Arts zine sept 2015 by Robyn Werkhoven

s t u d i o

L A

arts zine issue 12 september 2015

P R I M I T I V E

slp

studio la primitive EDITOR

Robyn Stanton Werkhoven CONTRIBUTORS

Susana Enriquez

Carlin McLellan

Edmond Thommen

Brad Evans

Ahn Wells

David Graham

Leslie Duffin

Magdalena Ball

Shirley Cameron Roberts

Damien Passmore

Marika Osmotherly

Eric Werkhoven

Dane Tobias

Robyn Werkhoven

Ann Sutherland

Index…………………………………………………

Editorial………………… Robyn Werkhoven

SLP Antics………...

E&R Werkhoven

Featured Artist ………… Susana Enriquez

6 - 21

Poet………………………Magdalena Ball

22 - 25

Featured Artist…………..Edmond Thommen

26 - 47

Poem…………………… David Graham

48 - 49

Not News……………… Nigel Nerd

50 - 51

Artist…………………… Shirley Cameron Roberts

52 - 57

Artist……………………. Marika Osmotherly

58 - 63

Author………………….. Damien Passmore

64 - 69

Essay…………………

70 - 71

Eric Werkhoven

Artist / gallery………….. Leslie Duffin

72 - 81

Poetry………………….. Carlin McLellan

82 - 83

Architecture Latvia……...Lorraine Fildes

84 - 101

Poetry……………………Brad Evans

102 - 103

Artist…………………… Dane Tobias

104 - 107

Adornment - WILD ……..Ann Sutherland

108 - 131

Artist / gallery……………Ahn Wells

132 - 137

Exhibition……………… Back to Back Gallery

138 - 139

ART News………………..

140 - 149

Back Cover…………… Edmond Thommen

150

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EDITORIAL Greetings to all our ARTS ZINE readers, and SLP would like to thank all contributors .

The September / October issue 12 of ARTS ZINE includes interviews with nationally and internationally recognised painter Susana Enriquez and photographer Edmond Thommen. We are featuring interviews with writers and gallery directors. Author Damien Passmore talks about his life and book Premortal. Writer/poet Magdalena Ball joins the Zine this month, check out her Compulsive Reader blog. Artists and gallery directors, Ahn Wells and Leslie Duffin, tell us about their art practice and why they chose to open art galleries. Lorraine Fildes presents a delightful article on Art Nouveau Architecture in Riga, Latvia. Our intrepid interviewer Nigel Nerd has been and luckily returned from North Korea after an audience with Kim Pong-un. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss reading our new essays, poetry, art news and information on forthcoming exhibitions.

The ARTS ZINE features professional Hunter Valley, national and international visual artists poets and writers, glimpses into their world of art and their creative processes. Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words and art works in future editions in 2015 and 2016.

Deadline for articles - October15th for Nov/Dec issue. Email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com

Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven Issue 12 - Sept.

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www.studiolaprimitive.net Issue 12 - Sept.

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SUSANA ENRIQUEZ Issue 12 - Sept.

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SUSANA ENRIQUEZ - INTERVIEW BACKGROUND: “I was born and bred in Mexico city. The fondest memories of my childhood are visiting my grandmother in her farm, in a green valley in the central part of Mexico, where we used to spend holidays when we were very young. Later on, as teenagers we spent our holidays in Acapulco, a city on the Pacific Ocean. I was an introverted child so I enjoyed very much just to contemplate nature, I filled my memory with green valleys and the ocean. The contact with

both landscapes left a mark on me. Between the desire to be an artist, ones destiny and reality, countless contradictions are established. The first memories I have of myself are singing, I was about five years old when I began to sing a full song, my father used to record my voice as soon as I began to sing, that is how I knew later that I was always singing. Since that age I remember that I was fascinated by classical music, I thought that the musicians were angels…wondering how they could produce such marvellous sounds with those objects (instruments). I always wanted to be a musician. At the first opportunity in primary school I became part of the choir all the way till

secondary school. I enrolled at the music school at seventeen, studying transverse flute and

percussions.”

2015

Homenaje a Bartok

Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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“When I was a little girl I liked to draw, but I had a bad experience in my first year at school: I was six years old, I remember I always drew while the teacher was talking. One day, I did not notice that she was walking towards me while I was doing my drawings; she stood next to me and yelled! I closed the notebook, she took it, opened it, and then she put a big cross on my drawings and hit the palm of my hands with a ruler….”this way you will learn to pay attention in class” since that day I stopped drawing….until I went to

Berlin, where I used to do sketches at the museum. I became a member of the School of Music Percussion Players Group and I began to be part of the concert community, not very glamorous to be playing the bass drum and the triangle at the beginning, but I was happy playing in a band, which was dedicated to play contemporary concert music.

In this period being a music student, I realised that I could see colours when I was listening to music, I though that everybody could see them as I did. Mexican composer and violin player, Manuel Enríquez, he was one of the top musicians, very well known in Mexico. I was a music student when I met my late husband, so I felt overwhelmed to be with such a nice musician and I felt insecure as a music performer, so I began to think about giving up music. At that time my late husband won a grant as a composer to live in West Berlin for six months in 1982. There, I began to study the German language and spending all my time visiting museums in west and East Berlin, I think it was at that moment when I fell in love with painting. I began to read about art history and I wanted to paint.”

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Quo vadis Oil on canvas Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2011 Issue 12 - Sept.

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“After one year in Europe we went back to Mexico and I changed from the music school to the Drama and Literature Faculty at the National University, I was there for one year. But I wanted to learn about art history and painting. I applied to the National Art School at the University and I was accepted. After five years I got a bachelor degree in Visual Arts Majoring in Painting and Printmaking. In the art school I was lucky to be close to one of the most knowledgeable men in painting techniques, the renowned Mexican-Japanese artist, Luis Nishizawa. For one year I was his assistant at the painting techniques class. He taught me all the traditional painting techniques such as the Venetian, the Flemish, as well as the use and preparations of different egg tempera painting as it was used in the antiquity. I also learnt the encaustic technique and all the steps to prepare different groundings, for your wood support or canvas; different recipes to get different textures and flexibility. This artist who passed away last year at ninety-three years old, he was the last master who knew and taught all these classic painting techniques “the kitchen of painting” as he used to say… In 1991 my late husband was invited as visiting professor at UCLA, University of California in Los Angeles, where I enrolled for six months in a figurative painting course.

In 1998 I got a master degree in painting from the Mexico National University UNAM. In 2001, I came to Australia with two international scholarships to obtain a PhD degree in Fine Arts, which I got in 2006.”

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Intromission Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Describe your work:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My abstract painting moves between subtle and dramatic, between action painting and dripping, however

the accident and the spontaneous gesture are combined with a well planned idea where all formal elements will meet; sometimes those spontaneous accidents culminate in complex structures of form and colour. In my work I connect the worlds of colours and music. My painting is always a journey into oneself; a journey in which the composition of a painting comprises a series of experiences of different hues, reflecting falls, mistakes, successes and uncertainty that lead to a lifelong quest. In my work, the configuration of a composition is based on mental images that serve as a basis on which elements of rhythm, colour, structures and sometimes symbols reveal to the observer the spiritual life of the creator and a predisposition to an honest and thoughtful state of mind.

In the making of the painting, the technique is very important to me. Since I was young I learnt to keep all emotions inside me; with painting I discovered I was able to express myself and to free my spirit. Painting is the best companion even in the worst solitude. Painting saved me from depression.â&#x20AC;?

