INTRANSIT 2025
OCTOBER
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I first visited India in 1984 spending most of my time in the north including the complicated Kashmir region and high altitude Ladahk plus short visits to tourist sites and the major northern cities. The colour and the diversity of the land made me equally dizzy and delighted.
The population of India at that time was estimated at 755 million or about the same population as 50 Australias squashed together. It was exhausting trying to comprehend and adapt to the sheer number of people zipping about their daily lives in the urban areas. Overwhelmed and tired from the exotic organised chaos I flew out of Calcutta (Kolkata) but made a plan to return one day. In 1998 I did return to visit the south of the country. The population by then had hit 1 billion which is many zeros. Now it is 2025 and Carolina and I are in New Delhi the mega capital city where many millions live. Across the entire nation there are 1.4 billion people making India the most populous country in the world and by the air quality here it certainly seems somewhat overpopulated.
If I begin to attempt to try to consider the complexity of a land with something like 700 active languages, a total military strength of 5 million people, far too many gods to even count and the fabulously rich colourful cultural concoction then the entire nation becomes flabergasting, ultra spicy and almost too large to fathom. The only thing I can say for sure is that there is an awful lot to see and we only have a few weeks. It is also the time of Diwali or the festival of light which symbolizes in a number of religions the victory of light over dark or good over evil which adds a positive layer of fluorescent fun activity across the entire country. It includes fireworks, gifts, a rabid shopping frenzy, family visits, flowers, food and the most insane noisy fireworks that made me think I was living in a war-zone. Lets hope the awful noises scared away all the evil from the city.
The population of India at that time was estimated at 755 million or about the same population as 50 Australias squashed together. It was exhausting trying to comprehend and adapt to the sheer number of people zipping about their daily lives in the urban areas. Overwhelmed and tired from the exotic organised chaos I flew out of Calcutta (Kolkata) but made a plan to return one day. In 1998 I did return to visit the south of the country. The population by then had hit 1 billion which is many zeros. Now it is 2025 and Carolina and I are in New Delhi the mega capital city where many millions live. Across the entire nation there are 1.4 billion people making India the most populous country in the world and by the air quality here it certainly seems somewhat overpopulated.
If I begin to attempt to try to consider the complexity of a land with something like 700 active languages, a total military strength of 5 million people, far too many gods to even count and the fabulously rich colourful cultural concoction then the entire nation becomes flabergasting, ultra spicy and almost too large to fathom. The only thing I can say for sure is that there is an awful lot to see and we only have a few weeks. It is also the time of Diwali or the festival of light which symbolizes in a number of religions the victory of light over dark or good over evil which adds a positive layer of fluorescent fun activity across the entire country. It includes fireworks, gifts, a rabid shopping frenzy, family visits, flowers, food and the most insane noisy fireworks that made me think I was living in a war-zone. Lets hope the awful noises scared away all the evil from the city.
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One reason I wished to return to Delhi was to meet a local artist whom I have been in contact with as digital pen-pals for 25 years but we have never managed to be in the same city, country or continent at the same time so this was a real treat to be able to catch up with an old acquaintance whom I had never met. Carolina and I dropped into the studio and afterwards a lovely dinner party was arranged. Fabulous art, people and food all combined to create a marvellous evening.
A few days latter we attended a large opening of a group exhibition which celebrated 20 years of a Delhi commercial art gallery. Another very fine artistic social function which was most enjoyable. Delhi has so many layers and the art world here seems like a vibrant robust masala of fascinating flavours. Once again I feel that there are too many things to see.
A few days latter we attended a large opening of a group exhibition which celebrated 20 years of a Delhi commercial art gallery. Another very fine artistic social function which was most enjoyable. Delhi has so many layers and the art world here seems like a vibrant robust masala of fascinating flavours. Once again I feel that there are too many things to see.
The Lotus temple of the Bahai faith in Delhi is open to all people, regardless of religion or any other persuasions. Designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba. Constructed by 27 free-standing marble-clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides, with nine doors opening onto a central hall with a height of 34 metres. The Lotus Temple is one very attractive bit of architecture, has rightly won many awards and does remind me of the Sydney Opera House due to its organic form. It opened to the public on 1 January 1987 and is hugely popular to visit so thats what we did. We also visited the National Museum New Delhi where we observed a troop of fifty monkeys wander past the entrance many with their babies. Inside we trooped around the gallery dedicated to Indian miniatures. A genre of painting that has always fascinated me. After visually devouring hundreds of miniatures the next course involved gobbling samosas which we did under a heavy gooey smoggy hot sky. Then back into the traffic where only two rules seem to matter. 1. DO NOT STOP and 2. HORN ON. Perhaps a third rule is - do not hit wandering cows.
New Delhi has a huge amount of parks, gardens, historical buildings, temples and green zones but all the fabulous buildings and vegetation are sadly smothered in smaze which is a thick nasty cocktail of haze and smog. The AQI or air quality index (there are numerous versions of how cities record air pollution) this morning was way up there and during our visit the AQI has mostly been in the “Unhealthy” “Very Poor” “Severe” or “Hazardous” categories indicating a health alert for everyone. So when moving about the city one must be very careful breathing. Not good at all but we still zoomed around the city as there is just so much to see.
