Son of Science and "HeadLock" by Andrew Garton

Music has almost always been a vital part in the creation of most of my artworks. As has written words, e.g., poetry / haiku (a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third).

… my brother Andrew, mentioned that his first music/CD Son of Science was inspired by the author and essayist, Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker, written in 1937.

Son of Science

I spent many hours listening to this CD whilst working on this piece. But, it was always the last track on this 10 tracks CD that helped me to knit all the elements together. Dare I add that when I finished working on this, I was startled (in a good way), of the end result, and heard the voice of Wassily Kandinsky, “Form itself, even if completely abstract ... has its own inner sound”.

This artwork is another piece inspired by the music from an album (by my brother Andrew) with the same title, Headlock. It’s actually the fourth track and is 8 minutes, 19 seconds long. The rhythms and pace of this music have all influenced this work. Similar to how I pursue my artworks, I prefer to play in the present and address the sounds I hear until they make sense to me.

As I work, music is my constant companion.

Click on links below to view Andrew’s available music online and website.

Gotta Love Pencils and Girlie Grub

I have always loved pencils. Addicted more to the point. Then my other creative sister Annette White surprises me with her illustrated pencil book with attitude, wisdom and just plain fun. Yes, wrote and illustrated this little beauty.

Annette also is the creator of her Girlie Grub series. These books are meant to be read to small children by adults (also to be enjoyed by adults, the young at heart). It tells the story of Girlie, a curious young grub, and her Grub family.

Cover of Girlie Grub and the Family - Book #2

Book 1: Girlie Grub Goes to Bali.

Book 2: Girlie Grub and the Grub Family go to Australia.

Book 3: Girlie Grub Goes to New Zealand, and 4 &5.

Check out Annette’s website GirlieGrub.com to see all books available and some neat merchandise.

Let me indulge myself here and introduce you to my other creative siblings, Grace Garton and Andrew Garton.

That’s one weird family. All brains filled with stuff. How do they do it? NOW, feed me Pleeeease.

Tasmanian Artist Grace Garton

Artisan Grace Garton specializes in soft-sculpture art-dolls, mixed media paintings, watercolor, collage and oh, she's my multi-talented sister. Below is just a small example of her work. Also, the first three imaged are artworks that were featured at the Soggy Brolly, her first solo exhibition on the West Coast of Tasmania, titled: Chapter 1, Not all Roses and Berries. This exhibition showed off her skill investigating a wonderful series of paper collage, paintings and sculptural forms of whimsical birds.

“Black Cockatoos Over Hollywood Street” - SOLD

“Trees Of Rosebery”

Sculptural Forms of Whimsical Birds - Shy Pink Robins, Dove, Little Blue Wren, Miss Gold Finch and Miss Silver Eye.

Riding The Fox's Tail - SOLD

“Twins” - “Dumb Head” - “Oscar with Cat” and “Golden Hare”

Seven Ravens - NFS

“Windy Day” mixed media original artwork.

Grace’s artworks are very sensitive and is infused with a sensibility towards nostalgia. Simply she’s an emotive, storyteller, even though melancholy exists one senses her seeking for beauty that exists in everyday life. Life is fragile, precious and to be enjoyed.

Grace has been represented by >> Despard Gallery << since 2018.

And Grace’s website: Grace Garton.com and her store >> HERE

Sheeesh, the Garton clan are quite a talented bunch.

NOW, where’s my treats you promised?

PORTRAIT IN A LANDSCAPE

Not sure why but have always wanted to create an artwork with this title. Below, using the method of digital pointillism are five images I created to complete this work. By squinting you can make out a portrait within the colours, except for #5. There are actually five portraits of the same sitter in this landscape.

The actual finished “Portrait in a Landscape” is the work on the right-hand side or as seen below #5. Colours were specially chosen to represent the sitter. Why sooo complicated Shane? Next question…who is the sitter? This shall remain a mystery.

