Few would argue that a good deli should offer a good selection of both imported and local cheeses; however, this is something that most take for granted. As recently as the 1980s our choices were few and far between and it was the dramatic lack of quality cheese available that inspired UK immigrant, Will Studd to set about changing the Australian cheese industry for the better. Once referred to as a cheese terrorist, his tireless efforts at the forefront of the industry to promote, educate and supply Australia with traditional, high-quality imported and local cheeses has well and truly paid off. His battles with local authorities have raged quietly throughout the years over the ban on the sale and importation of unpasteurised cheeses. The most notorious taking place in 2003 when he was ordered to bury over 80 kg of the French Blue cheese, Roquefort, specifically brought into the country to test the existing, flimsy laws. Driven to its burial site in a black hearse covered in the French flag, the spectacle made headlines worldwide and eventually brought about the relaxation of the laws.
There are countless stories of travellers who have gone overseas and ended up in trouble with the law for either a drunken pursuit of glory, stupid mistake or a planned misfortune. Most travellers don’t ever think about spending the night, or in some cases, several years in an overseas prison. Exploring this and the behaviour of Australians in strange lands is Benjamin Knapton who will present Gaijin in collaboration with Brisbane Powerhouse. In its Australian premiere Gaijin is a visually stunning one-man-show about the journey of an Australian in Japan. It takes a look at contemporary Japan from the inside-out. Well-known Brisbane performer David Eastgate takes his audience on an adrenalin-pumped adventure, incorporating narrative by presenting the story through the eyes of multiple characters. Informative and entertaining, Gaijin raises questions about moral and social responsibility in our increasingly globalised world. Gaijin will run from August 19–23 at Brisbane Powerhouse.
the savages
Having grown up with a domineering father in difficult household, adult siblings Wendy (Laura Linney) and John (Philip Seymour Hoffman) have long gone their separate ways to live very different lives. Wendy is a struggling scriptwriter, consumed with her own inability to achieve recognition for her work, and her agoraphobic tendencies see her largely confined to her flat. John is a college professor, specialising in obscure subjects. When Wendy gets the call to say their father is ill, the pair are plucked from their normal lives and are thrown into a new world of doctors, nursing homes and responsibility as their ailing father is slowly consumed by dementia. For the first time in a long time, the siblings have to deal with the quirks of their own family in The Savages. The film opens this Thursday in cinemas everywhere.
For those interested in change, Campos Coffee has recently announced the release of its ‘Obama’ blend. Contrary to my first thoughts on the new blend, it’s not an alignment of colour, but one that signifies a shift in our world today. Owner of Campos Coffee John Ronchi declares, “It is not so much that we are fans of this man becoming President of the United States, but that he represents this current moment in history. There is a change going on in the world today and we wish to acknowledge that with our new blend.” As passionate followers of world politics, Campos Coffee’s managerial team couldn’t help but admire Obama, and his countries of origin read like a list of great coffee growing areas – with Kenya and Indonesia being Continue reading ‘obama blend’
A group of young Australians have been working together to create a series of light bulb moments, which will illuminate the way for change. Bright Young Minds (BYM) is a non-profit organization that supports young Australians committed to making a positive difference to the social landscape of Australia and the world. Focusing on youth empowerment, social diversity and ambitious goal-setting, BYM brings 100 of the country’s top leaders, aged 18 to 25, together in an annual BYM Summit, where they put their heads together brainstorm new and exciting initiatives to provide innovative solutions to social problems. Continue reading ‘bright sparks’
what is it?
No, it’s not the Battlestar Galactica (but it will be visible from space). It’s a photograph of the construction of Dam Six in China’s Three Gorges Dam, taken three years ago by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. One of humankind’s most ambitious civil engineering projects, Three Gorges will be the largest hydro-electric dam on the planet. By its expected completion in 2011, one and a half million people will have been relocated and 1,300 villages submerged. It is just one of the many mind-bogglingly huge construction projects underway in China. As world economies shift and the Games begin, the commentariat swings its focus firmly to the sleeping giant’s barrel roll towards Western ideals and globally unprecedented consumption. Burtynksy - who has photographed many large-scale development sites in China - is part of a growing movement in photography to stimulate thoughts, feelings, policies and actions about our world. The acclaimed photographer has been shortlisted for the 2008 Prix Pictet Award in Photography, a new global competition focusing on sustainability. He also has plans to build a 10,000 year gallery to accompany the world’s first 10,000 year clock, an initiative to encourage long-term thinking, planning and action.
