November 17, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
Australian illustrator Ken Taylor has created imagery for some of rock n’ ’roll’s great purveyors of sound, from the Rolling Stones and Queens of the Stone Age, to Nine Inch Nails and the Mars Volta. He has an easily recognizable style that screams sharp edge cool. Bold and bawdy, Taylor’s pieces use vivid colour to create a cut-out-comic-like feel reminiscent of old movie posters from the 1930s and 40s.
November 14, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling 
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Beautiful, delicate, fragile, a little bit collage, a little bit sketchfull. This is the work of Kelly Smith. Combining several mediums in a collaborative expose between pencil, paint and print to create timeless works of elegant splendour, it is easy to compare Smith’s works to the last snowflake of winter, fleeting but real, avoiding the brash bright mercantile world for the prettier climes of illustrative pleasure. Smith has a twelve-day exhibition on at the 696 Space in Brunswick, Melbourne, opening November 14.
November 14, 2008 | Art | by Jo Spurling |
Trapped in a time warp between then and now, the work of Brandt Peters combines an old school aesthetic with a modernity bordering on futuristic fantasy, with a touch of morbid fascination thrown in for good measure. In other words, he creates wonderful imagery combining cartoon-like pin-ups with sometimes freakish attributes (large skulled beings, for instance), and every now and then seems to throw in a nod to sci-fi — such as a mechanical glass jar — for good measure. Muted tones replace the bawdy colours often associated with such mediums, giving his pieces a whimsical, dream like quality. He must live in a delightfully wispy world.
October 7, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
Tyson McAdoo is responsible for depicting these salacious bombshells, taking seemingly ordinary situations — like sitting on a couch, riding a motorbike or riding an invisible horse (things I am sure we’ve all done at some stage) — and adding some sassy young minx as the focal point, creating a playground for your eyeballs. Apparently McAdoo is imprisoned within his creative universe, or some dungeon according to his bio, accompanied only by ‘two pathetic ghetto rats, Squeezie and Pocket’, and forced to draw the Empress of Ink over and over each day so she dare not fade. You can pick up prints of his work online, and they are damn reasonably priced compared to what some prints go for these days.
October 1, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
He may not be French in his spare time, but Australian illustrator Pierre surely does know how to draw, creating wonderfully fractured universes in which the creatures of his imagination dwell. Pierre has recently released his own children’s picture book, which anyone who writes for children would know is one of the hardest things in the world to achieve, let alone when you’ve done the entire script, illustrating and publishing yourself.
September 9, 2008 | Fashion | by Jo Spurling |
Creating modern-vintage inspired by 1950s Australian housewives and rock’n'roll style pin-up glamour, Peta Pledger has been producing one-off, made-to-measure or small-run garments and accessories since 2003. Her love affair with the sewing machine began in 1988 when — like many lovely ladies — she couldn’t find any clothing that flattered her figure. Read more
August 27, 2008 | Art | by Jo Spurling |
Yes, the name may be a little strange, and sure, it does tend to conjure up images of things not so pretty, but there’s little doubt that the ethereal art of this strange harlequin is beautiful and captivating. The art of Used Bandaid has even been embraced by New Zealand based company Illicit, who are themselves well known for utilizing unique artists creations in, and on, their fashion and play products. The Used Bandaid creator herself is fiercely, and understandably, protective of her art, so make sure you hit her up in person if you want to flash her talent around.
August 16, 2008 | Art | by Jo Spurling |
Wrap your brain around this slice of pie. This here is the work of THH70, someone who apparently obtained human form in 1970. This chap is pretty much known for inimitable style and approach, which THH70 himself has described as being ‘lo-fi urban abstract graffiti’. Combining words, textures, patterns, passion, philosophy, light and darkness, THH70 uses what can only be best described as a weapons closet full of varied mediums. Apparently he also goes so far as to include household products like Windex and X-14 mildew remover in the mix, combining it with his own mad inspiration when creating his pieces.
August 16, 2008 | Design | by Jo Spurling |
Based in Osaka, Japan, Shige Tomo is a graphic designer and illustrator who lends his formidable talents to creating deceivingly sweet looking, doll-like creatures, whose malicious stares are quite at odds with their sugary features. Aside from conjuring up an impressive portfolio filled to the brim with these effortless evils, Tomo also has a wonderful collection of dolls and other products available, which bring his saccharine creations to life. Lovely in their simplicity, yet malevolent in their intent, you have to wonder if Tomo had nightmares about dolls when he was a child.
August 11, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
‘The comic book stylings of an illustrative genius’, is just one of the ways you might describe the work of Jason Goad. And you can’t help but like someone whose website address is ‘ingoadwetrust’. Goad makes use of colour in the same way that Ninja’s don’t, resulting in an welcome assault on the eyeballs. Apparently his imagination is ‘fuelled by warm root beer and egg salad sandwiches’, so may we suggest admiring this amazing artwork at a safe distance.