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Introspection Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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What inspires you? “Dreaming, because observing your dreams is a path of discovery. In a concrete way I would say; what inspire me is: My personal experiences, the music, colours of nature, poetry, but over all listening concert music.”

Name your greatest achievement exhibition: “My exhibition at the University of Newcastle gallery, to obtain my PhD degree - 1996 The exhibition at the Modern Art Museum in Toluca, MUARMO 2011 The photographic portrait exhibition and launch of my book Migration: Identity and Memory, in Sydney, Australia - 2014 And finally, to have been selected as part of an exhibition called Latin-American Masters of Imagination in

New York city, in a commercial gallery in Chelsea this year. September 2015.”

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Motionless in the Light but Dancing. Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2014

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What are you presently working on? “At the moment we are living in France and I do not have a proper studio to work, therefore I have been reading books about art and XX century artists that I had been wanting to read, but no time to do so. I just began to do small paintings, drawings and sketches of ideas for future projects, One of those is about

Monet gardens. At the end of July I will be in Venice to visit the Venice Biennale as well as the Botegga del Tintoretto where I will do an intensive workshop in drawing and watercolour, which is just the excuse to know the organization of this Printmaking workshop and gallery run by artists.”

Your future aspirations with your work? “I wish my art activity would not end just as a “nice” object… As an artist I want that my work reflects the actual time I am living, expressing experiences of different hues that we all live: reflecting falls, mistakes, successes and uncertainty. On the other hand I would like very much to use my knowledge of painting techniques to teach young art students. Also, I would like to help in our community with art making therapy, for instance, working with children with cancer. Last, but not least, to be able to sell my artwork in a good market.”

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Spring Light Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Resonancia II Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Sunset Reflections Susana Enriquez ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Forthcoming Exhibitions: Latin American masters of Imagination - New York. September 2015 www.agora-gallery.com/invite/Susana_Enriquez.aspx Little treasures - Bolo単a, Italia: - October Nov.2015

Modern Art Museum Toluca, Mexico MUARMO 2016

http://susanaenriquezart.com/english/

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Magdalena Ball

www.magdalenaball.com.

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MAGDALENA BALL Background Notes: Magdalena Ball was born in New York City, where she grew up. After gaining an honours degree in English Literature from the City University of New York (CCNY), she moved to Oxford to study English Literature at a postgraduate level. After a brief return to the US, she then migrated to NSW Australia, where she now resides on a rural property with her husband and three children. While in Australia she received a Masters degree in Business from Charles Sturt University and a Marketing degree from the University of Newcastle. Magdalena runs the well respected review site The Compulsive Reader.

Magdalena Ball is the poetry and fiction editor of the Compulsive Reader compulsivereader.com. She is the author of several novels (Black Cow, Sleep Before Evening), poetry books and chapbooks (Repulsion Thrust, Quark Soup, Sublime Planet), and a nonfiction book (The Art of Assessment). Her work

has been shortlisted for a number of poetry and fiction awards, translated into several languages and she has been involved in a number of anthologies and collaborations. Find out more about Magdalena at www.magdalenaball.com.

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Dark Matter Wants to be Alone Magdalena Ball How far would you go In the darkness slowly towards the end of the road where the path splits to parallel lines, one leading away beckoning towards somewhere icy and free the other crunching leaves beneath

Is it wrong to want warmth to choose the safer route stuttered into paralysis a quiet so deep it cancels thought reaching for stolen protection

butter knife and china plate the mother-urge; motherlode and everything that pulls

bare feet

like gravity, against

bird songs you recognise

your resisting body.

smells to say youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re heading home.

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Relief comes in bursts of sunlight

through its missing electrical charge.

short-lived, curated, absorbed

As dark matterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mysterious ghost

and lost, returning again to

I inhabit two worlds

this fork in the road.

feed two hearts, hedging bets

just in case one proves to be real The solemn unknown

the beater; the keeper.

inferred rather than observed

Madalena Ball ÂŠ 2015

sliding invisibly, exerting the slightest of pressures molecules interact with air night breeze sinks against rising heat isolationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hidden valley

reaching into the silence to touch those spaces that remain open, bleeding an animation visible only Issue 12 - Sept.

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EDMOND THOMMEN

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EDMOND THOMMEN Swiss born photographic artist and designer living in Sydney. “I have always had an interest in creating fascinating blends of body shapes with naturally organic and man made elements, starting with compositing black & white negatives in the darkroom. Today I embrace the best in computer software, self publishing products, museum-grade print technology and custom framing materials to realise the best possible output from these images. I have spent over 30 years as a professional graphic designer, which has helped me to achieve creative and intriguing works with my blended nude images.”

Opposite page :

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EDMOND THOMMEN - INTERVIEW BACKGROUND: “Growing up in Switzerland in the 60’s with their world famous graphic poster and design background must have had some influence on me. I still have quite a large collection of graphic and advertising posters from those times. Arriving in Sydney with my parents in 1969 and finishing school in a foreign country with a foreign language

presented itself with many, mostly positive, challenges. During the HSC year, I spent most time in the library going through all the Graphics and Photographic books available. After school I went to art school to study 4 year full time Graphic Design, which also involved my favourite subject, photography. After college I started freelancing in various Art Studios eventually ending up with my own Art Studio. During those times I used my photography skills more in the advertising field, but always in the background shooting art nude models and textures to create my ‘blended nudes’.”

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‘mujer espumoso’

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When did your artistic passion begin? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I started with the visual concept of blending art nude poses with textured background( blended nudes) in

1975 @ Art College. My career as a graphic designer took precedence over my photographic art ambitions, it also paid the bills with a wife (Gaby) & 2 boys (Oliver & Daniel).

I loved going through all kind of photo books & graphic/photographic artists & designers for inspirations but , always came back to creating my own type of blending of various man made & natural elements, in pre computer/digital times all this work was done in the darkroom with black & white negatives and lots of guesswork.

The digital age has permitted me to create a piece of photographic art from the idea to the finished work much the way I imagined and more accurately.â&#x20AC;?

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My Naked Form Unseen Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Describe your work? “I describe myself first, and foremost, as a Photographic Artist. For me the magic starts with the camera and the images created. My artistic expression is a testament to years of careful observation in photography, composition, lighting and design. My skill-set allows me to work with light and shades, play with compositions and absorb these into new creations. The female figure forms the basis of my photographic artworks. They may soften or highlight the body’s outline by blending it into several layers of images I superimpose on the figure. Sometimes the figure seems to disappear behind a barrage of organic materials or man - made structures - until the

viewer’s

eyes start to actively search for the lines that in his or her mind “must be there” behind the scene. (see google search: blended nudes). The work is “layered” and is visually and intellectually demanding on the viewer to find the form. In doing so, viewers delve beyond the surface. Indeed, my photographic artworks encourage us to look; and, if we look properly, ‘to see.’ “

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Otra Hoja Verde Sensual Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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“As one newcomer to my work stated: “I don't usually pay that much attention to this kind of art but this makes me want to stop and look at it until I think I’ve seen every detail and every possible meaning”.

I have captured an amazing array of images over the years, images I use to find new expressions of an old theme, the female body. I apply these images, sometimes to highlight, sometimes to protect her from view, depending on my mood when developing the photographic piece of art. The viewers’ impression may also change, depending on their mood when examining the particular artwork. To me the camera is a means to an end. In the same way that painters use acrylics or oils, or sculptors use marble or steel. I employ the camera as part of my artistic practice. To be unique in the art world involves an unflinching commitment to one’ own visual language.

