INTRANSIT 2023
DECEMBER
Carolina and I have been spending time fixing an old house in order to make a new home. The list of things to do, repair, change and sort out is extremely large but we slog away at it. On occassion we wander down to the local Hotham River and once we even drank beers in the pub all of which does not quite make us locals yet. This could take some time and a bit more engagement. I am still flabbergasted by the concept of having something called a home. This will take some time for me to adjust and actually feel homely. Our adode in Boddo is about as old as me so its a bit run down and needs a few things fixed so I try my best at home repairs with my rustic bush carpenter skills and limited tools. My brain and body are not feeling very Boddingtonian as my native home has been a rucksack for many decades so this new mode will be tricky to settle in.
The Antarctic magazine - Antarktikos #2 Light and Shadow. Is a delight to anyone interested in that large chilly white continent just south of Australia. In this issue you will find many fascinating articles as well as art including my series A GOOD DAY TONIGHT which I created at Mawson Station over the winter of 2009 This work is like a colour calendar dipicting the grind of winter time. Mapping the dark shades of the long Antarctic night with metallic tones embedded into the sunless days. Tracks of sewn thread meander across the grid structure of each work like the tracks of a Haaglund vehicle off on a expedition. Wandering and wondering thoughts plod across dark grids of “doing a winter.” An exploration of the strong feelings born from living in a place where time seems to be very naughty. This series sits in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery collection in Hobart.
The Antarctic magazine - Antarktikos #2 Light and Shadow. Is a delight to anyone interested in that large chilly white continent just south of Australia. In this issue you will find many fascinating articles as well as art including my series A GOOD DAY TONIGHT which I created at Mawson Station over the winter of 2009 This work is like a colour calendar dipicting the grind of winter time. Mapping the dark shades of the long Antarctic night with metallic tones embedded into the sunless days. Tracks of sewn thread meander across the grid structure of each work like the tracks of a Haaglund vehicle off on a expedition. Wandering and wondering thoughts plod across dark grids of “doing a winter.” An exploration of the strong feelings born from living in a place where time seems to be very naughty. This series sits in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery collection in Hobart.
A GOOD DAY TONIGHT. x 30 works. 40 cm X 40 cm each. Acrylic, cotton thread on Belgian linen. Collection of Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
It is soon the festive season so time to be festive. Off you go. Do some fun, be friendly to all and we shall see you in 2024.
OCTOBER
We spent the month of September in the small town of Beverley installed in the old train station built in 1886. This historic building is now the cultural hub of the town. A small gallery, garden, cafe, outdoor theatre stage and a popular artist residency program has transformed the building into the Beverley Station Arts centre. Beverley is about 130 kms east of Perth and one very cute and relaxed town. In the past it was a busy transport stop for trains running between Perth to Albany. The last passenger service ended in 1975 then the station continued as a freight depot for many years and was considered for demolition in 1982 but was luckily saved by conscientious towns people. Now the lovely restored building is very active and the pride of the town. We were lucky to stay in the station masters quarters as Carolina was the official artist in residence. We kept ourselves pretty busy chasing locals to capture their portraits and watching the odd cargo train rumble by just outside the window. The Beverley Station Arts team were very supportive, cheerful and organised so Carolina and I wish to applaud and recommend this residency program to artists interested to visit the wheat-belt of West Australia.
I was watching the TV recently and it seemed clear that many humans hate each other a great deal, alot of humans really hate themselves and the gods seem to unanimously hate all humans. On social media the same can be seen. I know that we humans are extremely fragile, scared, angry and feel very special but can we somehow please get our act together and work together? I really try to see the positive aspects of the human experiment and to be optimistic but the astronomical number of really awful, insanely greedy and dangerously stupid humans is almost impossible to ignore. One can only hope for the best. Maybe I should just turn off all social media and the TV. Someone said awhile ago - “TV is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people who you would never invite into your home.”
My 9th solo exhibition at the marvellous Short Street gallery in remote Broome opened on October 13th. - INLANDISH - consisted of both very large and very small works. The title of the show was derived from a set of small panoramic works presenting abstract notions of trekking with numerous pairs of legs both above and below the landscape. Strolling along, under, in, out, up, down and all over textured, mixed-media lands. One day I may stroll right off the map or be consumed by the land or perhaps I am already? I wish to thank Short Street Gallery for once again presenting a small fragment of my personal, pedestrian passions created while on my artistic pilgrimage.
|
|
|
I was also in Broome to relocate our collected belongings and to say good bye to one of the better studios I have had. The Broome green shed studio was large, operational and extremely hot but I did create much work there over many years. Things do change and it is time to move south. Bye bye Broometime until next time.
After much looking and many complications Carolina and I now have a base in a small town called Boddington about 130 kms south east of Perth in West Australia. This is an extremely odd feeling for me as the concept of owning land and having an actual home is something I have never ever actually considered. But here we are in “Boddo” on the Hotham river. Population approximately 2000. Nearby there is a large gold mine and much more that I do not know about. First chore will be to focus on making a garden and creating a homely home but do not fear as the rucksack will not be discarded. I imagine that a few more journeys will happen but I just don't know yet exactly when, how, where or why.
AUGUST
Detail - Current Tidings-No place mat. 2023 (Fiji)
The finissage for the Duavata exhibition at Lancaster press Fiji.
