Jannes Hendrikz, Ree Treweek and Markus Smit also known as The Blackheart Gang

The Blackheart Gang, hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, includes illustrator Ree Treweek, creative director Jannes Hendrikz and musician/writer Markus Smit (Wormstorm). Known for their icy cold bravado, whimsical works and monolithic life long project, “The Household,” the trio presents The Tale of How, a project shrouded in mystery and supernatural forces.

Who or what inspires you?
Myths, legends and traditional art from all over the place; African, Indonesian, Indian, Medieval, Russian. Movies like The Dark Crystal and Willow. Historical accounts of all sorts, like the Spice Island races, pirates, cowboys, Voortrekkers and diamond prospectors. The blur between fantasy, myth and reality.

What makes the The Blackheart Gang collaborative dynamic unique?
Everybody fulfills a different and unique role with the freedom to explore whatever each one of us wishes to. We inspire each other, every idea snowballs into something bigger as it’s passed on between us.

What unites everyone at The Blackheart Gang?
We just really like hanging out with each other and projects give us the perfect excuse.

A page from The Tale of How book

Recent event that made you laugh?
Jannes breaking his rib the other day was pretty much the funniest thing that’s happened since Redi Direko interviewed Floyd Shivambu.

One of the sculptures that will be exhibited as part of the The Tale of How installation at the Flux Super 8 show.

Commercial projects are funneled through Shy the Sun, a separate entity. Why the separation and what is the interaction between the two if any?
Shy The Sun was set up as a commercial company that would in turn support numerous projects that are both developed in-house or that come to us through our commercial agents. The Blackheart Gang’s projects are centered around another realm, called The Household, a world which they explore to time off from the real world. I guess good way to explain it is that Shy The Sun is to The Blackheart Gang what The Daily Telegraph was to Henry Morton Stanley in terms of support and funding. Perhaps Shy The Sun wants to keep their hands just little clean from The Blackheart Gang in case the darker suspicions of their various exploits in The Household prove to be true.

What inspired The Tale of How?
An old stuffed toy of a kiwi bird that a friend bought at an old second hand market called Milnerton near the beach.

Dream project?
So many!!!…We’re pretty much setting about making our dream projects come true, so the better question to answer is the following one.

What (new projects) are you working on now?
Currently we’re setting up book launches all over the country for The Tale of How. Each launch is gonna be pretty unique. At the moment we’re running one on a farm near a tiny town called Kokstad. It’s an exhibition that looks like it’s taking place in a treasure cove beneath the ocean. We’re beginning to work on The Tale of Then, which is going to be a unique project for us as we’re planning to build puppets and sets which will form the base of this film. It’s going to be awesome.

See the The Blackheart Gang’s The Tale of How installation at the Flux Super 8 exhibition, August 15 - September 5, 2009 at Scion Installation L.A. Space; 3521 Helms Ave. (at National); Culver City, CA; +1-310-815-8840