THE
AUSTRALIA
TIMES
®
Vol. 1 No. 3 August 2015
THE MELBOURNE LIFE & CULTURE MAGAZINE
Film Nerds Rejoice! MIFF is Back!
INTRODUCING
FASHION CONVERSION:
Melbourne’s Newest
Premium Shopping Event
Artist Profile: Alice Stephens
THE
AUSTRALIA
TIMES
®
WHAT’S
Inside
Melbourne
Street Style:
WHAT’S ON IN
Melbourne’s new PreMiuM
shoPPing event
INTRODUCING
Fashio
Fashion
Conversio
Conversio
MIFF Is Back!
FIlM Nerds rejoIce!
Artist Profile
Alice Stephens
Another cold month. Melbourne, y u do
dis? Luckily for us there’s plenty going
on all around the city to keep us warm
and shed some light on the days that are
getting darker and darker, earlier and
earlier in the evening.
David Bowie Is… launched in July, an
instant classic celebrating one of pop
culture’s greatest inuencers. David
Bowie’s unique presence can be felt in
music, fashion and lm, with a lot of his
impact stemming from his unwavering
ability to let his freak ag y. This month
Abramo Peghini asks where all the
cool people have gone - the ones who
unashamedly rejoice in their obsessions,
despite the judgments of the popular
crowd. It seems like David Bowie Is…
arrived just in ti me to inspire us anew to
be who we are.
Our Steet Style page this month is
Comic-con themed, a perfect example
of beautiful Melbourne geeks being
their unabashed selves. Our resident
lm nerd Claudia Fitzgerald talks letting
us indulge our inner lmophiles at this
year’s Melbourne International Film
Festival. And Bree Bacon has shared her
view on the stigma around that complete
other species: Youtubers. We’re freaks
and geeks this month, and we’re proud
of it. So grab your Jurassic Park themed
mug full of tea, whip up a couple of
Mary’s pancakes in the shape of your
favourite Pokemon, and settle down
with one of the books we’re reading –
perhaps Hyperion will tickle your fancy.
Zoe Winther
Chantelle White
Claudia Fitzgerald
Andrew Kruspe
Bree Bacon
Abramo Peghini
Alexandra Keefe
Alice Stephens
Kate Britton
Andrew Gaynor
Mary Maurel
What’s On in August ................................8
Introducing FASHION CONVERSION:
Melbourne’s New Premium
Shopping Event ................................... 44
Film Nerds Rejoice! MIFF is Back! .......52
Melbourne Street Style:
Comic-con Edition .................................58
The YouTube Stigma .............................66
Head to The Buttery Club
to Ease Your MidWinta Blues ...............72
Jo Davenport’s
Exquisite Beauty in Simplicity ...............80
Artist Prole: Alice Stephens ................88
Freaks and Geeks .............................. 104
The Watercolour News -
Margaret Ackland ................................107
The Encroaching Suburban
Nightmare ........................................... 114
Winter Warmer: Books ....................... 116
AGNETA EKHOLM - Unfold ................. 122
Winter Warmers ................................. 128
August Playlist .................................... 132
EDITORS
CONTRIBUTORS
THE
AUSTRALIA
TIMES
®
Note
Zoe
Melbourne Mag exists to give our readers greater choice in nding out about
Melbourne events, news, people, food and culture.
Melbourne Mag is the friend you go to for a restaurant recommendation on Friday
night, the friend you go to a music gig with on Saturday and a gallery during
the week, the friend you get into passionate discussions about anything and
everything, from sustainable farming, to gender equality, to honouring Aboriginal
artists, to the local politics of Chapel St.
Melbourne Mag is at a party mingling with everyone and anyone, talking in intimate
groups about the best festivals they’ve been to, asking about someone’s organic,
locally produced bronzer, or letting people which pubs have the best selection of
craft beer on tap. Melbourne Mag is in the corner having an intense discussion
about the future of Australian lm production or cultural appropriation in fashion,
and later Melbourne Mag will be rallying the troops organising which café everyone
will hit for brunch tomorrow.
We're your older sibling, letting you know what's going to be cool.
We aim to inform, entertain, teach, encourage, educate and support the com-
munity at large by facilitating communication between all Australians. By provid-
ing the opportunity for all opinions to be shared on a single website.
WHAT’S
1
The Met Opera La Traviata is showing
for a short season at Nova Cinema
from August 1 – 5. Natalie Dessay
puts on the red dress in Willy Decker’s
stunning production of Verdi’s adored
opera, in her rst Violetta at the Met.
Matthew Polenzani sings Alfredo, Dmitri
Hvorostovsky is Germont, and Principal
Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.
KINGS Artist-Run present Some of them
got the rst look, ending on August 1.
With everything we do, we work steadily
with copy and paste. We splice and read
the agglomerated whole a wall of gig posters
curated at the club, the dissemination
of forwarded email chains, the sampling
of sounds that are mixed as we use high
and low fashion in a t of aspirational
eclecticism. Forecasted mood boards in
advertising agencies ricochet off popular
blog tutorials showing how to customise
and “hack” IKEA furniture. Aggregation and
re-assemblage is how we live now. Collage
is both a homage and quotation, prayer
and soundbite. Re-adjusting the cropped
proliferated image is how we spend much
of our time. Through these instances of
fractured self-curatorship we use collage
ON IN
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to create something very much one’s
own version of events. The attraction of
recognising the familiar in the world around
us never subsides.
Some of them got the rst look is curated
by Jack Brown including artists Jack
Brown, Beth Caird, Jethro Harcourt, Ronnie
Van Hout, Annabelle Kingston, Liang
Luscombe, Sophie Neate, Sean Peoples,
Kiron Robinson, Joshua Stevens, Kalinda
Vary,?Xanthe Waite and Grace Wood.
In a dead-end ofce job apathy may be
essential to survival. Kindness tells the story
of three ofce workers who befriend Evelyn,
a woman in her late eighties. Unfullled by
their jobs, the workers’ boredom manifests
in paranoia and violent escapism. Evelyn’s
presence allows the ofce workers to vent
their frustrations and to seek guidance
from someone who, for once, seems to
have the time to listen.
Location:
Theatre Works, 14 Acland St, St Kilda
Date: 31 Jul 2015 - 09 Aug 2015
Time: Mon to Sat 7pm, Sun 3pm
Single Tickets $30/ $20
*Booking fees apply
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2
3
From Monday 27 July - Sunday 2 August, see
the poignant Homelessness Photography
Exhibition in The Atrium, Fed Square in the
lead up to Homelessness Prevention Week.
Throughout winter the NGV will host
Unplugged Live, an art, music and
conversation series set amongst the
current Australian art exhibitions. See the
contemporary art in a different light and
enjoy intimate, acoustic performances
from some of Australia’s most well known
musicians. Sunday 2 August sees Alex Gow
of Oh Mercy perform.
Oh Mercy release their highly anticipated
album When We Talk About Love on 19
June. Songwriter Alex Gow has described
the album as his most personal to date,
written while travelling across three cities
in America and home again in Melbourne.
“The lyrics are personal. The music leaped
out of me. Its genetics are the sum of
my musical loves. Bacharach, Cohen,
The Trifds. Grand, proud and not self-
conscious. I accessed all that I’ve learnt, all
that I know, or think I know, and importantly,
all that I love, to create this record.”
Melbourne’s winter dining adventure is
nishing on August 3 for another season.
Southgate Moveable Feasts offers three
courses at three riverside restaurants on
Sundays and Mondays until August 3.
The program of Sunday lunches and
Monday dinners will take food lovers
on a meandering journey experiencing
each course at a different eatery along
the banks of the Yarra River in the heart
of Melbourne. With a host guiding the
journey to each establishment, discoveries
will be made along the way uncovering the
stories behind Melbourne’s eclectic world
of eateries.
Southgate Moveable Feasts includes a
diverse range of restaurants such as 2014
newcomers Italian restaurant and wine bar
Artusi and Bavarian bier hall Hophaus as
well as Michelin Star chef led Pure South,
which focuses on artisan Tasmanian
produce.
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4
From Fleur Kilpatrick (Best Writer, 2014
Melbourne Fringe for The City They Burned)
comes new Australian work Yours the
Face, thick with grit, glamour and beautiful
people being very ugly. Yours the Face tells
the story of a photographer and his model,
both played exquisitely by Roderick Cairns.
Location:
Theatre Works, 14 Acland St, St Kilda
Date: 31 Jul 2015 - 09 Aug 2015
Time: Mon to Sat at 8.30pm, Sun 4.30pm
Single Tickets $30/ $20
*Booking fees apply
Cost:
Choose from three course dining options
for $65pp or $85pp. Entrée and main
courses each include a glass of wine
and dessert is served with tea or coffee.
Bookings:
Online bookings only, at
www.southgatemelbourne.com.au
Benjamin Lichtenstein’s exhibition
Living in Oblivion is showing at Anna
Pappas Gallery from 4 – 29 August.
Lichtenstein does not simply take
photographs – he creates them.
For this young, upcoming artist, the
process does not end at the camera,
but extends to the darkroom and
beyond. Manipulating the images
by hand, strong lines and restrained
patterns begin to arise. Merging
photography with collage and drawing,
Lichtenstein’s images capture
the hand of the artist in a way the
medium usually denies. The resulting
monochromatic creations are unique
prints, each work personifying an
intimate and distinctive vision.
For his solo exhibition at Anna Pappas
Gallery, Lichtenstein will present a
Benjamin Lichtenstein’s exhibition Living in
Oblivion is showing at Anna Pappas Gallery
from 4 – 29 August.
Provided by Anna Pappas Gallery
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Also opening at Anna Pappas Gallery
is Gian Manik’s work Umbrella
new body of monochromatic works. The
multi-panelled compositions embody the
artist’s unique imagery through painting
masks in the darkroom printing process.
Living in Oblivion is Lichtenstein’s most
ambitious body of work to date, exceeding
the usual dimensions of his work and
pushing the limits during the printing
process. Living in Oblivion references the
lm of the same name, described as ‘a lm
about lmmaking’, alluding to Lichtenstein’s
technical prociency and experimentation
with photography as a medium.
Also opening at Anna Pappas Gallery is
Gian Manik’s work Umbrella: paintings
which fundamentally explore the language
of representation. Manik’s works vibrate,
creating a liminal space that borrows
from a number of visual devices rather
than representing a singular style. In this
way, Manik challenges the conventions of
representation.
For his solo exhibition at Anna Pappas
Gallery, Manik will present a new body of
work that continues his engagement with
painting images of mirrored surfaces.
The works are rooted in an element of
chance, as the subjects of his paintings
are dependent on what appears in the
reection. This includes abstracted
images of the artist’s body, windows,
walls and even other paintings in
the studio. Worlds within worlds are
created and manipulated, and what is
produced on the canvas arrives through
multifaceted pathways.
