Trouble June 2018

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Geelong Contemporary Art Prize 9 June – 19 August 2018 This $30,000 acquisitive award and biennial exhibition features works by Natasha Bieniek, Seth Birchall, Amber Boardman, Andrew Browne, Jon Campbell, Nancy Constandelia, Yvette Coppersmith, Ann Debono, Troy Emery, Emily Ferretti, Patrick Francis, Nyarapayi Giles, Peter Graham, Camille Hannah, Katherine Hattam, Euan Heng, Gregory Hodge, Carissa Karamarko, Madeleine Kelly, Mason Kimber, Anna Kristensen, Darren McDonald, Laith McGregor, Fiona McMonagle, Amanda Marburg, Sam Martin, Tully Moore, Jan Murray, Louise Paramor, Sally Ross, Huseyin Sami, Andrew Taylor, Kate Tucker, Sharon West, Bradd Westmoreland and Alice Wormald.

IMAGES IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE Andrew BROWNE, The awakening 2017, oil on linen. Courtesy of the artist and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne. | Yvette COPPERSMITH, Self portrait as St Vincent wearing Cara’s dress 2016-18, oil on linen, 61cm x 51cm. | Fiona McMONAGLE, Princess 2017, oil on linen. Courtesy of the artist and Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne.

FREE ENTRY Geelong Gallery

Little Malop Street Geelong (VIC) geelonggallery.org.au

CONTENTS

GEELONG CONTEMPORARY ART PRIZE

Geelong Art Gallery .................................,................................................

COMICS FACE

Ive Sorocuk ..............................................................................................

ST VINCENT, CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON

Live (4AD Session) ..................................,..............................................

RETRO FUTURISMUS

Press Release ...................................................,....................................

JUNE SALON

Jasmine Scented ......................................................................................

FINDING THE ART IN PHUKET: THE ART OF SHOOTING REALITY

Anthony S. Cameron ...............................................................................

02 07 08 10 18

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COVER: St. VINCENT brings her latest album MASSEDUCTION to Carriageworks for her only Sydney performance on Sunday 17 June.

Photographer: Nedda Afsari. St. Vincent aka Annie Clark has been described by the NME as the “closest thing that our generation has to David Bowie” and has released five albums to worldwide critical acclaim, including 2014’s Best Alternative Album, Grammy-winning St. Vincent.

Part of Carriageworks’ Vivid Sydney program.

Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (NSW) carriageworks.com.au Issue 157 JUNE 2018 trouble is an independent monthly mag for promotion of arts and culture Published

by Trouble Magazine Pty Ltd. ISSN 1449-3926 EDITOR Steve Proposch CONTRIBUTORS Ive Sorocuk, Anthony S. Cameron, love.

GET from AppStore FOLLOW on issuu, facebook & twitter SUBSCRIBE at troublemag.com READER ADVICE: Trouble magazine contains artistic content that may include nudity, adult concepts, coarse language, and the names, images or artworks of deceased Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. Treat Trouble intelligently, as you expect to be treated by others. Collect or dispose of thoughtfully.

DIS IS DE DISCLAIMER! The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. To the best of our knowledge all details in this magazine were correct at the time of publication. The publisher does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions. All content in this publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without prior permission of the publisher. Trouble is distributed online from the first of every month of publication but accepts no responsibility for any inconvenience or financial loss in the event of delays. Phew!

This comic first appeared in Trouble JUNE 2011

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a troubled feature trailer

St Vincent, Chloe in the Afternoon Live (4AD Session)

Artist: St. Vincent | Album: Strange Mercy, 2011 St. VINCENT brings her latest album MASSEDUCTION to Carriageworks for her only Sydney performance on Sunday 17 June. St. Vincent aka Annie Clark has been described by the NME as the “closest thing that our generation has to David Bowie” and has released five albums to worldwide critical acclaim, including 2014’s Best Alternative Album, Grammy-winning St. Vincent.

Part of Carriageworks’ Vivid Sydney program. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (NSW) - carriageworks.com.au

t h a n ks to

PRESS RELEASE

“Retro Futurismus is a safe space from the heartbreak of participating in a hard life and the world we currently live in.”

– Daily Review The “feminista supernovas” of Retro Futurismus return to fortyfivedownstairs this winter to premiere a new hyper-real show called Brave World, that promises to “fillet the future and conjure grand visions from obsolete technologies”.

