Over-the-top food and drink mashups might be popping up on seemingly every menu these days, but one has been around for much, much longer. That'd be the humble shandy, which mixes beer with something that's definitely not beer — something lemon-flavoured, usually — and makes for perfect summer sipping. Why just knock back a brew when you can also be drinking mango juice, ginger beer and squash? That's the thinking behind The Bavarian's summer shandy series — although no, you won't be downing all of the above ingredients at the same time. Instead, those tipples and a heap of others are featured in nine different shandies, which'll set you back between $10–15 each, come in 500-millilitre steins and are available all summer long. On the menu: the Summer Mango, which combines Franziskaner Hefe Weissbier with mango juice; the Michelada, a blend of 4 Pines Kolsch, bloody mary spiced juice and lime juice (with a chilli-salt rim); the Nightcap, which pairs Hofbrau Dunkel with coffee liqueur; and the Snake Bite, a mix of Bulmers apple cider, 4 Pines Kolsch and Chambord. Butterscotch, apple rye spice, whiskey and ginger, and a tequila concoction are also available — the latter called the Largarita — because these shandies can also include liqueurs and spirits. You'll find The Bavarian at Charlestown, Rouse Hill, Castle Hill, Shellharbour, Tuggerah, Manly, Penrith, Miranda, Macarthur, Green Hills, Entertainment Quarter, York Street, World Square, Wetherill Park and Chatswood in New South Wales.
Were you on your best behaviour to ensure Santa paid you a visit in December? Well now that's all over, it's time to let your hair down a little at the Imperial Hotel's X-rated Drag 'N' Dine event, Rood Food. Across Friday and Saturday nights from January 14 till February 26, you and your friends can enjoy an unforgettable dinner alongside incredible drag performances at this popular inner west pub. Tickets start at $89 and include a cocktail on arrival, a delicious three-course meal and a high-octane drag production. If you're feeling extra thirsty, you can nab a drinks package for an additional $45 to ensure the drinks are flowing and your thirst is quenched throughout the night. Shows will run twice at night at 6pm and 8.30pm. Plus, if you want the fun to continue after dinner, you can head downstairs to the basement for the venue's late night show — Rood Food After Hours. Ready for a night of shimmering performances and irresistible food? Book yourself a table at The Imperial Hotel's Rood Food this summer. For more information and to book, visit the website.
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and this year's theme for Reconciliation Week echoes that same sentiment. To take action yourself this year during Reconciliation Week, join First Nations experts and community leaders for the panel discussion Yuin Byalla in Burramatta (Truth Talking in Parramatta) at Parramatta's Riverside Theatre. On Thursday, June 3, join award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe (Dark Emu), astronomer Karlie Noon First Nations youth-led climate network Seed, Aboriginal rights advocate Monica Morgan and Kamilaroi water scientist Brad Moggridge as they discuss the theme 'More Than A Word. Reconciliation Takes Action' for Reconciliation Week 2021, as well as NAIDOC Week (July 4–11) theme 'Heal Country'. Arrive at 6pm for the smoking ceremony at Riverside Loggia, then head inside for the panel discussion. The talk is recommended for audiences ages 15 years and over and will cover topics from deaths in custody, the stolen generation to climate change. Tickets are $10 for adults and can be purchased online. For more information and to book, visit the website.
For the second year in a row, North Byron Bay Parkland won't be welcoming in bands and music lovers this July, with Splendour in the Grass' 2021 festival already rescheduled to November. But if enjoying a jam-packed lineup of tunes is a cherished part of your winter routine, that's still on the cards, thanks to a new virtual Splendour event taking place in its usual midyear time slot. Called Splendour XR, the mud-free two-stage event will pop up across the weekend of Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25 — but you'll be watching along from home. Or, from wherever you choose to tune in via your mobile, tablet, browser, desktop or VR headset, all to watch more than 50 acts take to the virtual stage over two days. Leading the charge are headliners Khalid and The Killers. The former will do the honours on Saturday, while the latter will take over on Sunday. They'll be joined by a hefty list of talent, including Chvrches, Denzel Curry, Duke Dumont, Tash Sultana, Violent Soho, Phoebe Bridgers and Band of Horses on the first day, plus Charlie XCX, Vance Joy, The Avalanches, Of Monsters and Men, The Jungle Giants and Ocean Alley on the second. If you're wondering how Splendour XR will work, that's understandable — and no, you won't just be watching old gig footage or clips from past Splendours. Instead, the fest will feature new, never-before-seen live sets that have been created especially for the virtual event. And, while they'll be available to watch worldwide, the fest will operate on Australian time — running from 12pm–2am AEST each day, with tunes starting from 2pm. You'll also be able to view the performances for seven days afterwards. Splendour organisers are also aiming to take as much of the IRL festival experience with them into the virtual realm, too, with attendees set to access "an imaginatively embellished but faithful recreation of Splendour's Byron Bay venue", according to the festival announcement. You'll also create your own schedule so that you can hop between stages to see whoever you like, and you'll be able to virtually meet up with your mates in the process as well. Also part of the fest: raising funds for live music industry workers, mental health and wellbeing, and sustainability. There'll also be an online medical centre designed to help anyone that's struggling with their mental health after the chaos of the past 15 months or so. SPLENDOUR XR LINEUP: DAY 1 Khalid Chvrches Denzel Curry Duke Dumont Tash Sultana Masked Wolf Russ Millions Band Of Horses Little Simz Violent Soho Aurora Phoebe Bridgers Vera Blue Pink Sweat$ Client Liaison Griff Pond Tayla Parx Dune Rats Methyl Ethel The Chats Triple One Cat & Calmell King Stingray The Southern River Band DAY 2 The Killers Charli XCX Vance Joy Grimes Metaverse (Super Beta) The Avalanches Of Monsters and Men Kaytranada Black Pumas Hot Dub Time Machine Millennium Parade The Jungle Giants Ocean Alley Jungle What So Not King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Sinéad Harnett Holly Humberstone Spacey Jane Crooked Colours Amyl and The Sniffers Wafia Aviva The Snuts Band-Maid Ziggy Ramo Gretta Ray Top image: Mitch Lowe.
Thanks to Parasite's 2020 Oscar sweep and Minari's strong showing at this year's awards, it's tempting to say that it's been a big few years for Korean cinema — whether made in Korea or focusing on Korean characters in America. The country's films have been gaining greater attention with Hollywood awards bodies, that's for sure; however, Korea has been making exceptional movies for not just a few years, but for decades. For the past 12 years, the Korean Film Festival in Australia has been shining a spotlight on those top-notch flicks, celebrating all the latest and greatest movies made by Korean filmmakers — or about Korean figures. 2021 is no different, with the fest nicknamed KOFFIA set to bring its Sydney leg to Event Cinemas George Street from Thursday, October 21–Saturday, October 30. On the lineup: Minari, because this moving gem about a Korean family in America should keep getting all the love; entertaining and frenetic crime thriller Deliver Us From Evil, starring Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae; Waiting for Rain, a box-office smash on home turf that follows a long-distance relationship that plays out through letters; and comedy Samjin Company English Class, about three female office workers fighting against unfair corporate practices. Other highlights include documentary The Wandering Chef, about Korean celebrity chef Im Jiho's search for authentic and unique ingredients with medicinal properties; drama Paper Flower, which follows an elderly mortician; 17th century-set action epic The Swordsman, which comes complete with eye-catching fight choreography; and mystery-thriller Recalled, about a woman who loses her memory but starts to hallucinate visions that may foretell future events. Updated October 11.
It has been more than a year since Static Vision hosted its last physical film festival, with Hyperlinks pondering the online world and taking over Marrickville's Pink Flamingo Cinema back in February 2020. For the film collective's follow-up fest, it's getting dreamy — in the same spot, and via a three-day, 12-movie program that's all about imagined worlds, fantastical visions and the places we journey to when we slumber. Running from Friday, May 14–Sunday, May 16, Dreamscapes: A Static Vision Film Festival kicks off with a 15th-anniversary screening of Satoshi Kon's Paprika — which is the type of movie absolutely everyone needs to see at least once on a big screen. The premise: in the near future, a device lets a therapist enter patients' dreams. And yes, you now know where Inception got its inspiration. Other highlights: documentary Ecstasy, which features music by David Lynch and Lykke Li; Slow Machine, about an actress who meets a NYPD counter-terrorism specialist; Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine, which plays with magical portals; and Dreaming Under Capitalism, an experimental doco that tasks 12 people with remembering and analysing their dreams about work. Naturally, A Nightmare on Elm Street is also on the bill — the original 1984 horror flick, not the terrible remake. And the sublime Waking Life has the honour of closing out the program, with Richard Linklater's Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Wiley Wiggins-starring animated film marking its 20th anniversary. Shorts films will also grace Dreamscapes' screens, with the lineup also including DJs, a live-streamed opening night set and an area that's all about dreamlike games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBrUhQ0_qYA
Treating yo'self to tastebud-tempting dishes is what winter is all about — and for one entire month, Salt Meats Cheese is serving up a rather appetising menu that'll do the trick. That'd be its Everyday We're Truffling — Truffle Month lineup, with truffles popping up in all kinds of dishes. Usually, SMC only celebrates truffles for a week this year. But in 2022, to the delight of your stomach, it's expanding the deliciousness across all of July. Accordingly, from Friday, June 1–Sunday, July 31, the Italian chain will be adding truffles to pizza, arancini, gnocchi and pappardelle — so that's four of Italian staples covered. It'll also be whipping up baked truffle brie, if you feel like getting extra cheesy with your truffles. And, for even more truffles on more food, you can add shaved truffles to any dish you like from the a la carte menu as well. The Everyday We're Truffling menu is taking place at all SMC venues during its month-long period, which spans Circular Quay and Cronulla in Sydney. And if you're wondering why the Italian chain has suddenly gone truffle crazy, it's to celebrate the Australian truffle season — which is as good a reason as any.
