Ballarat International Foto Biennale Fringe 2

Ballarat International Foto Biennale Fringe 2013  No:2

G’day Possums,

Shane reporting

last Sunday Darron Davies and I met up to wander the BIFB’s Fringe circuit  for the day. 

Darron’s stuff “Immingle” is at Venue 59, Blue Artz Gallery about half way along the Howitt St block from Burnbank St.

Darron Davies

 From here we drove to Venue 57 for Alison Spence and Denise Regan  “Square Route” at Eclectic Tastes in Burnbank St

 

“Square Route” at Eclectic Tastes

Alison Spence is also exhibiting at Venue 47 (see last post) 

Anthony Baxter

Anthony Baxter’s “Old Boys” is at Venue 56 The Lakeview Hotel, a short walk from Bob Munro’s “A Traveller’s Eye” at Racers Bar and Café at Venue 54.

Bob Munro

 A walk around the Lake took us to Sails on the Lake and Ross Thompson’s “The Pooling of our Coastline” at Venue 55.

Ross Thompson

 We then crossed the city to see Cheney/Hart/Dennett et al at Venue 67 The Ballarat Observatory.

Ballarat Observatory

 

Ballarat Observatory

Peter Ward’s “Tonal Reality” was seen next at Her Majesty’s Theatre (upstairs) at Venue 15 

Peter Ward’s “Tonal Reality”

 

Her Majesty's

Then over the road to The Known World Bookshop, Venue 11 and  Lucie Akers “Heidelberg – a Tribute to the Heidelberg School”.

The Known World Bookshop

 

“Heidelberg – a Tribute to the Heidelberg School”.

Venue 7, Phoenix Brewery was the site for Bec Walton’s “Jewel of Lights”.

 

Bec Walton’s

The Forge Pizzeria, Venue 39 is showing John Smallman and Aldona Kmiec. 

The Forge Pizzeria

There was some very good work in amongst these shows and even though some were too small for the ideas presented, the opposite was also true.

Footpath by Shane W

 Interesting landscape work where you can see that line between the literal and the sublime. 

Art Nouveau, Her Majesty's Theatre

Some required more rigour and less use of twee irritating photoshop “edges” and when your brochure is more interesting than the show …..hmmmmm.

Ways of seeing?

I commented in the last post of not liking HDR very much but Peter Ward’s are really worth a look as I think he uses it really subject-appropriately.  The stuff at Venue 57 was a fun presentation and Venue 56’s “Old Boys” was a heartfelt documentation that needed a quieter more reflective space.

BFAG

I particularly like “Immingle” and the poetic terrarium abstracts at venue 59 and must add Sandra Elms from the “Adelaide Photographic Artists” which I missed the last post.

Four of my works are being re-printed and re-mounted as they are delaminating and are full of bubbles as they separate from the background…. should be ready Monday or Tuesday…as “Effie” would say, “How embarrassment!”

More in a few days, another mid-week wander to catch those Biennale Fringe shows not open on Sunday. 

Wombat Droppings or Politics in Oz

Rooty Hill is a perfectly named place for a debate between the main contenders in this election campaign.

All the commentators have been saying it was an even debate…Hmmmm, I think not.

“Rabbott” under-performed and under-delivered except for his three line slogans and looking curiously gray-green in pallor made me wonder if he really is Voldemort but it was his haltingly poor answers to specific questions, the pathological reliance on pushing the “message” and allied with a frightening inability to answer in detail showed the inherent and devious weakness in his arguments. For all his waffle about "Pillars and Plans" there was no vision and no engagement with the audience and even though Kev 07 +6, I think had more probing questions, his ability to answer with detail, seemed to receive more positive audience response.

An over-strident, bullying Michael Kroger in later interview was a fine example of  “they-protest-too-much” to be believed … they don’t like close and detailed scrutiny and lash out when cornered.

This makes me wonder if the wheels are beginning to fall off the Liarbril rabble’s cart. They are being almost Stalinist-Revisionist in their versions of recent history and insanely funny in blaming Labor for negative and bullying tactics. Ex-Independent Tony Windsor noted in interview their strategic policy to destroy Gillard and said that he couldn’t support “Rabbott’ as leader in the minority government because of ”Rabbott’s” lack of a stable personality.

The conservatives have also made much of just how angry Windsor’s constituents were with his support for the Labor minority government. Windsor said with a smile, “I had 14 actual complaints in three years”.

Sophie “Pit-Bull” Mirabella is preferencing first, a candidate who believes that the last tragic bushfires were god’s punishment for women having abortions!  Mirabella has managed to take a safe Liarbril seat to one that an independent might wrest from her clammy grip.

10 days to go before the Age of The Aspirational Bogan putridly flowers.

Cheers,

Shane

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