Retro Futurismus is an artist collective troupe of four: Teresa Blake, Anni and Maude Davey and Anna Lumb. 2015 saw the first presentation of their futuristic and fantastical variety show Retro Futurismus in Melbourne, subsequently presented at Brisbane’s Wonderland Festival. In 2016 they presented Retro Futurismus – New World, which received five Green Room Award nominations and was invited to Sydney Festival 2017, the Darwin Festival 2017 and the West Australian Circus Festival 2018. The ensemble is highly experienced, bringing specific, complementary skills to the troupe. Anni Davey and Teresa Blake were performers with Circus Oz in the 1980s into the 1990s, going on to found influential physical theatre companies, Desoxy (Blake) & Club Swing (Davey). Blake is also an accomplished musician (cello) and composer for performance. Anna Lumb is a sought-after circus artist who has worked with Strange Fruit, La Soiree and created several highly regarded solo circus shows. Maude Davey has a 30-year career in theatre, TV and film and is regarded as an Australian neo-Burlesque icon.

Brave World, they say, “will take Variety performance to a neo-high, combining incendiary circus, demented dance, post-human posturing and prophetical idiocy”. The Davey sisters explain, “Brave World is a meditation on the present and what it might have become – reality is dissected and

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dismembered, while lies are spun to reveal truth. Brave World promulgates anti-fascist fictions. We are fed a myth of human improvement – an assumption that humans can be genetically engineered towards perfection.”

Through individual and unique abilities, Brave World creates alternative realities where bodies are wonderfully imperfect and exist in a world more intricate and complex than can be expressed in two dimensions.

Retro Futurismus say that this is an act of resistance and renewal, pioneering new Vaudeville that is responsive to current political events and philosophical ideas. Since 2015, the collective has performed in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin and Western Australia.

ABOUT THE CAST ANNI DAVEY Anni Davey joined Death Defying Theatre in 1985 and began on a performance path trod by acrobats and activists, through traditional agitprop and feminist street theatre to international stages. She joined Circus Oz as a Performer in 1987 and has continued working there in many different capacities ever since, including directing TWENTYSIXTEEN and touring show direction for Rob Tannion’s Model Citizens. Anni’s directing practice, in development since 2006, includes a fruitful collaboration with Sarah Ward as Yana Alana. Their shows together have won nine Green Room Awards for Cabaret including Best Director (twice) and Best Diva and a Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Artist in 2014. Anni also directed her twin sister, Maude Davey in her autobiographical show My Life In The Nude, which has played to critical acclaim in Melbourne, Tasmania and Perth. In 2016 Anni was guest director at Circus Oz and directed the acclaimed production TWENTYSIXTEEN that has toured extensively through Australia, to São Paulo, Brazil and to the USA. In 2017 she joined Circus Oz again as touring show director for Model Citizen. She has directed three shows for The Sandfly Circus in Broome, Total Rebuild in 2015, Nibjlm in 2016 and Come Fly with Us in 2017. Anni has been recently appointed artistic director of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus.

Retro Futurismus / Press Release

MAUDE DAVEY Maude Davey trained as an actor at the VCA and has worked as an actor, director and writer for more than twenty-five years, with her primary focus being the creation of new work. She has been nominated for the Green Room Best Actress Award twice, for her role as Harry Crawford in Lachlan Philpott’s The Trouble with Harry and in her own, My Life In The Nude. She has worked extensively in variety, including as member of Finucane & Smith’s Glory Box and Burlesque Hour ensembles. She works as an actor in theatre, television (Offspring and Summer Heights High), and film (My Year Without Sex and Noise). She has also been the artistic director of theatre companies, Vitalstatistix Theatre Company in Adelaide and Melbourne Workers Theatre.

Her recent directing credits include Killjoy with the Laser Beanz and Fish for the Rollercoaster Ensemble. She received a Masters Degree in Writing for Performance from VCA in 2016.

TERESA BLAKE Teresa Blake is a Melbourne based theatre maker and multi-instrumentalist.

After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Secondary School as a classical cellist Teresa trained as an acrobat and joined Circus Oz as both an acrobat & musician. On leaving Circus Oz, Teresa started her own company, Desoxy Theatre, a multi-disciplinary company incorporating drama, dance, acrobatics, music and visual arts which toured works internationally and locally. Since that time, she has worked with many companies as both musician & performer, including; David Bridie’s Not Drowning Waving, Chamber Made, Peepshow Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Playbox, Belvoir St Theatre, La Mama, Melbourne University Theatre, Red Stitch Theatre as well as with artists Robyn Archer, Barry Kosky and Sarah Ward. In the last decade, Teresa has undertaken several study trips to New York to explore contemporary string playing and composition techniques and completed a graduate certificate of visual arts at the VCA. She composed and performed a 50-minute sound/music solo score for the Melbourne Fringe award winning show No Punchline in 2015. In 2017 she was the solo sound designer/composer/musician for Sue Broadway and Deb Batton’s One and

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The Other at La Mama Courthouse and is currently working in this capacity for One Trick Pony’s creative development Till Death Do Us Part. Teresa most recently worked with Kate Champion on NICA’s third year graduation show Please Hold as the composer and sound designer. Teresa has received two Green Room awards for her work as a musician/performer for Cafe Fledermaus with Robyn Archer and Barrie Kosky in 1990 and for her work as cellist/saxophonist/musical saw player as part of the five-piece band in Yana Alana in Concert in 2014.