Provided by Anna Pappas Gallery
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5
I Am Big Bird is a heartwarming
documentary which chronicles the life
of Caroll Spinney, the man who has been
Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the
Grouch since 1969. At 81 years old, the
tenacious and enthusiastic performer
has no intention of slowing down. This
loving portrait peels away the instances
that inspired his creation of Big Bird
and as the yellow feathers give way to
grey hair, it is the man, not the muppet,
who will steal your heart. Nova Cinema
is hosting Q&A event with Spinney via
Skype on August 5 at 7.20pm. For tickets
visit www.cinemanova.com.au/
Human Sacrice Theatre brings to
life the Australian premiere of Brett C.
Leonard’s powerful story of addiction
and its lasting effects on the addicted
and those that love them. The Long Red
Road is a journey through the desert
of self-destruction and six tormented
souls that charter these dark territories.
The Long Red Road - a Native American
term for the journey towards redemption
and inner peace – is a devastating new
play exploring addiction and its impact
for those affected. Sam and Bob are
two brothers struggling to move beyond
years of anger and resentment. With
the women in their lives also seeking
resolution and Sam’s young daughter
desperate to reunite with her father, Sam
must decide if he will face his demons
and those he left in his wake.
Originally directed by Phillip Seymour
Hoffman, The Long Red Road unveils a
world where mistakes can last beyond
a lifetime. HST has built a reputation
committed to telling truthful human
stories. Their timely return to the stage
offers the audience a human face to
the suffering caused by one of the most
signicant epidemics inuencing today’s
society.
Performance dates:
29 July – 9 August 2015
Times: Tuesday to Saturday 7.30pm,
Sunday 5.30pm
Tickets: Full $33, Concession $28,
Preview $25
Bookings: 03 9662 9966 or
http://www.fortyvedownstairs.com/
buy-tickets/
Venue: fortyvedownstairs,
45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne,
03 9662 9966
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Screen Space presents two works for digital projection by renowned artist Victor Burgin,
across two consecutive exhibitions. A Place to Read will be exhibited from 23 July to 1
August and Mirror Lake from 6 August to 15 August.
Provided by Screen Space
Provided by Screen Space
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David Stratton’s Great Britain Retro Film
Festival is taking place at Nova Cinema
from August 6 – 16. The festival will
feature 19 British lms, hand-picked by
David Stratton. Highlights include: A Room
With A View from director James Ivory.
This sophisticated and witty adaptation of
E.M. Forster’s novel showcases memorable
performances from Maggie Smith, Daniel
Day Lewis, Judi Dench, and Helena
Bonham Carter. Don’t Look Now, Nicolas
Roeg’s extraordinary lm, is partly about a
bereaved couple (Donald Sutherland, Julie
Christie) coming to terms with loss and
partly a tense and suspenseful thriller.
Japanese Anime Blockbuster Dragon Ball
Z: Resurrection ‘F’ is also showing for a
limited season from 6 August at Nova
Cinema.
Screen Space presents two works for
digital projection by renowned artist Victor
Burgin, across two consecutive exhibitions.
A Place to Read will be exhibited from 23
July to 1 August and Mirror Lake from 6
August to 15 August.
A Place to Read (2010) was originally
produced as part of Istanbul 2010:
Cultural Capital of Europe and exhibited
in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum:
an appropriate venue for an artwork
that is a project of excavation. A Place to
Read, a single channel work for projection,
presents a virtual, computer-generated
rendering of the Ta?lik coffee house
and garden in Istanbul, overlooking the
Bosphorus. Constructed in 1947-48, the
Ta?lik was demolished in 1988 to make
way for a luxury hotel. This conversion
of a public space into a privatised space
for the elite reects on a contemporary
political issue with much wider relevance.
Burgin’s translation of this lost space into
a crisp computer-generated virtual space
accentuates the utopian imaginary that
animated the original architecture.
Similarly, Burgin’s Mirror Lake (2013) was
inspired by an architectural site. In this
case, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Seth
Peterson Cottage in Mirror Lake State Park
in the Wisconsin Dells. Here, computer-
generated 3D models are combined with
photographic panoramas and intertitles
present recollections and reections on
Burgin’s journey to, and stay within, this
cottage. The Seth Peterson Cottage is today
one of the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed
homes available for public overnight rental.
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6
Chapter House Lane presents a solo exhibition by Sydney artist Emily Hunt
from 6 – 30 August
Chapter House Lane presents a solo
exhibition by Sydney artist Emily Hunt
from 6 – 30 August. The exhibition
das schwerste Gewicht features new
dioramas, drawings, etchings and
ceramics that will band together in an
extraordinary and captivating window
display.
The work has grown from Hunt’?s
fascination with the grotesque and
the ornamental; and is informed by
evolutionary theory, science ction and the
woodcuts and engravings of the Northern
Renaissance.
das scherste Gewicht, or the heaviest
weight, builds on the ‘?Doctrine of Eternal
Recurrence’?. This took the form of a
large, kinetic train set that, in spite of its
wholly fantastic appearance, evokes a
disconcerting set of parallels between a
ctional world and our own.
Provided by Chapter House Lane
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7
A number of exhibitions open at Incinerator
Gallery in Moonee Ponds this weekend
A number of exhibitions open at Incinerator
Gallery in Moonee Ponds this weekend,
including Contemporary Glass: Refracting
a History. A selection of renowned
contemporary artists working with glass
will recontextualise technical and industrial
practices with reference to the origins of
glass and its industrial and scientic history.
The exhibition, running from 7 August – 27
September, will also rediscover the history
of glassmaking in Moonee Valley featuring
images and a history of the ICI Australia
research facility in Ascot Vale operating
during the 1950s and 1960s. Dozens of
glass workers were employed leading to a
community with good knowledge of glass
production and specialist skills to handle
this ancient substance.
Also opening is Narinda Cook’s Play, an
exhibition encouraging play through the
act of making and interacting with art, with
inspiration taken from the philosopher
Rudolf Steiner, children’s art and craft
materials and a rainbow colour palette.
This installation will feature large colourful
forms with spherical bases, responding
to a gentle nudge by rocking back and
forth. The viewer is invited to interact with
the sculptures to create their own path of
movement around the gallery.
Ceasar Sario explores history, storytelling
and environmental issues through a series
of paintings in Now or Never. His narrative
works have bold graphic style and tell the
story of a green earth being destroyed
by successive civilisations. His powerful
images suggest that if we live in harmony
with nature, then nature will provide all that
we need.
Provided by Incinerator Gallery
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7
Finishing up their two week run at SEVENTH Gallery are James Parkinson’s Free Time, Cathyann Coady’s Head Case, Clementine Edwards’ I Looked
the Dog in the Eyes and Terrence Combos’ Rococo Deluxe Units
Provided by SEVENTH Gallery
Provided by SEVENTH Gallery
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Finishing up their two week run
at SEVENTH Gallery are James
Parkinson’s Free Time, Cathyann
Coady’s Head Case, Clementine
Edwards’ I Looked the Dog in the Eyes
and Terrence Combos’ Rococo Deluxe
Units.
Free Time is an evaluation of how
art exists between a site of critical
thought and authenticity and the
functional space external to it. James
Parkinson’s practice investigates
use value, domesticity and the failed
utopic ambitions of the 20th Century.
Head Case is an exhibition that has Morph
(alter ego of try-hard artist Cathyann
Coady) engrossed in a moment of self-
contemplation in order to explore the nature
and absurdity of the sele phenomenon.
Clementine Edwards is a jeweller and
artist. Her work I Looked the Dog in the
Eyes is interested in nihilism and narrative,
and comments on human consumption
and behaviour. Through engagement with
materials and ideas jettisoned by our
culture of convenience, her work meditates
on waste, good taste, consumerism and
aesthetic distraction. Edwards enjoys the
democracy of contemporary jewellery even
though her wearable work dislodges notions
of wearability: the work’s wonkiness upsets
its visual harmony and the historic craft
orbit within which it moves. Through visual
play and the reinterpretation of everyday
objects she interrogates materiality.
Rococo Deluxe Units (an anagram of
‘outsourced lexicon’) takes technologically
mediated language and codes it within grid-
based abstraction. Incoherent sequences
of letters produced by way of the ‘keyboard
mash’ are the source material for an
experiment in allowing autocorrect to make
linguistic decisions. Both keyboard mashes
and their autocorrected counterparts
are embedded within a suite of 24
interconnected grid paintings, culminating
in one large-scale installation.
Finishing up their two week run at SEVENTH Gallery are James Parkinson’s Free Time, Cathyann Coady’s Head Case, Clementine Edwards’ I Looked
the Dog in the Eyes and Terrence Combos’ Rococo Deluxe Units
Provided by SEVENTH Gallery
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The chimes of copper cymbals will resonate throughout the foyer of NGV I
As part of the David Bowie Is… exhibition,
Intermix, ACMI’s program for young people
aged 15-25, is holding Starman: 3D Alien
Design, a workshop on Saturday 8 August.
Using Bowie’s iconic Starman as a starting
point, particpants can make an alien life-
form with leading 3D artist Carl Knox.
Concentrating on skin textures and realistic
colouring, warp your own humanoid 3D
model and render a professional artwork
in this one-day workshop suitable for
aspiring game artists, animators and VFX
artists - or anybody interested in a hands-
on look at the art of VFX. The workshop
is free but interest must be registered to
intermix@acmi.net.au
Melbourne City Ballet brings their magical
neoclassical ballet interpretation of the
William Shakespeare Classic A Midsummer
Night’s Dream to the Clocktower Centre.
It will feature an internationally renowned
cast, dazzling costumes and beautiful sets.
Artistic Director Michael Pappalardo will
take the audience to Shakespeare’s Athens
fairyland to experience magic, mischief and
love. Tickets from $38.50.
8 Aug at 7.30pm
Clocktower Centre, 750 Mt Alexander Road,
Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
www.clocktowercentre.com.au
Provided by NGV
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On the back of a sell-out national tour,
Mikelangelo returns to Melbourne at the
Thornbury Theatre with CAVE-WAITS-
COHEN, his triumphant one-man show that
takes on three of the great poets of popular
music – Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Leonard
Cohen. Only a powerhouse like Mikelangelo
could pull off this iconic trifecta. Having
toured the world to great acclaim from the
Sydney Opera House to London’s West End,
he is one of Australia’s rising stars. Nick
Cave, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen stole
his heart and soul as a young man, and
now he delivers a stirring homage to these
men who set him on his musical path.
The chimes of copper cymbals will
resonate throughout the foyer of NGV
International when renowned Mexican
artist Carlos Amorales presents his
interactive sculptural work We’ll see how
all reverberates, a dynamic suspended
installation which takes the form of three
mobile elements balanced by thirty-ve
copper Zildjian cymbals. Through the use of
musical gongs visitors are invited to strike
the cymbals, producing a chorus of sound
and movement within the space.
Reecting the artist’s interest in the chance
poetics of Dada and the inter-disciplinary
happenings of the Fluxus movement,
We’ll see how all reverberates invokes a
democratic, playful and anarchic impulse,
encouraging audience members to become
actors and performers.
As well as being available to visitors, there
will be a special series of free performances
by jazz students from the University of
Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts,
who will work with the installation to create
improvised compositions of harmony,
chaos, and radical transformation. For
program dates and times see ngv.vic.gov.
au.
