11 thoughts on “exhibition”

1. David May 16, 2006 at 12:08 am

   So, Lucas, with the ‘sham almost at an end, are there things that you just absolutely haven’t been able to do/buy within the boundaries of your suburb (I know OfficeWorks was outside the boundary), or things that you have really missed? I seem to remember reading early on that you were contemplating not being able to buy underwear. :)

   the ‘sham has got me thinking about the boundaries of my own suburb (North Wollongong), so I checked out the map tonight, and found out that apart from the fact that it’s a very odd shape, the street I live on (Bourke Street) actually forms part of the southern boundary, but that some houses on it are classed as being part of Wollongong (a very jagged line).

   http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/Downloads/Documents/North_Wollongong.pdf

   So, I have a pub, a Novotel hotel, car yards, some kind of giant fruit/veg and meat discount warehouse, a fish ‘n’ chip shop (which also sells newspapers), a kebab shop, and a mini supermarket … one cafe down the road at the beach is in North Wollongong, but the one next door to it isn’t. And no bookstore, music shop, video store, cinema …

   It’s also got me thinking about ‘community’ and the places you spend the most time in … during the time I was running the film fest, I was based in two different warehouses – the first had no good food places nearby (I’m not counting the collection of McDonalds / Chilis / Burger King down the road), so late nights always involved a drive somewhere else; the most recent one is in the city, at the end of the restaurant strip, with a friendly 24-hour corner store down the road. Being able to walk outside and find food, before heading back to keep going with festival work, made for quite a different experience, with the woman at the corner store always asking how it was going, and being able to see the city at night, Chinese grocery stores loading in supplies, checking in at the secondhand bookshop …

   Have loved reading the ‘sham, and everyone’s contributions, good luck with the exhibition.

   Cheers
   David

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2. Mick May 16, 2006 at 8:50 am

   David’s response to the idea of the boundary of a prescribed suburb and its limitations is interesting. The idea has worked really well for Lucas who is nestled very much within Petersham’s boundaries. But if like David you live bang on a suburb’s boundary or even very near to it, then the radius of connection to place will extend outward over two or more suburbs, and so the official zoning of a suburb may not be very useful to you.

   I thought about this long ago when i received a Yellow Pages ‘Local Directory’ but found that i was on the outer edge of the chosen ‘locality’. This meant that businesses and services that might be only a few blocks away from where i lived were not in this ‘local directory’.

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3. David May 16, 2006 at 11:33 pm

   Mick is right, a lot happens elsewhere, the CBD of Wollongong (next suburb over) with supermarkets and shops is a couple of minutes’ drive away … and parts of North Wollongong really don’t seem connected to others, there’s a weird industrial estate bit that seems very removed from the beach (North Beach) that the suburb is known for.

   I lived in Scarborough, half an hour north of here, for a year … the only things other than the few houses there were a pub, train station and a one-man police station/house. You had to plan your days carefully, make sure you got everything done in the city before heading home. The nearest supermarket was 10 minutes drive away, so you tended to stop in on the way home, because popping out for something wasn’t so easy. But there is very much a northern suburbs community up that way, people dropping in on each other, lots of artists, musicians, performers.

   I also lived right in the city (strangely enough, practically across the road from the friendly corner store), and everything was within walking distance, a minute or two away. But deserted on weeknights, you could walk down the middle of a normally very busy street, it would be dead quiet, and there was no real sense of knowing anyone nearby, because it’s not very residential, it’s a very transient space, people in there during the day to work, or at night to eat at the restaurants, but not staying.

   And that’s enough of a trip down memory lane … also glad the creme caramel ingredients and method have been unveiled, sounds good.

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4. shortleftleg Post authorMay 17, 2006 at 12:07 am

   thanks david
   Things I’ve missed: asian groceries, especially vegie dumplings. Some friends have been secretly importing them for me!
   Much excitement in the neighbourhood recently – with the opening of an Indian diner where the old fish n chip shop was on New Canterbury. It’s already doing a bustling trade. Seems like just what the locals wanted!

   Yep, shops are socially important, aren’t they? There’s a real difference between living in a place which has a range of little shops on a street, and having to go to a mall. I haven’t missed malls at all, with their fluorescent lights and zombie atmosphere. Petersham has no malls. You know what else? No McDonalds, no KFC, no Pizza Hut, etc. Why is the ‘sham so resistant to this stuff?

   Someone at the bowling club told me the difference between north and south Petersham is that southerners patronise Marrickville Metro, whereas northerners go to the posher mall in Leichhardt…

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5. Lisa del Nord May 17, 2006 at 12:40 am

   well ya (that’ll be my snootiest north ‘sham accent), I do use the shopping conglomeration on Norton St, but exactly because I’m on the outer limits, moving into the overlap, just as David & Mick have so nicely observed…

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6. margie borschke May 24, 2006 at 10:27 am

   I will be there with bells on!!! Bringing all my petersham friends with me too.

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7. Michele Purcell May 25, 2006 at 1:37 am

   Have a great exhibition lucas. Wish I could join you. Love mumxxx

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8. Owen May 25, 2006 at 10:11 am

   Will the Mayor arrive on his best pushbike? Will he wear a blindfold? Will you wear a blindfold when you jump the boundary (sort of a ceremonial conclusion to the ‘sham). Break a leg – hope the exhibition/celebration rock. See ya soon, Dadxx

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9. iwantphuong May 26, 2006 at 12:47 am

   Would love to be able to make it Friday night but have been pushing Critical Mass to do the Anzac Bridge bicycle ride for a while now and yep, it’s happening at the same time.

   Will definitely be attending your Chrissie Cotter Gallery exhibition though! Am quite interested in how you’re planning to display/present your work/findings…

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10. Curha May 27, 2006 at 5:40 pm

    Michael and I went on the Walk from Chrissie Cotter Gallery. We followed our map specifically past the trees and benches and the closed Portuguese
    Ethnographic Museum – a highlight. We nearly walked past Johnson’s
    Creek but we found it just in time. Michael took some photos. We crossed and investigated the Leichhardt side of J Creek. Quite poetic and as M Krygier says, in the US quite is an amplifier not a qualifier – so that reads Very Poetic.

    We looked at the empty shops but didn’t discuss what we might do with them. We looked at the actual shops and Michael took a photo of a scull & a Thair buddha adjacent to one another. We went into the carpet shop – they are having a sale from June 1 (40% off) – Michael told me how you identify quality in a rug – if the pattern on the front is as sharp on the back, you’ve got quality, a wool base is better than cotton. The one I like is $1490, the one Michael liked is $4000+, a tree of life with silk detail.

    Okey doke, I am waiting to complete all my instructions – eat cake (had it earlier), drink tea (maybe), shake Lucas by the hand and wish him well and tell the mayor about social changes he should make – my first comment for the mayor is please could he ensure there’s a sign for Mallett Street coming off Parramatta Road – I got lost getting here.

    Thanks once again Lu for another inspirational project – our fave moment on the walk was the quiet once you re-enter back off Parra Rd into the park, lovely.

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11. shortleftleg Post authorJune 6, 2006 at 9:01 am

    ps:
    i’ve put up a set of photos from the exhibition over here:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilateral/sets/72157594154841233/

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