Scattered...

Initially I struggled with choosing between the three options for this project, but after grasping for inspiration for a few weeks I settled on option 3.

Originally my exhibition was going to be an exploration of the contrast between holidays and real life. What it means to visit somewhere and what it means to belong there. However as I began to collect photographs from my intrepid friends for the vacation section, my vision of the concept began to evolve. All these photographs from all over the world, of famous and not so famous locations, got me thinking about the experience of discovery, of the backpacker, an individual who is constantly travelling and embodies the idea that the journey is more important than the destination.

The photographs used were selected from a pool of approximately 100 images, all taken by friends of mine who have lived this exploration experience. They were chosen not necessarily for their beauty or compositional skill, but for their location. The photographs vary from postcard-ready images to typical holiday snaps, to candid and sometimes intimate moments. This also was a conscious decision. I wanted to really infuse the exhibition with this sense of variety - of moments and locations. The aim being that the themes of vastness and exploration would contrast comfortably with the suggestion that the world is not so big after all, and that we all share a connection. The concern was then how this amalgam of diversity and connection could best be represented visually.

Flickr was the ideal medium for this. Not only was I able to show all the images side by side as thumbnails, almost like one big image, hinting at the idea of connection and linking, I could also make use of the map tagging function to show physically where these photographs were taken to capture the contrasting vastness of it all.

The order of the photographs derived chiefly from contrasting their locations with the photograph before and after. I tried to organise them so that the viewer felt as though they were jumping all over the world, from Cambodia to Mexico to Greece to Holland to Scotland to New Zealand etc etc. This is where the name Scattered came from, and the idea that while these people are spread out all over the world they all have the same spirit at heart.

Awwww...

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

So cute!

Talent

Watch this. Insane.

Jinx.

Well isn't this ironic. Last time I posted I spoke metaphorically about the flood gates of inspiration opening. Well yesterday the flood gates literally opened and my building was flooded. Well technically it was the fire sprinklers which were set off when someone shook a doona in front of it, but regardless my house was flooded and now smells like a urinal.

Luckily my computer wasn't damaged but the power has only just come back on so I haven't been able to access any of my work. Awesome thing to happen when you have multiple assginments due in 3 days.

These photos were taken over an hour after the event, and alot of the water had been removed and sucked up. Can you imagine how it was before then?

It was a friggin swamp. I'm anticipating an isolated outbreak of malaria any moment.

I'm off to install a heavy duty air freshener in the hallway.

Metaphorically speaking.

I am drowning in a sea of work. The stupid thing is that I know how to swim. I just don't.

I had a great image to illustrate this point, carrying on the symbolism theme but I just discovered that it is all rights reserved. Which I now know means I cannot use it. I am learning.

Moving on from wanky self indulgent attempts at poetics, I have finally come up with a concept for my production project. My lack of direction and motivation in this area is the reason for my silence on here so as the flood gates of inspiration have opened my blog posts will now flow forth in abundance. And there is that poorly constructed imagery again. I will refrain.

I have chosen option 2, which I suspect I am not alone in. The medium, like so many others, is photography. The exhibition will be a collection of holiday photographs - people enjoying famous destinations all over the world - juxtaposed with photographs of people dealing with negative issues in these regions. For example; a photograph of sunny, idyllic Naples, followed by a snap of the streets that are lined with thousands of bags of rotting garbage as a result of the waste crisis. It will be presented on flickr so that I can make use of geotagging. I'm going to try and do as many destinations as possible. The aim isn't to be depressing or negative but to highlight the notion that we all have our problems, and though some place might seem like paradise from an outsider's perspective, we should appreciate that everywhere has it's issues. I want the theme to be more about solidarity than anything else.

Don't judge me - work in progress and all that.

On a more exciting and interesting note MGMT have moved their Sydney concert to a larger venue. This means more tickets which means I can go which means I will no longer be depressed to the point of sobbing when I hear one of their songs because I missed out on tickets. Oh happy happy day.

Splendour in the Grass

OK I know I said that I would post tomorrow on Monday but I was tired. And Sick. And lazy. Back off.

So now a few highlights from Splendour just like I promised...

First band of the fest was Bluejuice. They were Cra-zy. Jake, one of the lead singers (yes they have more than one), had a broken wrist and a broken leg but he still managed to chuck himself all over the Mix Up stage, whipping the sizable crowd into a frenzy. The only time he seemed to stop moving was when he paused so that I could take this picture. I was pretty shocked when he noticed me taking it and actually looked at the camera. Makes for a good memento.

Other Day One golden moments included the shouty, explosive Cold War Kids, and the insane Polyphonic Spree. 24 people in that band! A choir, string section, horn section, a harp! They even had a costume change! By the end of the set I wanted to be in that band, its like a cult. And I think the rest of the audience felt the same way. Here's some friends I made during the set-

Day two dawned with the same glorious weather that we had been experiencing all week. Stand-outs of the day included British India, The Panics and The Vines. Vampire Weekend were top notch in their first ever Australian performance. Completely living up to the hype, their "Upper-East Side Soweto" was delivered with enthusiasm and what seemed like more than a little surprise at the reception. The vocal crowd knew all the words. The Wombats had the Supertop packed out, belting out their infectious pop rock, leaving me hoarse from singing and physically wrecked from the brutal mosh pit. The most energetic set of the festival methinks.

Sigur Ros was a band I was desperate to see, and they definitely did not disappoint.

An atmospheric, epic, blissful, wall of sound filled the Supertop. Hard to describe the feeling actually. I was going to post some video that I took on my digital camera of their set but it wouldn't load. I'll try loading it again later.

So once Sigur Ros' set, which was a bit of a religious experience, came to an end, myself and about three thousand others headed for the Presets. I could not even get in the tent it was so packed, lucky I have seen them before, as for me The Presets at Splendour were just a ball of pretty light -

But that didn't stop us late comers enjoying ourselves.There was certainly a feeling of solidarity in they air. It felt as though everyone at Belongil Fields was singing when they played "My People".

And that was it. When the Presets wrapped, my mates and I rounded up and dragged our weary bodies back to base camp for a few hours sleep before we left for Canberra early the next day.

Seriously though - Best. Weekend. Ever.

zzzzzzzzzz

Just got back from Splendour. It's 11pm. Left Byron at 7.30am. Will write how awesome it was tomorrow and post some pics. Sleep now.

P.S Its sad how much we all missed the internet. Sad and scary.