easy rider

in the 6 weeks that i've been in perth, i haven't done a lot of gadding about. i've actually used the time (and the lack of social life) to focus heavily on being here in the studios.



i've been trying to implement a day a week to get out of the city and check out a bit of the rest of state - to no avail. until today.

i hired a scooter for the weekend, which has been trés cool. damn those little things suit my style and i think i have to get one when i get back to melbs. i've not ridden one before, so had a few days of riding around perth to get used to it, then hit the highways today.



i made a few errors (like following google maps' directions to a highway bypass, which is basically a freeway. not good for scooters), but enjoyed the trip out to lake leschenaultia. it's about an hour on the scooter from perth and had a nice big pontoon to dive off, some scary signs about amoebic meningitis and a nice big long track to walk around.



i deviated from the path a little, following the mtb track and reminiscing about the days of loftus/royal national park bush-bashing (until i broke my arm at thredbo).




i did my first listening project out there, which is very different to listening to the city. i found it a bit hard. there is lots of space between sounds, but a lot of white noise, as the wind rushes through the trees. and i don't know what the different birds are, so writing high-pitched bird call and answer feels a bit, well inadequate.



but i found the walking and listening to only the sound of my own crunchy footsteps pretty easy. i've come back feeling a bit windblown, but refreshed. next week, i think i'll try and head further out.

five

last week i turned five!

and when i say 'i', i mean, this blog. or me as a regular, consistent blogger.

here's my thrilling first post. back when the world was full of possibility and i was stuck in wollongong.

since 2006 the iphone has given birth, twitter has started (yep, i'm on that too), facebook has become MASSIVE, america has a black president and australia a female prime minister. the australian dollar has tripled against the pound, avaaz and getup have become big political players and michael jackson and louise bourgeois have died.

in that time i haven't been married, had children, bought a house or had a death in the family, although i have become a super-rad aunty (arnie loz to him).

i have lived in both london and berlin for shortish periods of time and have moved back to melbourne as my australian base. i have finished a masters degree in the last 5 years and have steadily intensified my arts practice.

i acutally hope this blog is still relevant in 5 years' time. not because i want to be relevant, but because i want the reasons i started it (as a way to circumvent the trad arts media gatekeepers and to vent my artspleen) to still be relevant.


here's to the future, kids.

sexy heidegger

"When a work is created, brought forth out of this or that work material... we also say that it is made [set forth] out of it. But just as the work requires a setting up in the sense of a consecrating-praising erection... so a setting forth is needed."

Origin of a Work of Art, from Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings, Harper Collins 2008

influenced by Courbet's Origin of the World perhaps?

no particular place to go

i'm living a strange and intriguing kind of existence at the moment. i'm back in melbourne, waiting for the go ahead on a couple of interesting projects. because i can't commit to a day job, or a home until they drop, i'm a bit of a gypsy - travelling from friend's couch to friend's couch, living out of a bag still, roaming the streets of melbourne a bit.

i could get all dramatic and paint an abject picture of precarity, but the reality is that it's not quite like that. i've decided to make it the adventure that it is, and it's giving me the opportunity to get to know my city in a way i never would have otherwise.

usually, melbourne is just a vehicle for my life. it's a springboard from which i dive headlong into juggling a gazillion projects and things to do. i have fond memories of the places i've been and done things in, but i rarely have time to see a new side of melbourne outside of my necessary paths.

being a bit homeless and without a particular place to be (ie, home), i just am, everywhere. i'm absolutely present wherever i take myself and, as a result, am sharply aware of my surroundings. i'm looking up a whole lot more and seeing amazing rooftops, niches, architectural detailing and plays of light that i've never noticed before.

i'm sitting in places for more than the time it takes for my friends to arrive. i'm also hearing melbourne too.

and my wonderment at melbourne is almost pride, but not so attached to it as MY city. being at home in both melbourne and berlin has allowed me the distance to see the beauty and its actual personality, rather than just an extension of my history in the place. if that makes sense. it feels less possessive, and as a result, far more beautiful. it's like i'm in love with the place properly.

i won't lie - i have had a few small moments of terror, wondering where the hell i'm going to sleep, and what the hell is going to happen in the future. but, probably because of the chillaxed nature i've come back sportin', i'm mostly okay with this nomadic and sporadic period of my life.

it also says a lot about melbourne as a city (and my friends, as it happens), that i can be without a home or a sense of stability, and still feel that i'm supported: i'm never scoffed at for eating breakfast on the street, or catching a nap in a car, or for just sitting and looking up at the sky. as busy as melbourne can be, i'm happy to say that it's also a city in which not every ounce of its being is taken up with absolute utility.

