Karley Sciortino
in people, by Margo Fortuny, April 24th, 2010A few weeks ago Fine interviewed Karley Sciortino about squatting, the magic of artist Matthew Stone, and subtle anarchy.
Karley: I was born in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York, about an hour away from Manhattan. It’s close to the city but quite rural. It’s a small town. There are lots of Italians there. I lived in a town next to New Pauls, which is a really hippie town. There’s a weird divide. There are a lot of arty people who live in the city but also have a house in the area, then there are all these old-school Catholics. It’s a mix of closed minded people and those who aren’t.
My first kiss was in an apple orchard during a keg party in junior high. It was so American. We used to go into the orchards and play Spin-the-bottle. I was up against a tree; we both shoved our tongues in each other’s mouths and that was it. We just wanted to get it over with.
Now I live in a squat in Elephant & Castle. We always move. We had this one place Squallyoaks for two years. We’ve moved a lot recently. In the past six months we’ve lived in four different houses. We lived in a nice terrace house, about ten of us. Then we moved into this amazing old building that was used for shipping. It was four floors, a mansion. Then we got kicked out of there. Now we live in an apartment. It’s weird because it instigated everyone to disperse. Before we were lucky to have amazing houses, then we had to move into this shitty place so now a few people have started renting and a few have moved in with boyfriends. Now there are five of us. We need to find a new cooler place because right now we’re on top of each other. I share a bedroom.
London is my favourite place in the world. When I moved here, it was so different, it was the first time I lived somewhere where I felt constantly overwhelmed by everyone I meet and everything I do. It’s one of those places. Every time I get bored of it and think I might want to live somewhere else I stumble upon a new group of amazing people or I discover a new club night or some new scene. There’s endless creativity here. In New York it didn’t feel like that to me. People here are just weirdoes. In a good way.
Even talking to people from different European cities: Berlin, Barcelona…they have their own thing, but London has the most diverse culture, art, music, which is why everyone wants to live here. London has better youth culture.
One of the people I met when I first came to London is Matthew Stone. He is the person who got me into squatting. He’s really open-minded, creative, and productive. When you’re around someone like that it really rubs off on you. He’s probably the most fascinating person I’ve ever met.
On anarchy’s relevance, after interviewing two famous political activists: Talking to John Hopkins and Mike Lesser made me think about anarchy differently. It’s not just cut and dry as No Rules. It’s about separating yourself from a government that is run in a way you feel is wrong. Living an alternative lifestyle, living in a squat, or not spending loads of money, or sneaking on the subway, or stealing from Tesco’s…those are ways of separating yourself. All these things fall under the wider umbrella of anarchy. It’s fighting for freedom from feeling under control. A lot of people feel this way and have these beliefs and fall somewhere on the left. We need these extreme people to inspire people, because they actually do something instead of sitting around, thinking, this sucks. Be more active. Stand up instead of just talking about it.
Karley Sciortino writes for several publications including Dazed & Confused, and Vice. Her interview credits include Courtney Love, the Gossip, John Hopkins , and Mike Lesser. Check out her blog: slutever.blogspot.com.
i really like this, it's just so different from anything i've read about / from her. keep it up!
oh darling, we want more photos of you!