APT8 arrives in Brisbane

As you can see from this amazing image by Australian artist Danie Mellor (above) Ive been out and about seeing some beautiful work over the weekend in Brisbane - as the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial has just opened. The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) have been taken over by some amazing contemporary artists. And believe me - two days was just enough! 

The APT is such a brilliant and unique exhibition and The Queensland Arts has to be commended for their brave move to continue investing in this initiative to find, cultivate, support, and acquire artworks from countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Mongolia, New Caledonia and every country in between. The collection of works they present is always interesting, diverse and completely thought provoking. 

Ive just been to Venice to see the Biennale this year and I swear I saw more eclectic and engaging work in Brisbane with this Triennial than I did in Italy. The work this time focused on some key areas such as kinetic energy, issues of personal identity, the environment, displacement and globalisation. 

The one phrase I wrote down when I entered the foyer space at GOMA this year was....

'Public space + collective experience' 

and I think that's what all the works were really about. 

Protest, sharing of information, and a want of acceptance and acknowledgement of our histories - both past and present. 

Great show.

I didnt take many pics but here are a few that made it onto my phone.

Massive mural charcoal drawing by Indian artist Prabhakar Pachpute in the GOMA foyer
created in a couple of days before the exhibition opened

Min Thein Sungs amazing sculptural installation at GOMA.
He is from Myanmar and this work was all about the oppression in his country
and how people made their own toys using everyday materials

Mural drawing in the Queensland Art Gallery by an Indian artist

This amazing multimedia installation by Nicolas Mole (Kanak Peoples/New Caledonia)
was one of my favourite artworks.
It was made in collaboration with artists and performers from New Caledonia

My mate Amelia taking photos of the massive installation of 1000 Venetian blinds
that was in the Queensland art gallery waterfall foyer
by artist Haegue Yang (South Korea)

It was hard to take pics of these stunning photos by Taloi Havini + Stuart Miller
that represent the Hako people and the environmental concerns of  Bougainville.
I loved this series of works...

Amazing SaVage K'lub created by New Zealand artist Rosanna Raymond

A couple of pics of the HUGE installation of paintings, sculptures, drawings and everything else in between ...
by three artists - Ramin Haerizadeh (Iran/UAE), Rokni Haerizadeh (Iran/UEA), Hesam Rahmanian (USA,UEA)
The whole thing was mad, absurd, DADA and funny...

Beautiful work by Joe Ngallametta in QAG.
It wasnt a part of the Triennial but I loved it anyway

Three galleries in three months and three times ive found the work of Vincent Namadjira exhibited!
This man's work is going to be huge! 

Had to finish with this colouring in table at QAG
Amelia and I spent a little while here creating patterns with the other kids and parents at the gallery
The program is events of kids at the Asia Pacific Triennial is always brilliant! 

the textures and colours of apt7

I think this detail Sara Rahbar's work sums up the whole Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane.... 

Ive been trying to write this post since i arrived back from Brisbane.

I rarely struggle with a blog post, as I usually try and keep them simple, like a diary entry.

But this one has been hard. 

Simply because the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial (APT7) at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane was...
Incredible. Massive. Detailed. 

And overwhelming. 

Again.

Three years ago I went with my mate Amelia to see this exhibition that had been celebrated and loved for some 17 years. We didn't know what to expect.
And as such, we were completely blown away. 

I remember how excited it made me about art - and more specifically - the contemporary art world. 

This year was no different.

Over two days I learnt a lot about the art and peoples of Papua New Guinea, the emerging artists' of Indonesia, and many places in between.  I realised that the art world is changing, and becoming more diverse in its points of view. As one person eloquently put it: the art world is shifting its boundaries. No longer do we have to look toward New York, London, Paris and Berlin for the experimental artworks and edgy artists. Now we can go to Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Tonga - by way of New Zealand!

Anyway.... as you can see... I have a few photos to share with you.

And i hope they give you a tiny idea of how amazing this massive exhibition was.

The APT celebrated its 20th birthday this year.

I cant wait to see where it will be in another 20 years time!

 This is what greeted you as you entered the massive doorway of GOMA!
Brikiti Cultural Group (Abelam Peoples, PNG),  Korumbo (Spirit House) 2012.