it's still a place you can just be.

christmas!

so, my laptop is still in apple service centre purgatory and i'm writing this in an internet cafe on windows vista with internet explorer on a german keyboard.  i can't work out whether you should pity me, or be impressed at my committment to blogging in the face of such appalling conditions. actually, me and half the developing world are totally tight right now. maybe i should take up spamming and earn some cash, while i'm here.


so, christmas.




can i just tell you that it's sooooo awesome being in germany for christmas. it's super fluffy sprinkly white snow everywhere. candles are lit, everyone is cheery, the shop assistants offer you marshmallows when you're browsing and the decorations are rad. because it's dark at about 4pm, everything is really cosy. i went to my first Weihnachtsmarkt last week and that was the beginning of my christmas spirit.

i baked gingerbread the other day (and have now eaten too much of them - lucky i have a second batch to give away) and have wrapped almost all my christmas presents. i've made cards, wrapping paper and am all skipping and cheery and red-cheeked from drinking hot Kindepunsch (which is the non-alcoholic version of Gluhwein).

it's awesome.


and yet, weirdly, it doesn't feel like the end of the year. maybe it's the winter-thing messin' with my internal clock, but i have to keep reminding myself that there are only 10 days left of '10.

my dear friend rob has tagged me in one of those memes that are relentless, but which i secretly love. so here are my answers to that. and some extra for all the goodness for the year - to combat the ad-heavy bent on these ones.

merry christmas to all of you and big smooches for the new year.



1/ Best single thing [personal &/or professional] you did/achieved in 2010.sorry rob - my year can't be boiled down into a single awesome thing, thankfully (imagine having such a singular life! how dull...) so here's my top 5:

1. moved to germany for the second-half of the year. as all the australians and a couple of english peeps i know will attest, that is not easy. living in a city in which you're not a native speaker is hard enough, but then there's the unspoken elements of living in a place you're not culturally from that really tickle your haemorroids. the fact that i have done it, impresses me still. i haven't done it perfectly and will be heading home in feb (because of that), but i did it. and i know that i'll be back here again - hopefully soon.

2. made some really good work. it may not all have been received well, but i'm pleased with the work i made this year. and i made a lot of it, which i'm also pleased about.

3. i got some funding from the government. it was pretty handy and helped me do both 1 + 2. it will also mean that i'm going back to australia to do another amazing project.

4. went to some bloody fantastic festival/symposia this year. ISEA, ars electronic, agents/actors/applicants, thrilling wonder stories. i learned SO much and had my brain baked several times. which is fantastic.

5. danced every weekend until at least 4am from september onwards. so that may not warrant top five in anyone else's book, but it totally is in mine. i've had loads of fun and really got to see some shit-hot electronic and dancehall acts play over the last few months. it's something that i just cannot do back home and will be something i dearly miss in melbourne.


2/ Most shameful thing [personal &/or professional] you did/achieved in 2010.i would love to only have done one shameful thing this year, but i did quite a few. most of which i have either made amends for, or learnt from. but they still kinda sting too:

1. installed work that i didn't check properly. the file i uploaded to the ipod for a recent exhibition was incorrect - with parts missing and a double-time section of the the track. it was awful. and embarrasing. i learned about quality control, and taking time with making work. and having someone else look at it too.

2. took on a job then left again after four weeks when i got arts funding. i didn't handle it with the kind of courtesy that i would like to think i had. and i disappointed people i had known for a while.

3. made my mum cry. my mum and i have a good but slightly fraught relationship and this year the difficulties between us came to a head. it's all good now and we're going to be doing some awesome talking and working shit out when i get back, but that was not a nice moment.
 3/ Ad industry scandal or scoundrel of the year.
i have my opinions about a very specific 'scandal' i'm aware of, which i'll keep to myself.
but actually, there are greater scoundrels than some of the peeps involved in that anyway. actually, i think that rupert murdoch continues to be an ad industry scoundrel that has far too much control over media and public opinion. when i log out from my hotmail account and see the GARBAGE that passes for news, content or even advertising, i want to vomit. i also think that the fact that sexist, racist and homophobic content continues to pass as advertising these days is scandalous. can't we just leave that shit in the last decade, please?
 

4/ Your overall rating for 2010 out of 10.
9 there were a few weeks where i thought i was going to lose it there, otherwise it would have been a 10. this year has been pretty stellar. and, even better, i feel like next year is going to be even better!

