Blog Archives
Secret Wars: Scale vs. Pierre Lloga
Last night brought the noise in the Melbourne Series 2 Semi-Final for Secret Wars.
Pierre Lloga this time went head-to-head with his sometime contemporary nemesis and the Round 1 champion, Scale. Despite the fact that the two share a notional bond with one another; Scale held no fear in depicting Pierre as pathetically imprisoned within his hand-written, pencil-pushing cell: A caricature buffeting itself with cat icons; typical of Lloga‘s work. In the meantime though, Lloga invoked a graveyard-inspired defiance to see to it that Scale in turn was illustrated as the last of the graffer; as encrouched upon by Pierre himself, with the aid of a chainsaw!
In all earnestness: This battle has exhibited the best of art I have witnessed in the series so far.
So without further adieu, please do visit a video of the late evening:
http://secretwars.com.au/melbourne
Natassja Brodie
Taj defines her artistic practice as ‘character design and illustration‘ although this omits the highly emotive nature of her artistic endeavours.
Using various mediums but mostly consisting of screenprinting and illustration that uses richly dark shades of bright colours (indeed) she delves into a psycho-analytical realm of cartoonish caricatures using airbrush and printing techniques. She has also spent the last 3 years as an illustrator in 2D and 3D artwork; specialising in video games.
These works invoke moody scenes, or characters and associated environments that are both adorable and slightly repulsive: however, the works shine in their slithery thick colourations.
Think a turqoise flourescent bulb in the corner of a pitch black room and your can perhaps imagine this colour palette.
Also, check the fresh website: http://www.natassjabrodie.com
Secret Wars: Deb vs. Ken Taylor
Round Three of Melbourne Series 2 was upon us tonight, with the heavyweights pulling some hefty punches upon one another.
The crowd favourite was Deb as she brought the house down with a fascinating ‘novel‘ piece that could be said to reflect an aversionary character synthesis; or such.
Ken Taylor was the certain victor, though: his skullduggery hastily enduring the whitewash.
Without further adieu, do view the photography, and stay tuned for the next exciting instalment in 2011.
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check: secretwars.com.au
DJ Krush
Thursday evening saw Japan’s No.1 DJ hit the decks and fx down at The Corner in Richmond.
Reverberating the venue (I refrain from suggesting dubstep) with what could be described as down-tempo tech breaks, the set rocked to the bemusement of the crowd. I must say I could really dig this vibe and it was fantastic to hear Krush in the now; throwing down new, unique and thumping sounds.
However, after half time he realised the crowd were, let‘s say ‘traditional‘ fans and thus Krush‘s appeasement then ensured that the rest of the set reflected the mediocrity of the Mo‘ Wax back-catalogue with a tweak or two on the side.
The video below features half a dozen short clips that give a fairly broad overview of the set.
-RTB
Joshua Wiffen
Drawing upon the graffiti artform, Josh hits his canvas with a depth of colour layers that are quite engrossing. His use of text calligraphy is striking as it brushes up against themes including societal quips, the female form, trashed pop iconoclasts and, perhaps flesh-eating disco zombies from outer space. Extra pursuits to his gallery works include aerosol murals, paste-up’s and the notional tag here or there. However, his creativity rises to the fore using an array of inks and paints on a fixed surface such as canvas or wood.
Wiffen’s visual style marks an awesome creative effort and his works prove themselves worthy of the modest sum that you would hardly expect to pay: that is, they’re a fucken bargain!
Next up, Josh is working on some further mural endeavours (such as that featured below) and he is co-curating major launch/ exhibition It’s Official from the 14th – 21st December 2010 at Gallery: 5 Crown Lane in Wollongong, NSW.
You can contact Josh for wall commissions and artist workshops at: wiffen.com.au
-RTB
Semantic Clutter
I was up near A’Beckett today and took the time to check out this exhibition that is part of the Liquid Architecture Festival.