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Dark Red Skin like a Blushing Bride Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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From an introductory speech about my work. “ The visual language that Edmond has derived is born not just from his unique sense of aesthetic, but from a genuine passion for his subject matter, as well as what I see as his intellectual rigor – to constantly explore ways to unite the alluring elements of the female form with the most unlikely of textured surfaces: wood, recycled steel, broken concrete, graffiti, lichen covered granite, windblown leaves, even, for goodness sakes – octopus tentacles!!!.... Incongruous in theory but compelling beautiful within the process of Edmond’s unique ‘artistic practice’. One of my many followers on social network sites & art sites once described what I do in the following terms: ‘'His vision crosses over between photography, painting, and graphics to form wonderful new expressions.' I though this one sentence sums up my practice pretty accurately.”

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What inspires you? “ Inspiration is all around me, but usually I see textures wherever I go, contacts with steel recycling plants, decaying industrial sites, nature’s textures, whether it be a rock surface or tree trunks, when I see the ‘right’ texture I already envisage a pose that might suit that texture as background or foreground. The same goes

for the art nude poses, most of the time I have the 2 elements that make up the final ‘blend’ in my mind. Then when it comes up on my desktop the idea either works or it doesn’t. Sometimes with some refinement the work can be achieved with adding other software to achieve what I have in my mind.

Other artists can inspire by creating collaborative works with them. I also like to create ‘blended nudes’ with themes such as a series only involving leaves/ wet leaves/ autumn leaves etc. or only rock surface which can distort the many art nude poses quite amazingly. I’m working on a series with street glass tiles and another with musical instruments.

I get inspired by a friends poetry Mariko Gray) and, with her permission, and I use her words to bring meaning and an explanation to some of my works. “

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Set Free my Darkest Wishes Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions? Holding 2 Solo Exhibitions and selling limited editions and unique editions of my photographic art on different sizes and materials (Dec 2012 to march 2013 and June 2015) is great for the experience of having a go at showing my work to a wider audience, also a great exercise in the business side of being a photo-

graphic artist such as marketing and public relations, media coverage and getting professionally written blurb about yourself. Having one of my images as semi finalist in the Doug Moran Photographic competition in 2012, being a finalist in the Waverley Art Prize 2012,2013, 2014.

Semi finalist Head On Photo Festival 2012 and

numerous Group Exhibitions (Blackheath in June 2015).

What are you working on at present? Being part of a Group Show coming up in Rome, Italy in November 2015. Having my portrait painted by artist Brad Robson for the Archibald Prize 2015 was an interesting creative collaboration. Being part of another Group Show â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Swiss+Oz Art Expo at the Bondi Pavilion in November 2015.

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Meluxine Humide (Wet Meluxine) Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Your future aspirations with your art? “Continuing being recognised as a photographic artist with his own unique art practice and style, that of ‘blended nudes’. (Already being recognised when you google the term or my name).

Showing my work is on numerous art websites, including my own @ thommenart.com.au, and such sites as Saatchi online, be hance, Artstack. Through social art, business networking sites (Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, my photographic art can be spread all over the word (as of June 2015 followers from about 45 countries see my work on a regular basis. I enjoy the interaction with people from around the globe.

My work can also be seen and purchased at the Art2Muse Gallery site

http://art2muse.com.au/gallery/edmond-thommen I also self publish my work on blurb http://www.blurb.com/user/store/etdesigns I’m also planning more Solo exhibitions, always aiming to eventually being shown at a highly respected Gallery anywhere in the world. “ - Edmond Thommen © 2015

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Le Violin de Brad avec des Feuilles. Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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An Unbearable Silence - Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Autumn Leaves #24 - Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Autumn Leaves Series Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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www.thommenart.com.au

The Shadows draw me in - Edmond Thommen ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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The lady with the dulcimer A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw: (Coleridge, Kubla Khan)

The lady with the dulcimer idly strums the strings, staring at the stream go by and watching what it brings. She’s thinking of an old time love longing for his beard, his matted hair and flashing eyes – the one all must fear. The night he died, the naiads say, the moon was silver-blue and without a trace he was absorbed into the river’s hue. Issue 12 - Sept.

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The maiden sings to that same moon reflected in the stream in the shadow of the pleasure dome

lost in lonesome dreams. Swimming in the watery deeps Enbilulu hears her cries, reminded of the one he loved who left him for the skies. He rises to the riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge as a roaring wave. The maiden starts in mortal fear, falling to her grave,

plunged into the watery depths, sinking deeper down. The water closes on her chest

pressing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;til she drowned and once she lost her mortal light he took her to the land where submarinal fires burn bright upon the pure white sand. Back on the shore the dulcimer lies. Its strings kiss the dew. Longing for the maid it loves that the river slew. - David Graham ÂŠ 2015

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NOT NEWS by NIGEL NERD “I knew that ARTZINE had become world famous but I was surprised to receive an invitation to visit North Korea and meet the supreme leader – Kim Pong-un (locally known as Pong). In an exclusive interview Pong explained that he was the leading art patron in his country, with North

Korean artists specializing in portraits and sculptures. “Artists need direction, said Pong, and we have more than 50,000 artists at work. They all produce portraits and sculptures of their supreme leader. No other

image is permitted. I have a committee of military men who approve each artistic production and

arrange for them to be exhibited in halls specially built on top of hills and mountains throughout my country.” Issue 12 - Sept.

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Nigel asked what happens if a portrait and/or sculpture is deemed unsuitable. “They are then all eliminated” replied Pong. “Both portrait and sculpture?” asked Nigel. “No, both portrait and sculpture and the artists concerned.” “Pong went on to say that he believed in sustainable art development and display. Each state sponsored artist gets a bowl of porridge a day, while the display hall building workers get half a bowl a day. “We only do what we can afford, as our military arms output takes priority, as I am sure you will understand.” “Yes, yes”, said Nigel hurriedly, for the guards surrounding Pong’s large raised throne like chair were waving their sub-machine guns about, and Nigel was getting nervous. Nigel asked if North Korea exported art. Pong said “it was difficult to find export shipping space, particularly as the nation’s main ship, PONG SU (named after his sister) had been impounded in Australia some years ago as a result of some ridiculous claims that the vessel had been carrying drugs. You come from Australia, I believe.” Nigel began to feel nervous again. On leaving the country Nigel marvelled at the powerful Pong. Nigel also marvelled that he was able to get out of North Korea alive.”

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SHIRLEY CAMERON ROBERTS

Refuge ART SYSTEMS WICKHAM OCT 23 to NOV 1 2015 N-

For the Surefooted (detail) Issue 12 - Sept.

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TREES What am I doing? Where am I going? Is it aimless?

Beautiful or awkward Weeping or twisted Leaves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; narrow, squat, gnawed Food for some, homes for others

TREES This is the material of my work. Limbs reaching - all encompassing Homes for birds and myriads of insects Nectar for bees Bark for nests

My home The sweep of the landscape A refuge and diversion

Camouflage! A love of trees!

Playgrounds for possums Shade in summer heat Fuel for the fire in winter Timber for homes Something to climb if you are young or agile

Shirley Cameron-Roberts ÂŠ August 2015

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Nightfall #3 - Shirley Cameron Roberts ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Shirley Cameron Roberts BIOGRAPHY: Shirley Cameron-Roberts has been exhibiting her work since1988 when she left a career in management and accounting to pursue a lifelong love of drawing and painting. Initially her work and exhibitions were concerned with the human form and relationships. Then in 1999 she began to explore the natural world through portrayal of the landscape and the creatures that are part of it. Her subsequent environmental work has been greatly influenced by her early years on a wheat and sheep property on the Murray River at Boundary Bend in Victoria. She has had twenty-one solo and five joint exhibitions and been included in numerous group and selective exhibitions. Collections include the Art Gallery Collection, the University of Newcastle, the Maitland Regional Gallery and the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery. Her work is held in many private collections.

www.shirleycameron-roberts.com Issue 12 - Sept.

