In Sydney I bought a book on Gertrude Stein’s word portrait, Ada, by an artist known professionally as Atak, but also called Georg Barber. I looked him up and visited his studio in Prenzlauer Berg. The walls are covered with the most fascinating things.

As a kid—holding what looks like a toy AK-47.

He grew up in East Germany and took inspiration from Punk and music. I’m guessing that being a punk at that time and place would not have gone down so well with the people in power. He worked in a comic shop, then started a dark publication called Renate —the title being a piss-take on typical names of ‘womens interest’ magazines. Now he’s Professor of Illustration at the art academy Burg Giebichenstein in Halle.

Currently he’s working on a book on Mark Twain’s unfinished, last story.

More later.

For about a month. The idea (or aim at least) is to meet some interesting creative people —mainly in their places of work—and write about them in more depth than this blog can handle—and also learn about/from another city. Publishing will ideally be on paper.

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An initiative to open up conversations between the creative industry and the wider community in Australia and across the Pacific.
Web site coming soon. Please bookmark the Happy Talk page.

Floral sculptor Tracey Deep’s studio in Sydney. I didn’t want to leave.

Moon.
Sculpture and installations.
To be launched by Fernanda Cardoso
13–18 September
The Depot Gallery
3/2 Danks Street, Waterloo, Sydney

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About to leave a part of Sydney after being here for 17 years. One of the things I will miss: walking home at night past the delightful, changing window of my florist neighbour.

New Territory Design Research talk at COFA, Sydney, 4 August 2011.
Richard Goodwin: parasitic actions for public spaces; in a series of rolling catastrophies (ie life) the city becomes more like nature.

What came out of it was this unexpected sense of optimism for the future—this way of thinking about the city.

My friend and work partner, Heidi Dokulil, also spoke with Liane Rossler about their new, soon-to-be-launched adventure in Pacific dialogues — Happy Talk. Please bookmark their holding page for events and workshops a little later this year in Sydney.

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This catalogue was designed for the New South Wales Architecture Awards which were announced a few days ago. Inevitably — with these simpler, quieter works —someone will ask where the design is… and I don’t know how to answer in a succinct way.
I could tell them about the way a sentence is set, and how it wraps around the curve of the paper or how I want someone to look while holding it in their hands or how a particular font brings back memories of elegant typewritten forms. But I don’t.
The type is Freight Text and Sans. Art director: Graeme Smith. Editor: Peter Salhani.

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Lots to think about this beautiful wall on a not-so-beautiful road in Sydney—but it’s Friday night and I can’t think. More think later.

Vintage Lao clothing from Eastern Weft. Details to come.
Photography, Boun Voraboud

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Something intriguing and archetypal about these charming drawings of houses by ceramic artist, Keiko Matsui.
At Gaffa, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney.

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