Dodos: Reviewed! Verdict: 'Pube Tingling'!

Nick Tapscott writing for The Melbourne Arts Club has posted a really entertaining review of First & Last. There are a couple of thrilling thoughts regarding my work The Descent of the Dodo.

Firstly this:

‘What struck me when I walked into that room was a tiny stuffed toy dodo that chilled me to my pubes. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, or on my pubes, but for some reason the darkest places of my sub-conscience started growling with recognition and violent imagery, like I once had a nightmare about this friendly looking bird. Weird.’

Then this:

‘The next works featured the chilling bird I had seen when I walked in and again it made my unmentionables freeze with shuddering cold. The piece was aesthetically beautiful and superbly crafted as a series of photographs told the story of the fate of the Dodo, but with a twist (They escape to outer space). I was fascinated, mostly because of the images of grinding meat and bloodied fangs that popped into my head every time my eyeballs crossed their purpled plushing plumage. It was seriously freaking me the fuck out, so I moved on to the other room.’

And in summary:

‘So over-all a pretty sweet show.’

So, wow! Meat grinders, bloodied fangs, pubes! … None of which were at the forefront of my mind whilst creating the work, all of which are awesome reactions. It never ceases to excite me how once you set work free it takes on a life of its own! Superb! 

The bird in question:

So… if you haven’t seen the show yet get down to the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick before the 24th of June. It’s worth it. I promise!

A Glowing Review: Neon Salon at Dudspace

Perhaps the most exciting things are those with the greatest potential to fail. Melbourne’s newest gallery Dudspace is tucked away in a corridor formerly used only to access the Kings ARI toilets. The space may be small, but a failure it is not.

Dudspace’s inaugural exhibition ‘Neon Salon’ drew attendance - per square foot - that rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, that of the Louvre. However turnout was not all there was to love for the visiting francophile, as attendees were invited to bask in a Salon hang. And bask they did, the entirely neon show provided more than enough illumination to fill the small space.

Works by Sanja Pahoki, Kiron Robinson, Simon Zoric, Kristin Mciver, and Jose Domingues looked great and were afforded substantial extra intensity as admiring them from a distance was completely out of the question. So it was backs against the wall, neon burning beyond your field of view, and a whole lot of fun.

Dudspace, succeeds as a space and does so with class. Not only does it encourage visitors to interact with the work, but it invites them to undertake an intimate dialogue with each other that can sometimes be vacant from contemporary art spaces.

Directors Lyndal May Stewart and Madé Spencer-Castle bill the space as “Great Art, Shit Space”. Say what you like, what was once a corridor is now a legitimate venue, and Melbourne is better for it.

Neon Salon runs until April 28th at
Dudspace: Lvl 1/171 King St, Melbourne