Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris

Art Gallery of NSW

Sydney, Australia

November 28, 2021

Henri Matisse has channelled his alchemy in an idiosyncratically fluid, vibrant  radically simplified way of painting that had the focus of his draughtsmanship firmly set on the electrifying effects of its style rather than what is actually depicted in the works.

Sourced almost exclusively from the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris and further substantiated by artworks sourced from collections on terra australis, the Art Gallery of New South Wales set out to shed light on the oeuvre of Matisse via paintings traversing Matisse’s emissions ranging from his smaller toned down paintings to large-scale, coloured paper cuts to culminate in impressively bold compositions that would reverberate and prove inspirational to later schools of abstract art. 

The focus of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ exhibition is set less on Matisse’s wild experimentalism and rather zeroes in on his more elegant and calm explorations in the decorative realm of colour and form, which are characterized by the use of strident hues and confident, often unconventional abstract brush strokes.

In essence, Matisse: Life & Spirit is not only the largest exhibition of Matisse in Sydney but an intimate, well curated journey through Matisse’s life that spans six decades and documents via over one hundred exhibits in a contextualised and immersive manner both the becoming and later reinvention of a complex artist.

An artist whose legacy in terms of pronounced and playful use of colours to bring objects to life continues to lift spirits, which defines the very core and DNA of the fauvist movement and artistic modernism.

Matisse: Life & Spirit is accompanied by Matisse Alive, which extends the core exhibition by offering a gallery-wide free endeavour to inspire dialogue via performance, music and art informed by Matisse’s life and dynamic approach to the use of colour and energy.

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image from AGNSW website

Rain Like the Sound of Trains

As the king of the road and grand seignior of honk-tonk songs, i.e. Roger Miller, put it ever so eloquently, “some people walk in the rain, others just get wet”. Well, others are singing in it in the most blissfully ignorant, cheerful and chirpy way, not unlike Gene Kelly.

With the region I currently roam in having recently been subjected to torrential rainfall, it made me wonder how many great songs are inspired by wet weather – both pro and con as well as a metaphorical vehicle to signify something entirely different.

Some of the more obvious choices include Prince’s homage to the end of the world as we know it, i.e. “Purple Rain”, and Travis’ ditty “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?”, which is one of the more relatable and less obtuse ditties on the subject, encapsulating British non-chalance – not unlike the eurythmics did with a bit of a euphoric sprinkle with their timeless “Here Comes the Rain Again”.
It would not be Bob Dylan is his “A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall” was not offering a myriad of ways to interpret it in a political manner. Chances are he meant something entirely different and much more mundane.

Another song from the sixties is The Beatles’ “Rain”, which was covered by Oasis early on in their career sans reversed vocals, and Buddy Holly’s heartfelt and self-explanatory “Raining in My Heart”, which thematically is closely related to The Temptations’ “I Wish It Would Rain”, which with its catchiness will soothe the most heartbroken soul. A job parallel in a slightly more epic and symphonic realm is the power ballad "November Rain" by Guns N’ Roses.

“Raindrops Keep Falling On M Head” certainly remains one of the more accomplished tunes Burt Bacharach has written and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” was widely received as a Vietnam war inspired protest tune.
It would not be Butch Vig if Garbage did not deliver a banger with “Only Happy When It Rains”, which was a derision of the alternative’s scene for enjoying wallowing in their misery when it came to find themes for songs in the 1990s.

One of my favourite rain related songs comes courtesy of the imminently powerful female duo, The Weather Girls – hallelujah!
Led Zeppelin’s “Fool In The Rain” is a timeless capture of the feeling one gets when you are stood up and Robert Plant & co did it again with their atmospheric tour de force that is “Rain Song”.

And then there’s of course pop culture’s saccharine musings like Rihanna teaming up with Jay Z with her anthemic “Umbrella”, which is a utensil I recently had to acquire as I lost two umbrellas as they feel prey to the elements.

It was not really until Tony Sylvester of Turbonegro fame introduced the notion to my world, that an umbrella can be the ultimate statement of style as he hosted me in the London Undercover shop he looks after in Shoreditch, London, as before that epiphany it was just an ideally cheap replaceable utensil.

He created a monster as ever since, going umbrella shopping has become a fun exercise and my standards have risen exponentially – not merely in terms of colours, but specifically when it comes to the calibration of the combination of durability and sophisticated style, along with sturdiness and wind resistance.

A crafted and engineered umbrella that is built to endure had become something I was happy to invest in, which eventually led me to the beauties that Davek designs.

