FEAST OR FAMINE

Kaleidoscope: The Way of Woman and Other Essays (1992) is a collection of essays covering the writing of Helen Luke (1904-1995) from 1962 to 1992. It is an examination of women from multiple perspectives, from history, myths, legends, movies, stories, poems, musical compositions, and novels, collated into three sections: (1) The Way of Woman, (2) The Way of Discrimination, and (3) The Way of Story. Some of the women mentioned include Persephone, Eowyn, Dindrane, Guinevere, Joan of Arc, Brunhilde, and Gutrune. The first section, The Way of Woman, explores a myriad of themes: equality vs difference; mother-son experience; father-daughter experience; feminist freedom vs misuse of freedom; being protected vs protective; loss of youth; ought to vs should do; being seen vs being heard; individualism vs collective consciousness; relating to others of the same sex; virgin vs whore; women priests as brides of Christ vs blood of Christ, and the cat archetype. For example, in he

Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s Storytellers of the Town, exhibited at Drill Hall Gallery in Canberra, Australia, represents three decades of her work. She exhibits prints and graphics, but primarily this showcases her video works. She draws on her social background from northern and northeastern Thailand, where she has received several prizes for her artwork. The early prints exhibited in Canberra show a solitary flower in a barren field, called In Life in the Landscape (1980), and a print series, called Lao Duang Duan Goes Astray (1992), of squares with black reverse printing of Thai text. The video The Class I (2005) is an eerie production with the artist lecturing corpses (under sheets) lying on the floor while she paces in front of a blackboard with the word DEATH on it. This is one of her iconic works. In Great Times Message Storytellers of the Town, The Insane (2006), three black and white videos are playing simultaneously in which a woman sits on a chair and

  Do people really buy stuff when they are flying on international flights? Maybe they will wait until they get to their destination – especially if it’s a holiday location. But people do spend money on flights - a lot actually.   Qantas, the Australian airline, records nearly 350,000 duty free shopping transactions a year (Canberra Times, July 25, 2014). The most popular items are (in order): polarised wire-frame sunglasses, global power adaptors, vodka, other alcohol, travel photo lens sets, lip balm, and macadamia chocolates. GuestLogix analyzed more than eight million transactions on five North American airlines and found passengers spent more money on alcohol than any other inflight purchase. But most were onboard consumption, rather than duty free, because on American flights passengers purchase their own food and drinks. A third (33%) of the alcohol sales were spirits, followed by wine (13%) and beer (10%). The alcohol sales totalled $40 million in just f

If you want to return to your childhood, go to Bob Graham’s retrospective exhibition, A Bird in the Hand. Graham (1942-), Australian artist now living in England, is a well-known author and illustrator of children’s books. The exhibition, held in the Canberra Museum and Gallery, comprises an historical account of the development of his books and illustrations. It goes way back to his childhood, his inspirations, and his student days at art school, to his studio and the creation of his many books.   The strong threads through the exhibition are Graham’s family, pets, friends, and community. There are sketches and drawings, and cardboard cut-outs, and works half-finished, and books of notes. There is even a full-scale replica of his studio office, with trestle table/desk, pencils, stickie-notes, and scraps of paper. The desk light is on, as if he has just left to get something. And then, with a wander around the exhibition, you can read his thoughts and see his ins