The National Crafts Museum had a brilliant array of textiles from across the country which was very good to see and I wanted a few metres of each and every bit of fabric I saw in the entire museum. An impressive display. Other fabulous places where - Lodhi Garden, the step wells in Delhi (Baoli) and the stunning Qutb Minar rightly referred to as - “a marvel of history and architecture.”
While swimming through the thick air of Delhi I have been called “Baba” on a few encounters which is a polite way to address an older man perhaps a father or a grandfather. The term is linked to me simply due to my long white beard no doubt but it also refers to a wise man or a spiritual leader. Babas, God-men or Gurus are seen as a source of wisdom or faith and trust which all make me snigger as I feel somewhat a charlatan considering I do not qualify as a father, a grandfather, wise, trustworthy nor spiritual. I “believe” that my qualifications in the sacred/holy/divine department are similar to that of a lost penguin but I am actually old compared to many people I interect with. So I guess I can put up with the Baba title as long as it is presented sarcastically. As I search for spirituality and cardamon flavoured snacks I think its wise to visit the biggest spice market in the world and I believe its someplace nearby…
New Delhi has a huge amount of parks, gardens, historical buildings, temples and green zones but all the fabulous buildings and vegetation are sadly smothered in smaze which is a thick nasty cocktail of haze and smog. The AQI or air quality index (there are numerous versions of how cities record air pollution) this morning was way up there and during our visit the AQI has mostly been in the “Unhealthy” “Very Poor” “Severe” or “Hazardous” categories indicating a health alert for everyone. So when moving about the city one must be very careful breathing. Not good at all but we still zoomed around the city as there is just so much to see.
The National Crafts Museum had a brilliant array of textiles from across the country which was very good to see and I wanted a few metres of each and every bit of fabric I saw in the entire museum. An impressive display. Other fabulous places where - Lodhi Garden, the step wells in Delhi (Baoli) and the stunning Qutb Minar rightly referred to as - “a marvel of history and architecture.”
While swimming through the thick air of Delhi I have been called “Baba” on a few encounters which is a polite way to address an older man perhaps a father or a grandfather. The term is linked to me simply due to my long white beard no doubt but it also refers to a wise man or a spiritual leader. Babas, God-men or Gurus are seen as a source of wisdom or faith and trust which all make me snigger as I feel somewhat a charlatan considering I do not qualify as a father, a grandfather, wise, trustworthy nor spiritual. I “believe” that my qualifications in the sacred/holy/divine department are similar to that of a lost penguin but I am actually old compared to many people I interect with. So I guess I can put up with the Baba title as long as it is presented sarcastically. As I search for spirituality and cardamon flavoured snacks I think its wise to visit the biggest spice market in the world and I believe its someplace nearby…
SEPTEMBER
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HOMING IN ON HOME #2. 40 cm X 40 cm. Acrylic, cotton, wool, Belgian linen.
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I have mentioned this in a previous blog but I wish to again as I present works connected to this doodled house which I made when I three or four years old. It seems that I tried to depict a little home but without windows or a door. A typical child version of a house shape with two legs added. A home that could move. Did I draw a mobile home or did I anthropomorphise the concept of home by drawing a house walking like a human?
At Linton and Kay gallery in Perth I continued to contemplate the concept of home and where on earth such a thing is. Perhaps I am a slow learner as most people innately know what a home is and where it is but for some reason it has been very tricky for me to grasp this idea. For forty-three years from roughly 1980 to 2023 I had a very fluid and complicated relationship with the concept of home and I must admit I am still a little confused but I do now own a small house with my partner 130 kms from Perth in regional Western Australia. It is a home by all accounts but we often call it a base. Can a base be a home? The title of my exhibition in Perth was - Homing in on home which hinted at this ridiculously elongated search for home.
Stefano Carboni the ex-director of the Art gallery of West Australia helped to open the show by informally presenting a chat chat about my work and how the organised chaos residing in my brain constructed the sixty-three works we hung on gallery walls
At Linton and Kay gallery in Perth I continued to contemplate the concept of home and where on earth such a thing is. Perhaps I am a slow learner as most people innately know what a home is and where it is but for some reason it has been very tricky for me to grasp this idea. For forty-three years from roughly 1980 to 2023 I had a very fluid and complicated relationship with the concept of home and I must admit I am still a little confused but I do now own a small house with my partner 130 kms from Perth in regional Western Australia. It is a home by all accounts but we often call it a base. Can a base be a home? The title of my exhibition in Perth was - Homing in on home which hinted at this ridiculously elongated search for home.
Stefano Carboni the ex-director of the Art gallery of West Australia helped to open the show by informally presenting a chat chat about my work and how the organised chaos residing in my brain constructed the sixty-three works we hung on gallery walls
Stefano Carboni and Stephen in conversation at Linton and Kay Gallery. Perth.