It seems that the common Fijian phrase “Bula” which I personally uttered hundreds of times during our residency is not just a simple “hello” but really is a term that wishes the person you are greeting with “life”. I do like this idea and may try to adopt this phrase somehow by wishing everyone I meet - a good life or to enjoy and address life in general as life is a rather odd and a very special phenomena. I often forget this fact.
The six weeks at Lancaster Press Fiji slipped away and has now morphed into memories and a short four minute video. I attempted to cram what three artists did into this minuscule time frame as best as I could. FIJI FILM. Bye bye to Fiji. Bula bula!
https://vimeo.com/845621926
Then it was a pit stop in Sydney. A pretty city where I know a few people but time was short as always and I saw very few. I managed to see life about to be and there was also a life extinguished. There was the pregnancy of a sister to behold and some weeks ago a fabulous friend went fishing one morning near Bondi Beach and failed to return. The start of someone and the end of someone. The merry-go-round of life spins onwards. Round and around we all go. This life adventure sure does keep one on the ball as we wander across the small blue ball we all live on.
My next artistic adventure is a solo exhibition in Broome. The INLANDISH show is forming and set to go on the walls in mid October. Do drop in if you happen to be in that lovely part of the southern hemisphere.
The six weeks at Lancaster Press Fiji slipped away and has now morphed into memories and a short four minute video. I attempted to cram what three artists did into this minuscule time frame as best as I could. FIJI FILM. Bye bye to Fiji. Bula bula!
https://vimeo.com/845621926
Then it was a pit stop in Sydney. A pretty city where I know a few people but time was short as always and I saw very few. I managed to see life about to be and there was also a life extinguished. There was the pregnancy of a sister to behold and some weeks ago a fabulous friend went fishing one morning near Bondi Beach and failed to return. The start of someone and the end of someone. The merry-go-round of life spins onwards. Round and around we all go. This life adventure sure does keep one on the ball as we wander across the small blue ball we all live on.
My next artistic adventure is a solo exhibition in Broome. The INLANDISH show is forming and set to go on the walls in mid October. Do drop in if you happen to be in that lovely part of the southern hemisphere.
WANDERLUST/BLOODY AUST. LANDSCAPE. 2022. (Broome)
I often call myself a landscape artist as I am continually fascinated by the diverse environments I find myself in. Subsequently I create art from locations I observe. The idea that we are part of the landscape seems pretty clear to me as I do feel connected to the earth. I respectfully walk over it every day and then I make art about doing such a thing.
I do not pray nor offer gifts to particular gods in particular places but I do relish spending time in locations which are strong and familiar. Places that are “good for the soul” as they say. (A term I find a bit fuzzy to employ.) I equally enjoy exploring longitudes and latitudes that are totally unknown. I have walked over frozen seas to lonely, frigid Antarctic islands and I have stomped about steaming neon mega cities that scream and exude too much activity. All landscapes I applaud and acknowledge for what they are.
I could regard all my sojourns across the world as one long pilgrimage. Not in a blinkered religious manner as I do not search for any special spiritual spots but on my strolls I do acknowledge feelings of being grounded to whichever place I happen to be. “I am here now” I do not say or chant but I do contemplate this emotive thought which simply helps me locate myself in this dizzy ever changing world.
The INLANDISH exhibition at Short Street wanders along these ponderings with a series of small framed panoramic INLANDISH works. I present notions of trekking with numerous pairs of legs both above and below the landscape. Trekking along, over, under, in and out, up high mountains and down dark alleys, all over abstracted mixed-media lands. I really love a good stroll.
I was recently in Taiwan walking along many small mountain paths and a local informed me that in Mandarin, a pilgrim (xiangeke 香客) is one who offers incense. While going on a pilgrimage translates as chaoshan jinxiang (朝山进香) literally meaning - offering incense to a mountain. Therefore going on a pilgrimage in Chinese carries notions that you travel far to pay respect to a particular location which is often a mountain. In English the term - pilgrimage is constructed from concepts involving - a foreigner or stranger from afar traveling over country fields to a special or holy place.
So perhaps I can consider myself some kind of unholy pilgrim with no incense or maybe all my journeys are simply the personal passions of a pedestrian. These passions I occasionally present to the public.
I often call myself a landscape artist as I am continually fascinated by the diverse environments I find myself in. Subsequently I create art from locations I observe. The idea that we are part of the landscape seems pretty clear to me as I do feel connected to the earth. I respectfully walk over it every day and then I make art about doing such a thing.
I do not pray nor offer gifts to particular gods in particular places but I do relish spending time in locations which are strong and familiar. Places that are “good for the soul” as they say. (A term I find a bit fuzzy to employ.) I equally enjoy exploring longitudes and latitudes that are totally unknown. I have walked over frozen seas to lonely, frigid Antarctic islands and I have stomped about steaming neon mega cities that scream and exude too much activity. All landscapes I applaud and acknowledge for what they are.
I could regard all my sojourns across the world as one long pilgrimage. Not in a blinkered religious manner as I do not search for any special spiritual spots but on my strolls I do acknowledge feelings of being grounded to whichever place I happen to be. “I am here now” I do not say or chant but I do contemplate this emotive thought which simply helps me locate myself in this dizzy ever changing world.
