Tuesday 7th October 2025
Blog Page 928

The Winning Shots

Cherwell Visuals
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The Winning Shots

“The local trains in Mumbai are hectic, sweaty, and dangerous. This woman, with the city scape racing beside her, sits with tranquility, etched into her disposition like the lines on her face.”

Ava Scott

“I’ve been taking family portraits during meals and Christmas time. This is what Italian meals look like.”

Eleonora Narbone

 

“This is a film photograph trying to capture pre-finals fun times at the Rickety Press.”

Pauline Chatelan

“Maria Teresa Maurichi, an Italian lady, is portraited in her old home together with her beloved little dog. All our objects and belongings are the mirrors of our character and personality. This picture is part of a bigger project of analogic black and white photographs where people are portraited in the enviroment and surrounded by the things that represent them in order to show their most intimate and private aspects.”

Michelangelo Cao

Old&New: The potential of oranges

Sydney Gagliano
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Old&New: The potential of oranges

During the exam period, in an attempt to escape revision, I scoured the art section of my sixth form library and decided to spend my free period reading about Abstract Expressionism.

Whilst I admired Rothko’s bold use of colour, and the movement and energy of De Kooning, my friends proceeded to mock the paintings. Their most common criticism was “even I could have done that,” as if art requires skill which exceeds that of the everyday, average person in order for it to have value.

I witnessed similar skepticism whilst scrolling down my Facebook feed. I came across a Tate post advertising the new Conceptual Art exhibition, and the comment section was rife with cynicism and criticisms. One person described Roelof Louw’s ‘Pyramid of oranges’ as a “greengrocer’s display”, dismissing the interesting concepts of decay and passing of time behind the work, as well as the exciting audience participation involved. Likewise, a friend recently posted a picture of Duchamp’s controversial ‘Fountain’ from their trip to the Tate Modern, a piece which challenged our ideas of what art could be. Yet again, I was struck by the number of complaints about modern art and how “it has gone too far.”

Yet isn’t that what art is all about? Throughout time, art has developed by pushing the boundaries and limits of what is acceptable. Whilst it is important to appreciate the impressiveness of art and music from the past, this doesn’t mean closing our minds to the exploration of new ideas that comes with modern art. Surely it is the fact that art and music are constantly changing which makes it so exciting?

It appears to me that many people have an expectation of what art should be in order for it to be ‘good’ or ‘real’ art. They expect the artist to have taken a long time creating it; they want art to be detailed and realistic and representational. Perhaps this is the result of school curricula which tend to focus on a student’s ability to reproduce what they see in a realistic and detailed style, since it would be diffi cult to compare work and award grades if some chose to pursue abstraction. Or perhaps it’s because the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of art places an emphasis on the beauty or emotional power of an artwork, and human creative skill involved in creating art.

In many ways, I find this definition of art to be limiting, both for the artist and for the spectator. Firstly, does art really have to be beautiful to be good? What about artists like Francis Bacon, with his contorted and grotesque figures, or Jenny Saville’s unsettling and frank portraits? Is there not something shallow in only appreciating art if it is aesthetically pleasing? Art has the potential to do so much more than just look pretty. It can express philosophical or mathematical ideas, an example being conceptual art, which places more importance on the ideas behind the artwork than on the way it looks or the finished art product.

Read more next week.

Can we measure free will?

Johanne Nedergaard
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Can we measure free will?

The question of whether humans have free will, or whether everything we do is predetermined, is one of the most debated and recurring issues in philosophy. There is little professional agreement on what defines free will and the distinction between voluntary and stimulus-generated action must also be taken into account. Despite these uncertainties, researchers in experimental psychology have attempted to test the concept using brain imaging technologies.

Some philosophers argue that we could predict every act and decision if we knew everything about all laws and probabilities, a concept known as determinism. The question that then remains is whether this is compatible with the notion of free will. An idea known as compatibilism states that it is and argues that the fact that all acts are, in theory, predictable takes nothing from the notion of volition.

Before we can perform experiments examining the existence of free will, we must first define it. Most people will intuitively think of free will as the independent agency of an individual to do as he or she wants at any given time. Some say it is the freedom to form any intention to act, others that it is the freedom to make a conscious decision resulting in an action, or at least an attempt at an action. It is also about how we feel: the undeniable phenomenological feeling that we are free to decide what to do and when to do it, and to change our minds in the process.

The American neuroscientist Benjamin Libet famously tried to show experimentally that free will does not exist in the traditional sense. In the 1980s, he and his team used EEG—a brain imaging technique which measures electrical activity on the scalp—to assess what they called ‘readiness potential’, a spike in neuron activity occurring before the conscious decision to act. Libet showed it was even possible to predict a simple action, flexing the wrist, before the participant was aware of any intention to do so.