Carlos Amorales: We’ll see how all
reverberates will be presented at NGV
International from 8 August – 8 November
2015. Free entry.
New Zealand songwriter Anthonie Tonnon
is releasing his new album, Successor,
at The Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine, after
charming crowds as the support for Darren
Hanlon’s Christmas tour of Australia last
year.
He’ll be joined by Castlemaine locals Luna
Deville - who will also join him on stage for
a number of songs. .
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Monique Barnett’s latest exhibition
Kalopsia is showing at Tinning St Gallery
from 30 July – 9 August. Barnett’s paintings
traverse through the tactile images of the
luscious fashion and gossip magazine.
Models and celebrities that are deemed
to hold marketable value by the paparazzi
and press are framed, captioned, and
airbrushed. These magazines create and
disseminate celebrity beauty and popular
culture. In Barnett’s paintings these gures
are homogenised, no longer identiable
cultural stars, simply well known bodies
and faces inhabiting places beyond the
ordinary. They come together, occupying
a vibrant hyper-coloured sphere where
delusion and beauty contend.
Heide Museum volunteer guide Elle
Hanson looks at the development of
Sidney Nolan’s famous Ned Kelly series
in a history talk at the Heide from 2pm.
Hanson will be talking all things Kelly Gang,
from the paintings’ inception in the Heide I
dining room and their storage in the ‘doll’s
house’ to the series’ place on the gallery
walls. Free with admission to the gallery.
From two continents and two award-
winning playwrights comes an exhilarating
double bill presented by Red Stitch Actors
Theatre: Dead Centre and Sea Wall.
In a rst double bill of its kind for Red Stitch,
this season sees Julian Meyrick direct two
invigorating solo plays with the Australian
premiere of the highly-lauded Sea Wall
by Olivier award-winning Simon Stephens
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-time, Motortown, Birdland), and a
new work specially commissioned by the
Actors Theatre from one of Australia’s most
bourgeoning playwrights with the world
premiere of Dead Centre by Green Room
and AWGIE award-winning Tom Holloway
(Red Sky Morning, Beyond the Neck).
These two beautifully written companion
monologues bring two of the best writers
of the modern stage together to engage a
shared dramatic experience.
In Dead Centre, we meet Helen – played
by Red Stitch ensemble member Rosie
Lockhart. Inspired by a Fosters ad that
seems to follow her on one particularly sad
Tuesday, she books a ight from the UK and
heads for sunny Australia in the hope of
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Strange Fascinations with Clementine
Ford: Clementine Ford takes a look back at
the cult classic Labyrinth as part of a series
of talks for David Bowie Is… Jim Henson’s
1986 Labyrinth introduced Bowie to a new
generation of cinemagoers and is one of
the most loved children’s lms of all time.
Ford will be talking all the quintessentially
‘80s special effects, synth music and
hairdos that helped immerse viewers in the
lm’s fantastical world, and uncover the
underlying symbolism embodied in Bowie’s
portrayal of the iconic Goblin King.
starting again. Haunted by her past, an ex-
husband and a missing father, her search
for solace is interrupted by a confronting
range of emotions. Slowly she begins to
face her past and attempts to move on with
her future.
In Sea Wall, Alex - played by Red Stitch
ensemble member Ben Prendergast
- invites us into his life and all that he
cherishes. Beginning full of possibility he
speaks about his wife, having a daughter,
photography, and the bottom of the sea.
But his contentment falls away into deep
and heart-breaking grief, crumbling to
pieces with a striking vividness.
Dates:
Friday 17 July – Saturday 15 August
Times: 8pm, Sundays 6.30pm,
Saturday matinees 3pm
Bookings: redstitch.net/bookings or
call 03 9533 8083
Tickets: $20
Venue: Red Stitch Actors Theatre,
Rear 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East
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The Belle’s of Broadway With Gina Hogan.
Gina Hogan returns with her warm and
engaging stage presence to regale you
with warm stories from her musical theatre
career spanning shows like The Sound of
Music, Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady.
11 Aug at 11am
Clocktower Centre, 750 Mt Alexander Road,
Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
www.clocktowercentre.com.au
All tickets $22
Over 500 works from the personal collection of
Catherine the Great will travel to Australia as
part of Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The
Legacy of Catherine the Great. Gathered over
a 34-year period, the exhibition represents the
foundation of the Hermitage’s collection and
includes outstanding works from artists such
as Rembrandt, Velasquez, Rubens and Titian.
Exemplary works from Van Dyck, Snyders,
Teniers and Hals will also travel, collectively
offering some of the nest Dutch and Flemish
art to come to Australia.
The exhibition, presented by the Hermitage
Museum, National Gallery of Victoria and Art
Exhibitions Australia, is exclusive to Melbourne
as part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces
series. Catherine the Great’s reign from 1762
The Belle’s of Broadway With Gina Hogan
to 1796 was known as the golden age and is
remembered for her exceptional patronage of
the arts, literature and education.
The Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764
by Catherine the Great and has been open to
the public since 1852. With 3 million items in
its holdings, the Hermitage is often regarded
as having the nest collection of paintings
in the world today. In 2014, The Hermitage
celebrated its 250-year anniversary and
opened a new wing of the museum with 800
rooms dedicated to art from the 19th to 21st
centuries.
Masterpieces from the Hermitage: The
Legacy of Catherine the Great will be at NGV
International from 31 July – 8 November 2015.
Provided by Clocktower Centre
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A new NGV exhibition titled Gods, Heroes
and Clowns: Performance and Narrative
in South and Southeast Asian Art explores
the rich storytelling traditions of the many
countries, ethnic groups and religions of South
and Southeast Asia, using lavishly illustrated
storyteller’s cloths to recite the great Hindu
epics and animated puppet shows to portray
the exploits of local folk heroes and mythical
kings.
More than 50 rarely seen works from India,
Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia will
be showcased, including storyteller’s cloths,
fortyvedownstairs presents Conversations
with the Gods about their Deaths & Other
Matters.
Writer and performer James McCaughey has
an audience with the gods, including Greek,
Christian, Hindu, Indigenous and others. He
spars with them about transience, vulnerability,
change and their presence in a world no
longer their own. Over ve conversations
an intimacy builds. The gods, present and
invisible, dangerous and entertaining, enter the
performance space for a few minutes and leave
traces of their existence.
The show is part comedy, part enquiry, part
epic story-telling, part-pilgrimage, part-pisstake.
Gods who have never spoken to each other
enter as embodiments of the world’s comedy
and tragedy. The Hero, the Diva, the Has-Been,
the Saviour – argue for their lives in their one
last chance.
SEASON: 12-16 August
BOOKINGS: 03 9662 9966 or online at
fortyvedownstairs.com
$30 full, $25 senior, $20 concession
ceremonial hangings, puppets, sculptures,
paintings and masks, which are used in rural
villages, royal courts, temples and modern
urban settings. Many of the pieces form part of
ceremonial and performative traditions which
are still thriving today, revealing complex stories
of myth, history, magic, everyday life, pathos,
bravery and humour, which resonate across
time and space to captivate new audiences.
Gods, Heroes and Clowns: Performance and
Narrative in South and Southeast Asian Art will
be on display in the Rio Tinto Gallery of Asian
Art at NGV International until 30 August.
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The Dark Horse Experiment presents Never
Forget to Remember, an exhibition by Adrian
Doyle. The award-winning artist will be pushing
his well-known critique on the Australian
Suburban lifestyle in his new show Never Forget
to Remember. In this show, Doyle’s personal
suburban experience has been explored
through installation, painting and sculpture.
His playful and iconic paintings have underling
dark and honest portrayal of Doyle’s suburban
experience.
Location: Dark Horse Experiment, 110
Franklin Street Melbourne.
Opening Night: 31st July 2015
Exhibition Dates: 23 July - 15 August 2015
Opening Hours: Wed-Sat 12pm-5pm
Australia’s iconic female singer Grace Knight will be joined by The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra
at the Clocktower Centre as they play an array of songs penned by the greatest songwriters and
composers of our time. Join the soiree as they romance you in a two-part narrative of the class
themes of our time: revelation, intimacy, passion and intensity. Grace and the band will perform
a diverse collection of music from all eras, with the sounds of James Taylor, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray
Charles and Julie London to name but a few.
15 Aug at 8pm Tickets from $29
A sitcom reject set in cyberspace, Virgins and
Cowboys explores how it takes 20-years to
realise your grade two teacher was lying when
she said you could be anything you wanted to
be. Sam meets two women online. They are both
virgins. He decides it would be really interesting
if he were the one to... you know. The one. But
Lane is more than he bargained for and Steph
doesn’t really like him all that much. Then
everything goes to hell when the internet and the
past and present and the future and the stage
smash together and everything falls apart.
Location: Theatre Works, 14 Acland St, St Kilda
Date: 14 Aug 2015 - 23 Aug 2015
Time: Mon to Sat at 8.30pm, Sun 4.30pm
Single Tickets $30/ $20 *Booking fees apply
Australia’s iconic female singer Grace Knight will be joined by The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra at
the Clocktower Centre
Provided by Clocktower Centre
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Fabergé: A Life Of Its Own tells the fascinating
story behind the most prestigious name in
luxury: Fabergé. Enjoying unprecedented access
to the most esteemed private collections, insights
from world experts and interviews with the
descendants of the Fabergé family, this is a rare
opportunity to discover the genius of the family
behind the nest objects ever created.
The event features the extraordinary unveiling of
two historic new pieces – the rst new Fabergé egg
in almost 100 years, and a lost treasure, recently
discovered in America’s Midwest by a scrap
metal dealer – and presents them exclusively to
international cinema audiences, before they return
to the secrecy of their very private collections.
In select cinemas nationally from 15 August.
ACMI’s Intermix presents Gender Rebellion as
part of the David Bowie Is… exhibition. Gender
performativity has been a central theme throughout
David Bowie’s career, with his playful approach to
creating uidly gendered characters and personas
making a profound impact on the way gender and
sexuality are explored in pop culture.
Join writer, advocate and trans activist Fury,
performance artist Reverse Butcher, and feminist
geek Lauren Stardust, as they uncover the
rebellious ways in which Bowie played with notions
of gender, and examine the iconic personas
that allowed him to do so. Touching on their
own experiences, they look at Bowie’s ongoing
inuence on gender identity in pop culture, the
ways he examined gender in performance, and
the deep impact his engagement with notions
of gender and sexuality has had on audiences
worldwide.
Fabergé: A Life Of Its Own tells the
fascinating story behind the most
prestigious name in luxury: Fabergé
Provided by Sharmill Films
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From 20 July – 16 August, head to the Festival
Hub at Fed Square where you will nd expert
information and advice on all things small
business as part of the Small Business Festival.
