Art and Street

Lots of the Brunny Street kids out the front of the gallery for Friday night’s opening. Design and Art schools pumping out a great number of these young hipsters—as befits us as one of the global Design meccas now. In the narrow passageway to the galleries proper upstairs Marcel Reluctant hung a quiet little show that had lots of force and stopping-power. Inside the door a pair of paintings of striking blackfellas shoulder to shoulder, their twisted, squinting eyes and firm jaws an exclamation of authority. The common saying of the Aboriginals out in the bush that was behind the two pairs of images isn’t well known in the cities. The blackfellas with their pals out there apparently commonly say:

         — Four of us, but one soul.

         The other paintings along that wall drew in a viewer too. Underneath the stairs an assemblage of Western Suburbs Workers sculptures set one pondering. The smallest piece, constructed of bearings and other iron, made a nicely symbolic fist, clutching a spear rather than hammer. (Almost archaeological in this town now.)

         Well worth a look. Brunswick Street Gallery, opposite Bar Open and Mario’s. Until 17 March.

         A pit-stop on the walk up from town had an appearance from the Gippslander. Kath the waitress was fond of the Gippslander too and the pair of us quizzed him about Phil, another beggar doing that hill there on Bourke. For some reason we all agreed on Phil’s unfortunate manner. The Gippslander has seen him operate extensively. What he didn’t like about Phil was his lack of ethics. Phil commonly targeted the elderly. One day Phil was watched by the Gippslander tracking an old woman bent over her walking stick. Not only did Phil make a bee-line for the old dear, but when he reached her he bent down and got into her face. Normally Phil’s ask was a dollar. If he managed to stop someone he ups the ante and offers change if that was the fob-off.
         What the Gippslander also did n’t like was Phil’s pestering of people with children.

         — You don’t do that, Gippslander holds sternly, shaking his head.

         Before 6 that morning the Gippslander was moved on from his dark corner in the Parking lot across the road, the Security guard apparently concerned about the Early Birders. Makes it hard.