Grok #5 2016

FREE Issue #5 2016 Published

by Curtin Student Guild

EC H O ES O F JA PA N N E V E R E N D I N G CO U N TI N G S H E E P : SA FIA I N T E RVI E W W H E N A RT M E E TS S CI E N C E S LOS H ’ S BA R & G R I L L

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Who says banks can’t be ethical?

Only four banks in the world are a World’s Most Ethical Company* – and we’re one of them!

UniBank is a division of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited, a 2016 World’s Most Ethical Company.

Learn more unibank.com.au/wme or 1800 864 864 UniBank is a division of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited ABN 30 087 650 459 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238981.

Membership eligibility applies to join the Bank. Membership is open to citizens or permanent residents of Australia who are current or retired employees, students and graduates of Australian Universities, or family members of existing members of the Bank. The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework. The Ethisphere® Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. More information at: http://www.ethisphere.com UniBank is a division of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited ABN 30 087 650 459 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238981 | 00954P-MAR-UB-0816

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1.

Image: A collaboration between children from the Jodie O’Shea orphanage in Bali, and Made, a local Balinese artist.

To find out more go to www.careforkidsbali.com

Issue #5 / 2016

Contact

Contributors

Grok exists for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed therin are not necessarily that of Curtin Student Guild.

Email // grok@guild.curtin.edu.au

Grok would not exist were it not for the generous donation of time and effort of its contributors, to whom we are eternally grateful.

We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are situated on, the Whadjuk people.

We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this university, city, and this region.

Editor // Stephanie McGann Art Direction & Design // Rozanna Johnson

Chloe Macri / Georgia Nielsen / Joe Wilson / Sarah Bellis / Josh Soutar / Melissa Wilson / Rachel Neumann / Shelby Traynor / Tom O’Reilly / Jesse Stuart Keddie

Cover // Chris Norman Printed on 100% recycled paper.

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EDITORIAL

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Stephanie McGann 2016 Grok Editor

C ATCH I NG U P WITH AN O LD FR I E N D A FE W WE E KS AGO, I WAS B OW LE D OVE R BY SOM ETH I NG H E SAI D. TO H I M , IT WAS AS I N N OCU OUS AS IT WAS P O LITE LY COM PASS I O NATE . TO M E , IT WAS LI KE A JAB I N TH E GUT WITH A FOU NTAI N PE N .

Having traversed the usual chit-chat and regaled each other with talk of growing up (or not), settling down (or not) and kicking goals (career-wise, that is; neither of us is particularly athletic), he took a sip from his coffee, peered at me earnestly and said: “I’m glad you’re doing well because, with all your chopping and changing, I had started to wonder if something was up with you, you know, if something was going on”. To be clear, I was not offended. To be fair, his intentions were nothing but good. Nonetheless, it got me thinking about the past 10 years since high school – the unfinished physics, law and arts management degrees spanning four different universities, laced with crippling anxieties and a dash of intermittent self-doubt – and that time I told him I was quitting and he replied with: “maybe uni just isn’t for you”.

You see, I’ll be graduating at the end of this year with my first degree in a field that I have a love-hate relationship with. Writing might aggravate the

anxiety disorder that does everything it can to foil my ambitions, but it also stokes the fire in my belly – the relentless love I have for meeting people, knowing them and telling their stories. It took me a while, but I’m here. I found it. The thing I want to invest huge bundles of time in and, hopefully, make a living from. And you will find it, too. Just don’t let anyone in your life turn ‘quitting’ into a dirty word. It’s not.

You might be in your first, second, or twentieth semester at university.

Maybe you’ve come to Curtin freshfaced and full of optimism – the high school high-flyer whom everyone expects to do ‘well’ (whatever that means). Or, maybe you’ve enrolled after a few years spent travelling the world, working full-time in retail, or paying off debt. Regardless of your background, you’re here and you’re exploring the profuse and everchanging world of learning. Here, you learn on your terms, as your own person. You have some amazing tutors and lecturers to help you on your way

– please don’t overlook them because they could turn into a mentor or lifelong friend. But, at the end of the day, you alone are the one who dictates your career goals and your means for getting where you think you might want to go. And, you know what? That goal might change. And that’s OK. So, if you’ve been staring at your law (insert: engineering, nursing, biochemistry, education, journalism, and so on ad infinitum…) unit outline and wondering what the fuck you’re doing because, at your very core, you know it isn’t what you want, this humble advice is for you: you have all the time in the world to work out what kind of career you want to forge. Make the most of every opportunity that presents itself and you’ll get there. If you change your mind, at any stage, that’s fine because knowing what you don’t want to spend your life doing is just as important as knowing what you do.

Whether you love what you’re studying or you’re just trying to get the grades required to transfer into a different course, I hope you enjoy this here issue of Grok. It’s got everything from interviews to reviews to poetry to beautifully-written stories from people just like you.

Until next time, Steph

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YO U R STUDENT REPS

Catch up on all the goss from around the Guild!

7.

STUDENT ASSIST Centrelink and Travel

8.

Lost and Found, and Lost Again

10.

PREZ CONTENTS

3.

12.

The Trembling Giant

14.

When Art Meets Science

16.

20.

Echoes of Japan

ONWARDS

18.

REVIEWS

Never Ending Counting Sheep: Safia Interview

SLOSH’S BAR & GRILL: Hot Sauce & Craf t Beer Wine & Cheese Platter 5-DOLL AR WINE CRITIC:

From Where You’d Rather Be: Dublin, Ireland

Best of Bin Ends Cab Sauv 2015 FOOD: Pleased to Meet You MUSIC: Jack Carty / Montaigne FILM: High-Rise

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PREZ

4.

please don’t email me asking why there isn’t a Men’s Department. The answer is obvious if you just think about it for a second or two).