ANNA LUMB Internationally acclaimed for her incendiary circus and wild theatrics, Anna Lumb is a Melbourne based performer, circus artist, theatre maker, director and actor. Anna’s unique style has taken her to circus, music and theatre festivals around the world. Highlights include world famous variety shows Glory Box, La Soiree, New York’s Absinthe, Mona Foma and Dark Mofo festivals. As an ensemble performer she has toured both nationally and internationally with acclaimed company Finucane & Smith (five years) and world renowned Strange Fruit (six years). Anna has created two fulllength solo works; Big Shoes to Fill and underground hit, I Heart Jack. She is a regular favourite at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Very Big Laugh Out and Comedy Club for Kids. As an actor and performer Anna has made several television appearances including Ronny Chieng: International Student (ABC), Kid’s WB (Channel 9), Stand and Deliver (ABC), Studio at the Memo (Foxtel) and The Great Debate (Channel 10).

Special guests to be announced.

Brave World – Retro Futurismus 21 June – 8 July 2018 7.30pm Wed – Sat, 5pm Sun 120 minutes (including interval) fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (VIC) Tickets $30 – $48 Bookings - fortyfivedownstairs.com

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PREVIOUS SPREAD: Michael COOK, Majority Rule (Senate) 2014, photography, inkjet print on paper, 104 Ă— 144 cm (framed). Monash University Collection. Courtesy the artist, Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane and Dianne Tanzer, This is no Fantasy, Melbourne. NETS Victoria, Exhibition Development Fund (EDF) program. This offer grants of up to $10,000 to Victorian arts organisations who wish to develop new exhibitions of contemporary art, craft or design with the potential to tour Australia nationally. Applications open until 15 June 2018 netsvictoria.org.au 1. Frank MESARIC, 173d Airborne, Skinheads and Newcastle 2017, oil on canvas, 160 x 200cm, courtesy the artist. The Ashes of Children: Frank Mesaric, Gippsland Art Gallery, 70 Foster Street, Sale (VIC), until 15 July 2018 gippslandartgallery.com.au

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2. Hannah BRONTE, Welcome to the muvva 2017, digital. Image courtesy of the artist. Next Matriarch, Koorie Heritage Trust, Federation Square Melbourne (VIC), 2 June – 13 July 2018 koorieheritagetrust.com.au 3. Unknown (China), 20th Century famille rose oval shape jar, 20th Century oval shape jar and wood base. On loan from Private Collection. Chinese Ceramics Revealed, 5th Century BC–1983: Highlights from the Yuen Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth (WA), opens 16 June 2018 - artgallery.wa.gov.au 4. Tulla CARSON, Gathering: How to walk in two worlds, Mt Gambier Limestone, raw cotton fibres, natural linen. Petite Miniature Textiles, Wangaratta Art Gallery, 56 Ovens Street, Wangaratta (VIC), 2 June – 19 August 2018 - wangarattaartgallery.com.au 5. Narritjin MAYMURU (c.1916 - 1981), Title Unknown (detail), date unknown, earth pigments on bark, 111 x 58.5cm. Donated by Mr James and Mrs Irene Davidson through the Tax Incentives for the Arts Scheme, 1983. Image reproduction courtesy of the Maymuru family and Buku-Larrnggay Mulka.

Miwatj, an exhibition of Yolngu Art from the La Trobe University collections, La Trobe Art Institute, La Trobe University, 121 View Street Bendigo (VIC), 29 May – 7 July 2018 - latrobe.edu.au/art-institute 6. Carolyn LEWENS, Light Phenomenon 2 (detail) 2017, archival digital print on cotton rag, dimensions variable, image courtesy of the artist. DEEPER DARKER BRIGHTER, Town Hall Gallery, 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn (VIC), until 1 July 2018 - boroondara.vic.gov.au/

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Martha ACKROYD CURTIS, BLEED II 2018, watercolour on canvas.

BLOODY, Meat Market Art Centre, The Stables, 2 Wreckyn St, North Melbourne (VIC), 22 June – 3 July 2018 - meatmarket.org.au

FINDING THE ART IN

Phuket The Art of Shooting Reality

by Anthony S. Cameron

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The minivan picked me up at 6 a.m. outside the 7-11 near my house and as usual I had little to no idea of what the day would bring. What I did know was that this minivan was mysteriously empty, and the driver mysteriously friendly, and to top things off, he called me by name. We sped through the near deserted, early morning streets of Phuket, the lack of traffic encouraging my driver to put his foot down even more than was normal for a Phuket cowboy (I can say that, since I was the only passenger he had), as these Red Bull and crystal meth maniacs are known as.

