#alienlocal

AMSTERDAM #2 - Stoner

For the second part of Alien-Local photo shoot I chose a green color themed outfit, covered with heavy leather coat. I heard dutch people don’t like impressing with their couture, so it had to be toned down to something more wearable, but still grungy, comfortable and suitable for a Weed theme. This way I could freely perform as a constantly-falling-man figure, without stress of getting dirty or soaking wet. It occurs, there was no reason to worry - streets of Amsterdam are as clean as my kitchen. And, unless there’s some dancing on the table on Friday night, my kitchen is squeaky clean.

Clean streets with beautiful greens, growing out of every house entrance, was just one among many things, that changed my mind about the city. The second one was Local people. People who think. Think about what matters - less pollution and more art; what is best for them and the new generation - sex-ed on TV and exercising together in the parks; what is OK and what is not - discrimination, bus driver, saying “Hi” through a speaker, straight men holding hands to support gay rights...

Nowhere have I somewhere seen such a creative approach towards architecture as well - the small area next to Cafe de Ceuvel, made out of unused barge ships, transformed into studios, is worth visit alone. And the tiles all over the city... Beautiful ornaments, decorated entrances, floors and ceilings. I am a weird maniac of small things, so we just couldn’t leave the photo shoot without taking one snap next to a deep-blue tile puzzle.

"It appears, decorative tiles are hard to find in a city center nowadays!”, - photographer Melanie giggled, as we keep walking for over a half an hour, looking for the perfect ones.

Not sure was it a fact, that me, as a non-smoker, smoked a whole cigarette of strong tobacco, or was it really a friendliness in the air, that left me with a longing feeling after we separated. I miss you, Amsterdam, despite your terrible language and high prices. Please forgive me for everything incorrect I was thinking about you.

Sincerely Yours, Alien.

www.cloud-mine.nl

Facebook: Melanie.Lemahieu.Amsterdam

Something we did like a month ago. Whole thoughts and pictures of the project You can find on Alien-Local . More coming soon.

BERLIN: part 2

Pitch black dance-clubs, filled with bass beats of natural-high, welcoming everything from your dance of "sun salutation" to hot-pink beard, unforgettable graffitis and scribbles in public bathrooms - these guidelines helped, when choosing certain outfits and making decisions to be not fully dressed, nor naked. A kind of a living man-wall to write on and apply a #FreeTheNipple hashtag, when uploading results online.

Here I feel accepted. Firstly, by my own self - the introvert,  subconsciously curious about a lifestyle of an extrovert. Humming Estelle's "I can be a freak, every day of every week", I strolled through the streets of Kreuzberg towards a metro, where the attention was as intense, but drastically different than in my own country. My hot-pink beard, that previously  initiated me writing about "not so easy to handle" attention here in LT, completely turned the tables in Berlin. No fear was found in answering the curious, accepting the comments or catching the glances.