G U I LD P R E S I D E NT Jake Wittey

Three quarters of my time as your Guild President has passed. My first instinct is to follow that sentence up with a “and in this time we’ve done all this great stuff…”, but I’d rather you be the judge of that – after all, we’re here for you. I’d like to think that you’re satisfied with the Guild’s performance though. I can say with my hand on my heart that we’ve given it our all – heck, I am writing this in bed on a Sunday morning, with a pile of paperwork next to me that is bigger than Ben Hur. Anyway, I hope you’re happy with what we’ve done for you, and yes, I’m a getting a little sentimental over working for you.

Feeding our innate desire to be validated by you, the Guild is launching is its annual Guild Satisfaction Survey soon. From the work that we’ve done on it, I can safely say it’ll take around 10 minutes to complete, and covers all aspects of our operations. If, however, you’ve got something that you really need to tell us ASAP, please email me.

Your feedback on our services for you is vital, and we really cannot claim to be your guild/union/representative body if we aren’t heeding your concerns (unless they’re stupid – so

Your Guild has also been slogging it out to help the University figure out how we can keep you on to finish your degree. The buzzword for all of this has been “Retention”; however, to us it’s a little bit more than that. Not everyone starts their degree on equal footing. For many, they face a whole pile of barriers – such as little income support, being lonely and isolated because they’re 800 kilometres from home, or not having much assistance from family because they’re the first to make it to university. If education is the great equaliser, then your Guild will work to make sure that when you get here, no matter what your background is, you will have the same opportunity to succeed.

Finally, I have two success stories to report on. One of them is the introduction of halal snack packs at Basement Café (which is at the centre of a long standing debate in the Guild as to who can be credited for them. I thank our wonderful staff, your Humanities Representative, and myself for getting them off the ground). The other success is that your Tav is the first bar in WA to boycott Carlton United Breweries after their sacking of 54 maintenance workers. I’m running out of words, so my recommendation is to google it if you don’t know much about that, and to not buy any CUB products until they treat those workers with a bit of respect.

Anyway, ta ta for now.

Jake #5

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GENERAL S E C R E TA R Y

Liam O’Neill Well, welcome back from your break.

It’s election season now, with what appears to be one of the largest guild elections in a very long time. Make sure you let your voice be heard by going down to Atkinson forum at one of these times: • Monday 19th of September, 10am til 4pm • Tuesday 20th of September, 10am til 4pm • Wednesday 21st of September, 10am til 6pm • Thursday 22nd of September, 10am til 4pm If you won’t be able to make it to campus, or don’t come to the Bentley campus, postal vote application forms are available online, at Guild Reception or in the Grok Election Edition.

These elections select the leaders of the Guild for next year, the people that both represent your voice to the University but also run this great Guild of ours.

Best of luck to all the candidates in this election!

All my Love, Liam

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GUILD REPS

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HUMANTITIES FAC U LT Y R E P

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAC U LT Y R E P

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D E N T S CO M M I T T E E ( I S C )

Lewis Whittaker

Noni Elliot Hobbs

Natasha Woenarso

Hi All, I hope you enjoyed your break!

Greetings friends, and I hope you’ve all been productive little students over the break, hurriedly submitting assignments and whatnot.

As it is coming to the end of the year, that means a call for nomination will be put out for the incoming ISC. In other words, this is the chance for you to be part of something bigger in the International Student Committee.

This semester is going so fast….

However, it is lining up to be one of the guild’s best, with fantastic events such as Mid Semester bash on the 23rd of September!

The faculty has been pretty quiet, but if you’re having any issues at all with university life, drop me a line at humanities@guild.curtin.edu.au and I’ll get back to you ASAP. My consult hours are 1-3pm on Thursdays this semester, so feel free to pop into building 106F and have a chat!

Thanks for reading, Lewis

To all of the new students who have just finished their first few weeks of uni; welcome and well done! Don’t forget to sign up to clubs if you’re looking for parties or activities to break up all that hard work with some play (of course, keep an eye out for event posters around the Guild precinct as well).

Also remember if you’re struggling with any sort of unit/course related issues (or even life issues) that are preventing you from reaching your full potential at uni, we the student Guild are here to support and help you as best we can. If you are a Science and Engineering student, my consult hours are between 12-2pm on Fridays in the Faculty Rep office at the Guild (building 106F). Otherwise feel free to contact me via email. Kudos, and good luck for all of your endeavours!

I have worked with the Guild General Secretary in restructuring the committee to make it more effective and efficient in kicking goals. The restructure presents opportunites for students to develop their personal and professional goals, and those positions are: • Education Vice President • Activities President • General Secretary • Publication Officer • 4 councillors Whilst ISC now has fewer positions, the responsibility of each member has increased. If you would like to know more about the recent changes, please feel free to email me at isc.president@ guild.curtin.edu.au.

If you are keen to be part of ISC, please keep your eyes on the ISC facebook page and Guild website in the next month.

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IN THIS ISSUE, GUEST AUTHOR RHEA THOMAS FROM THE WELFARE RIGHTS ADVOCACY SERVICE TAKES A LOOK AT STUDENT PAYMENTS AND TRAVEL.

Tickets? Check!

Accommodation, Check!

Sunscreen? Check!

If you are receiving Youth Allowance or Austudy you also need to add ‘Informing Centrelink of travel plans’ to the list.

If you are traveling outside of Australia for a reason other than work, study or training, your Centrelink payments will stop when you depart.

It is important to inform Centrelink of your travel plans in advance. If you do not inform Centrelink, your payments will automatically stop as the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will process your departure and inform the Department of Human Services

(Centrelink) that you are not in the country and therefore not entitled to receive payments. If your trip is for less than 6 weeks, payments should automatically resume once you have returned to Australia. If you have returned from a trip that was less than 6 weeks and your payments have not resumed, you should contact Centrelink as soon as possible.

