Design // Art // Architecture // Culture

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Art and Design Alex MoffattSamantha Sommariva,Kensuke TodoFiona Veikkanen Aiko Mineishi Ally Chaplin www.wobble.cc/artist/ally-chaplin

Wrecked CyclesLeoCarson@live.com.au

February - March 2012

1601: an ephemeral exhibition, page 5

ContributorsSuzy KayRobbie SpeightJess Oliver

DirectorJennifer Edmundshello@wobble.cc

Cover Image: Photo credit, Cole Bennetts. From the set of Koolisms „Jam Hot“ film clip. Directed by Cameron Brown. Production Design by Aiko Mineishi

Places and SpacesA Bite to EatDymocksThe Front Knightsbridge PenthouseNew ActonMocan and Green GroutTwo Before TenUs FolkYou Are Here

Canberra culture

Welcome to issue #6 of Wobble Magazine...

Our first environmentally kind publication, we are now printed on mixed source, recycled paper. From now on we will aim to bring you a greener Wobble. .

Content

Literate- book review, page 12

We welcome the new Canberra Magazine created by locals Ash Peak and Juliette Dudley launches Friday 23rd March.www.usfolkmag.com

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Last time around...

Opened with live saxophone, closed down by police: Wobble launch #5 - December 8 2011

Posca pens in hand, guests to the Canberra Lab launch party were invited to deface the walls of Knightsbridge. You‘d run out of fingers and toes counting the delinquents who drew genitalia. Coming from their final exhibition in Bruce, graduates of the UC school of design enjoyed their last moments of schoolyard play before entering the real world. Congratulations.

The brand spanking new design blog canberralab.com has since been flooded with hits, a smashing success all round.

To keep up to date with events this autumn, stay posted online at www.wobble.cc

page 7feature artist - Aiko Mineishi page 14Canberra Lab

“Being from a different country, having a different mother-tongue helps you to see all sides of things, maybe see things others can‘t.” - Aiko Mineishi on her work in Australia

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1601: an ephemeral exhibition

Samantha Sommariva, ‘homeless‘, hessian.

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On a Wednesday evening in December Dave gets a phone call: he can have 1601, the Penthouse of the New Acton apARTments, for one week, starting Saturday, for an art show.

Saturday, the place is full of people and an impressive collection of work. The unique combination of music, installation art, video projection and a rooftop with one of the best views of Canberra created what was so appropriately named ‘An Ephemeral Exhibition’.

In two days director David Caffrey, curator Katrina Osborne and a team of helpers had brought into the concrete shell 84 works by 16 local artists including paint, sculpture, photography, textiles and furniture.

Ally Chaplin’s paintings hung from the roof beams by chain, Katherine Griffiths photography lined walls with custom made timber columns and Kensuke Todo’s sculpture mounted on a plinth of packing crates.

The result was a gallery liberated experience.

Kensuke Todo, ‘Junction II’, mild steel.Fiona Veikkanen, ‘Bags and Brushes’,Vinyl, Canvas, found objects, sand.

Hosted by the Molonglo Group, sales from the exhibition raised money for Barnardos Australia charity for children.

The success of 1601 proves to be only a drop in the water of what is planned for New Acton in the coming year.

For video and updates on future events

see www.wobble.cc/blog

photo credit: Alex Moffatt

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Aiko MineishiVideo Artist

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She‘s also a talented film-maker with experience in a wide range of roles and genres. Aiko moved to Australia six years ago, partly to study a Bachelor of Communication at UC but mostly to leave Japan and learn English. She now speaks with easy fluency and a mild Aussie twang.

A self described “MTV Kid”, when the time came to choose her university majors, media production and film making were the obvious choice.

Speaking about her work, Aiko‘s voice drips with enthusiasm, her portfolio is extensive and pretty damn impressive. She worked on production design for the ‘Jam Hot‘ music video of Canberra‘s very own Koolism. In the film Dream Kiss Cry, Aiko snagged the role of Director of Photography. Still in post-production, this is Aiko‘s first feature film.

Aiko is especially proud of the promotional pieces for the Bohemian Masquerade Ball she worked on as part of a small team. She speaks glowingly of the efforts of all the team to create entertaining, visually clever, short experiences that capture the essence of bohemian debauchery.

Lately, Aiko is feeling the love of the real life, rather than the ‘reel‘ life, with a strong interest in more doco style filming. “I want to shoot reality rather than dreams”. Recently working with “Black Mountain Hideaway” and “Electric Bicycle World Tour”. Inspired by the interesting people she meets, Aiko loves the challenge “to really show what they [the film‘s subjects] are doing, and what they want you, the audience to do after watching”. To make this style work successfully, a piece needs to be able to show multiple points of view, an open-mindedness Aiko personifies: “Being from a different country, having a different mother-tongue...helps you to see all sides of things, maybe see things others can‘t.”

