Beyond the dots

The latest issue of Incubate is out, and it features an article I wrote about contemporary indigenous artists & the stereotypes that surround them.

I had the pleasure of meeting Brisbane artist Vernon Ah Kee, who believes his graphic artworks and charcoal portraits (left) paint a more realistic picture of Aboriginality than dot paintings of the desert. To Ah Kee, such images portray a utopian, stereotypical view that is increasingly out-of-touch with how the vast majority of Aborigines live.

I also interviewed Jonathan Jones, considered one of the most distinctive Aboriginal artists to emerge in Australia over the past decade.

You can download issue 7 of Incubate magazine here

Interviews with 'The Kuchelmeister' & Australian artist Bonita Ely

Issue 6 of Incubate magazine features two of my interviews -- the first with Volker Kuchelmeister, head of the Media Laboratory at the iCinema Centre for Interactive Media Research in Sydney, and the second with the wonderfully kooky Australian artist/sculptor/performance artist Bonita Ely. Kuchelmeister & Ely are both lecturers at COFA.

I particularly enjoyed meeting Bonita Ely, a passionate environmentalist with a wry sense of humour.

When Ely received a half-woman, half-chicken toy as a gift from friends, she was so delighted by the toy's garish appearance she named it 'Chook Woman'. Chook Woman features prominently in a series of photographs exhibited by Ely in August 2010 at Campbelltown Arts Centre.

"She's got tits that stick out and a little bow in her hair and very long legs. She doesn't see the pollution, and she thinks the mining is wonderful," says Ely, eyes twinkling with bemusement.

Ely believes art is about making things, not starving in garrets and waiting to be accepted into an elitist art establishment -- a sentiment that I love.

I also spoke with Volker Kuchelmeister about the art of 3D storytelling, which students at COFA can now learn thanks to a new course at the COFA School of Media Arts.

Kuchelmeister explained how stereographic technology has advanced since the 1950s..."Until recently, 3D was really just a tool to sell more expensive movie tickets. But today it is used more cleverly as a creative storytelling tool as it offers an added dimension," he says.

Discomfort has its advantages

Two years ago, I decided to spend Christmas in Tibet. It's impossible to describe how incredible this trip was, from the moment the plane landed to the moment we crossed the border by foot into Nepal.

So I was chuffed when Women's Health magazine invited me to write a short piece about a travel experience that "broadens the mind", which follows on from a piece I wrote for Sunday magazine based loosely on 'Eat, Pray, Love'. The Women's Health piece appears in the April 2011 issue as part of the article 'Tour de chance'.

Sydney's ethnic clubs

I sampled Lithuanian, Cypriot, and Basque cuisine (and marveled at the un-deliciousness of food from Germany and Uruguay) while researching this story for the (sydney) magazine about ethnic clubs. I also marveled at the fabulously daggy interior design of these clubs.


The decor isn't flash, so I have to credit photographer Steven Chee for taking such colorful pictures.

If you haven’t been to the Cypriot Club, Lithuanian Club or Concordia Club – go there, quick before they go out of business and a little slice of Sydney’s ethnic scene is lost forever. (And if you do make it to the Concordia Club, let me know if they've still got this article framed on their wall. It's my claim to fame).

About this blog...

Over the past few years, I’ve interviewed some of the most successful creative professionals in Australia and globally – first as Editor of CREATIVE magazine, and now as a freelance journalist.

Many creative professionals are far less interesting in person than you expect them to be, but the most innately gifted creatives can make the most delightful interviewees.

This blog is dedicated to them.