much lead

They made it! 3000 pencils! Great effort from the Much Lead team who are planning a suspended installation at the Object Gallery this October. 

Can't wait to see what becomes of this lovely collection of humble pencils...

one & other

Sculptor Antony Gormley has set up a project called One & Other on the fourth (empty) plinth in Trafalgar Square. The public can become living monuments while being broadcast online. It is running 24hours a day for 100 days from July until October.

It is strangely big brother-esque, sometimes utterly boring and other times fairly amusing. It is also a great way to get the message out. For those who love knitting we were there last Saturday with our needles and yarn knitting up a storm in aid of p/hop, an MSF initiative (mentioned here). You can see us and "plinther" Ruth in action with needles in hand by visiting this blog by fellow knitter Jane.

So if you are in the mood for a bit of people watching you can go to the website and tune in to the live feed!

where the wild things are

This was one of my favorite books as a child. I always found it so delightfully scary. The movie is coming out soon and the stills are beautiful....

I just watched the preview and i think it's looking like a winner. I'm looking forward to seeing it!

The Art of Architecture

There is a fantastic collection of Le Corbusier works currently showing at the Barbican. It is an amazing collection of original models, interior reconstructions, drawings, furniture, paintings and sculptures. His ideas of social housing and utopian urban plans still resonate today. Working your way through the exhibition, you can see why he is dubbed the most influential architect of the 20th century!   

nigel

I have to share with you all the blog of artist/photographer Nigel Peake. It is so refreshing to see fun, architectural images so equisitely hand drawn and the photos are great too!  

His website Second Street is a joy too... so many quirky drawings and the water colour site is just so cool. Make sure you check it out. 

Thanks Nigel. 

soundscapes

Has anyone else been following Pia's soundscapes? They are amazing and can transport you all around the world..... from Paris to Amsterdam and even Sydney's Northern beaches. This soundscape is especially special and really is worth the click, it transports you to a beautiful place and a very intimate little concert. 

We've mentioned Pia before here and here , she is amazing. 

richard allen

Currently on at the Richard Martin Art gallery in Woollahra is an amazing exhibition by Richard Allen. Anthology is on until 23 september and it is a must see!

With not one brush used on any of the works, Allen evokes the beauty and movement of the animals with expressive gestural marks on canvas. The small ink works on paper are just exquisite also.

The works are powerful and possess great energy - we wanted to take them all home!
Pictured are a couple of our favs (of course we love the african animals the most) Face Off and Ink Hippo above and the beautiful Red Stork below.
For more of these delights visit here.... but nothing beats seeing them in the flesh!

cockatoo island - sydney biennale

Two of the bricks + cartwheels girls finally made it to cockatoo island on saturday. As promised here is a little taste of what the biennale has to offer when you make the hop to the island.

We first came across the work of William Kentridge. After being told about this amazing artwork by one of the b+c gals it didn't disappoint! The above image is What Will Come (Has Already Come) (2007). It is a film seen in a cylindrical mirror on a table, composed of revolving images – from familiar carousel animals through to tanks and aeroplanes.

I am not me, the horse is not mine (2008), is a multi-channel projected work based on The Nose (1837) by Nikolai Gogol. It is an awesome display that keeps you transfixed with its mixture of self-reflective, and absurd cutouts and projections. The music combined with the building itself made this our favourite art piece on the island by far.

Another fav was Vernon Ah Kee's exhibit of 12 charcoal and pastel drawings on canvas that continue his series of portraits of his family. The focus of each subject is their ‘gaze’ – the way they look back at the viewer. The detail at such a large scale is sheer genious!

Of course the buildings and the site itself blew us away! There was plenty of ooing and aahing over architectural details, in particular the impressive Turbine Hall built during World War II. The island's prison buildings have been nominated for World Heritage listing and the large workshops, slipways, wharves, residences and other buildings retain the texture of the island's industrial past.

From animal mobiles fashioned out of hard case luggage to boomerang shaped canoes, there is so much to see you must take a visit - but beware this is the last week!! The Sydney Biennale finishes on Sunday Sept 7th. So hurry along to catch the free ferry t0 the island before its too late... if you do miss it you can always take a visit in another form - camping! This is a camping experience like no other. Newly opened you can now enjoy a night sleeping on the harbour under the watch of dormant cranes and chimneys - our next weekend workshop for b+c perhaps...?