The participants were instructed to pick a random point in time to flick their wrist while the experimenters recorded an EEG signal from the participants’ scalps. During the experiment, the participants were asked to note the position of a dot on an oscillating timer when “he/she was first aware of the wish or urge to act”. In a similar experiment, participants were asked to note the position of the dot when the urge occurred to them and subsequently ‘veto’ the decision to act and refrain from flexing their wrist.

It turned out that the EEG signal, readiness potential, started 550 milliseconds before the actual action and 350 milliseconds before the participants became aware of the urge to act. It is important to note that self-report measures of awareness can be highly problematic, telling us when certain brain processes come together based on the feelings of the individual, rather than when it actually occurs.

The results of Libet’s experiments have been widely claimed to be evidence against free will, seeming to suggest that voluntary action springs from subconscious brain areas, but Libet himself was not so quick to agree. The fact that participants could veto the urge to act suggested to Libet that there might be a ‘free won’t’ rather than a ‘free will’, that decisions are initiated unconsciously and free will is the veto-power.

Later neuroscientific experiments have confirmed Libet’s results, to the degree that we can now predict simple actions up to seven seconds before the participant was aware of their decision, but the interpretations are still widely disputed. Primarily, the neuroscientific experiments have questioned how aware we are of decisions being made, but notions of agency and volition still stand. The question then becomes one of consciousness, on which we still have little neurological traction.

Life Divided: rowing

Francesca Salisbury and Sian Bayley
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Life Divided: rowing

For (Francesca Salisbury):

Floating down the river at a comfortable rate eighteen, you pause to watch the sun rise over the bridge ahead, speckles of light dance on the ripples in the water.

Though the air is sharp, and your cheeks are flushed, you’re wrapped up warm against the chilly breeze. Whilst your hands in fleece-lined gloves are hard at work, you enjoy a relatively peaceful morning on the Isis, passing time by comparing the boathouses on the bank.

Sound familiar? Didn’t think so. At least not for eight of the nine members of the boat. Welcome to the life of a cox. Otherwise known as: the dictator of the boat. This is the otherwise-insignificant figure who gets all the glory and none of the gruel.

Deemed pretty much useless for any other sport due to vertical challenges, coxes relish the opportunity not only to participate in a sports team, but also verbally attack beefy crew members who they would never dare to cross on land. Whilst we vigorously attack anyone who may hint at the fact that we do less than the ‘real’ rowers (surprisingly scary coming from someone who is no more than 5ft tall and is probably half their weight), coxes know that they’ve got it easy.

2km erg tests at 9pm? No thanks. Circuits three times a week? I’m fine, actually. Squats on the raft at dawn? Nah. And we get to boss people about.*

Don’t be mistaken; a cox has serious responsibilities. Occasional steering and shouting at the rowers can be extremely taxing. In fact, it has not been unheard of for a cox to collapse from exhaustion after a hard morning’s rowing. In the end, though, the sacrifices are worth it, even if only the back of my head makes it into the official team photo.

*Disclaimer: The author herself is a 5ft-nothing cox and therefore is qualified to make these statements.

Against (Sian Bayley):

Like most freshers, I took part in a rowing taster session during my first week at university. Having previously watched the boat race on TV, I was excited to try out this new sport and fit snugly into the Oxford stereotype.

But, five minutes into the session, I fell out of the boat.

A combination of a broken seat, a very quiet cox, and my measly strength meant that as soon as I ‘caught a crab’ (a term used for when a rower is unable to release the blade from the water at the right time and it acts as a brake), I was overpowered, and quickly ejected from my seat into the muddy depths of the Isis. It was very cold. It was not refreshing.

And thus began my hatred of rowing. I admit, I partly hate rowing because I’m not very good at it. But having lived with three rowers in my second year, I have also had to put up with the forever intrusive and invasive rowing culture.

From initiations, to crew dates, to carbloading, to ‘rowchat’, I saw it all (quite literally, considering the amount of lycra they wore on a daily basis), and decided the whole thing was a farce.

Who on earth would want to get up at 5am on a cold winter day and do two hours of strenuous exercise, before eating twice their body weight for breakfast?

Who would want to pay £140 for a college splash jacket, running down rival colleges on an online chat board which replaces swear words with pig Latin equivalents, live under a two week ‘lash ban’, then be forced to drink yogurt from a condom and admit to salacious gossip about you by downing your drink as part of a fun night out?

I’ll admit it, sipping Pimms on the sunbaked riverside whilst watching Torpids or Eights is fun. But rowing, its early starts, and the laddish culture which accompanies it, just isn’t for me.

Cocktail of the week: Raspberry fields forever

Sam Purnell
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Cocktail of the week: Raspberry fields forever

Hailing from Liverpool, I couldn’t not make at least one reference to the Beatles in my time as Food & Drink editor.

