If you were to call the National Gallery of Victoria a large, expensive, State-funded #cockfest, you couldn’t be called out as a vicious, attack dog, tall poppy trimming, black widow spider of a whining woman. You could more reasonably describe yourself as a social realist. The State of Victoria is formed from land stolen from […]
July
20
Me and Morry: My Pretend Affair with a Publishing Legend
posted by Natalie Thomas
I’m having an affair with Morry Schwartz. A Pretend Affair. The project explores the tenuous links, the under-explored nether regions that straddle conceptual art and stalking. Part of a trilogy about power, this third, and final instalment follows previous stalking operations performed on Maurizio Cattelan 1999, and Jacques Derrida 1998. I call the work The […]
July
05
Politics: It’s child’s play
posted by Natalie Thomas
It’s a great job explaining politics to your kid and, in turn, having your kid explain politics to you. Maxine has just turned 12 and is showing an increasing interest in politics this election. She’s highly opinionated; once her mind is made up, she’s difficult to sway. Stubborn even. In general terms, Maxine believes that […]
June
15
New Kids On The Block: Next Wave Festival
posted by Natalie Thomas
Watching Orlando (1992), directed by Sally Potter, on Netflix. Quentin Crisp playing Queen Elizabeth I, all done up in her Sunday best, says to Tilda Swinton, playing the young man Orlando: ‘Come. Your handsome leg. For you and for your heirs Orlando, a house. But on one condition. Do not fade. Do not wither. Do […]
May
20
Art Words: Melbourne Art Book Fair
posted by Natalie Thomas
Maxine told me on New Year’s Day that I need a new hobby. Other than art: “Look”, she said: “I like art too Mum, it’s just that I don’t feel like I need to talk about it allllll day.” Heeding the advice of the child and knowing she knows me better than I know myself, […]
May
03
Controversy Sells: The Representation of Girls and Women in Art and Culture
posted by Natalie Thomas
In an art world overflowing with unhealthy relationships, the old guy photographer and the hot, young, eager, barely legal female model is a tried and tested formula. It’s a look that ain’t going out of style yet. The photographer can always find an audience, a market, a home, a collection, a retrospective, a publisher for […]
April
04
20th Biennale of Sydney
posted by Natalie Thomas
Melbourne had a Biennale once, back in 1999, before you were born. Curator Julianna Engberg called it Signs of Life. But it died. Reputedly went three times over budget it did and Melbourne University (who had underwritten it) decided they weren’t rich enough to go into the red for culture, so they canned it. A […]
March
11
Fashion vs. Feminism:
posted by Natalie Thomas
The Politics of the representation of women in Museums and Art Galleries. I’m in a dream. I’m Carrie Bradshaw from an episode of Sex and the City. Due to popular demand, me and my galpals are back. This time we’re older, richer and somehow whiter. As Carrie, I’m a writer with strong circulation, trying to […]
March
05
Former Babe: Reflections on my brief career as a Teenage Model
posted by Natalie Thomas
Have I told you about my brief career as a teenage model? When I was fifteen, my physicality meant a whole lot to the people I knew. They’d make well intentioned, but insensitive statements to me. Observations often posed as questions; questions with no answers. Something like: ‘You have very big white teeth, don’t you?’ […]
February
23
Selfie Shite Night
posted by Natalie Thomas
I like a brightly coloured, shiny diversion from reality as much as the next person. But White Night Melbourne joins a global trend of governments corroding away democracy, while simultaneously presenting increasingly populist cultural programmes. White Night started in Russia, there’s one in Paris and Canada and in Tel Aviv. Cities presenting major events that […]
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