Study for a Portrait in a Landscape

1st study of a portrait in a landscape.

2nd study of a portrait in a landscape.

3rd study of a portrait in a landscape.

4th study of a portrait in a landscape.

“Portrait in a Landscape” - Final artwork.

So, who is this mystery sitter. Will he do another portrait? Personally, I don’t care… still waiting for my treats you promised.

The Sound of Silence – Disturbed – PLUS LYRICS

I DARE you to turn up the sound and if this version of this iconic song does not give you chills…. your dead.

Source YouTube: https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4

Lyrics: - “The Sound of Silence”

Hello, darkness, my old friend

I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath the halo of a street lamp

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

People writing songs that voices never share

And no one dare

Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, ""You do not know

Silence, like a cancer, grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

Take my arms that I might reach you""

But my words like silent raindrops fell

And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said

"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls

And whispered in the sound

Of silence"

NAIDOC WEEK 2021

NAIDOC Week 2021 will be held from Sunday 4 July to Sunday 11 July. This year’s theme – Heal Country!

Lets begin with, history, truth telling, and the importance of the Uluru statement.

ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART

We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown. How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years. With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood. Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future. These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness. We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination. We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history. In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

NAIDOC Week 2021 - Digital Artwork by SG

ASYLUM OF THE BIRDS – ROGER BALLEN ARTIST, PHOTOGRAPHER

WARNING… some images maybe disturbing.

Roger Ballen is best recognized for his photography, although his artistic output goes much beyond that. He is a fantastic filmmaker and installation designer. Still, photography is his real passion.

Saw exhibition of Ballen’s twice when shown at the Museum of Old and New Art - 7 DECEMBER 2013–28 JULY 2014. Visited MONA fifteen plus times since they’ve opened and this exhibition was one of my favorite shows. Also, The Museum of Everything was also very memorable.

Roger Ballen is what you'd call a 'wound opener'.

Source: YouTube - Roger Ballen's Asylum of the Birds (full film)

To mark the publication of his long-awaited new monograph Asylum of the Birds, photographer Roger Ballen, with director Ben Crossman, has produced this psychologically powerful, unforgettable film that follows Roger into a world synonymous with his photographs, as never before seen on film.

My purpose in taking photographs over the past forty years has ultimately been about defining myself. It has been fundamentally a psychological and existential journey.

His images have a very powerful visual undercurrent of psychological darkness through chaotic layers of objects, figures, and the constant presence of birds.

Written and Supervised by Roger Ballen
Directed/Filmed/Edited: Ben Jay Crossman
Artistic Director: Marguerite Rossouw
Sound Recording: Wilma Bees Sound Design/
Final Mix: Darryl Torr & Stefan Durant from Open Room Production

A special thanks for the inhabitants of the Asylum of the Birds House

In the video below Roger Ballen discusses the series Asylum of the Birds, in this interview from Paris Photo 2014. Interview of Roger Ballen for the 2013 FNB Johannesburg Art Fair.

Again WARNING… some images in this video maybe disturbing.

Source: YouTube - Roger Ballen Interview for FNB Johannesburg Art Fair 2013

More information about the book: http://www.asylumofthebirds.com/

“I’ve been doing photography, one way or another, since the late 1960s. My mother worked at Magnum and started one of the first photo galleries in the United States. So, I got to know some of the most famous photographers as a young boy, from Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt and many others. I’ve been involved in this quite intricately. It’s been a passion and obsession for me since my teens. It’s been a part of my life. It’s been hard work, dedication, and frustration, like anything else.”

You’ve got to be committed and work hard. You’ve got to feel passionate. You can’t expect instant success; it’s a lifelong process. It’s not likely to happen for you overnight.

Roger Ballen Foundation <<<

Roger Ballen’s WEBSITE <<< and >>> see more Videos and Films

Video Source YouTube: https://youtu.be/Mv-E6S51VCo and https://youtu.be/2umQ7BSCZzQ