WE'RE SUPPORTING

Mikael Alacoque rips familiar and nostalgic objects to the core to create a new sinister image sculptured with abstract moulding techniques. His dead dogs, in particular, have fantastic symbolism, with ice-cream smashed on their little heads. Alacoque is certainly an artist for now and beyond.

WE'RE THINKING

Will Cotton would have to be about the most appropriately named artist around. On this cold, windswept New York evening, I just want to crawl inside one of his saccharine sweet compositions and nibble on one of the clouds. Read more

There was a time, many moons ago, when I would only listen to bands off New Zealand’s Flying Nun label. Yup, I would strap myself into a comfy chair, put my headphones on and, armed with a chunk of chocolate coated Peanut Slab and a can of L&P, soak up album after album of wonderfully self-indulgent low-fi melancholy. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

On the roof of Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel is a dining experience like no other. The Vertigo Bar sits sixty one floors up, and serves delicious gourmet meals and cocktails. These are expensive by Thai standards, but cheap enough for shoestring travellers to indulge in now and then (a cocktail costs around AUD$12). I’ve spent hour after hour in the bar, drinking and smoking and taking in the amazing view. Most nights at Vertigo end the same, with fast-moving storm clouds rolling in without fail at about eleven pm. While wait staff scurry to move tables, and drunken diners navigate the steep stairs down to the safety of the hotel, the more hardy can sit and watch the clouds race closer and closer towards the building, soaking in both the atmosphere and the rainwater until the lightning gets too close for comfort.

WE'RE READING

Esopus only hits newsstands twice a year, but take a peek inside and you’ll understand why. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Beach House are certainly different. The dream pop/indie rock duo from Baltimore create music bursting with atmospheric rhythms, pretty organs and poignant lyrics. I’m loving Norway, the twosome’s debut single from their upcoming album, Teen Dream. If the vocals sound familiar, that’s because lead singer Victoria Legrand shared backing vocals on Grizzly Bear’s Two Weeks. Now how’s that for trivia?

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WE'RE WEARING

When Big Brother means nothing more than a new low in television standards, the warnings of Orwell’s classic 1984 are more poignant than ever. Miniluv — or The Ministry of Love in Oldspeak — is where Winston was brutally tortured, brain-washed and ultimately learned to love Big Brother. And no, he wasn’t watching TV. Wear your highbrow literary tastes with pride. Created by graphic-tee fashion label the-affair and printed on soft American Apparel, this tee is available for purchase through our online store.