The best way to inform Centrelink of intended travel is through your online account through myGov. If you are travelling outside of Australia for purposes relating to study or training and you have been receiving payments, commenced your approved course or work activity or submitted your claim in Australia before your departure, you may be entitled to receive payments while you are overseas. You will need to provide Centrelink with information relating to your travel in order to be approved for payment whilst you are overseas.

STUDENT ASSIST

7.

GOT MORE QUESTIONS? VISIT: WWW. HUMANSERVICES.GOV.AU/ CUSTOMER/ENABLERS/ PAYMENTS-WHILE-OUTSIDEAUSTRALIA. FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE ABOUT ISSUES WITH PAYMENTS WHILE YOU ARE OVERSEAS CONTACT YOUR LOCAL WELFARE RIGHTS CENTRE, VISIT WWW. WELFARERIGHTS.ORG.AU.

OR YOU CAN ALWAYS...

DROP IN TO STUDENT ASSIST IN BLD 106F, OR CALL 08 9266 2900 TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Student Assist is the welfare department of the Curtin Student Guild. Simon, Juliana, Jo-Ann, Andrew, Olivia, Margot and Onki are there to support all students, postgrad and undergrad, with any personal, welfare or academic issues.

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8.

I was charming, for your information, and he extended his hand. Without sparing a thought for stranger-danger, I placed my hand in his.

His room is full of books, and it only turns me on even more. Just a few hours previously I had been traipsing the streets of Northbridge on a quest of sorts, searching in the night for a good time as only someone who is nineteen can do.

I was starving and, at this point, I would have happily settled for a dirty kebab slathered liberally with hot chilli and garlic sauce. But he took me to perhaps the only restaurant that was open at this time of night and we shared a platter that I ravenously devoured. As we ate he talked about his life. He ran a business and, as he spoke about it, his eyes widened and he gestured excitedly with his large hands. He went from polished and smooth to animated and sincere in a heartbeat, and I found myself somewhat mesmerised by those baby blues.

I’d lost my friends. They were gone, as good as dead (they weren’t). But didn’t I have a phone? I did have a phone.

Earlier that night I dropped the old Nokia. It crashed on to the footpath and flew apart, and in my intoxicated stupor I had put it back together without locating the battery.

As you and I know, batteries are fairly important to the operation of most technological equipment, so yes, they were as good as dead.

Underneath the starless sky and a glittering spell of desire, we strolled out of the restaurant and he drove us to his place. He lived with his parents, which is cool, so do I. But what is even cooler is that he had a bachelor pad (or granny flat, one might say).

I trotted in my stilettos to the club where we’d all been together last. I searched for them, and, multi-tasker that I am, I got my dance on. But it becomes tiresome when you’re all alone, fighting for dance-floor space and rejecting the advances of strange, gyrating men holding pints, gleaming with sweat and dressed in shirts their mothers ironed.

So here we are in this lowly lit room with a fly screen door and dull, scratched, wooden floors. There’s a kitchenette, his bed, and books. They’re stacked everywhere, on the bedside table, on the small round dining table, on top of the fridge and on shelves. Books about gardening, books about tantric sex, books about being your own boss and taking control of your life.

Admitting defeat, I stumbled down the stairs and out on to the street, getting a breath of fresh air and then a whiff of fresh vomit. Ah, Perth.

I sat on a bench wondering what I might do. No phone. No money. A pleasant, summer night’s breeze lightly caressed my shoulders and I surveyed the groups of people, young women in tight dresses and stilettos similar to my own and young men in jeans and short sleeved shirts, on their own quests for a good night. As I sat and pondered my fate he sauntered over, peering at me curiously.

One of his large, tanned hands finds my lower back and he pulls me towards him.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmurs before kissing me deeply and tenderly, and he places his other hand on the back of my head.

“Why, hello,” he smiled through straight white teeth.

What a gem. It is always uttered before the sex that I have.

Single girl sex.

What an interesting development. I took my turn to peer at him. He was wearing a loose white shirt, tan chinos and smart brown shoes. He had a tanned, boyish face that his blue eyes leapt from, and short, curly, sandy brown hair.

I attempted to be charming, and drunkenly slurred my salutation.

I can’t help but feel beautiful as he peels off my tight dress and I unbutton his pants. Now I know I’ve just said the word ‘tenderly’, but this is no love-making session. This is fucking. His hands explore my body with a frantic carnal desire. We’re both the embodiment of lust at this point; two people simply looking for closeness. #5

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LOST AND FOUND, AND LOST AGAIN

CR E ATI V E N O N FI C TI O N

9.

Rachel Neumann

In the morning he slinks back behind his smooth and polished façade after allowing me a peek at his soul. And it’s ok, because sex is what I came here for. We fashioned this whole one-night romance just for it.

The adventure will always exist in my memory. It means nothing now, but it meant everything that night. It was fun. It was magical. It was an experience worthy of having, and remembering. #5

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TRAVEL

10.

10.

FROM WHERE YOU ’ D R ATH E R B E : DU B LI N , I R E L AN D Chloe Macri

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TRAVEL

11.

11.

WHAT EVEN IS DUBLIN?

like St Patrick’s Day. Awesome to check out, but keep in mind: there are other great places to go. Not just this one, overcrowded street.

Everyone has heard of Dublin before, surely. You might even have your pre-determined ideas about Irish people, their lifestyles, their stories of mythological creatures and the major St Paddy’s Day celebrations once a year. But do you really know Dublin? Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Over 1 million people live in the urban parts of the city, making it the largest city in the country.

If you’re into something a bit different, the National Leprechaun Museum is fabulous! If you have time, you should definitely check it out. It’s a bit hidden but, once you find it, it’s like nothing else. I won’t give anything away but it’s worth visiting, even just because of the name. St Stephens Green is the most beautiful park in the heart of the city, which is so lovely if the weather is nice and sunny (a rare occasion, so expect it to be packed).

