I Fucking Love That | An interview with Lynne of Mondo Ghosto
Your name?
Lynne
Your location?
Somewhere near Glasgow
Have you always lived in Scotland? Have you lived elsewhere?
I’d love to say I’ve lived elsewhere, but it’s always been Scotland. It’s not too bad, but I would probably leave if the chance came for us to up sticks and find somewhere else. I don’t have a sense of belonging where Scotland is concerned.
Your age?
29
How would you describe yourself as a person, currently?
Eh, I’m not very good at answering questions… I’m easily sidetracked, so bear with me if I go off on a completely unrelated tangent. I suppose I’m someone with two distinct sides to their personality. Childlike and sweet on one side, dark and sexual on the other. It’s a case of trying to connect the two so you don’t go mental. It’s taken years, but I think I’m now getting somewhere with that.
What is your story?
I spent half of my childhood as the little sister, the next half as an only child, and that’s the one thing that’s probably had the biggest influence on my life. Overnight you go from being outgoing, confident and unafraid of anything, to being stuck somewhere in your own little world. There’s a bizarre sense of guilt and obligation you never really shake off, but you learn to deal with it, if that makes any sense. The rest has all just been a list of random experiences, and things I’ve tried my hand at. I’m a product of every good and bad decision I’ve ever made, and that’s fine.
Who or what was your first love?
I’ve always been into a lot of things and a lot of people, so I can’t really place an exact first. Things I clearly remember being obsessed with as a kid were drawing, Star Wars, Lego, Atari games and Clint Eastwood. My Dad and Grandad were big fans of westerns and the Eastwood. I suppose he could be considered my first crush. My earliest film memories involve “Every Which Way But Loose” and “Any Which Way You Can”.
What do you hate?
Hate is such a strong word to use, but I dislike people who make judgements too quickly without considering all the available information. I dislike prejudice in all forms, and I’m not a fan of organized religion, as it seems to cause a lot of problems. But then, maybe I’m being too judgemental myself there. Generally though, I like way more than I hate. I’m the type of person who says “I fucking love that” a lot.
Can you make a list of things that elicit a response of “I fucking love that” ?
It would be way too long to even think about typing, but would probably include an endless list of films, directors, photographers, actors, musicians, writers, comic books and superheroes, costumes, stripping, corsets, stockings, heels and underwear, robots, mythology, coffee, cocktails, cthulhu, seventies horror, moths, halloween, tarot cards, science fiction, The Prisoner, The Wire, pornography…I’m really, really bad at answering this type of thing definitively without sounding a bit confused.
What moves you? Inspires you? Makes you tick?
Images, music and words move me. Independently, on their own, but also combined. When they all work together to make a film that has an impact on you, be it good or bad, then that’s a result. Something that stays with you, or maybe even changes the way you view the world, whether it’s forever or just a day. It doesn’t have to be some profound, deep and meaningful work of art. If it affects me or touches me then it’ll gain a space in my heart somewhere. Words and artwork combining in comic form is something I like too, both sides of the brain working together. Books inspire me. The images they form in your head. Some can almost drive you mad, but that’s usually just reserved for Philip K Dick. I’m a very visual person, and could stare at artwork, pictures and photography all day. I like it when images bring back memories, or make you instinctively think of something else that’s buried deep in your mind somewhere. I probably should act more on the ideas they spark off, but it’s all a question of time, isn’t it? I’ll get there. Sometimes hearing a particular song can set off an idea, or an entire non-existent film in my head, and I’ll be oblivious to everyone and everything around me. I’m inspired by people. What they do, what motivates them, how they act, how they speak, how they move. I’m trying to use this for a comedy project I’m doing with my other half. It’s way in the early stages, but sometimes you can see someone and think “We’ve got to use that guy’s walk” and before you know it you have a full back story for him. Ideas can come from the simplest of things.
Favorite color(s)?
No preference, I’m drawn to them all. Every colour has a different meaning for you in your subconscious. You seek out what you need at any given moment. I used to be heavily into magick and witchcraft when I was younger, and the idea of finding your own correspondences for colours, symbols and dreams has stayed with me.
What do you do?
I work in a bookshop, which gives me perfect access to almost everything. You’re never without inspiration or stimulation in a bookshop. In one lunch break I can go from Spider-man to Carl Jung, from David Peace to Roy Stuart, with a recipe for dinner and some photography tips along the way. It’s nice. Like a never-ending stream of information that you can filter down to your own specific needs. The only downside is the pile of stuff awaiting purchase on every payday. I really need some proper bookcases. My spare room is like one huge paper death-trap just waiting to crush someone. Outside of work, I counter the day to day boredom with fun. Either by crafting oddbod little creatures and ghosts, working on the comedy thing, or dressing up for photographs. It’s better than staring mindlessly at the tv when I get home, and it keeps my motivation up. Keeps me smiling. I have a lot of highs and lows, and I’ve found it’s better to be doing something than doing nothing. That way there’s always a positive going on.
