“Installation Art Or Just Another Traffic Hazard” – REFLECTIONS ON A WEEK OR TWO IN SYDNEY!
Love it or hate it nobody can deny that Sydney is an interesting place and in any one week or two there is always something new and intriguing to rant about.
Take for instance the major traffic snarl on the M7 last Tuesday week following a major two truck pileup. Nothing new for Sydney, with the usual traffic chaos ensuing and fortunately no serious injuries to the two drivers involved. What stood this incident apart however was the fact that one of the trucks was carrying hundreds of pig carcasses which were strewn across the road in a scene of stomach churning carnage (enough to put you off pork for life!). It was almost as if some radical European conceptual artist like Hermann Nitsch had been let loose for the day to create a visual metaphor of man’s inhumanity to beast or indeed the human massacres that we still deal with on a daily basis. It would of course be stretching it to ridiculous lengths to suggest that the entire M7 episode was a prearranged publicity stunt to promote this year’s Sydney’s Biennale but don’t be surprised if one of the oil soaked pig cadaver’s turns up on Cockatoo Island with the caption “This Is Art”.
Secondly we couldn’t help ourselves and just had to inspect the over the top infrastructure assembled for the $11 million production of La Traviata on the shores of Sydney Harbour. It would first appear that no expense has been sparred to convert this iconic and picturesque site into a haven for al fresco opera lovers with cosy bar areas and artistically decorated loos. The somewhat spartan plastic seating however has certainly come in for its share of criticism, particular from lard-arsed Verdi lovers more accustomed to the padded bum friendly seating at the Sydney Opera House. Whether deep vein thrombosis can affect the posterior region remains to be seen but if medics suddenly pour in during the third act of La Trav you’ll know just what is happening!
Thirdly it seems Sydney has finally warmed to the invasion of sulphur crested cockatoos by actually recognising the personalities of individual birds and enlisting the help of the general public to track their movement. Like their fellow scavengers the ibis, selected cockies have been tagged with easily recogniseable numbers and we now have a good idea of their movements in any one day. One particular feathered rascal, given the name “Party Boy”, flies regularly between the Botanic Gardens and Sydney’s North Shore with regular sightings in Kirribilli and Mosman. Another twenty six birds have also been tagged and might we suggest some of the following names if the relevant authorities are listening – Jean Cocteau, Polly The Parrot (an obvious reference to Alan Jones), Cockie Monster, Ron Jeremy, Barry O’Farrell, Lord Lucan, Pamela Anderson and Richard Dawkins. We aren’t great fans of Facebook but if you really want you can track the movements of your favourite cockie go to Facebook.com/cockatoowingtags.
THE HIT LIST: Tango Saloon are one of this city’s most innovative and musically worldly combos drawing on a treasure trove of hip global styles. This coming Saturday 14 April at the Factory Floor at the Factory in Marrickville they launch their new album Shadows & Fog for Romero Records along with Miss Little and Brian Campeau. Following in the dark footsteps of their previous album Transylvania, Tango’s new offering is something of a film noir score, conjuring images of figures lurking in the shadows, a midnight rendezvous and a heist gone bad. The album features ten of Australia’s finest instrumentalists, plus special guest vocalist Elana Stone on the stunning first single Femme Fatale.