nagi noda
Originally drawn to her interestingly designed hairpieces, Nagi Noda proves to be an extremely accomplished and designer hailing from the left-field. In addition to manicuring obscure hair designs, Nagi Noda has directed videos for the Scissor Sisters and has done work for Laforet and Nike and is busy working on her own fashion label Broken Label with Mark Ryden. Her video called ‘Ex Fat’, which features her and several poodles doing an aerobics workout in a similar style to Aerobics Oz Style, launched her into designer fame. Born in Tokyo in 1973, Nago Noda has affirmed herself as one of Japan’s most prominent young designers. With the help of her lateral thinking prowess she runs a company Uchu Country Limited, which increasingly attracts global attention from potential clients and avid Continue reading ‘nagi noda’
Buying your first house is the universal sign that you are a grown-up and mature member of society. But decorating your abode can be a whole different story. If you are bored with the usual collection of sensible, functional furniture pieces presented at home wares stores, check out Lee Broom’s Neo Neon art-furniture collection. Made in limited series of twenty-five, each piece is carved from mahogany, lacquered in a high-gloss finish and fitted with neon lights. The ornate classicism of each piece contrasts with the whimsical pop-modern addition of the glowing neon lights, perhaps reflecting the influence of outrageous fashion auteur, Vivienne Westwood, with whom he worked for six-months during his formative design years. Either way, Lee’s Neo Neon collection can never be described as sensible. Look out for his next collection, titled Rough Diamond, which is due for release this coming September and features sleek neon-covered bistro furniture.
lauryn thompson, 26
What do you do? I’m studying a Bachelor of Arts, trying to get into graphic design. I also work at Jocelyn’s Provisions. What are you wearing today? I’m wearing a Marcs dress, Nine West shoes and Target tights. Describe your style? The opposite of what’s in fashion. I try not to wear what everyone else is wearing. Sometimes when there’s one trend in Brisbane, it just overtakes the whole city. Would you call yourself eco-friendly?
I strive to be but I don’t know if I’m there yet. I did ride my bike to work this morning, so that’s a good start. It was hard riding in a dress! Where’s your favourite place? Taormina in Sicily, Italy. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Treat others how you wish to be treated. Who is your rolemodel? I take inspiration from all my friends and family, but not from anyone famous really. Which website has caught your eye recently? The Computer Arts Magazine site because it has links to all different graphic artists.
Tokyo is scattered with great, cheap, noodle houses and truckloads of neon scaling the heights of practically every building. Glittering japanese characters wink at you from all the rooftops, inviting you to wander down the street and take a look. Once there, you find nothing but before you know it, another one is winking a little further down so you proceed, curiously, to the next glittering butterfly. The crazy sounds of pashinko parlours litter the air. Japan inspires and shocks at the same time! Energy burns everywhere, yet Toyota Prius Taxis are taking up the roadways. Push bikes stand tightly up against each other and not a padlock or chain in sight – I sometimes wonder, when it comes to stealing, where Australia went wrong. Thirty-four million people and they leave their bikes freely standing! We were once the happy-go-lucky nation and now in a country of 24 million people we have to lock ourselves up to protect everything. At the same time as the Prius revolution occurs so too does the packaging revolution. T-Shirts packaged in tube containers sit neatly as if being dispensed from a vending machine. While China banned plastic bags on June 1 this year, Japan offers a bit of plastic for nearly every possibility known to man - including plastic wraps for your umbrellas when walking into shops on a rainy day and plastic covers for your shopping bags!
