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Melbourne attempted summer in October but has dropped back to Autumn mode this month. My home town is as excellent and unpredictable as ever. I have begun a series of drawings that deal with fuzzy geography, mobility, routes and being pleasantly lost. The latter I am rather familiar with. Whilst drawing over summer I also rekindle old friendships and prepare for exhibitions in 2002. The first show will open Saturday 18.30(6.30 pm) on 2/2/2002 Rotunda Gallery 195 Suriwongse Road. Bangkok. Thailand.
Manila and Melbourne shows are planned for April and September. I hope to set up a studio once again in S.E. Asia for the first half of 2002. Myanmar is a possibility but first I must survive the Australian bar-b-que frenzy over the festive season. My next communique will be in January on my way to Thailand. During late September I travelled to New York and L.A visiting major galleries as well as commercial spaces. My flight from Washington to N.Y. flew me directly over the damaged site of the world trade center. Not a pretty site. N.Y and indeed all America is deeply scarred.
It is now October and I have returned to Australia, first stop is Sydney where I shall try to re-acclimatize to a relaxed southern hemisphere mode of living. My next studio space will most likely be in Castlemaine Victoria where I intend to work until the end of the year. Then in 2002...????? Amsterdam is in summer mode, excitable and ultra busy in the centre. Locals are all leaving for their holidays while the tourists are flooding in. I have given myself a little break here after the past year of numerous exhibitions and much of travel. I consider further shows in S E Asia and also here in Europe. Visits to Berlin and Barcelona are on the agenda to see galleries and assorted friends. To complete my time in Europe I will plant myself north of Barcelona on the outskirts of Ripoll in a studio/residency run by a Scottish artist. Johnny McGuinness has many years of travel, teaching and art under his belt so the man is a fine host for anyone interested in a cosy Spanish sort of artistic retreat in the foothills of the Pyrennes Mountains.  My Amsterdam and Paris exhibitions are both up and running. The Antarctic theme both confuses and entices the gallery visitors. Two recent works entitled BASE have been very well recieved. Finally Spring has arrived in Europe so some warmth is to be found. Museums, cafes, gardens and various sites are filling up with people while I stay rather busy in the studio working on new ideas and planning a short trip to London. Before I know it my time at this excellent Paris studio will end then I relocate to Amsterdam to consider my next move.
Settling into the Cite' Internationale des Arts has been simple as my studio in the complex is ideal. I am working on a small series of Antarctic works to possibly show here in Paris or perhaps Amsterdam. This month will be spent in the studio hard at work preparing for the two shows. Late May and June I hope to be able to have a good look around the Paris galleries and museums. Springtime in Paris for me is unstable weather and solitary studio time.....far from romantic.
My time in Asia is almost over. The last three months in China were spent primarily in two studios collecting and creating new ideas and new art works. During March my studio was on Lamma Island, close to Hong Kong Island but far less smog to drag-on. I will miss the stunningly elegant bank of China skyscraper, the aroma of insence wafting out of tiny temples and drinking dragon fruit juice under the gaudy neon of Wan Chai. I may even miss the not so lovely skysraper delightfully nicknamed "the building of 1000 arseholes". Time to relocate to Paris now for the European exhibitons.  i have reached Hong Kong. The Antarctica S.S.S.S.S.I. exhibition opened on the 6th jan. with a fine short speech c/o the Australian Consulate General. I search for a studio here in this manic magacity. The thick smog and constant jack hammer street music is a little exhausting but Hong Kong certainly can keep me visually happy for a while. I hope to visit mainland China but first must plant myself somewhere, somehow, somewhat soonish.  The Chinese lunar new year has arrived in Hong Kong, sadly too much smog and fog to really enjoy the fireworks display but celebrations certainly went on as usual. Farewell Dragon and hello year of the Snake. My exhibition here has another 2 weeks to go at John Batten gallery. The Antarctic theme has intrigued those who have visited so far and the press have also come to the party. January has seen me 25 storeys high in a temporary studio working on an assortment of pictures, from large banners to small drawings on handmade vietnamese paper.
Asialink has kindly decided to fund my time in Hong Kong with a grant enabling me to rent a good studio and focus totally on my artwork. I shall be spending a part of February visiting galleries and cities in the region. March will see me in total studio mode creating a new body of work to be possibly shown in Paris or Amsterdam. This Asialink project is supported by Arts Victoria and the Australia Council, the Federal Goverments arts funding and advisory body. |