Earlier this year I had the privilege of making a work about a dear friend. It was for a show called ‘I Know my Chickens’ –  held at FELT artspace and curated by Kate Moskwa.

The premise for the show was four close friends making work about each other and it ended up a strange, heartwarming concoction of portraits, memories and jokes.  I made a video about my friend Sary: artist, cook and all round lovely man.

My work was a video that attempted to recreate my favorite moment with him. The memory in question involved driving through country Victoria on a glorious road-trip. We were chattering way, sharing food and I was taking photos of Sary from the passenger seat. I loved those photos – for the relationship the revealed between photographer and subject – the glances passed between driver and passenger and the chance to observe someone intimately that driving together allows.

Many thanks to the friends that helped recreate this moment on film: Lisa, Gianna, Holly, Amy, Nicholas, Catherine, Rachel and Claire.

Kate Moskwa wrote about the show:

“A favorite game of ours is to pick a TV show or movie, preferably with four leading characters, and assign them to each other based on looks, personality traits, and events. Sometimes it doesn’t work out perfectly and one or two people are poor matches. The most successful matching to date in my opinion, was Winnie the Pooh and friends. Pooh-Bear, Piglet, Tigger and Eey-ore. Well that’s one way of seeing us. At its simplest, this is an exhibition of portraiture. Four friends have represented what they think they know of each other. They have created the characters they see. Like a film or novel, these characters have evolved and present themselves to you, our audience. However, these characters were developed not through a single authorial vision, but envisioned by the other players. At its warmest, this exhibition is homage. The persona comprised from memories, photographs and stories tell as much about the author as they do the character. In dedicating an exhibition to one’s friends there’s an element of humble self portraiture.”

Crap.

Sorry to my dear, beautiful, neglected readers.

This blog is moving slower than the Spencer Gulf. I am inclined to make this kind of corny comparison because the Spencer Gulf is actually just outside my door.

I have moved my weekday self to Port Pirie. I moved for the ABC. They make me blog – I have two blogs to care for now -so the title is now explained.

The featured image is a screen grab from my other blog.  I feel a bit strange putting it up. I want to apologise to this blog. This is my REAL blog. I do still love it the most.

I am really just making this post on the off-chance you found this blog, and you are interested in what I am up to. If this IS the case, then maybe check my other blog. I spend a bit of time there.

Today I travelled from the bottom of Australia, right up to the very top edge. It is HOT here, but beautiful; so many shades of green.  I am up here working on the show you can read all about in the image above…. come and visit us it is an open studio project.

Click Here for a look at the project I mentored – It is an ambitious installation work at TCB Space (just off little Burke St. Melbourne). The Artists (Liz Dunn and Jesse Hall) based this work on the experience of moving house and city. The show questions the decision making process, exploring dead ends and  well meaning advice. The artists invite you to  climb into their safe cardboard box cubby world, to take part in risky conversations, with cups of tea at the ready.

You’re on an 18 hour drive in a truck freighting the set and have been sitting next to a man who smells like a walking armpit for the last 8 hours.
You forgot to pack your ABBA pillowcase. You can’t sleep without your ABBA pillowcase.
You tried your hotel key in 278 doors one night before you found your room.
You know she did, you’re certain he did and you wonder how the fuck they got away with that. Have you woken up in the cone of silence?
Of course you have. You’re on tour and mum is the word.

Everyone has an ‘on tour’ story

What goes on tour, stays on tour is a new media project built especially for the Adelaide Fringe Club. An old style phone booth will play home to a collection of stories from fringe artists, past, and present – that will unfold into those late nights, and early mornings.

more at the blog

Get along to one of the 4 Long Distance venues and have a listen….(each of the venues have different stories on their phone)

2009 Port Adelaide Festival Dates:  8-16 October 2009
Phone ‘Booth’ Locations & Story Times (dependant on phone venue):
Visitor Information Centre: 9am-5pm
Lighthouse: 10am-2pm
Railway Hotel: 10am-10pm
Port Mall: 8am-5.30pm Mon-Wed & Fri, 8am-8pm Thurs, 8am-5pm Sat

Phone ‘Booth’ Locations – Addresses:
Visitor Information Centre: 66 Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide
Lighthouse: Queens Wharf, Port Adelaide
Railway Hotel: 247 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide
Port Mall: 176 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide

Here are some photos of the phones  – currently taking up most of dining room (with my sister Gianna modeling them):

We have also made up some badges that contain snippets of the stories that will be on the phones:

and some gaff about the project:

Long Distance is a unique, on-location oral history and storytelling project – developed
specifically for the 2009 Port Adelaide Festival. From 8-16 October, purpose-built, old rotary-
style phone ‘booths’ will be placed in four landmark venues around the Port – The
Lighthouse, The Railway Hotel, The Port Mall and The Visitor Information Centre – and
visitors encouraged to wander by, pick up the receiver and listen to some true tales in the
places they originally unfolded.

2009 Port Adelaide Festival Dates:  8-16 October 2009
Phone ‘Booth’ Locations & Story Times (dependant on phone venue):
Visitor Information Centre: 9am-5pm
Lighthouse: 10am-2pm
Railway Hotel: 10am-10pm
Port Mall: 8am-5.30pm Mon-Wed & Fri, 8am-8pm Thurs, 8am-5pm Sat

Phone ‘Booth’ Locations – Addresses:
Visitor Information Centre: 66 Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide
Lighthouse: Queens Wharf, Port Adelaide
Railway Hotel: 247 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide
Port Mall: 176 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide

I am currently developing Long Distance with the lovely Heidi Angove. This involves having conversations with lighthouse keepers and other locals in order to record some of the colorful unofficial history of Port Adelaide.

Heidi is building phone units so that visitors to the Port Adelaide Festival (October 8- 16th) will be able to pick up the receiver, dial a number and hear a story that unfolded in that site. People will also be able to leave their own story on the phone. We are using the old rotary phones that you might remember for the 60′s and 70′s, they will be sitting on a plinth and will ring ocasionally (encouraging people to pick them up!).

The locations will be the Port Adelaide Lighthouse, the old police station and jail cells at black diamond corner, the Port Mall and the Railway hotel.

Visit the Long Distance website

Check us out in the Port Adelaide Festival Porgram