Albert Tucker: The Truth in Masquerade nishes
on 16 August after a six month showing at
Heide. As a young artist in the 1940s Albert
Tucker’s interest in popular culture drew
him to Melbourne’s colourful entertainment
venues. The Tivoli Theatre, Wirth’s Circus,
and Luna Park were among the vibrant variety
halls and showgrounds that he frequented and
photographed for artistic interpretation in his
paintings. Using theatrical imagery and effects
inspired by the spectacle of live performance,
Tucker commenced a series of works that
point to the dramas and paradoxes of modern
life through notions of masquerade.
Many of Tucker’s best known paintings on this
theme are presented in this exhibition, together
with photographs and related archival material
that convey a sense of the fast-paced cabaret
underlining his carnivalesque vision of society.
Also included are works that explore Tucker’s
little-known involvement in the left-wing New
Theatre productions in Melbourne for which he
designed and painted sets in his early career.
Unfolding across a single scene, Grief and the
Lullaby is a drama of lightness and sensitivity,
examining the quiet moments of connection
that occur between a group of semi-strangers
in a garden at night. This new work explores
what it means to grow apart from those you
grew up with, and the difculty of bridging
that space when you’re drawn together again.
Location: Theatre Works, 14 Acland St, St
Kilda
Date: 14 Aug 2015 - 23 Aug 2015
Time: Mon to Sat 7pm, Sun 3pm
Single Tickets $30/ $20
*Booking fees apply
Tea is the medium of many a complex and
commonplace rituals. Adopted in a variety of
ceremonies and customs across the globe,
its unique and symbolic place in our lives is
subtle and powerful. Presented by Mornington
Peninsula Regional Gallery until 27 September,
Storm in a Teacup considers this powerful brew
and the particular traditions and rituals. Using
early paintings along side contemporary artists’
responses, the exhibition explores the role the
humble cup of tea plays in our everyday lives.
Comprising approximately 50 works including
painting, photography, sculpture and installation
Storm in a Teacup features artists such as Chares
Blackman, John Perceval, Emma Minnie Boyd, E.
Phillips Fox and contemporary artists Stephen
Bowers, Danie Mellor, Penny Byrne, Rosalie
Gasgoigne, Matthew Sleeth, eX de Medici, Anne
Zahalka and Polixeni Papapetrou.
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Rod Schaffer’s photographic series Luna is showing at fortyvedownstairs from 18 – 29 August.
An exploration of our surroundings, the series utilises urban and rural elements of the Australian
landscape as vehicles for how we investigate, interpret and anthropomorphise our environment. The
starting point is pure darkness from which specic objects hold centre stage. They stand alone. They
appear different from our everyday recollection. This nocturnal view allows a fresh assessment to
emerge. No longer “disguised” by daylight, once banal they assume a presence, perhaps a beauty,
not previously associated with them.
Night heightens perception. Our need to understand and our need for familiarity is increasingly critical
yet difcult; an evolutionary consequence. Darkness can be a dangerous place. Each of Schaffer’s
images are the product of hundreds of hours of work. The choice of subject matter and the creation
of sympathetic illumination are central to his practice, resulting in this remarkable and hauntingly
beautiful body of work.
Exhibition details
fortyvedownstairs
45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000`
fortyvedownstairs.com
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 12pm-4pm
Rod Schaffer’s photographic series Luna is showing at fortyvedownstairs from 18 – 29 August
Provided by fortyvedownstairs
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opening at fortyvedownstairs on 18 August is Joe Duggan’s Is This How You Feel?
Provided by fortyvedownstairs
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Also opening at fortyvedownstairs on 18 August is Joe Duggan’s Is This How You Feel?
The exhibition features hand written letters from leading climate researchers outlining
how they feel about climate change. These letters have given scientists the chance to
step away from the clinical and measured prose that is standard in their eld. They have
written with passion, creating letters that are heartfelt and raw. Each letter is hand written
on pieces of paper ranging from crisp, neat letter heads, through to torn scraps from the
recycling bin. One was penned on the back of a half-marked assignment. There will be an
opportunity for exhibition viewers to pen their own letter on climate change and add it to
the discussion.
ACMI has announced Orry-Kelly: Dressing
Hollywood, an up close and personal look
at the life of one of Hollywood’s most
exceptional costume designers. Orry-Kelly:
Dressing Hollywood celebrates the life and
work of one of our most successful exports
to Hollywood – the costume designer from
the small coastal town of Kiama, NSW,
who designed for a staggering 285 lms,
creating countless magical moments in
cinema.
Gifted, garrulous and unapologetic, Orry-
Kelly designed gowns for illustrious lms
including 42nd Street (1933), Jezebel
opening at
fortyvedownstairs
on 18 August is
Joe Duggan’s
Is This How You
Feel?
(1938), The Maltese Falcon (1941),
Casablanca (1942), Auntie Mame (1958),
and Gypsy (1962). He was also the rst
Australian to win three Oscars®, for An
American in Paris (1951), Les Girls (1957)
and Some Like it Hot (1959).
As Chief Costume Designer at Warner
Brothers Studio between 1932 and 1944,
and then later as a designer for 20th
Century Fox, MGM, Universal and RKO,
Orry-Kelly was a major factor in the success
of Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Humphrey
Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Errol Flynn,
Katharine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe,
among many others.
Provided by fortyvedownstairs
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From letters, clippings, paintings, drawings,
archival footage and photographs, to the
spectacular costumes themselves, the
exhibition reects the theatricality and
glamour of costume design from mid-
century Hollywood. It contains objects
loaned from prestigious archives and
private collections to showcase the breadth
and scope of Orry-Kelly’s impact. Orry-Kelly:
Dressing Hollywood is a free exhibition
showing at ACMI from 18 August to 17
January 2016.
Creator, performer and former soccer
player Ahilan Ratnamohan draws from the
sweaty, skilled physicality of ‘the beautiful
game’ in a startling, solo dance-inspired
work: SDS1. Described by Ratnamohan
as a kind of ‘football dance theatre’ with
and without a soccer ball, SDS1 immerses
audiences in the surreal, visceral,
momentous and poetic experience of the
match.
Drawing on his personal experiences as a
player, Ratnamohan delves into the psyche
of the vulnerable warrior of the pitch –
striving, loved, hated, worshipped, scorned
or triumphant. Through sheer athletic
prowess, both with and without the ball,
he extracts the essences, emotions and
From director Kriv Stenders (Red Dog)
comes a quirky assassination thriller Kill
Me Three Times. The lm takes place in
a sun-drenched surng town, where a
charismatic hitman (Simon Pegg, Shaun
of the Dead) is the spark that ignites three
tales of murder, blackmail and revenge. A
preview screening of the lm followed by
cast and crew Q&A is showing at Nova
cinema on Wednesday August 19 at
6.45pm.
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gestures of the game to create a work that
sees the player caught in the performance,
rather than in control of it. With the audience
seated in the round, SDS1 is soccer as
theatre: physically charged, stripped back,
extracted, frozen, repeated and abstracted
– beautiful and ugly at once.
Season Wed 19 – Sat 22 August
Times Wed & Fri 7.30pm,
Thu 6.30pm, Sat 5pm
Address Arts House, North Melbourne
Town Hall, 521 Queensberry
Street, North Melbourne
Tickets Full $30 / Conc $20 / Student $15
Bookings artshouse.com.au
or (03) 9322 3713
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The Thornbury Theatre presents One Velvet Evening, bringing together legendary rock
performer Tex Perkins and multi talented actress, singer Justine Clarke in a celebration
of the songs of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.
Tickets from $40 on thethornburytheatre.com
From the shock of Major Tom’s desertion to Ziggy Stardust’s ve-year deadline to
Armageddon, right through to the grim forebodings of Heathen and The Next Day, Bowie’s
sustained narrative of modern anxiety and impending doom has always set him apart
in the often feel-good world of rock ’n’ roll as we know it. Starting with the storyboards
and video for Bowie’s shelved Diamond Dogs movie project, Strange Fascinations with
Michael Dwyer will springboard into one of the dening themes of Bowie’s catalogue, one
which the man himself once described as his own personal “non-specic nagging fear”.
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Creator, performer and former soccer player Ahilan Ratnamohan draws from the sweaty, skilled
physicality of ‘the beautiful game’ in a startling, solo dance-inspired work: SDS1
Provided by Arts House
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To celebrate the acclaimed exhibition, David Bowie Is, ACMI will present the lm season
David Bowie on Film. The season will showcase over four decades of David Bowie as a
performer, inuencer and consumer of culture from 20 August to 20 September.
The season is presented in three parts; David Bowie is feeling Like an Actor, David Bowie
is asking you to focus on, and David Bowie is watching you. For session times, tickets and
information please visit acmi.net.au/bowie-on-lm.
To celebrate the acclaimed exhibition, David Bowie Is, ACMI will
present the lm season David Bowie on Film.
Provided by ACMI
Provided by ACMI
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The Arab Film Festival Australia (AFFA) is
the only festival of it’s kind in Australia.
AFFA provides a unique opportunity for
cross-cultural exchange, dialogue and
relationship building between Australia
and the Arab communities from around
the world. The AFFA is exclusive to Cinema
Nova in Melbourne. Tickets on sale now
from www.cinemanova.com.au
Learn about the fascinating history of the
Heide Museum, from the early days when
John and Sunday Reed rst purchased
the property to the development of the
heritage buildings and gardens, and its
evolution into a museum of modern and
contemporary art in the History Talk: Heide
Past and Present. Free with admission.
On July 28th, hosts of several of the biggest
and best podcasts in the world will convene
on stage for the inaugural CAST PARTY, a
festive rousing variety show celebrating the
emergence of podcasting as a powerhouse
medium with millions of obsessed fans.
This event will held at the NYU’s Skirball
Center, send live via satellite to hundreds of
movie theatres across North America, and
will be captured live for cinema screenings
in Australia from 22 August 2015.
Podcasts featured include Radiolab, Reply
All, Invisibilia and The Truth. With Special
Guest Lauren Lapkus – improv comedy
podcast created by Orange Is The New
Black star plus music by horn quartet THE
WESTERLIES, dance by COCOON CENTRAL
DANCE TEAM, surprise guests, original
videos, and more. Tickets on sale now from
www.cinemanova.com.au or the box ofce.
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The Essendon Symphony Orchestra
presents Animal Antics Kids' Concert! Kids
will leave singing new tunes having been
inspired by the sounds of the orchestra.
They can even come dressed as their
favourite animal. From the frighteningly
fast 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' by Rimsky-
Korsakov, to music from Swan Lake by
Tchaikovsky.
23 Aug at 2.30pm
Clocktower Centre, 750 Mt Alexander Road,
Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
(03)9243 9191 or www.clocktowercentre.
com.au
All tickets $15
An anniversary screening of the iconic
Melbourne-made black comedy Death in
Brunswick, followed by a cast/crew Q&A
including John Ruane (Writer/Director),
John Clarke (actor) and Zoe Carides (actor),
is showing at Cinema Nova on Sunday 23
August.
Tickets on sale from
www.cinemanova.com.au or the box ofce.
Take a literary tour of the Heide Museum
with volunteer guide Judith Hughes and
discover how John and Sunday Reed
opened their home to aspiring writers and
supported their creative endeavours in the
History Talk: They Also Wrote.