West Space is a truly independent art gallery operated by the artists themselves as an ARI (Artist Run Initiative), established in 1993. The gallery is driven by works that reference multimedia, visual and media arts. They offer a comprehensive range of visual arts literature and ‘alternative’ or underground, independent publications.
This exhibition purports to present the “creative detritus generated throughout an artist’s work process” and includes audio-visual, sound and installation works by Paul Candy, Lizzie Pogson, & Tess Elieff with James Wright (among others).
I was impressed by the nature of Candy’s piece that references 16th and 17th century cathedral architecture in an ode to atonality pioneer Arnold Schoenberg. However, I was moreso taken by a part of the curtains and projection piece that is displayed upon entry to the venue. Although being immersed in the feel of this work, I couldn’t help but tie it to an existentialist or perhaps superflous view of the natural environment. Having the title of the show, Semantic Clutter foremost in my rationale, I chewed on the notion of this piece as representing a reality that is detached from objectiveness and language, signs and signifiers. I was also drawn to a piece featuring moulding fruit and vegetables on display; and the scent that confounded my senses and released inquisitive emotions. The sound pieces by Pogson were also sensational. In all, it was definitely an enjoyable experience and I look forward to the next incarnation of the 3-part cycle of works; beginning Tuesday 13th july.
West Space: Level 1, 15 – 19 Anthony Street, Melbourne.
-Rock The Boat
Behold Solar Equation
Federation Square has a scale model of the Sun on show at the moment, by renowned Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. The exhibit is titled Behold Solar Equation and is a simulation of the Sun, based on mathematical equations (of which you can participate in via the iPhone, for all the iPhone people). Regardless; I was there to check out the contrition that is the Banksy movie and here are some pictures of this exhibit that I found more entertaining than said film:
-Rock The Boat
The Beat Invitational
Braving the storms of a previously excessive foray into the night until morning, I was joined by some outrageous and tender-hearted friends to check the Producers Showcase at Roxanne.
Although arriving after Cinderella got home from the ball, live art was still in effect by the “insanely talented” Otis Chamberlain and the mad bass of hip-hop fused dubstep was on the make. Featured producers included Dizz1, Sean Deans, Cosmo, Mike Kay, and Chopper whom were “showcasing their latest creations and unleashing their unreleased beats …the future sound of Australasia’s beat heads”
Obey, Ableton Live, and Jazz Crimes presented the freshest dope music-makers dribbling beats and boinks in an ensemble of the next musicological greats. Check the art below by the crafty and guilely Otis Chamberlain, complemented by breaks from ITF Champion and X-Ecutioners DJ Total Eclipse on the night:
-Rock The Boat
Please Come In
This Friday launches the Gert Gallery bonanza ‘Please Come In‘ -with 9 artists vying for visual supremacy at the humble 1800s Hyde Street residence, curated by Gert Geyer.
Your host appears among the artists in this smorgasboard of visual treats; encompassing themes of woman alongside refined skills from the featured visual arts set.
-Rock The Boat
The Space Invader
Little is known about the Invader, but his intricate tiles depicting characters from 8-bit video games (i.e. Space Invaders) have found their way onto common surfaces all over the world.
Particularly prevalent in the West; I have seen these works in cities including LA, New York, London, Berlin and Hong Kong. There is also a grab-bag of these characters right here in Melbourne. Below are some examples that I encountered last weekend. Having taken the time to investigate these local instances, I felt I would share this story with you.
The Invader is a French street artist that is around 40 years old. He began working casually during the nineties in his home town of Paris; before his tiled assault went epic in 1998. From trendhunter.com: “The locations chosen for the Space Invaders mosaic are not done at random; in fact, they contain a specific order and plan. In Montpellier, for instance, the artist planned out many different locations for his pieces so that when you look at a map, the points take the form of a giant Space Invader character.“
Henceforth, he began taking the artform abroad, reaching over 35 countries in total, taking in all the cities mentioned above; and more. Recently, he has hit the Hollywood sign twice and has achieved higher notoriety after his cousin Thierry Guetta (AKA Mr. Brainwash) teamed up with Banksy to produce the film Exit Through The Gift Shop, which premiered in San Francisco last week. Below are a few examples drawn from the Invader’s stints in Melbourne and a map from the Space Invader website showing the locations that have been hit...