If you, like us, see truffle listed on a menu and instantly know what you'll be ordering, then oh boy, do we have something for you. On Saturday, August 13, Sydney CBD restaurant Abode Bistro & Bar is serving up a special menu loaded with, yep, you guessed it, truffles. And it's for one night only. The indulgent evening will start with a cocktail on arrival and a selection of snacks curated by the chef. Then, four courses of delectable black truffle dishes will follow. To enhance the dining experience, you can treat yourself to matching wines for an additional $45. Can't make it August 13? Abode will be serving up select truffle-inspired dishes all throughout truffle season. But if you want the full-blown truffle experience, head there August 13. You can feast on Abode Bistro & Bar's one-night-only Truffle Menu from 6.30pm Saturday, August 13. For more information and to book, visit the website.
Back in 2018, Gang of Youths announced its very own music festival, taking over Brisbane's Riverstage with the likes of Luca Brasi, Thelma Plum and Jack River. Four years and a whole new album cycle later, the band is returning with A More Perfect Union part two, taking over a new Queensland venue and expanding to a new state much further afield. The festival will be popping up in Tasmania on Sunday, August 14 at MAC 2 in Hobart before it heads to Queensland. Each date for the festival has a unique lineup personally curated by Gang of Youths, both headlined by the band, of course. Tasmania's edition will feature sets from UK singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize-winner Arlo Parks, as well as local Australian favourites Cub Sport, Gretta Ray, The Lazy Eyes and Adam Newling. If you can't make it to the festival, the band will be touring their latest record angel in realtime and new EP immolation tape across the country in August, popping up in Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne. Tickets are $121, with VIP passes available for $201. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9QsAO4BU28 Image: Sergey Osipov.
With apologies to William Shakespeare, all the world isn't just a stage in French farce Murder Party. Instead, it's a game, then another one, then yet another after that. This candy-coloured murder-mystery takes perhaps the ultimate high-concept setup and hones in on a crucial fact: that audiences love whodunnits, whether they're watching them on the screen or reading them on the page, because charting the unravelling details entails sleuthing along. In other words, when we're wondering who killed who in which room and why (and with what weapon), we're playing. The board game Cluedo also nailed this truth, as have murder-mystery parties, plus the increasing array of other interactive shows and events that thrust paying participants into the middle of such puzzle-laden predicaments. And while Murder Party acknowledges this idea in a variety of manners, here's the first and simplest: it's set among a family famed for making best-selling board games themselves. First-time feature writer/director Nicolas Pleskof and his co-scribe Elsa Marpeau (Prof T) kickstart the film with a killer setup: that eccentric crew of relatives, their brightly hued home on a sprawling country estate, an usual task given to a newcomer and, naturally, a sudden passing. Architect Jeanne Chardon-Spitzer (Alice Pol, Labor Day) is asked to pitch a big renovation project to the Daguerre family, transforming their impressive abode so that living there always feels like playing a game (or several). Patriarch César (Eddy Mitchell, The Middleman) already encourages his brood to enjoy their daily existence with that in mind anyway, including dedicating entire days to letting loose and walking, talking and breathing gameplay. But he's looking for a particularly bold next step. He's unimpressed by Jeanne's routine proposal, in fact. Then he drops dead, the property's doors slam shut and a voice over the intercom tells the architect, plus everyone else onsite, to undertake a series of challenges to ascertain the culprit among them — or be murdered themselves. Also thrust into the high-stakes game, which'll dispense with anyone who refuses to take part or guesses incorrectly: César's son Théo (Pablo Pauly, The French Dispatch), daughter Léna (Sarah Stern, Into the World) and nudgingly named youngest boy Hercule (Adrien Guionnet, Le Bazar de la Charité). Yes, sibling rivalry complicates the hypothesising, as well as the attempts to stay alive. Théo is particularly friendly towards workaholic Jeanne, adding another complexity to the already-chaotic situation. Similarly at hand is the dead man's younger wife Salomé (Pascale Arbillot, Haute Couture) — a mystery writer herself — and his no-nonsense offsider sister Joséphine (Miou-Miou, The Last Mercenary). And, because a home this immense was always going to have some help hovering around, butler Armand (Gustave Kervern, Love Song for Tough Guys) gets drawn in, too. If Amelie and Knives Out combined, the end result would look like Murder Party. If Wes Anderson and Agatha Christie joined forces, the outcome would be the same. It's highly unlikely that Pleskof was ever going to call his feature Murder in the Game-Filled Mansion or Death While Rolling the Dice, but that's the overwhelming vibe. There's an escape room element, too — thankfully, though, nodding towards the Escape Room franchise isn't on the agenda. Murder Party's characters get stuck in intricately designed locked spaces and forced to piece together clues to secure their freedom, and are only permitted to remain breathing by keeping their wits about them, but no one's in a horror movie here. There's also a penchant for twists upon twists, including toying with the film's premise. Those zigs and zags are obviously best discovered by watching, but Pleskof and Marpeau know the genre they're diving into — and its tropes, customs and drawcards. They know the kind of flicks they're parodying as well, nodding and winking at everything from Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers to cutesy Gallic comedies. That isn't the same as making the most of their influences, or thoughtfully satirising stereotypical on-screen French quirkiness, however. It doesn't result in a game-changer of a mystery-comedy, either. To Murder Party's misfortune, the small screen has been awash in excellent comic whodunnits in the past year, spanning Only Murders in the Building, The Afterparty and The Resort. If you've seen even just one of those three shows, it'll linger in your mind while watching Jeanne navigate the Daguerre family's mayhem. Still, there's an enticing air to Murder Party's aesthetic, with production designer Jérémy Duchier (Perfumes), art director Jean-Baptiste Rodet (Agatha Christie's Criminal Games) and costume designer Dorothée Guiraud (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) showering the featuring in a rainbow's worth of shining shades. The film colour-codes its characters just as Cluedo always has — in their outfits, rather than their names — and also turns its vibrantly decorated labyrinth of a mansion into the game-playing version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Visually, Murder Party is exactly what it's meant to be: a sweet treat. And, just like in Roald Dahl's beloved book and the movies that've brought it to the screen, exactly who endures and who gets eliminated is guided by personality, and by riddles and quests that know their players' strengths and weaknesses. Fluffy, flashy, sugary, elaborate — yes, Murder Party is the dessert of whodunnit flicks in several ways. In-depth characterisations aren't a particular murder-mystery strength (see: the recent versions of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile), but for everyone except Jeanne, the film remains especially light. There's a reason behind that, linked to the plot's biggest twist of all. Still, in the overall puzzle, that's also too much of a telltale sign. Murder Party wants to ponder the fun and escape of moving tokens, shuffling cards, making guesses and other frivolous trivialities, but getting immersed in the sleuthing, and also invested in each character's fate, proves a slipperier and trickier prospect when it's instantly clear that almost everyone is just a pawn.
Across four days in August, Sydney's Chauvel Cinema will dedicate its screens to ten films from one country: Ireland. The reason? The return of the Irish Film Festival as an in-person event, after not one but two years of hosting sessions online — and, for its big cinematic return between Thursday, August 25–Sunday, August 28, it has quite the drawcard on its lineup. Box office Gaelic-language smash The Quiet Girl leads this year's program, after initially taking to the city's big screens at the Sydney Film Festival — so if you missed it then, this is your next chance to see it. The tender 80s-set drama, about a soft-spoken nine-year-old (newcomer Catherine Clinch) who is sent to stay with relatives for the summer, has been breaking box office records for Irish-language movies in Ireland and in the UK. It was also just picked as the country's submission in the Best International Feature category at next year's Oscars, and hits IFF before its general Australian release. The rest of the festival's selection isn't short on highlights either, including opening-night documentary Steps Of Freedom, about Irish dance and its worldwide popularity — plus Let the Wrong One In, a vampire comedy that fittingly boasts Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Head among the cast. Or, there's Love Yourself Today, which focuses on Damien Dempsey's music; You Are Not My Mother, about a mother's disappearance from a North Dublin housing estate; and Redemption Of A Rogue, a black comedy about salvation. And, 1992 classic Into the West is also on the bill, with the magical-realist fantasy about a mysterious white stallion featuring a cast that includes Gabriel Byrne (Hereditary) and Brendan Gleeson (The Tragedy of Macbeth). IFF will also keep an online component to this year's fest, screening digitally from Friday, September 30–Sunday, October 16.