Yesterday got you down? Oxford got you working eight days a week? Well don’t let me or your hangover brunch down and make the most of brunch with this refreshing cocktail. In my life, I’ve not had many cocktails better than this—all the flavours come together in a perfect blend and the fruity tastes are the perfect accompaniment to your brunch. You can’t buy me love, but you can sure buy yourself some alcohol-fuelled happiness with this cocktail.

After a few of these cocktails, you’ll be nostalgically singing any Beatles song, as we all should be doing when drunk.

Ingredients:
2 Parts (Raspberry) Vodka
1 Part Raspberry Puree
Lemonade
1 Piece Lemon
1 Whole Raspberry to garnish

Method:

1. Add a handful of fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of raw sugar to the bottom of a glass.

2. Muddle your raspberries to create the puree. Use a muddler (a wooden spoon will work too!) to smash your fruit until it has the appearance of jam.

3. Add Vodka and ice to the glass.

4. Give the drink a good stir to make sure everything is well mixed.

5. Top up with lemonade.

6. Garnish with a lemon slice and a fresh raspberry.

Enjoy (with a little help from your friends)!

Oxford allegedly in talks to open campus in France

Daniel Curtis
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Oxford allegedly in talks to open campus in France

Reports suggest that Oxford University are in talks with the French government about the possibility of opening a campus in France.

According to The Telegraph, French officials met with the University last week to discuss the proposed site. Should the campus be established, it would the University’s first ever foreign campus.

A spokesperson for Oxford University told the Telegraph: “Oxford has been an international university throughout its history and it is determined to remain open to the world whatever the future political landscape looks like.”

The Telegraph claims that construction of any such site would begin in 2018, with courses being restructured to accommodate the prospective partnership.

Oxford University have been contacted for comment.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information as we receive it.

Rag’n’Moan Man: human after all?

Dom Saad
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Rag’n’Moan Man: human after all?

Let the record show that Rory Graham, a.k.a. Rag’n’Bone Man, has a gifted voice. The BRITS 2017 Critics’ Choice Award winner’s debut LP Human is studded with moments that demonstrate this. But albums aren’t built on voice alone.

Human occasionally gets it right. The title track has a dark, warm sound, fortified with gospel vocals and driven by a cucumber-cool bassline. The catchy chorus of ‘Arrow’ revels in jangling percussion and rich instrumentation. Ballad ‘Love You Any Less’ employs strong harmonies and samples faraway murmurings to layer a thick atmosphere.

However, the debut from East Sussex-born Graham is troubled by the confused direction in which it attempts to push its talent. Many tracks are let down by their lyrics, the songwriting, the production, or some combination of the three.

The four-chord faux-melancholy of second single ‘Skin’ rings hollow. Its sheer soppiness will pique the interest of renowned cheesemonger Avicii, who’s almost certainly cooking up a spicy EDM remix as we speak.

While some tracks, like ‘Ego,’ stylistically embrace the soulful sound of Graham’s voice, others reach out to more varied genres with what feels like token effort. ‘Be the Man’ begins promisingly enough with a canned hip-hop beat, but botches it completely with its sickeningly saccharine hook: “We’re going through changes/ changes/ changes yeah/ you gotta have faith in/ faith in/ faith in me”. More often than not, it’s hard to believe Human is taking its blues influences seriously.

The production does shine on a few tracks. ‘Innocent Man’ opens with a sunny, relaxed bass groove and a drum beat that is delicately dynamic, bouncing with reverb. But the song is let down by its chorus, as subtlety is abandoned with the addition of huge, clobbering crash cymbals and ‘make some noise’ handclaps. It’s a shame that this is the path chosen for many of the tracks on Human, for Graham’s voice shows real talent and would do well amidst a more organic sound.

This is, at the end of the day, a pop record under an alarmingly thin ‘soul’ veneer. There’s nothing wrong with that, but Human is heavy-handed and walks into a few too many clichés to convince us that there’s much beneath the surface of that raw, gutsy voice.

The winter’s dead, long live the Spring King

Ellen Peirson-Hagger
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The winter’s dead, long live the Spring King

A two-tiered support is just what’s needed to get a crowd riled up on a Sunday evening at the Bullingdon. Kent-based gnarly pop rockers Get Inuit open to a packed-out floor, but it is punchy guitar four-piece The Big Moon who provide the ultimate warm-up for alt-rock Macclesfield titans Spring King.

The highs of The Big Moon’s set come in the chorus-style “ooh” vocal lines, where all four musicians sing unashamedly gutsily into their microphones, lead singer Juliette Jackson’s ponytail flailing out behind her.

Break-out single ‘The Road’ sees Jackson rub foreheads with guitarist Soph Nathan, as the two sway alongside each other in a fiery guitar break. These sweet guitar shreds, all at the top-end of their instruments’ necks, please the ever-livelier crowd after the song’s slower beginnings have thrown the audience’s need for incessant jumping off a little.