5/ What do you think will be the most overhyped advertising related subject of 2011?
television.

i think television should be euthenased. it is already become a bigger pile of stinking turdishness, for which content isn't really being 'developed', but is being kept on life support by the drugs of advertising. the sooner advertising pulls the plug, the more that writers, producers, actors, etc, will be able to focus their money, time and energy on producing great content for more selective media: dvd, online download, online viewing and mobile content. hopefully the days of all staring at a big box on a sunday night are almost over.


5/A The best exhibitions of 2010?

again, a top 5 is in order, as i saw quite a few (and apologies for the lack of art-related posts lately. you know, iphones aren't really blogging-friendly devices, as awesome as they are)

1. rachel whiteread's drawings at tate britain. ms whiteread is one of my all-time art inspirations, so seeing her drawings filled me with such joy, hope and kick-in-the-pants motivation that i could hardly speak.

2. & (ampersand) at the daimler collection. heavy with politics, determination and a whole lot of sadness, it was a show that wasn't 100% brilliant, but the ones that were, really stayed with me for a long, long time.

3. michaela gleave. both her work at anna pappas, and her work in berlin. i've like michaela's work for aaaages, so it was a pleasure to get multiple chances to see it.

4. abby mcculloch at helen gory. stellar. standout. every work was stunning and it sold out and i was really proud of her. even though i don't know her.

5. innere stimme at veneklasen/werder. uplifting, goosebump-inducing, long and heavy with meaning. it literally resonated with me. and sat in my sonic memory for a couple of weeks afterwards.

up to my eyeballs

eep!

i've got another group show coming up. which means i'm back in studio bubble land - i haven't done a listening project for days, have only seen one exhibition in the last 5 days and am hardly seeing daylight.

so, to celebrate such insanity, i think it's high time i posted some random pics of how i'm going to remember this week in berlin:

some weird electronic toy/art thing in a cafe on oderberger str.



my bike in a seat belt, on a tram. berlin takes care of its bikes.




extra awesome mural at the kunsthaus bethanien. which reminds me, you should all dance to scattermish's mix of push it, from soundcloud.




beaded gallery. from choi jeong hwa's show a while back



limpets or flying saucers on the roof at the messe




we killed my parents and hit the road

thwaites' toaster.

we make money not art spoke about this project a while back, but i got to see it for real yesterday.

and, for the record, it is fucking brilliant.

i didn't have much of a chance to see the whole documentary, but i did take my time checking out the book and i embarrassed the fuck out of myself with my laughter reverberating around the whole warehouse. not that the subject itself is funny per se, but thwaites has, in perfect english manner, manage to bring a sense of candour, wit and self-deprication to the process that is instantly endearing.

the task, to create from scratch (like literraly - raw materials) a toaster. the kind that argos sells for £3.64. considering the time, materials, efforts - the thwaites toaster cost £1187.54 and the documented process and execution is priceless.


if you ever get the chance to see it. or when the book is published, please do everyone a favour and see it/buy it/borrow it.

it's a finely crafted critique of our instant culture, a reminder how far we've come from making our tools ourselves and disarms the romanticism attached to those 'good ol' days'. and it starts with a perfect douglas adams quote too:

“Left to his own devices he couldn’t build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it.” -Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams, 1992

image credit: daniel alexander, thanks to d-build

danteh's interwebs

thanks to the real west space geek in residence, kieran stewart.

random shit

i'm a bit over my text-heavy, über-serious posts lately, so here's some random shit for you all. thanks to delicious.


facebook wisdom: there has been some amusing match-making on facebook lately. the least of which is this:




i don't know if hamish and andy would necessarily like this kind of simple-deduction promotion. the irrational part of me that supports essendon is not the same as the part that likes comedians. in fact, given my team's woeful performance, perhaps facebook is bang-on. although they should have chosen the cynics rich hall or bill hicks.


speaking of humourous associations, here are the follow-ons from bettina arndt's spectacularly terrible article about Prime Minister Gillard.

Bettina on Gillard
Catherine on Bettina on Gillard
Birmingham on Bettina on Gillard




and for more beautiful delusions, laura delaney has made these be-yoo-tiful mugs about mental illness. they're so sad and soulful. i never use mugs, but i'd consider owning one, just for the sweet sentiment. thanks to sublime-ation


and for the brave, there is an excellent forum on at melbourne uni this week on contemporary art: Australian Art Industry Networks, including some valuable sessions on Selling, Rights and Responsibilities, Provenance and the Indigenous Art Sector. Keynote addresses include Peter Garrett, MP and Sam Leach, APW*.

more deets here.