Aiko is brilliant. She is funny, warm, intelligent and exists amongst a cloud of enthusiasm, creativity and curiosity. All these traits, combined with her hard work ethic, experience and attention to detail (evident in her immaculately put together outfits) make for one promising film maker.

written by Jess Oliver

Meet Aiko Mineishi: mid-twenties, Japanese, video artist, dance enthusiast.

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Ally Chaplin ‘Central boob‘ 2011 $1,600

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youareherecanberra.com.au

Wrecked CyclesCustom Bike Design from $450

LeoCarson@live.com.au

Local Design

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‘Damon’ by Gary Crew illustrated by Aaron Hill

To Damon everything seems so very far removed from him. Reality is dull and meaningless, so he sleeps. In the distance, a tiger roars, moving closer and closer… Reality shifts as the power of creativity finds him.

This is a beautifully realised graphic story. Australian author Crew has rendered a tale with great relevance to the youths of Australia. Hill’s illustrations evoke Damon’s bleak mind space as it slowly opens up to the world around him, filling with colour.

LiterateReviews by Suzy Kay

Available at Dymocks Canberrra City

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‘The Rook’ by Daniel O’Malley

“The body you are wearing used to be mine.”

So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves.

‘The Psychopath Test‘ by Jon RonsonAuthor of ‘The Men who Stare at Goats’

Journalist Jon Ronson has delved into the dark realms of the human psyche in this documentary style dialogue. Under the tutelage of Bob Hare the creator of a psychopath checklist, Ronson investigates the line between psychopaths and mere arseholes. He criticises society’s overly simplified conceptions of mental illness and madness while questioning his own mental state and causing the reader to do likewise. Each characters’ narrative is neatly arranged and tied

together, giving the impression of a fictive storyline.

Ronson’s writing is eccentric and highly comedic,yet evolves into something almost painful when you consider that these characters are real people.

Jon Ronson

Local author Daniel O’Malley has crafted a unique thriller complete with secret agents, superheroes and some seriously great action scenes spliced with a dry wit that had me laughing out loud.

The Rook had its Australian launch on 24th January at Dymocks Canberra. As a loyal customer for almost a decade, the staff were thrilled to host his event. Dan has already gained fantastic reviews and the attention he is receiving is growing by the day. The Rook gets my vote for book of the year –

unexpected, offbeat and just plain entertaining.

www.rookfiles.com

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Barriers and Rip TidesCanberra Lab

A line can impact so much. From a difference in postcode, to the perception of your living conditions...

...to where you can send your kids to school, to the change in electoral areas and parliamentary representation. In architecture school, we’re taught how to identify opportunities and constraints in places through diagrams; nodes, lines, areas, zones. But who is to tell an individual who has created a vibrant business away from one of these nodes, that the space they occupy is on the wrong side of the 20 pixel line squiggled in photoshop, and therefore in an ‘inactive’ zone. Life and city planning are more intricate than that. The barriers aren’t so black and white. Canberra in its growing state is suffering from these barriers.

The birdseye view of a plan may not translate its elegance and beauty on to the street. However, some barriers are being broken down. City West once was a place where the youth passed through only to serve some kind of urban purgatory as they walked between the ‘City’ (east of Northbourne) and the ANU, and

where the daily workers darted between the City West car park and their office as quick as their high heels could take them. Now it houses the most exciting urban developments in Canberra – with more to come. The revitalisation of Braddon threatens to break down the barrier of Cooyong Street. Too long the domain of the car, Braddon is becoming an extension of the walking city. Then there is the greatest barrier of them all - Parkes Way. Like a chastity belt harnessed and locked on to the city’s urban fabric. The city needs a good rogering to rid itself of this old prudish planning solution. What’s clear with these barriers is that they provide intense and concentrated movement along the designed axis with brutal efficiency. Like a rip tide, streaming those along who are on it, and providing a perilous obstruction for those who wish to cross it. And like a rip tide, once I’ve ridden one of these axes I find myself at the end – and then what? I should’ve swum sideways sooner. Robbie Speightwww.canberralab.com

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Weekly events: 

music, coffee...Bass, violin, looped vocals...Mocan and Green Grout, Saturdays,

10am - 12pm

urban live music...Urban Food, Saturday and Sundays, 10am - 2pm

Tuesday movie night...You choose a deckchair, we‘ll choose a movie. Meet you in the courtyard cinema. Drinks and pizza specials by Bicicletta café.

