I continue to feel ambivalent towards China – which is one of the reasons I am going there. There are a lot of reports in the Western media, but how much of the information is true, and how much information is left out or not known, ‘lost in translation’ [no reference to that rather feeble film].
Currently here in Melbourne all is a flutter with the impending visit of the Dalai Lama. If there is one person in the world that upsets people in power it is this gentle Tibetan man. Just today, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, John So, a popular man of Chinese heritage, has been forced by other members of the council to invite the Dalai Lama to visit the Melbourne Town Hall. Councillor So is aligned with Melbourne’s Chinese, business community and had tried to ensure no councillors would meet the spiritual leader. The prime minister of Australia, John Howard, and the opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, have both been giving out mixed messages about whether they will, whether they won’t, meet the Dalai Lama. Everyone is terrified of a Chinese economic backlash if they officially acknowledge him.
I have been in touch with a lot of new acquaintances through eLists with which I am registered [such as Sonic Arts Network, Phonography.org, Rhizome, Fibreculture etc]. I mentioned this project and I have had a lot of interesting responses – from artists doing similar projects or who just have an interest in the ideas. I have also found out a fair amount about what is going on in Beijing in this area – mostly sound oriented. I have a subscription to Art Asia Pacific mag which is also proving very interesting.
Starting to think about the reality of negotiating the project. I have a partner and a 12 year old son who will both be coming to Beijing during September – it will be the longest time I will have been apart from my son, 5 weeks. These things cannot be underestimated, of course. My partner Cameron will come for 3 weeks, while Jake will stay on for 7 and return with me – the staggered approach. Cameron is a sculptor, and between us I am sometimes amazed that we can both maintain our practices and bring up Jake and pay off a mortgage. Mind you, living in Melbourne enables this without doubt. We could not live like this in London – which I miss a lot pretty frequently, even after all this time. Cameron is from Melbourne and we met when I first came here on a residency through Gertrude Contemporary Artist Spaces in the early 90s.
To add to everything I have a small show just before I leave, which is good timing in many ways, but challenging in others. The image here is based on a cicada common to Melbourne and Sydney suburbs, the greengrocer [cyclochila australasiae], and the image will form a frieze in the gallery following the mathematical form of traditional friezes as internal decorative architectural elements.