If Opera Bar's panoramic harbour views, seafood platters ad live music wasn't enough, the Circular Quay venue is rolling out roving carts serving up a whole host of wintery treats. Tableside raclette? Tick. S'mores toasted on your table? Check. Plus a set of Bacardi cocktails designed to warm you as they go down. The carts will be doing the rounds Thursdays–Sundays between July 21 and August 28 from 4pm to 8pm each day. Start with the raclette ready to be melted straight onto crispy potatoes and garnished with bacon and shallots. Your next move is to order a s'more. The campfire treat is made with a chunky marshmallow that's toasted on-site before it joins a helping of chocolate sauce on two crunchy biscuits. Last but not least, there are the cocktails. Take your pick from a mulled rum and ginger drink; the Hot Buttered Rum which combines salted butter, demerara, nutmeg and anise; and The Blazer, an inventive combo of Bacardi Reserva Ocho, spiced rum, pedro ximénez, fruit oils and popcorn. There are no bookings available, so you'll just have to rock up and hope you can nab a spot with views of the iconic Sydney skyline.
When Joost Bakker helped pile 3000 kilograms of clothing waste in Melbourne's Federation Square in April 2022, all to draw attention to fast fashion, he viewed the project with his usual optimism. "Even if it's just one person who walks through that structure and gets inspired and comes up with a solution — that's what's so exciting," the renowned zero-waste campaigner noted. Those exact words could've been uttered about the venture at the centre of Greenhouse by Joost, too. A three-storey home made entirely out of recyclable materials that don't generate waste, and designed to operate as a closed food system with everything catered for onsite and not a scrap spared, it predates his spotlight on the textile industry. Clearly, it boasts the same sustainability focus. In fact, Bakker could've said the same thing about past pop-ups in the same spot over more than a decade, including fellow waste-free eateries also called Greenhouse since 2008. Scratch that — it isn't merely likely that the Dutch-born floral designer and activist could've expressed the same sentiments; it's certain he must've. Eliminating waste is Bakker's passion. Not wasting any time trying to put that aim into action is just as much of an obsession. His work doesn't merely talk the talk but walks the walk, and attempts to help the world see how crucial it is to reduce humanity's impact upon the earth. The habitable Greenhouse is quite the undertaking, though, given its purpose: building an abode that two people can get shelter, food, water and energy from, all in one cosy and clever self-sustaining ecosystem. Chefs Jo Barrett and Matt Stone (ex-Oakridge Wines) agreed to do the residing, and to put Bakker's Future Food System to the test. They were named among the world's 50 best next-generation hospitality leaders in 2021 for their efforts, for what's a vital, pioneering and fascinating enterprise. It's no wonder that filmmakers Rhian Skirving (Matilda & Me) and Bruce Permezel (The Obesity Myth) — both directing, the former writing and the latter lensing — were driven to document it. Shot since the conception and building stage, then chronicling the COVID-19 setbacks, the logistical and setup woes, and the daily reality of living in the structure, it's also no wonder that the resulting Melbourne International Film Festival Audience Award-winner makes such compelling viewing. Greenhouse by Joost is both a record and an aspirational tool: it shows what can and has been done and, as Bakker always hopes, it wants to get everyone watching following in his, Barrett and Stone's footsteps. Of course, for most, money will be a very real and practical obstacle. There's no doubting that Greenhouse stems from considerable resources, both in finances and time. But that's the thing with ambitions: they have us shooting for the stars, breaking our goals down into everyday pieces and finding ways to make even small parts of them happen. Evoking that exact response when it comes to making life's basics sustainable — what we eat and drink, where we stay and sleep, and how we power it all — is Bakker's aim, too. With Bakker as the film's on-screen guide, Greenhouse by Joost does just that itself as well, stepping through the idea and the execution like it's laying out a roadmap for its audience to chart. Viewers won't walk out of the doco ready to move into their own such dwelling, but learning plenty about the ingenious design, the bits and pieces that go into it, and the work required — to get it up, ready and operating smoothly, and also to have it function as a small-scale restaurant — comes with simply watching. Although the cooking, serving, welcoming in eager diners and sharing the titular building comes later in the movie, obviously, it's a crucial piece of the project overall and of Skirving and Permezel's feature. How much more doable does just living in the Greenhouse and taking care of yourself seem compared to running it as a mini eatery? Oh-so-much. How much easier does putting some of its principles to use in your own home seem, too? The answer remains the same. For anyone who isn't as immersed the ins and outs of sustainable possibilities, practices and technologies as Greenhouse by Joost's namesake — aka almost everyone except the film's namesake — the details behind the abode are illuminating as well as inspiring. During the construction phase, for instance, the documentary gets informative about different building materials, including panels made from compacted hay that help put farming offcuts to use. Moving beyond concrete slabs as a base, and therefore avoiding the emissions spat out by cement production methods, involves weighing down the Greenhouse from the roof rather than anchoring it from below. The solution? Soil and plants atop the home, which is also where the bulk of the food comes in. Planters blossom with fruit, vegetables and herbs. A beehive provides honey. Fish and yabbies live in an aquaponics system. With each component, the film offers pivotal data — again, not exactly a how-to, but enough to firmly pique interest. Skirving and Permezel, plus Bakker as their chief talking head, complement the behind-the-scenes insights with a front-loaded array of facts and figures, instantly placing the need for an innovative solution like Greenhouse into context. While none of it should be new news given how widely the message about humanity's destruction of the planet is known — as it needs to be — it still leaves an imprint. (One such tidbit: that 27,000 trees a day are cut down just to make toilet paper.) In the process, there's little that's creative about the movie's structure, crisp imagery and overall approach, letting the project at its centre draw the audience in on its merits (well, with assistance from the over-emphasised score). Still, pairing such sobering data with ways to make a difference — and, in the case of the Greenhouse itself, a game-changing dream solution — is a smart and powerful move. Online during its 18-month stint in Fed Square, Bakker's creation attracted ample attention, unsurprisingly. Although Skirving and Permezel include a glimpse at the reaction on social media, Greenhouse by Joost is far more potent when it's showing what people are responding to — when it's doing rather than basking. Again, there's no mystery why that's the case. From the first Greenhouses through to zero-waste cafe Silo by Joost, later soup bar Brothl, this Greenhouse and those aforementioned clothes, that's always been Bakker's modus operandi. He's a natural showman and spokesman, but he knows that making his zero-waste crusade tangible is his most important task — and his best tool for inspiring even just one person.
In March last year, within four days of announcing its doomsday-themed lineup, Sydney Writers' Festival cancelled its 2020 event due to the pandemic. This year, the beloved annual literary showcase is back and taking inspiration from the past 12 months, with the 2021 festival skewing local around the theme 'Within Reach'. More than 400 Australian-based speakers are on this year's program, which runs from Monday, April 26–Sunday, May 2. As new Artistic Director Michael Williams explains, "we have gathered the many diverse and exciting writers who are right here, within our reach — asking questions, raising their voices and defining this culture". And, you'll largely be seeing them in-person at 231 live events; however, in keeping in line with how we've all been living over the past year, 15 guests from the small international contingent — which spans Australians based abroad and overseas authors — will join the fest via video. On opening night, for instance, Miles Franklin winners Melissa Lucashenko (Too Much Lip) and Tara June Winch (The Yield) and debut poet Evelyn Araluen (Dropbear) will chat about their experiences, influences and hopes for the future, with Winch appearing via video from France. Fellow Aussies such as True History of the Kelly Gang author Peter Carey, The Secret Chord's Geraldine Brooks and Axios reporter Jonathan Swan — who conducted that extremely viral interview with then-US President Donald Trump in 2020 — will stream in over the week, too, as will international writers such as Judy Blume, Isabel Wilkerson, Kazuo Ishiguro and Behrouz Boochani. Other highlights include Paul Kelly chatting about the words and lyrics that've shaped his career (gravy will probably be one of them); an all-star gala featuring the likes of Brooks, Tony Birch (The White Girl), Trent Dalton (All Our Shimmering Skies), Ceridwen Dovey (Life After Truth), Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin (Kicking Goals), and Alison Lester (Magic Beach); and SWF's first Actors Poetry Gala, complete with performances and readings by Mia Wasikowska (Judy & Punch), Ewen Leslie (Operation Buffalo), Tim Minchin (Upright), Remy Hii (Crazy Rich Asians), Bryan Brown (Hungry Ghosts), Justine Clarke (Hungry Ghosts), Alex Lee (Single Asian Female) and Yael Stone (Orange Is the New Black). Or, you can watch local political commentators and thinkers such as Benjamin Law, Annabel Crabb and Nakkiah Lui debate the topic 'how good is Australia?'; head to Carriageworks for a heap of interesting pairings; attend the debutante ball for writers whose first books were impacted by COVID-19 last year; and listen to novelist and poet David Malouf close out the fest. SWF will be spreading the literary love around town, with events at Carriageworks, City Recital Hall, Sydney Town Hall, Riverside Theatres and Chatswood Concourse, and across 17 suburban and regional library networks via live broadcasts from the State Library of NSW. For folks outside the city — and state — the festival's main stage events at Carriageworks will also be broadcast to more than 40 community centres and libraries across the country. And, if you're watching your budget, 50-plus events will be free — but, also in line with the times, you'll need to book in for everything you're planning to attend. Images: Prudence Upton.
Got a passion for fashion? Specifically of the sneaker variety? Then head to Stockland Wetherill Park for House of Kicks — a must-do fashion event featuring music, workshops and New York-inspired photo ops. Running from Monday, April 19–Sunday, May 2, this two-week takeover is the ideal hangout for all things sneakers. Ever imagined having your own personalised pair? You can make it a reality by booking into a sneaker customisation workshop. Use stencils and paints to design your dream shoes on a 2D render, or bring in your own kicks to customise. There'll also be street styling and street art workshops to explore your creative side. While you're there, grab some free nail art and then elevate your socials with a pic of you having your very own moment on a quintessential New York stoop. Plus, if you spend $150 during the House of Kicks campaign, you can enter a competition via Stockland's event page to win one of six new season sneakers from JD Sports. House of Kicks will run from April 19–May 2 at Stockland Wetherill Park. To secure your place at a sneaker customisation, street styling or street art workshop, head this way.