July 30, 2008 | Film | 
by Jo Spurling |
This has to be one of the best documentaries ever to grace a cinema screen. Following the history of Australian made exploitation films, and the burgeoning Oz film industry that grew from this oft-forgotten genre, Not Quite Hollywood follows the rise, rise and headlong fall of Ozploitation. Featuring interviews with the directors, producers and critics at the height of their game during the 70s and 80s, not to mention the modern master of the genre film, Quentin Tarantino, Not Quite Hollywood is a hilarious ride through plot-holes as big as Ayres Rock (yes, of course we needed some gratuitous Aussie reference in there somewhere) decorated by bad props and buckets of blood-splattered-gore.
July 25, 2008 | Products | by Jo Spurling |
If you’ve ever wondered what nerds get up to when deprived of Broadband for two weeks, or you want to find out how William Shatner (think Star Trek era, not Boston Legal) saved the world, then Nerds Gone Wild is your new bible. Packed full of geeky goodness, this perfect-bound wonder will keep you fascinated for hours as its contents reveal everything from what happened to the actor who played Atreyu in the Neverending Story to the world phenomenon centered around Rubiks cube competitions. And yes, they still happen!
July 15, 2008 | Events | by Jo Spurling |
The photography of Rohan Hutchinson is amazing, his subject matter of late focusing on the rapidly disappearing back alleyways in China which are being demolished for the Olympics, leaving thousands of people displaced. Hutchinson captures his images on large format negatives, meaning the processed photo can be enlarged almost to the size of a wall in a small room! He has his first exhibition between July 17-31 at the Flinders Lane Gallery in Melbourne.
July 15, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
Sassy waifs are the hallmark of Martin Abel’s work. Graphite collides with vector style to create edgy damsels with only a dash of decorum between them. This is some sexy work, regardless of your persuasion. Complimented with a classic comic flair, Abel’s other contributions include work for the official X-box magazine. Keep an eye on this rising star ladies and gentlemen.
July 4, 2008 | Illustration | by Jo Spurling |
Melbourne really is one lucky city. Filled to the brim with talented people, and now with another space to play in. Gorker is the newest gallery space to grace Melbourne’s creative realm with its inaugural 40 Thieves show packing out the venue. Rumour has it upcoming exhibitions will be just as captivating, so keep your eyes glued to their website for more details.
Australian photographer, Sean Fennessy, was named by Art and Australia Magazine in 2006 as one of the ‘country’s best artists aged under 25′. These photos are from a larger series on Shanghai called Over the Rainbow. Read more
I love Brooklyn band Durty Nanas. They were formed in 2005 and play street spaces, galleries, lofts, and block parties. So I guess they are the ‘real’ Bloc party.
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
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 came across this building a while ago by French architects EDCM, but as information at the time was only in French, it was all a bit tough – just like this building. Read more
Artist David Shrigley’s animated music video for Blur is so simple, so sweet, so perfect. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it, yet it still makes me cry every time.
DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.
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These stylish hoops of bronze have a profound effect on me. I’m seriously left singing If I Were A Boy Beyonce-style whenever I see them. Made by Stannard Inc, William the Brave bronze rings are stunning and the raw look exudes an air of individuality. But the cool thing is that you can actually get away with wearing them if you’re a chick, too. They’re made uni-sex in various sizes.
Pictures taken at just the right time
You don’t have to be a skilled photographer to take the best snaps: some just appear out of absolutely nowhere. This site has collected together some of the funniest, cruelest, most alarming — yet completely spontaneous — photos circulating the web. Thank god for other people’s suffering! Read more
James Jean on the work of Rob Sato
We asked Californian artist, James Jean, to tell us about an emerging illustrator whose work he loves right now. This is what he had to say: ‘Rob Sato offends me. Read more
Alison Malone on her Daughters of Job photos
A couple of weeks back we featured the work of New York-based photographer Alison Malone, who went into the secretive environment of the Job’s Daughters to photograph the girls who are direct blood relatives of the Master Masons. This is the second part of that interview. Read more
David Holmes’ The Holy Pictures
David Holmes’ fourth solo album has been a long time in the making. The man who is best known for his scoring of films such as Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13, and remixing for bands like U2 and The Manic Street Preachers, took just over ten years to make his latest album. Read more
We have a stack of CDs and DVDs to give away to a lucky new subscriber who signs up to receive our free weekly email publication between now and New Year’s Day. There’s 50 new CDs in the pile, along with a handful of DVDs. So sign up now and leave a message here telling us what album you hope will be in the pile!
Australian illustrator Moofus is just 11 years old. As he says, ‘my mum and dad won’t let me leave school to get a proper job, so I draw lots of pictures’. This limited edition print of Sydney’s Coogee Beach is printed on Epson heavyweight matt paper with archival inks and is just US$20 through the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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