-Rock The Boat
Ron Muerck
Today is the final day of the Ron Muerck show.
If you haven’t seen it by now; unfortunately you have missed out on a fantastic opportunity. Ron Muerck is an Australian-born artist that made puppets for Sesame Street and The Muppets. He came to prominence in 1996 with his exhibit Dead Dad -a fibreglass moulded sculpture detailing a scale model of a dead human. The work featured in Charles Saatchi’s Sensation show in London. Since, Muerck has continued to develop an amazing folio of works in the last 15 years, found on display at the National Gallery of Victoria, here in Melbourne.
His works are breath-taking in their form, appearance and their stark contrast to the everyday. The sculptures are models of humans; from infants to the eldery. As mentioned, they’re constructed from a fibreglass, wax-like substance, fabric, with synthetic and horse hair.
Truly awe-inspiring.
For those that have missed out on the show, a consoling comfort is the fact that NGV has in their (our?) collection Two women; a great example of this excellent artists work.
Now, the evidence:
-Rock The Boat
Dabs & Myla
Melbourne‘s graffiti scene is humbled to have the Super Smooth street art duo Dabs & Myla call this city home.
The pair run in sync; they comprise an epic ensemble that have grown together in both art and relationship over many years. “Every day we wake up, paint all day …and keep each other entertained with constant chatter and stupid jokes” they muse.
Dabs & Myla are heavy-weights on the Melbourne graff scene: with New 2 and as part of SDM and ADN crews, they have trailblazed the fine arts development of graff and remain among the best in the business. They‘ve recently flown into town after 12 months in LA; where they‘ve hooked up with some industry greats and found both inspiration and new outlets for their amazing artworks. They told INFX that they‘re to return to LA again -having moved there semi-permanently; teaming up with Craola to paint some delicious walls (see pic from Miami down below). Also, check some of their works in this video, including coverage of their Super Smooth book launch and Hollywood & West gallery show:
MUTO
Here we have a breath-taking video, titled ‘Muto‘ which took something like a two and a half months to shoot and edit.
The work is by BLU, an Italian street artist who has been prolific since 1999; and he’s from Bologna (a very beautiful and happening city too, I might add). The video was produced in Buenos Aires and the artist has whitewashed every part of these walls as he went through creating this visual orgasm. He is well-renowned and has had many exhibitions globally, in cities such as New York, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Milan and in Palestine.
Music is by Andrea Martignoni and the painting was assisted by Sibe. Producer: Mercurio Film.
The clip has been doing the rounds on the internet and among those interested -for anyone else, here it is:
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-Rock the Boat
Nathan Jurevicius
I’ve finally paid off my Nathan J print after neglecting to get onto it for, what? 3 months. It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t that I wasn’t anxious to get it on my wall (I was and had to replace a tired albeit grand one taking up centre-stage in the loungeroom). It was simply laziness and the fact that I tend to be in transit whenever I’m cruising through the city -which ironically is most days. The point is I got the fucker home. And it was easier than I thought.
Nathan Jurevicius is a home-grown Melbourne talent and has been at the forefront since 1994, debuting at Outré Gallery on Elizabeth in 2004. He is a fine arts artist who permeates the world stage with the likes of your Mike Giant or Jeremy Fish. He is known as a producer of high-quality visual art prints, original artworks and has designed a range of vinyl figures that he is quite renowned for: The Scary Girl series.
Scary Girl is complemented by a graphic novel and a CD release that was produced to reflect the mood of the series. He also designs everything from t-shirts to tarpaulins and has a vast assortment of wares on sale; notably from said Outré Gallery. Anyway, I have the piece up now and thought to share it with you, followed by a clip from Scary Girl. Enjoy.
Photo by D'Dokta
Courtesy of Outré
Nathan Jurevicius b.1977 Melbourne, Victoria. Currently resides in Toronto, Canada.
