Stereoscope: The Chief

After receiving the text with the South Street address that is home to Stereoscope’s Editor-in-Chief, Jasmine Picot-Chapman, we made our way to the minimalist house-cum-flat. There appeared to be no one there, just an open door… Finally, a gentle ‘hello’ calls from the shadows and we take this as our cue to enter.

A few steps in, we heard another voice bidding us to tread further, ‘come in!’. At last, we discovered Jasmine tidying her (already spotless) room. A bedroom decked with eclectic antique furniture. A grand tour at the end of our visit later revealed the flat to be beautifully put together all over. Her flatmate, known to most as a member of Minimood (the epitome of mini-mal house), also had a flawlessly stylish boudoir, seemingly following the theme of ‘white’. Nice.

Anyway, we were here to talk to the Stereoscope guru (Taste employee and vintage-selling extraordinaire), Jasmine, about the magazine’s upcoming issue launch, Everyday. This once-a-year launch party and exhibition is held at the renowned and coveted Sailing Club. After the success of last year’s launch we wanted to know how they’ve managed to create such a weird and wonderful combination of party, installation, music and media.

^{Spot the Sailing Club}

Sitting on her floor with a pile of past issues scattered around her, Jasmine shyly answered our questions, quietly laughing each time she felt she had said something silly. Stereoscope was founded in 2010 by an editor of h@sta – a branch out from the Art History Journal into a more specific photography-focused field. The magazine’s title pays homage to an ex-St Andrean, who invented the Stereoscope camera – you know, one of those bi-lens double-shooting thingymabobs.

Jasmine, a photography obsessive and prolific instagrammer (“it’s all of the things that interest me about facebook (people’s photos), without the creepiness and social interaction”) was promoted to Editor-in-Chief last year and has since headed up themes such as lo-fi and everyday. “The whole premise of the magazine and event is to provide a beautiful backdrop for showcasing work, whilst ensuring people can have fun.” And so it should! With free drinks (arrive early because they’ll run out), a BYOB policy, an awesome venue, some photographic surprises and a brand new St Andrews DJ combo in the form of flatmate and Minimooder, Clara, and Cliff from Star Radio’s Fife Trax, the night is gonna be one to remember.

Stereoscope’s theme this time seems to have got Jasmine’s creative fires burning: “St Andrews has an incredibly diverse everyday. Get set to see some amazing photographs. It’s been interesting to note that some people’s everyday is outlandish, whilst others have interpreted the theme as purely mundane.”

During a lull we gazed at the azure cover of the upcoming issue. “Actually, this is the first cover not taken by a student – we publish a selection from the university’s 800,000 special collections photos in every issue. It’s a testament to the talent in St Andrews that no one can ever differentiate the professional from the amateur.” With over 116 pictures from the magazine (and even more of the submissions that didn’t make it into the issue this time) set to be hanging on the walls of the boat house, Stereoscope seamlessly combines the joys of both event and exhibit.

Having rifled through Jasmine’s bags of vintage clothing, collected from auctions and charity shops and sold on the likes of Etsy, and having interrogated her about working at Taste, “they both have reputations of exclusivity but from working in both, I’ve noticed that lots of different kinds of people like coffee and take great photographs…”, we decided it was time to shoot some final Qs and make like a tree.

Favourite sex position? Chastity.

Coffee of choice? Double espresso with a tiny bit of hot water.

Camera of choice? Mini zoom, point-and-shoot, but I recently bought a Hasselblad X-pan, which is the only 35mm Hasselblad. Who the f**k is going to care about this? 

Applications to join the ‘Stereoscope’ team will open in April. For info on how to apply get in touch at [email protected]

headline image © Dani Goldberg