Spring lounge sessions...Great DJs and a late night pizza menu.New Acton Courtyard, Saturdays,

8 – 11pm.

Weekly events are free. Those in the courtyard need good weather, if in doubt, call Bicicletta: 6262 8683 For info, go to newacton.com.au/calendar

To Do List:February - March - April

Please Resist Me Slam Poetry PerformanceAfter a sell-out slam late last year, three of Australia‘s best Slam Poets will share inspired words and tales of today.This night of world-class poetry is set in a beautiful outdoor courtyard with food, drinks and deckchairs.Luka Lesson: Aus Slam Champion (pictured)Joel McKerrow, Hadley,Alia Gabres (pictured)

Wednesday 22nd Feb, 7pmNewActon Courtyard

$15 full, $12 Concession

Writer‘s WorkshopThe poets are also giving a three hour workshop on writing with visualisation techniques, diving deep into a concept, writing from the inside out, and rhyming rhyming rhyming!

Tuesday 21st Feb, 6 - 9pmKendall Lane Theatre 19 Marcus Clarke St

$30

apart (art, not apart)

A major event of the You Are Here Festival, art, not apart brings a wide spectrum of cultural life into New Acton. Artists using paint, sculpture, drawing, spray-paint, chalk and many faces will be surrounded by the sounds of folk, jazz, funk and psychedelic dub. Musicians from  the Canberra Symphony Orchestra will speak about and perform the evolution of classical music and Omar Musa returns home from Melbourne to perform his heart-grabbing poetry.

Fresh food, books, clothing and local art; a jumping castle; short films in the precinct‘s theatrette. People will be reminded that art is not apart from how we live, but gains force when the art viewed resonates with our lives.

Saturday, March 10, 12 - 6pmThroughout NewActon

Free

Luka Lesson

Alia Gabres

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Raize the RoofThe 3rd Raize the Roof Gala Ball pimped out the Hyatt last month to raise money for the local charity. The night’s auction saw the photography of Anthea Clarke and paintings by Jenn Pacor among the 43 items to go under the gavel.

Raize the Roof will build a house in Bonner ACT with the goal of generating over $500,000 on auction day. Half of the proceeds from the sale go to the Starlight Foundation and half to SOS Children‘s Villages in Botswana.

Anthea Clarke Havana #1 and #2 20x24“ $160

Architect Alex Simonovski from Canberra‘s AS Design Studio has donated his time to provide the house plan. Keep and eye out as building commences next month with the house expected to go up by June 2012.

www.raizetheroof.org.au

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DJ Nathan Frost

Nathan Frost has been supplying the soundtrack to Canberra nights.

Whilst expressing a love for down tempo grooves from the likes of Thievery Corporation and Massive Attack, he‘s also kept the late night revelry going with tracks you can‘t help but dance to.

There‘s never one genre on display, only certain criteria: broken beats, bass lines and boogaloo.

Playing Saturday 18th February.

We’ve waited through January for the penthouse to freshen up and ‘powder their nose’... Lavish gold wallpaper and velvet furnishings prove that

patience is indeed a virtue.

This month will the launch of a brand spanking new cocktail list, keep an eye out for event details to join the celebration.

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DYMOCKS BOOKSELLERSCanberra Centre, Bunda StMon - Thu 9 - 5.30Fri 9 - 9 Sat 9 - 5 Sun 10 - 4

THE FRONT Bar - Gallery - Cafe Lyneham ShopsOpens early, closes lateLive music, drinks and a selection of cakes.The Front is taking bookings for their gallery this year, to exhibit your work get in touch - 6249 8453front.gallery@gmail.com

TWO BEFORE TENCanberra House40 Marcus Clarke StreetFull Menu breakfast and lunchMon - Fri 7 - 4 Sat 8 -2

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MOčAN & GREEN GROUTMarcus Clarke St New ActonCafe, home made chai tea, gourmet cakes and muffins.Mon - Sat 7 - 6 Sun 9 -3Live Music Saturdays, 10am - 12pm

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSEMort St BraddonCocktails, music and sunny beer gardenMon - Closed Tue - Wed 5 - 12

Thu 4 -1 Fri 4 - 3 Sat 2 - 3

A BITE TO EAT“A Bite to Eat is a piece of Melbourne, misplaced in Chifley.”Full menu, breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon 8-5pmTues – ClosedWed 8-Late (pizza Night)Thu 8-Late(A la Carte Dinner)Fri 8-Late(A la Carte Dinner)Sat 8-5Sun 9-8(Live Jazz from 5pm)

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