The INLANDISH exhibition at Short Street wanders along these ponderings with a series of small framed panoramic INLANDISH works. I present notions of trekking with numerous pairs of legs both above and below the landscape. Trekking along, over, under, in and out, up high mountains and down dark alleys, all over abstracted mixed-media lands. I really love a good stroll.
I was recently in Taiwan walking along many small mountain paths and a local informed me that in Mandarin, a pilgrim (xiangeke 香客) is one who offers incense. While going on a pilgrimage translates as chaoshan jinxiang (朝山进香) literally meaning - offering incense to a mountain. Therefore going on a pilgrimage in Chinese carries notions that you travel far to pay respect to a particular location which is often a mountain. In English the term - pilgrimage is constructed from concepts involving - a foreigner or stranger from afar traveling over country fields to a special or holy place.
So perhaps I can consider myself some kind of unholy pilgrim with no incense or maybe all my journeys are simply the personal passions of a pedestrian. These passions I occasionally present to the public.
INLANDISH. X5 works. 2021 ( Broome) Acrylic, wool, cotton, threads, assorted fabric, hessian, Belgian linen.
Eastaugh pondering Taipei. 2023. photo - John Batten
JULY
We were in Albany in the south west of Australia for a bit and discovered Albany rocks. Fabulous granite boulders scattered about town. A very scenic part of the world without a doubt. What a marvellous coastline this part of WA has even on the days when the weather is cloudy, rainy, windy and chilly. Then things warmed up as we managed to fly north east.
Bula Bula from the Pasifika. Jo Darvall, Carolina Furque and myself all artists based in Western Australia were given the chance to travel to Fiji and do what artists do. Thanking you DLGSC. What is it that artist do? Well that’s a question hard to cover as there are many flavours of artists but I do know that in Fiji we made visual art, made prints, made photograghs, made connections, made an exhibition, made some visual experiments and probably made that stuff called culture. Once the jet lag evaporated we rapidly installed ourselves at Lancaster Press Fiji as we acclimatised. Each of us dived directly into our desired mediums. Namely - Printing, photography and painting.
Jo began on the second day to work with master lithographer - Peter Lancaster on a complex printed book project in the well equipped print studio, Carolina arranged to met up and photograph a number of Fijian artists in their studios as well as some locals who identity as Vakasalewalewa or 3rd gender people and I sourced a roll of local handmade traditional masi paper used for many purposes in Fijian culture. We each had much to accomplish so sadly not much time was available for coconut cocktails around the pool.
The Lancaster Press Fiji (LPF) complex is located on the Coral coast or the south coast of the main island Viti Levu. The rambling rolling sounds of the south Pacific Ocean were a constant reminder of the fabulous location we were lucky enough to be working in.
The Lancaster Press Fiji (LPF) complex is located on the Coral coast or the south coast of the main island Viti Levu. The rambling rolling sounds of the south Pacific Ocean were a constant reminder of the fabulous location we were lucky enough to be working in.
Myself, Carolina Furque, Peter Lancaster, Jo Darvall, Joshua Toganivalu and Betty the dog @ LPF
LPF consists of a number of very comfortable rooms, a shared kitchen and bathrooms, the massive print studio, some smaller working spaces, a new gallery, tropical gardens with fruit and vegetables, coconuts galore and a much needed pool for those hot sticky wet months. There is also a special newly built, isolated two storey refuge set away from the other buildings and is available to artists wishing to discover as much Fijian peace and quiet as desired while working in a studio with a view. LPF is organised, relaxed and includes fun times with Betty the dog and Saturday the cat. In terms of art residencies it is professional, friendly and is one of very few international art residency program currently operating in the entire Pacific Ocean. The focus is towards lithographic printmaking but the residency is open to all artistic activity. I suggest you apply now as it is very popular. As the promotion says -“Artist Residencies in Paradise.” https://www.lancasterpressfiji.com/artists-residencies-in-paradise/
The population of the Fijian islands in total is roughly 920,000 spread across 300 islands. Fiji Is very Fijian but also rather Indian as out of the total population about 44% are Hindu speaking Indian/Fijians who originally arrived during colonial times as workers in the sugar cane fields. There is also 5% of other nationalities including other Pacific islanders, overseas Chinese and Europeans.
Once we had planted ourselves into residency work routine and learnt how to cook breadfruit Carolina, Jo and I ventured out to an island 50 kilometres off the south coast. On our little wobbly voyage we saw a huge sea turtle, dolphins and I thought I spotted a few mermaids too. Once there it was time for the traditional welcome with a coconut cup of murky kava in the chiefs main house. We where then permitted to stroll about the village and learn from the women who spend their days making this exquisite thick hand made paper. All the locals in this village called Ekubo and the entire island of Vatulele are primarily busy making masi paper which is not a simple process as production is all very manual and a little noisy. Beating the inner bark of a mulberry plant with a wooden mallet is the method used to spread, flatten, even out and join the woody fibre into a thick textured paper. The drumbeat of this production can be heard every day except on Sundays.
We three artists all wanted to experiment and work with this bark paper so Carolina had plans to try Cyanotypes, Jo utilised this paper as the cover material for her limited edition book Hydrosphere and I attacked the paper rather unceremoniously by scribbling, burning, staining and mono-printing to see whereabouts it would take me to. Then it was time to construct an exhibition all within the confines of a mysterious local measurement called Fiji-time.