( clockwise, from top left)
Aware Peoples from PNG with their ceremonial masks entitled Tabuan Katmut Mut 2011;
Kwoma Arts Project from PNG and their 200 panel Spirit House Ceiling that was mounted on the wall;
Alex Gabour (PNG), and his Ule and Neo (male and female fish Masks) 2011;
 Iatapal Cultural Group (PNG), Mary 2011 headdresses 

Made in Company (China), Spread 201009103, 2010.
This multicoloured installation greeted you as you entered one of the rooms at The
Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) which showcased some of the APT7 artworks. 

(clockwise, from top left)
Solpolemalama Filipe Tohi (Tonga/NZ), Kulasi 2003-12 ,installation of lalava;
Asmat wooden carvings from the Asmat region of Papua;
Sulka Peoples of PNG and their beautiful headdresses;
Sara Rahbar (Iran/USA), and her multi textured recycled flag artworks on the wall

(Clockwise from top left)
Nguyen Manh Hung (Vietnam) and a detail of his amazing installation Living Together in Paradise 2009;
Takahiro Iwasaki (Japan), Reflection Model (Perfect Bliss) 2010-12;
PARAMODEL(Japan), How to Make a Paramodel,  Room Installation,2012;
Huang Yong Ping (China), Ressort 2012, steel water snake sculpture @ QAG

Lorainne Connolly-Northey (Aust),  Narbong (String Bag) Installation 2012;
Shirley Macnarmara (Aust), Wingreeguu 2012, floor installation;
Detail of Lorainne's steel string bag installation (this was an big as me!);
Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri (Aust), Wooden Carving sculptures
and paintings by Timothy Cook (Aust/Tiwi), Tutini 2012

the quiet seduction...

New York home of Maya Marzolf, Inside Out Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it can be the quiet + unassuming things that can be so so seductive? This phenomena happened to me yesterday as I was unpacking a box of ceramic pieces at Object Gallery. The package in question was from the lovely Honor Freeman and the ceramics were beautiful production pourers and beakers that were destined for the store. 

I don't think its any surprise to you all that I love ceramics and the work of Honor. Her work is quiet, delicate, fragile and so skilfully crafted that its hard not to love it! But that can sometimes be its Achilles heel. Her pieces do not scream or shout at you to look at them. They sit and wait for a patient eye to look at their details, and a slow hand to pick them up and feel their marks and glazes. There are no strong colours or graffiti statements to grab you and demand your attention.

Its the complete opposite. 

The same could be said of this Brownstone home in New York. The look by Maya Marzolf may be 'World Traveller' but the way that it has been collected is anything but colourful, textural and wild. 

Maya who was a photographic producer for Vogue, but now owns an antiques store called Le Grenier, is a French/Finnish 34 year old who moved to this atmospheric Greenpoint apartment in Brooklyn seven years ago in order to renovate and create a unique space to reflect her love of eclectic, exotic and industrial things that 'hold a tale'. 

Maya in her quiet space... 

Rough, white, textured walls... love it. They add character and warmth to a quiet space.
And that bookcase is amazing. It was made by recycling old timber beams
to look as if it was always meant to be there...

I guess this is what you would call an antique, industrial, world traveller look! I love all the wood
that warms up the space and the vintage icebox that was been converted into a liquor cabinet.
The Dutch chandelier adds a feminine lightness to the the look and her Burmese cat Le Golgot loves the
light pouring in through the window!

Lots of small textural details from her many objects on display. From a pure white
ceramic collection on the mantel, to a rustic birdcage found in upstate New York....
I love the antique bed too with a lovely round mirror above it. The tiny objects displayed
above the light switch adds a beautiful touch too.

My favourite shot. Has to be one of the best ideas for a bathroom wall - a hand drawn mural
 of nautical objects which Maya has called 'Things that get washed up on the shore'.
It was completed by artist Weston Woolley and he has used a style similar to what you
would find in old botanical books. 

All these details may be subtle and quiet - but isn't that what you sometimes crave in a home space? 

The chance to breathe, be still and just let the eye wander over the small and delicate details that normally go unnoticed...

Credits: 

Article :The Cosmopolitan 
Inside Out Magazine
Sept/Oct 2010, pg 109
Words: Hilary Robertson, Photographer : Matthew Williams

the gift.

I am always touched when people, out of the blue, drop something in the mailbox for you... A simple gesture that can mean so much. We really do live such crazy, busy lives, that the thought of someone spending the time making/writing/wrapping and then posting something IS a gift in itself. 