Are we not men? We are d-e-v-o! Playing at Splendour in the Grass Festival , d-e-v-o is no doubt one of the most innovative and must-see bands at this year’s festival. If you’re lucky enough to spot Mark Mothersbaugh, aka d-e-v-o frontman, maybe you should ask him about his new wallpaper range. Having recently started designing wallpaper and rugs, he now wants to put moose, dolls and snakes on your walls, instead of singing satirical social commentary. As the ex-maintenance man for an apartment building he used to hate wallpaper because it was hard to remove. Now he uses it as his artistic release, along with creating children’s advertisement jingles. Mark’s designs don’t fall short of creativity. One design that he’s coined ‘Black Forrest’ is a mutated collage Continue reading ‘whip it good’
Part carnival, part demonstration, part dance party, Berlin’s Love Parade is a feast for the senses and will kick start in 2 days time (Berlin time). After some rocky times, involving high insurance fees, organisers of the event decided to take the world’s best street party elsewhere. Now known as Loveparade Metropole Ruhr 2007-2011, it will tour different cities until 2011. In 2008 the love is pumping through the veins of Dortmund in North Rhine Westphalia and will still attract millions of revellers. The parade is enormously popular, attracting crowds from all over the world and was spawned out of an idea to hold a Continue reading ‘love parade’
Danish architectural firm 3xn have just won the right to design Copenhagen’s new aquarium, ‘The Blue Planet’. The winning designs show a contemporary building that follows a whimsical pinwheel design, inspired by the shape that whirlpools of water create. As a result, the designs create a strong sense of movement and remind viewers of the space’s relationship to water. The proposed site is on Copenhagen’s Øresund coast, where the building will sit on the cusp of land and sea. Visitors will enter the building through one of the pinwheel arms where they can wander through the glass-roofed foyer and watch the sunlight bounce off the shimmering pools of water above their heads. Continue reading ‘the blue planet’
For a city of 34 million people, Tokyo is an incredibly organised place. Standing in Shinjuku train station, the world’s largest train station, you could be forgiven for feeling a little confused about where to find your train platform. But if you take your time and work it out, the system unravels itself and works out to be simple and easy to use. Be warned, though, that if you are travelling at peak hour you will well and truly understand what it feels like to be a sardine – but an alive one! One of the essential stops for those who love vintage is Cow Books. Located in Omotesando, Cow Books specialises in out of print books, 1960–70s social movements, first editions of forgotten modern authors and vintage magazines. The shop is small but jam-packed with hundreds of japanese books and a variety of english books. Continue reading ‘have you ever felt like a sardine?’
Australian children’s illustrator Shaun Tan has made waves in the children’s book illustration market, ever since his first commercial publication, which was a collaboration with author Gary Crew. To date, Shaun has published six children’s books – some of which contain no words at all. Using his images to tell poignant and beautiful stories, Shaun’s books have become classics for children and adults alike. As part of the current Brisbane Festival – and inspired by Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree – composer Michael Yezerski has written a series of original works that will be performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Gondwana Voices, which is the national children’s choir of Australia. Continue reading ‘the red tree’
Amateur photographer Sandra Critelli was looking to take photos of whale sharks when she stumbled across a biannual phenomenon; a mass migration of Cownose stingrays moving to warmer waters off the coast of Mexico. She explained to English newspaper The Telegraph that “It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.” The stingray population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates in school as of as many as 10,000, clockwise from western Florida to the Yucatan. For those divers out there – whale sharks and Cownose stingrays migrate from Honduras up to the coast between Cuba and the Yucatan around June and July. The chance to see something like this would be absolutely amazing. It just shows that with all the world’s unrest and tension it still is a beautiful wondrous place and photos, like this one, need to be shared. It certainly made my day.
Many of us have seen the work of Banksy – a street artist turned political commentator whose anonymous stencil art mixes humour and political barbs into one unique artistic and head-turning expression. There have been rumours of his work fetching over £100,000 and unfortunately, entrepreneurial pedestrians have been known to destroy his work through unsuccessful attempts at removing it from the street in order to sell it. Banksy’s identity has long been debated and, only yesterday, newspapers have reported a possible sighting of the stealthy street artist. It has been debated that the unveiling of his identity may bring vandalism charges, due to the permanent nature of his work. Another artist that has taken up street-based work recently, but without the anonymity and without the permanency, is US-based David William (aka d.billy). Continue reading ’street interventions’
Ever wanted a tattoo? Every wanted one on your tooth? If you did want to get a tattoo on your tooth, you could travel to Salt Lake City (of course – it’s in Utah) and go to the Steve Heward Dental Lab and get a dental tattoo. Or you could order one over the internet. Steve Heward has been in the crown and bridge industry for over 30 years and during this time he found that there was a lack of artists in his industry. In response to this he developed his dental-tattoo practice. The practice is totally safe; the technicians have been trained as artists first, then on how to construct teeth (?). So how does it work? Have your tooth measured by a dentist. Then choose the artwork (maybe design your own, the examples on the website aren’t great). Decide where in your mouth you want the tattoo (facing tongue or cheek). Send all your details to Steve, then your new tooth will be returned to your own dentist and then, you are ready for cementation.
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advance australia where? by hugh mackay