Once we had planted ourselves into residency work routine and learnt how to cook breadfruit Carolina, Jo and I ventured out to an island 50 kilometres off the south coast. On our little wobbly voyage we saw a huge sea turtle, dolphins and I thought I spotted a few mermaids too. Once there it was time for the traditional welcome with a coconut cup of murky kava in the chiefs main house. We where then permitted to stroll about the village and learn from the women who spend their days making this exquisite thick hand made paper. All the locals in this village called Ekubo and the entire island of Vatulele are primarily busy making masi paper which is not a simple process as production is all very manual and a little noisy. Beating the inner bark of a mulberry plant with a wooden mallet is the method used to spread, flatten, even out and join the woody fibre into a thick textured paper. The drumbeat of this production can be heard every day except on Sundays.
We three artists all wanted to experiment and work with this bark paper so Carolina had plans to try Cyanotypes, Jo utilised this paper as the cover material for her limited edition book Hydrosphere and I attacked the paper rather unceremoniously by scribbling, burning, staining and mono-printing to see whereabouts it would take me to. Then it was time to construct an exhibition all within the confines of a mysterious local measurement called Fiji-time.
The group exhibition Duavata which means - get together, did indeed bring together eight artists with not too much in common except for the fact that we were all in Fiji during July 2023. Artists from Fiji, Argentina and Australia were involved. The invited artists were: Josua Toganivalu (FIJI), Wakqa Vuidreketi (FIJI) Rusiate Lali (FIJI) Jo Darvall (AUS) Carolina Furque (ARG) Stephen Eastaugh (AUS) Su Elliot (FIJI) and Robert Kennedy (FIJI)
A special opening event was held on Saturday the 8th of July in the new gallery space at Lancaster Press Fiji where a large array of artists and art lovers came along, including the director of the Fiji Museum - Sipiriano Nemani. The event fermented much jovial talk as well as art sales so the gallery seems to be well placed to showcase local and visiting artists.
A special opening event was held on Saturday the 8th of July in the new gallery space at Lancaster Press Fiji where a large array of artists and art lovers came along, including the director of the Fiji Museum - Sipiriano Nemani. The event fermented much jovial talk as well as art sales so the gallery seems to be well placed to showcase local and visiting artists.
|
|
Invitations to LPF opening + Jo Darvall's Hydrosphere work on paper.
Carolina Furque - Palm series. BW photographs.
For the Fijian group show I hung a number of mixed media works titled - WHEREABOUTS OF WHERE. This series of tiny paintings asks an unanswerable question. “Where is where?” A question that turns around in circles devouring itself with nonsense. Within this question lurks another question ; “Where am I?” At any point of time to anyone this question can refer to basic geography or towards a more philosophical pondering. What longitude and latitude do I currently locate myself or that complex existential question pertaining to where am I in the cosmos.
I somehow visualise these questions with these miniature landscapes. On top of the backgrounds of swirling colours I insert two elements. One is a grounded dark rocky lump or something sitting stable at the bottom of each work while the second element is a meandering road that plots a fuzzy journey through each gaudy sky. My feeling is that neither the resting rock nor the swirling road have any idea where they are, where they are going and certainly why they are anywhere. But they are somewhere so I leave the questioning abruptly there, wherever that is.
I somehow visualise these questions with these miniature landscapes. On top of the backgrounds of swirling colours I insert two elements. One is a grounded dark rocky lump or something sitting stable at the bottom of each work while the second element is a meandering road that plots a fuzzy journey through each gaudy sky. My feeling is that neither the resting rock nor the swirling road have any idea where they are, where they are going and certainly why they are anywhere. But they are somewhere so I leave the questioning abruptly there, wherever that is.
WHEREABOUTS OF WHERE. Stephen Eastaugh. Acrylic, felt, wool, Belgian linen.
Sipiriano Nemani Director of the Fiji Museum with Joshua Toganivalu and the gang.
UPS Oceania Centre. Jo Darvall, Ben Fong, Carolina Furque and myself. (Background artwork by Ben Fong - “Fiji the way the world should be.”
A visit to the capital city of Fiji was eventually managed and we hit that town running as our time in Suva was jam packed with things to do and see. We visited the Fiji Museum to see the director Sipiriano Nemani as Jo wanted to donate a copy of her book to the Museum then we met with Ben Fong at the excellent Oceania Centre on the grounds of the University of the South Pacific (USP) who expertly guided us around the gallery. The RedWave retrospective exhibition was on which displayed a number of the primary visual artists operating in Fiji today. All of whom began their artistic careers due to the Oceania centre operating as a hub and unofficial art school for many years. We also went to the other Univesity of Fiji and thanks to Mason James Lee who is the current artist in residence within the University alot seems to be going on there. Mason oversees the creative centre at the University which has one hell of great veiw of Suva and a brand new gallery space is about to open so there is obviously a great thirst and need for more art activity in Fiji. This we continually heard from artists and art workers as there are sadly very limited oportunities for visual artists in Fiji. Alot more needs to be done.
The charming artist Josua Toganivalu was our guide around the capital and he kindly looked after we three artists as we zoomed from one place to another. We also managed to be invited to chat with tv presenter Tevita on the popular breakfast talk show on national Fiji TV and somehow Carolina and I had a fast sunset drink at the Grand Pacific Hotel Suva. The bus trips there and back to the coral coast were entertaining visually but I would personally prefer if the volume of the musical entertainment was not permanently turned up to 11. I guess that was the price we paid for the magnificent views and enormous hospitality we encountered all over Fiji. Bula Vinaka!