Melbourne trip - art deco exhibition

One of the bricks + cartwheels gang along with a few friends spent a great 5 days in Melbourne last week. There was so much to see and do, we shopped, ate, drank, visited art galleries and walked a lot. There is something about Melbourne that is so interesting and fun. The laneways throughout the city could be explored for weeks on end I'm sure. The highlight of the trip was definitely our visit to the NGV to see the Art Deco exhibition that is on at the moment. 

The exhibition was huge and full of absolutely beautiful and inspiring things. It really explained how Art Deco covered a huge range disciplines from painting to architecture, fashion, home wares, cars and much more. It was also very interesting to see how Art Deco was influenced by different countries, cultures and people.  I would say it is worth a trip to Melbourne purely to see this exhibition. It was excellent! More Melbourne tales to come...... 

Viewville

Viewville is an online source for gallery quality photography prints. It is a surprise to find prints that are so affordable and still unique. These photos are so beautiful and are from the personal collections of professional photographers.

Here's my favourite called fenestration...

Sydney Biennale 2008

So i find it rather difficult to get my head around the extent of Sydney's Biennale. After flicking through the guides many a time i am still overwhelmed!

However a trip to the MCA is a great place to start. I am not overly sure about the controversial Novecento or hanging horse by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan ! Is it art? Well it is impressive....

Well worth a stop, look and listen at the MCA is the work of Czech photographer Miroslav Tichy. There is a brilliant documentary on his day to day life and his eccentric photography techniques. It really draws you in. What an inspiring man with an amazing knack for using cameras that you and i would have most definitely thrown out - he uses a rubber band to activate a shutter and a bottle cap to wind the film on! Genius!

At the Art Gallery of NSW all i wanted to do was to talk to Yoko Ono! I would love to know who has spoken to her? Anyone? She will ring when you least expect it....

AGNSW is brimming with extraordinary stuff - moving walls, doors, floating bits, dangerous bits, odd bits, even an anger management room if you are in need of off loading. Although some pieces take a little time to digest it is well worth a look see.

So next stop Cockatoo Island.... will keep you posted!

For venues and artist information visit here.

artist

Sometimes i think my friends are so cool....actually all of the time i think they're cool. But this is especially great. A certain bricks + cartwheels lady drew this the other day. Its someone we see walking down the street most days in Surry Hills. Oh the joys of Surry Hills! Isn't it a cool drawing, you could make a living doing these drawings H.

silk roses

Aren't these roses pretty.... we stumbled across them at the lovely happy cavalier. The roses are handmade in Cambodia by young women who are victims of sex trafficking. 100% of the profits go back to the centre where they are made. You can buy them here.

Felicity's Blog

Speaking of talented, i just realised that our excellent friend Felicity has her very own blog. Its called "break me off a piece of that", and is full of very cool stuff.

this is fliss...... you can see some of her bangles.

Fliss is currently studying fashion design, and also creating her new collection of beautiful bangles. Which we all LOVE!

You have to check this blog out.......

Wim Wenders

My boss just put this book in front of me on my desk to have a look at. It is amazing, the photos are all beautiful and are literally from all over the world.

On Alexanderplatz, Berlin

Wall in Paris, Texas

So I think this Wim Wenders is a little too talented, author, photographer, filmaker...... the list goes on.

food water shelter art

A couple of weeks ago, food water shelter held a sale of donated art works at the Sydney College of the Arts Gallery in Rozelle in efforts to raise funds to build Kesho Leo Children's Village in Tanzania, East Africa.

The vibe at the exhibition was fantastic - the sun was shining, we were surrounded by beautiful contemporary artworks in a beautiful setting, and in the background we could hear the soft sounds of an african beat - a Sunday afternoon that could not have been better spent! The idea is inspiring.

Congratulations on a successful weekend, fws! bricks + cartwheels salutes you!

To find out more about fws and the wonderful work they do, click here.

women's centre, rufisque, senegal exhibition

An exhibition of the award winning building by Finnish architects Hollmen, Reuter and Sandman is currently on display at the Wilkinson building, level 2, the hearth, Sydney University.









This exhibition illustrates how participatory design, based on an understanding of the local and the incorporation of traditional materials can give rise to significant architecture. With the right balance of design and community consciousness, bricks + cartwheels aspires to reach the level achieved by these inspirational women.







Click here to view this project in more detail.



Also on display in the hearth is an innovative photographic exploration throughout some of Johannesburg’s most infamous shack settlements: Alexandra, Diepsloot & Marshalltown. A project which was an initiative of the global studio carried out in July 2007, it allowed locals to document their own lives thereby giving a fresh perspective of people and their rich cultural heritage . Through pictures these are their stories… click here