Arcana Kaleidoscopes

I had the privilege of being invited into the home and workshop of Jocelyn Teh and Robert Cook, the amazingly talented artists behind Arcana Kaleidoscopes.

If you have been down to the Melbourne Arts Centre markets, you may have happened upon these intricately made Kaleidoscopes at the stall that Jocelyn has attended for many years.

These beautifully created pieces are made from recycled copper, specialty glass from the United States and Australian stone such as opal. Each Kaleidoscope requires hours upon hours of work to complete, and it was an inspiring insight into the practice of two talented artists.

Yarraville.

Melbourne Now exhibition.

Went to the NGV to look for the Edward Steichen exhibition, but stumbled upon the Melbourne Now exhibit. Some amazing work in there, I only had enough time to view the first of three floors.

While I was speaking to one of the gallery attendants, she mentioned that the main hall and gardens would be hosting live music, d.j's and food trucks over the summer. Definitely looking forward to that.

'You, Me and the Flock'            Juan FORD.  www.juanford.com

A large interactive work that encourages visitors to stick a vinyl cut out of a bird in flight to a landscape that wraps around the room. From the artist:

" Join in my experiment and add some birds to the flock. As you place each bird, think about the changing shape of the flock and the feeling of movement. Also think about what it might mean as the flock becomes populated with more and more over time."

'Vox: Beyond Tasmania'         Brook ANDREW   www.brookandrew.com

A beautifully constructed gramophone projects from a glass case full of intricate anthropological artefacts of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people collected by Richard Berry. These skulls were collected as trophies and recorded by Berry as a great concern as Tasmanian Aboriginal people were seen to as becoming extinct. From the artist:

"The archival material and human skeleton tie together a concern for the international trade in human remains amongst other tropics. The gramophone horn amplifies this voice. The gruesome stories of how Aboriginal people were treated, their bones traded internationally, is the main focus of this sculpture."

'Light rain - and everything we know about the universe (except gravity)'         Peter KENNEDY more on this work

A massive light installation of consecutive mathematical formulas in bright neon. This work wraps around the central rooms of the exhibition.

'For you'        Darren SYLVESTER  more on the artist

From the NGV description panel:

"Darren Sylvester's multidisciplinary practice reflects upon the tropes and conventions of consumer culture, advertising, pop music and cinema, appropriating inter nation products and 'readymades' as a way of considering how we are shaped and affected by branding. For you is an illuminated dance floor that appropriates current make up palettes offered by Yves Saint Laurent, colours 'proven' by market research to appear flattering on the widest cross-section of people. Shy dancers should not fear - everyone looks good on this dance floor."

DUNNO (T. Towels)       Jon CAMPBELL  more on the artist

A wall of 85 t. towels exploring the Australian vernacular and popular culture. Campbell expresses the Australian identity with humour using graphic conventions of commercial art, design and kitsch. 

UFO houses of Taiwan.

So some time ago I traveled to Taiwan to see my brother show a few friends around the place. On the top of our list was to go and explore the abandoned holiday houses that I'd found pictures of on the internet. We asked around trying to find out exactly where they were, but it seemed like nobody had even heard of them. Luckily, just a few days before we were set to leave, my brothers friend mentioned something about UFO houses on the coast.

These 60's futurist style housing estate had fallen into disrepair, having been abandoned due to a belief that the area was haunted. Apparently the workers on site completed some of the homes before becoming completely convinced that evil spirits were haunting the homes.

The site was abandoned and the existing homes, some of which people had already moved into, were picked up and moved to the coast. Where the cyclone prone location gradually pulled the houses apart.

It was so bizarre exploring the ruins. We found refrigerators and cupboards still full of rotten food and dirty cutlery. Torn up beds, a basement full of hundreds of stuffed toys. House that was missing a wall full of massive fiberglass clown heads, some of which had the eyes roughly painted red so that they looked as if they were weeping tears of blood.

It was very quiet there, we stayed for a few hours.

Link to follow up post with phone photos.