The charming artist Josua Toganivalu was our guide around the capital and he kindly looked after we three artists as we zoomed from one place to another. We also managed to be invited to chat with tv presenter Tevita on the popular breakfast talk show on national Fiji TV and somehow Carolina and I had a fast sunset drink at the Grand Pacific Hotel Suva. The bus trips there and back to the coral coast were entertaining visually but I would personally prefer if the volume of the musical entertainment was not permanently turned up to 11. I guess that was the price we paid for the magnificent views and enormous hospitality we encountered all over Fiji. Bula Vinaka!
Myself, Joshua Toganivalu and Jo Darvall on the National Fjij TV Breakfast show.
PASIFIK LIFECRAFTS - Stephen Eastaugh (series on masi paper in Fiji studio)
MAY
On a busy road I found The Dancing Goat cafe where I often drank coffee and ate “cheesy toast” while watching millions of motorbikes commute left to right and right to left. Polite traffic zoomed past at a mesmerising flow. Unusually I heard not a single horn or road rage outburst in any form and that seems to be the norm here. Most impressive. There are approximately 24 million people in Taiwan which is similar to Australia’s population but Taiwan covers an area about half the size of Tasmania which did make space feel very different.
Taiwan is special for a number of reason. There are two local products that have swept the world. Both are loved and almost indispensable for modern life across much of the planet. I refer to Bubble tea and Chips.
Bubble tea is the flavoured lumpy iced tea made from a mixture of tea. fruit juice, milk and tapioca pearls. A drink I don’t really understand but it is not bad. Invented by someone shaking milk tea rapidly in order to add a froth/bubble texture. The other product is not as tasty but incredibly important in the tech world. Microchips. The company TSMC makes 90% of the worlds most advanced 3 nano-metre thick wafer chips. Hard to visualise this size but if you consider that the width of a piece of paper is about 100,000 nanometres thick then you get the idea. The technical terms I use are "itsy-bitsy" or "teeny-weeny" and you probably have some of these chips already in your electrical devices .
Taiwan is special for a number of reason. There are two local products that have swept the world. Both are loved and almost indispensable for modern life across much of the planet. I refer to Bubble tea and Chips.
Bubble tea is the flavoured lumpy iced tea made from a mixture of tea. fruit juice, milk and tapioca pearls. A drink I don’t really understand but it is not bad. Invented by someone shaking milk tea rapidly in order to add a froth/bubble texture. The other product is not as tasty but incredibly important in the tech world. Microchips. The company TSMC makes 90% of the worlds most advanced 3 nano-metre thick wafer chips. Hard to visualise this size but if you consider that the width of a piece of paper is about 100,000 nanometres thick then you get the idea. The technical terms I use are "itsy-bitsy" or "teeny-weeny" and you probably have some of these chips already in your electrical devices .
Many delightful and rather steep walks can be done on the outskirts of the city. I went up the Elephant Mountain where one can see the 101 tower and indeed a great deal of the capital which seemed to be growing and growing. I wandered up there early one morning with a pile of dumplings and a can of Mr Brown coffee to breakfast and contemplate aerial roots, micro chips and bubble tea.
|
|
|
Taipei 101 is a stunning skyscraper half a kilometre high. Completed in 2004 (when I first visited this city) it was the tallest building in the world from that year until 2010. It has aged well with its interesting geometric bamboo internode stem design plus the fact that it has a giant golden ball located between the 87th and 92nd floors which has kept the building safe from typhoon winds and earthquakes as high as 6.8. The ball moves to counterbalance the movement of the building which is some serious design.
I strolled around this building and about the entire city often devouring a Taiwanese oyster omelette with a can of Mr Brown Iced coffee plus a few tasty pan fried stuffed buns from Mr Lius shop. I saw Mr Liu on many occasions. Another favourite snack was the dark smoked tofu I found at the market but thats enough street-food chatter.
Besides eating and walking I was busy with art as that is my job, sadly a job that pays less than a dishwasher but hey you cannot have everything as my mother used to say. In the studio I began and completed a series of mixed media works that touched upon themes of borders, families and landscape. Beautiful borders turned into Formosan frontier and then turned into 美丽的边框. I also saw some Mountain Ghosts and finally I played with my Relationships with topography. Over 50 small works were made during my 6 week long visit.
I strolled around this building and about the entire city often devouring a Taiwanese oyster omelette with a can of Mr Brown Iced coffee plus a few tasty pan fried stuffed buns from Mr Lius shop. I saw Mr Liu on many occasions. Another favourite snack was the dark smoked tofu I found at the market but thats enough street-food chatter.
Besides eating and walking I was busy with art as that is my job, sadly a job that pays less than a dishwasher but hey you cannot have everything as my mother used to say. In the studio I began and completed a series of mixed media works that touched upon themes of borders, families and landscape. Beautiful borders turned into Formosan frontier and then turned into 美丽的边框. I also saw some Mountain Ghosts and finally I played with my Relationships with topography. Over 50 small works were made during my 6 week long visit.
|
|
|
|
My MONGRELSCAPE exhibition opening was a lot of fun as I managed to catch up with old friends Howard and Su as well as meeting many other artists at the gallery and afterwards at dinner. I truly thank the VT Art Salon gallery for their support to make my exhibition happen. Taipei is a marvellous city and I felt very lucky to be able to visit once again after all these years. No thanks to Covid 19 which tried to stop me a number of times.
