Matthew Woodson

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Paul Chatem’s works are almost like folk pieces done on found materials.  Using gear-shaped pieces of wood, bits of metal, old cuckoo clocks, and a faded palette, Chatem creates paintings that look like the decaying remnants of a shuttered amusement park.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

If you’ve seen some really clever poster mash-ups going on in the NYC subway system, chances are you have graffiti artist Poster Boy to thank. It’s baffling how he can create such elaborate pieces without getting caught. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Ed Janssen is famed in Melbourne for his jewellery designs, sold through cult Morrissey-friendly label This Charming Man. ‘The Knuckle Sandwich’ charm necklace (two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckles, as pictured above) exudes an oddly amusing menace. More recently ‘The Bear Trap’ has been dangling from every second neck, wiping out hope for Melbourne’s unsuspecting tiny forest animals. Janssen is about to launch a new range inspired by the iconography of various secret societies. Melburnians can check out their old and new favourites at the first This Charming Man exhibition launching this week at Alice Euphemia’s new store. Flex those tiny knuckles and watch those tiny feet. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

I tossed and turned through three chapters of an epic Russian novel last night. Or so it felt as a constant stream of characters made their way past the stringent casting couch and into the deepest reaches of my dreams. Read more

WE'RE READING

I’m one of those people who lament the death of analog film as a medium, not because I romanticize the process, but because I love the unpredictable imperfections inherent in non-digital formats. Read more

WE'RE WATCHING

Films involving characters faced with an impossible choice never make easy viewing, an example being the Nick Cave Australian gem, The Proposition. A nightclub manager, played with understated power by Joaquin Phoenix, is the victim here, and you actually feel truly uncomfortable as his predicament unfolds. Set in the 1980s, We Own The Night shows a real nostalgia for that period — particularly in the costumes. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Where would we be without synths and drum machines? Probably still listening to Grateful Dead jams in the alleyways of Height-Asbury. Done well, the remix is a wonderful thing. Case in point is Royksopp’s rendering of the Kings of Convenience track I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From. And then there’s Riton’s version of the Mystery Jets song, The Boy Who Ran Away. A White Lines for the 21st Century? I think so.