Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mozaz.

DSC_5876

Mozaz, aka Mark Wallis, was angry, unpredictable, stubborn and inconsistent.

But he was also passionate. And way more sensitive than many people gave him credit for. He was supportive, when he liked you, though whether he liked you or not could change at a moment's notice. But when he was on your side, he would back you up every step of the way, whatever the kind of support you needed was. Emotional support, practical support, and advice. He offered, and he meant it.

Mozaz was a great photographer who, like me, didn't see any contradiction in finding beauty as much in abandoned, derelict buildings as in the rolling countryside. And he found much beauty in both. He adored Sheffield and was certainly one of its characters.

And Sheffield, despite itself, will miss him.

As an anarchist, and a troublemaker, and with strong feelings about almost everything, he was often to be found at demonstrations and protests. As a person he found solace in hugging trees, he wasn't ashamed to admit he cried.

The last time I saw him he was proud to have spent the past few hours in a police station. He felt proud that he was considered to be enough of a threat to the state to be worth arresting. Before being released without charge he had made sure to inform all of the coppers of their union rights, urging them to seek advice about whether they should be enforcing fascist government policy. He was exhausting to be with. Everything had the potential to make him rant, often in unexpected ways. But there was an anarchist rave hidden behind every possible situation which could arise, and he never failed to provide it. He was a prolific blogger and was @ur32daurt on twitter.

Mozaz was hard work, but if you looked beyond what was immediately visible he was sensitive, supportive, intense and warm-hearted.

He died in the early hours of this morning after a time in Intensive Care with pneumonia. Through the last few days, since becoming aware of his being ill, I kept hold of the fact that he was surely indestructible. But sadly this proved not to be the case, and he has left this city a little quieter, he has left the police force with a little less work to do, and he has left many people, myself included, reeling.

I'm going to miss you Mozaz, you mad bugger.


31 comments:

Stumbliin' Andy said...

Oh, I hardly know what to say.
Goodbye Mozaz, I'll miss your unpredictability and intensity.
RIP

Mel the bell said...

Found out this morning :( another one bites the dust.
R.I.P mate, say hello to Wear and the rest for me.

Anonymous said...

so sorry to hear he's gone. he was one of a kind.

SK said...

found out this sad news today:( still cant believe it :( goodbye Mozaz- u changed how i view the world. SK

Anonymous said...

RIP Mo x

Sheffield won't be the same without you - it's like the loss of the Egg-Box or the Tinsley Towers - ONE LOVE brother, rage no more.

Anonymous said...

RIP Mo,

Sheffield won't be the same without you - it's like the loss of the Egg-Box or the Tinsley Towers - ONE LOVE brother, rage no more.

W x

Unknown said...

Sheffield - free parties/ demos/ marches/ gigs... will never quite be the same without you..
Bye Mozaz.
Chris S

Faunagraphic & Rocket01 said...

very sad to hear it, he was a real individual

Jason said...

Lovely post, says it all. Goodbye Mozaz, the best of you lives on strong.

Sharon said...

Can't believe it. Met him in the peace squat 1983. Unforgettable man

Anonymous said...

what an incredible man. it seems to earlyh to say these tings as i can't believe he has gone. please let sheffield know how to say goodbye to him the way he would have wanted. there are plenty of us in the diy music community who would like to x

Artech said...

and it was your round Mo!
yorkshire is a less colourful for the loss of moz

Anonymous said...

I've had some good times,and not so good,hanging about with Mozaz, the mad gnome. He would be chuffed to know that folks are still talking about him.

Alien Fiend.

kel said...

Stunned...you will be deeply missed in sheffield and remembered with great fondness, RIP friend and comrade

merrick said...

So sorry to hear about this. Thankyou for posting it, and with such a lovely photo. And thankyou to the people who were with him in the last days.

Anonymous said...

Only met him the once - spent around 7 hours with him - wish I could have met him a few more times - would have loved to have chatted some more to him.

RIP Sir

Bob Banks said...

So sorry to hear about Mozaz - your tibute to him is exactly how I feel. Mozaz - I'll miss you.
Bob

Anonymous said...

The only reason he went before Thatcher was to lie in wait,though I strongly suspect they won't end up in the same place...
RIP mate x

Sheffpixie said...

The only reason he went before Thatcher was to lie in wait

Too true, anon. I'll be happy to dance on the old bag's grave and raise a toast to Mozaz when I do.

Does anyone know who's arranging his send off? I'd hate to miss it.

incurable hippie said...

Hi SheffPixie,
I'll post an update on the blog when I know the details of his funeral. Otherwise, keep an eye on these links and I'm sure it will be announced somewhere.

Sheffpixie said...

Thanks incurable

Have been pondering the days when I first met him. He was aged about 15/16 and in a terrible but very energetic punk band with my son that blazed briefly and very loudly in 1981 or thereabouts. I think they were called the Epsilons. More recently he'd stop off at mine for the occasional brew when he was photographing around Kelham Island. It's very sad and I'm going to miss him.

Anonymous said...

“There he goes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” - HST

RIP Mozaz, you'll be missed.

C

Jenny Walks-Riise said...

Sadly, I only met the guy a couple of times. Firstly, in my student Politics heyday, on an anti-war (Iraq) demo when I was a member of, shall I say, a well-know Leftist political party. This brief chat made me question my membership.

Latterly, I spoke to him following the election of Andrew Brons to 'represent our views' in Europe. He remembered me (amazingly) and I told him he'd changed my outlook of the world completely.

One of the good ones.

Anonymous said...

hi all it shows he ad quiet a few good friends out there.. well mark is my cousin i lost contact with him over 18yrs ago. and then i bumped into him in town back in 2010. he told me he fell out with my auntie (marks mum) years ago. so i have been trying to trace her to inform her what as happened but its proving hard i am hoping that someone as informed her already. could someone kindly post on here the details of his funeral if any of you's know please? as i would not like to miss it :-( r.i.p mark gone but not forgotten. u will be looked after up there with ya nan and uncle :-)

incurable hippie said...

I believe that one of his friends has told his mum, and I will post funeral details here as soon as they are announced, so do keep checking back.

Thinking of you x

Sam / fairynormal said...

I was one of Mozaz's friends who was with him during his last few weeks and with him at the end. His last request to me was to fetch his mum in to see him which we did. She's letting us arrange the funeral, details of which will be posted for people to see.

Mozaz, you were the most irritating, unreliable, funny, intelligent, beligerant, creative, kind, warm and spontaneous person I have ever met. Words cannot express how much I will miss you xxxxxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Mozaz - what an absolute privilege to have known you, to have shared a laugh with you, to hear your grumbles about the state and to share some soup with you, to have hugged you. Rest in Peace mate - Sheffield will be empty without you. God bless you..!! Krystyna x

incurable hippie said...

For those who wanted details of the funeral, they have now been announced by Sam here.

Anonymous said...

thank you sam i was praying that his mum got to find out :-) i have been trying to find her but struggled. thanks so much for putting details on of the funeral we will be there, once again thanks carly x

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Just found out about Mozaz passing. He was a legend in Sheffield and he was really kind to me when I was first starting out in protesting and other stuff. Will be missed.