I LOVE receiving mail. Call me granny, but receiving something when you least expect, can make a ho-hum day something special. 

This act of kindness happened to me the other day when a lovely person dropped these tiny little Alpaca wool mitts in my mailbox to warm up my forever cold hands. They are from Pitumarca, Peru and were hand knitted by a lovely woman called Isabel. Isabel works with the The Fair Trade organisation Ethica, who provide employment for struggling families in Peru. By training women and then selling their products, the organisation gives women the means to provide food, medicine and education for their families and communities. 

So these tiny mitts - that fit me perfectly and are snugly soft - are providing more than one person the gift to make their lives a little more comfortable.

Great sentiment to start the weekend methinks!

Have a great one...x

e s c a p i s m

Howdy everyone! Hope you had a lovely weekend and that your Monday has been going at a nice pace, with no Monday-itis in sight?! In Sydney it was warm and restorative with not a cold wind or cloud in sight... {this is where you insert a sigh....ahhhhhh...} It's nice to feel the sun on your face, and find one, or maybe five minutes with which to submerge the mind in some lifestyle porn! What am I talking about? A little while ago I talked about my love of lifestyle magazines and how they are my drug of choice, and this article on furniture designer Katrin Arens hit the spot for me today!

Katrin's 15th century restoration of an Italian farmhouse is featured in this months Country Style - a magazine I don't normally catch - but this article caught my eye, with its reclaimed timbers, white washed walls and found objects from travels to Asia and South America....

This is my favourite image. Such a simple idea but it just looks so so good... Katrin has slung a woven basket over the staircase and placed beautiful pink flowers inside each opening, as it straddles both sides of the banister. So easy and so clever... I also love the green reclaimed bottles at the bottom of the stairs, that add more texture and colour to the space.

Beautiful wooden bookshelf that is quirky and uneven at the top, fitting in with the rough edges of the farmhouse itself! It would be lovely to sit under that amazing arched window, with all the natural light it brings to the room, and just read...

Love the simple painting on the wall, again for colour.... and how could you pass up a seat at that table in Katrin's garden. The region of Lombardy is a place I would love to visit on a return trip to Italy....

..and here is another reason why...

Country Style Magazine July 2011. Article by Alix Johnson. Photos by Jordi Canosa/RBA

rifling through the files.

How beautiful are these two images?

I was head down, bum out yesterday

in the studio filing cabinet... flicking through

old newspaper clippings, exhibition invite cards,

old drawings and bits n pieces...

when I discovered these two photos from the

SMH newspaper.

And don't they explain colour + pattern

in the purest of ways?!

The image above is from Guatemala in 2005 and the article

talked about how the villages want to attract tourists there again

after 10 years of military dictatorship.

The Mayan craft industries

were trying to display all that is beautiful and creative in small

towns such as this one called Santiago Atitlan...

I would love to own one of these beautiful bedspreads

but they look amazing all together in the place where they were created?

Its like one big painting!

This beautiful shot of red comes from Vietnam.

The sticks are dyed red bamboo that that are drying +

waiting to transformed into incense for the Buddhist temples.

The town is called Ha Tay and it is in the north of the country.

I would love to visit both countries one day..

but for now I can enjoy the inspiration that these two images...

... give me.

Photo credits: Guatemala image from AP/ Rodrigo Abd. Vietnam image from AFP/ Hoang Dinh Nam.

thinking of you.

so so sad

to hear, to see, to understand

all that is happening in Japan at this moment

in time.

My thoughts and feelings are with

everyone who is suffering

through this natural disaster

of such incomprehensible proportions.

Just an hour ago I cancelled

my trip to visit this beautiful country,

a trip that I have been planning

for many many years.

I will make it there in time...

but for the moment

I will send all my love

.....

be safe

x

c l i c k .

Happy new month everyone!

Actually...

I should be saying...

Happy new season to you all!!

In Australia it seems that summer

is sadly at an end,

and its time to embrace Autumn.

And in the spirit of creating a clean slate

for all these new beginnings,

I thought it was time for me to reveal

what my secret clues have been all about.

Last Friday I posted an image of

a disused wrapping...and said that it was a sign of something?

Well the big secret is that I'm travelling to Japan this month...

for the first time!!

And I am so so excited!

And to get me thinking of what inspirations

I might take from such a trip

Ive been thinking about patterns!

Beautiful Japanese colours and patterns,

and today, its all about Katsushika Hokusai

and his beautiful prints and paintings

from the 1800s.