From 2pm, free with admission to the
gallery.
New work in an exhibition titled Julie
Rrap. Remaking the World at the
Ian Potter Museum of Art, University
of Melbourne, examines the creative
process and the notion of the artist as
genius and encourages a poetic and
contemplative reection on dreaming,
the imagination and creativity.
In a major immersive installation, Rrap
considers the Museum’s architecture
and the two spaces in which the
exhibition unfolds as analogous to the
two spheres or ‘worlds’ of the brain.
One gallery, Remaking the World:
artists’ dreaming is transformed into
an ‘asleep’ world, while the second,
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Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner,
directed by Stanley Kramer, is a
comedy-draw that contains a (then
rare) positive representation of the
controversial subject of interracial
marriage, which historically had been
mostly illegal across the USA. Stars
Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn,
Sidney Poitier and Katherine Houghton.
25 Aug at 11am
Clocktower Centre, 750 Mt Alexander
Road, Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
(03)9243 9191 or
www.clocktowercentre.com.au
Tickets $8
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Remaking the World: in her image, becomes
the ‘awake’ world.
Remaking the World: artists’ dreaming
will feature 20 suspended LCD screens
showing contemporary Australian artists
sleeping, including Rrap herself. Visual
artists ponder the real world and remake
it through their own dreaming, perceptions
and artistic realizations. Whilst these
thoughts are not immediately tangible, the
diverse creative output of contemporary
artists are in effect physical manifestations
of dreaming and its possibilities, and the
artists’ ‘remaking the world’ through this
imaginative unconscious state.
Remaking the World runs until 15
November.
Confusion for Three is a new work by
Melbourne choreographer Jo Lloyd
(Future Perfect, 2013), showing at
Arts House from 26 – 30 August.
Confusion for Three shows three
dancers generating hypnotic tension
as they negotiate a progressively
unravelling system of choreography.
Navigating their recent and distant
physical histories from traces of folk
dance to idiosyncratic body rhythms, the
performers reveal a series of desperate
encounters in a destabilising ood of
movement.
Confusion for Three uses complex
choreographic parameters and a set of
highly physical and mentally demanding
tasks to explore the notion of order and
disorder.
The questions remain: can this
confusion be sustained and where does
it lead us?
Confusion for Three is a new work by
Melbourne choreographer Jo Lloyd (Future
Perfect, 2013), showing at Arts House
from 26 – 30 August
Provided by Arts House
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Morning Tea: A Designer And An Artist. Join Liane Rossler, co-founder and former
designer and director of Dinosaur Designs, and artist Melinda Harper in a unique
dialogue at Heide Museum, as they discuss a shared love of abstraction and their
individual approaches to working creatively with shapes, colours, textures and
materials. A viewing of Harper's thirty-year survey exhibition at Heide and a delicious
morning tea from Café Vue is included.
Date: Thursday 27 August, 10-11.30am
Cost: Adult $22, Heide Member/Concession $18
Dinner: Colour Sensation. For the latest in Café Vue's artist dinner series, join
artist Melinda Harper for an exhibition talk and viewing to gain an insight into her
remarkable body of colourful abstract works. The Café Vue chefs will then interpret
the optical vibrancy of Colour Sensation: The Works of Melinda Harper over three
courses with matching wines.
Cost: $130 per person (Includes private exhibition tour, dinner and matching wines)
Bookings through Café Vue Heide: 9852 2346
Dinner: Colour Sensation. For the latest in Café Vue’s artist dinner series, join artist
Melinda Harper for an exhibition talk
Provided by Heide Museum
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Registrations are now open for the
inaugural 2015 St Albans Writers’
Festival, the newest writers’ festival in
Australia focusing on Australian authors
and writing, will take place from Friday
18 September to Sunday 20 September
in the rural setting of historic St
Albans Village, located in the beautiful
Hawkesbury River area less than two
hours drive from Sydney.
This literary event will feature speakers
Jane Caro, Patrick Cook, Nikki Gemmell,
Kate Grenville, Traci Harding, Jean Kittson,
Hugh Mackay, Barry Maitland, PM Newton,
Michael Robotham, Mark Tedeschi, and
other Australian writers.
Full programme information, registration
and writer biographies are available on the
website:
www.stalbanswritersfestival.com.au
Join Sisters in Crime Australia in celebrating
the winners of the 15th Davitt Awards at a
gala dinner. Sophie Hannah, a leading UK
crime writer, will present this year’s winners
at the Thornbury Theatre after discussing
her life in crime with author Angela Savage.
This year a record 96 crime books by
Australian women competed for the
Davitts in six categories: best adult crime
novel; best children’s crime novel; best
young adult crime novel; best true crime
book; best debut book (any category) and
Reader’s Choice (as judged by the members
of Sisters in Crime).
Sophie Hannah is the internationally
bestselling author of ten psychological
thrillers, as well as The Monogram
Murders, the rst Hercule Poirot mystery
to be written and published since Agatha
Christie’s death approved by her estate.
Angela Savage is a Melbourne writer, who
has lived and travelled extensively in Asia.
Her rst novel, Behind the Night Bazaar,
won the 2004 Victorian Premier’s Literary
Award for an unpublished manuscript.
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Joe Avati continues his
Back to Basics World Tour in
Australia at the Clocktower
Centre. See one of the
masters of stand-up comedy
deliver his hilarious stories
of growing up Italian in an
English speaking Country.
29 Aug at 8pm
Tickets $49.90
Dr Anthony White, senior lecturer at the School
of Culture and Communication, the University of
Melbourne, discusses the art practice of Melinda
Harper in Heide Museum Art Talk: Beyond the Present,
from her earliest paintings of geometric shapes on
pieces of found wood or board, to her most recent
large canvases with their brilliant colours and dazzling
formal arrangements. Reecting on the relationship
between Harper’s work and the history of modernism,
Dr White will respond directly to the works in the
exhibition, exploring the expressive vitality of abstract
painting today.
2015 Boite Millenium Chorus – One Africa is a celebration of African music
Provided by TS Publicity
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2015 Boite Millenium Chorus – One Africa is a celebration of African music, from
ancient songs to contemporary fusion at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne on Sunday
30 August. Over 350 voices will ll Hamer Hall with songs, stories, music and dance
featuring the Boite Millennium Chorus and a stellar line-up of supporting artists.
Directed by Lamine Sonko in collaboration with choir director Andrea Khoza, One Africa
is an adventurous vocal journey traversing the ancient African traditions of the Griots
and the colourful fusion of the contemporary African diaspora bringing a message of
unity and connectedness.
Venue: Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Date: Sunday 30 August
Time: 2.30pm
Price: $29 - $125
Bookings: 1300 182 183 or www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
Boadle Hall: Call For Entries. The
Incinerator Gallery’s free community
access space, The Boadle Hall Community
Gallery is seeking applications from local
artists for the 2016 exhibition program.
The Boadle Hall Community Gallery
provides exhibition space to support local
emerging artists, curators and community
groups. Visit incineratorgallery.com for
details on how to apply.
Applications are open from 1 - 31 August.
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Jordana-Lee’s
fashion philosophy
is to “choose well,
spend well, fall in-love
with pieces, create
memories with them,
and then be okay to
pass them on to future
wearers”- this is what
FASHION CONVERSION
can offer to fashion
lovers.
By Chantelle White
Melbourne’s
new PreMiuM
shoPPing event
INTRODUCING
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Image provided by FASHION CONVERSION
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Do you envy the style of Australia’s biggest
bloggers and fashion inuencers? Are there
some high-end fashion pieces that you have
been lusting over for years that you can’t get
your hands on? Do you wish you could
incorporate some amazing designer
pieces into your wardrobe without the
designer price tag? If you answered
yes to any of the above, may I
introduce to you, with great
excitement, FASHION
CONVERSION. This is
Australia’s newest
premium shopping event
that collates high-end and
pre-loved designer pieces from
Australia’s best fashion
insiders. Their rst event
is coming to Melbourne
this August and
provides a platform for
people like you and
I to enjoy a rst-class
shopping experience,
where we can come in and
shop just like fashion’s big names, without
the big price tags.
Jordana-Lee Pearce, founder of FASHION
CONVERSION, can date her love affair with
fashion back to her childhood - when she would
visit her great-aunt and dress up in her The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-style closet.
Jordana recalls putting on her aunt’s court-
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shoes and fancy hats and treating her family
to a performance once she had glamorously
styled herself. Jordana-Lee worked in the
fashion industry for 10 years, and it’s during
this time that she began to see the disconnect
between people’s consumption of fashion
and their appreciation of the garments.
Jordana-Lee wanted to bring
back the delight customers
can have during physical
shopping experiences,
by touching and feeling
quality clothing,
and reconnecting
consumers with
the thrill of nding
something they have
always dreamed about.
But FASHION CONVERSION is
more than this. When I met Jordana-
Lee in a quirky little café in one of Melbourne’s
hidden alley-ways, I could tell that there was a
big point-of-difference with her idea of FASHION
CONVERSION, and it wasn’t long before she
let me in on it. Over a cup of coffee, Jordana-
Lee opened my eyes to what could and should
be the way we consume fashion. Her love
for fashion is deeper than swooning over the
latest trends you see on the quarterly runways.
She believes in a love for fashion pieces that
are timeless and in lusting over a particular
piece because it completely encapsulates your
entire essence. Whether it is from 20 years ago
or was just shown in this season’s look-books,
Jordana-Lee longs for the days when there is
an almost romantic relationship between the
fashion piece and the owner.
Read her blog post about her ‘Cinderella
moment’ when she found a pair of bright
and sparkly Lanvin pumps at
75%-off at Century 21 in New
York City (on her website
www.fashionconversion.
com), and you will start
to understand Jordana-
Lee’s relationship
towards fashion and the
relationship she wants to
inspire in others by helping
them achieve their Cinderella
moments too.
In effect, Jordana-Lee hopes to slow down
this increasingly fast-paced industry and bring
back the nostalgia of shopping for clothes. Not
only this, but she encourages a generation
to be sustainable in their fashion purchases
and practices. In doing so, she is hoping to
re-educate women on ways to shop. FASHION
CONVERSION is about sustainable fashion
whereby you love the pieces you purchase and
when the love affair is over, you pass them on
to someone who will love them again for you. By
bringing back this love for fashion and clothes,
and in particular pre-loved items, Jordana-Lee
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hopes to reduce the number of pieces that
are bought and sit untouched in wardrobes
for years. Jordana-Lee’s fashion philosophy
is to “choose well, spend well, fall in-love with
pieces, create memories with them, and then
be okay to pass them on to future wearers”-
this is what FASHION CONVERSION can offer
to fashion lovers.
THE EVENT
Friday 7th August 12pm-5pm
Saturday 8th August 10am-5pm
Sunday 9th August 11am-4pm
Allpress Studios, Collingwood
The FASHION CONVERSION team have worked
hard to make this event a “retail dream”. They
have collected hundreds of high-quality pre-
loved designer items from Australia’s biggest
names in fashion, and are ready to open the
doors to you so you can come shop, feel, see
and love the pieces. Have your own Cinderella
moment at their rst premium pre-loved
shopping event this August.