The Big Moon are surely not the easiest of bands to mosh to. Their songs suddenly halt with seemingly no warning, leaving the unaware listener balancing on one leg for a little too long. Latest release ‘Formidable’ is similarly, and joyfully, a little rhythmically disjointed, with charming interplay between Nathan’s lead guitar and organ-like electronics from drummer / keys player Fern Ford, as the band prove the worth of their tightly-crafted tracks.

Incredibly, a furious mosh pit breaks out even before The Big Moon take to the stage. Half the room, sweaty in their band t-shirts, jump about to the between-set tracklist which plays out over the loudspeaker. By the time Spring King, the main act and most riled-up band of the night appear, it is surprising the crowd have any energy left at all.

I’m not sure Spring King are quite the “smallscale art-pop-punk project” an online profile announces them to be. What they do bring to your ears is a wall of noise, fiery basslines, pounding drums and bouncy, often aggressive, lyrics. They are a lot of fun, a fact that may be misconstrued behind the perhaps pretentious term “art-pop”.

“Can I get the lights up for a sec? I wanna see your beautiful faces,” calls Tarek Musa, the quartet’s drummer, singer and producer, as soon as they come onstage. Musa is the life and soul of this set, pelting away at his kit with a sustained ferocity.

Spring King hit straight into it, the fast-paced songs giving them little breathing space at all. ‘Detroit’, the latest single off their Tell Me If You Like To debut, is an irrefutable anthem. “I don’t wanna be / No where else / Except Detroit City” screams not only Musa and his bandmates, but the crowd altogether.

‘City’, too, has the whole room reciting “Who am I? What does it matter?” in a spree of reckless enthusiasm. It is these anthemic lines which carry the band’s fervour: short, snappy motifs which the sweaty crowd latch onto and serve back to the band through their own exasperated chants. The track was, impressively, the very first by any band to be played on Apple’s Beats 1 radio when it first aired in June 2015. Burgeoning drums yet again set Musa out as the heart of this project as he pushes the number into a real driving theme.

Effects are in full spin. This is a band who have toured with Courtney Barnett, Antipodean guitar fuzz queen, after all. And their name can’t ignore the Spring King effects pedal, adding reverb and a real crunchy space echo to vocals and guitars both on-record and onstage.

A lot of what they say is shouted. Live, this detracts from the profundity of many of the lyrics, as the poignant “This is the year of our saviour / 2000 and misery” of ‘Take Me Away’ gets lost under a sheen of smashed-out guitar.

To the guy who takes his top off, and proceeds to wave it, as a flag, over his head, Musa calls, “Just make sure you don’t catch a cold when you leave the venue tonight”. After that wall of gallivanting noise, it’s more my ears I’m worried about.

Spotlight: Bad Sounds

Will Cowie
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Spotlight: Bad Sounds

When you’re naming a band, calling yourselves ‘Bad Sounds’ is either a touch arrogant or self-aware to the point that you realise forming the band is an exercise in futility. Luckily for the Merrett brothers (on vocals) and the rest of the troupe, they’re definitely not the latter, although they might be the former. If one word could describe most recent single ‘Wages’ it would be “swagger”—it was made Hottest Record in the World by Annie Mac, and that’s not even hyperbole. It sounds like a funk homage, with a Primal Scream edge, perhaps with a dash of 2014-darlings Jungle (remember them?) thrown in.

So that’s the good news: the slightly more disappointing side of things is that the other songs they’ve released so far, including latest single ‘Meat on My Bones’, don’t quite cut the mustard, although that’s only when compared to their belter of a single. We’re still awaiting a full album from the boys—the jury’s still out on this one, but if they can recapture their magic then their ‘Wages’ will be paid in full.

Single of the week: Katy Perry’s ‘Chained 2 the Rhythm’

Natalia Bus
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Single of the week: Katy Perry’s ‘Chained 2 the Rhythm’

If there’s one thing you can’t fault Katy Perry for, it’s the dedication of her marketing team. Days before her single release, she had them running around, chaining disco balls to anything they could find. The marketing stunt mobilised fans around the world, snapping photos of themselves literally “chained to the rhythm”.

Equally, however, the majority of the less keen population too felt a dose of muchless-fun oppression, as disco balls appeared virtually everywhere. Perry made sure we were all chained to her new single.

And what a single it is. Exposing the mundane and repetitive nature of modern life, Perry has managed to create a track which, fittingly, is both mundane and repetitive. “Are we tone deaf?” rings out the second verse, a fair question considering that Perry nearly broke Spotify on the first day of release, tallying a huge three million streams of the song.

For a track so steeped in irony it’s almost drowning, I cannot help but wonder whether the whole thing is meant as a clever piece of social commentary by the pop princess at her own expense.

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