THINGS YOU’LL WANT TO SEE

Dublin has had an interesting and somewhat turbulent history. Originally settled by the Vikings, it has been invaded by the Normans and was under the control of the British Empire for many a time. It had more than its fair share of political, economical and civil unrest, alike the rest of the country, but was in the forefront of all the action. This all makes for a very historical, very educational and very interesting Dublin that we see today.

There are absolutely so many things to see and do in Dublin that you should make sure you have enough time to catch it all. Trinity College is a must see, especially if you love history, old universities and Harry Potter; the library is where much of the library scenes from the movies were filmed and it’s really not hard to see why. Anyone with a love of books will fall in love with this place – it is magical.

The Guinness Storehouse and brewery is for anyone who likes a beer (and in Ireland, by beer, I mean Guinness).

Speaking of drinks, Temple Bar is the main area for pubs, bars and tourists, especially at hectic times of the year,

HOT TIPS BEFORE YOU GO

Dublin is in Ireland, which is not part of the United Kingdom (that’s Northern Ireland). This means that Dublin and the rest of Ireland uses the Euro, not the Pound! Don’t get them confused and do your research before you go, or you’ll embarrass yourself.

Dublin is a magical city and it’s great to check out, but if you’re all the way over in Ireland, please do go to other cities and towns as well! Travelling around is so quick and easy and there are heaps of options, such as day tours, multi day tours and hire cars. Galway (the university city), Dingle, Cork and Blarney are all awesome places that are only just a few hours away, so get exploring and fall in love with its magic.

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TH E ATR E

12.

TH E TR E M B LI NG GIANT: A PSYCH O LOG IC A L DR A M A S ET AR O U N D AN ECO - DISASTE R Joe Wilson Image: Tashi Hall

The play, which ran throughout August at The Blue Room Theatre, is as tense and heated as the set is claustrophobic.

It centres on the interactions between Margo and Flint as they struggle to survive in a world with dwindling resources. Underpinned by themes of social change and environmentalism, the distance from the dystopian disparity of the characters’ world feels oddly reminiscent of today, and of course the prevailing environmental issues of modern times.

In a world where natural resources are depleting and the threat of climate change is reported on more and more with each encroaching year, environmental issues are always pervading our lives. The Trembling Giant is a play by emerging theatre company Those Who Love You – a bunch of Curtin University performance studies graduates who have been killin’ it since their debut sell-out season at Fringe World.

Directed by Monty Sallur, the play stars Zoe Street and Peter Lane Townsend as Margo and Flint, who are caught in a daily struggle to tend to one of the last trees on earth.

“The very, very first piece of inspiration was actually reading about the trembling giant,” says Sallur.

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“It’s more about: this is what I think the world should be, but there are no solutions.”

“It refers to The Great Pando, which is a tree in Utah in America, the root system of which is eighty thousand years old, making it possibly one of the oldest organisms on the planet.”

TH E ATR E

13.

“For Margo, it’s about taking her ideals to the extreme in terms of creating change so she believes that the only way to do that is for this tree to take presence over everything else.”

Sallur says he drew inspiration from sci-fi films Children of Men (2006) and Ex Machina (2015).

“They explore the psychology and the ideas – the very kind of core idea of something natural depleting and degenerating, which is kind of the fundamental ideas in the play,” he says.

In some ways, the play demonstrates the trials and tribulations those who want to enact social change might face. Often Margo and Flint clash towards the latter part of the play – their differences in ethos and philosophy becoming obvious.

As the play unfolds, Margo and Flint’s desperation reaches crisis point, ultimately resulting in a tragic end. Think of a torrid cocktail of Romeo and Juliet, Greenpeace and dystopian despair and you pretty much have The Trembling Giant.

“Margo wants to save the environment where as Flint sees the world as cohesion and cohabitation,” Sallur explains.

Ultimately, Sallur was inspired by the environmental issues of resource depletion and climate change.

“What I hope people get an idea of, is that there are many different angles of social change, but it’s not as easy to solve them with one solution.

“When you explore something like deforestation, I think it’s only likely you’ll sort of explore climate change in general as a result,” he says.

“Part of the irony of Flint’s perspective on social change is he never really tries to drive it despite his desire for cohabitation.

“The more trees we destroy, the more we impact the environment and the more we push to a more extreme situation of climate change creating these eco-disasters.”

“It’s more about: this is what I think the world should be, but there are no solutions.”

The play feels like a collective personification of the characters, at times, issuing the audience a rhetorical question, being: ‘what is the most effective way to enact social change; through Margo’s steadfast, almost fanatical approach; or Flint’s unrealistic idealistic one?’.

But with the backdrop of the play being largely environmentalism and climate change, another of its angles touches base with the intricacies of fundamentalism and striving for social change.

Actor Zoe Street, who plays Margo, thinks the play has a very different reading.

“I like to be challenged when I go to the theatre, like given the new perspective that invites me to think differently on something I know,” Townsend, who plays Flint, says.

“That’s my reading of it; it is about fundamentalism, and the environment these characters are in creates a really good place for that to become apparent,” she says.

“I do believe that theatre has power; theatre can be really effective in teaching things and creating new ideas.

“I feel it relates to issues like terrorism and religious fundamentalism.

“But I think the most we can do is ask people to take away a thought or new perspective on an old topic.”

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ARTS

14.

WH E N AR T M E ETS SCI E NCE : RADICAL ECOLOGIES AND ROBOTIC ARMS Sarah Bellis The visual and audio feed was synchronised from 11am to 5pm each day. During that time, those who accessed the website (rewiredremixed.stelarc.org) were able to choreograph the movements of Stelarc’s robotic right arm, while it was live-streamed back to them. However, at PICA, a touch screen was available to configure, preview, and send choreography to the arm. Even after that fiveday period, people were still invited to control the arm that hung suspended by a spring-loaded tensioner in the gallery; however, the artist himself was no longer attached.