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Banksia (detail) - Shirley Cameron Roberts ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Shirley Cameron Roberts - Artist Statement. “As a child, in times of trouble, I would seek out the shade of the river red gums on the bank of the Murray River. Sitting on the large twisted roots you could observe the blue wrens flitting about in the lignum and listen to the warble of a magpie in the tree’s canopy. It always helped. Somehow seeing other creatures going about their daily life made me feel I could cope with my problems. It was my father who taught me to love and care for trees. He had worked in the Gippsland forests as a young man and was granted a Soldier Settlement property when he returned from WW1. We were lucky that the property’s northern border was situated on a very beautiful stretch of the Murray River with its magnificent river red gums. In working the land my father knew that the trees should be conserved and treated with respect. He had to cut down some to make a living but he was very careful and selective about the trees he felled and in those days it was manual work and not so destructive as modern mechanized methods. I still live in the country. Now I am surrounded by gently rolling lightly wooded hills not far from rainforest in the Hunter Region of NSW. The trees are varied, magnificent and an inspiration for my painting. The past year has been very difficult for me. My husband and love of my life, the painter Brian Roberts, died in January from pancreatic cancer. It did not surprise me that as I started painting for this exhibition, with no conscious intent on my part, trees became the most important element in the new works. Just as they helped me deal with difficult problems as a child now each day as I walk from the house to the studio I find great comfort in the beauty of the trees and the creatures that depend on them.” - Shirley Cameron Roberts © 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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MARIKA OSMOTHERLY

CATHARSIS

ART SYSTEMS WICKHAM OCT 23 to NOV 1 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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MARIKA OSMOTHERLY Biography: Marika Osmotherly was born and raised in the Netherlands. After finishing her Bachelor of Science in Amsterdam, she moved to the U.K. in 1988 where she practiced as a physiotherapist for 6 years. In 1994 she migrated to Australia and settled in Newcastle, NSW. After taking time out to raise her two daughters, she commenced her undergraduate studies in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle in 2001. Her practice initially consisted of figurative sculpture but during her postgraduate studies she started to develop an

interest in philosophy, with particular focus on phenomenology and the sublime as elements of her expression of existential angst. Marika finished her postgraduate degree (Master of Philosophy) in 2013 and she was employed as a casual academic at the University of Newcastle in the discipline of sculpture from 2009

- 2013.

She exhibits both nationally and internationally.

http://www.marikaosmotherly.com/ https://www.facebook.com/marikaosmotherlyartist Issue 12 - Sept.

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Sculpture detail - Marika Osmotherly ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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Studio practice: “My studio practice is based on some intensely personal events that have influenced my life to a great extent in recent years. After the death of one of my closest friends and the fallout of a partner’s major illness, my interest has been drawn to the philosophical premise of the fragile human condition and the

attempt for us as human beings to overcome our feelings of fragility and insignificance. I explore the importance and relevance of existence on a personal level, not just from a migrant’s point of view in one place or another, but more so in an existential sense. The aim of my studio practice is to communicate the metaphysical notion of human existential significance or lack thereof and to translate this into three-dimensional form. ‘Lightness of Being’ was the title of my 2013 research thesis, and this concept still resonates with me now. My practice mainly consists of sculpture, but I regularly use drawing, painting and photography as a supportive medium and to document work done in the field. Since my early days as a practising artist I have been preoccupied with the human form, which relates directly to my previous career as a physiotherapist. My investigations into the existential, conceptual and literal notions of weight and lightness and the way these concepts impact on our life, have translated into human figures that carry various loads. Recently these figures have partially transformed and grown imperfect wings. A more abstract expression of the same concept has also evolved from these figures. “ - Marika Osmotherly © 2015

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Sculpture detail - Marika Osmotherly ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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DAMIEN PASSMORE - Author INTERVIEW â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was born in Durban, South Africa my family and I emigrated to the northern beaches of Sydney when I was four years old. Ever since that time I've lived within two hours of Sydney and currently I reside with my wife and four children in the Hunter Valley. Writing a novel was not something that I always wanted to do, occupying an ever present place upon my personal bucket list. Rather, the impression to write a book came upon me all of a sudden and it felt as though it was something that I simply must do.

I think it is just as well that the impression came to me in that manner as I'm not sure that 'I might write a novel' or 'I'd like to write a novel' would have been sufficient to bring me to this point.â&#x20AC;?

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;My occupation as a financial adviser was by no means a natural breeding ground for authors. However, a love of reading and of books, coupled with business writing and the composition of professional articles did at least prove semi fertile

soil. Ever since devouring 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' in my early teens, my favourite genre has always been fantasy fiction and it seemed natural to commence my writing in a genre that I felt so passionate about. The plot of 'Premortal' captures a classic struggle between good and evil and is based on the idea that the beginning of 'life' for each of us was not the point of our mortal birth. Rather, we had a whole other existence prior to that time, one that we have no recollection of at all, but which was crucial to our Character: Dujas

future on earth.â&#x20AC;? Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

Character: Sarah

Character: Jezebel Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

I'm afraid that I cannot lay claim to the exquisite cover artwork. Although art is not a talent of mine, the cover, and also the wonderful character artwork featured on the website

premortal.net,

constitute a

key component of the overall marketing strategy for the premortal series. Utilising the skills of talented graphic designers, I was able to capture in these designs the light versus darkness theme that is so crucial to the series, as well as presenting a visual of the major characters to my readers. My vision from the outset has been not only to entertain but also to deliver a message and experience to the reader. As so many of us prefer to take in information visually, the artwork is critical to delivering that message and experience. Once the novel was published, I thought that I might enter a few competitions to see how well the book stood up to a review by independent judges. The feedback that I'd received from family and friends had been positive, but you never know if they are simply being kind. Accordingly, I entered the novel in the fantasy fiction division of the 'Los Angeles Book Festival'. Certainly I was hopeful, but I didn't really know

what to expect in my first competition and was absolutely thrilled to receive an 'honourable mention' in an international book festival of that calibre.

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This initial success inspired me to enter several other international book competitions and I'm grateful to say that after a series of 'honourable mentions' I was thrilled to take out the fantasy fiction division of San Francisco's 'Beach Book Festival'. 'Premortal' is the first of five books in the premortal series and presently I'm working on the second novel in the series (The Fall) which will be released next year. At present my sole vision for my future writing career lies in the completion of the five novels in the series. Beyond that I've thought of potentially preparing the series for screen or even a musical (a lofty goal for someone who still has a lot to learn about music). Whether my writing career continues beyond the premortal series remains to be seen.

though, I'm enjoying the journey thus far!

Certainly Character: Ethan Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

Damien Passmore

premortal.net

Character: Troy Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

The light of the betrothed one, who speaks for us all. What kind of songs will you be singing this morning? Perhaps or less undoubtedly so, do we pass this time now. To stand there on the bridge, engaged in checking the instruments,

from within the bowels of this vessel Our bodies roll over to one side.

Where we may welcome you personally and seek to talk to you. The will undoubtedly tainted by the choices and decisions we have made. And then back to the plank, the scaffolding, the corridors, the work bench, the bureau, to specifically ask for a window view, if we are to be chained, but not gagged. Slaves to the system of no return, we welcome you personally. Have you been here before, have you sat in that seat?

