ave been wanting to go check out some local art galleries so last night Matt and I headed to St Kilda to go to an opening at Uber Gallery. There is a solo show of work by New Zealand born, Melbourne based artist Beck Wheeler at Uber Gallery until March 30. It is definitely worth taking a look. There are thought provoking aspects to her paintings. In her work for this show "Hey, Hey Which Way?" Ms Wheeler delves into perceptions of the afterlife. I enjoyed her concept of turning peoples opinions of life after death into paintings. But I went to see her toys. Her creations remind me a bit of Ugly Dolls but much more intricate.My favorite piece was entitled the mother of all evils. A sor
t of giant cat like bean bag with octopus tentacles with a sort of lamb/dog creature attached at the end of each tentacle. It was very cool and looked at it must have been ALOT of work. This is one of her toys from her website. If you want to check out some of Ms Wheeler's paintings and toys here is her site. http://www.beckwheeler.com/
t of giant cat like bean bag with octopus tentacles with a sort of lamb/dog creature attached at the end of each tentacle. It was very cool and looked at it must have been ALOT of work. This is one of her toys from her website. If you want to check out some of Ms Wheeler's paintings and toys here is her site. http://www.beckwheeler.com/Of course as with any gallery opening there seemed to be a high contingency of what my friend e.k. buckley has dubbed "cheese rats". These people attended many an opening and are hardly ever seen submerging themselves in art but more often found hovering around the free wine and cheese platter. Charcoll always had plenty of these creatures in monthly attendance of our openings in Pilsen. This is to be expected and it was really wonderful to go see a show I enjoyed but after the buzz words (sublime, existential) started being thrown around we made our exit.
We drove a few
blocks over to the beach to have a walk around. I always love walking on the beach at sunset (along with every person who has ever placed a personal ad).
blocks over to the beach to have a walk around. I always love walking on the beach at sunset (along with every person who has ever placed a personal ad). There were quite a few people out in the sea kitesurfing. This looks like so much fun and minus the possibility of having my arms pulled right out of their sockets I would love to try it. I think my sister has told m
e about this sport but I have never seen it done before. Different people had various kinds of board from wide ones that looked similar to surfboards to boards that looked more like snowboards. While this extreme sport is considered a new phenomenon according to may kiteboarding enthusiast websites the Chinese are given credit for invention since they have been using kites for propulsion since the 13th century.
e about this sport but I have never seen it done before. Different people had various kinds of board from wide ones that looked similar to surfboards to boards that looked more like snowboards. While this extreme sport is considered a new phenomenon according to may kiteboarding enthusiast websites the Chinese are given credit for invention since they have been using kites for propulsion since the 13th century. We decided to walk down St Kilda pier. Before we got to the end of the pier there was a long ramp with a gate over it used to load boats into the water. Matt spotted a different looking little bird which
he thought might be a penguin. It took me about two seconds to decide to duck under the gate and trot down the ramp to see. I have never seen a penguin in the wild so what's a little warning gate to stop me. There was a photographer from Belfast on the beach who confirmed Matt's guess that it was indeed a penguin. He told us to go behind the kiosk at the end of the pier and as night falls the little guys climb up from the sea onto the rocks. Off we went passing lines of fisherman speaking all different kinds of languages. We chatted for a second with one fisherman checking out his catch for the day which was swimming around in a bucket. There were quite a few tourist out hoping to catch a glimpse of Australia's fairy penguin (aka little penguin or blue penguins) the sma
llest species of penguin in existence. This was also a good spot for the rakali (aka Australian water rat). These guys have more in common with the platypus than their pesty European cousins. They have webbed feet and live mostly on catch from the water including yabbies, crabs and mussels. So we waited along with the other tourists. I saw a group of people looking under the dock and walked down that way for a peak. I heard the penguins before I saw them. They sort of honk and trill to each other. All the sudden I heard a honk just to the left of me. A tiny penguin was sitting behind a bush cleaning his belly and little, flightless wings. He was only a few feet away. I have never seen a wild penguin (not counting the expired one in Tasmania) and certainly never been so close to one. There are signs posted not to use flash photography because the light hurts their eyes so I found a photo on another site to show you.
he thought might be a penguin. It took me about two seconds to decide to duck under the gate and trot down the ramp to see. I have never seen a penguin in the wild so what's a little warning gate to stop me. There was a photographer from Belfast on the beach who confirmed Matt's guess that it was indeed a penguin. He told us to go behind the kiosk at the end of the pier and as night falls the little guys climb up from the sea onto the rocks. Off we went passing lines of fisherman speaking all different kinds of languages. We chatted for a second with one fisherman checking out his catch for the day which was swimming around in a bucket. There were quite a few tourist out hoping to catch a glimpse of Australia's fairy penguin (aka little penguin or blue penguins) the sma
llest species of penguin in existence. This was also a good spot for the rakali (aka Australian water rat). These guys have more in common with the platypus than their pesty European cousins. They have webbed feet and live mostly on catch from the water including yabbies, crabs and mussels. So we waited along with the other tourists. I saw a group of people looking under the dock and walked down that way for a peak. I heard the penguins before I saw them. They sort of honk and trill to each other. All the sudden I heard a honk just to the left of me. A tiny penguin was sitting behind a bush cleaning his belly and little, flightless wings. He was only a few feet away. I have never seen a wild penguin (not counting the expired one in Tasmania) and certainly never been so close to one. There are signs posted not to use flash photography because the light hurts their eyes so I found a photo on another site to show you. One last thing, as I am writing this I am drinking a ginger beer which was home made by Murray Mullins, my friend Cheryl's dad. Mr Mullins passed away from cancer last week and while I never had the privilege to meet him Matt and I were able to be with Cheryl and her family to say goodbye to him yesterday. I just want to say Thank You to Mr Mullins for giving me such a great friend in Cheryl.