WHAT BRANDS TO EXPECT
High-end pieces from brands like Ellery,
Manning Cartell, Gorman, Zimmermann, Marc
Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and
more.
The team at FASHION CONVERSION have
collated pieces from fashion industry leaders
and the stylish women of Melbourne,
including the wonderful Melbourne fashion
blogger Aimee from Aloha Everybody at www.
alohaeverybody.com, and Janelle, stylist and
fashion blogger of A Stylish Affair at www.
astylishaffairblog.com.
WHAT PRICES TO EXPECT
An average price of pieces you will nd at the
event will be between about $50-$250, but
there will be a few exclusive pieces that will fall
outside this price bracket due to their worth.
Everything will be in excellent condition and
the atmosphere will be far from a warehouse
sale nightmare.
You can keep up to date with all things FASHION
CONVERSION
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
fashionconversion
Instagram: @fashion_conversion
I hope to see you all there!
Connect with me! Share your Cinderella
moment piece on Instagram and tag me
@FAIRY_CHELL
Love Chell
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FASHION CONVERSION
is Australia’s newest
premium shopping
event that collates
high-end and pre-loved
designer pieces from
Australia’s best fashion
insiders.
Image provided by FASHION CONVERSION
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Melbourne International Film Festival
(MIFF) is back again and this means the
lm nerds of Melbourne will be searching
through their MIFF programs, circling
their most anticipated lms and hoping
to cram them all in the space of two and
a half weeks. So many lms, so little
time. As a self-proclaimed lm nerd and
MIFF volunteer this year, I have taken it
upon myself to help you do MIFF right
and make sure you get the most out of
this incredible celebration of the moving
image.
This year MIFF has been marketed
around emotions. We all know the
intense feelings and reactions certain
lms can provoke, so this festival time
throw away all pride and succumb to the
powerful impulses that are our emotions.
Let yourself sob during a documentary
that pushes you to think differently. Let
yourself laugh a little too loud during the
comedy about family and growing up. Get
angry about the injustice that is life, and
By Claudia Fitzgerald
MIFF Is Back!
FIlM Nerds rejoIce!
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then feel blessed that you’ve been given the
opportunity to be a part of it. Movies do this
to people, and if you haven’t experienced this,
you’re probably watching the wrong movies.
There is no point continuing to make this
mistake, therefore, now that MIFF is pouring
various #feels into Melbourne. I’ve written a
small list to show you how to watch movies
well:
The rst thing you need to know: don’t be
afraid of subtitles. Some of the best lms I have
ever seen have been foreign lms and I hate to
see people not getting behind them because of
the language barrier. Don’t be lazy, experience
another culture, world and lifestyle. It’s a lot
cheaper than a holiday.
Secondly, documentaries aren’t boring.
Seriously they aren’t! They explore ideas of life,
humanity, love, death and crime; they talk about
the reality of social issues like homelessness
and disease. These lms are informative and
entertaining. They force you to consider others’
opinions as well as authenticating some of your
original ideas. They open our eyes to issues we
think we have a grasp on, when in reality we most
likely don’t. I promise you you’ll learn something
new!
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DOPE is one pick of the
festival this year. Fresh,
exuberant and brilliantly
paced, DOPE is a smart
comedy about a group
of geeks who, through a
series of missteps, end
up with a stash of drugs
that they have to sell in
order to survive. With a
sparkling soundtrack,
including new songs by
Pharrell Williams, DOPE
is energetic and laugh-
out-loud funny.
Thirdly, short lms are the future. Most of
the soon-to-be stars are churning out little lms
to show off their talent and ability. Make sure to
catch some of the absolute gems MIFF has pulled
out of the rubble this year, and you’ll be able to
see where the future of cinema is heading. Also
short lms are, as the name suggests, short, so
there is really no excuse not to swing by and get
your daily dose of creativity and art.
Lastly, take some risks. Don’t go for the lm
that screams Hollywood. Try some lms that will
make you question the way you think, entertain
you in unexpected ways, inspire you to explore
themes of life you haven’t thought about recently
or just make you feel like you’re participating in
something new and unique. It will be refreshing!
Make sure to grab a copy of the program and
have a real think before you begin circling some
of your must-sees.
Tip: head to Cinema Nova in Carlton on Lygon
Street - some of the lms screened there
won’t get an Australian release, so it may be
your only chance to catch them!
Happy MIFFing!
Image provided by Cinema Nova
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Melbourne
Street Style:
Effortlessly cool and stylish Melburnites showed a
different side of themselves in last month’s Street
Style: Comic-con Edition.
Text and images by Andrew Kruspe
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The YouTube Stigma
I’ve been involved in the YouTube community
since charlieissocoollike became a thing way
back when. I thought it was pretty rad that
someone was making videos and getting a
lot of media attention from it - who would’ve
thought a teenager sitting in his bedroom could
be so entertaining? These were the days when
brand deals on YouTube were seen as a rarity
and even a bit taboo, and YouTube networks
were just nding their feet.
Now when I say I was involved in the community,
I was just a consumer at the time and I didn’t
realise how vast the community side of the
website actually was. Fast forward to 2011
and I’d discovered vloggers like Dan and Phil,
By Bree Bacon
ChewingSand, and Jack&Dean. I think you’ll
see a running theme here: they’re all from the
UK. (I LIKE THE ACCENT OKAY.) By the time I
was at University I was toying with the idea of
creating my own channel. I saw people making
all these friends all over the world and having
the most amazing time and I wanted to do that
too. So in August of 2012 I uploaded my rst
video, and it was awful.
Now in 2015, I still upload videos, although
rather infrequently (and hopefully less awful)
due to having a busy schedule IRL. But the
website has changed; it’s far from what it was
back in 2008, and people are making more
money from it than you can imagine. I wouldn’t
be surprised if alongside reghters and police
Andrew Perry - Flickr
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ofcers kids are listing YouTuber as what they
want to do when they’re older.
I feel like the closest industry I could link
YouTube to would be the music industry,
but arguably you can need less talent to be
successful on YouTube. I’d give an example
but I don’t really want to support someone
who makes crappy content on a site I’m so
passionate about, but trust me, there are
people who are getting millions of hits who
create less than mediocre content. Just a quick
disclaimer though, not everyone on YouTube is
talentless, but it’s the only industry I can think
of that has such a high number of successful
individuals who aren’t really
that great at what they’re
doing. But at the same time
there is a massive amount
of people who are creating
brilliant content, so I guess
you have to take the good
with the bad.
There is no denying that
YouTube is a force to be
reckoned with and as
much as there are some
shocking creators out there, there are also
some brilliant ones. There are people who are
starting important conversations about cutting
edge social issues that effect our generation.
There is also an awesome lm making side
of the site and it has been amazing to watch
lmmakers grow from their sketches they were
making seven years ago to the lms and series
they’re creating now.
Now, the YouTube stigma that I am referencing
in the title is actually more than one opinion.
Many people don’t think YouTube is a real job
and those making a living from it should nd
something else to do with their lives. Others
often ask me why I bother making videos
because I don’t get millions of hits every time
I upload. I’ve always found society’s idea that
everything is black or white and clean cut really
strange and interesting, and this translates
into my view on YouTube as well.
I like to believe prank videos aren’t real work,
considering quite often the harmful nature of
the content. But then you look at people who
are making short lms
and getting picked up for
radio shows and think
they are the real jobs! You
see beauty vloggers who
are more than just people
who buy and talk about
products; they are people
who are inspiring young
kids to be comfortable
in their bodies and with
themselves. Zoe Sugg and
Louise Pentland are two beauty vloggers who
are fantastic role models in totally different
ways. There are many amazing activists and
speakers who wouldn’t have had their voices
heard if it weren’t for this platform.
I’ll always see YouTube as my creative outlet,
the place where I can rant about something
that I’m passionate about, where I can try
and share my knowledge on something, or
talk about a new and exciting chapter in my
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life. The people who watch my videos are
like a little family, I get the same people
commenting almost every time I upload, and
it’s nice to know they’re there. I’ve made
some incredible friends from the platform as
well, and I’m heading to England in August to
attend Summer In The City, which is an annual
YouTube convention, to meet up with some
really inspiring and talented people. I’ll be
travelling around England for all of August and
this is all thanks to a little video website.
Contrary to what the media would lead you to
believe, YouTube doesn’t have to be about the
money. Yes, loads of people are making money
from it, but there are also loads of musicians
who are making money from their music while
others are still playing at their local pub every
week for next to nothing. They do it because
they love it, it’s their passion, and surprisingly
enough it’s okay to feel that way about
YouTube. It may just be a website, but it’s also
a community.
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There are so many opportunities that I’ve
barely begun to scratch the surface of in this
article. If you’ve been thinking about starting
a channel, go for it! Nothing is stopping you,
and you can upload whenever and whatever
you want (as long as it is within YouTube
guidelines…).
I’m going to sound super lame but honestly if
it weren’t for this website that so many people
are critical of, I wouldn’t be heading to the other
side of the world, I wouldn’t in a million years
have thought I could do it. My life would be so
different if I’d never started making videos. I
don’t plan on ever making money from what I
upload, I always see things as a stepping-stone
in life, and this is my little stepping-stone to
being able to follow a creative career. Whether
that is writing articles for the next 10 years or
working on events all over the world, I sort of
have YouTube to thank, it opened my eyes up
to this entire creative world that seems to be
hidden if you’re not looking hard enough.
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The Buttery Club is the iconic kitschy paradise
hidden at the end of Carson Place off Little
Collins Street. The club is a treasure trove
of hugely talented performers, with multiple
shows a night of cabaret, music and comedy
from all manner of artists. This MidWinta
festival it’s the perfect place to have a lucky
dip night of entertainment – whether you
choose a rst-time amateur or a seasoned
performer, you won’t be disappointed by the
talent bursting at the seams of the Buttery
Club.
Helen Perris
Helen Perris chose an intimate gig at The
Buttery Club to kickstart her Melbourne tour.
Helen is unexpected, charming and delightful,
leading the audience through a maze lled
with wit, playfulness and emotionally weighty
music. Support act Bronwyn Rose stood out
as a strong companion to Helen, with the
Melbourne-based alt pop, folk and jazz singer
songwriter enchanting the room. Stripped of
her band, Bronwyn’s compositions evoke a
depth of emotion and clarity not often reserved
by someone so young. Her performance
combined her beautiful and melancholic voice
with Philip Glass-esque harmonic progressions.
- Abramo Peghini
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Helen is unexpected,
charming and
delightful, leading
the audience through
a maze lled with
wit, playfulness and
emotionally weighty
music.
Provided by Helen Perris
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Dressed in skin-tight
black lace, Jessica
Papst struts onto the
stage with bottle of
Jack Daniels in hand.