-Rock The Boat
Croatian Festival + Clown
The Labour Day weekend marked this year’s Croatian Festival at the Hrvatska complex in Footscray.
INFX long-time compére Ms. Geyer joined myself in perusing this Balkan-Australian community’s offerings. Although it was great to see an abundance of people (it appeared as though the entire community was present), unfortunately this abundance did not extend to the food and music. What little was on offer didn’t exactly impress, although after a peek in the VIP area we were convinced that only the privledged had the pleasure of the bountiful offerings attributed to this culture right here in Melbourne. Otherwise, I found the exhibits of mannequins modelling traditional dress interesting, although other artworks and photography on display were lacking in appeal.
Overall, it was a satifactory day out -with a splash humour amongst suburban Australians and their ex-pat relatives. This humour was namely a white albinoid rabbit on the back of a red bicycle, seemingly ridden by a sexagenarian clown. An anglo-saxon entertainer too mind you. Ms Geyer and I were lucky enough to stumble upon said clown later (after visiting a few old cranks at the nearby Publishing Museum). We stalked the clown and confronted it with a wide-angle lens…
Ms G: “Are You having a good day?”
Sparkle: “Yes, except that you’re not”
-Rock the boat w/ Ms Geyer
Buffet 2010
This weekend is host to the Acclaim Magazine / Fashion Exposed Buffet street lifestyle industry showcase. It comprises 3 days of tradeshow, party, public expo and discussion forums. Your host took to the event to get a sneak peek at the latest streetwear and accessories trends and to chat with a few of the freshest up-and-comers in the field.
I caught up with Shelley from Super Special screenprinting -we had a chat about the grand possibilities that were available in regards to creating the freshest tee’s. This company has what I’d regard as the highest quality screenprinting for clothing anywhere in Melbourne. Their gold trimmed and detailed garments were certainly a sight to behold! Super Special of Spotswood (Spottiswoode?) are definitely one to contact if you’re after some custom made tee’s and no doubt they’ll hook you up with a competitive quote. e: info@superspecial.com.au
Next up, I checked out the myriad of international brands featured at Booth #15′s True To Life Clothing -purveyours of such fine goods as those of Diamond, 10Deep, Upper Playground, Zion and Society (among others). These guys know their shit, check: truetolifeclothing.com.au
Continuing on, I perused the New Era stand, rad designs by Sup (Singapore) and some excellent t-shirt prints from locals Quiet Riot (Thornbury). However, after a little longer wandering around I found an outstanding new upstart by Sydneysider Asher in his Sabotage label. Asher is a native of Manly NSW, from the Northern Beaches part of Sydney. His designs mirror that of some of his various tattoo’s in the Mitch O’Connell / classic tatts sense. I got chatting with Asher and he was a great fellow; eager to peruse my own INFX designs and always scouting for contributors. He let it be known that he wants the label to comprise broad tastes and to promote a lot of different styles; So if you have what it takes & are looking for an outlet with your off-the-wall designs, give Asher a holler at Sabotage: sabotage101@live.com
Craig Dermody @ TCB Gallery
Mr. Dermody shares a couple of qualities with his art: notably, that he is quite jovial and also of the sun-bronzed skin colouration. However, the similarities end there. I was able to catch Craig down at Chinatown’s TCB Gallery in Waratah Place, on the day after the night before. He tells me the opening night gala kick-off was an excellent triumph; and with half a bottle of cleanskin red at his table, he was contemplating a return to the taste of last night’s success.
Craig is a self-taught artist, has had “no formal education” and as a result his works are both unique and free-flowing. His use of kitsch pictures as the background for his work is commendable but not so much as his painting onto holograms -definitely something to check. TCB Gallery is an Artist Run Initiative (ARI), which translates as a gallery space for young up-and-coming artists; operated by the artists themselves. Craig tells me his PR secret agent has worked tirelessly with him to provide exposure for his shows and that TCB was also instrumental in drumming up the opening night crowd.
……………………..And now -The Interview:
-Rock The Boat