Within what seemed like minutes we were half way up the island and turning right at the Heroines Monument, a roundabout usually choked with traffic, but at this hour just a lonely intersection crowned with two bronze statues of the heroic women who held off the Burmese army of two hundred years ago.

Without the traffic they looked kind of lost.

Not more than a few seconds later my man had screeched to a stop at Ao Po pier, gateway to the famous Phang Nga Bay, and I was stumbling towards a building that held the promise of coffee, and maybe some answers as to what this gig was all about. The lady behind the counter smiled and pointed to a table loaded with fruit and cereal and the ubiquitous Nescafe three-in-one satchels.

A Nescafe three-in-one is a brutal way to start your day: your nostrils flare in anticipation of sweet caffeine but you come away feeling cheated and somehow sullied by the experience. As I was gulping the foul liquid down as quickly as I could, yet another person called my name. What was going on today? I wondered, as the man walked over to me with his hand out.

One thing you learn quickly as a movie extra: no one gives a fuck what your name is. Your job is to stand somewhere at the edge of the frame and try not to look at the camera. This guy not only knew my name, but he seemed genuinely happy to see me. He introduced himself as the location scout for the Israeli reality TV show we would be working on today, asked if I had eaten (this was Thailand after all) and informed me that my boat was waiting across the road.

Finding the Art in Phuket / Tony Cameron

‘My’ Boat turned out to be a tiny longtail called ‘Nong Fina’ and came complete with a toothless, grinning captain who was pouring fuel into a tank with a cigarette dangling between his lips when we boarded. Another guy handed me a banana for some reason, and then before I knew it the deafening roar of the converted car engine was propelling us out into the bay.

The location scout explained that they were already out filming, and that before we met up with the cast and crew he had to scout for potential locations, if that was alright with me. Usually the only time you are spoken to on a film shoot is when someone more important than you says ‘excuse me’ on their way to more important things. This was getting ridiculous.

The next few hours of my life will be hard to forget. Phang Nga Bay is one of the most beautiful natural spectacles I have ever seen, and after we had disembarked and explored the first pirate cave camouflaged by a cliff that seemed to emerge out of the water like a petulant child, I was transfixed.

Several stunning lagoons followed and, suffice to say, I nearly dropped my camera several times in my haste to photograph these hidden wonders. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid for this shit. But the work, I would later discover, had not begun for me.

An hour later I found myself sitting alone at a dining table laden with seafood, on a deserted beach tapping my fingers to an imaginary beat as the fortyfoot catamaran arrived laden with Israeli film stars and crew, the director, cinematographers, sound guys and their assistants. Not only did the director know my name, but within seconds of meeting me had wrapped an arm around my shoulder and walked me off along the beach like we were old friends. He gave me a rundown of the character I was to play, gave me a few key lines I had to deliver, and the rest, he said gleefully, was ‘up to me’.

I was to play the love interest to an older lady who was holidaying with her friends in Thailand. I was asked to turn on the charm, give her the big eyes and be generally fascinating. The sound guy attached a mic to my shirt, a girl messed with my hair and straightened my clothes and sat me back down at the table. Two camera guys hovered around me as the director sat behind them

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giving me the thumbs up. Then the ladies arrived. I still wasn’t sure which one I was meant to be fascinated with, and the director’s assurance that I would know ‘when I saw her’ wasn’t inspiring me with confidence as I watched them walk towards me and the table of food.

The youngest of the ladies turned out to be in her early 70s, and I am sure the cameras caught my stunned expression as I kissed them all and sat them down at the table and struggled to find my feet in what was my very first acting scene.

But I was lucky. All of those adorable women were either actors or singers or comediennes with over 50 years’ experience of treading the boards, and they held me like a delicate bird they weren’t sure wasn’t going to peck their fingers clean of flesh.

They had me laughing at their raunchy jokes and telling them stories of my life.

I had completely forgotten the cameras were rolling and that this was going to be watched by millions of Israelis and my face, my voice, my stories, were going to spin out into the void of TV for a brief moment, then disappear just as fast.

The art, I realised once again, was where you least expect to find it.

My ‘love interest’ sat opposite me and I am sure her eyes, the most amazingly wise and beautiful green I had ever seen, shone and flickered like the luminous green ocean lapping at our feet.

ANTHONY S. CAMERON is an Australian ex-pat living in Phuket, Thailand, and the author of two novels, Driftwood (2014) and Butterfly on Bangla (2015).

His books are available on Amazon here. You can find his sculptural furniture on Facebook here.

P.S. For copyright reasons, no actual footage of the scene we shot that day has been made available at the time of writing this. So, I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it ;)