Gab Bates & DJ Semper-Fi Dub Circle – The Dark Procession for Camperdown Park

On Saturday evening we danced with the spirits of place in Camperdown Park to the sounds of DJ Semper-Fi with the magic of Gabrielle Bates and the local community for Dub Circle -The Dark Procession. Part of EDGE Newtown, the site activation turned the historic rotunda into a sound beacon that called to the spirits and critters of the park. Dub Clown Witch Anarchy Magic ensued. The project was made possible with an Inner West Council Arts & Cultural Grant.
Lulu Cat face painter extraordinaire
Anna Schiff with one of Gab’s totemic Unloved Everythings
Unloved Everythings by Gab Bates
dancing with the spirits of place
wild things dancing
gathering the energies
DJ Semper-Fi in the rotunda
the magic of music
photos by Jodie Barker Photography
you can see lots more in Gab Bates Dub Circle album
Magic Days!

namaste

water lilies at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens
thanks to everyone for helping me get back to the here and now
namaste

Sculpture by the Sea 2019

Never Alone Throne Wayne Z Hudson
steel, powder coat
390 x 140 x 190 cm
was the first piece to catch my eye
Silence # 1.2 Pimpisa Tinpalit
wooden doors, rope
180 x 600 x 600 cm
I feel it is my duty as an artist to find harmony between the moments of absence
In the Grey of Daybreak Koichi Ishino
stainless steel, granite
230 x 200 x 200 cm
Ouroboros Charlie Trivers
carved laminated eco ply, eucalypt offcuts
350 x 100 x 100 cm
‘Ouroboros’ is an ancient infinity symbol of constant rebirth and renewal. This sculpture is carved and constructed out of timber, responsibly sourced and recycled. Metaphorically the sculpture materially is carbon stored and given a new cycle of life.
Ouroboros detail
2030 Sam Hopkins
aluminium
580 x 430 x 353 cm
A sight that will soon be all too familiar; a looming skeleton of this once great life giver, now destroyed by the lives it had supported. By 2030 the threat of climate change to ecosystems and the bioclimatic limit of trees will be irreversible.
Capture and Store Stephen King
siver top stringy bark, blue gum
500 x 300 x 300 cm
A hurricane raged through my district and tore down a million trees. Trees have been taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it away since life began. Any significant tree loss counts. “Capture and Store” is a memorial.
Eclipse Lucy Barker
salvaged electrical cables, steel, nickel, cement, hebel block
215 x 125 x 125 cm
One body moves into the shadow of another – E-waste is painstakingly reassembled, designed to spin on its own axis and meet the sky.
Eclipse detail
Transience Cave Urban
bamboo
400 x 800 x 1600 cm
love how these large woven domes nestle in the landscape so lightly & sustainably, they give me hopeSculpture by the Sea

Too dark?

Too dark? Mo19
H 36.5cm x W 36.5cm
black glove leather & black leather cord stitched with black linen thread over papier maché mold with grape vine tendrils & embroidered text on vintage black suede over board
words by Rod Morgan from his song “Too dark?” which will be recorded when he is feeling better

River on the Brink at the SH Ervin Gallery

River on the Brink at the SH Ervin Gallery
Menindee Fish Kill by Melissa Williams-Brown in collaboration with Bonita Ely
Badger Bates – Barka The forgotten river and the desecration of the Menindee Lakes 2011 linocut print 60 x 45cm
we saw this deeply moving exhibition yesterday, it was put together in 4 months in response to the fish kill in the Murray Darling earlier this year
the online catalogue is suberb
Elizabeth Farrelly wrote this passionate response last weekend
How many more fish will die before we start looking after our beautiful broken world?

Owl Rock

Owl Rock Mo 19
graphite, ink and watercolour
Sentinel Mo Okiszewski 19
Once upon a time, long, long ago (millions of years ago) there was a rock. Simple lifeforms developed on it and around it. The simple lifeforms slowly evolved into more complex lifeforms and the rock, even more slowly, aged and weathered. Dinosaurs came and went, homanids came and evolved. The rock, the sentinel, bears witness.
garden guardian whose ancient eyes hold deep time and spirit of place.
I found the owl rock in a creek crossing on the Wombeyan Caves Rd in the Southern Highlands in 1988
he has lived in every garden ever since, a powerful being, a delight to draw
” ‘But why do I need to learn to draw?’
‘You don’t. But it’s a good way to learn to pay attention. To really see what you are looking at, instead of what you expect to see.’ ”
from ‘Someplace to be Flying’ by Charles de Lint

International Day of Peace

weathergrams in the garden from Fiona Dempster and Barry Smith for the International Day of Peace 2017-2019
Barry’s Peace Bowl
Fiona and Barry give so much love and hope for our beautiful broken world
yesterday we attended the school student’s Climate Strike in The Domain, our friend Richard Whitfield caught this photo, there is great hope for our beautiful broken world but we all have a lot of work to do!