23/6/09

On a recent trip to Brisbane: View from hotel window before leaving for airport DAY 3

I begin with DAY 2 down Ann St to Brunswick to check out the Institute of Modern Art (IMA)

Cao Fei's exhibition which also included several video works. The one called "my future is not a dream" is beautiful.

Grilled burgers near by

 

interesting architecture

Yan's street style

Didn't realise it would be really sunny so bought new sunnies

DAY 1

@ GOMA - hanging out in the Kids Gallery art room

Outside GOMA

this is why they call Brisvegas, Brizvegas

The main reason for coming to Brisbane

after walking around Queen St Mall a couple of times we finally came across a cool arcade which revived our faith in Brisbane style

Jackpot = noodles

This was from Malaysia or Singapore I believe and the Buddha was carved from some century old stone found around 2000 (its a bit of an eyesore)

-----You may have missed me in my absence. I have been deliriously sick (the whole of last Thursday) and also took a mini trip to visit a friend in Canberra and go gallery hopping-------

Old Skool

Present&Correct has the kind stuff I wish Office Works sold. Design and versatility to brighten up the day.

(via Poppytalk)

Its ON with Alexa Chung

Eyes lurch straight towards her shoes

Alexa's new show is more hipster than any previous MTV music show. There's an inner city cool about her guests.

Whitnnneeyyy

drools

Alexa Chung has a new show out on MTV in the US and it seems like she has scored a great gig interviewing celebs and musicians in her best role yet. It's fashion coupled with trashy US celebs (Heidi and Spencer anyone?) and plenty of games and antics. Not suprised she has moved across the Atlantic to take this on board and i'm sure she will probably have even more clothes thrown at her left, right, centre. Wish I had MTV just to see what its all about. Nice to see a new kind of presenter other than cookie cutter, mindlessly boring, perfect looking drones on MTV. Not suprisingly MTV have blogged about her outfits here

Images from flickr

Coco

Just back from the glory days and lace filled turn of the century sweeping shots in Coco Avant Chanel. It's simply divine and beautifully shot and Audrey Tatou is perfect as the young, Coco tailored to the nines like a dashing young gentleman. She was born to play Chanel and the resemblance is uncanny. I could definitely watch it again!!!

Ok news time, I've written a review of a recent MCA exhibition over at Pocketto zine issue #6 , be sure to visit.

Saturday night humour

Grateful to be back from Brissie. Speaking of backs Running from Camera is an oddly amusing blog but the results are utterly compelling. Suffice to say each time his image is snapped one can assume his camera landed safely back in its owners possession. 

(From Running from Camera via Jen )

Update

Currently on a break away from Sydney and in Brisbane. I woke the other day at 430 am to catch a 6am flight was insane. Also went to check out the cool China Project exhibition and very cool Cao Fei at the Institute of Modern Arts. Lots of walking around city streets which seem like a less cooler, more easy going, much less crowded version of Sydney and staying in a hotel room in a partial escape from reality. It feels strange that they have streets named similar to Melbourne (brunswick) and Sydney (Elizabeth and George) streets but seem like pared down versions. Ah the life. Of course the weather also helps. 

Thought yesterday that in one way home is really (apart from family) somewhere where you store your stuff ?

Spotted: A couple of weeks ago I went to MCA Zine Fair. Find pictures from unseen magazine taken by Garry Trinh. 

2nd coming

Images from 2nd Coming store

The other day I dropped by a mate's new shop in Darlinghurst, 2nd Coming Store which stocks monochrome shades of fashion forward menswear. There are really great pieces and should i be male, thin and leggy i would snap the stuff up in an instant. Edgy, futuristic its no suprise Van the owner of the shop and label sources pieces from Japan. They also stock cool accessories like this skull ring that reminds me of the ridiculously expensive, Damien Hirst diamond encrusted skull. 

The shop space is divided in two so be sure also to check out the owner of the space downstairs who stocks at the opposite end of the spectrum really insanely cute girly dresses, 60s, 40s and vintage inspired, peter pan collars and all. The owner of the boutique tells me her recently highschool graduate sister and mother creates and makes the individual pieces with their focus on quality and clothes you would want to keep and cherish forever. 

Anyway if you are in the area you should pop by and tell em YU sent ya. 