The downside with Davek’s umbrellas is that the pleasure of acquiring a new one is dramatically limited as their waterproof canopies are built for life courtesy of their patented RigidFlex system, meticulously engineered frame system and tightly woven micro weave fabrics. I have yet to encounter a thunderstorm that will put a dent in my Davek and if it was to ever malfunction, it is covered by an unconditional lifetime guarantee and a loss protection serial number.
Now, is it cheap? Certainly not. 

However, the point is that the authentic quality and composition of high-grade steel, fiberglass, zinc alloy and aluminium results in a construct that is exceptionally strong, stable while lightweight and small in size, which makes it a worthwhile investment in austere elegance instead of a disposable product that will end up in landfill once wind intensifies.

Davek’s craftmanship that makes me enjoy what Roger Miller referred to when he talked about taking a walk in the rain and the fact that it is easy on the eye does not hurt either.

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Image from Davek website

Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Beerfarm, Wayward and Akasha new releases

With “Beerfarm” being a telling name in every sense of the word, the Western Australian brewery is not only committed to the creation of great beers but in doing so, has their commitment to sustainability, the minimisation of their carbon footprint, reduction of water and energy consumption at the very core of their operations, which they achieve by recycling, upcycling and composting all of the side products of their brewing activities.

Needless to say, a brewery with such an explicit “established for the future” mission statement approaches the creation of beers holistically and aims to make it an wholesome and enjoyable experience that extends beyond the confines of merely channelling their alchemy in the creation of frothy brews – instead they put their own idiosyncratic spin on it, which is centred around the welcoming third-place they created in the Margaret River region.

Beerfarm’s line-up features a wide range of brews and so far, I have only had the chance to check out their Big Hazy DIPA expression. 
Not unlike the name suggests, this hop forward juicy little number unfolds its magic in an orangey haziness that is dominated by the characteristics of Yakima Chief Hops and Cryer Malt, i.e. distinctive citrussy, mango and stone fruity nuances which dance against a backbone of malted Canadian oats.

Medium-bodied, with a moderate bitterness and with a creamy mouthfeel, Beerfarm’s seasonal Big Hazy is an approachable, vibrant fruit basket of flavours without ever running danger of being cloying and with an ABV of 7.8% it packs a punch as well.
Looking forward to checking out Beerfarm’s upcoming expressions.

Wayward Brewing - Sunshine Juice

There is never a time when I do not get exciting about Wayward Brewing dropping a new expression, especially in the IPA department. If you follow this series attentively, you would by now be familiar with both Wayward’s accolade decorated core range as well as their dedication to creating limited edition experimental beers and a barrel program, which is pushing the boundaries of what is thought possible without ever entering novelty territory.

Once you pour Wayward’s latest addition to their Hazy IPA range, i.e. Sunshine Juice, it becomes obvious that it is a telling name as it looks like a hoppy ray of light and  it tastes, well, like the extraction of the natural liquid contained in citrus fruits. 

Based on marrying Motueka and Rakau hops from New Zealand and the tried and tested Citra variant from the new world, the former adds an exciting lemon aroma with refreshing notes of tropical as well as stone fruit and citrus,  along with floral and spicy / herbal notes subtly hinting at rosemary and basil. The Rakau hops add a bittering quality, which thereby contrasts and sets the fruit aromas in scene.

The Citra hops add a smooth floral component to complement to dominant citrus aromas and round out the flavour profile by infusing the affair with passion fruit and lychee and a smooth bitterness.

Clocking in at 6.5% ABV, I find that Sunshine Juice is one to savour for special occasions – I paired it with a dram of Laphroaig’s Lore, which brought out some delicate nuances hidden below the avalanche of fruity, juicy flavours, i.e. malty and grainy notes, which yet again highlight Wayward’s expertise when it comes to adding finer brush strokes to their creations.

Akasha – Third Eye and Belgian Dubbel

If you are following this series, Akasha should ring a bell as we have celebrated their when hoppy awesomeness quite a few times. Not long after their fantastic Wooden Leg release, another Triple IPA has been unleashed onto the willing masses and not unlike the name suggests, Third Eye opens the chakra of so much more than mere over the top hoppiness.

Despite a respectable 9.8% ABV, this heavy hitter is a refined exercise in well calibrated complexity that pays homage in equal parts to both ends of the spectrum, i.e. fruitiness and resinous sappiness without ever running danger of entering overly dominant bitter territory, which is where a lot of IIIPAs fail and become too overwhelming. 