I often use contrasting colours. In many recent mixed media landscape work I create vivid green skies with textured blood red earth or rose coloured clouds floating ontop of lush green bush. Rather obscurely with two colours I consider the idea that currently there are two basic ways that someone can claim citizenship or the right to belong to a place. Many countries have added restrictons as well and these laws become more messy each year as population and inequiality grow, borders get tighter and more people move across the planet. Two Latin terms deal with how people connect legally to citizenship or more broadly the idea of home. I simplify and abstract these complex notions with two colours. Jus Sanguinis/RED. The right of blood. This is a principle of nationality law where citizenship is passed down from parent to child regardless of the child's place of birth.
Jus Soli/GREEN. The right of soil. This principle determines citizenship of an individual based on the actual place of birth. I distill this changing legal battle into two colours as I am a visual artist and thats what I do.
So I walk between these two colours/concepts with my little house drawing searching for a place to call home or perhaps avoiding home. In the end I know the planet is my home but that romantic idea is too fuzzy, too cosmopolitan and not fashionable at the moment.
Jus Soli/GREEN. The right of soil. This principle determines citizenship of an individual based on the actual place of birth. I distill this changing legal battle into two colours as I am a visual artist and thats what I do.
So I walk between these two colours/concepts with my little house drawing searching for a place to call home or perhaps avoiding home. In the end I know the planet is my home but that romantic idea is too fuzzy, too cosmopolitan and not fashionable at the moment.
Next up was a small dual show at the well loved LOST EDEN GALLERY in Dwellingup. Carolina presented an array of photographic work alongside a new projection piece. I exhibited mixed media work in a number of ways with sewn signage scenes of some sort.
YOU ARE HERE…THERE…AND ELSEWHERE. 2025
This recent work is a textured forest of post-like trees with leg-like signs pointing elsewhere. Sewn with rustic stitches across the longitutes and latitudes of simple quilted material and painted linen. Dangling and knotted threads hint at underground hidden root systems that nourish and hold the posts in place. Above the signs a green sky dotted with distant dark stars together creating an ambiguous location. Signs are stationary figures in landscapes but hint at movement by informing us of other places not so close. Simultaneously close-by and far-off. These stitched and painted signs do not state where they stand or where they direct us to but elude to walking elsewhere by leg-like shapes.
Multi-directional signs display an array of other places where you once were or where you wish to be rather than where you are. We each feel rooted and stable to various degrees but we know there are other locations we could be physically and mentally. The work offers a wanderlustfully panoramic and tactile view reminding us that there is much more than here, much more than now and much more than us.
This recent work is a textured forest of post-like trees with leg-like signs pointing elsewhere. Sewn with rustic stitches across the longitutes and latitudes of simple quilted material and painted linen. Dangling and knotted threads hint at underground hidden root systems that nourish and hold the posts in place. Above the signs a green sky dotted with distant dark stars together creating an ambiguous location. Signs are stationary figures in landscapes but hint at movement by informing us of other places not so close. Simultaneously close-by and far-off. These stitched and painted signs do not state where they stand or where they direct us to but elude to walking elsewhere by leg-like shapes.
Multi-directional signs display an array of other places where you once were or where you wish to be rather than where you are. We each feel rooted and stable to various degrees but we know there are other locations we could be physically and mentally. The work offers a wanderlustfully panoramic and tactile view reminding us that there is much more than here, much more than now and much more than us.
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SWEET AND SOURSOP SCENES (Fiji) 2023
The Soursop scenes are rough tropical landscape thoughts. I use a limited palette of green, yellow and brown to form palm trees, patterns, swirls, stains and vegetal scrub all scumbled onto thick highly textured local handmade masi paper. This paper/cloth is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree which is specifically grown for this purpose. Masi paper is a highly tradition craft form and has been used for generations in Fiji for ceremonies, clothing, gifts and decoration.
I incorporate the tropical fruit name - soursop into the title alongside the word sweet to suggest a fecund landscape. A rich landscape that intrigued and pleased me while attending an art residency in 2023 at Lancanster Press Fiji on the Coral coast of the main island of Viti Levu. I strolled through jungles and drove past ordered ornate gardens while trying to position myself in the middle of the Pasifik Ocean. All the while trying to distill these views into scenes which is what I have been doing in many lands for many decades.
The Soursop scenes are rough tropical landscape thoughts. I use a limited palette of green, yellow and brown to form palm trees, patterns, swirls, stains and vegetal scrub all scumbled onto thick highly textured local handmade masi paper. This paper/cloth is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree which is specifically grown for this purpose. Masi paper is a highly tradition craft form and has been used for generations in Fiji for ceremonies, clothing, gifts and decoration.
I incorporate the tropical fruit name - soursop into the title alongside the word sweet to suggest a fecund landscape. A rich landscape that intrigued and pleased me while attending an art residency in 2023 at Lancanster Press Fiji on the Coral coast of the main island of Viti Levu. I strolled through jungles and drove past ordered ornate gardens while trying to position myself in the middle of the Pasifik Ocean. All the while trying to distill these views into scenes which is what I have been doing in many lands for many decades.
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Soon it shall be time to pack our bags and jump on a plane to नई दिल्ली
AUGUST
Hello Broome. It has been awhile since our last visit to the warmth of Broometime and now it is the popular dry season period so we find a busy town with many tourists zipping about in all forms of vehicles. Here I present a body of work at the Short Street Gallery bungalow space. PLACES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST which includes a set of 20 wooden sign-works and a selection of works on paper also mimicking multi-sign posts.