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Only The Good Die Young
Dressed in skin-tight black lace, Jessica
Papst struts onto the stage with bottle of
Jack Daniels in hand. Coupled with her dark
hair and burning eyes, she it the epitome
of a rock’n’roll sex symbol, a fact that is
both complementary to her performance
and ironically contradictory considering
the show celebrates and mourns those
taken too soon to that “great big band in
the sky”. Jessica interprets and embodies
those she commemorates, her strong
voice a chameleon to renditions of Janis
Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and
even Britney Spears that are goose bump
and spine tingle worthy. The highlight is
a performance of Paint It Black that is
astounding – one can’t help but make
the parallel of Jessica’s talent with those
of the artists she is commenting on: what
will her fate be?
Combined with commentary on the
vulnerability of the musicians’ lives
punctuated by swigs of whiskey, Only The
Good Die Young is a poignant performance,
heavy with emotion and lled with talent.
- Zoe Winther
Provided by Jessica Papst
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Gender Spanner
Taking a step out of the cold streets into the
kitsch, warm and charming Buttery Club I nd
myself greeted by a smiling Jessica McKerlie
hovering next to a corkboard covered in post-
it notes emblazoned with a multitude of labels
ranging from ‘funky’ and ‘professional’ to ‘slut’
and ‘loser’. Jessica asks if I like ants. Having been
to a few alternative theatre experiences a bolt of
fear shoots down my spine as I imagine at some
point tonight I’m going to have ants thrown at me
in some spectacular and bizarre statement. Still
armed with this fear I casually answer positively.
Doesn’t fortune favour the brave?
The performance starts strongly with a striking and
hilarious dance routine choreographed to Girls
Just Want To Have Fun, awkward outt change and
all. Jessica has some serious comedy chops. In a
world where anyone with an Internet connection
and a web cam fancies themselves a comedian,
it’s refreshing to see someone who has an inkling
of timing.
Another song starts and I look up to see a ukelele
in her hands. I have a ash of panic: so many times
before I’ve heard the off-key sounds of uninspired
uke, but I am happily surprised. Not only is Jessica’s
voice a delight to listen to; her lyrics are genuine
and human, hilarious and despondent.
Jessica has a vulnerability beneath her intense
condence, a deep sadness underlying her humour.
Her message of traversing gender stereotypes and
the hurt that can come from labels is clear and
nuanced, but her piece delves deeper - perhaps
without her even realising it - leaving the audience
to cherry pick from the smorgasbord of emotion
Jessica leaves them as she bounces off stage
wearing nothing but a few strategically placed
post-it notes.
- Abramo Peghini
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Not only is Jessica’s voice a
delight to listen to; her lyrics
are genuine and human,
hilarious and despondent.
Provided by Jessica McKerlie
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Jo Davenport's
Exquisit Beauty
i Simplicity
By Alexandra Keefe
Jo Davenport’s work is an expression of her surroundings. Her
current exhibition, “A Natural Response,” is an abstract, colourful
re-imagining of the serene countryside near her home in Albany.
Davenport doesn’t travel far for inspiration; she nds exquisite
beauty in simplicity. A blossom tree outside her studio, light falling
over the Murray River, and the sun rising and setting all feature in
her work. Through her art, Davenport invites the viewer to share
her love of her hometown.
Upon entering the exhibition on Flinders Lane, the viewer is hit
with an explosion of colour. Davenport’s palette is refreshingly,
unapologetically bright. Intense reds, yellows and pinks are
slapped across large-scale canvasses, working in harmony
against softer backgrounds of pale blue and mauve. Some works,
like “Pink Field”, ll every inch of space with colour, and lack a
central focal point. Others, like “Deadly Pink,” are reminiscent of
the Japanese calligraphers Davenport so admires. She achieves
this resemblance through the use of daintier lines, stricter form,
and more restrained colours.
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Wishing to move away from any association with
impressionism, Davenport says that her intent
was not to capture the feeling connected to the
subject, instead, she uses colour to capture
the memory of what she paints. Davenport
takes inspiration from 19th Century artist
Caspar David Friedrich, a surprising choice,
given his reputation as a romantic landscape
painter best known for subdued, eerie scenes.
However, there are clear nods to Friedrich
in Davenport’s work. In many of Friedrich’s
paintings, a diminutive gure is swallowed up
by the landscape. In Davenport’s works, the
viewer is made to feel miniscule through the
overwhelmingly bright colour and sheer size of
the works.
Initially, the viewer may feel that the works are
unpredictable in shape and form. The very title
of the exhibition suggests that the works are
entirely spontaneous. Davenport’s paintings
radiate an unstoppable energy, which is
perhaps the main reason she has become so
successful.
However, it is important to note the very
deliberate technique the artist uses. She has
said she spends more time studying the blank
canvas than actually painting. It is this that
gives her lines such a deliberate force upon
the canvas. Davenport also layers the oil paint
thickly, creating rst one layer and allowing
it to dry before creating another. She uses
only the nest Belgian linen canvasses, and
primes them herself using rabbit-skin glue.
This ancient technique gives her the nest
possible base for the oil paint. These brightly
pigmented, heavily layered colours are raised
up from the canvas like braille, almost inviting
the viewer to run a hand along the canvas.
Davenport has enjoyed a happy working
relationship with Flinders Lane Gallery (FLG)
since 2012. It was there that she displayed her
rst solo exhibition after graduating from the
VCA in the same year. The exhibition sold out,
and Davenport has been exhibiting with FLG
in the years since. While the exhibition space
at FLG is small, it is well-lit, and the works
are beautifully hung. This offers the public a
cohesive viewing of “A Natural Response.” For
abstract art lovers keen for a surprising pop of
colour, the exhibition is denitely worth a visit.
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Artist Profile
Alice Stephens
I am a cinematographer/photographer
based in Melbourne, Australia. I am 23
years old.
Photography to me is capturing not only
a moment in time, but also a moment
caught for a second that will never happen
again. Photography is an extremely
powerful medium that can turn heads
all over the world from different cultures
and backgrounds: it is a language of its
own and that to me is powerful in itself. I
shoot on 35mm and 120mm lm for the
aesthetic and also due to the fact that you
only have a certain number of shots which
makes every shot precious and handled
with care. There is order everywhere, often
it’s seen when we don’t mean to help it, but
there is something beautiful in it when it
takes a turn and imbalance can be found.
In most of my photos I follow a theme of
order, symmetry and balance within the
frame. The rest is up to the audience to
discover and interpret as they wish.
To view more of Alice’s photo’s and lm
work or to buy any of her work visit her
website at alicestephens.net.
Text and Images By Alice Stephens
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What happened to the subcultures, the
weirdos, the Avant guard? When did the big
light get icked on and we all scuttled away
like so many bugs in the night?
When I was growing up there was a
cacophony of weird scenes you could
indulge in, from the goths fading through
the darkest nights in dingy industrial clubs,
to the cyber geeks living out their Matrix
fueled fantasies, to the indie kids with one
foot in the world of Hendrix and the other in
a My Bloody Valentine binge.
We were at each other’s throats. Sometimes
we fought with each other and sometimes
we crossed over our status quo boundaries.
But we were diverse. If you wanted to dress
head-to-toe Steampunk, there was a group
for you. All black and Nine Inch Nails? You
had a place to go. Surf rats, skaters, band
nerds; we all had our cliques, fashions and
spaces.
I look around now and I see extremely broad
cultures with people in a race to regurgitate
fashion, themes and art.
I hardly want to come off as a grumpy old
man and credit should be given to the
multitude of young innovators pushing art,
design, fashion and music to new heights,
Freaks
Geeks
&
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as well as the small closed groups of people
who are the genesis of the new cool.
The problem seems to be with the trickle
down to the masses. More and more are
we losing our courage.
A lot of people would blame social media,
or alienation, or whatever new buzz word
some stodgy baby boomer has coined in
an effort to scare the aging population.
Maybe as a generation we have a great
need to close ranks and not rock the boat
within our heady group. We have been
left aoat by our predecessors; facing
energy crisis, environmental collapse and
nancial hardship, but we shouldn’t let our
circumstances suck the diversity out of us.
It is diversity that helps us grow stronger,
to help us see the world in new eyes and to
teach us to see the sameness through our
differences.
So the next time you feel like you’re being
judged by being you, say to hell with
everyone and let your freak ag y. Throw
yourself into your obsessions; you never
know how much it could help in the future.
Photo by Andrew Kruspe
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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By Kate Britton
Sydney-based painter Margaret Ackland describes her
new body of work as ‘accidental history’. Departing from
her traditional oils, The Watercolour News is an iterative
series of hundreds of watercolours, mostly A5 and smaller.
The turn to watercolour, she says, came as a result of a
deadline prohibitive of the time an oil painting needs to
dry. It turned out to be a productive constraint, setting the
artist off on a more than year-long creative obsession.
It begins at 6am every day with Ackland at a large dining
room table in her wide-fronted terrace, reading the
newspaper. The project began around the time Fairfax
cut their photographic staff, a trend Ackland – like many
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– nds disturbing. She began to paint from
the journalistic images in the newspapers
in front of her – one piece of card per
day. There is no rigid system to her choice
of subjects; rather she responds to the
particular topics presented to her. Some
days its news, some social snaps, and some
sports – bodies in motion have long been
fodder for artists. The often unintentional
juxtapositions that occur in news media
ultimately become Ackland’s subject,
informed by her abiding interest in politics
on both a local and global scale.
It’s something of a performance, Ackland
muses. She likens her daily process to
word association – the free ow of ideas
and intuitive selection and assemblage
of her material. The Watercolour News is
undoubtedly an archive, but it is inected
with Ackland’s life. The images painted
from newspapers are interwoven with more
personal and serendipitous encounters
– people who’ve caught Ackland’s eye on
the streets of Redfern; her mother and
grandchild; workmen and the seemingly
constant construction that pervades inner
city Sydney. These images and moments
make up the tapestry of a life, with no two
people ever likely to compile the same
litany of images.
Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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This archival impulse is nothing new for
Ackland, who has been exploring the trace
and relic of human experience for more
than 20 years. Whether through landscape,
watercolour or her acclaimed series of
painstakingly rendered images of historical
garments, her practice has been one of
unearthing and assembling these patchy,
intimate and ephemeral histories. The
largely monochromatic watercolours that
compose The Watercolour News are but
one history among many. They represent
Ackland’s own movement through the
world, inevitably a hash of the global and
public events of the news and the comings
and goings of her daily life, the inseparable
blend of macro and micro narratives that
compose our experience.
One large frame of some 30 smaller works
catches my eye across the dining table. It
contains Ackland’s output from April 2014.
The faces of Peter Greste and Gillian Triggs
look out into the distance. Images of the
schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko
Haram mingle with those of ANZAC Day in
Australia. The search for missing Malaysian
airlines ight 370 pervades the series.
Among these are images of Ackland’s
mother and granddaughter and the faces
of her neighbourhood. The renderings are
deft and lively, full of movement and faces
caught in action. As an archive it is very
touching; the record of a complex and often
frightening world couched in the intimacies
of a life lived within and sometimes in spite
of this world.
