#3 neckpiece by Michael Bruton

Last week for Michi: a story about Lin Moniang inspired by an exquisite piece seen at the Love Lace exhibition in Sydney.

My visit north was short and fraught with misfortune - by the time I was blown into the Powerhouse, nigh closing hour, I was unable to form ... words ... and was waved down the ramp with a concession ticket, having accidentally passed myself off as a pitiable young foreigner. Looking through the online catalogue, I can see much that I missed - but I did happily see:

Arcadian Brooch by Stephen Gallagher

Lacqueus mask 2 & gloves by Cherelyn Brearley

[A cast of my left hand in the shape of a] glove by Nava Lubelski

Bone by Kate Campbell Pope

(F) Detroit's Shadow by Anne Mondro; (R) Shadows of Memory by Michelle Eastwood

More photos and plaint at Milly.

Another look:

Poster design by Katsumi Asaba

This Issey Miyake postcard, which arrived chez moi from Tokyo via Sth Yarra, related to an exhibition of garments/textiles/technologies produced with/for I. M. by artisans from Tohoku. The Spirit of Tohoku was arranged earlier this year, following the series of catastrophes in Japan that hardly need naming.

"KAMIKO" by Issey Miyake, 1982; photograph by Eiichiro Sakata.

This site gives a good sense of the exhibition, and the feeling with which it was conceived and assembled. The 'message' from Issey Miyake is very touching, I can't read it without tears. I particularly admire his description of tradition, which, he says, 'does not imply formalities or manners'.

Photography by Eijiro Morri, taken Sept. 12, 2011

The symbol of the spirit of Tohoku, has become the lone surviving pine on Takata Matsubara beach, and the people's efforts to employ their craft and tenacity to save it. 

Unfortunately, the pine is not doing well, which is a reminder that even though the disaster is no longer news, blank blank blank - you understand.

More from my postcard collection:

A work by Benjamin Russell for Marc Jacobs, from NY.

A work by my excellent friend, Manabu Iguchi, from Tokyo!

A 'souvenir' postcard from an Issey Miyake exhibit, also from Tokyo.

A 'small-scaled tree pangolin' of the Congo, from Dublin.

I decided to make my nephew a mobile before he was born... and on his 11th birthday, I settled upon a 'theme' and materials (no, it was only about 18-20 months later). When it was finally finished, E. was at a great age for grabbing and pulling shiny things down upon his head. All in all, it was not my most successful gift effort.

I do still quite like it though, and the way the keys talked together was a beautiful surprise - not at all clunky or clanging but quite light and 'musical'.

Speaking of what constitutes music, there is an excellent sound-art exhibition on at Linden Gallery at the moment, called Cuttings. The installations are pretty interesting in themselves but I would very much recommend reserving a place for the performance aspect (3pm tomorrow! - Sat. 24), which involves two of the artists playing and interfering with the artwork, to quite magical effect.

For fear of going on, a rough shorthand:

last day Fashion Week > RMIT Student Exhibition > [among] many interesting works my favourite = Objecthood by Rose Megirian > = small chest of drawers/collections [by numerous participating artists] of objects + ephemera > = beautiful, and everything I love

inc. small things, miscellaneous/delicate arrangements, words/scraps/poetry, ideas/care/slowness

+bonus > pieces beneath glass > *look like* sunken underwater treasures [in photographs]?

The exhibition piece was an extension of ojecthood.tumblr.com, created by R. M. 'in collaboration with 9 key participants'. The short accompanying essay by costumier Megan Parker alludes to all kinds of interesting things including the relationship (if they can be separated) between a 'real self' and a constructed/adorned/surrounded self identity, and describes the project as a reminder "to a world weary audience of the power of personal choice over marketing psychology and trend forecasting."

Aleksandra Mir - First Woman on the Moon, 1999- (publicity still)

This week's Michi is a wave to A + A. Whoops, the full caps are probs a bit much. But my italics are *never* published so how else to be emphatic? I guess I was just in THAT kind of MOOD.

Among my collection of compensatory postcards from abroad:

Louise le Brocquy - A Picnic, 1940

From Germany, the Luftpost sticker obscures the precise location...

... and this one's notes are all written in Japanese.

Perhaps you already know - Aleksandra Mir is a Polish-born artist, living in London, who transformed a Dutch beach into a lunar landscape, before surmounting it with an American flag to become the First Woman on the Moon!

'twas Fashion Week.

From top to bottom - garments by 1. Bhalo, 2. Neo Dia, 3. Dhini, Sarah Schofield, Arnsdorf, Toni Maticevski, S!X and Materialbyproduct, and 4. P.A.M. I thought the print on the pants was going to be angel fish but it turned out to be bananas!

Nous sommes le pouvoir, P.A.M. say - a message that I never mind finding reappropriated. The 'we' floats, is powerfully inclusive. In fact, apart from the way it sounds, it really is just the first half that gets me, whatever the context - nous sommes, we are!

(More photos at Milly).

Two of everything, being the problem with my small and often dingy apartment (which is actually not that small, I just have two of everything).

This week's Michi: Françoise Sagan

When visiting the Mücke 'studio' at the recent Premiere trade fair, I was surprised to come across a small exhibit of Jenny Bannister garments - several great plastic dresses!

  

Jenny Banister and girls, Melbourne Cup 1978 

And I 'met' writer and photographer Rennie Ellis.

Crossing the street, Flinders Lane c1970

Carol Jerrems 1970

There are some other pictures from this day (above) that I prefer, except that I just love the white band on the black hat in this one, hanging like a crescent moon.

Workshop Queensland 1980

Paper Bag Face Melbourne Cup 1983

Bondi NSW 1997

Most images from a good morning's viewing, here.

Last week for Michi: the Wichitas!

Please note details for a new pop-up shop, launching at the venue tonight between 6 & 8.

Chronicles of Loss.

As previously alluded to, the Loved & Lost project had taken up unexpected residency in one of the attended lifts at the Nicholas Building. A terrible incident occurred, involving a great many high school students, and a high school student's great foot, or feet. This resulted in a squashed installation unit, which subsequently went missing, and - worst of the worst - a unique, handmade piece of work went missing with it.

I made an unhappy tour of the building, with sticky-tape ...

... and, very luckily, some days later ...

... the piece was found.

I can admit now that the piece is titled, 'Lost'. Artists were invited to contribute works inspired by themes of loss or discovery; Kyoko Osato created this beautiful hand-stitched 'landscape', which represents the snowy winters in Japan that she missed when her family moved to Australia.

(After such excitement, and with the arrival of dear Spring, I've decided to put the whole project to bed for a while – but it will be back next year).