The small wooden mixed media pointy works are miniature colourful abstract landscapes depicting places made from a smorgasbord of lands, seas, skies, patterns and affable hallucinations. In a way each is no place as well as many places. They also reveal obscure information in the form of single words gouged into the grasslands, hills and clouds. I could call them mis-directional signs
The small wooden mixed media pointy works are miniature colourful abstract landscapes depicting places made from a smorgasbord of lands, seas, skies, patterns and affable hallucinations. In a way each is no place as well as many places. They also reveal obscure information in the form of single words gouged into the grasslands, hills and clouds. I could call them mis-directional signs
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PLACE OF POSSIBLE INTEREST (SPICE, WONDERLUST, OPENING, HUMANKIND, MISDIRECTION, INTIMATE GEOGRAPHY, BUFFOONERY, NAUGHTY, UNCHARTED, HOLES, ANONYMITY, MOTHER. WAIT, ABSENTMINDEDNESS, HIDEAWAY, WARNING, SOUVENIR, CLOUDY, TRANSLATE, GIVE)
Landscapes and words present paths of thoughts while all these little signs physically direct us left or right but it seems that most ways are wayward ways when it comes to art. Each sign points us to an idea but each sign could also point us to a possible place. Is there a place called Spice, a land called Naughty or a town called Holes? Perhaps someplace these special sites do exist and if so are these oddly named places of interest? I imagine so. Each individual word conjures up a spectrum of thoughts as each seems to be plucked from a meaningful sentence or a train of thought then carved onto a directional sign. Is this the way to Mother? How far away is Humankind? Can I explore this way and arrive at Bafoonery. Maybe I am already at that location?
Landscapes and words present paths of thoughts while all these little signs physically direct us left or right but it seems that most ways are wayward ways when it comes to art. Each sign points us to an idea but each sign could also point us to a possible place. Is there a place called Spice, a land called Naughty or a town called Holes? Perhaps someplace these special sites do exist and if so are these oddly named places of interest? I imagine so. Each individual word conjures up a spectrum of thoughts as each seems to be plucked from a meaningful sentence or a train of thought then carved onto a directional sign. Is this the way to Mother? How far away is Humankind? Can I explore this way and arrive at Bafoonery. Maybe I am already at that location?
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Beside art activity one thirsty Thursday evening we managed to land at Tims famous verandah where it is a tradition to solve geo-political problems while sipping beer and listening to fruit bats scream. Occasionally the humans scream as well. Besides beer an exotic bottle of bright green French liqueur flavoured with verbena leaves (Verveine du Velay) appeared on the table which created an atmosphere of giggling shenanigans. Surprisingly not one political solution appeared and walking home was complicated. Other long standing traditions I always follow in Broome involves the consumption of local cuisine. Whenever I am in town I try to nibble on fresh jack fruit, asian style soups, green paw paw salad and even to snack on powdery boab nuts, crocodile, small durian cakes ( a Vietnam speciality) and for some reason sweet iced coffee seems to taste more marvellous in the tropics. Broome-time over the dry season is a favourite time.
JUNE
IMAGE - Carolina Furque.
I am wondering why nobody has invented eucalyptus flavoured ice-cream. The taste, the aroma and the fantastic plant where this flavour originates I have known since childhood. The smell and taste conjures up pleasing thoughts, an array of memories not only from Australia but from the other five continents where this plant can now be found. With more than 700 species this flowering plant originally from Australia is now spread across the globe, except for Antarctica which is not so busy with vegetation.
Eucalyptus has that medicinal, fresh Aussie smell of the bush that can immediately transport me back to my youth. I have eaten eucalyptus flavoured sweets, scrubbed my body with eucalyptus soap or shampooed my beard with lotions smelling of eucalyptus, I have perfumed myself with gum tree scent, I have drunk gin infused with eucalyptus and I have steamed myself in saunas with eucalyptus oil so where is the gum tree ice cream I ask? Maybe a chef is swirling and infusing this unique tart, earthy, mint-like fragrance into sweet sorbet gelati as I write this blog?
Eucalyptus has that medicinal, fresh Aussie smell of the bush that can immediately transport me back to my youth. I have eaten eucalyptus flavoured sweets, scrubbed my body with eucalyptus soap or shampooed my beard with lotions smelling of eucalyptus, I have perfumed myself with gum tree scent, I have drunk gin infused with eucalyptus and I have steamed myself in saunas with eucalyptus oil so where is the gum tree ice cream I ask? Maybe a chef is swirling and infusing this unique tart, earthy, mint-like fragrance into sweet sorbet gelati as I write this blog?
To Melbourne we flew for the windy chilly season. Melbourne involved some weeks of meandering about gurgling very good coffee and munching on Banh Mi rolls which seems to be the current traditional lunch or snack for Melbournians. Central Melbourne, Victoria market, Port Melbourne, St Kilda, Richmond, Fitzroy a few pubs here and there and many other locations were visited and revisited. Things were done including numerous exhibition visits - Joseph Beuys works on paper, Serwah Attafuah a Ghanian digital artist, Korean films, Tony Clarke paintings (a teacher of mine from VCA), Sarah Faulkner paintings from Iceland, Aboriginal bark paintings and a whole mesmerizing mess of Melbourne graffiti splattered across alleyways, walls and buildings. Melbourne certainly continues its impressive cosmopolitan thing.