“I just don’t think the biological body is adequate anymore,” Stelarc said, whilst his left arm, encased in a tenkilogram robotic extension, began moving of its own accord.

“In fact, I think the body is quite obsolete.” The small crowd of journalists and VIPs laughed, seeming somewhat unsure of how to react to such a statement yet also going along with Stelarc’s own booming villainous laughter, which echoed around the small gallery room.

The spring-loaded tensioner allowed Stelarc to perform without too much physical difficulty, as the device counterbalanced the weight of the robotic arm, allowing him to continue for an indefinite amount of time. However, the challenges that come with sensory alteration had the potential to lead to other issues during the performance.

It was the first screening of Radical Ecologies, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art’s latest exhibit, featuring Curtin University’s own research fellow, Stelarc, and his new work entitled, Re-Wired / Re-Mixed: Event for Dismembered Body.

“What is going to be more disconcerting is perhaps motion sickness. When I have the goggles on and I am walking through London, or running through London, that may be a problem in terms of retaining balance,” Stelarc said.

The artist, himself, best describes the work: “It is a kind of electronic dismembering of the body, decoupling your eyes from your ears, from your arm. What you’re seeing is not what you’re hearing. What you’re doing is not what you’re intending.”

To some, the task looked easy, but they were unable to test their theory. Not only was the robotic arm engineered to fit Stelarc’s body alone, but the performance would not be the same if it were not the artist’s own body being discombobulated... So you will have to take his word for it.

Re-Wired / Re-Mixed formed part of PICA’s group exhibit, which ran until early September. In an attempt to desynchronise the senses using the internet, Stelarc’s five-day performance piece had him seeing with the eyes of London artist, Luke Robert Mason, director of Virtual Futures; and hearing with the ears of New York artist and architect, Lorin Roser.

“Even after five minutes of having [the headset] on, it is really strange when you take it off and all of a sudden your vision and hearing synchronise again,” he said.

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ARTS

15.

Stelarc’s view on art extends way beyond painting and drawing, which for him, are outmoded forms of artistic expression. Although Stelarc’s research background is in the school of design and art, he has always been interested in robotics, prosthetics, engineering and programming.

This comes as no surprise to me after learning about a previous project, in which he grew an ear on his left arm!

“The ear on my arm is partly surgically constructed and partly self-grown. The idea is to make it a remote listening device, so people in other places can actually listen in to what the ear is hearing,” he said.

In the technologically modern world, of constant surveillance, Stelarc didn’t seem too worried about broadcasting his life.

“Issues of privacy do become highlighted in a performance like this… [but] the performance is more about the physiology and psychology of the body and of its perception and movements, rather than to do with privacy,” he said.

Images: Sarah Bellis

“Nowadays we no longer perform in local spaces. We are always performing remotely, with any media device connected to the internet and so on. So, in a sense, this performance is indicative of that distribution and extension of your physical body, or biological body, into an extended electronic space of operation.”

to lie with bees, separated only by a sheet of wood. Artists, Peter and Molly explored the relationships of humans with sea-dwellers, as well as these sea creatures’ own sexual explorations. Although the Radical Ecologies exhibit is now over, those who missed it can view the live stream of Stelarc’s performance on YouTube.

Featuring fifteen very different works, the entire Radical Ecologies exhibit encouraged the questioning of relationships between our bodies, others, and the natural world. Mike Bianco’s work, Bee Bed, invited gallery visitors

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CR E ATI V E N O N FI C TI O N

16.

the edge of this crater lake. I was standing closer to the stratosphere than I ever had before; I could have been standing in it for all I knew.

The lake was devoid of the sound of lowthrottle motors. Instead, the small boats were

anchored near the shoreline, voiceless, bobbing with the rippling water. Any trace of blue that the water held was lost in the reflections of the surrounds; clouds and trees, grey and green fusing with the water to form an uninviting pool of darkness. It was probably icy cold, but I did not want to find out.

Inhale. Exhale.

I was breathing in real mountain air for the first time in almost two decades, and it was everything I imagined it would be. Everything felt fresher at this altitude, despite the lower levels of oxygen. I felt like I could breathe deeper, stand taller almost, and reach an undiscovered level of serenity. The world around me was flowing: the water rippling like ribbons, the clouds racing like rapids, the air swirling through the valley; I was finally connecting to the energy around me. It was a moment where nothing else mattered but the lake, the trees, the mountains and the clouds that were in front of me.

The lake itself was quiet for a moment, the lapping water blanketed by the voice of the wind surging over the nearby mountains. The dense wall of green on the other side of the water boasted thousands of trees, too far away to pick out individually. They seemed to form a perfect outline of the mountains they grew upon. It was a sight reminiscent of attempted artwork as a child, drawing overlapping triangles to signify mountains as if I had any idea of what real mountains looked like. Here they were almost clear cut and defined, and yet melting and blurring perfectly where nature intended it: a mix of shadows and shades of green, dulled by the summer sunlight that was struggling to shine through the overcast sky.

It was fleeting.

An eye blink later and the clamour of fellow tourists milling around me finally registered. I was stirred from my thoughts and centred to where I was, standing on a stout pier, waiting for a ferry to take me to Mount Hakone. The voices of the people rose and fell with the wind, louder and stronger, combining into a haze of garbled nonsense.

I would never know if those mountains across the lake were perfect triangles, as rolling grey clouds hid their peaks.

They were clouds that screamed rain was on the way, the kind of rain that threatened to soak you to your soul. I was mesmerised by them. Watching them rush across the sky was like watching a time lapse captured over hours and hours happening in real time, right in front of me. I was starting to realise how high up I really was, caught on

It was a meeting of two worlds: the natural, created over hundreds if not thousands of years, out of reach across the lake; and reality, taking shape in tens of people trying to take the perfect selfie before the ferry arrived. We were all destined for the same place and yet I knew we would all see this part of the world differently.

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CR E ATI V E N O N FI C TI O N

17.