Feel like scoring a dose of da funk on a Saturday night, losing yourself to dance and getting lucky? Of course you do. You'll be burnin' up the floor, getting derezzed and giving life back to music in no time at Home the Venue from 8pm on Saturday, April 24 — and if you do so harder, better, faster and stronger, you'll be doin' it right indeed. If you haven't guessed just who is in the spotlight at One More Time — A Daft Punk Celebration, then you probably need to take your helmet off and prepare to give some of the best albums of the past two decades a spin just as the event title suggests. There'll be robot rock, plenty of digital love and you might even think you've been around the world while you're throwing shapes. Yep, indulging your instant crush on the electronic duo best known as Daft Punk is easy as the Darling Harbour venue works its way through the French headpiece fans' discography. The dance music-fuelled party will help you work through your feelings about the duo recently calling it quits, too — and more than 25 DJs and performers will be helping you pay tribute. It's also the first time that Home the Venue is reopening after a 15-month pandemic hiatus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmi60Bd4jSs
For the past year, watching a movie has felt a bit weird. Everyone has been doing it, and frequently — but seeing huge crowds of people in one place on-screen, or life going on as normal in a film, has felt more than a little like science fiction. Fantastic Film Festival Australia knows all about cinematic weirdness. The returning fest is all about it, in fact. The flicks on its lineup don't just feel odd, out-there, OTT or mind-bending because of the last 12 months, though — they've been programmed as part of the 2021 fest because they're purposely offbeat, weird, wonderful, strange and surreal, and in the best possible way. Screening at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick from Friday, April 16–Friday, April 30, this year's FFFA kicks off with a match made in movie heaven, with Prisoners of the Ghostland seeing Nicolas Cage team up with iconic Japanese auteur Sion Sono on a futuristic, post-apocalyptic western. From there, the standouts just keep coming, including documentary A Glitch in the Matrix, which ponders whether we are all really channelling our inner Keanu and living in a simulation. Other highlights include cam girl thriller PVT Chat, starring Uncut Gems' Julia Fox; French charmer Jumbo, where Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Noémie Merlant falls in love with an amusement park ride; and Siberia, with Willem Dafoe collaborating with filmmaker Abel Ferrara yet again and descending into a subconscious nightmare. Or, there's Get the Hell Out, a relentless Taiwanese zombie movie that serves up a non-stop onslaught of action, blood, chaos and literally biting political commentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IvTKnqnOck
Newtown's Delhi 'O' Delhi is serving up a feel-good feast for your stomach and your conscience this Wednesday, March 17, with its Good Korma dinner. The multi-course meal is filled with the best offerings the Erskineville Road restaurant has to offer and will set you back $69 per person, with 50 percent of ticket sales being donated to The Kids' Cancer Project. On the menu for the night, you'll find mutton mince parcels and fried prawns with Kashmiri chilli for entree; chicken korma, diced garlic lamb and lentils as your mains; avocado raita, kumbh pulao and cheese naan for sides; and, finally, coconut and saffron panna cotta for dessert. A vegetarian menu is also available, which includes a kofta korma with potatoes and cottage cheese dumplings, and cauliflower florets with fenugreek and mustard seeds. The Kids' Cancer Project helps to fund childhood cancer research, and has raised over $50 million for the cause over the past 27 years. [caption id="attachment_803399" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Leigh Griffiths[/caption] Good Korma has various reservations available between 5.30–10pm.
The New South Wales Government is putting free trees up for grabs — in a very 2021-esque way. To encourage residents to help reach the a target of planting one million new trees by 2022, you'll need to head online to register, with trees available for 13,500 households in Greater Sydney's 33 Local Government Areas. At 9am on the first of each month, you'll need to hop onto the NSW Government website. That's when the trees for that month will be listed, spanning different varieties in different quantities. Once you've placed your order, you'll head to La Perouse Public School on Yarra Road in La Perouse to collect them within seven days, all thanks to Aboriginal-owned and -run not-for-profit Indigi Grow. That's how the scheme operates in March, April and May; however, it'll also keep running later in the year. How it'll work and who'll be partnering with the government then will be announced in June. You can only apply once after February 28, 2021, so you can't fill your yard with freebies each and every month. Still, both edible and non-edible types of trees will be available, so you could be adding some food to your garden.
With the latest easing of restrictions bringing the return of dance floors, many of Sydney's favourite dance parties and music nights are returning. Sosueme, Beach Road Hotel's midweek night of live music and DJ sets, is just one. The weekly eastside party will return this week, on Wednesday, March 31. And it's coming back with a huge lineup of local talent busting out live performances and flexing their skills behind the decks. Leading the lineup is beloved electronic trio Art vs Science, who will be taking to the stage for a live set full of hits like 'Parlez Vous Francais' and Magic Fountain'. Joining them on the lineup is Reuben Styles of Peking Duk, Hugo Gruzman of Flight Facilities and Tom Tilley, all jumping behind the decks for DJ sets throughout the night. An unannounced special guest has also been touted for this week's grand relaunch of the dance party — but you'll have to head along to Beach Road to find out who it is. Entry is free and, in the coming weeks, Sosueme will return each Wednesday with a fresh batch of musicians. In the coming weeks, you can catch the likes of Owl Eyes, Yolanda Be Cool, Danny Clayton and Kristina Jaman.
If you're looking to add some bite to your Friday and Saturday night trip to the flicks — and a few stellar films that include plenty teeth, too — let Golden Age Cinema and Bar's latest lineup take care of your viewing. During its new movie season Bite Marks, the Surry Hills venue is screening features that are all about gnawing, gnashing and ravenous creatures. Yes, Jaws is on the lineup, because of course it is. Steven Spielberg's creature feature blockbuster kicks off the series on Friday, November 12, but five other films will swim in its slipstream. They include 80s classics such as An American Werewolf in London, drama White Dog and Ozploitation gem Dark Age. Plus, from 2016, there's French standout Raw — which focuses on a young woman who starts exploring her cannibalistic urges, and is also the first film by this year's Palme d'Or winner Julia Ducournau. Or, if you'd like to get giggling while you watch, there'll be a Comedians Talk Over showing of Anaconda as well. That's the kind of session where chatting is allowed — all while checking out (and being amused by) the hugely unsubtle Jennifer Lopez-starring 90s flick.
Those looking to get some insight into the winner of this year's Archibald Prize can tune into a free online talk with the artist Peter Wegner and his subject Guy Warren on Tuesday, August 24. The pair will be discussing the prize-winning artwork for In the Frame with beloved TV and radio presenter Yumi Stynes. After the 2020 award was delayed due to COVID-19, this year's gong was handed out as normal — but now the Art Gallery of NSW exhibition that always follows has been impacted by Greater Sydney's current lockdown. So, the folks at AGNSW have released a virtual version of the popular showcase, which means both at-home Sydneysiders and folks around the rest of the country can view 2021's top portraits from their couch, as well as attend special online programming like In the Frame. Every year for the past century, the Archibald Prize has recognised exceptional works of portraiture by Australian artists. In 2021, from a field of 52 finalists, the coveted award has gone to Melbourne-based artist Peter Wegner for Portrait of Guy Warren at 100. A unanimous decision by this year's judges, Wegner's portrait of the centenarian and fellow artist obviously won the gong in a fitting year. "Guy Warren turned 100 in April — he was born the same year the Archibald Prize was first awarded in 1921," Wegner said. "This is not why I painted Guy, but the coincidence is nicely timed." Wegner's win came after an equal number of works from both male and female artists made the finalists list for the first time in Archibald history — all of which you can now scope out from home, alongside entries and winners for the Wynne and Sir John Sulman prizes, too. Across the three prizes, 2144 entries were received this year, which is the second-highest number ever after 2020. And, the three prizes received the highest-ever number of entries from Indigenous artists. The discussion between Wegner, Warren and Stynes will be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook from 7.30pm and will run for 30 minutes, and will be available to watch after it streams on the Art Gallery of NSW's YouTube channel. [caption id="attachment_814784" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Archibald Prize 2021. Peter Wegner, 'Portrait of Guy Warren at 100'. Oil on canvas, 120.5 x 151.5 cm. © the artist. Photo: AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins. Sitter: Guy Warren.[/caption] Top image: Archibald Prize 2021 finalist. Kirsty Neilson, 'Making noise'. Oil on linen, 50.1 x 60.1 cm, © the artist. Photo: AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins.
Remember when Aussie comedians Aunty Donna told us all that everything's a drum? Well, that sentiment can be adapted to other spheres. Everything's a doughnut, too, according to the increasingly inventive array of baked goods that keep dropping at various eateries around town. The latest example: lemon meringue pie sourdough doughnuts at Sonoma Bakery. This culinary hybrid is as straightforward as it sounds. As tangy as well, naturally. Sonoma has taken its signature sourdough doughnuts, filled them with lemon curd, then topped them with toasted meringue and zesty lemon. Yes, your mouth should be watering just reading about them. This Frankenstein's monster of a tasty bakery mashup has been unleashed to mark Lemon Meringue Day — yep, that's a real thing — on Sunday, August 15. You'll find it at Sonoma's various Sydney and Bowral Sonoma bakeries for more than just one day, however, with the $6-a-pop dish available from Wednesday, August 11–Sunday, August 15, and then again from Friday, August 20–Sunday, August 22 and Friday, August 27–Sunday, August 29. Obviously, you'll need to pick up this little beauty for takeaway only — and while adhering to lockdown restrictions.