During our frolicking across the city I also tasted an exceptional stout beer flavoured with lime and smokey oysters. Delicious! Bravo to the makers - Sailors Grave Brewing. My last visit to this city was in 2022 so Carolina and I had plenty to see. One event was the opening of my solo show at Block Projects gallery located in the leafy suburb of Hawthorn. www.blockprojectsgallery.com
I placed a great many examples of Fluffy Geography around the gallery walls including mixed media from Fiji, Taiwan and the far, way out west of Australia. In this exhibition I also hinted of places I have not been too and some places so faraway that they currently do not exit. Yes, things often get fluffy, fuzzy and far-fetched in my mind as well externally in this complex world we all live in.
During our frolicking across the city I also tasted an exceptional stout beer flavoured with lime and smokey oysters. Delicious! Bravo to the makers - Sailors Grave Brewing. My last visit to this city was in 2022 so Carolina and I had plenty to see. One event was the opening of my solo show at Block Projects gallery located in the leafy suburb of Hawthorn. www.blockprojectsgallery.com
I placed a great many examples of Fluffy Geography around the gallery walls including mixed media from Fiji, Taiwan and the far, way out west of Australia. In this exhibition I also hinted of places I have not been too and some places so faraway that they currently do not exit. Yes, things often get fluffy, fuzzy and far-fetched in my mind as well externally in this complex world we all live in.
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WAYPOINTS
These works on wood below combine words and tiny panoramic views intentionally hovering between scenes and signs. Both elements are abstract. All words are simplifications of concepts or objects made with symbols or letters while my tiny pictorial views are as well simplified visual symbols representing fantasy lands.
Made from paint, thread and fabric with text gouged into salvaged wood each piece is shaped roughly like a rustic directional sign. They are signs as is all art. Art is a kind of sign language that is both univeral and obscure, messmerizing and often tricky. I meld letters, texture, shapes and colours within these artworks in order to point towards hazy places and cloudy thoughts. They are signs of imagined lands with sweeping unclear concepts compressed into 13 miniature scenes.
Are these works waypoints as the groups title suggests? Key locations or places to stop between two sites? Do they place us between two points in some manner? As you stroll about the gallery each work could be seen as a location in itself to pause and ponder these visual and cerebral pitstops.
Waypoints are used as landmarks or navigational control points to check if we are on the right track. My Waypoints point to dreamlike locations, amorphous ideas and places inbetween. I do hope they indicate covertly how to head in the right direction whichever way that is. It seems like humanity really needs some positive direction at this point of time. I guess that has always been the case..
These works on wood below combine words and tiny panoramic views intentionally hovering between scenes and signs. Both elements are abstract. All words are simplifications of concepts or objects made with symbols or letters while my tiny pictorial views are as well simplified visual symbols representing fantasy lands.
Made from paint, thread and fabric with text gouged into salvaged wood each piece is shaped roughly like a rustic directional sign. They are signs as is all art. Art is a kind of sign language that is both univeral and obscure, messmerizing and often tricky. I meld letters, texture, shapes and colours within these artworks in order to point towards hazy places and cloudy thoughts. They are signs of imagined lands with sweeping unclear concepts compressed into 13 miniature scenes.
Are these works waypoints as the groups title suggests? Key locations or places to stop between two sites? Do they place us between two points in some manner? As you stroll about the gallery each work could be seen as a location in itself to pause and ponder these visual and cerebral pitstops.
Waypoints are used as landmarks or navigational control points to check if we are on the right track. My Waypoints point to dreamlike locations, amorphous ideas and places inbetween. I do hope they indicate covertly how to head in the right direction whichever way that is. It seems like humanity really needs some positive direction at this point of time. I guess that has always been the case..
WAYPOINT - Nopersons
WAYPOINT - Cosmopolite
2024. 10 cm x 20 cm-50 cm each. (variable widths) Acrylic, thread, fabric, wood.
Thank you Block Projects Gallery.
WAYPOINT - Cosmopolite
2024. 10 cm x 20 cm-50 cm each. (variable widths) Acrylic, thread, fabric, wood.
Thank you Block Projects Gallery.
MAY
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In April Carolina and I went to a party which was a rare treat. I drank far too much and danced with Mr Beetlejuice and a replicant called Pris in Perth. I only have vague memories but I believe it was a much fun. Thanks Karen and Murray for a fabulous evening. A great party!
To balance out the fun one week or so later things went a bit messy and painful. I wish to offer my heartfelt or rather throat-felt thanks to the 25+ professional and friendly medical staff of all ranks at the Fiona Stanley Hospital Emergency Department who each directly aided me. My inabilIty to swallow without pain due to swelling galore in my throat thanks to a nasty growing abscess was no fun at all. A rapid trip to this emergency facility was the best plan to sort out these inner bodily problems. I have recovered and now the vast and very noticble outer body problems need some emergency treatment.
