MANIFESTO—

‘years have passed by
the spark still remains
true love can't die
it smoulders in flame’

— Nina Simone

What is the colour of your love? And how do you feed the creativity within—does it burn with the kindling of nature or find a spark within the great depths of art, cinema, or literature? Whatever the fuel that feeds you, love often proves itself vital for the process of creation. 

It has inspired many of the world’s most iconic stories and songs, artworks and cinematic masterpieces. And it can take on many different forms—from romantic or platonic love, to a love for the ocean or the countryside, and the love we feel for great food or wine. As Picasso would say, ‘love is the greatest refreshment in life.’

So, in a time filled with much hate and violence, the time is ripe to pay homage to burning passions and wild abandon. To love in all its forms and red as the language of the soul. The time is now to stoke the smoulder within. 

There is just something so magnetic about fire. Encoded within those licking flames rests a community spirit. Historically, it has served as the heart of the home—a place to cook and share stories. To feed our bodies and our souls alike. A place of warmth and a symbol of life’s cyclical nature. 

Yes, fire can be a force for destruction. In Los Angeles Notebook Joan Didion writes about the ‘Santa Ana [wind pattern], which, with its incendiary dryness, invariably means fire.’ And in the same essay, published within her seminal Slouching Towards Bethlehem collection, Didion writes that ‘the city burning is Los Angeles’ deepest image of itself.’

Likewise, in Australia, we have long experienced devastating bouts of bushfire—most recently with the wildfires of summer 2020, which still scar our landscape with blackened bark. But Picasso reminds us that ‘every act of creation is first an act of destruction.’

And I think about the fire activated seed—which relies on fire to germinate. Banksias, for example, open and release their seeds during a bushfire. Our First Nations People understood this process implicitly and they cultivated the ancient wisdom to use fire as a force for renewal.

So what if we could build the fire of our own creative spirit, to learn from its cycles of creation and destruction? This is the beating heart of Chapter Three—keep the flame—in which we invite you to build the fire and shine a light with Tiffany & Co. In which we explore the spark of creation with Jerico Contemporary’s latest group exhibition, MILK. And find beauty in the everyday with poet Samantha Oliver and photographer Joel Benguigui.

The month of August starts in the season of Leo—a fire sign of magnetic proportions. So what better time to burn it all down and start over again? Remember: nothing will come from nothing. So, take inspiration from the bright spark of civil right activist and musical artist Nina Simone and make the change. 

Sit in the fire that lights you up.

Rosie Dalton 

MASTHEAD

editors-in-chief and creative directors 
Annika Hein and Odin Wilde

online editor
Rosie Dalton

production and publishing 
The Grey Attic

contributing writers and poets 
Annika Hein, Jerico Contemporary, Andy Ainsworth, Rosie Dalton, Samantha Oliver

contributing artists and image makers  
Alicia Bilyara Bennett, Anna Harrison, Annika Hein, Elle Wickens, Isabel Sasse, Jedda-Daisy Culley,
Joel Benguigui, Odin Wilde, Poppy Kural, Rosie Dalton

on the cover 
photographer and stylist isabel sasse
model abigail o’neil, silver fox management

JANE acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, learn, and work, and we pay respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging.
We recognise their continuing cultural and spiritual connection to land and waters, and we commit to working to honour this connection.
This country was never ceded. It always was and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.

© 2022 JANE by The Grey Attic, the authors, artists, and photographers. All rights reserved. 
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher.