In the future there will be a giant super tortoise crushing cop cars in Times Square. It could happen. For its fourth and final Visual Response competition for 2010, Australian INfront went with the theme 'The Future'. Guaranteed to provoke imagery of all manner of shiny, pre-apocalyptic gadgets, post-apocalyptic wastelands, robo-machine-zombie-cops and witty word play, The Future is a gold mine for 2D visionaries. Or a minefield. Over 100 entries were received for this Visual Response from artists, illustrators and designers (James Jirat Patradoon, MASH Studio, Mark Gowing, TOKO, Rhett Wade, Debaser and Synapse — to drop some names). The top twenty, as voted by the people, will be on exhibition at Roller for one night only. Get along, grab a beer and celebrate the year that was.
One of the artist statements for Global Gallery's current Russian Artists show proudly proclaims painter, Leeka Gruzdeff, as the "winner of over 100 first prizes in local and country exhibitions." That's a pretty good summation of this show, with most of the five artists' work displaying the sort of technical competence that would fare well at a smaller exhibition, but not necessarily producing much in the way of emotional impact. There's a good deal of fine draftsmanship on show at this small Paddington gallery, with Gruzdeff's musical scenes being one example. A more striking one being Helen Kosenko's finely detailed, vaguely pop-art pieces, which make excellent use of limited palettes and fine detail. But few of the artists have applied their skills in a particularly moving way, with beach scenes, fairly unimaginative collage and some decent but unamazing abstract art making up the rest of the show. Arguably one exception is Edward Galkin. The most stereotypically "Russian" of the artists being exhibited, his series of ostensibly crude paintings of the uniquely snide (or perhaps retarded) East European interpretation of court jestery easily stand out in their concern with more difficult experiences. The stupid, lustful, or (maybe?) cunning wide-eyed grin of Petrushka, the paintings' protagonist, accompanies him on a series of escapes alongside such dour and absurd captions as "I have no mummy," "Death takes Petrushka" and "Petrushka is mocking Malevich." It's vaguely unsettling stuff, which is definitely a plus, but without much in the way of context these mildly sinister scenes lose some of their power, coming across a bit like Itchy and Scratchy's iron curtain counterparts Worker and Parasite. I'd be letting my own East European heritage down if I didn't suggest that this show is still worth seeing — Petrushka's good company, no doubt — but maybe not at the top of your list.
This Wednesday night, the Australian Centre for Photography on fashion-happy Oxford Street hosts Tea with the Fashionistas, a panel event populated by industry insiders poised to debate the eternal question: does fashion merely play into our consumer cravings, or does it represent a more significant role? Panellists include photographers, designers and fashionistas and before you let them do all the deciding, consider both sides of the argument. For the consumer-driven fashion market side, we have money-driven crimes of fashion like the seriously questionable Texas Tuxedo from Levis', which in its two tones of denim demonstrates all that is wrong with too much of a good thing; the blatantly populist Material Girl range from the inimitable Mads and her pre-pubescent daughter Lourdes, fronted by Gossip Girl star and serial-badass Taylor Momsen, which seems all the more about celebrity than clothes. And if you're not convinced that current fashion reeks of consumerism, think CanCan by Paris, Fantasy by Britney and Lovely by Sarah Jessica, the tritely-named troupe of celebrity fragrances. However, you may believe fashion is more than a fleeting trend, the view I think the panel may well be advocating at TWF. Cementing your argument in this corner is the continuing ability of fashion to transgress borders (follow pyjamas as they drift from the East's opium dens via Coco Chanel in the West, then onto the Antipodes to become the staple of an Australian label), eras and classes (those low-slung panted, lace-less shoed boys you see roaming the streets mean more than they seem, with fashion borrowed from inmates of the US prison system). Also, the fact that fashion is the sole creative outlet engaged with by everyone, everyday in some way, and the close link between fashion and the world’s political history — if lace-makers were being killed in Revolutionary France for their product’s association with the royalist ancient regime, how then can fashion be meaningless to society? So, armed with all you need to know to make an informed decision, make haste to ACP. Seats may sell out and they make no promises for latecomers. Image: After Guy, The Birthday Suit 2009
Across the first two levels of the MCA things are being re-rendered, repositioned, re-presented and reduced. Banal snapshots from Flickr and Google Image are finely replicated in watercolour by Jackson Slattery who forms new narratives with found images. A soccer ball finds itself made of polyurethane resin and automotive paint in Akira Akira's room of achromatic exercises in form and texture. Agatha Gothe-Snape records days of her life as studies in basic geometry and colour, and turns elemental human emotions into PowerPoint slides. A highlight of the 2010 Primavera is Sydney artist Emma White who reshapes the real with her polymer clay renderings of stationary, art supplies and other every-day tools of representation. In one new work on display here the structures and layers of representation are further complicated with a clay copy of a Hassleblad camera displayed next to a photo of itself. These simple, self-contained works are not quite trompe d'oil because central to their experience is that we are not completely fooled by them. There is always a moment of revelation when we get close enough for the illusion to collapse. Video didn't end up killing the radio star but it wasn't very nice to painting, which had terrible trouble being looked at let alone liked during the reign of new media. So it’s nice to see this year's curator Katie Dyer include such out-of-vogue art forms as oil paint and watercolour, as well as a strong overall element of old school craftsmanship. Image: Agatha Gothe-Snape, 'Wrong Solo 1'
Well, well, well, Brand New Heavies you deliciously soulful things, it sure is about time we heard your jams again. The celebrated British masters of all things boogie, misfortune and mamma-lovin' midnight trunk-funk are finally heading to Australian shores, as their reformation gets hot and heavy in the August cool. With an acid jazz toxicity to burn a hole through the nearest stuffed shirt, TBNH are one helluva struttin', rhymin', grindin' groove — a warm reminder that it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing. With the return of Grammy-nominated songstress N’Dea Davenport and her smoothly gunning vocals, this regroup sees the addition of four original members of the funktrust, with Simon Bartholomew rolling guitar, Jan Kincaid gettin' loose on percussion and Andrew Levy slappin' that bass like thurr. With humble beginnings in 1985 in Ealing, London, this collective crew has seen a quarter of a century together, as their RandB unity even saw their killer track Jump 'n' Move feature in the 2006 penguin film Happy Feet. With a ten-year break proving absence makes the heart grow funkier, the title of a recent album re-release really says it all for this soulful bounce of a crew: We Won't Stop.
Beloved character actor Patricia Clarkson (High Art, Pieces of April, The Station Agent) finally steps onto centre stage in Ruba Nadda's luscious Egyptian love story. Actually 'love story' doesn't do Nadda's screenplay nearly enough justice, for what she creates is a mature and sophisticated portrait of an affair, and one that is exquisite in its restraint. Clarkson plays Juliette Grant, an American magazine editor and wife of a United Nations refugee worker who travels to Cairo in order to reunite with her long absent husband Mark (Tom McCamus) and visit the pyramids. Waylaid in Gaza, Mark sends his friend and former colleague Tareq (Alexander Siddig) to collect Juliette and play tour guide, but now thrown together, the pair develop an attraction that deepens into the heady question mark of an affair. Nadda is truly spoiled for choice in both her setting and the performances of Clarkson and Siddig. She cannily embraces a certain postcard exoticism in her visuals, but then knowingly uses Alexandria and its ancient pyramids to achieve the film's emotional climax. It's a masterful mix, which also makes the most of Clarkson's graceful good looks and her wonderful comic timing. With echoes of the classic Roman Holiday, Cairo Time is a must see for armchair travelers and lovers of romantic dramas alike. Shining its titular city to a high gloss but providing dramatic substance (and the superb Clarkson) to boot, this is a film to fall in love with. https://youtube.com/watch?v=orXcdLwtVRY
Underneath the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Woolloomooloo for the next three weeks is the dark cavernous netherworld of nice sister Cat400 and mean sister Fluke, whose underground existence is turned upside down by a time travelling stranger dressed in white who has no memory but some sense. With the low-fi psychedelic appeal of writer/director Nick Coyle's past shows, including Hammerhead (is dead), Rommy is like something a bunch of teenage stoners would put on using whatever bin liners, ridiculous dance moves, dog costumes and red ukuleles they had lying around — except that the writing and the performances happen to be brilliant. Theatre made by Coyle is hilarious, dark, twisted, gloriously silly and — while he might not like to admit it — actually quite sad and moving. What I mean to say is, see this play.
The Italian Film Festival is about to dominate the Sydney cinematic scene for another year. Of the 25 films screening, opening night honours go to Daniele Luchetti's portrait of a working-class Roman, La Nostra Vita, which garnered Elio Germano Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. Also selected from Cannes is Draquila – Italy Trembles, Sabina Guzzanti's compelling examination of the 2009 earthquake that killed 300 and devastated the Abruzzo region. Further highlights include Giuseppe Tornatore's (Cinema Paradiso) glorious, high-spec period piece Barrìa, which was the first Italian film to open the Venice Film Festival in 20 years. The Front Line turns the true story of a daring prison break into a searing political thriller, strikingly produced by the Dardenne Brothers. The Man Who Will Come took out Best Film at the David Di Donnotello (Italian Academy) Awards, as it lyrically chronicles the Marzabotto Massacre of World War II. And after charming in German culinary fable Mostly Martha, Martina Gedeck and Sergio Castellitto reunite as a married couple in the tender drama Bets & Wedding Dresses. Lighter fare comes in the form of writer-director and actor Carlo Verdone's screwball comedy Me, Them and Lara, or the Florentine, single 40-something female comedy Marriage and Other Disasters. While committed Italian cinema fans might take up the challenge with What Do You Know About Me, Valerio Jalongo's behind-the-curtain look at the evolution of the local film industry. Capping off the festival in a spectacular closing night double feature is Vittorio de Sica's 1948, neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves, which will screen alongside Vittorio D., Marino Canale's captivating documentary about one of Italian (and indeed, World) cinema's most revered directors. It goes without saying that this is a must-see for all film lovers. https://youtube.com/watch?v=g_ZaT8zqWok
Adapting the work of an eponymous figure is undoubtedly a fairly daunting task. In this case, the work is Franz Kafka's The Trial: a surreal novel wherein Josef K is arrested for an unknown crime, tried in an unseen court and ultimately destroyed by the infinite and invisible system within which he is trapped. Intangible characters, abstract emotionality and a plot, like the trial itself, seemingly without progress sets up some very real problems for a theatrical production. Louise Fox's adaptation therefore makes significant decisions, such as generating a point of climax not present in the original novel, that are thankfully justifiable in the greater scheme of a truly visionary production. Under Matthew Lutton's direction, the cast balances moments of distinct characterisation, even humour, with an uncanny blending of personas. Composition and sound design work in such a way that we are uplifted by melody at one moment and disturbed by barely audible bass at the next. But perhaps the best quality of this production is its ability to embody the abstract labyrinth which is fundamental to Kafka's novel and aesthetic. Lutton's direction and Claude Marcos's set design work hand in hand to deliver a Lynch-influenced stage which has Josef K (Ewen Leslie) literally running circles. Leslie also deserves note for his performance in the lead role, which is nothing short of exceptional. That said, this production is not one which will create a consensus of opinion. Even the climactic point created a tangible sense of the audience shattering, rather than uniting, in response to the performance. But surely it would be disloyal to Franz Kafka for things to be otherwise? I'd advise you to see The Trial, just in case, because productions like this one only appear once in a blue moon. Image: Jeff Busby.
It's that time of year again when an innocent trip to the park or shortcut down a laneway could take you by surprise (or bring you flashbacks of Melbourne). Now in its ninth year, Art & About is back for a month of not only frivolous word play but also free public art projects, installations, dressed-up statues and outdoor galleries. Transforming Sydney’s laneways are nine contemporary artists, including Mikala Dwyer, Newell Harry and Simon Yates. Take a backstreet home from the office and you'll be immersed in unexpected works of art inspired by Dylan Thomas, Miles Davis and even the Underwood typewriter. Historical statues around town are treated to a makeover from Sydney's emerging artists, textile and costume designers. Reinventing them for modern-day Sydney, this quirky public art project introduces the likes of Captain Cook to the world of meggings, paisley shirts and '70s prints. Other projects include the Banner Gallery, a collaboration with public art aficionado John Kaldor, Sydney Life, an outdoor photo gallery capturing intimate slices of Sydney, and CAMP Stonewall, an outdoor gallery exploring the struggle for gay rights and revealing some of Sydney's 'coming out' stories. Sydney band Dappled Cities headline the free public launch in Hyde Park on Thursday, September 23 from 6pm. Image: Carmen, Elizabeth Street by Jenny Templin.
Judy Garland may be the quintessential Dorothy, but she wasn't the first. Fourteen years before Garland followed the yellow brick road in glorious Technicolor, Dorothy Dwan did so in Larry Semon's silent film. Largely lost from the cinematic history books (the film bankrupted its production company and distribution was therefore squandered), Semon's take on L. Frank Baum's famous tale will now be screened as part of the Opera House's Screen Live series. Australian pianist Jan Preston will be on hand to provide live musical accompaniment. Preston is no stranger to silent film, having composed and recorded music for Fritz Lang's 1928 classic The Spy. Fans of Dorothy and her motley crew of friends will be sure to delight in this original filmic adaptation, which will be introduced by Jay Katz from the Mu Meson Archives. https://youtube.com/watch?v=nX5g0AOy53U
Sydneysiders, let's be honest; Cockatoo Island is Jurassic Park. A looming, gargantuan island of mystique and fossilised structures, with an eerie array of tunnels and apatosaurus-worthy grassy plains, this hub of artistic sorts seems only too appropriate for an exhibition entitled Unknown Territories — Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Hold the dilophosaurs, on with the art. The first ARP (Artists in Residency Program) is set to bring a host of new contemporary artists to this alluring heritage site, the island that successfully bore the wonderment of the 17th Biennale of Sydney earlier this year. With acclaimed artistic director Annie Laerkesen at the helm, the ARP is a new collective of sorts in which eight established and emerging modern artists bunkered down on the island to create an ongoing spring exhibition. Laerkesen selected artists at differentiating stages of career prowess, with the likes of Sydney-based installation artist Mikala Dwyer, artistic architect Richard Goodwin, interdisciplinary visual artist Keg de Souza, Cairns painter Daniel Boyd, Sydney favourite Justene Williams, installation and video artist Margaret Roberts, interactive media artist Mari Velonaki (work pictured) and Australian activist art collective boat-people.org installing their fresh and original works for the month of September. With site-specific pieces, robotic installations and a fusion of performance and video art, Laerkesen’s artist selection is drawing upon the mysterious qualities of the space itself alongside the fresh vision of her residents. "Notions of displacement, disorientation, intervention and reinterpretation underpin the works in this exhibition creating an exciting launch for this new creative initiative," she says. But despite ARP holding no responsibility for raptor assaults, the beauty of this little adventure is all in the ability to interact and engage with the space. Approaching via ferry with John Williams to soundtrack, a little artistic tyrannosaurical adventure never went astray.
Should you trip up and graze your knee, First Aid Kit will numb the pain. In fact, the mesmerising voices of these Scandinavian sisters could act as an alternative painkiller for any of the aches and grumbles that come from staring at a computer screen too long or hugging your iPhone to sleep. Johanna and Klara Soderberg, aged just 20 and 17, are creators of an enchanting collection of country-folk songs that have drawn comparisons with everyone from Joanna Newsom to Bon Iver and Laura Marling. These cute-as-a-button sisters, who grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm, initially turned to music through their love of pop princesses Britney and Beyonce. But after a friend recommended they turned their ears to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, the Soderberg sisters endeavored to learn guitar and pen some folk music. Their YouTube video cover of Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by the Fleet Foxes caught the world's attention (one-and-a-half million hits — that's ten times more than the original), including a nod from the Foxes themselves. They were quickly signed to Rabid Records, the record label run by fellow Swedes The Knife. Now signed to London label Wichita, First Aid Kit have just released their debut album The Big Black and The Blue; an album that is both sophisticated and naive, dark and light all at once, with the quirk that comes from a Swedish tongue twisted into English. If you believe that music really does heal, let the girls work their powers on you when the duo play the Oxford Art Factory on September 9. They may just cure that funny rash or the wart on your big toe. https://youtube.com/watch?v=0VUIwtE8edY
Walk the streets of London or NYC on the first day of the year and you'll find only emptied cold streets echoing to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. But here in a city where sunscreen and festive cheer walk hand-in-hand, it seems only natural to stretch midnight celebrations 'til sunrise and over to the nearest city park. And so, the perennial question: will you see this New Year through, or will you be climbing into bed at a quarter-past 12 to arise for an early Field Day? Whatever you decide — although I daresay you'll change your mind after a few glasses of champers — Fuzzy has just announced a clanger of a lineup for Field Day 2011. The Ayawaska-inspired Klaxons will headline, along with the godfathers of hip-hop Public Enemy (rumour has it Flavor Flav still rocks out the clock) and a handful of Aussie and international favourites including long-awaited The Rapture, London indie band the Mystery Jets, bouncy crowd-pleasers Art vs Science and Sydney's beloved French DJ duo, Justice. There's also New York electro-rockers Sleigh Bells, funny Frenchies Jamaica, kooky Brit girl Marina And The Diamonds, and electro-king Erol Alkan. The list goes on with Tame Impala, Duck Sauce (Armand Van Heldon and A-Trak), Chromeo, Peaches, Trentemoller, Aeroplane, a DJ set from Baio of Vampire Weekend, and a hark back to the good ol’ days of Finger Lickin’ Fuzzy break-beats, Plump DJs. Nice! Now, a second question to pose: will you go for the standard long-loo-queue poor man's standard ticket, or for the slightly more expensive one where you get to wee when you want, feel very important buying drinks from the Botanic Bar, and (apparently) meet, greet and harass the acts on their way into the festival?
The French love of cinema is given vibrant new depth in Mia Hanson-Love's reverent ode. The writer-director's sophomore film follows charming film producer and joyous family man Gregoire Canvel (Louis-Do De Lencquesaing) as he quietly struggles to juggle his raft of projects, each with their unique creative and financial pressures. With one of two phones constantly glued to his ear (and a cigarette forever at his lips), Gregoire's passion for his profession is warmly reflected in his effusive love for his beautiful Italian wife (Chiara Caselli) and their three delightful daughters (Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss), as Hanson-Love captures the chiaroscuro of life in a frank, honest and refreshingly unsentimental fashion. Hanson-Love also has a clear talent working with young actors, for the performances she realises from the Canvel girls is nothing short of remarkable. So too is De Lencquesaing's larger than life role, and though Caselli is comparatively silent, she is by no means less powerful. Alice de Lencquesaing (acting with her father), who owned the closing scene of Olivier Assayas' luminous Summer Hours, profoundly impresses here again with the awkward grace she brings to the teenager — just watch for a scene in which she attempts to order a coffee. Such fresh-faced performances and tender writing makes for a family who jumps straight off the screen and into your heart. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GuyMdDddRv4
For 20 years in the festival business, Aunty Meredith is looking pretty damn spritely for her age. With ballots already overwhelmed, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the wonderfully maintained three-day Meredith Music Festival. Started in 1991 "as a party for about 200 friends to celebrate the end of the year, with live music, minimal hassles and the great Australian countryside", this good-natured and much-loved whirligig has built a fervent cult following over two decades of mud, sounds and a refreshing No Dickheads Policy. Tradition turns inevitably cheeky, with punters already gearing up (or gearing down) for the Annual Meredith Gift nude sprint race and determining how much goon they'll be needing to brave the dash. Like a regularly eclectic pass-the-parcel of birthday delight, this year's line-up features an impressive host of local and international acts with more assortment than a laden present table. With a nice focus on 90s iconography from whence the festival flourished, fronting the bill is the iconic return of Melbourne sonic instrumentalists the Dirty Three, as Mick Turner, Warren Ellis and Jim White swing back to the Supernatural Amphitheatre for the fourth time. Variety being the name of the game, the illustrious trio are joined by the multifarious yet cohesive likes of 'Pharrelll-approved' Virginian hip-hop duo Clipse, wonderfully youthful Californian duo Girls, iconic post-punk outfit The Fall, chillwave US synth saviour Washed Out and the swaggering Aussie drawl of Brisvegas alt-kings Custard. But with Meredith organisers toting a nice notoriety for well-informed selection, the beauty of this offbeat gathering is the propensity to discover new musical loves, as a large cache of acts claiming to be 'Australian-first-timers' mosey their magic selves out bush. Timetables to the wind, stumble upon a gem. Nestled between the hills of Geelong and Ballarat, as the sun splashes against the ghostly gums and scented cypress, this year Aunty Meredith is getting some birthday lovin'. While ticket ballot is now closed, remaining tickets go on sale September 7 at select stores, then September 9 online at www.mmf.com.au
We all lust for revenge every now and then. "They got what they deserved," or "Karma's a bitch," we say. We're only human, and what's the harm in spitting in that rude customer's food every now and then, really? He had it coming. Well, writer and director Meir Zarchi took that concept of revenge to a level that reached far beyond a little spit in a sandwich, and turned it into one of the most controversial and disturbing horror films ever made. Sydneysiders now have the opportunity to relive this terrifying story of revenge that will haunt the nightmares of even the most avid horror fans. A Night of Horror International Film Festival is presenting a special one-time screening of I Spit on Your Grave, the 1978 classic tale of blood-thirst and vengeance, in light of the release of a 2010 remake of the film. This late-night, big-screen event will be followed by a live Q&A session with Zarchi and trivia with DVD giveaways; both versions of the film will be available for purchase after the screening date. 2011's A Night of Horror International Film Festival is bound to be the scariest yet. Cover your eyes, kids. You can view the entire program here.
Rising Brisbane band The John Steel Singers are teaming up with Modular song-smith Jonathon Boulet to take on a stack of shows across Australia this month as part of the ‘Here’s Johnny’ tour. The joint venture comes as no surprise considering both acts enjoyed a stellar 2010 and are set for a promising year ahead of them. After their debut album Tangalooma received rave reviews last year, The John Steel Singers managed to nab the number 52 spot on the triple j Hottest 100 chart for their lead single ‘Overpass.’ For young gun Jonathon Boulet, 2010 was a jam packed year spent touring with Parades, as well as producing and remixing local bands, all the while working on his second album. With a release date set for the middle of the year, the first single off the album ‘Youre A Animal’ gives a tantalizing taste of what is to come. The production may have graduated from his bedroom, but Boulet’s raw energy and exploding melodies is still going strong, making him a dream act to see live. Both acts are promising surprises including two free and exclusive tracks available on the tour. Guests at the Brisbane show will also be treated to two support performances by local rising acts Young Men Dead and Inland Sea.
The National Art School Gallery is a spectacular space and showing it off this Art Month is the international touring exhibition Erased. The show, which has travelled throughout Asia, has made its return to Sydney for the month that brings artists, galleries and gallery-goers out of the woodwork with a series of talks, late night openings and workshops. Erased is curator Natasha Bullock's assessment of contemporary Australian drawing and it offers artistic practices as diverse as mark-making to imprinting, gesture to sculpture. The six Australian artists include Vernon Ah Kee, whose masterful portraits seem to stare, blank eyed, into your soul; Christian Capurro, with nearly-there works on paper created through the action of erasure; Simryn Gill, who has captured the globe in haphazard sculpture; Jonathan Jones, with subtly embossed works on paper in conversation with graphite drawings; Tom Nicholson, who takes our eyeline upwards with his hung flags; and Raquel Ormella, whose whiteboard worlds are rich and inviting. The show is not only a great way of stepping into Sydney's sandstone past — the National Art School, nearly 100 years old, is located in the old Darlinghurst Gaol — but a fabulous way of surveying the art of drawing in the Australia of now. Gallery talk 5 March 2 – 3 pm free Art Forum series 16 March 1 – 2 pm free Art Month late night 17 March free Drawing Workshop 19 March 12 – 1 pm free Image: Vernon Ah Kee, Unwritten #10, 2008
It’s been a long time between drinks for one of Australia’s most prized directors, Peter Weir, and now we can see why. Returning from the treacherous seas of 2003’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Weir has gone to the opposite extreme, well and truly losing his sea legs in favour of a harrowing 10,000 kilometre trek from Siberia to India. Beginning with Slavomir Rawicz’s 1956 ‘memoir’ The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom (the quotation marks necessary after a BBC documentary discredited Rawicz’s account as a fabrication, or at least borrowed from the experiences of other soldiers), Weir and his team undertook their own meticulous research to find the evidence of at least four Polish soldiers escaped from a Siberian Gulag and walked the staggering distance across the steppes of Mongolia, China’s Gobi Desert and across the Himalayas to the safety of British India. It’s a feat that truly boggles the mind, but one brought compassionately and incisively to the screen by Weir and his ensemble cast including Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell and Saorise Roman. Sturgess provides the heart of the story as Janusz, a Polish officer condemned to the gulag during the Reign of Terror after his wife is tortured into giving evidence against him. There he meets taciturn American engineer Mr. Smith (Harris), and find himself hatching an escape plan with an eccentric Russian actor Khabarov (Mark Strong). But it is Smith and Janusz who eventually escape, joined by four fellow Poles and one terrifying tattooed thug Valka (Colin Farrell). Each has his own reasons for risking almost certain death to attempt this superhuman feat, though it isn’t until they come upon Irena (Saorise Roman), a young stray, that the men start to bare their souls. The Way Back succeeds as both an impossibly detailed chronicle and a stunning tribute to the audacity of hope and the tenacity of the human spirit. The actors are all utterly committed, while the location scouts and cinematographer certainly earned their keep, with the beauty of the various vistas matched only by their implicit dangers. And yet in distilling the human condition down to the essence of escape and survival, Weir’s screenplay has a little too much fat to it. Would he have made The Way Back an even leaner, sparser film and trusted his actors’ impressively physical performances to tell the story rather than fall back on the many overwritten, exposition heavy, scenes. This is however a relatively minor quibble in the magnificent scope of the entire production. The Way Back is a beautifully hewn, honest and courageous film. It’s Man Vs. Wild, for real.
The latest curated shopping experience, Magnolia Square, is set to pop-up at Paddington Town Hall this month. 'Pop up' it may but based on the list of boutique designers, artists and handmade gurus it looks like this will be more like a slow-mo binge for hungry shoppers. Drawing inspiration from the theme 'Paper and Thread', Jo Neville of Sydney institution Paper Couture will create an installation piece captured live on the Magnolia blog during the 3-day event. For those with a penchant for DIY, Jo will also be on hand to share moments of 'papery wisdom' with eager shoppers. If that's not enough to bring out your inner shop-a-holic and rain frogs from the sky, the list of retailers will. Drool over pieces by Sydney-based illustrator, Nikki Catalano, the soothing skincare of Myrtle and Moss and the one off screen prints from Me and Amber. Enter at your own risk for $5.
Most people can relate to being metaphorically stuck between a rock and a hard place, but when Aron Ralston used the idiom as the title of his memoir, his meaning was brutally literal. The story of this experienced, gung-ho climber who famously hacked off his own arm to escape from being pinned by a boulder, is brought to glorious, and yes, relatively gory life by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) and his remarkable leading man James Franco (Spiderman, Milk). Knowing Ralston's fate doesn't really constitute a spoiler; on the contrary, Boyle and his co-writer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionare) seem to prefer it that way. In fact they have almost too much fun teasing their audience's expectations: hence the opening triptychs depicting masses of teeming humanity, and the lengthy shots of Ralston filling his water bottle and even grasping around trying to find his Swiss Army knife. Though bordering on laborious, this set up is done with Boyle's trademark kineticism and a thumping soundtrack, both techniques that are subsequently and powerfully juxtaposed once Ralston becomes silently, claustrophobically trapped. Much as Boyle has lots of cinematic tricks up his sleeve, it would all be for naught if Franco failed to hold our attention in what is essentially a one-man show. But captivate he most certainly does in an electric, unbelievably visceral performance as a man forced to face his own hubris, and then to do the unthinkable. This climatic scene really isn't as grisly as you'd expect, because Boyle and Beaufoy have engineered the film such that by that stage you find yourself needing him to cut it off. It's a striking conceit, and one made further compelling by Franco's jaw-dropping abilities (the scene was evidently shot in one take where they let him just go at the prosthetic arm – he even managed to snap the metal core). However Franco is so transfixing that when Boyle cuts away from him for a few sentimental flashbacks, the film immediately begins to sag. 127 Hours is immersive cinema in the most gut wrenching sense. If it gets a little mawkish, it's probably because it stays a little too faithful to Ralston's spiritual journey (he is now a motivational speaker), but considering the guy gave his right arm to live – again, literally – Boyle has crafted a deeply humane and beautifully triumphant tribute to both Ralston's flawed humanity and his superhuman quest for survival. https://youtube.com/watch?v=OlhLOWTnVoQ
Go to the Republic of China. Take a train across it. Take the cheap skate's option: an enticing ticket known as the 'hard sleeper'. It's not actually difficult to sleep on such a ticket, nor is it 'unsoft', just lacking in amenity by comparison to the more expensive 'soft sleeper'. After the trip, and taking in many of the country's more unusual towns and provinces, complete a one-month residency at Red Gate Gallery. This is what the artists involved in Hard Sleeper did to arrive at their destination exhibition. For two months in 2010, Peter Gardiner, China De La Vega, Frances Belle Parker, Phil James and Guy Maestri traveled through China by train as part of Imagine Australia. The work resulting from that trip will be exhibited at the Damien Minton Gallery from the middle of this month. Also on show will be photographs taken in China by project coordinator Catherine Croll. Those attending the opening on February 15th will also be privy to an address from art critic and writer John McDonald, who traveled with the artists in China.
Billy Connolly, a man whose name is synonymous with the f-bomb, is returning to Australia after a six-year hiatus. What is he bringing with him, do you think? Chances are Billy doesn't know yet himself. Now entering his fifth decade as a comic performer, Connolly has built his career using his preternatural ability to pull hilarity out of the proverbial bum of his life and observations of the world. Somehow the daily oddities that skim past us unnoticed are filtered through the Scot's mind and transformed into pure, gut-rupturing comedy. But it isn't simply a funny joke that has buoyed Connolly's career. His observation marks a natural genius for relaying the human condition, which he has also used to great effect as a successful actor. Whatever it is that he ends up bringing to our attention this year, it is guaranteed that Billy Connolly - the Man will deliver it with the right mix of panache, absurdity and four-lettered poetry. https://youtube.com/watch?v=TDORgNqmDAE
Hop on this train, it's smaller than your thumb but the destination is bigger than all the days of your life combined. At least that is what the Barumpool Film Museum wants you to believe. Childhood dreams of tourist traps are the fodder of this Imperial Panda gem, devised and built by Rhubarb Rhubarb, the team behind film re-dub masterpieces Wonka and Mad Max Remix. Some Film Museums I Have Known is the culmination of three years worth of body fluids, craft liquids and VHS material, with input from some of Sydney's top performance makers: Eddie Sharp (Erotic Fan Fiction), Kenzie Larsen, Natalie Randall (Team MESS) and Nick Coyle (Pig Island). Following a season at Melbourne's NextWave Festival in 2010, Some Film Museums I Have Known is one of the must-see shows of the 2011 Imperial Panda Festival. Grab a beer and laksa at the Old Fitz, then regress to either infantile make-believe or deranged atavism in this dark fantasy about two brothers, a crusty museum and the devilish power that G-rated films will forever hold over pre-teens.
You know how often New Year's Eve always turns into a massive drama? You're trying to organise twelve different people to get to five parties and/or pubs around the city, while also trying to get a glimpse of the fireworks, and you're doing your damndest to make sure that this one night will be the night to end all nights. Well, try celebrating the Chinese New Year instead. Over a two week period in February, Sydney's Chinese population, along with everyone else who's decided that this year, the year of the rabbit, will be their lucky one, will be hitting Sydney's streets for a spectacular array of festival frivolity. Catch the dragon boat races down at Cockle Bay, watch the parade march from Town Hall to Chinatown, go on a Chinatown food tour, view a vast array of recent films from China in the Chinese Film Festival, and generally get in amongst the action as you usher in the lunar new year. Of particular note in this year's festival is the welcoming of a delegation from Hubei Province, famously home to the Three Gorges dam, who bring with them not only demonstrations of Wudang, a form of martial arts famous in the region, but also the Tujia Waving Hand Dance which will feature in the parade. So with your little nose twitching for some Chinese New Year action, hop along to the city during the festival for a thumping good time.
The 1970s were a phenomenally productive decade for Australian photographers and documentarians. There was Sydney’s first Mardi Gras, the massive campaign to save Tasmania’s Franklin River and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in support of Aboriginal Land Rights. But as the 70s drew on, protesters pacified and photographers began looking elsewhere for what to capture of Australia. Spanning three decades of Australian photographers who have turned their camera eye to the abundance of space in this landscape of ours, Photography & Place displays works from Jon Rhodes, Ricky Maynard and Lynn Silverman to name a few. With the absence of human figure in these works, one must imagine human presence in a landscape in Anne Ferran’s Lost to Worlds, examine the residue we have left behind in Rosemary Laing’s panoramic series, or the cultural impact of inhabiting a place through Michael Riley’s series Flyblown. This retrospective is a thorough examination of a significant era of Australian photography and begs the question: what will define the next one? Image: Blue Sky, Paul Ogier 2009
Turning traditional painting into modern dance, Briwyant draws on bir'yun as a resource in the work. This form of Yolngu traditional painting works with intricate crosshatching patterns, creating a shimmering sense of movement on its surface. This movement is representative of ancestral forces, subtle yet woven throughout. It all sounds conveniently appropriate for transformation into movement. The collaborative team, with Vicki Van Hout at the helm, plays on the tensions between personal and community knowledge, light and shadow, and changes over time. In short, Briwyant is a uniquely creative take on traditional knowledge, meaning and spirit. Image: photo by Marion Abboud
Dorryce Rock's affection for colour is tangible. Even an image of any of her paintings will burst and churn with the energy and tension of it. In this, her second solo exhibition, Rock further develops her fascination with that particular kind of luminosity. The exhibition features over forty bright, neon paintings. Following on from her previous experiments, Rock continues to explore the interrelationship between nature and art, while continuing to push into new media. Most of these works are paint on perspex, a form which allows her to capture the texture of the paint as it falls, preserving its chemistry and form. And following in the wake of her collaboration with fashion designer Kit Willow, Glow will also include two carpets, both paintings transformed by Designer Rugs into a new kind of tangibility. Image: #1183, courtesy of Dorryce Rock
Between lockouts and the threat of imposed all-night kitchens, Kings Cross's nightlife has been taking some nasty knocks of late. So it's a relief to bring some good news your way. Key players in the Australian music industry — the Live Music Office and APRA AMCOS — have teamed up with the City of Sydney to put on a cracking free live music festival. To be held on Sunday, November 23 from 2pm and forming part of ARIA Week, IGNITE: Heat the Street will see 40 acts perform across ten music venues. And it won't cost you a pretty little penny. At this stage, the curtain has only been lifted on the first line-up. Leading the charge are indie singer-songwriter Odette, who's been supporting Lior of late; the soulful, gritty, hip-hop influenced Milan; Playwrite, who are currently touring the nation with their latest release; KLP; The Potbelleez; Sun Rai; and loads of others. Keep a look out for the next announcement. Among the venues involved are The X Studio, Uliveto, Gold Fish, Band Room and Kit & Kaboodle. If you're thinking that the IGNITE terminology is sounding familiar to you, you're probably right. This event is actually the second in a free festival series, which made its debut at Surry Hills on Sunday, 31 August. Following its Kings Cross incarnation, the template, officially dubbed 'Live and Local', will likely be rolled out all over Australia. So, wherever you are, you won't be too far away from an epic live music happening. Find more info for IGNITE: Heat the Street over here.
One of the most powerful players in the media game, Arianna Huffington, is coming to Carriageworks. Discussing her brand new book Thrive with the equally formidable political gun Annabel Crabb, Huffington is one of the planet's most kickass women, after launching the Huffington Post in 2005 and casually taking out one of Time's 100 Most Influential People just one year later. Being the first online-only outlet to take home a Pulitzer Prize for reporting, Huffington Post is undeniably one of the world's most widely referred-to sites (you've probably checked it today already). Huffington herself has spearheaded the whole escapade, currently the chair, president and editor-in-chief for the Huffington Post Media Group — a long way from her not-so-humble Cambridge graduate beginnings as a nationally-syndicated columnist. After all these years, the 64-year-old (!) can spin some pretty epic tales, like that casual meditation session she held with Deepak Chopra, being able to get a word in with Bill O'Reilly and running against Arnold Schwartzenegger in the 2003 recall election. Taking multitasking next level, the Greek-American powerhouse has penned her own lengthily-titled book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom and Wonder. Somehow, in the midst of managing coverage of ebola breakouts, the Gaza-Israel conflict and the fact that Americans are totally over fast food burgers, Huffington now schedules in rest, mindfulness and health to her day (much more rewarding outcomes than all that money and power in her pocket). As part of the Sydney Opera House's Ideas at the House program, Huffington and Crabb will delve into the media heavyweight's rise and how success has affected her both positively and negatively. "We are thrilled to be presenting Arianna Huffington, she’s a visionary leader and one of the most influential women in media who continues to inspire," said Ideas at the House senior producer, Danielle Harvey . If you're after a much-needed 'stop sitting on your hands' type of wake-up call, throw some dosh on a ticket to this one-off meeting of total bosses. Huffington will chat with Crabb as part of Sydney Opera House's Ideas at The House program on Wednesday, September 10 at 6pm. Tickets are $55 and go on sale Monday, August 11. More info here.
Venice Beach's grungy hype-fueller Sky Ferreira will drop into the Newtown Hotel for a cheeky DJ set on Thursday, July 24. Preceding her Splendour in the Grass appearance, the Californian pop artist will spin some tunes supported by Fingertips and Snapback DJs. Fresh off the back of supporting Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz Tour, 21-year-old Ferreira will no doubt relish the change of pace with this laidback DJ set and an intimate all-ages show at the Metro — allowing her to showcase the raw vulnerability of her debut LP Night Time, My Time. Ever the boundary-pusher with a self-described destructive streak, let’s just hope the pop powerhouse manages to not get arrested, hospitalized or injured before making her much awaited return. Sky Ferreira will play at Newtown Hotel on Thursday, July 24 supported by Fingertips and Snapback DJs from 8pm (and FREE). If you're keen to see more Ferreira favourites head to her official sideshow at the Metro Theatre on Friday, July 25. Words by Jack Gow and Shannon Connellan.
Sexting teens, Palm Island, corruption at the Wollongong Council, missing persons — these are a few of the meaty subjects we've seen Version 1.0 tackle recently. The company sets the benchmark for documentary theatre in Australia, using a versatile kitbag of legal and historical records, multimedia and tech tricks, interviews with real people, and their own storytelling prowess to look at complex issues from many angles at once. In 2013, Version 1.0 will be venturing far from home for The Vehicle Failed to Stop. The work is inspired by an incident in October 2007 when Australian private security contractors in Baghdad shot dead two civilian women. The contractors, Unity Resources Group, claimed the women's vehicle had "failed to stop". Occurring during the fallout of a similar shooting by America's Blackwater Security, this event provides a window into the particular tragedy that comes with mixing war and commerce. The Vehicle Failed to Stop is on at Carriageworks from October 10-26. Thanks to Carriageworks we have two double passes to give away to the performance on Saturday, October 19, at 8pm. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
Sharing ideas and stories is at the bedrock of all human cultural existence. Whether it is news of distant lands, or the excitement of a recent discovery in one's bathtub, we all want to get together and listen up. Now the internet has done a fantastic job of providing a globe-spanning eavesdrop, but every once in a while, it is refreshing to get amongst the flesh of fellow humans and revel in a batch of great ideas. TED - Technology, Entertainment, Design - has become an international sensation, summoning illustrious speakers from all fields of human achievement to each deliver 18 minutes worth of inspiration. Now in its second year, TEDxSydney (the x stands for "independently organised") brings the ideas exchange to our very own Carriageworks. 2011 promises a broad range of thought-provokers. Percussionist dynamo Ben Walsh will share a stage with geneticist Richard Cotton, who will be hi-fiving historian Grace Karskens, who will be nodding her head to FourPlay, who will all be scribbling down notes from Veena Sahajwalla's speech on the science of sustainability. And that's not even a fifth of the brains trust that'll be in attendance on the day. Great speeches are not the only drawcard for TEDxSydney 2011. Carriageworks have arranged for the TEDx Forum, an absolutely brilliant idea for promoting the rapid spread of ideas and good cheer. Throughout the entirety of TEDxSydney, the public are welcome to come and set up camp in the foyer of Carriageworks. Here everyone will have the opportunity to watch live projections of the speakers (who will be hidden away in Bay 17) and take part in activities such as Q&As, music presentations and good old discussions about the topics raised throughout the day. For those TED addicts out there, now's the time to get out of the closet and experience the real thing in good company. Bring a blanket and cushion to get cosy, and bliss out on shared human brilliance for the day. Image by Daniel Boud https://youtube.com/watch?v=zpv6aGTcCl8
That the ocean is a primordial soup, there is no doubt. Scientific explorations into the dark depths have uncovered a universe of flora and fauna that challenge our conception of life and its forms, and there are still unknown pockets guarding even greater secrets deep below the waves. But there is a dire horror taking place in the oceans of the world. Behemoth swirls of plastic rubbish poison and throttle generations of marine life. Petrochemicals leech life from ancient biomass and greedy nets tear chunks out of the food chain. Now you're ready for Dean Walsh's Fathom. Presented as part of his Australia Council Dance Fellowship, this sequence of compositions seeks to explore the uncertain future of our planet's oceans. Walsh's work in preparation for Fathom has seen him study the physiology of marine animals, finding physical links and analogues between us and some of our oldest ancestors. What does it mean when we drive species of fish to extinction if our own genes still carry the memory of scales and gills? Calling upon his own experience as a scuba diver, and research into climate change, sustainability and the poised sword of extinction, Walsh's Fathom is an urgent piece for a dangerous time. Image by Heidrun Lohr
So, you haunt record stores and like to buy cassettes? You prefer your music a little more noisy than most? Some of it might even be classed as a little experimental? You're not a hipster but, really, they probably wouldn't have heard of this band before? If you haven't been already, I'd say Sound Summit is the festival for you. Held annually in Newcastle over the October long weekend, it's an innovative music extravaganza of epic proportions. This marks the first year that Sound Summit breaks away from the umbrella festival TiNA, big enough to stand on its own two feet. Luckily, the two still run at the same time so, if you're quick, you can catch events from both. The 2011 festival features four days of workshops, panels, exhibitions, shows and more. Many of the events are free, and the others you can buy as you go or lay out a mere $45 for the whole lot. Headlining are Japanese band Mono, with their chillingly evocative music, plus the similarly expectional Moon Duo and Wet Hair. There's an official soundtrack up to stream via the Free Music Archive to get you in the mood. Also look out for Space Summit, a day of events focusing on emerging venues, and showcases from labels and venues around the country. Image: from Sound Summit 2009, courtesy of Sound Summit
Russia does not have a good track record when it comes to the longevity of its soldiers. Back in 2000, a Russian submarine named after the city of Kursk had a hole blown in its side during a training exercise in the Barents Sea, causing both it and its crew to sink to the ocean floor. Though help was offered by other navies, word went out from Moscow that everyone on board the vessel was already dead and no rescue efforts were required. Later on, when the Kursk was dragged back to the surface, evidence on board suggested that this was not actually true. A decade later, British playwright Bryony Lavery (Stockholm and Frozen) visited the tragic tale of the Kursk through the eyes of a British submarine crew out in the Barents Sea. After tremendous acclaim in the UK, the aptly titled Kursk is travelling to the Sydney Opera House for a very brief season this October. Produced along with theatre company Sound&Fury, Kursk is an immersive experience that places the audience up close to the tension and suspense to be found beneath the surface of the sea. A promenade set will have you walking around as a witness to the events of August 2000, accompanied by a sound design that chillingly re-creates the experience of standing in a submarine. For those who seek an experience of the darker decisions of military politics, Kursk is definitely worth the plunge. https://youtube.com/watch?v=T8UHIlDpXmQ
It doesn’t get much fresher than this. One of Australia’s best-loved showcases of up-and-coming artwork is back again, bringing together a collection of the best student submissions from 2011’s HSC Visual Arts exams. And you know the drill. Expect 46 outstanding pieces of all sorts: sculpture, painting, ceramics, documented forms, graphic design, painting, drawing, print making, photo media, textiles and fibre, time-based forms and absolutely everything in between (and trust us, there’s always something a little unorthodox to be found if you look hard enough). In its 29th year, ARTEPXRESS has become one of Sydney’s most-anticipated artistic celebrations. More than 9700 student submissions are sifted through before the final cut is produced. It goes without saying that the quality is stellar, offering the general public unparalleled insight into the future of mainstream local art. Furthermore, it’s great exposure for our budding artists. ARTEXPRESS has gone on to show at international galleries all over the world in the past, including a 1990 and 1992 showing at New York’s Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Seriously, you don’t want to miss it. Image: Long after I am gone, Jordan Munns.
Body weight is a seemingly impossible thing to be competitive about. With different shapes, sizes, metabolisms and all those different ideas of attractive girth, you shouldn't be able to quantify it enough to compare numbers. TV tries all the same. Frustrated by these futilities of size, Jodie Whalen's Worth my Weight in Gold shows a short wall of screens with artist Whelan on gold painted exercise equipment. She exercises with passion, discomfort and sincerity. On two stands nearby are lumps of toffee representing the weight she's working off. They drip onto the floor. Art duo Catherine or Kate — Catherine Sagin and Kate Woodcroft — present the results of a residency in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. Their series of photo pairs set a top row of, mostly bemused or welcoming, store clerks against photos of the two artists in each shop they visit. A tally is posted on the wall nearby. The margin of victory is pretty narrow. The artists say they asked each clerk to rate the pair of them "Who is better looking?" Though the smirk on each clerk's face suggests they liked the question most of all. A video work from the pair nearby interrupts a pastoral scene. Peloton co-director Adrian Gebers' elegant woodblocks riif on the typed '3'. His big letters with a germanic style feel like a child's game with numbers, taking a square 3 turning it constantly sideways to W to E to M and back again in paper and wood. In Erica Molesworth's vivacious Just Passing Through dust and smoke wrap around movement, shadowing the sifting of red earth and green fields laid out like a blanket over the landscape. In a video piece curling, red smoke gets sucked backward into a flare, to the accompaniment of grins. Molesworth's photos are concerned with mining and tourism's impact on rural world. But despite this, the exuberance she obviously felt in taking these images dominates them all. Image: Erica Molesworth, Just Passing Through
Bill Cunningham is a New York Times photographer who rides a Schwinn bike and wears a cobalt blue workman's smock. Sounds like a total hipster — except that he's 80 years old. And every modern fashionista knows his name. Day and night, the veteran cameraman pedals around Manhattan taking pictures of what people are wearing. But Bill, with his discreet 35mm Nikon, is not a fashion photographer. He simply likes the clothes: the cut, the style. The skyscraper-sized ambitions and supercharged egos of New York's status-obsessed socialites? You can keep 'em. The octogenarian shutterbug has long been a fixture at fashion shows, charity balls, high-society galas and social functions. Bill's keen eye captures trends before fashion columns have even been created; fashion critics unanimously agree that he has created the best record of New York style for the last 60 years. This 2010 documentary by filmmaker Richard Press is a loving portrait of the man, the mystery and the meticulous creative process. It includes interviews with some of fashion's most noteworthy names and colourful characters, such as Shail Upadhya, a retired Nepalese diplomat who has a collection of optically outrageous suits, and Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, who defrosts enough to smilingly acknowledge that "we all get dressed for Bill". Although Bill's passion is clothes, he only owns four outfits himself. He patches up his plastic raincoats with duct tape. He doesn't care how he looks. He refuses to accept so much as a glass of water at parties, never mind a free lunch: "If you don't take [anything], they can't tell you what you can do. That's the key to the whole thing." Bill's egalitarian spirit leads him to photograph only the clothes he thinks can be worn by people from all walks of life, and he is interested in "tastemakers", not superstars. He once overlooked Marilyn Monroe and Ginger Rogers in favour of some street kids because they wore more individualistic clothes, and he once snapped Greta Garbo without recognising her. Bill's monastic asceticism shouldn't lead you to imagine his life is deprived in any way; he's always smiling as he pursues his single-minded focus: the perfect shot. In his own words, he eats with his eyes. This documentary celebrates that creative freedom. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1qmszNAsehk
National Theatre Live performances are one of the best ways of taking in a dose of theatre, especially if isn’t part of your regular diet. Filmed onstage in London and broadcast to cinemas all over the world, you can be sure that these screenings will be lovingly directed and excellently acted. With that in mind, you might enjoy Andrew Upton’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic, The Cherry Orchard. If you don’t know much about Chekhov other than that gun thing, here’s the low-down: it’s early 20th century Russia and there is more than a whiff of revolutionary feeling floating about. When Ranyevskaya (played by Zoe Wanamaker) returns to an easy moneyed life on her family’s orchard after ten years abroad, she manages to overlook the increasing instability of the status quo. After ignoring the entrepreneurial schemes of the peasant Lopakhin, she and her brother find themselves striving to hold on to the home they grew up in. Directed by Howard Davies (who previously directed the Sydney Theatre Company’s performance of the same adaptation), this performance promises to be a poignant and tragically funny interpretation of Chekhov’s last play. The Cherry Orchard will be released in Australian cinemas on July 23rd.
The Kills have all the components of an authentic East London indie/garage-punk/battery-acid blues duo pretty much covered, including a story of meeting in a hotel room and early record sleeves shot in photo booths rather than with a professional camera. As of two weeks ago they even have an ex-cocaine addict supermodel closely associated with the band. They're also rather good at performing. Now on their fourth album, frontwoman Alison Mosshart's raw vivacity is still as visceral as guitarist Jamie Hince's effortless cool is, well, effortless and cool. Her renewed stage energy could be attributed to the fact that Mosshart has just completed a two-album stint at the front of Jack White's The Dead Weather, and Jack has probably stipulated that Mosshart refrain from ferociously prowling across the stage and playing off highly-stylized drum machines and samples for fear that she might steal his thunder (yet she still sometimes does anyway). The Kills' sound isn't exactly groundbreaking but it's great to thrash around to, drink some whiskey and be generally captivated by the duo's extreme coolness. Just don't throw a pint on stage, because this has been known to get you booed and ejected after being singled out by a surly Hince challenging you to try entertaining a crowd. https://youtube.com/watch?v=w3fZP7QC4PE
The whole world loves a love story, and this my friends is a corker. Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme was originally set in 1840s Paris about a group of struggling artists and their experiences of love, friendship, and heartbreak. In this superb new rendition of the story, director Gale Edwards has transported the story’s characters, including lovers Rodolpho and Mimi, to 1930s Berlin, where political volatility provides a dark backdrop to the glamorous Speigeltent setting of this operatic tale of infatuation. Basically though, this remains a passionate story about love bohemian style. Rodolpho is a struggling writer hanging with his crowd of equally poor but creatively adventurous artist types. Fate runs him head first into the intoxicating Mimi. They fall in love. Big, swirling, torrential amor. The heartbreaking ending, which I shall not reveal, only adds to the bitter-sweetness of this timeless and universally relatable narrative. In the current production, designers Brian Thomson and Julie Lynch dazzle us visually while the operatic gifts of two of the most exciting young singers in opera today add the finishing touches — Takesha Meshé Kizart as Mimì and Ji-Min Park as Rodolfo. Whether you're an opera aficionado or you've never thought to attend in your whole life, you will most definitely be swept away by this magically moving production. If you’ve ever been in love or lost it, how could you not?
bams & ted's latest pop-up venture is loosely based on two films. The first I haven't seen and the second I've seen too many times to count. The Edge of Love is the first, a film that looks to be about Keira Knightley's embarrassing attempt at a Welsh accent, and the second is Tim Burton’s neo-gothic masterpiece Edward Scissorhands. Considering that one is really crap-sounding and that the other takes place against the perfectly manicured lawns of suburban melancholy, both seem like odd inspirations for bams & ted's notoriously vibrant pop-up vintage stores/dress-up boxes. Add to this that both have an overarching theme of war (which is even more depressing than colour-blocked pastels) and the whole thing sounds equal parts dismal and awkward. But! If you're one of those who have actually seen The Edge of Love you'll probably be aware that it's not just about the difficulty of faking a Welsh accent. It's also about underground London during the Blitz, the poet Dylan Thomas and his 1940s bombshells, plus a whole lot of cutesy cardies, florals with boots, sexy pleats and velvet finery. And in August, bams & ted wage war on suburban mediocrity rather than third-world countries, roaming the generically landscaped lawns of American suburbia in search of eccentricity and difference. Expose your pro-war bias and arm yourself accordingly — possessing scissors for hands could actually be rather advantageous, because the threads at bams & ted's pop-ups are known for being very, very covetable. bams & ted launch their Edward Scissorhands collection on Thursday, August 4, at 6pm with live gothic entertainment, including burlesque dancer Diesel Darling performing a scissor-inspired set and local musician Matt Rochford with his take on Tim Burton's classic 1990 film.
"The unexamined life is not worth living" said Socrates, a conviction that would ultimately lead to his death in 399BC. His crime? Corrupting the minds of the young and impiety. But the message had already been delivered: what happens to you when you start to examine your very assumptions and unexpressed presuppositions? Are you living an ethical life? Do your actions correspond to your ethics? Renowned philosopher Peter Singer realises these are difficult questions to ask, but asking them nonetheless, he says, is an important part of being a sentient human being. First coming to prominence for having nudged the animal rights movement into action with his book Animal Liberation (1975), Singer is an eponymous figure in the world of bioethics and morality, tackling the subjects that define who we are and the way we live (e.g. poverty, immigration, abortion, euthanasia, animal rights and so on). To this end, his current focus on the internet and the ethical dillemmas and issues it unzips is apt. How are we to think about information, access, censorship, sexuality and community in an online world? As Singer has written, "today, if you have an internet connection, you have at your fingertips an amount of information previously available only to those with access to the world's greatest libraries..." With this kind of connectivity and fingertip power, Twitter, blogging or even a basic google search can quickly become a political tool. Plato described Socrates as a gadfly, constantly buzzing and stinging the side of the Athenian State in the service of truth. Singer too carries his own kind of gadfly sting, and it will be interesting to see this applied to the way we live in an online world.
A couple of months ago Chalk Horse moved. They went further into Surry Hills to Lacey St, about three minutes down from their old Cooper St digs, and became the first Sydney artist run initiative to turn into a commercial gallery. The big re-opening show was of paintings by Jasper Knight, because when one of Australia's highest profile artists co-founded your gallery and is one of it's directors you tend to leverage that. Then there was a group show, and now there's another group show, which is great because it's a chance to get their whole stable of artists on display in this space while it still has that new-car smell. Co-curated by longtime gallery manager Clementine Blackman and newer addition Kat Sapera, Nothing is true, everything is permitted promises to evidence the gallery's ongoing commitment to intelligent and rigorous work by emerging and mid-career artists across a variety of media. Chalk Horse is one of the galleries most likely to confuse you on entry, but it's also very good at explaining itself (the catalogue essays are really great) and it's a prime provider of high-concept LOLs. This show features work by David Capra, Yvette Coppersmith, Sanné Mestrom, Kate Mitchell, Christian Thompson, John A Douglas (image above) and Gregory & Watts. Image: John A Douglas, Starella
Here is the object. Here is you in front of the object. Here is a kind of click. It's not the audible kind, it's the one that happens in your head when a concept suddenly reveals itself in a material form. I'm not sure how he does it but Kenzee Patterson is an artist who responds to the world around him with honesty, intelligence and humor — an artist who manages to produce these, for lack of better word, clicks. For his first solo show at Darren Knight Gallery, Kenzee will be exhibiting The Camden Valley Way, a party of sculptures created in response to the artist's recent car journey's through regional NSW and suburban south-western Sydney. By the looks of it the work appears to be alive, possess a sense of wit and retain a certain mysterious clarity that could only come from the attractions of the road; housing estates, failed theme parks and home-made artifacts. All things aside, and by dint of promising you too much, this is sculpture worth seeing.
Isn’t there something just a little special about viewing art during the twilight hours? A flute of bubbles in hand, the hum of the outside world silenced for the day. Isn’t art always a little more fascinating when you’re slightly buzzed? Following in the footsteps of hot spots like MCA and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a little ole’ local art collective is set to unveil a series of after-dark programs. Aiming to bring heightened interaction to a selection of exhibitions, the Kaldor Public Art Project will fuse art with workshops, creative discussions, performance, film, live music and best of all, cocktails. With the help of FBi radio, the University of Technology Sydney School of Design, open-mic initiative Kino Sydney and a curatorial collective titled N, Kaldor’s Parlour series will run over three Thursday nights during April. Centered around the project’s current The Dailies exhibition, each Parlour will be staged using Thomas Demand’s incredible works of paper and cardboard as a backdrop. April 5’s ‘Doppelganger’ Parlour will feature music by The Kingpins, Lara Thoms and Nat Randall as well as a discussion that will include “twins, stunt doubles, detective fiction and photocopying.” We’re as intrigued as you are. Doppelganger-themed films, games and model making workshops will all be staged somewhere in the vicinity too. April 12’s ‘Kino Sydney’ Parlour will see Professor Colin Griffiths and local architect Stephen Collier chat about famed architect Harry Seidler, who designed the event’s venue. And finally, April 19’s ‘Mirror’ Parlour will encourage a discussion on mirrors and screen mirror-inspired films. Each event runs from 5.30pm to 9pm and you have to RSVP to parlour.eventbrite.com.au to get your name on the door.
Earth Hour is a symbolic action. Although there is carbon saved by turning things off, the point is the unmissable demonstration that a huge chunk of the world's population caring about the same thing at the same time. If we can manage this for Earth Hour, why not for grander environmental things? The Hour started in Sydney in 2007, and has become an international event in the years since. There are Earth Hour events in Kenya, India and Ireland these days, but you don't need to travel so far afield to find a way to join in this time around. At its simplest, all you need to do is stay home and turn off the lights. But if you'd like to have a more social darkened moment, there's a new 'unplugged' sideline, with events like an Earth Hour acoustic set from The Hello Morning, or a nearly lightless, long distance Earth Hour Bike Ride out west. Along King Street, businesses have signed up to dim their lights and let you dine or drink by candlelight. Cafe Buzzbar and Bank's Thai are among the 43 joining in, with a full list hanging conveniently in the window of the Watershed. You join in with the broader environmental message, or just go in for the spectacle. But any of these small acts could lead on to bigger things. Image of Earth Hour Switch Off 2010 by Sewell / WWF.