ECHOES OF JAPAN Melissa Wilson

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INTERVIEW

18.

Georgia Nielsen

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INTERVIEW

19.

Georgia Nielsen takes five with SAFIA’s Ben Woolner (vocals and producer), ahead of the boys’ debut album Internal, to talk sleeping, touring and crashing on The Griswolds’ couch. studio album. “We tend to not play the songs until the studio version is finished,” Woolner confesses. Or, if they play a demo on stage, but don’t really like the sound, a studio version won’t be produced. “We wouldn’t have that kind of urge, that excitement, of making something new,” he tells me. There is one particular song on the album that SAFIA have been playing since early in their career and they did have a different, more difficult process to find the energy they felt from playing that song live, and then recording it in the studio. “It’s the kind of song that the groove and the body of it was accessible enough that people didn’t need to know it to enjoy it, so we were just trying to get that across on the album,” Woolner says.

SAFIA exploded after winning the Groovin the Moo competition in 2012, playing for their home crowd on the Canberra stage. Since then, they’ve dropped singles, an EP, national and international tours, and several songs played on regular rotation on Triple J (‘Over You’ and ‘Make Them Wheels Roll’).

When I speak to Woolner, the boys have just come home from international tours in June and July and are still on a high. “It was good, it was definitely a lot of fun,” Woolner says. “They were really fun little shows to build our audience over there.”

“We’re a pretty tame, boring band a lot of the time,” Woolner laughs when I ask him to share any interesting tour tales. It seemed there wasn’t much time for shenanigans with their hectic tour schedule in America.

“We had eight shows across the country in ten days… and we barely slept,” he says. Clearly, sleep is one of the most important things to the band because, according to Woolner, the whole tour revolved around when they could next hit the hay. He tells me it was mostly uncomfortable plane seats, but in LA they were lucky enough to crash on The Griswolds’ couch. “We didn’t really sleep, though, because you can’t sleep when you’re with those guys,” Woolner says. “They’re a lot of fun.”

Some of the band’s favourite tracks off the new album, including ‘Home’ and ‘Bye Bye’, were inspired by soundscapes and film scores. ‘Bye Bye’ came from something more visual… the visual aesthetic of the Sherlock Holmes movie – the one with Robert Downey Jnr – which Woolner says has a quirky soundtrack.

Another track to keep an eye out for is opener ‘Zion’. “It’s something we’re all pretty proud of,” Woolner tells me.

“Putting together that song was a lot of fun.”

Upon being asked about the release of Internal, Woolner says: “[We’re] very nervous and so excited for other people to hear it. It’s going to be nice to have all these songs, that have been around for so long, out in the world.” SAFIA has put out several individual singles, but Woolner says Internal is an opportunity for everyone to hear the first feature-length showcase of their unique “genre-less hybrid between electronic and live music”.

It wasn’t all performing and planes, however – there were some incredible learning opportunities, too.

Whilst in New York, the boys’ tour manager was in the process of creating a podcast series and let Woolner sit in on long, in-depth interviews with artists he used to manage, including Neon Indian. “I was basically the intern for the day, fetching sandwiches and that kind of thing,” Woolner says. The podcast series is called ‘Tour Manager’s Guide’ and you can find it on amusicblogyea. com.

“This extended length of work shows people, in a more succinct way, what we’re about,” Woolner says.

“I’m excited to play it at shows!”

We talk about how the band get around the difficulty of translating the energy of a live performance into a

Internal comes out September 9, and you can see SAFIA perform at Southbound in December. #5

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POETRY

20.

MY SUBCONSCIOUS DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOU Shelby Traynor

SLOSH’S BAR & GRILL Josh Soutar

WELCOME TO SLOSH’S BAR & GRILL WHERE WE BRING YOU THE VERY BEST HOT SAUCE AND CRAFT BEER WE HAVE DISCOVERED SINCE LAST WE MET…

there is nothing I can pull from my memory

H O T S AU C E S E L E C T I O N :

quicker than the smell of toast

This sauce is for everybody. You don’t have to have a huge tolerance for heat to experience the joy that is contained in this bottle. Richard from Melbourne Hot Sauce is on a mission to create a range of sauces that compliment every type of meal for both the chilli-fiend and the novice alike!

This BBQ sauce from Melbourne is rich, full of perfectly balanced ingredients, and has possibly the best smoky chipotle taste I have ever found. Trust me. I’m an addict.

CHIPOTLE BBQ - MELBOURNE HOT SAUCE

or the crunch of toast the sound of curved cutlery on crisp bread turned golden by red hot wire

Heat 2/10 - Flavour 9/10 www.melbournehotsauce.com

and melting butter i can’t yank that feeling of lips curving

CR AFT B EER SE LECTION: TOUCH WOOD (ELDERFLOWER & HONEY TRIPEL LIMITED EDITION) - GARAGE PROJECT

that person singing those bones weighing down hospital beds

The brewers over at Garage Project in New Zealand are almost the mad scientists of the craft beer scene, creating concoctions (elixirs even!) that simply sound, on paper, like something that can’t possibly be real. This beer is one of those magical elixirs. The malted barley gives it that Belgian tripel flavour and then the fresh elderflowers and honey create a second wave that comes rushing out of nowhere and makes you look down in shock at the glass in your hand, trying to work out what has just happened.

Refreshing, delicious and utterly unique. If you can find any of this left, try it for something completely different.

Simply magic.

so what does it say of my subconscious when all it ever really gives a shit about is toast?

10/10 (9.0% alcohol – 750 ml - $24.99) www.garageproject.co.nz FOR MORE DELECTABLE DELIGHTS FROM SLOSH'S BAR N GRILL, CHECK OUT JOSH'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/SLOSHWORKS. #5

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REVIEWS

21.