I was interviewed by Su Hui-yu as part of his film project - The Trio Hall. A complex variety show installation exhibition with a work in progress format shown at the MoCA Taipei (Museum of Contemporary Art) My interview was peppered with some colourful words so I do hope that I did not annoy too may folk as I was a guest there. Apologies if I was rough. I do try to be smooth and polite wherever I be but there is always the odd lump or bump here and there. It is not easy being a human that’s for sure.
Performance on the opening night of Su Hui-yu Trio Hall exhibition.
Su Hui Yu presenting a major multi screen video work titled The white waters at the C-Lab art zone in Taipei.
Another mountain visit was to the Seven star mountain or Chihsing Mt. In the Beitou district also near Taipei at an elevation of 1,120m it is the highest dormant volcano in Taiwan. More rustic stone steps took me up to the top. One step after another through rain forest, over mossy clumps, past fern vegetation, sulphur smelling vents from nearby hot springs, bamboo groves and onto the misty peak. Clouds obscured the views but it was a grand walk with Chen Chun-Hao and his family plus Su Hui -Yu. My body needed the exercise after too much studio time and we all know that one must use the body.
|
|
I managed to visit the studio of Chen Chun-Hao one afternoon to see his work which pays homage to the genre of Chinese ink painting. He creates works that are imitations of classic paintings but he does not use ink at all only tiny metallic nails. These large landscapes from afar have a similar floating in the void feeling to the original works but on closer inspection you see the image is all constructed by careful nail placement and subsequent shadows.
We also went to visit the BAMBOO CURTAIN STUDIO’s which will soon be a larger art facility for local and international artists. I must add that the fabulous Treasure Hill Art Village is also a really fine place to base yourself in Taipei in order to dive into cultural activities whatever they may be. Art residencies, museums, galleries and plenty of great artists are certainly in abundance in Taiwan.
We also went to visit the BAMBOO CURTAIN STUDIO’s which will soon be a larger art facility for local and international artists. I must add that the fabulous Treasure Hill Art Village is also a really fine place to base yourself in Taipei in order to dive into cultural activities whatever they may be. Art residencies, museums, galleries and plenty of great artists are certainly in abundance in Taiwan.
|
|
|
|
My time in Taiwan ran out but before I left I managed to jump on a bus and headed to Caotun city in central Taiwan. This is where Bao Bao and Tim live. A couple I did not know but now I do and what a fabulous creative couple living in a fabulous place. There was a pleasing lack of city pollution, noise and a lack of people as their home was a bit off the main road. The very cosy and simple dwelling also had an operational pizza oven and plenty of singing frogs. What more is needed? The Small Island Big Song project is an ongoing cultural project of theirs and an incredible project it is as it acknowledges connections between far apart islands and far apart cultures that are very much connected. As everything is on this one little Island of ours called Earth. Do check it out. www.smallislandbigsong.com
Back to the studio I went and back to working hard at whatever it was I worked on. One day I must work out what I work on. I have spent a long time in a number of very large cities in all sorts of studios in this part of the world often referred to as the far East. Many of the cities I stayed in are densely populated and never stay still. There is a similar frantic pace and a never ending noisy drone of vehicles and voices all at a velocity that can be both daunting or exciting. As I explored Taipei I used my eyes to sight-see, my ears to hear-listen, my skin to touch-feel, my tongue to taste-savour and my nose to smell-scent. It is a sensory adventure to travel as we all know but I did almost forget about that special megacity odour.
I noticed it strongly one day. That perplexing pongy perfume sniffed up to me while I was lost in a tiny alley trying to locate myself. What was that layered sweet stink surrounding me I wondered. Is it me? I thought. Perhaps a durian fruit feast? It was that smell informing me I was in an enormous fabulous city where a a great deal is happening all the time. Metal-smog-technology fumes mixed with human sweat, incense, fried food, fungus funk and the odd floral whiff. A smorgasbord for the nostrils and one that I actually don’t mind for a period of time as it certainly is rich and very much alive. In this invisible foggy aroma I often find anonymity, exotic textures and many things I do not know. It is all pleasingly confusing but far distant from that other smell called fresh air.
While musing and attempting to navigate my body in that alley I saw above the sky; that same sky I watch wherever I be. This sky of ours is not very thick I am told and sometimes it is pretty filthy but it is the one and only sky we have so maybe we should try to keep it clean somehow. Can we do that somehow?
I noticed it strongly one day. That perplexing pongy perfume sniffed up to me while I was lost in a tiny alley trying to locate myself. What was that layered sweet stink surrounding me I wondered. Is it me? I thought. Perhaps a durian fruit feast? It was that smell informing me I was in an enormous fabulous city where a a great deal is happening all the time. Metal-smog-technology fumes mixed with human sweat, incense, fried food, fungus funk and the odd floral whiff. A smorgasbord for the nostrils and one that I actually don’t mind for a period of time as it certainly is rich and very much alive. In this invisible foggy aroma I often find anonymity, exotic textures and many things I do not know. It is all pleasingly confusing but far distant from that other smell called fresh air.