Have you been fully inducted, given the green light by your superiors? Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

The fragrance of the morning, in Spring, that joyful light step. When we feel nothing is impossible, as if for one moment we can walk the other way. As if we walk along this split plank, as if our bodies have disintegrated,

becoming not just one, but multiple breathing particles. And all in due time, will be explained in simple laymen terms, to take us through the whole procedure again and again. In the end we will turn summersaults, in the end our dreaming will be reality

and reality will embrace our dreams and visions.

Tell me what has changed? Tell me what has finally come through and gained

from deep within itself - compassion? Yes extreme caution to tread lightly, in creating a mandate for change. So tell me has that dialogue not shifted from the usual mooring?

- Eric Werkhoven ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

FINITE GALLERY INTERVIEW - LESLIE DUFFIN, Artist and Gallery Director

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LESLIE DUFFIN - INTERVIEW BACKGROUND: “I grew up in Warner’s Bay, and except for a short period while studying, have always lived in Newcastle. My father, Neil Stein, is an artist and I grew up thinking that painting and drawing were things that everyone did. It was common for me to accompany him on painting trips and to workshops with the Society of Artists (Ncle). I still have a watercolour painting that I completed en plein air when I was 7yrs old. It is on the back of one of my father’s rejects. My mother is also very creative and has tried nearly every craft in existence from cake decorating to quilling.

The house always had a ready supply of materials for creating. After finishing school, I gained a scholarship to study Early Childhood Teaching in Sydney. During my first year of study I was invited to have a small exhibition at Seaview Gallery, Redhead. Because I was painting more than completing assigned college tasks, I was asked to assess my career

choice. It was then that I decided to stop painting and concentrate on my studies. After finishing Teacher’s College, I returned to Newcastle and took up ceramics; first at night school, then part-time at the TAFE. I completed my Certificate of Ceramics in 1990. My daughter Rachel was born during the four year course so it is not surprising that she has followed an art career.”

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Entwined Oil on canvas 90 x 80cm Leslie Duffin ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

As a member of Newcastle Studio Potter’s group I exhibited in a number of ceramic exhibitions and my work was selected for an International Ceramic Conference in Perth. I became involved in art projects with my children’s school and in 1998 completed the first of many art projects at Floraville Public school (a mosaic mural, 3mx3m). These projects led to me working with Lake Macquarie City Council, the Department of Housing, and other primary schools in the area. I have completed more than 20 community art projects since that first one. One of the most memorable involved over 10,000 plastic bottle tops! I had returned to part-time teaching when my daughter began school, but when she began studying Fine Art at Newcastle Art School, it was hard to hide my longing to do the same.

I started at Art School (Hunter St TAFE) in 2010, and was in the first year of the course when my daughter was in her third and final year. While I consider myself to be primarily a painter, I still work with clay, enjoy drawing and dabble in photography. For more than 4 years I have also been making Puzzling Jewellery from recycled jig-saw puzzles. My most notable achievement to date would be co-winning the inaugural Laman Street Prize in 2014.

And then came the Gallery…….

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The Faceless Men - porcelain & found leaves, Co - Winner Laman St. Art Prize 2014, Leslie Duffin ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

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After graduating with an Advanced Diploma in Fine Art in 2012, I was determined to find a studio space from which to work. I knew from past experience that I needed to ‘go to work’ away from home to avoid the distraction of domestic demands. I was fortunate in renting an industrial shed in Hamilton Nth to as my first studio space.

It was during a conversation with owner David Saddington, that I mentioned that I would have liked to combine a teaching space in my studio to offset the costs, however due to the industrial nature of the space this wasn’t possible. A couple of weeks later, David asked if I knew anyone who would like to use an old building as an art gallery, or as a venue for art classes. It was an opportunity worth pursuing. Early in 2013 I contacted his brother Bill, and went to look at the disused service station at Caves Beach which became the first home for Finite Gallery. The building had been used for storage and building a boat. There were cobwebs and cockroaches everywhere. There were knee high weeds in the driveway and the windows were all broken and boarded up. I hadn’t really considered owning an art gallery, but I could see the potential and with only hard work and a little capital investment required, I decided to give it a go. The doors of Finite Gallery opened on 20th April 2013.

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To suit the nature of the locality, the gallery does not have set length exhibitions, but operates as a continually changing group exhibition, with a diversity of subjects, styles and materials. As work is purchased, it is taken immediately, and while this poses a curatorial challenge, it also means that there are always new things on display. Classes for both adults and children have also proved popular, with tutors John Morris and Lezlie Tilley providing their expertise and inspiration for the adults, while my daughter Rachel (now a qualified Art Teacher) and I run the children’s classes. During May each year, the gallery has been given over to an exhibition raising funds to assist those living with Multiple Sclerosis. The Kiss My Arts exhibitions have been very successful and have raised approxi-

mately $4,500 for MS Australia to date. I have had great support from the local community and the artists who have entrusted their work to me, but due to redevelopment of the site, Finite Gallery had to close its doors at the end of June. After a generous offer from the owners of a commercial space across the road, the gallery will re-open in early September – bigger and better than ever! The new gallery will offer even more classes and workshops, with a permanent teaching space allowing visitors to view the gallery and observe the creative process as well. Weekend workshops are also on the agenda and I welcome suggestions for classes or workshops that would be of interest. Artists working in all mediums are welcome to submit work for consideration for the gallery, and proposals

for “Featured Artist” exhibition space are also welcome. Issue 12 - Sept.

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Bagged Porcelain & brown paper Leslie Duffin ÂŠ 2014 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

Please contact the gallery via email if you would like to be added to the mailing list and kept up to date with exhibitions and workshop news. For all class and workshop details contact Leslie -

Finite Gallery 60 Caves Beach Rd, Caves Beach NSW 2281 Open Fri â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sun & Public Hols 10am -4pm.

P: 0419471660

E : finite.gallery@gmail.com Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

Did You Know You can make brownies in a microwave You can do Tai Chi with a fractured scaphoid You can trust Your impossible heart Spluttering with ultimatums This / that One or the other You can either have Humanfriends or Poemfriends. All / nothing One or another You have to decide Whether you want to Fade away into oblivion or

Fade away into oblivion

- Carlin McLellan ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

In the Bath Ruthlessly chillaxin' Drinking a shandy of epsom salts and not giving a fuck The pizza will be delivered to my doors any minute now Just bring it right in, mate Don't worry about this incomprehensible body Aimlessly flopping about Don't mind sopping pages of The Brothers Karamazov adorning the bathroom floor and walls In aching clusters Maximum contentment Leeches into my pores As I remember how it feels to feel - Carlin McLellan ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECTURE - RIGA, LATVIA

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Art Nouveau Architecture in Riga, Latvia Lorraine Fildes Art Nouveau was an art and architecture movement at its height from 1890 to 1910. Art Nouveau, was a reaction against the cluttered designs and compositions of Victorian-era decorative art. Nowadays it is viewed as an important bridge between Neoclassicism and modernism. Art Nouveau put forward the idea of art and design as part of everyday life and that artists should not overlook any everyday object, no matter

how functional it might be. This aesthetic idea was considered to be quite revolutionary and new, hence its name - New Art - or Art Nouveau. The Art Nouveau architects readily employed new materials and did not turn their backs on mass-produced or machined surfaces. They were inspired by nature â&#x20AC;&#x201C; flowers, animals and natural forms. Although the movement made the doctrine that "form should follow function" central to their ethos, some designers tended to be lavish in their use of decoration, and the style began to be criticized for being overly elaborate. In a sense, as the style matured, it started to revert to the very habits it had scorned, and a growing number of opponents began to say that rather than renewing design, it had merely swapped the old for the superficially new.