SLOSH’S BAR & GRILL - WINE AND CHEESE PLATTER Josh Soutar

OVER HERE AT SLOSH’S BAR & GRILL, WE DON’T JUST LOVE HOT SAUCE AND CRAFT BEER. WE LOVE MOVIES. We love movies that transcend the medium to become inspiring pieces of art that will resonate forever. We love the z-grade movies that are so horrendously awful, they go all the way around to becoming something special. Each time we meet, we will present you a selection from our wine & cheese platter – bringing you a fine piece of cinematic art and a z-grade disasterpiece (yes that is definitely a word!).

masterful dialogue, camera work and there are some set pieces that are absolutely astounding achievements in film.

This is a master craftsman at the top of his game and, as ‘House of The Rising Sun’ starts playing over the montage at the end and everything starts imploding in on itself, you feel almost drained by the experience. This movie is an epic journey from start to finish.

But what can possibly follow such a masterfully crafted gangster epic? Well, after a couple of weeks rotting in a shallow grave in the desert you could probably find our next film by following your nose. Ahhh there it is - a nice big chunk of Stinking Bishop cheese filling the air with the smell of rotting flesh in Eli Roth’s debut film Cabin Fever (2002). This movie is a cheesy schlock-horror masterpiece.

A group of college students camping out at one of their uncle’s cabins in the woods fall, one by one, to a flesh-eating virus that slowly rots away at them from the inside. Full of awesomely gruesome special effects that made audiences cringe on its release, this movie has a deeply dark sense of humour that lifts it above most cheesy horror films. The leg-shaving scene still makes my skin crawl … not peel and come off like hers does … but crawl nonetheless. Cabin Fever gets under your skin and festers for a while until the climax kicks it into high gear and covers everything in gore. Bloody Wonderful!

This evening we are sitting down to a high-stakes poker game with some old friends in Martin Scorsese’s epic Las Vegas gangster movie – Casino (1995). The ice is slowly melting in an overfull tumbler of scotch as we sit back in awe at Joe Pesci, who takes over the scene every time he appears on camera. You can see that Pesci is having the time of his life and absolutely relishes his role, giving the character of Nicky Santoro a growing sense of menace that is the lynch pin of the entire film. Robert De Niro delivers an almost under-stated, but perfect performance as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, given the responsibility of running a Las Vegas casino for the mob. But it is Sharon Stone’s careerdefining turn as Rothstein’s ex-hustler wife Ginger that stands out the most. She absolutely knocks this one out of the park. The movie is full of instantly classic scenes,

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WINE REVIEW

22.

FIVE- DO LL AR WI N E CR ITIC Chloe Macri

B E S T O F B I N E N D S C A B S AU V 2 0 1 5 Best of Bin Ends Cab Sauv 2015 is a budget winner from the relatively unknown Fame Estate Winery (if google hasn’t heard of it, then neither have I). It is a sweet, buttery and mellow drop that goes down like a fat kid on a seesaw. The spicy oak used for this palatable delight gives it some much needed fire and adds just enough bite to keep it real. Olfactoryly (no, this isn’t a word), this wine has sweet berry-like notes reminiscent of a mid-summers day.

This is a cab sauv that doesn’t have the brutality of some of the others around the traps, which are typically consumed by old, well-off individuals whom keep us out of the housing market (#controversial #politicalstatement).

Mildly chewy tannins and a short, but satisfying finish in the mouthfeel department help tick the imaginary boxes. No need to worry about pursing your lips with this one – it’s easily managed even for those who aren’t well-acquainted with a good red (or even a bad one).

Despite the label’s instructions to enjoy over a roast lamb with friends/family, I found it just fine to enjoy sad and alone with no food. At my local bottle-o, this drank retails for $6 a pop, which, at 14% alcohol when factoring in its drankability, is better value than any offers you’re gonna be getting on Tinder any time soon.

I award this wine 4.5 out of 5, well done.

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FOOD REVIEW

23.

PLE AS E D TO M E ET YOU

Address: 38 Roe St, Northbridge WA 6003

Chloe Macri

FOR: Any time of the day or night when, in the company of yourself or others, you want to eat all the things, including a two-dessert finish.

carried away and it adds up super quick when you want to try literally everything.

If you are a hip and trendy, youngish uni student, with bulk coolness and many friends, then you need to get yourself down to Pleased To Meet You in Northbridge. I went there for a small meal one night and ended up eating everything.

PTMY is really, really cool. It takes walk-ins and does get quite busy at night, but it’s easy to see why. You could easily go there with literally anyone. Close friends, long lost friends, enemies, little siblings, significant others, your boss… it wouldn’t be weird, the food is just too good.

My personal faves are the beef tongue ruben bao and all of their sweets. Don’t be skipping out on dessert here – that would be a bad idea. Nothing says ‘FOMO’ like not picking the S‘mores, which is like a party in your mouth and is different to whatever you’d expect it to be. If they have the fried custard on the menu, you should also get that. I promise you, two desserts are better than one in this case (and all cases, really).

Set out like a cross between a busy mess hall and the inside of a food truck, PTMY is fun and loud, as well as being cosy and intimate at the same time. Run by the same legends who have brought us La Cholita and Sneaky Tony’s, it’s pretty much a given that the bar will always be fully stocked and the small share plates will be tantalisingly delicious.

OK so we’re talking Central and South American food with a twist. Think watermelon salad, fried bread and salsa, suckling pig and ice cream nachos, all on the same menu.

Could be a disaster, but it works a treat. The flavour-packed share dishes are great because it means you can get one of everything (or something like that). Beware though, these share dishes are both a blessing and a curse; it’s easy to get

I can guarantee that you’ll have a good time here. Just promise me you’ll bring your A-game appetite and get two desserts.

Rates 9 out of 10 ice cream nachos.

images (L-R): www.dimmi.com.au / www.yelp.com.au #5

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REVIEWS

24.