2nd Coming Store

329 South Dowling St

Darlinghurst Sydney

quiet night the tvs are glowing

Beautiful video on Stuart Murdoch's (from band Belle and Sebastian) creative process and the way lyrics just come to him. Video from the Guardian's Music Blog. This is my favourite Belle and Sebastian song below, and I heard it first when i saw them live back in 2007, called Dress Up in You

she's an eccentric collector

In my last year of uni amongst coffee filled rants with my friend Anna, she would always rock up in the most stylishly composed outfits, rings, necklaces and all. Whereas she's an early adopter, I think my approach to fashion is entirely via osmosis. So sadly I end up sometimes dressing and absorbing those around me, and bring sometimes my own eccentric, vintage taste into the mix. This my collection of rings and one necklace. The majority are from Diva and Equip except the necklace from Chinatown markets. 

Chinese hip hop

There's an American blond haired guy rapping in Chinese in this NYT arts segment. Wicked!

Optimism

There's a touch of Amelie in this guy.

Twittering

In between bouts of brekkie, after work and spaces between you will find me twitter over here. Must be something in the water that has me addicted along with millions of others. I've heard it described as watercooler conversations to a collective consciousness. 

Follow me on twitter

Current likes

Tess of the D'Urbervilles (the 2008 BBC version), reading Hilary Clinton's, Living History Autobiography, Ladyhawke "Paris is Burning", New tea cup and saucers and fat teapot, Art: Italian visual and concrete poetry, Arlo Mountford, das superpaper, Samuel Hodge; Moleskins, Artline pens, Myf Shepherd, sadly reality tv: The Hills, ANTM, Master Chef Australia, Le Petit Ecolier Little School boy bikkies, Kiehls argan oil cream, AFR arts section.

Check this out

If you are in Sydney opening event Friday 12 June 6pm.

4A - 181-187 Hay St, Sydney 2000

(opposite Capitol Theatre, between George and Hay St)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

I remember watching the Roman Polanski version of Tess of the D'Urbervilles in high school and it was terrible enough having to read the long novel but the film's terrible casting of Alec D'Urberville and the depiction of Tess as a weak woman made me utterly abhor watching the film ever again. Last year the BBC produced this polished, glossy, almost Pre-Raphaelite treatment of Tess with panoramic broad sweeping shots of the landscape, I am immediately drawn to the story and the characters. The woodlands are picturesque and rather charming, the countryside bucolic and full of lively colour. It's almost like seeing a Lula magazine fashion shoot come to life.

The costumes are perhaps more turn of the century than the era in which Thomas Hardy wrote nevertheless I think this version of the film is a much more idealistic and naturalistic take on the book stressing less realism. The young woman are priestess like in the manner of Picnic at Hanging Rock, but its a much more positive and straightforward film.

Warning below is the spoiler ending (but its utterly delightfully tragic)!!

^^^^Warning Spoiler Above

Also I'm a little technically challenged. If someone knows how to widen the frame of the blog page comment below and let me know. Cheers!

hello poppets

I'm now the proud new owner of not one, not two but four blue/white polka dot Maxwell Williams tea cups and saucers not to mention a delightfully large tea pot that supposedly serves enough tea to fill four cups. The reason, I turned deliriously old ( well perhaps my friends think so) and was gifted this along with two generous boxes of twinings tea bags. All the more excuses for tea parties ?

Been busy, perhaps a little update on what I've been up to, the highlights, the cliffs notes.

My actual birthday was spent working at a booklaunch, then quick tea in Surry Hills before off to OAF to see an art/live music/installation night, one of those slash slash slash events. 

Spent yesterday seeing an exhibition at SCA gallery with Kim by a photographer whom I met at an opening on Tuesday night. Simple black and white photography in a small exhibition. After that went to creative sydney talks at MCA where I admired the kindred spirit belonging to the editor of magazine, Dumbo Feather pass it on. I liked the ethos of the magazine, no pretension, profiling low key professionals. Sounded like a magazine which you buy for the actual writing. Other speakers included blogger frockwriter, hip hop artist Morganics, Michael Alvisse, a hip hop comedy actress and Karolina York. An interesting mix of speakers.

Creative Sydney talks carry on through next week and bring out the best creatives emerging and established out of Sydney - though I'm not too sure about the top 100 list published by creative sydney of the top 100 creative people. How do you measure creativity exactly ? and its influence -  but the talks do demonstrate that there is a wide mix of culture emerging from Australia and it is developing world wide attention. And it was great that these series of talks bring together a wide spread mix of individuals and audiences across the various art/film/music/fashion scenes. Sometimes I find them a little scattered, after all Sydney tends to get a little too cliquey sometimes. 

Also light up Sydney is also currently happening with Yayoi Kusama's work being projected onto the MCA and also some other projection happening at the Opera House. Though passersby may not recognise the artists, I like the idea of public art leaving a subconscious footprint on people's consciousness, enough of it and it might just activate the right side of people's heads a little more. Don't you think ?