Shinkansen ver.2 from daihei shibata on Vimeo.

a stunning video taken from a shinkansen ride on an EP-1. thanks to raphael.



and lastly, i had to miss tonight's performance of the Sound Playground at fortyfivedownstairs, but if you have the chance, you should really pop in. Some stellar works and performances being played out - i especially love Rod Cooper's Sonic Portraits and, in my high-egoism, have ridiculous aspirations to be the subject of one someday. ha!



*Archibald Prize Winner

ninja shoes

i bought new sneakers recently - tigers that i've wanted for a while. i reckon they look pretty awesome, but the thing that i'm most excited about is how quiet they are! i thought the sneaking up the stairs scene in kill bill was just visual metaphor!

they're like 0db trainers - i can't even hear myself walk through the gallery on concrete floor.
it's so much fun pretending to be a ninja, sneaking up on some imagined assailant.

it never occured to me that silence can be so much fun. it also never occurred to me that it would be an anomaly to not hear myself walking. in fact, it has altered my sense of space a little over the last week or two.

i certainly didn't expect that when i bought them.

sorry, can't help it...

via potz!blitz!szpilman!

yes please

if these weren't such a pain to ship from the states, i would buy these for everyone i know and love.


thanks angus

off the chart

ok kids. here it is. the answer Deep Throat should have given us to the question of life, the universe and everything.




and for the record, i'm a geek.


from the great white snark

i am not my swedish furniture

thanks to my creative catalyst pal, stan, i've discovered yet another reason why i love the internet:

the dila swedish furniture name generator. i love a good visual meme.


here's me as an item of swedish furniture







what's your name? go here.

go jump

**old fogey whinge warning**

i'm so long in the tooth, i'm as old as jesus. yup, 33. turned it yesterday. it seems i should have got it together by now.. had a rip-snorter of an art career: snorting coke off the tits of babes and hanging my extended phallus in the long halls of the establishment.

last year i wrote about wanting to find a mentor - and was pleased to discover that the australia council has just announced a national mentoring program: jump.

yay! excitement! i could use some direction, regular contact, advice and cameraderie from artists who have skills to pass on and experience to value.

oh, wait, i'm 33. that's too old.

turns out you only need those things if you are under 30 and in the first 5 years of your practice.




goddammit!! the gene pool of good artists in australia is small enough already isn't it? why you wanna make it any smaller? it's like i just found out my husband is leaving me to fuck yet another young, blonde secretary with fake boobs and a brazilian.

grumble, grumble.

imma let you finish, but..

beyonce made the best music video OF ALL TIME!!






via stan

...like an enthusiastic porn star

cursebird has been around a while, but i haven't had a go until now 'cos, well, i just haven't. it's an aggregate of all the swearing you do on your twitter feed.

i finally got around to having a peek at just how much i love swearing, especially after this post and that vid; and according to cursebird, i swear like an enthusiastic porn star.

an enthuiastic porn star?! i'm not exactly sure what that means, but i'm totally chuffed about it really.

reading my feed of sweary twitter is quite hilarious. kinda like the apple 'incredible, amazing awesome' clip. but more cockney than californian. and not as nicely designed.

anyways, enjoy.

http://cursebird.com/sheseesred

whiskey tango foxtrot?

when things just work.

"it would be impossible to go through life without enjoying swearing."

regular readers may well already know these two things about me:
i swear. a lot.
i think stephen fry is a god of sorts.

you may not know that i also think clem bastow (from 3RRR, Dawn Chorus, Dancing About Architecture) is another god of sorts and that she's team captain of a new blog: boy howdy. it's an extension of my other new favourite blog: nerdboyfriend, but way more camp.

so i was delighted to find this over there.



he pretty much sums it up.

fucking lunatics.

i call shenanigans

i have no idea what you tube were going on about when that error appeared at the top of my channel. but i couldn't help but share it. [click to enlarge]


and speaking of shenanigans, sadly, i haven't been getting up to many lately. i've been laying low thanks to a spot of theatre - and not the performance type - and a couple of shows coming up.


but there are lots of things to see at the moment, including the kathy temin 1, 2 at heide and anna schwartz galleries, the excellent david noonan and johanna billing shows at acca (remember me going on about 'magical world' on my euro trip a while back. probably not. well, same artist. go see.) and my dear friend jade has work on at gallerysmith in north melbourne which y'all should check out. it's a newish commercial space around the corner from arthur's circus which looks v. interesting.

and speaking of arthur's circus, gemma jones and friends have a sweet-as little show coming up there from the 22nd september onwards. you should check it.

i call shenanigans. over and out.