You don't ask why, you ask what for.

This was advice a friend recently gave me, to which I barked back 'Aren't they the same thing?!'

Apparently not. And I kind of get it. Like when I think about my very first job out of uni. It was this awful place that did tax for smelly backpackers. A place that made me tense up in dread every morning when my alarm went off. On my very first day, my boss threw a bottle of water at my head and snarled 'Wake up.' I must have been dozing off when being taught utterly boring tasks that have never served me in my life since. It wasn't a good first day, and it didn't improve much for the whole three months I was there. From getting in trouble for the clothes I wore (too much colour - who would've thought backpackers had an aversion to bright, shiny things?) to being watched like a hawk and dealing with some of the most ridiculous people I'd ever met (this one guy put down his occupation as broccoli - I just thought he was making his shopping list when he asked me how to spell it) I asked, pretty much every day, why? And I could never think of a good answer.

So, change it slightly to what for? And I think of the small amount of time I got to work at our Bondi office with Rick, listen to triple j, help pack magazines, talk about magazines, what bands he'd interviewed and how much 'love my way' rocked our worlds I guess I have my answer.

Recently Rick was down old Sydney town way and put on an exhibition called The Keg Show at amBush gallery. Local artists were given beer kegs and got to work on painting, felting, wall-papering them. I walked through the hanging kegs while some heavy metal blared in the background and felt a new appreciation for all things blokey and Australian. There was a fair share of oestrogen at the show though, like this really cute Cathering Campbell keg with bunny rabbits completely covering it.



This one was so special my friend Katy needed to take it home! (Needless to say, her husband was impressed that the keg not only serves as a lovely sculpture, but is also fully functional in the way a keg should be). And the cash went straight to unicef - how could she resist?

Beer and art; who woulda thought? Nice one Rick.

cactus
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DisBand

Last night I went to the opening of DisBand. LeeLoo, the curators of Disband, say the exhibition was inspired by the 40th anniversary since the break-up of The Beatles, the theme of the exhibition was the end of relationships, be they romantic or otherwise.

Albeit pouring with rain and a trek out to amBUSH Gallery in Green Square - I was so happy to have made the effort. On arrival, I felt like I'd walked into a different world. From the warehouse/gallery space of high ceilings to the white walls and the wrought iron heaters that glowed orange, I was welcomed into a little space of intimacy where nostalgia ruled and broken hearts were left un-mended.

There were also instillations of well-worn lounge room furniture. The detail was key, right down to the little notepad beside the phone that read 'Tell your girlfriend NOT to call here anymore.'

I got quite caught up in the works that held innate sadness coupled with contemporary beauty. Even though it probably wouldn't have been aesthetically pleasing (due to sizes of works etc) I was sort of wishing that the works would have been grouped according to artist, the story-teller in me wanting to read the narratives that the pieces were trying to show me.

Still, that is a small grapple for what was an extremely stunning exhibition. Overall DisBand had a lovely vibe, great wine, a cute bar tender and extremely stunning pieces of art. I think my favourite was an illo of a girl sitting cross legged with arrows through her back; haunting and a bit dark but enchanting all at once.

I highly recommend you take the journey and discover DisBand.

artfully yours,
cactus
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