I am deeply pained by the state of geopolitics across the planet. It is just mind-boggling that at this stage in our surprising human evolution adventure there is some kind of rush towards xenophobic, greedy, fearful and basically highly insane activity. Religions could play some role to help our negative thoughts but many seem so pointless as they present some sort of magical life with virgin angels and friendly invisible gods up in the never never happy heaven land or warped belief in friendly aliens on other planets ready to greet us. Why bother looking after this unique blue and green rock where evil resides, shit happens constantly and when the afterlife will be so marvellous? We need to think deeper and see where we are now and what we are doing now here on this planet.
As my good friend James Arvanitakis reminds in his short essay - From despair to hope. - Trust and hope are needed in large amounts everywhere by the billions of us in order to get people operating in a better and unified manner. These are two tools which can get us out of the shite we seem to be in. Empathy is another on the menu list as a much needed quality required asap but we seem to be watching the house burn down with the putrid stink of financial hard core late capitalism all around us. Fake news and anti science are broadcast out on both enormous and tiny digital screens that also listen to us as we watch the mess humans make. Do corporations, governments, bankers and financiers really believe that the world has infinite resources? If they do not believe this, do they really desire that all the resources must belong to just a tiny number of humans? I believe that the term - batshitcrazy is the precise technical term for our predicament.
Then I was off to Cairns in far North Queensland to present a bit of art. I certainly felt like I needed some positive sunshine time.
I am deeply pained by the state of geopolitics across the planet. It is just mind-boggling that at this stage in our surprising human evolution adventure there is some kind of rush towards xenophobic, greedy, fearful and basically highly insane activity. Religions could play some role to help our negative thoughts but many seem so pointless as they present some sort of magical life with virgin angels and friendly invisible gods up in the never never happy heaven land or warped belief in friendly aliens on other planets ready to greet us. Why bother looking after this unique blue and green rock where evil resides, shit happens constantly and when the afterlife will be so marvellous? We need to think deeper and see where we are now and what we are doing now here on this planet.
As my good friend James Arvanitakis reminds in his short essay - From despair to hope. - Trust and hope are needed in large amounts everywhere by the billions of us in order to get people operating in a better and unified manner. These are two tools which can get us out of the shite we seem to be in. Empathy is another on the menu list as a much needed quality required asap but we seem to be watching the house burn down with the putrid stink of financial hard core late capitalism all around us. Fake news and anti science are broadcast out on both enormous and tiny digital screens that also listen to us as we watch the mess humans make. Do corporations, governments, bankers and financiers really believe that the world has infinite resources? If they do not believe this, do they really desire that all the resources must belong to just a tiny number of humans? I believe that the term - batshitcrazy is the precise technical term for our predicament.
Then I was off to Cairns in far North Queensland to present a bit of art. I certainly felt like I needed some positive sunshine time.
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Cairns was warm and I was briefly there to exhibit a large body of work all under the tilte of WONDERLUSTFUL at the charming MULGRAVE gallery. I do a great deal of wondering when I travel about and when in my studio I simultaneously wonder a bit more as I create. There is a rabid passionate element to all this art and travel action which seems a bit like visual lust as it involves strong desires, passion, tactile activity, exploration and some form of focused carnal cerebral desire to create. Adding all these behavioural traits together I somehow arrived at the title - WONDERLUSTFUL. The opening function involved a gypsy jazz band, speeches, drinks and many people wondering what my work is all about which is a question I ask myself often. Actually I did communicate a few obscure reasons and fluffy theories to a gaggle of art lovers the day after the opening function. At my artist talk I attempted to unfold the 40 + years of my artistic on the road modus operandi. Key words used to communicate the process used to form my chaotic pretty pictures were - landscape, AIR, sewing, travel sickness, Yi-Fu Tuan, signs, change and I probably used a few more colourful words as well to decorate the complexities of art making on the move.
Mulgrave Gallery also screened on the opening evening a documentary movie made by Malcolm McKinnon UNANCHORED WORLD. Filmed onboard the International cargo container vessel - CMA CGM ROSSINI while traveling from Perth (Fremantle) via Singapore to the port of Kuala Lumpur (Kelang.) In 2018 Cabin 705 on deck F became a temporary and very mobile art studio for 10 days where I created a great many maritime influenced works on paper while Malcolm made this smart and well liked documantary. Thanks again Malcolm.
Mulgrave Gallery also screened on the opening evening a documentary movie made by Malcolm McKinnon UNANCHORED WORLD. Filmed onboard the International cargo container vessel - CMA CGM ROSSINI while traveling from Perth (Fremantle) via Singapore to the port of Kuala Lumpur (Kelang.) In 2018 Cabin 705 on deck F became a temporary and very mobile art studio for 10 days where I created a great many maritime influenced works on paper while Malcolm made this smart and well liked documantary. Thanks again Malcolm.
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WONDERLUSTFUL. OPENED ON 19TH APRIL AND ENDS ON 23 RD JUNE.
Mulgrave Gallery.
