Back to the essence

WE'RE SUPPORTING

We’ve all seen those iconic Jesus Christ, Osama Bin Laden, Queen Elizabeth II and the suicide bomber CUPCO dolls floating around the world. Now Western Australia’s ingenious artist Luke Temby, aka CUPCO, has invited 100 international artists to showcase their own creative interpretation of CUPCO dolls here in Australia. The doll exhibition will open at the Damien Minton Gallery in Redfern, Sydney on December 16 and carry on until December 22. All 100 dolls will be on sale and the proceeds will help out our Congolese sisters and children affected by war. If you can’t hold out until the party launch, check out the dolls on Temby’s FlickR page.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

With literally almost half its population immigrants, Queens is the best borough for food in NYC. Between Thai food in Woodside and any ethnic food you’ve ever imagined in Jackson Heights, all foodies worth their salt make regular pilgrimages on the 7 train. If you find yourself at the end of the line in Flushing, check out Little Pepper on Roosevelt. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

These Internal Organ Keds by Dynomoose remind me of the posters in front of Chinese foot massage places that show how different parts of the foot correspond to an organ in the body.

WE'RE THINKING

Andrea Innocent’s work is heavily influenced by Japanese art and culture. Themes range from investigations into the cult of Otaku, to traditional Japanese folk tales and textiles. Read more

WE'RE READING

When I did the Master Cleanse diet a few years ago — the one where you consume nothing but lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for ten days — I sat at work looking at pictures of food as if they were porn. Scanwiches would have gotten me hot and bothered like nothing else.

An intelligently told, morally complex tale with a raft of unexpected twists, Gone Baby Gone is one of the most original films of recent times. Most films give you a sense of their narrative arc and it is easy to recognise the major plot points. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Milwaukee’s Neon Hunk make spastic, synth-and-drum madness that is likely to trigger seizures in the uninitiated. Their psychotic, candy-colored aesthetic — complete with terrifying masks and stuffed animals — gives no quarter to the faint of heart, but for those whose retinas and ear canals are sufficiently fortified with scar tissue, the duo’s glitched-out dance attack should provide ample cause to bounce around. Read more