âIâVE always been an argumentative little bastardâ, poet, artist, fashionista and long-term lead singer and bass guitarist for The Church, Steve Kilbey tells me by phone from his Coogee Beach home.Â
The legendary alt-rock artist, though born in England, grew up in Canberra and heâll be here at Belco Arts and Tallagandra Hill Winery later in February for two marathon acoustic performances in which he revisits the debut albums by The Church, the 1981 âOf Skins and Heartsâ and its successor, âThe Blurred Crusadeâ from 1982.Â
Kilbey concedes that Canberra has changed a lot since the boring 1970s, when all bands were cover bands, but if Iâd expected a genteel paean of praise for the nationâs capital, no chance.
Craft / “Shimmering: The Mona Hessing Tribute Project”, at Belconnen Arts Centre until January 31. Reviewed by
MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.
THIS exhibition is a tribute to one of Australia’s leading fibre artists, Mona Hessing, who died in 2001.
Barbara Romalis, a long-standing friend, had materials from Hessing’s studio – based near Tuross on the NSW South Coast – and gave them to members of the Eurobodalla Fibre Textile and Art Group.
Hessing was renowned for her large-scale wall hangings and free-standing fibre sculptural works, which were often commissioned for public foyers.
After a series of workshops, eight artists came together to use the materials and to create textile works, many inspired from Hessing’s work. The title “Shimmering” is the name of the property where Hessing’s studio was located. At the right time of day, one can see the lake and the light shimmering on the water – giving the name to the show.