51 Esplanade, Cairns City QLD 4870
9.30am - 5.00pm Tuesday to Friday
10.00am - 5.00pm Saturday
10.00am - 2.00pm Sunday
I wish to acknowledge and thank The Cairns Regional Council, Short Street Gallery and the DLGSC for their help to prepare, implement and present my WONDERLUSTFUL exhibition in Cairns Far North Queensland.
Mulgrave Gallery.
51 Esplanade, Cairns City QLD 4870
9.30am - 5.00pm Tuesday to Friday
10.00am - 5.00pm Saturday
10.00am - 2.00pm Sunday
I wish to acknowledge and thank The Cairns Regional Council, Short Street Gallery and the DLGSC for their help to prepare, implement and present my WONDERLUSTFUL exhibition in Cairns Far North Queensland.
MARCH
My exhibitions this year are listed below with working titles. I think these titles are likable but I could also begin to simply use numbers for each exhibition I present which would save me dithering about with wobbly words. If I go with numbers then my WONDERLUSTFUL exhibition in April could be simply solo show #106.
WONDERLUSTFUL @ Mulgrave Gallery. Cairns. QLDS. In April
FLUFFY GEOGRAPHY @ BLOCKPROJECTS Gallery Melbourne VIC. in May.
PLACES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST @ SHORT ST. Gallery Broome W.A in July.
HOMING IN ON HOME @ LINTON + KAY Gallery Perth W.A. Early Sept.
WAYPOINTS @ LOST EDEN Gallery Dwellingup W.A. Late Sept.
My #106 solo exhibition is arranged in far North Queensland which means a flight of 3440 kms across the large island called Australia. I will watch the sunrise on the Indian Ocean next drop into the red desert town called Alice Springs in Central Australia then onto the city of Cairns that looks out to the enormous Pacific Ocean.
WONDERLUSTFUL @ Mulgrave Gallery. Cairns. QLDS. In April
FLUFFY GEOGRAPHY @ BLOCKPROJECTS Gallery Melbourne VIC. in May.
PLACES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST @ SHORT ST. Gallery Broome W.A in July.
HOMING IN ON HOME @ LINTON + KAY Gallery Perth W.A. Early Sept.
WAYPOINTS @ LOST EDEN Gallery Dwellingup W.A. Late Sept.
My #106 solo exhibition is arranged in far North Queensland which means a flight of 3440 kms across the large island called Australia. I will watch the sunrise on the Indian Ocean next drop into the red desert town called Alice Springs in Central Australia then onto the city of Cairns that looks out to the enormous Pacific Ocean.
WONDERLUSTFUL will be held in Cairns @ the Mulgrave Gallery.
51 Esplanade Cairns City Queensland.
The exhibition will be a visual travelogue of selected works and wayward ways. If you are in the far north eastern bit of Australia please drop in.
DATES: 26 April – 22 June.
LAUNCH: Sat. 4:30pm 26 April.
51 Esplanade Cairns City Queensland.
The exhibition will be a visual travelogue of selected works and wayward ways. If you are in the far north eastern bit of Australia please drop in.
DATES: 26 April – 22 June.
LAUNCH: Sat. 4:30pm 26 April.
WAYWARDWAYS
X 3. 2024. 6.5 cm x 52 cm each.
Acrylic, fabric thread, fake grass on wood.
X 3. 2024. 6.5 cm x 52 cm each.
Acrylic, fabric thread, fake grass on wood.
Image - Carolina Furque.
Now for a little rant as watching the news has become rather demanding. I often feel like I want to vomit, spew, chunder, puke, barf, purge, regurgitate or to get wasted, pissed, smashed, drunk, tipsy, festive, intoxicated, cactus, shit-faced, plastered, sozzled, out of it, inebriated, befuddled, woozy, smashed, wrecked, sloshed, pickled, hammered, steaming, sauced, ratted, legless or zonked out watching most news coverage.
I tire of ongoing horrific human folly spread across the planet. Seriously stupid shit performed by many of my species at a level that is far beyond comprehension. We humans tussle, battle, and we kill. Often we fear and misunderstand each other in abundance. We pine, cheat, envy, hate, gloat and behave very badly on so many occasions to one another. Currently we have a monstrous selection of weapons available to attack, retaliate or provoke anyone who for some reason does not please us, looks a bit different or has some other strict view of what the fuck life is all about here on this little planet of ours. I call all these clashes folly but I could use the term suicidal.
We are still animals that is a fact so we lash out and strike to survive or protect with fists, spears, bullets, rockets, poison and words. This human attack and defence dance is easy to observe wherever you are. It is how we “sorts things out”. Problems can be apparently solved by “whatever means” but I know there are other ways besides insane rampage to solve difficulties.
Nobody is here for very long and this fleeting existence of ours needs to be recognised. Why battle so much when we are all in the same boat and all of us surely would much rather smile than scream. Am I incredibly naive and romantic? Yes I am. What I do know is that we should be much smarter.
I wonder if we could stop being fearful, greedy, stupid, ratbags, fools, cads, fuck-wits, scamps. clods, imps, pests, rotters, quacks, trolls, rascals, nincompoops, kooks, delinquents, sinners, beasts, tricksters, fiends, louts, creeps, stinkers, rogues and total arseholes so can we adapt into another type of being?