Image page : 4 Alberta Street (close up) Issue 12 - Sept.

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Why did this happen? When art nouveau was at the height of its popularity, Riga just happened to be in a financial boom, resulting in an incredible era of construction. The buildings in Riga survived because the boom had gone and the cost of demolition and reconstruction was too high for this struggling Russian satellite country. Hence the large number of Art Nouveau buildings left standing in Riga.

Being faced with elaborate, flamboyant fauna and flora motifs and gargoyles and satyrs and masks of humans and animals means it is most likely an art nouveau building. Art Nouveau buildings can be found all over the old city of Riga, but there is an amazing concentration and outstanding examples around the streets of Alberta, Elizabetes, and Strelnieku. On my travels I visited Riga and undertook a guided tour of

the Art Nouveau buildings. Seeing buildings designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, Konstantins Peksens, Friedrich Scheffel and Heinrich Scheel - just to mention some of the most prolific Art Nouveau architects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was very worthwhile.

The Art Nouveau style has been said to end in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), a key figure in the Glasgow School of Painting. As a painter, architect and designer, he was initially attracted by the creative freedom of Art Nouveau and its encouragement of the fanciful, but he used a less decorative style, more streamlined and orderly. I am spending a week in Glasgow this year and will have images to show you how restrained but beautiful were his building designs. Issue 12 - Sept.

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Photos of Riga buildings “I hope my photos will enable you to enjoy the magic of Riga - the decorative elements that adorn the facades of these buildings - human masks and masks of exotic animals, lions and dragons, sphinxes and atlases, female figures and figures of ancient gods and helmeted warriors from Spain and South American Indians, devilish goat skulls and robotic styled masks and flamboyant fauna and flora motifs of all descriptions.” - Lorraine Fildes © 2015

2A Alberta Street. Riga Issue 12 - Sept.

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2A Alberta Street Some architects told his-

torical stories in the façades of their buildings. In 2A Alberta Street Mikhail Eisentien told the Spanish story – Top relief sculptures show the helmeted heads of the conquistadors who conquered the South Americans followed by vertical rows of red tiles that indicated the blood that flowed and then the heads of the native South Americans who were defeated – then two female sculptures of peace. Set on the pavement are two Egyptian Sphinxes – the sphinxes are to protect the entrance of the building.

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Alberta

Street

Eisenstein

designed this most elegant and artistically most original eclectically decorative art nouveau building in 1904. The eye is drawn to the three Medusa heads placed above the cornice with their mouths agape in the middle of a scream. The faĂ§ade is scattered with figures of eagles and lions and reliefs of winged

lions. The winged relief of a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head at the centre of the building symbolises the sun and protection.

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8 Alberta Street Many of Eisenstein’s building like this one at 8 Alberta Street have a Wedgewood-blue and white colour scheme façade. This façade is decorated with a large number of female heads and floral motifs. At the top in the centre is a large lion’s head symbolising power.

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2015

Alberta

Street On this

faĂ§ade Eisenstein has given centre place to two large human masks with their mouths agape. Each first floor window has a goatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head mask above it and geometric decorations in between.

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10A Elizabetes Street The faĂ§ade of this Eisen-

stein building at No. 10A Elizabetes Street is dominated by a large oval window with a balcony. The building is also decorated with floral motifs and lionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heads which are a symbol of power.

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10B Elizabetes Street Eisen-

steinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building at No. 10B has a Wedgewood-blue and white colour scheme and two incredibly long faces at the top. It is one of the most photographed buildings in the city. It is richly decorated with human and animal masks, stylized birds, geometric and floral ornaments.

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33 Elizabetes Street The building at No.33 is also Eisensteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation. It has many atlas figures holding up the balconies, a large number of human heads and lionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heads symbolising power. Issue 12 - Sept.

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4A StrÄ&#x201C;lnieku Street This building, like a number of Eisensteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facades, has a Wedgewood-blue and white colour scheme, and an over-the-top ornamentation of female figures combined with atlases at the top supporting

decorative pedestals and robotic-style masks over the doorways near the main entrance.

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Detail: 4A Strēlnieku Street

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2 Smiles Street Built in 1902, this red brick building is an early example of Konstantīns Pēkšēns conversion to art nouveau. The naked figures of an Atlas-like man and woman growing out of tree trunks prop up the centre of the façade. The façade is also adorned with an image of a peacock, one of the other symbols used to represent beau-

ty in art nouveau.

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Photos 12 and 13: 12/14 Skunu Street This striking art nouveau building completed in 1902 was designed by the Baltic German duo of Friedrich Scheffel and Heinrich Scheel. Unfortunately, most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even notice it because the street is so narrow. Its best features including the watchdog at the top of the faĂ§ade are most appreciated from Amatu Street.

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12/14 Skunu Street Riga. Issue 12 - Sept.

2015

Photos 14 and 15: 10 Meistaru Street All Riga tourist guides will take you to 10 Meistaru Street. This 1909 building is designed in medieval architecture style with some elements of Art Nouveau. The blueprint comes from archi-

tect Friedrich Scheffel. The building has two cat sculptures on its roof, with arched backs and raised tails. The guides maintain that the house owner wanted the cats to show their tails turned towards the Great Guild house nearby, as he held a grudge against its members. The Great Guild found this disrespectful and had the council order the owner to turn the cats to face

the guild house.

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Nouveau Architecture

Riga, Latvia Lorraine Fildes ÂŠ 2015

Detail: 10 Meistaru Street Riga Issue 12 - Sept.

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Look at that Frog! I don't know about you but one of the best recollections I have about eating at McDonalds As a child Was watching Jarrod Pull a gherkin from out of his cheeseburger Flick it up on the wall behind him and say: "Look at that frog!" - Brad Evans ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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handball

some bent them but we all knew the rules:

lunch hours to tea breaks primary school to high school

"winner serves" "double" "full" "play on"

driving my father insane with the number of shoes I went through:

but that was decades ago...

wearing out my inner step year after year. on wet, windy days our passionate hands bright red from the play driving that ball heavy and damp.

I now teach my girlfriend that game as if in mock reassurance that it wasn't all just a dream. - Brad Evans ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015 103

DANE TOBIAS

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DANE TOBIAS - ARTIST INTERVIEW When did your artistic Passion begin?

“My artistic passion started when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I have always loved drawing.” ARTIST Describe your work… “My art responds to myself having a photographic memory of places I have been, rooms I have been in and the homes of friends and relations. My works are somewhat autobiographical as they reflect the past and present suburban environments and the intimate spaces of friends and relations. The colours used in my works reflect my emotional involvement at any given moment.”

What inspires you? “My inspirations are derived from what I see in everyday life, from both imagination and photographic memory, as well as what is seen in real life. My paintings and drawings are carefully and deliberately planned based on spontaneous pen-and-ink drawings in sketchbooks, which give a unique glimpse into a private world.”

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Interior Dane Tobias ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015 106

Name your greatest achievement. “Having my first ever solo exhibition two years ago, ‘Suburbia Abstractica’ @ Newcastle Art Space.”

What are you working on at present?

“Iam working on my third solo exhibition, for which I have branched out into watercolours and mixed media for some of the works. It focuses on interior spaces and patterning of these suburban environments.”

Your future aspirations with your art? “To continue to exhibit my work and explore ways of capturing my vision.”