While musing and attempting to navigate my body in that alley I saw above the sky; that same sky I watch wherever I be. This sky of ours is not very thick I am told and sometimes it is pretty filthy but it is the one and only sky we have so maybe we should try to keep it clean somehow. Can we do that somehow?
|
To wrap up my Taiwan-time I say bye bye to all. I had a little help from the WA government, local friends and a kind sponsor or two in order to actually get to this part of the world, present my exhibition, rent a studio, make new work and survive in the fabulous city called Taipei. The VT Art Salon Gallery was excellent and helped me present my work to Taipei with professionalism and fun. I thank everyone involved. I could not have made it to Taiwan alone.
https://vtartsalon.com/en/about_en/ 
|
APRIL
Back to the strange world of travel. It has been awhile.
I am currently in Taipei, Taiwan at the intriguing Treasure Hill Artist Village (https://www.artistvillage.org) where oddly enough many artists can be found looking, considering, experimenting and creating all flavours of treasures. The THAV currently offers short term accommodation for artistic, musical, literary, historical and philosophical specialists making it an alluring operational cultural hub not too far from central Taipei. A very likeable village it is and my accommodation is comfortable enough. During the six weeks I shall be here I will present a solo exhibition at VT Art Salon Gallery, collaborate with video artist Su Hui-Yu and with luck I hope to make some kind of tiny treasures. All this was originally planned for 2020 but Covid put a halt on the project so now finally I am here.
If anyone happens to be in Taipei. The opening function for my show - MONGRELSCAPE
混種景觀 (Hùn zhǒng jǐngguān) will be Saturday 15th April 16:00 - 18:00.
MONGRELSCAPE - 15/04/23 to 20/05/23
https://vtartsalon.com/en/about_en/
If anyone happens to be in Taipei. The opening function for my show - MONGRELSCAPE
混種景觀 (Hùn zhǒng jǐngguān) will be Saturday 15th April 16:00 - 18:00.
MONGRELSCAPE - 15/04/23 to 20/05/23
https://vtartsalon.com/en/about_en/
|
|
Treasure Hill Arts Village sits nearby the Xindian river and over the Fuhe bridge is the Yonghe District with around 38,000 inhabitants per square kilometre. A charming buddhist temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy – Guan Yin (觀音) is just down the path from my studio. The hill served as a Japanese anti-aircraft position, a settlement by Kuomintang military veterans, a water catchment reserve and much more. Today it presents itself as an organic historical, artistic community. Flavoured with a green zoning which all make it a popular timeout zone with a very long and interesting history.
On the way from Perth to Taipei I spoke to a polite business person but I could not understand the rabid mentality to spend and buy and consume which he was very happy to do so non stop. I just do not get it.
How do things operate in our busy capitalistic world? Non stop economic growth seems to be the driving force. GNP and GNI (gross national income and gross national product) debt, credit and ultra rapid financial transactions all make the world turn I am told. I suspect that there are other aspects as well not connected to finance. Is this system the best way? The repercussions of this system now occur at the speed of nanoseconds. There are one billion nano-seconds in a single second approximately. But who’s counting? Well nobody can actually count that fast. Only a machine can do so and machines or Bots are not so good at being fair, moral, kind or funny. They can crunch numbers for the purpose of making more numbers and more money for a selected few but that seems rather dangerous, stupid and sad. Constant high speed growth is the mantra of our modern world. How can this go on if we live on a small ball called Earth which is finite?
The future dream of interstellar travel for anyone will not to be found in any full colour travel brochure soon. All 8 billion of us are stuck on this planet and we all need to share what is here. Share is the word we need to adopt and implement not growth. Can we swap insane hyper growth with smart sharing? I wonder how?
“Trust in God” has turned into trust in technology. Many folk do still thank God/s for this and that but now we are all forced to pray and thank Bots for our daily bread or daily cash withdrawal. Can we calm down on the never ending growth and start to share what we have? Probably not is my guess. I best leave all these enormous problems to AI and get back to watching Robot Wars, Star Trek and Celebrity Bots Survival. I oddly still have a little hope in humanity as I know that jellyfish have survived on earth for 650 million years and they have NO brain at all so perhaps humans can work it out.
Back to Taipei which is 6,336 km directly north from Perth West Australia. With a population of over 7.8 million it is a busy city. I was last here in 2004 so things have changed. Each year there are roughly 1000 earthquakes that are noticeable as well as a few typhoons that keep the entire country on their toes as does the behaviour of the neighbours. Surprisingly besides the large crowds, natures unpredictable ways and some bothersome neighbours there is a very warm and very friendly ambience across most of the island most of the time.
I must get to work in the studio and continue my long stroll around the local environs to see exactly where I am. Perhaps I best get to a night market to enjoy some stinky fermented tofu or other delights.
How do things operate in our busy capitalistic world? Non stop economic growth seems to be the driving force. GNP and GNI (gross national income and gross national product) debt, credit and ultra rapid financial transactions all make the world turn I am told. I suspect that there are other aspects as well not connected to finance. Is this system the best way? The repercussions of this system now occur at the speed of nanoseconds. There are one billion nano-seconds in a single second approximately. But who’s counting? Well nobody can actually count that fast. Only a machine can do so and machines or Bots are not so good at being fair, moral, kind or funny. They can crunch numbers for the purpose of making more numbers and more money for a selected few but that seems rather dangerous, stupid and sad. Constant high speed growth is the mantra of our modern world. How can this go on if we live on a small ball called Earth which is finite?