Now for a little rant as watching the news has become rather demanding. I often feel like I want to vomit, spew, chunder, puke, barf, purge, regurgitate or to get wasted, pissed, smashed, drunk, tipsy, festive, intoxicated, cactus, shit-faced, plastered, sozzled, out of it, inebriated, befuddled, woozy, smashed, wrecked, sloshed, pickled, hammered, steaming, sauced, ratted, legless or zonked out watching most news coverage.
I tire of ongoing horrific human folly spread across the planet. Seriously stupid shit performed by many of my species at a level that is far beyond comprehension. We humans tussle, battle, and we kill. Often we fear and misunderstand each other in abundance. We pine, cheat, envy, hate, gloat and behave very badly on so many occasions to one another. Currently we have a monstrous selection of weapons available to attack, retaliate or provoke anyone who for some reason does not please us, looks a bit different or has some other strict view of what the fuck life is all about here on this little planet of ours. I call all these clashes folly but I could use the term suicidal.
We are still animals that is a fact so we lash out and strike to survive or protect with fists, spears, bullets, rockets, poison and words. This human attack and defence dance is easy to observe wherever you are. It is how we “sorts things out”. Problems can be apparently solved by “whatever means” but I know there are other ways besides insane rampage to solve difficulties.
Nobody is here for very long and this fleeting existence of ours needs to be recognised. Why battle so much when we are all in the same boat and all of us surely would much rather smile than scream. Am I incredibly naive and romantic? Yes I am. What I do know is that we should be much smarter.
I wonder if we could stop being fearful, greedy, stupid, ratbags, fools, cads, fuck-wits, scamps. clods, imps, pests, rotters, quacks, trolls, rascals, nincompoops, kooks, delinquents, sinners, beasts, tricksters, fiends, louts, creeps, stinkers, rogues and total arseholes so can we adapt into another type of being?
JANUARY
It is 2025. I am not really sure how that happened as I was not concentrating too much on the movement of our planet around the sun which I am told takes 365 days and six hours to do a single lap. A friend tells me that in Thailand it is the year 2568 as they use the Thai solar calendar which began when the Buddha died and entered into the state of parinirvana back in the good old days before the Gregorian calendar began. Meanwhile on the planet Neptune a single year is over 60,000 days long and each season last 40 years. They probably dont celebrate New Years eve there with fancy functions, food and cocktails which is a pity as that can be loads of fun… but I drift off the path a bit … So what am I doing and where am I doing it in 2025?
I have been added to the list of artist exhibiting in the 2025 Collie Art Prize in W.A. My mixed media work - WAYS TO IDENTITY dipicts a fluffy multi directional sign/tree on a background of chaotic green textures. Roots hold the signpost in place but there are no words or symbols anywhere on the sign to lead us anyplace, we are left to wonder. Identity seems topical these days in many lands and in many cultural spheres as we humans continue to try and sort out who or what we are as well as why and where. Good luck with that I say. We must also discover if we have enough organic or artificial intelligence to survive a bit longer in order to find answers to all those large tricky questions.
Identity I believe is constructed by an array of elements. It can be fluid but is basically formed at an early age by mixing family, beliefs, geography, appearance, language, customs, education, situations and a few more ingredients in a strange organic blender also called a brain. WAYS TO IDENTITY ambiguously acknowledges the richly flavoured smorgasbord of influences which all create our sense of self. I present a multi-directional sign rooted in a primary location but suggesting many ways to go, many things to see and much to consider in order to be the best you.
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WAYS TO IDENTITY. 156 cm H. x. 88 cm. W. Acrylic thread, cotton thread, acrylic paint on Belgian linen. |
I often observe the regeneration of Australian bush after bushfires which I find fascinating. Eucalyptus trees sprout, ferns pop up and grass trees spurt growth all rapidly from intense heat, black ash and debris of random or intended fires. Bushfire season is here in this part of the world once again so we best consider being careful, staying cool and definitely don't get burnt as our flimsy bodies and homes are not very fireproof.
I must prepare for a number of exhibitions this year. That means I best get very studious in the studio and sort out assorted experiments, ideas, themes, shapes, textures, lines and compositions. Shows in Melbourne, Broome, Perth and Dwellingup are in the calendar and at the end of this year Carolina and I hope to travel northwards to South Asia which should happen but the adventure is still in the planning stages which means many pieces of the project must slot together before we can pack the bags. We profusely and irrationally pray to Ganesh, Baby jesus, Odin, Willy Wonka, Pacha Mama and any other gods that may help us on our way.
I must prepare for a number of exhibitions this year. That means I best get very studious in the studio and sort out assorted experiments, ideas, themes, shapes, textures, lines and compositions. Shows in Melbourne, Broome, Perth and Dwellingup are in the calendar and at the end of this year Carolina and I hope to travel northwards to South Asia which should happen but the adventure is still in the planning stages which means many pieces of the project must slot together before we can pack the bags. We profusely and irrationally pray to Ganesh, Baby jesus, Odin, Willy Wonka, Pacha Mama and any other gods that may help us on our way.