Secondly, I took the courses ‘Freelancing Tips’ with Jay Clouse, and ‘Communication Tips’ with Tatiama Kolovou and Brenda Baily. Being self-employed and developing a business myself I thought these 2 courses would be a treasure trove of information. However, they didn’t prove as rewarding as the first. 

And therein lies the problem. Much of the information is surface level. In fact anyone with even a little experience in the relevant area will struggle to find much use for those related courses. But in no way am I concluding that it’s all a waste of time, quite the opposite actually. 

LinkedIn Learning is a great resource for the young entrepreneur looking to pick up skills to DIY everything themselves. Or for the curious mind searching for its next creative outlet. 

I originally wanted to conclude by lauding the site as a great resource for improving your employability and brightening your future career path. Instead I’ll be more honest. If you’re going into it to pad your CV and make yourself more attractive to employers – you’re going to be disappointed. 

But if you go looking for self-development – perhaps in the way of something creative, or to gain a clearer understanding of something that’s eluded you – then you’re sure to find what you’re looking for. 

To access LinkedIn Learning first navigate to the ‘My Study’ page on myUnihub. The link titled ‘Online learning tutorials’ should be listed under the ‘Software tab’. If you experience and trouble with this don’t hesitate to contact UniHelp at: https://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/support/unihelp  

So, go on; what will you learn first? 

Op-ed article written by: Panayiotis Panteli

Tips and Tricks for the Life of a Student 

Student life can be kind of stressful to say the least. Many questions come to mind once you come to campus like: How do I save money and not starve myself? How can I move from point A to point B in London, without bankrupting myself? How can I find a job in such a big city? 

Here we’ve gathered several tips on what you can do to save money and hopefully to make alleviate some of your financial struggles at university. Enjoy ? 

Work 

Finding a job was always one of the hardest parts in the life of a student, especially now with the quarantine coupled with the recession. Middlesex and the Student Union are well aware of that. This is why you have access to MDX Works (office is in the Quad, on the left-hand side). They are open every Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm, currently they are only hosting drop-in sessions remotely on 02084116161. If you want to get feedback on your application documents, including CVs, cover letters, application forms or similar, MDX Works will provide suggestions to help you make improvements and stand out from other applicants. 

If you are searching for a work experience placement, internship, or graduate job it’s better to book a one-to-one session, which are currently hosted online. You can contact either with the phone mentioned above or on mdxworks@mdx.ac.uk. MDX Works also provides you with online resources you can use to better your CV and Cover Letters and much more on mdxworks.com. There you can register and have on your fingertips the ability to access job offers for professionals and beginners. Unitemps is also an University organisation that has job offers in and around the community. Learn more and register on www.unitemps.com. 

The Student Union also offers jobs for designers, photographers and other students on www.mdxsu.com/jobs. 

Student Discounts 

If you are looking to save some money from buying student supplies, clothes, phone bills and everything from Abode products to dog food, but feel overwhelmed from the countless offers you can use TOTUM. As students you can register onto the app and have free and you get discounts on all of these types of products and much more. You can register with your student account for their digital service and see for yourselves. 

Support Services 

We all see how the uncertainty in these times affects us and the people closes to us. Here we would like to mention several services that could help your wellbeing and with the emotional turmoil you may be experiencing right now. 

Counselling services are provided by the university. You can either request a onetime 1-2-1 meeting about issues you are struggling with or you can access therapeutic support from a Mental Health Adviser or a Counsellor for several meetings.  You shouldn’t blame yourselves if you have trouble coping with the new environment, it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. You can find more information on how to book an appointment on unihub.mdx.ac.uk/support. This year all meeting shall be online. 

If you have any issues regarding your welfare you can contact the Student Welfare Advice team on 020 8411 3008 and welfare@mdx.ac.uk. For international students, you can also contact the International Student Advice team on intadvice@mdx.ac.uk or on 020 84114507. 

Op-Ed Article Writter: Nik