Forthcoming exhibition ? “Next exhibition

‘Technicolour Homespace’

at Cstudios Art

Gallery

738 Hunter street, Newcastle West. 6-27 September, opening on Sunday 6 Sept. 2 - 4 pm.” - Dane Tobias © 2015 Dane Tobias is mentored by Susan Porteous arts facilitator for ConnectAbility and Peter Lankas a local artist and educator. Issue 12 - Sept.

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2015 ADORNMENT 3 EXHIBITION

WILD Exhibition 5 to 27 September 2015 CSTUDIOS ART GALLERY, Shop 1/738 Hunter St, Newcastle , NSW. Issue 12 - Sept.

2015 108

Body art like any other art form ranges from the frivolous to

Andrew Finnie Varelle Hardy

the serious. It is the rebellion against the mundane where artists and the

viewer enter a world of dreams and fantasies that go

Carolyn McKay

towards the creation of extraordinary visions of art. A place

Barbara Nanshe

where the human body is decorated with paint or garments

Maree Nichols

Judy Henry

designed from the sublime to the ridiculous. Humans innately hold a fascination with enhancing and

showing off their bodies.

Ann Sutherland Robyn Werkhoven Naomi Wild

Marleen Yhang

The exhibition is titled WILD includes art works of any media on the subject of human body adornment

inspired by

animals, wings, horns, claws, bones, feathers, fins, fur, hair, fangs, patterns are just some animal traits which have influenced human adornment from very early times. - Ann Sutherland ÂŠ 2015

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Those were the Daysâ&#x20AC;Ś. Jet, cornelian & agate with copper & sterling silver Barbara Nanshe ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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BARBARA NANSHE Barbara Nanshe is an artist who tells stories via the medium of Jewellery!

Nanshe’ s jewellery is broadly influenced by the natural world- she loves animals, plants and patterns- yet because of her love for all things 1920’s, Barbara has joyously made chokers influenced by that era. There is nothing like a choker to temporarily restrain the wild passion within! Look closely and you will also see the Middle Eastern influences behind much of her work.!

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Protected by my Green Heart Aventurine & Sterling silver. Barbara Nanshe ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

2015 112

Flash Red coral & sterling silver. Barbara Nanshe ÂŠ 2015

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Tattoo Mandala 1 - Carolyn McKay ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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CAROLYN McKAY Tattoo Mandala 1, Tattoo Mandala 2 MEDIA: digital photomedia on acrylic lightbox SIZE: each 420 x 594

Carolyn works with video, audio and photomedia, Carolynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practice engages with historical criminal justice records and contemporary criminological issues.

www.carolynmckay.com Issue 12 - Sept.

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Tattoo Mandala 2 - Carolyn Mc Kay ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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These images originate from my video installation ‘Writing the Body’ exhibited in ‘A very fine river: convict stories from the Hunter’ at Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, 2014. In these still and illuminated images, the act of tattooing is abstracted into

organic mandala patterns that entwine the tattooist’s long hair and rubber gloves with the freshly tattooed flesh of a young man.

www.carolynmckay.com Issue 12 - Sept.

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ANN SUTHERLAND

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ANN SUTHERLAND Chameleon Cape: Wool and cotton knitted and croqueted .

Chameleon Helmet: Cotton croqueted. Reggae knitted and croqueted cotton and beads

Inspired by the patterns and intricate designs chameleons create using dye sacs to adapt to their environment. There are many knitting patterns which reflect the repetitive patterns and textures found in reptilian life. Sutherland enjoys the freedom of Knitting and croqueting cotton and

wool to create sculptural wearable art works to fit the human body. Experimental pieces evolve into Hand made individual clothing. Humans continue to be inspired by animals and nature in creating their body adornment.

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MAREE NICHOLS

Detail: Opposites Attract.

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MAREE NICHOLS "Opposites Attract"

Exploring the dynamic connection between two partnering entities that compliment each other in a non-traditional way, the garment modelled is made completely of plastic bags and was inspired by the striking beauty of the Zebra . The opposition is highlighted by the light and shade spilling over the model as well as her bold hairstyle celebrating both the human body in it's barest form juxtaposed with manipulated and precise styling. Posed to emphasise the skeleton, the image has been captured to celebrate beauty but gently suggests a similarity between human and animal.

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ROBYN WERKHOVEN

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ROBYN WERKHOVEN WILD WOMEN NECKLACES Robyn has presented a range of individual hand painted

pendants, of man and beasts frolicking and dancing to lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music. Combined with a mix of beautiful beads to create necklaces to adorn WILD WOMEN or WILD MEN.

The label Studio La Primitive was established by Eric and Robyn Werkhoven in Sydney in the nineteen eighties, producing a collaborative series of individual Art brooches. Robynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

passion

for

jewellery

and

art,

especially

portraiture, has led to a collection of unique necklaces. Featuring an original miniature, hand painted scene or portrait, on wood, inspired from traditional cameos and miniatures. Currently the necklaces are available in galleries in Australia. They are in private collections in Europe and

USA. Issue 12 - Sept.

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W I L D W O M E N Issue 12 - Sept.

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www.studiolaprimitive.net

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JUDY HENRY

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Judy Henry (nee Gray)

The leather sporran was made by my father in

Scottish Adornments

Exhibition Glasgow. The broach is adorned with

Scotland and was shown at the 1938 Empire 6 Scottish stones.

I chose felting as the medium for this Adornment

I made the box after my trip to Scotland in 1997.

Exhibition. Felting is a very old medium and has been used in Turkey, China, Russia, Asia, and Korea for thousands of years. My heritage tartan on my father’s side (Gray) is the ‘Ancient Stewart of Appin Tartan.’ My parents came from Scotland 1951, they were involved in Scottish Country Dancing here in

Australia, my dad’s kilt and my mother’s evening sash were made in Scotland from the ‘Stewart of Appin Tartan’ and this is the tartan I used to create my wall hanging.

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NAOMI WILD

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NAOMI WILD Fire Bird Mixed media- textile, painting, Lino print, free machine stitching. Fire bird is largely inspired by the Australian Wattle Bird and it's symbolic representation. The bird itself is not remarkably coloured or eye catching like some yet feeds on the blossoms that are like sun bursts, following it's innate rhythms. This work is an exploration of the way we feed our essential natures and how regardless of what we look like to the worlds value system, we can still be a powerful force. That said, I also love a good tribal costume and have also celebrated my love of feathers and all things light in this piece. I used plant dyes got the fabric and ochres for paint as a tribute to this great land.

Soulskin Mixed media wearable art Textile, feathers, found objects, paints, free machine stitching. This work celebrates all things animal in it's appearance and how we are drawn to these attributes in response to our own wildish natures. Perhaps these totemic symbols also allow us to role play our instinctual desires. The snakes skin detail here is made using eucalyptus leaves for dying and a shibori technique to induce a scale like pattern.

http://www.naomiwild.com/ Issue 12 - Sept.

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Soulskin - Naomi Wild ÂŠ 2015 Issue 12 - Sept.

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ADORNMENT 3 -

WILD

Exhibition 5 to 27 September 2015 OFFICIAL OPENING: Sunday 6th September 2.00 to 4.00 pm

CSTUDIOS ART GALLERY, Shop 1/738 Hunter St, Newcastle NSW 2302 Director Jo Chisholm-Ray, Gallery open 12-4pm Wednesday â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sunday

P: +612 4023 8927

m: 0407 107053

http://cstudiosartgallery.com.au/ https://wwwfacebook.com/cstudiosArtGallery Issue 12 - Sept.