The future dream of interstellar travel for anyone will not to be found in any full colour travel brochure soon. All 8 billion of us are stuck on this planet and we all need to share what is here. Share is the word we need to adopt and implement not growth. Can we swap insane hyper growth with smart sharing? I wonder how?
“Trust in God” has turned into trust in technology. Many folk do still thank God/s for this and that but now we are all forced to pray and thank Bots for our daily bread or daily cash withdrawal. Can we calm down on the never ending growth and start to share what we have? Probably not is my guess. I best leave all these enormous problems to AI and get back to watching Robot Wars, Star Trek and Celebrity Bots Survival. I oddly still have a little hope in humanity as I know that jellyfish have survived on earth for 650 million years and they have NO brain at all so perhaps humans can work it out.
Back to Taipei which is 6,336 km directly north from Perth West Australia. With a population of over 7.8 million it is a busy city. I was last here in 2004 so things have changed. Each year there are roughly 1000 earthquakes that are noticeable as well as a few typhoons that keep the entire country on their toes as does the behaviour of the neighbours. Surprisingly besides the large crowds, natures unpredictable ways and some bothersome neighbours there is a very warm and very friendly ambience across most of the island most of the time.
I must get to work in the studio and continue my long stroll around the local environs to see exactly where I am. Perhaps I best get to a night market to enjoy some stinky fermented tofu or other delights.
|
|
|
FEBRUARY
It is 2023. Not long ago it was 2022 and I even recall other years like 1969, 1976, 1984, 1999, 2004 and possibly many more if I really concentrate hard. Now the question is -“where to go and what to see in 2023?” Let's hope everyone is nice and proper this year as there has been some pretty shabby behaviour going on across the planet for some time. For ever actually. When will we learn? One day perhaps. As I am currently in a celebratory mode I drink a toast to Grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) and Western Blue Tongue skinks (Tiliqua occipitalis) CHEERS! I am not sure what else to applaud. I am sure there must be plenty of other nice things to acknowledge as well but I must start somewhere. Nature seems sort of safe.
Surprisingly we went to watch and hear a live gig some weeks ago. Spoken word performances by a few Perth musicians at a fun small venue called the Bird. Beer, noise, characters and music were all there. Politically correct aggression was very active on stage and in the audience and I even wobbled my glass of beer in time to the cool electro beats. I should do that more often. (Thanks Doublethink Prism)
Over the festive period Carolina and I ate a number of very tasty foodstuffs and drank some exotic beverages. We also saw a few friends, had some laughs and we did all that in a highly relaxed manner. It was very warm on 25th December so an Australian/Mediterranean summer, seafood-salad, long lunch was on the menu. It was a lovely nine hour event (yes nine hours!) We are certainly very lucky. I managed to drink a few amphorae of Greek Retsina (Ρετσίνα) wine. I had enjoyed this unusual and currently out of fashion vino a few decades ago and thought the climate was right to re-indulge.
A 2000 year old ancient practice of sealing wine vessels with resin is the reason this type of wine has a woody flavour. Today in Greece small pieces of Aleppo pine resin are added during fermentation to add a turpentine-like, almost eucalyptus flavour. Not to everyones taste it seems but I just read that Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - AD 79) who wrote the first encyclopedia ever just loved a glass or two of this wine with his every meal.
A 2000 year old ancient practice of sealing wine vessels with resin is the reason this type of wine has a woody flavour. Today in Greece small pieces of Aleppo pine resin are added during fermentation to add a turpentine-like, almost eucalyptus flavour. Not to everyones taste it seems but I just read that Pliny the Elder (AD 23 - AD 79) who wrote the first encyclopedia ever just loved a glass or two of this wine with his every meal.
We bumped into a few Western grey kangaroos at a national park north of Perth. Charming creatures and plenty of joeys in their mothers pouches ready to jump into a world full of silly humans.
The Swan river in Perth snakes around and slithers out to sea. Its a hot and dry summer here. Carolina and I move about the town in a gypsy manner. I believes we have moved ten times over the past six months and it looks like this frequency will continue all throughout the year. Which was not really the plan as one day we need to stay still and locate this elusive thing called “home.” I have lived and worked in so many places over the past decades that it really is ridiculous - in a bank vault in Amsterdam, a donga in Antarctica, a 4 star hotel in Beijing, a tent in Greenland, a child’s playroom, a winery in Argentina, a ship in the Indian Ocean and recently a tin shed in Broome plus a great many other not so normal places but now we need to find someplace that is stable. Where and when are the questions. If anyone has a small spare home that they do not use please let us know as we will need one sooner or later..
The Swan river in Perth snakes around and slithers out to sea. Its a hot and dry summer here. Carolina and I move about the town in a gypsy manner. I believes we have moved ten times over the past six months and it looks like this frequency will continue all throughout the year. Which was not really the plan as one day we need to stay still and locate this elusive thing called “home.” I have lived and worked in so many places over the past decades that it really is ridiculous - in a bank vault in Amsterdam, a donga in Antarctica, a 4 star hotel in Beijing, a tent in Greenland, a child’s playroom, a winery in Argentina, a ship in the Indian Ocean and recently a tin shed in Broome plus a great many other not so normal places but now we need to find someplace that is stable. Where and when are the questions. If anyone has a small spare home that they do not use please let us know as we will need one sooner or later..
JANUARY