Akasha’s continuous experimental endeavours have this time resulted in the refinement of the best parts of what malty, weedlike West Coast IPAs have to offer, married with the dry hopped, full bodied borderline haziness that is the trademark of New England brews.

The pineapple-y, stone fruity and slightly spicy characteristics of Bru-1 hops are juxtaposed by distinct lemon-limyness courtesy of Cashmere hops, which round out the experience with a pronounced herbal bouquet, sitting comfortably against a crisp malty, slightly sweet-piny backbone.

Needless to say, given the aforementioned flavour profile, this little number is dangerously moreish due to a restrained bitterness meeting the most delicate sweetness and thereby far too pleasant on the palate for the alc content of close to 10% ABV. 

Another example par excellence for Akasha’s ability to meticulously create nuances and complex flavour profiles in territory where it would be easy for big flavours to take over and overshadow any subtleties.

Continuing on the experimental trail, Akasha’s Signature Series is one of the brewery’s many initiatives to provide a platform for their brew luminaries to channel their alchemy in the creation of something entirely new or reimagined. 

Having spent quite a bit of time in Belgium and harbouring a weak spot for their local brews, I was intrigued when I learned about Akasha’s Sticky Date Belgian Dubbel.

As the name suggests, we got quite a decadent affair in front of us: With Belgian yeast setting the tone, this babyh comes as close to a “desert beer” as can be, delighting your tastebuds with a rollercoaster ride through caramelly, sweet chocolatey and rosy, slightly fermented banana notes.

Summa summarum, Akasha delivered another two solid limited releases that you’d want to get your mitts one before they are going to be discontinued.

The Formative Years

Chaos Z

Inspired by the recent acquisition of the enhance version of Joy Division’s Juvenes book, I revisited the oeuvre of one of my favourite German punk bands of all time, i.e. Chaos Z. 

During their short-lived existence from 1980 to 1983, they channeled both the raw, rudimentary and explosive force of early hardcore punk a la Discharge with New Wave inspired and Joy Division tinged sentiments of despair and an underlying, unique sense of melancholia, which created an idiosyncratic melange that remains unrivalled to this day. 

The fact that all constituents of the band were in their early teens, which I only became aware of decades after being first exposed to them due to the fact that no information was provided on their actual releases and the difficulty to find any footage of them, only adds to the appeal. Nothing like finding out that what you perceived to be the wise and informed emissions of seasoned adult punks to have originated from a source of the same prepubescent age as yours. It reminds me of a time when I was roughing up my voice with cigarettes before talking to older scenesters on the phone to pretend that I was as old as them, along with the classic stunt that when my mum picked up the phone when they called, I pretended that it was my ole missus.

Now, for the trained ear in 2021, the appeal of Chaos Z might not become instantly apparent due to a distinct lack of musical virtuosity and the monotonous staccato rhythms, but there was never a time when I did not enjoy every single song from Chaos Z’s first 7” ”Abmarsch” and especially their fantastic full-length “Ohne Gnade”, which was released on the controversial Rock-O-Rama label.

The core of Chaos Z went on to form the band Fliehende-Stürme, another fantastic band that continued in a dedicated manner to further explore personal experiences via gloomy, dark wavey compositions in the vein of Killing Joke and Bauhaus, which are at times still reminiscent of Chaos Z, despite being enriched with electronical additions and synths.
 

Neighbourhood Earth

ICC

Sydney, Australia

November 21, 2021

A veritable nightmare for flat earthers and after an award decorated run in the US, the interactive and multi-sensory space extravaganza that is Neighbourhood Earth finally found its way down under to incarnate and to prove an immersive experience for anyone fascinated with space and with the infinite realm of “where few man have gone before.” 

Cue William Shatner who recently was able to back up the intro of Star Trek by scoring a lift with Jeff Bezos on New Shepard and thereby on the back of Virgin Blue’s missions created the ideal backdrop for Neighbourhood Watch to eventuate.

Cinematic and majestic in scale, the space environment that is Neighbourhood Earth has been created in collaboration with NASA and its Space & Rocket Center to ideate the evolution of an exhibition that strikes the right balance to create a family-friendly experience, being both educational and entertaining.

Based on a digital and holographic reconstruction of our solar system, visitors are enabled to not only visually travel through the galaxy to visit recreations of life-like interplanetary missions  but also closely examine astronaut suits and replica of spacecraft as well as other interactive installations aimed at gaining a hands-on understanding of the environment in space.

Employing the merits of high-impact multimedia projection technology combined with data, stories and artefacts from subject matter experts, Neighbourhood Watch is a fun experience.