How often do you read? Working in a bookshop must give you a constant stream of material…
Not often enough! I find my brain is too overactive to concentrate sometimes, and it can take until two or three in the morning until I’m settled enough to read. Hence the lack of sleep in my life. I’m re-reading a lot of stuff I read years ago at the moment.
Can you tell me more about the “oddbod little creatures”?
I started drawing these smiley faced little guys everywhere a few years ago, coming up with different characters (usually depending on what hat I gave them…) and naming them. They would be found on documents in work, letters, birthday cards, stuff like that. I progressed to making 3D versions out of icing to go on top of a bizarre cake castle I made for my other half Paul’s birthday. Eventually the little yellow round guy became known as a “Beh”, and I began to craft more stable versions out of polymer clay. These ones didn’t dissolve, or get eaten. I’ve made a lot of them in the past few years, mainly just as gifts, and I started an online gallery. There’s a backlog of Behs to be posted on the gallery actually. I also make things I’ve christened “Worry Ghosts”, which are kind of like worry dolls, but they look way happier and glow in the dark. I recently started to list stuff on Etsy, mainly because people said that I should, so we’ll see where that goes.
Can you elaborate on the “comedy thing” ?
The comedy thing is called “Black Swan Down”, and we kind of stole the name from Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book, “Black Swans”. It’s about the things that come out of nowhere and have a huge impact on the world. A Black Swan Down is something that didn’t. People who believe they were destined to make a huge impact, but never have. There are elements of the “X-factor” and “American Idol” idea of fame as destiny, a spoof of YouTube being seen as a platform for discovery. We’ve used people who think they should be famous as a blueprint, and ran with it. It’s still in the initial stages.
What kind of pictures do you dress up for? Do you take them yourself? If so, how long have you been taking pictures?
A lot of the time it’s “Black Swan Down” related, so we dress in character. I have an ever growing array of wigs… I’ve only just started taking pictures myself, so the photography is mainly done by Paul’s brother. We also sometimes work on fetish stuff which is great fun to do. Sometimes there’s nothing I like better than getting myself done up and striking poses for the flashbulb. Well, apart from stripping off and striking poses for the flashbulb.
What is the title of your blog?
Mondo Ghosto
Why did you choose that title?
I make and draw a lot of ghosts. So that’s probably where the name came from. I’ve had a few blogs under that name, mostly where I posted dreams, poems and pictures; one where I posted some stream of consciousness writing as an attempt at some form of repressed grief release shit, and one where I posted pictures from a short period of fetish modelling. I usually have a “what the fuck am I doing?” moment and delete the whole thing. In my last one I just ended up posting other people’s photography that I’d found and fallen in love with, because I couldn’t be bothered posting anything else. You’re never really sure if anyone actually reads the stuff you post, so what’s the point? In the end it just became an excuse to search for pretty pictures. That’s what led me to the Tumblr thing. I didn’t have to post anything, just get an account to view what other people were posting. It’s very visually based, you can follow a range of different people, learn all manner of things, and view an endless sea of gorgeous images: landscape, fetish, nude, comic art, graphic design, film stills, impressive cake creations, to the supply of fucked up shit that appears. You can have regular updates on the world of psychology and science, space programs. Anything you’re interested in can appear on the dashboard. You connect with who you want to connect with, but it can still have the ability to shock. That’s all part of the appeal. You don’t know what you’ll see next. I like that. Eventually I started posting photos, and reblogging pictures, and this leads to commenting on them, and this in turn leads to actually writing something again.
There are hundreds of thousands of blogs, what makes your blog unique?
I don’t think there’s really anything that unique about it other than it’s what’s in my head at any moment. If I’m near a computer, I’ll post something. The only unique thing about is the dream posts. I’m pretty sure everyone’s dreams are unique. Mine are fucking mental sometimes. I didn’t dream for well over a year until July, so I’m liking waking up with something in my head.
Do you feel that your blog has a specific purpose? Is there a specific group that you are trying to reach?
There’s not really any specific purpose, or any demographic I’m trying to reach. Any blog I’ve had has always just been a place to post things to remember, things that interest me, things that make me smile, or keep me awake at night. Thoughts that are floating about. The only difference is that now I post pictures of stuff I make sometimes, or pictures and videos from the comedy thing. If people like something you’ve done, or something you’ve made, it’s a good feeling.
It’s nice to have some small form of connection with people who have similar interests, as I usually feel a little out of place and off-kilter when I compare myself to everyone I know in the real world. But then, you should never compare yourself to anyone else, should you? It’s also so quick and easy to share something great, terrifying, or beautiful you’ve found that this may be the first blog I never delete. At the moment, anyone who follows me is being subjected to posts that are heavy on the Sam Rockwell/Duncan Jones/”Moon” love, as I’m using this blog as part of the push to get the Sam Rockwell Oscar Nomination campaign noticed.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
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