It will be cherry blossom season when I get to Kyoto

later in the month, so Hokusai's work

hits the right note for me!!

First major overseas trip in 5 years...

and I cannot wait!!

r e v o l u t i o n

Now this is the colour of revolution.
What an amazing few days for the people of Egypt, and for all people across the globe who are seeking change. It really goes to show you that with hope, desire and a strong mind and will, you can create monumental change in monumental ways...

In my family we have been watching the events in Egypt in great detail as my father is from Cairo and we have many many family members who live in the heart of that great city. My papa, who physically left Egypt at 29, still has a heart that resides there. It is hard to see your country of birth go through such suffering and not feel affected. He thought this revolution might never take place, as he knew the harsh conditions that people were living under, and the fear that ran through its society.

But with this new generation has come a determination that I think my father would have had when he was in his 20s. Strong, hurt and hungry for a new life in a country that they desperately love....
I remember going to visit my Egyptian family in 1997, and really feeling a gulf of miscommunication. Maybe it was because I never learnt Arab, other than a few swear words. But maybe it was because I never gleaned a sense of modernity and strength in a society that on the surface is so friendly and so passionate.
Well I now understand modern Egypt.
In all its colour and strength.
It was emotional for all of us to see, hear, and understand the TRUTH that has been hidden for so long...
It is another inspirational event for 2011.
And its only February!
Congratulations all the people of Maṣr (Egypt)!
May this be the new beginning that you have yearned for....


Photo courtesy of Goggle

p o e t i c

.... still ....

.... human ....

.... tender ...

..... mysterious ....

..... magical ....

and real.

I really needed a dose of Steve McCurry's beautiful

imagery today. After the morning Ive just had, I needed to

get back to basics and see some of the magic the world

has to offer.

However the image at the very top was sent to me this week by a friend

who is living in a remote place called Burketown, in the Gulf

of Carpenteria...

Thank you Billie for showing me the beauty

and wonderful colours of THIS part of the globe

too...

x

Light work : Copenhagen

Well that is a weekend for the history books!
Never ending days of 30c + heat in Sydney, with Saturday reaching 42c!
It was exhausting and difficult to achieve anything... except reach over to the fridge for a cold drink or three! CRAZY!!

But its now 'back to business' Monday and Ive already been interviewed by a student for a major project, had some of my drawings critiqued, and seen a photography exhibition which was brilliant, picked up a drawing from the framers, AND, excitingly booked a flight for an overseas adventure! Phew...I'm making up for lost days in sweltering heat!

So today I thought Id post up another favourite article for the tiny archives....just to give myself a little break!
The year was 2005, the magazine was Inside Out, and the featured home was by Louise Campbell in Copenhagen.
The theme was white on white with a side order of colour accents...{seen in the image above}.
And it was beautiful...

Louise is a furniture designer from Denmark and her style is beach-side villa...as it is situated in a coastal fishing village, 45 minutes outside of Copenhagen.

Well I say beach-side villa, but her home definitely has a European twist on the theme!

Every type of material is used...from painted wood, metal, woven cloth, glass and plastic. And because of the white, it all blends together and looks fresh and comfortable, with a little colour to give just the right amount of quirk...

I love the row of photos placed above the desk, {in the image above} and the wire bag hung over the desk with a big metal hook! Clever...

So much beautiful light streaming in through the big windows...

And then you reach the bedroom door and find that all the white has been softened with lots of textiles and textures, as Louise has placed a whole lot of bed throws at the foot of the bed, which makes the space feel cozy and not overly neat and sterile, which can happen in a white room.

That is what I love about this place.

Slay bed.

Very lovely...

And even more lovely, is that Louise spray painted parts of the dark wood frame to accent the features and individualise it. Now that takes guts!

In the bathroom Louise strung up a large kettle from the ceiling, to sit right next to the bath. Amazing idea which adds a historical feel to the bathroom. I'm glad we don't have to boil hot water for the bath anymore, but I like the look of a big gun metal grey kettle in the space!

This is my favourite image.

The accessories on the light fixture, make it seem like a contemporary but fun re-styling of a chandelier! So clever and a great way to add colour and texture to a room without adding clutter...

These are the little tricks that I try to remember for future reference...

As I do have a lot of odds + ends that need to get off the floor, and out of the way!

A constant problem for an artist who loves to collect things....