If you've spent much of the past two years escaping into science fiction movies — and yes, that includes flicks about pandemics, aka everyone's recent go-to for obvious reason — then you'll want to make a beeline to Sydney's very own film festival dedicated to the genre. It's all there in the name, with the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival all about one type of movie. So much falls under sci-fi, though, that you'll still be spoiled for choice. The 2021 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival will run across four days, from Thursday, November 11–Sunday, November 14, screening a lineup of features and shorts from all around the world. To get transported to another realm — something we could all use this year — you'll need to head to the Actors Centre Australia in Leichhardt. And you can pick and choose the movies that interest you, or opt for a festival pass and watch your way through every session. Highlights include Aussie zombie sequel Wyrmwood: Apocalypse; Sundance hit The Blazing World, which opens the fest; and an entire session devoted to the obvious, aka pandemic movies. Or, there's also B-movie style creature feature Jaws; Glasshouse, about a family trying to survive a neurotoxin outbreak; and meteor disaster flick Risen — and yes, the list goes on from there.
She's tussled with dinosaurs and been serenaded by Nicolas Cage. She's played a glue-huffing delinquent and an actor pushed to her limits, too. She's the kind of star who completely changes every film she's in with her inimitable presence. Yes, we're talking about the one and only Laura Dern. A constant delight on our screens for more than four decades now, Dern has experienced quite the career — the type that it's always worth celebrating, in fact. So, between Friday, January 14–Saturday, January 22, Golden Age Cinema and Bar is doing exactly that as part of a seven-film season it's calling Wild at Heart: The Films of Laura Dern. With a name like that, Wild at Heart obviously features on the bill — and, because Dern has multiple collaborations with David Lynch to choose from, so does Inland Empire. Or, you can feast your eyes on her early work in Ladies And Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains and Smooth Talk, jump to the 90s with Citizen Ruth, or see Dern's turn as a determined lawyer in Certain Women. Yes, Jurassic Park is on the lineup as well — because that film, like life and Laura Dern, always finds a way.
BIGSOUND, the huge music industry conference and festival that usually takes over Brisbane each year, isn't happening in 2021. Newcomer BLAKSOUND is definitely forging ahead, however. And, due to the pandemic, the 100-percent First Nations youth-led music conference is rolling out virtually — so you can watch a heap of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talents share their thoughts about the music and arts industries all from the comfort of your couch. This three-day fest not only celebrates First Nations artists, but champions their voices and viewpoints about all things creative. The online conference a bit like a series of TEDx talks crossed with Sydney Opera House's Antidote Festival, and it's jam-packed with engaging folks. You'll hear veterans and up-and-comers alike dive into issues that affect First Nations communities, and also chat about how to push the next generation of Indigenous talents to the fore. Between Monday, September 6–Wednesday, September 8, BLAKSOUND is streaming speeches and workshops featuring everyone from Christine Anu and Ziggy Ramo to Baker Boy and both Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley. Also on the bill: GLVES, Kobie Dee, Alice Skye and Marlene Cummins, as well as journalist Rachael Hocking and broadcaster Rhianna Patrick. Broadcast from Meeanjin (Brisbane), BLAKSOUND is free to watch, too — or you can make a donation if you're able.
Sometimes, the name says it all. That's certainly the case with Series Mania. This television festival's moniker sounds like humanity's reaction each and every time a new season of a TV show arrives on a streaming platform — and also aptly describes how we've all been spending the 18 months or so. After first hitting Melbourne back in 2017 and making two repeat visits before the pandemic, Series Mania is returning again in 2021 from Thursday, October 14–Sunday, October 17. This time, like many things at the moment, it's jumping online. You've been streaming your way through much of your life lately, and now you can do the same with the only Australian leg of the world's biggest TV festival. On the bill this year: four days of free sessions all dedicated to new and exciting television shows, including returning favourites and upcoming must-sees. Eleven series will have episodes available to stream via ACMI's digital platform Cinema 3, including the second season of Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffiths-starring drama Total Control; Netflix's Hellbound, the first live-action series from South Korean Train to Busan and Peninsula director Yeon Sang-ho; L'Opera, which is set in a Parisian ballet company and stars The Lobster's Ariane Labed; and Aussie doomsday prepper comedy Preppers, as starring and co-written by Nakkiah Lui. Watching along won't cost you a cent, but you do need to book in for each session in advance.
Eventually, Denis Villeneuve's version of Dune will reach cinemas. Thanks to the pandemic, it's been a long time coming — but those sand worms and spice wars will hopefully be worth the wait. Until then, Dendy Newtown has a very fitting way for film buffs to pass the time, all thanks to a retrospective focusing on Villeneuve's past flicks. One of the reasons that this new take on Dune has everyone so excited is because the filmmaker behind it has quite the impressive resume. You've likely already seen and loved Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, because Villeneuve has dived into sci-fi before. You may have done the same with Sicario and Prisoners as well. Now, you can watch them again on the big screen between Thursday, November 18–Tuesday, November 30 — and check out Oscar-nominee Incendies, too. The lineup also spans two movies few folks in Sydney will have had the chance to see in a cinema before: the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Enemy, which is a weird and dark delight, and the stunning Polytechnique, which is based on shocking real events. And, rounding out the program are August 32nd on Earth and Maelstrom, so you'll truly be getting the full Villeneuve treatment.
Sydney startup beer company Bowlo Draught is celebrating Sydney's reopening. Specifically, Sydneysiders returning to the green at their local bowls club will be offered free beers at a range of bowlos around NSW. To encourage fully vaccinated patrons to have their first beer out at their local bowlo, the team is shouting the first 50 people to hit up selected bowlos with a free Bowlo Draught. Bowlo Draught launched in April 2021 and has partnered with an array of NSW bowlos to offer schooners and tinnies inspired by a day on the green. On Monday, October 11, if you head to a heap of bowling clubs including Bondi Bowling Club, Harbour Bowling Club, South Coogee Bowling Club and Leichardt Bowling Club you can get a free beer courtesy of the local brewery to enjoy while you have a throw on the greens. Similarly, you can make the most of the deal at Bronte Bowling Club on Tuesday, October 12; Picnic Point Bowling Club on Wednesday, October 13; and Milton Ulladulla Bowling Club on Saturday, October 16. "A lot of bowlos were already struggling to stay afloat, even before COVID reared its ugly head. With a total ban on bowls in NSW these past few months, as well as zero customers walking through the doors, it's been an especially tough time for the smaller, non-profit clubs," Bowlo Draught co-founder and Vice President of Bondi Bowling Club Matty Graham said.
Tuesdays mean different things to different people. Another day closer to the weekend, almost hump day, the day you wish you could sleep through — they're all on the list. But, at The Bavarian each week, the day after Monday also means tucking into $9.95 schnitzels. It's one of the tastiest ways to celebrate any day, and to also save your pennies while doing so. There's no occasion, other than just because — but cheap schnitties for the sake of it is what any Schnitzel Tuesday should be about. For a bargain price, The Bavarian will serve you up a chicken schnitzel with fries and lemon, but you do have to also buy a full-priced drink to get the deal. Fancy another schnitty? That's completely fine — just get another drink. Available all day every Tuesday, this is some good schnitz. To get your fix, you can head to The Bavarian venues around town — there are 16 in New South Wales, including everywhere from Entertainment Quarter and Green Hills to York Street and Chatswood, so you've got options. You can also level-up your schnits for an extra $10, getting a 'Godfather' (a giant schnitzel, ham, cheese, kielbasa, napoli sauce and cheese) or a 'Matterhorn' (a schnitzel mountain, cheese spätzle, three layers of Alpen cheese and bacon).
Someone somewhere has dressed up as one of IKEA's coveted blue bags for Halloween, or fashioned an outfit out of them for the eerie occasion. This year, in the lead up to spooky day, you can do that too if you like. Or, you can just wear whatever frightening threads you prefer, or even your normal getup, to the Swedish chain's three-course Halloween dining experience. Yes, two faves are joining forces: IKEA and Halloween. No, you won't just be eating those Swedish meatballs (take children along with you, however, and that is indeed what they'll be tucking into). Happening at the brand's Tempe, Marsden Park and Rhodes stores in Sydney, the Halloween feast costs $30 for adults and $25 if you're an IKEA Family member. On the menu: mac 'n' cheese, crispy fried chicken and veggie burgers, as well as pancakes with berry compote and vanilla soft serve for dessert. You'll want to book tickets ASAP — IKEA's food events are always popular — for 5.30pm on Friday, October 28 at Tempe and Rhodes, and the same time on Saturday, October 29 at Marsden Park. The furniture and homewares giant is also hosting kids' activities around the dinner at some locations, complete with trick-or-treat sessions, face painting, treasure hunts, craft workshops and costume contests, if you feel like being a favourite aunt or uncle for the night.