Now, am off to flip through Vogue and their blantant idol worshipping of Myf Shepherd.

xx Yu

Graveyard Girl

M83 have the sweetest video clips. For all the Molly Ringwald fans out there.

All I want

New Sarah Blasko video clip for her song All I want from her upcoming album As Day Follows Night, out July 10. The dancing is reminiscent of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, which Sarah is a major fan of.

zany zealous zinesters

MCA's annual Sunday zine fair was yesterday where fully fledged zinesters battle it out with stalls in the hall space next to MCA's main exhibition space. This was the first year I could make it to this fair. There were lots of people, lots of zines to check out, a few familiar faces, local Sydney artists. It was like the art scene mixed with zine scene, with writers, photographers and graphic designers. A great cross section of Sydney's happening art community.

A mighty fine day also to see the Australian literary exhibition, Avoiding Myth & Message: Australian Artists and the Literary World curated by Glenn Barkley. There were examples by renowned zinester Vanessa Berry to peruse through which put the zine fair and the history of zines in perspective. 

My carbon neutral friends rode to the zine fair in a stylishly green manner. 

After the fair off to one of my favourite patisseries, La Renaissance for chocolate eclairs and macarons. 

 

There were lots of zines with drawings and writings but I couldn't pass up the chance to read through these zines by Tiny Paper Hearts, whose zines and wares are so delectable and draw out my inner child (hello  Babysitters club days). Also found a photobook, Sometimes I just need quiet featuring beautifully silent and arresting images of daily silence by Samuel Hodges whose work I'd seen at Chalkhorse earlier this year.

Grabbed an issue of das superpaper on the way out. Have an inkling these will one day become collectors items. Gentleman next to me had the right idea, he nabbed at least three issues. 

Charlotte and Lou

The inside of Charlotte Gainsbourg's apartment is just as cool and stylish as the actress/singer/songstress herself. 

(Image from The Fashion Spot forums)

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Also new post up on The Places Yu Will Go

So you'd like to learn more about contemporary art

Here are some of my favourite websites to keep up to date on contemporary art in no particular order: 

Art Babble which is like the youtube of art with carefully selected videos with key introductions on important works by 20th and 21st century artists. 

Asian Art Archive a non profit organisation which keeps track of all Asian art exhibitions 

das superpaper a new streetpress in Sydney with reviews and interviews of local artists. Looks pretty grand and old school.

Arteri Malaysia bunch of young up and coming curators, arts writers, arts practitioners based around South East Asia keeping track of the art scene.

The Art Newspaper contains top notch visual arts journalism

The Art Life has provided dynamic interesting coverage of the Sydney Art Scene.

Guardian arts provides you with info on international art shows.

New York Times has always got amazing images of latest art shows from the US.

(Photo by Nathan Keay; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago)

Iekeliene Stange

Her style is a playful blend of bag lady twinged with crazy old art lady and school girl mixed with high fashion. I think she really stands out off the cat walk away from the run of the mill "Model off Duty" looks. 

Images from TFS forums.

Given this week is the Sydney Writers Festival its befitting that I show the latest additions to my ever expanding book collection. Last week was one of those weeks where every book I wanted stumbled into my life from Bookmooch, Basement books and my favourite Ariel.

Get into the Groove

Last week I watched Desparately Seeking Susan and suddenly the combination of blazers, body con dresses, dark sunnies, metallic bracelets started making sense when you take this film as a starting point for inspiration for some of the major catwalks overseas as well as from the recent Australian fashion week. This is 80s subculture at its best - kitsch, poking fun at suburbanites, ironic and self reflexively critiqued its own culture  (and to think this was two decades ago!!) It somewhat feels more empowering as a film for woman compared to the current climate of pop culture offered to women - Sex and the City, Paris Hilton, every chick flick that comes out every so often and the pre GFC focus on shopping as one of the ultimate past times of women. 

Current Likes

hearing about Indonesian ARI's, current Frankie magazine, zines, Alain de Botton,  organic food, the upcoming ANTM 5, relational aesthetics, bunny bisous, trench coats, shiny shiny leggings, studded bags, black nailpolish, IKEA, Wii Fit, German Chocolate, red lipstick, waiting for the Hilary Clinton book from Bookmooch to arrive, layered dressing, washed hair, Lateline, dreaming of Paris and New York, typology, reading in bed, Anna Karina, mum's cooking, hot pot, op shopping....do you hear the buzzing.....my mind is forever ticking