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The Encroaching
Suburban Nightmare
As I have gotten older, I have watched vast
farm yards gradually being gobbled up
by the relentless nightmare of the urban
sprawl. As the Australian dream slowly
fades into obscurity, the want to have it has
become an obsession to the new families
moving in.
Even when the dream seems horrifying.
With demand so great to own a house, the
humble farm has suffered. Once there were
cows and sheep that frolicked in the elds.
Now the four bedroom with twin garage has
replaced them. The family car has replaced
the tractor, the stable is now a supermarket
and the dirt track is now a planned, boring
walking track winding to nowhere.
There is something to said about going to
the middle of nowhere to star gaze. But as
more people demand cheap housing, the
rolling hills give way to freeways and estates,
and the morning mist is now morning
smoke from the shops they dumped there.
But fear not dear reader, if you yearn for
the the endless blue sky and crave vast
open ranges there is still hope. For about
an hour drive from Pakenham is a beautiful
paradise of wonder of yet untouched land
by greedy estate companies.
By Andrew Kruspe
TAYLOR149 - Flickr
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By Zoe Winther
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SOLOMON’S NOOSE
- STEVE HARRIS
Solomon’s Noose tells the story of young
convict, Solomon Blay, who became Her
Majesty’s hangman in Van Diemen’s Land
- the man who personally had to deliver an
Empire’s judgment on 200 men and women
- and endured his own noose of personal
demons and demonisation in order to
survive. The book paints a vivid picture of
the society and poverty from which Blay’s
character was forged in England and the
desperate, brutal nature of being a convict
in Van Diemen’s Land. Solomon’s Noose is an important
book in exposing the dark underbelly in the formation of modern Australia.
The Author
Steve Harris has 30 years experience in journalism, print and online publishing. He
is the only person to have been editorial head of both of Melbourne’s major media
groups: The Herald and Weekly Times Group and The Age.
HYPERION - DAN SIMMONS
Set in the far future Hyperion tells the tale of seven pilgrims on their way to see the
terrifying and mysterious creature on the planet Hyperion. This novel is exquisitely
written as a modern Canterbury Tales as the pilgrims tell their stories and learn
what ties them to their dark fate. Simmons was lauded for his masterful blending
of literature and sci- as well as crafting a world that’s familiar to both sides of the
reading world.
Sharp-eyed readers will pick up on all the little references from the giants of the sci-
world, with clear inuence from William Gibson within the pages. Hyperion is the rst
book of Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos that spans four books. The rst is a must read,
and the second if only to complete the story, but the last two in the cantos could be
missed by everyone but the biggest fans of Simmons’ universe.
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OUTBACK PANTRY -
LYNTON TAPP
Lynton Tapp captured
Australia’s hearts as runner-
up on MasterChef Australia in
2013. Dubbed the ‘Stockman’
on the show, this 27-year-old
cattleman-turned-chef has a
love of cooking that is inspired
by the outdoors and the
paddock-to-plate experiences
of his childhood. Now Lynton brings the tastes
of the outback pantry to you in his wonderful new cookbook, Outback
Pantry: Food And Stories From Outback Australia.
The food of the Northern Territory is a melting pot of mouth-watering
avours, from the spices of Asia to the bush foods of the outback. Outback
Pantry showcases these avours in a fantastic collection of Lynton’s
modern Australian recipes that are easy to create at home.
With its thriving outdoor markets, vibrant food festivals and award-winning
restaurants, the Northern Territory is now rmly on the map for intrepid
foodies. From the tropical Top End to the atmospheric Red Centre, and all
the way to the top of Katherine Gorge, this amazing region offers unique
and memorable culinary experiences like no other. In Outback Pantry,
Lynton brings together the incredibly diverse avours of this beautiful
territory, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the farmers and
producers who work so tirelessly to bring its bounty to Australia and beyond.
Published in hardback with fantastic food and landscape photography,
Outback Pantry is a true taste of life in the outback.
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DONATE NOW
makeawish.org.au 1800 032 260
Liam, 6, diagnosed with large cell lymphoma,
wished to go to a diamond mine.
They create hope for the future, strength to battle life-threatening illness and
joy from their unique once in a lifetime wish experience. Help us unleash the
incredible power of wishes by donating today!
To seriously ill children
around Australia, wishes
are powerful.
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Make-A-Wish Advertisement FA.pdf 1 4/09/14 12:41 PM
DONATE NOW
makeawish.org.au 1800 032 260
Liam, 6, diagnosed with large cell lymphoma,
wished to go to a diamond mine.
They create hope for the future, strength to battle life-threatening illness and
joy from their unique once in a lifetime wish experience. Help us unleash the
incredible power of wishes by donating today!
To seriously ill children
around Australia, wishes
are powerful.
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Make-A-Wish Advertisement FA.pdf 1 4/09/14 12:41 PM
To seriously
ill children
around
Australia,
wishes are
powerful.
They create hope for the future,
strength to battle life-threatening
illness and joy from their
unique once in a lifetime wish
experience. Help us unleash the
incredible power of wishes by
donating today!
DONATE NOW
makeawish.org.au
1800 032 260
AGNETA EKHOLM
Unfold
By Andrew Gaynor
As non-objective abstraction celebrates its centenary, its offspring
have become the ultimate shape-shifters embracing everything from
the purity of all-white canvases through to vast webs of gestural
paint, with many patterns and grids in between. It has been at
the forefront of Modernist theory (courtesy of Greenberg, Donald
Judd and Rosalind Krauss), the boot-boy for the cynical ironies of
Post-Modernism, and now –full circle – nds itself at the core of
Metamodernism. It was also the herald chosen to launch the new
building of the National Gallery of Victoria almost fty years ago. Yet
in spite of this rich history, abstraction’s reception in Australia has
always been more grudging than the otherwise easy consumption of
illusionary realism. Luckily, such hindrance is of little consequence
to its creators and devotees.
One of these is Agneta Ekholm. Her training encompasses the rigour
of the Finnish art school system (which had core electives in stretcher
building and the making of watercolours) before further research as
a student in Melbourne. What this alludes to is that materiality and
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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structure in a painting are as crucial for
Ekholm as is the nal resolution. And here,
it should be pointed out that even though
her paintings have their roots in post-war
Modernism, they are more accurately
informed by the tenets of Formalism. ‘In
the classic modernist trajectory abstract
work was meant to work through to a nal
essence or truth and expire.’1 (my italics)
This is the nihilist contradiction that lurks
within the argument for if the end is
reached, what is left but mere replication?
Formalism, by comparison, analyses and
compares form and style – the way objects
are made and their purely visual aspects. It
emphasises compositional elements such
as color, line, shape, texture. In Ekholm’s
work, we nd faint echoes of artists such
as Pierre Soulages, Morris Louis or Helen
Frankenthaler but we also nd the emphatic
presence of Ekholm herself, her mastery of
tone, her distinctive application of paint,
her celebration of colour and her innate
understanding of form.
Bearing meditative titles such as
Slipstream, Winter Reections and Reveal,
Ekholm’s current paintings comprise
subdued blues and greens augmented
by muted oxide yellow. Patches of bare
canvas are also left revealed and it is
visual punctuations like these that signal
her technical prowess. For any canvas to
be left raw at the painting’s conclusion, it
must be left raw for the whole journey of
creation. This is a delicate balancing act yet
Ekholm uses no preparatory drawing as an
armature to guide her strokes, the process
being entirely intuitive instead. Such is her
control after two decades of dedicated
painting that Ekholm knows instinctively
when the canvas should remain bare. She
eschews brushes for sharp edged sponges
and applies solid paint before she removes
it again. Thus, it is reductive painting
rather than accumulative. It allows for the
retention of crisp edges whilst supporting
muted, even distressed, surfaces as the
paint is stripped back to reveal the linen’s
weft and weave. Such precise technique is
not gauche trickery nor simply an artist’s
schtick, for the visual tension that such
an strategy of absence creates within a
painterly eld is just as riveting as any
overwrought gestural slab of pigment.
Ekholm’s paintings in Unfold are composed,
resolute and masterly. They demonstrate a
steady progression from her last exhibition
at Flinders Lane Gallery in 2013 and, above
all, reveal an artist at the top of her game.
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Provided by Flinders Lane Gallery
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Seeking some comfort food? Risotto is your best bet! The richness
and the creaminess of this Italian dish will warm you up this winter!
Zucchini, thyme and Parmesan risotto
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
• 1 onion
• 2 zucchinis
• 25 g of butter
• 240g Arborio rice
• 15cl white wine
• 1 chicken stock
• 500ml water
• Thyme
• Olive oil
• 50g cream cheese
• 50 g parmesan
By Zoe Winther
Text and images by Mary Maurel
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DIRECTIONS
1. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium stock pot, then reduce heat to a
low simmer.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion chopped and
cook for 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the rice and cook for another 2
minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted. Add the white wine and
keep stirring.
Gradually ladle in simmering vegetable stock, stirring continuously for 10 minutes.
Risotto will become “creamy” and slightly sticky, yet still rm in the center, or al
dente.
1. In the meantime, grate the zucchinis and cook them in a frying pan with a
bit of olive oil. Once cooked, add some thyme.
2. When almost nished, stir in the zucchinis, adding stock as needed and
stirring continuously for another 8 minutes. Stir in cream cheese and
parmesan just before serving. Divide risotto among 6 bowls, sprinkle with
remaining cheese, and season with pepper to taste.
Want a twist in your pancakes? Add some
coconut and bananas! With a cup of tea,
these pancakes are the perfect treat that
will warm you up during cold afternoons!
Banana and Coconut pancakes
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4-6
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose our
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 cups of gratted coconut
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄4 cup butter, melted
• Coconut butter (for frying)
• 1⁄3 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, sift or stir together our,
sugar, coconut and baking soda.
2. Combine bananas, buttermilk, eggs and
butter; stir into dry ingredients just until
moistened.
3. In a large skillet or griddle, melt just
enough coconut butter over medium
heat to coat the surface of the pan.
4. Pour in about 3 tbsp of batter for each
pancake; cook the pancakes, for 1-1/2
to 2 minutes on one side or until tiny
bubbles appear on the surface and
the bottom is golden brown.
5. Flip and cook the second side for
about 1 minute or until golden.
6. Once done, topped them with
some chocolate sauce and
walnuts, and enjoy!
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Banana and
Coconut pancakes
Banana and
Coconut pancakes
OUR AUGUST
PLAYLIST
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Tiny Little Houses - Easy
kev. - Bubble Bath
Ta-Ku Ft. Alina Baraz - Down For You
Big Scary - Organism
Raava Ft. Paris Jones - Save Face
Iron Galaxy - Came And Went
Airwolf Ft. Stahsi - Lose The Crazy
Electric Mantis - Pixel Wave
The High And Mighty Brass Band - Acid Washed Jeans
Twisty Knobs - Abject
Jaala - Hard Hold
Oscar Key Sung – Skip
Major Lazer - Lean On (Kream Remix)
Galantis - Runaway (U & I ) (Gioni Remix)
Don’t forget, you can connect with us on
SoundCloud @MelbourneMagazine
to keep up-to-date with all of favourites throughout the month.
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