When it's claimed that Decision to Leave's Detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il, Heaven: To the Land of Happiness) needs "murder and violence in order to be happy", it's easy to wonder if that statement similarly applies to Park Chan-wook, this stunning South Korean thriller's filmmaker. The director of Oldboy, Thirst, Stoker and The Handmaiden doesn't, surely. Still, his exceptional body of on-screen work glows when either fills its frames — which, in a career that also spans Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Lady Vengeance and English-language TV miniseries The Little Drummer Girl, among other titles, is often. To be more accurate, perhaps Park needs to survey the grey areas that loiter around death and brutality, and surround love, lust, loss, and all matters of the brain, body and heart that bind humans together, to find cinematic fulfilment. Certainly, audiences should be glad if/that he does. In Decision to Leave, exploring such obsessions, and the entire notions of longing and obsession, brings a staggering, sinuously layered and seductively gorgeous movie to fruition — a film to obsess over if ever there was one. In this year's deserved Cannes Film Festival Best Director-winner, reserved insomniac Hae-joon is fixated from the outset, too: with his police job in Busan, where he works Monday–Friday before returning to Ipo on weekends to his wife (Lee Jung-hyun, Peninsula). That all-consuming focus sees his weekday walls plastered with grim photos from cases, and haunts the time he's meant to be spending — and having sex — with said spouse. Nonetheless, the latest dead body thrust his way isn't supposed to amplify his obsession. A businessman and experienced climber is found at the base of a mountain, and to most other cops the answer would be simple. It is to his offsider Soo-wan (Go Kyung-Pyo, Private Lives), but Hae-joon's interest is piqued when the deceased's enigmatic Chinese widow, the cool, calm but also bruised and scratched Seo-rae (Tang Wei, The Whistleblower), is brought in for questioning amid apologising for her imperfect Korean-language skills. In the precinct interrogation room, the detective and his potential suspect share a sushi dinner — and, in the lingering looks gazed each other's way even at this early stage, this may as well be a twisted first date. Hae-joon then surveils Seo-rae, including at her work caring for the elderly, which also provides her alibi. He keeps watching her at home, where her evenings involve television and ice cream. In stirring scenes of bravura and beauty, he envisages himself with her in the process, longing for the illusion he's building in his sleep-deprived mind. As for Seo-rae, she keeps stoking their chemistry, especially when she's somehow being both direct and evasive with her responses to his queries. She knows how small gestures leave an imprint, and she also knows when she and Hae-joon are both desperately hooked on each other. Every intelligently written (by Park and frequent co-scribe Chung Seo-kyung), evocatively shot (by cinematographer Kim Ji-Yong, Ashfall) moment in Decision to Leave is crucial; the film is made so meticulously, with a precision its protagonist would instantly admire, that cutting out even a second is unthinkable. Equally, every scene speaks volumes about this spellbinding movie — but here's three that help convey its simmering potency. In one, Hae-joon ascends up the victim's last cliff by rope, tied to Soo-wan, Busan looming in the background. In another, detailed blue-green wallpaper filled with mountains surrounds Seo-rae. And in yet another, she reaches into Hae-joon's pocket to grab his lip balm, then applies it to his mouth. Perspective is everything in this feature, Park stresses. Minutiae is everything, too. Intimacy is more than everything, actually, in a picture that's also grippingly, electrifying sensual. A police detective drawn to a possible murderer, a woman unable to let the married subject of her own infatuation go: if Decision to Leave was made in English in the 80s, it'd star Michael Douglas. With its tumbling fall, rock faces, thin line between observation and desire, midway twists, and mix of romance and noir, if it had been crafted even earlier back, it'd be an Alfred Hitchcock film. Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction or Vertigo but South Korean, Park's pining, aching new jewel isn't, though. Exquisitely intricate aesthetically, emotionally, psychologically and thematically, it's one of the director's absolute best. He's never needed a hammer or live octopus to make a splash, either, even if it worked so strikingly with Oldboy nearly two decades ago; here, for example, a literal fish-eye lens is astounding. With every breathtaking visual composition and choice, including against cliffs and seas aplenty, Park keeps besting and challenging himself, and also utterly wowing his viewers. Already picked as South Korea's entry for the Best International Feature Film award at 2023's Oscars — a gong the country last won in 2020 with Parasite — Decision to Leave is as spectacular as it is sophisticated. It's an ambitious sight to behold, no matter which stylistic tricks it's pulling and deep-seated secrets it's spilling in tandem — and also as tender as it is melancholy, a swirling, yearning mood that the use of Jung Hoon Hee's 'Mist' on the soundtrack only cements. The film's core duo is deployed just as devastatingly well, so much so that it's impossible to imagine any other actors inhabiting the parts. Both Park Hae-il and Tang Wei have dazzled elsewhere, him in Bong Joon Ho's Memories of Murder and The Host, her in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, but they're as sublime as actors can be as wearied, troubled souls bouncing towards and repelling away from each other like revolving magnets. Formidable, revelatory and bold, too, are Decision to Leave's versions of two noir staples: complicated cops and femme fatales. That duo is virtually synonymous with the genre, so much so that Park wants viewers to believe that they already know all they need about Hae-joon and Seo-rae going in — only to keep unpacking them, their motivations and their feelings, as the pair unpack each other. How exhilarating, intoxicating and all-consuming that experience is, for the movie's characters and for its audience. How powerfully it ripples and resonates. How phenomenal an addition to South Korea's national filmography, and to Park's, Decision to Leave proves. Deciding that you never want it to leave your memory is a given.
As I write this, the electoral rolls for the 2013 Federal Election have just closed. If you’re not enrolled to vote, you won’t get the chance to have your say in a contest between a pompous, prancing pony and Tony Abbott, and you may not even care. You may think — and you may even be right — that Australian politics is a bit of a joke. You'd certainly not be alone in thinking that 'choice' is pretty thin on the ground, and that the main players seem more intent on distracting us with shiny promises of free money than actual discussion about the future of our nation. Policy might be a serious business, but Australian politics is barely a farce. Enter onto this stage riddled with electoral disenchantment Daniela Giorgi's new play Friday, about a "fictitious parliament" battling with some all-too-familiar woes: journalists more interested in gossip than policy, an opposition opposed to any and all public infrastructure, dark personal histories of ministers coming back to haunt them, competing egos, Question Time sessions that descend into sledging matches. The Minister for Transport wants to make all public transport free, but the Leader of the Opposition doesn't like the sound of the great big new tax that might entail, and besides, he knows the Minister is a fraud and a traitor to boot. Accusations are flung, recriminations are had, resurrections of all kinds experienced as Giorgi's cast of characters (directed by Julie Baz) push the limits of probability in a parliament that feels strangely like several we have known and yet seems to obey no recognisable laws or rules. Friday is ambitious and admirable in its intent (according to Giorgi's program note) "to suggest that […] the democratic revolution is not over, and that it will never be over". But it falls short in almost every respect. It is not close enough to reality to document our experience, but it is not enough removed from our world to provide instruction through allegory. Where it attempts to satirise, it lands only cheap gags; where it attempts civic education, it seems to lack basis in fact or research. The acting style is not fast-paced enough to carry the broad, archetypal, almost melodramatic characters and storylines, and the storylines themselves are so multitudinous as to become implausible and unsatisfying. Friday attempts to redress a kind of terminal malaise in (not just) Australian public life: apathy. By pointing towards the ways in which public debate is often sidetracked and corrupted by vested interests, it hopes to create a more engaged constituency — that's us, the audience. But Friday simply left me feeling aggravated by inconsistencies and an insinuation that it's those nasty (non-theatre-attending) philistines who have led to our parlous state of national debate. There's something strangely exclusive, almost nihilistic about the play's overhanging mood of despondency about voters and their (sorry, our) apparently base instincts and inability to discern facts. It's all very well to turn citizen misinformation and apathy into a few good sketches — and goodness knows there are some brilliant one-liners in here — but it doesn’t actually do anything to redress the problem. Voters, much like theatre audiences, tend to be smarter than they (we!) are credited. Save yourself an evening of being patronised, and read some topnotch political journalism instead.
With over 500 shows under their belt, the Japandroids are known for being something special on stage. Rumours circulated about their electric vibe at Laneway earlier this year, where the band hinted at a subsequent Australian tour. The time has come for this high-energy duo from Vancouver to fulfil that pledge with a series of intimate shows in August and September. in 2009 they almost disbanded following the release of Post-Nothing. Revived at the last minute by a sudden surge in popularity, they have gone on to produce another album, titled Celebration Rock in 2012, which further bolstered their reputation for pumping out an engaging style of garage rock. After being saved by their fans, the Japandroids seem bent on repaying each and every one with as many good vibrations as they can muster in a show. The guitarist Brian King has even said he consciously writes in the first-person-pluralto further engage the audience.