ALBUM:

ALBUM:

JACK CARTY - HOME STATE

MONTAIGNE - GLORIOUS HEIGHTS

Tom O’Reilly

Georgia Nielsen

In this era of fuzz pedals and the race to the bottom, it’s easy to forget there are other genres of music to be explored. The singer-songwriter isn’t dead – he’s just really homesick. I’ve spent the past forty-ish minutes hearing all about it.

FINALLY Montaigne has blessed us with her first feature leng th album, Glorious Heights. The ethereal, art-pop sensation has supported huge Australian artists like San Cisco, Washing ton, and Boy & Bear over her four-year career. She also featured on Hilltop Hoods’ ‘1955’, which peaked at number two on the Australian music charts.

With his album Home State – released in early August – Sydney-based musician Jack Carty has made a fine example of what can be done with a guitar, some other instruments and a whole lot of feeling. When I saw his name I wondered if he was Irish. I don’t think he is, but he and his guitar would fit right in the corner of a dark pub somewhere in Dublin.

Montaigne has spent the past eighteen months or so dedicated to writing and producing this masterpiece.

From an artist who’s been on the scene a few years now, with collaborations and a killer EP under her belt, Glorious Heights is an exemplar y launch.

Over thirteen tracks she playfully demonstrates her developed lyrical range with poppy, energetic beats, even through the heavier songs. The lyrics in ‘Lonely’ (“I tr y and keep away from things destructive/I cannot seem to get away”) are easily masked by the fast tempo and her magnetic voice.

Opening track and first single ‘All At Once’ is a fitting introduction to Carty with it’s pulsing verses and wall of sound chorus. It belies the subtly and musicianship that reveals itself over the course of the album. At times, Carty does tiptoe the line of over-the-top melodrama.

Aside from the second track, ‘In The Dark’, where the lyrics sound like “I am a turducken, I’m getting cold” (it’s actually “I am in the dark and I’m digging down”), the rest of the album is pretty exhilarating. If you do get a chance to download the album, stay tuned for the surprise at the end…

As we move into the second half of the album, the music starts to open up and Carty shows his prowess across the range of instruments he can apparently play. It’s a big sound replete with beautiful guitar tones, particularly impressive for a home recording job. Through it all shines Carty’s warm voice, easing you into the messages of love and longing spattered through the album. I listened to this at home and still found myself wanting to call Mum by the end. Thanks Jack.

Glorious Heights is available now, or you can go see Montaigne perform at Jack Rabbit Slim’s in September, and Southbound in December 2016.

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REVIEWS

25.

seventies (see The Nice Guys for a more recent film that nails the era) – and the architecture is a bit modern for its time. Speaking of the architecture, there are no straight lines in the high-rise until you get to the top floor, achieved through both framing and set design. It falls flat in creating the haunted house feel.

FILM:

HIGH-RISE

This is the only trick Wheatley’s using to create a sense of eeriness and it fails to deliver, as does his only attempt to use the building as a presence, as a character, a la The Shining (1980).

He borrows a few other things from The Shining and other Kubrick classics and they are easy to spot. That’s the problem.

He borrows. He doesn’t steal. When you steal, you make it your own and imbue your voice and style – Ol’ Ben and Amy haven’t found theirs yet.

Jesse Stuart Keddie

I’m povo asf so I never give up the opportunity to see a movie for free. When our ed. offered me two tickets to a flick

at Luna Leederville, I jumped at the chance. That flick was an imagining of J.G Ballard’s (Crash, 1996, Cronenberg) High-Rise.

This borrowing carries all the way through the film. A bit of A Clockwork Orange (1971) here, a bit of Barry Lyndon (1975) there, and a dash of Seconds (1966). Throw in some Nicolas Roeg (Wake in Fright, 1971) for good measure and work it out in the edit. It doesn’t work. The film doesn’t know what it wants to be and leans too heavily on ‘the monsters under the mask’ metaphor, which is beaten to death throughout. It feels as though Wheatley had the first act in his head and the rest is just a music video. This happens, then that happens, then this happens and the end. It is all a bit predictable and lazy.

Tom Hiddleston (Midnight in Paris, 2011), Jeremy Irons (Kafka, 1991), Sienna Miller (Stardust, 2007), Luke Evans (Immortals, 2011) Elisabeth Moss (Girl Interrupted, 1999) get top billing.

High-Rise is the name and High-Rise is the story. People living in a high-rise out in the projects in the 1970s, right before capitalism came to purge us all of our hopes and dreams. That’s about it. That’s the over-arching metaphor. Move along.

Tom Hiddleston moves into an already established community – jumping into the thick of an existing story, complete with established relationships. It’s the beginning of his story, however, and in that way he becomes the voice of the viewer. Lucky he gets naked or I would have nodded off. From here, a story about the monster of mankind, the have’s and have not’s, sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll unfolds. A teenage boys’ wet dream.

The characters don’t earn their insights, their dialogue, or their epiphanies. They aren’t fleshed out enough to warrant this and they’re certainly not believable. It plays out like a high-schoolboy’s-gore-porn-video-game rather than a well thought-out, paced, and engrossing film.

Wheately is not yet mature enough as a filmmaker to do the story justice. Instead, he’s just cherry-picked the best bits, hoping the audience won’t see the insecure filmmaker behind the curtain who faked it until he made it.

I went to the film naked, without any knowledge of who the writer/director or the filmmakers were. Then I promptly put my clothes back on and entered the cinema. As my girlfriend and I sat down she informed me that husband and wife team Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump were responsible for this hodge-podge adaption of Ballard’s classic.

If you’re a fan of this style of storytelling (Fantastic Four, Avengers, Prometheus, Avatar, Jurassic World) you’ll love it. If you aren’t...it’s a bit ho-hum. You may be cursing that you’ll never get the two hours back.

The acting is fine, the production design and costuming is okay – it is pretending to be the seventies instead of actually being the

For that reason I give it 3.5 naked Tom Hiddleston’s and 1.5 JK’s. #5

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