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GALLERY

one3nine

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About Gallery 139 Gallery 139 is an independent art gallery located at 139A Beaumont St, Hamilton, an inner-city suburb of Newcastle, Australia. Featuring regular gallery-curated, open and solo exhibitions by emerging and established Newcastle artists. It also includes a small retail section specialising in art books, art journals and independent press.

The gallery was established in 2015 by Newcastle-based artist and curator, Ahn Wells. The intention of the gallery is to support and showcase the high quality art making in this city. It aims to create a space that not only supports artists by providing a professional gallery in which to exhibit and sell their artwork, but also to produce exhibitions that challenge, explore and

investigate contemporary ideas and themes. - Ahn Wells ÂŠ 2015.

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INTERVIEW - GALLERY 139 Director AHN WELLS BACKGROUND: I grew up in Lake Macquarie, about half an hour drive from Newcastle. I was born in South Korea and was adopted to Australia when I was 9 months, I've been back to Korea on a holiday but only for a week when I was 31 years. I attended Newcastle Art School, Hunter St TAFE NSW from 1997-99 and then went onto the University of Newcastle to complete a B.Fine Art in 2000 and I did my Honours from 2002-July2003. As soon as I started Hunter St TAFE I started to exhibit outside of art school and have continued to exhibit regularly ever since.

What inspired you to open an art gallery? The gallery was established in 2015 with the intention to support and showcase the high quality art making in Newcastle. It aims to create a space that not only supports artists by providing a professional gallery in which to exhibit and sell their artwork, but also to produce exhibitions that challenge, explore and investigate contemporary ideas and themes.

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Gallery 139 - TEXT ME Exhibition - March 2015. Issue 12 - Sept.

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What style of exhibitions? Gallery 139 features 3 week gallery-curated, open and solo exhibitions by emerging and established Newcastle artists. It also includes a small retail section specialising in art books, art journals and independent press.

Your future aspirations for the gallery? I hope to make the gallery into my full-time job as well as maintain my own art practice.

Forthcoming exhibitions at the gallery? The next exhibition is PAINT LIKE BILL from 16 Sept – 3 Oct 2015, opening on Saturday 19 Sept, 2-4pm and then Flynn Dolye's first solo exhibition in the gallery as a “represented artist”.

Are you interviewing artists for forthcoming exhibitions? Artists can fill out an online application on the website to be considered for gallery curated exhibitions.

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Are you an artist, what genre of the visual arts are you involved with? Eg. Painting, Describe your work. “Yes, I am a practicing artist. I work in the mediums

of works on paper and soft sculpture, combining the traditions of craft work found in the home with the art vocabulary of minimalism and abstract art learnt during formal art study. I like to use both traditional materials such as paint, pastels, drawing materials

with non-traditional materials such as plastic string, copper wire, acrylic wool to explore ideas of repetition, order/disorder, surface manipulation and pattern formation.”

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The Last Farewell, von Bertouch Gallery Revisited

Ann von Bertouch - portrait by Shirley Cameron Roberts, Newcastle University collection. Issue 12 - Sept.

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The Last Farewell, von Bertouch Gallery Revisited The von Bertouch Galleries were an essential part of the artistic landscape of Newcastle for 34 years (from 1969 to 2003). This year, as the gallery building is about to be sold and possibly re-invented, a group of thirty artists from the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop and Newcastle Studio Potters have visited the old galleries to gain inspiration for new artworks. Anne von Bertouch set up her original gallery in 1962 in Cooks Hill, Newcastle. This is believed to be the first commercial gallery outside a capital city. Well known artists who exhibited at the galleries include Jon Molvig, Bill Dobell, John Passmore, George Lawrence, Fred Williams, Lloyd Rees. This exhibition honours Anne von Bertouch O.A.M (1915-2003) and her gallery.

“People like coming to this gallery. It is a favourite place. It has become part of the community life of Newcastle. Creative people get fresh impetus. Children are at ease. The elderly are back home. Dropouts are at peace. Travellers are surprised. Artists continue to show throughout a lifetime. A living spirit of past and future pervades it.” – Anne von Bertouch, 1990. As part of the show the von Bertouch Galleries were opened to artists in June by Jeannie Little who was then residing there. Over 20 printmakers (Newcastle Printmakers Workshop) and 5 ceramic artists (Newcastle Studio Potters) attended and have developed work to be presented at

Galleries, Cooks Hill, from 11-27 September 2015.

Back to Back

The exhibition will be opened on Friday 11 September from 6-8pm by Gael Davies, former curator and manager of von Bertouch Galleries. Issue 12 - Sept.

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gallery one3nine PAINT LIKE BILL 16 SEPT - 3 OCT Works that have been influenced by William Dobell's life and paintings, from "appropriations" of his works, to a portrait of Bill himself to a visit to visiting to Dobell House at Wangi Wangi to drawings and/or photographs from his window out to Lake Macquarie. Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solace - Sally Reynolds 2015

139A Beaumont St Hamilton NSW 2303

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REFRACTED FLYNN DORAN 7 - 23 OCTOBER Flynn Doran is an emerging artist, based in Newcastle, Australia. This will be his first solo exhibition at Gallery 139.

IN THIS CITYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SIDE PAUL MAHER 28 OCT - 14 NOV First solo exhibition in Gallery 139 by gallery artist, Paul Maher.

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NEWCASTLE EMERGING ARTIST PRIZE 2015 EXHIBITION DATES: 12 - 27 SEPTEMBER 2015 Newcastle Community Arts and Newcastle Art Space would like to invite you to the Exhibition opening of The 15th Annual Newcastle Emerging Artist Prize Saturday 12 September, 6pm Gallery Hours: Thurs - Sun 12 - 5pm E: newcastleartspace@ymail.com

Overall winner 2014â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Michael Randall

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Laman Street Art Prize Hunter residents are invited to participate in the second bi-annual Laman Street Art Prize established to remember the Laman Street figs. Theme: ‘Celebrating

Nature’

Prizes: Two Best-of-Show prizes ($2,500 each); Emerging Artist prize ($1,000); and People’s Choice prize ($1,000).

Mediums that can be used: drawing, printmaking, clay, wood, fibre, metal or a combination of these. (There is no painting or photography.) The work must not measure more than 600 x 600 x 600 mm.

Exhibition dates: 22 January to 7 February 2016. Exhibition gallery: Back to Back Galleries, Bull Street, Cooks Hill. Deadline for receipt of entry forms: Monday, 30 November 2015 Entry forms contact Gallery: Back

T: 49 293 677

to Back Galleries

57 Bull Street Cooks Hill

NSW 2300

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ART NEWS

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EXHIBITION CALENDAR 57 Bull Street, Cooks Hill, Newcastle NSW

Ph: 49 293 677

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21 AUG - 6 SEPT

23 OCT - 8 NOV

AL FRESCO

FEAST

NSP Members’ Exhibition

Denise Spalding, Barbara Greentree,

(ceramics)

Anne Gazzard, Heather Campbell, Joan Robinson, Grant Keene, Nicola Purcell (ceramics)

11 - 27 SEPTEMBER

The Last Farewell, Von Bertouch

13 - 29 NOVEMBER

Gallery Revisited.

CANVAS & CLAY

Newcastle PrintMakers

Gary Boote (ceramics)

Workshop Miniprint Exhibition

Merran Kilgour (painting)

(printing & clay) 4 - 20 DECEMBER

2 - 18 OCT

Christmas Takeaway

LAND FORM MEMORIES

NSP Members’ Exhibition

Robyn Outram (ceramics)

Work can be “taken away”

Lara Seresin (painting)

Once purchased.

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