If banana knitted jewellery (yes, they exist, get exited), funky oh-so-out-there tights or anything cat-related is your thang, you might be interested in Lonely Hunter. No, it's not a dude roaming around all by himself looking sad; it's a new monthly craft market scenario for lovers of the handmade. Created by two gal pals, Claire Ward and Courtney Johnson, while hungover one morning (we've all been there), it's about the zine, fashion, art, and everything in between. They're 'crafters' themselves, so the stalls will only be proper handmade stuff. Even Claire's label, Bless Your Cotton Socks, is enough of a reason to check out the markets, though also present will be Whiskers Lane, Craft Vader, Roger and Peach, Uptights, Ena & Albert, Antipastel and more. And it's at a bar, so browsing with a drink in hand is a must (for those over 18 of course), hunter-style hat optional. And who knows, Claire might even tell you a story about her cat. Image: Antipastel
Ever wander to the left of FBi on the FM dial? You’ve probably run into Koori Radio. Older than FBi, and a fellow Redfern resident, Koori Radio (Koori means, roughly, “ourselves”) has been running under the broader banner of the Gadigal Information Service for a good twenty years. It could take equally long for you to get your head around the history of this radio outfit. Or you could just let the Carriageworks, another of its Redfern neighbours, lay it all out for you during the coming month’s Live and Deadly – 20 Years of the Gadigal Information Service. Live and Deadly is part exhibition, part music program and part media industry forum. The exhibition will run a month at the Carriageworks, covering Redfern’s indigenous history through the prism of the Service, from Paul Keating’s Redfern speech to Kevin Rudd’s formal apology to the Stolen Generations. The Live end of the experience covers a pair of industry forums — the Foundations of Koori Radio and the Digital Future: Kooris in Space — and Klub Koori hosting a pair of live performances. The Black President, a Princess & The Rhythm Divine is a night of DJs and special guests broadcast live as you go from the Cornerstone Bar, while Black Vinyl has stars Radical Son, Microwave Jenny, Emma Donovan and Dan Sultan cover indigenous music hits from the twenty years the station has been on air. All events are free, but the forums and music nights require free bookings via the Carriageworks’ eventbrite page. Image: Trevor Dodds – Koori Radio 93.7FM Presenter. Courtesy of Gadigal Information Service Archive.
Mono are coming. No, I'm not referring to the kissing disease here; I mean the Japanese post-rock legends Mono. Duh. The band are in the country to perform at Hobart's DARK MOFO festival but were kind enough to arrange a few sideshows for their adoring Australian fans. The band have been performing and releasing material since the early 2000s, and their career has risen in profile every year. Their latest effort, For My Parents, was released in 2012, so their performance will surely contain a set list of new material as well as numerous soaring epics from previous albums. The band will be heading up and down the east coast to play shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane before jetting off into the sunset. I can't emphasise how important it is that you get a ticket; these guys might not be back for a while. Curious about what the band sounds like? Have a listen to this 15-minute epic, 'Yearning'. https://youtube.com/watch?v=zAleQ79UlT8
"Coffee's the best." A sentence often uttered by any sane individual. So if you are one of those who appreciate cups of happiness, then perhaps The Rocks 16th annual Aroma festival on Sunday, 21 July, is an event to check out. Officially the entire month of July is being dedicated to coffee, as The Rocks cafes and baristas go cup to cup in a public vote to be crowned as the best and the week leading up hosts an array of activities. Coffee makers will display the art of coffee to the general public, who can warm up with $2 coffee samples. Over at the Overseas Passenger Terminal Forecourt watch as artistic baristas create a mosaic out of 8000 brewed cups of coffee — their aim, to create the face of somebody famous. The day's offer ranges vastly — from Reuben Hills holding a cupping session that focuses on regional coffee differences to workshops on how to make pour-over coffee using the V60. As well, the festival now also includes other interesting workshops — learn from professional chocolate makers or discover the ancient brewing techniques of the Ottoman Empire. So extend your coffee knowledge, hang with professionals and drink lotsa coffee. Want more Aroma? Check out these five great coffee events they're holding over five days. Plus, enter our giveaway for tickets.
Feel like an art opening? How about nine? Artereal is taking it’s love for those art glam moments seriously with Collaborateurs, which offers you nine art shows opening and closing across nine days. Each micro show will take its turn in a transient art collaboration space, in the form of a three by three metre white cube. David Capra opens proceedings on Wednesday, with ceramic sculptures based on sets from his recent Workout performance, Leahlani Johnson and Brooke Morgan follow through Thursday with an alphabet of flowers and Friday Bridie Connell collaborates with Brian Chase (yes, that Brian Chase) to make a mash up of burlesque with Vatican-renovating, Italian sculptor Bernini’s filthiest religious sculpture. Saturday Charles Dennington and Tully Arnot are making hoverchairs. You know, following the usual instructions. Sylvia Schwenk walks through death in a German cemetary on Sunday, while Monday Liam Benson works with Nick Atkins on a dance from start to curtain call. Tuesday sees Ella Barclay collaborate on screen with Yujunye, Meng Ping Chou, Hai Wen Hsu and Scot Oper8or, Wednesday, July 10 sees Karina and Michael Wikamto unfold their family trees and Thursday, July 11 sees Nola Diamantopoulos play twenty questions with psychotherapists. Are you man/woman/art lover enough for nine solid days of art? There’s only one way to know for sure. Check out the program here. Artereal will be open 3pm–9pm, with official openings each night 6pm–9pm. Image VB Sticker by Liam Benson.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Stolen Rum. Call up four of your strongest, shiftiest friends and deliver the following instructions. This Thursday, March 27, at 3pm, turn up at Work-Shop, 80 George Street, Redfern. Why? Because Stolen Rum is inviting you to steal sofas from them. No strings or rum bottles or even nips attached. All you have to do is rock up early enough to number among the first 50 thieves and voila! You’ll have a brand new addition to your living quarters. The only tricky part is that Stolen won’t be doing any delivering, so you’ll need either a bunch of gym addicts or a mate with a pick-up truck or a crane. Or lots of shopping trolleys tied together. Stolen Rum founder Jamie Duff is the comfort-loving brains behind the initiative. As an undergrad at Otago Uni, Dunedin, he spent plenty of time loving his couch. In fact, he was so taken, he’d occasionally carry it to a live sports game, where it would serve as seating. Duff wants everyone to have access to such opportunities, so he’s taking action and giving sofas away to the world. Indeed, Sydneysiders won’t be the only lucky recipients; another 100 lounges will be donated to strangers in Dunedin and Miami. Stolen Rum, a new drop on the market, has been winning over hearts in bottle shops across Australia, New Zealand and the States. The company’s inspiration is a rebellion against the “tedious existence of work and pay”. “We cannot buy our lives back, nor can we beg them back,” writes the vagabond theorist on their site. “Our lives will only be our own when we steal them back — and that means taking what we want without asking permission.” Starting with furniture.
For most Australians, Queenstown is synonymous with black runs, half-pipes and spectacular mountainscapes. But it’s also one of New Zealand’s premier food and wine destinations. And the locals want Sydney to know it. So, for the first week of April, they’ll be transforming The Winery Surry Hills into a mini-Queenstown. There’ll be an alpine-esque makeover, passionate producers and a handpicked selection of wines and gastronomic specialties. Special events include Wine 101 with expert sommelier Sarah Limacher (Tuesday, April 1); a ‘Trust the Chef’ laneway dinner, designed and delivered by Amisfield Bistro head chef Jay Sherwood (Wednesday, April 2); and a Cheese Gorge Board night (Thursday, April 3). The ‘Break Out Menu’ will be available all week, showcasing Sherwood's signature creations, matched with wine from several Central Otago wineries, including Amisfield, Mount Edward, Gibbston Valley, Two Paddocks, Peregrine and Valli. If that’s not enough to inspire a visit to The Winery, how does the chance of winning a $10,000 foodies’ holiday to Queenstown sound? Just head along at any point during the week, take a snap of yourself sampling one of the drinks on offer and you’ll be in the running.
At times it seems baffling that in a city of 4.6 million people we’re struggling to keep our live music industry afloat. With the recent demise of the Annandale Hotel, there’s a gaping hole in Parramatta Road, once an inner west institution and home to Australia’s foremost musicians. Capped off with the new lockout laws, there’s now some gloom hanging over Sydney’s nightlife. However, beyond the parameters of the CBD entertainment precinct, fresh meat is stewing in the inner west. The Roller Den is a spanking new venue that will occupy the basement of the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville. With an emphasis on hosting local and international acts of a variety of genres, this promising space is already creating some serious buzz. "The Imperial Hotel have committed to a live music project throughout the entire venue,” says venue's booking agent Laurie Mahon from Kingdom Sounds. The next few weeks ooze with home-grown musical talent, such as Stonefield and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The fast-selling launch party will be headlined by boisterous blues-rockers and proud inner westies The Snowdroppers. There's also a swag of Sydney outfits, such as Born Lion and The Dead Love, giving the event a strong local thrust. The folks at the Roller Den have massive plans for this year. Read all about it in our feature on the venue.
Get ready, folk-rock fans, for a little something to spice up your musical repertoire from Okkervil River. The Texan-indie rockers have released their seventh full-length studio album, and you could hear it live this summer when they make their sixth tour of Australia. A nostalgic ode to the days of his New Hampshire-spent youth, The Silver Gymnasium is the autobiographical creation of frontman Will Sheff. Since the band members grew up in the 1980s, it's only fitting that the album stays true to the times with lots of pop influences. You probably wouldn't think of '80s pop and southwestern folk rock as a match, but Okkervil River makes it seem completely natural. Tracks like 'Stay Young' and 'Deep Down the Deep River' could be soundtrack-worthy of cult classics like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles with their catchy tunes and reflective lyrics. You'll find yourself humming along, fondly (or not so) reminded of the glory days of your high school years.
This editorial is sponsored by our partners, The Rocks. The only way to find out what's behind the red curtain concealing the Village Bizarre's famed Cabinet of Curiosities is to join the queue and see for yourself. With its constantly-changing contents kept secret until the event, we can only tell you that they're bound to vary from strange to supernatural to seductive to side-splittingly funny. We also know that its mysteries are 'small but perfectly formed' and 'not human'. Located in Foundation Park, which is entered via Cleland Bond, the Cabinet will be spilling its secrets every Friday during the Bizarre, between 6.30pm and 10pm. The Rocks' shadowy lane ways will also be hosting an array of unexpected events and quirky surprises. A wander down Greenway Lane will carry you into a magical, theatrical micro-universe. On November 1 and December 20, you're likely to find yourself face-to-face with the charming Magician Neo and his mesmerising sleight-of-hand, or The Great Gandini, presenting his medical marvels. On November 8 and 29, look out for the Rhinestone Cowgirl - 'Veteran Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, ex-pat Aussie and self-made D-grade celebrity'. Other evenings will see Convict Cabaret, a sur-reality show hosted by For Eva After, performances by a heart-broken Spanish diva, some tricky untangling with escape artist 'The Great Heidini', and The Cave of Wonders. To watch the teaser video, click here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nv9-R9V7Uoo
Bangarra Dance Theatre is renowned for creating theatrical stories through dance, pushing the envelope of performance and showcasing the fresh and inspirational voices of contemporary Indigenous culture. And their latest production, Dance Clan 3, will not disappoint. For the first time ever, an all-woman assemble have choreographed a work of diverse style and concept, in celebration of the inaugural Corrobree Sydney Festival. Led by Bangarra's own Deborah Brown, Yolande Brown, Tara Gower and Jasmin Sheppard, Dance Clan 3 will be performed by the entire Bangarra ensemble, inviting audiences to explore the heart and soul of contemporary Indigenous experience. This exciting new production is a fusion of story, dance and music, proving the strong cultural integrity and spirit of Aboriginal tradition and showcasing the new choreographic voices of the Bangarra company. With a deep connection to culture and artistry, the Dance Clan 3 season will be held at the Bangarra home studio in Walsh Bay. Tickets are on sale now. Image: Greg Barrett.
What is ‘capital’? It’s social, economic, personal. Yet, it’s also intangible and invisible. You might say that we intuit capital the way we intuit gravity. But what we do know for sure is, it's a force that controls almost every decision we make. Set in a post-GFC world, Isaac Julien's acclaimed seven-channel video installation, accompanied by large still images in this Roslyn Oxley9 exhibition, investigates that mysterious non-substance called capital. The work drew worldwide attention when it was projected on the billboards of New York's Times Square at midnight last year. It didn't hurt publicity that among the six characters featured is one James Franco, he of the many puzzling art cameos. In a hybrid of fiction and documentary, the Turner Prize-nominated Julien presents a series of narratives that explore the impact of capital on the art world and the individual. In Dubai, exponential growth is juxtaposed with the financial circumstance of a lonely and isolated Filipina maid (Mercedes Cabral). As she mechanically fulfils her duties, her own image is rebuffed by the hard gloss of untouched furniture and steel structures, depicting the sterility of this foreign wealth. At times, her narration is even delivered through these reflections, reinforcing her as a ghostly and detached presence. Where one economy booms, another flounders. North in Reykjavik, an Icelandic artist paces throughout the abandoned interior of his modernist dream house, in an image of lament and decay. Framed by snow-capped mountains and steaming geysers, the architecture offers some very striking images, such as the silhouette of the artist against a circular window, yellowed by the sun. Slipping up and down staircases, under beams and between rooms, the artist generates an optical elusiveness that is reminiscent of something M.C. Escher might sketch. Unlike the artist and the maid, the third chapter features a host of characters who have managed to control capital. “It’s a game!” announces Franco's art dealer, oozing self-assuredness, as he delivers a monologue praising the market and citing collector’s fairytales. As the camera circles Franco, it is as if Julien is driving home the idea that capital is constituted through social relations, and is only enhanced by a dose of charisma. This is followed up by an interview with the art auctioneer Simon de Pury, who plays a version of himself. These internally focused capitalists are much less subtle than the external longing of the maid and the artist. The way they are scripted seems to hit quite deliberately on the academic concepts Julien wants to convey. Although the last segment is engaging, it probably doesn't need to try so hard, particularly as the accompanying work, Kapital, fleshes out a deeper reading of capital and its representation, via an interview with Marxist scholar David Harvey. Nevertheless, Julien offers up a rich visual experience that is both topical and technically accomplished. This global portrait of the ever-present nature of capitalism and its grasp on humanity is sometimes quite frightening. Whether you deify or demonize money, it's a reality that governs our existence.
Three Blokes Telling Jokes is exactly what it says on the wrapper, so says their Sydney Comedy Festival page. But to be honest, it's hard to see how Three Blokes Telling Jokes could be anything other than, well, exactly that. Andrew Barnett, Matty B and Scott Dettrick are three such blokes. But their humour doesn't seem to be as low brow as you might have expected. Three Blokes Telling Jokes is set to be an hour of stand-up comedy from educated white blokes who explore the ridiculousness of middle-class Australia. Three Blokes Telling Jokes packed out this year's Adelaide Fringe Festival, and it's likely that their shows at the 10th Annual Sydney Comedy Festival will go the same way.
If you could create the ultimate Australian outdoor festival destination, what would it look like? Waterfalls? Summer gardens, blossoming with natives? Beautifully landscaped rockeries? Mount Penang Gardens has it all. That's why they're home to the Central Coast's newest festival: Mountain Sounds. On Saturday, March 15, twenty-five home-grown music acts, gourmet food stalls and practising artists will converge on the gardens' eight hectares for a sustainably produced, boutique cultural experience. Both locals and travellers-from-afar comprise the line-up. From the Central Coast, there'll be be eclectic indie band Sea Legs, alt rockers Elliot the Bull and Terrigal's The Lazys. Sydney is sending in reggae-garage-surf rock group Tropical Zombies, lo-wave duo Buzz Kull, distinctive, lyrical rock outfit Thieves and SOUSEME DJs, amongst others. Hailing from Melbourne is high-energy four-piece World's End Press. Other big names on the menu include Emma Louise, Ball Park Music, Midnight Juggernauts (DJ set) and Beni.
Hyde Park will be transformed into a microcosmic Hunter Valley when 100 or so viticulturists and vintners gather for Sydney Cellar Door 2014. Except, of course, that they'll be coming from all over the state. So wine connoisseurs will be able to sample Southern Highlands Pinot Noir, Tumbarumba Chardonnay and New England Riesling without having to walk more than a few metres. Once you've decided on your preferred drop, find out how it matches up with some of the state's best gourmet creations. Chefs and restaurateurs will be travelling from far and wide to present food with an emphasis on local, seasonal produce. Try fine dining from Bowral's Biota Dining, Vietnamese street food from Bar Pho, mouth-watering snacks from Eat Art Truck and famous desserts from Gelato Messina. That's just the beginning of the list. To make the experience complete, a varied program of live music will run all weekend. Wine tasting packages and tokens are on sale now.
Upon first glance, the above macro photograph from John A. Douglas's current exhibition looks quite appetising — delectable, even. Like berry ripple ice-cream or a custardy mess of trifle. However, the title, Renal, is sure to dry up that excess saliva in a heartbeat. Burrowing deep under the skin, The Visceral Garden: Landscape & Specimen is a photographic essay visualising the swirling, psychedelic galaxies of the human body, or more specifically, the diseased body. To kickstart your 2014 in culture, this exhibition at Chalk Horse is a must. They've set up a new space on William Street, giving the Cross a boost of contemporary art. As an artist and chronically ill patient, Douglas has cultivated an interest in morbid anatomy over the past years. During his residency at the Museum of Human Diseases at the University of New South Wales, he studied the aesthetic character of his illnesses and other pathologies, photographing tissue specimens that mirrored his own ailments. Woven with Greco-Roman motifs, the resulting series is a cathartic and visceral narrative, depicting an overwhelmingly vast and complex bodily interior. Throughout the series, the small figure of Douglas, clad in either red or gold, represents the struggle to stave off disease. Whether it be crawling frantically through manhole-sized blood vessels or lying limp in a field of luminous bones jutting up like tombstones, he continually appears dominated by formidable and surreal landscapes. Notably, The Visceral Garden - Styx has the apocalyptic feel of a Greek epic. Unlike the extraterrestrial deserts of other works, this environment is angular and fierce, featuring jagged 'rocks' and 'clouds' burgeoning with grey-green toxicity. The expressive gesture of the miniature red man reaching towards a tangle of indistinct angels has a definite air of classicism, evoking Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. There's also a work portraying the same figure bound up in red web, held captive by the goddess Arachne. The fact that Douglas stitches in these mythologies communicates the idea that he is not only traversing under skin, but through underworlds that are fraught with danger. You're drawn to contemplate the materiality and mortality of your own body. This is again reinforced by the images of isolated organs floating eerily in space, thinly veiled and with intricate, fleshy threads. With their spots, clots and discolourations, it would appear that seemingly minute damage can have big repercussions in this biological universe. The Visceral Garden — Landscape and Specimen is a coalescing of beauty and morbidity. With the veiny textures and arresting colours of his macro photography, Douglas offers a fascinating fusion of anatomy and geology. The whole narrative is pulled together by the four-channel video, reflecting the biological and psychological struggle of blow by blow. One thing's for certain, 'visceral' is the right adjective.
