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APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – July 2020: Retrospective

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PARKS & GARDENS, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, POLITICS, PUBLIC ART, SALA, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ART GALLERY, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, VINEYARDS

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abstracts, Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, ANIMALS, ART, Australia, Australian Art, COVID-19, Fleurieu Peninsular, ISOLATION, LANDSCAPE, MEDITATION, PHOTOGRAPHY, Port Willunga, SEASCAPES, South Australia, SUNSETS, TRAVEL

ABSTRACTS - CROSSES IN THE SEACrucifixes – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION – JULY 2020

July is mid-Winter in Australia; it also the 7th month that we all having been dealing with the various challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, many of the following photographs are reflections of these times. This July retrospect is divided into number of seperate categories; these include – ‘Abstracts’, ‘Black & White’, ‘Landscapes’, ‘Night’, ‘Seascapes’, and ‘Sunsets’. It also includes selected photographs from on-going series – ‘Pareidolia’ and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. As always, behind each photography is my desire ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’

ABSTRACTS

ABSTRACT - WalpurgisnachtWalpurgisnacht – Windy Peak, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one wild, windy, and rainy night at Windy Peak in the Adelaide Hills. The photograph is associated with my ‘Pareidolia’ series in that the wooden posts and the trees seemed to become in this cold weather strange spectral creatures, coming together as if to celebrate ‘Walpurgisnacht’.

IMPRESSIONISM - After KlimtReflections – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and is of the reflection of a canopy of leaves from willow trees overhanging one of the ponds in the garden. There is a deliberate ‘impressionism’ influence, particularly Monet, but also a ‘post-impressionism’ feel as one finds in some of the works by Klimt.

ABSTRCTS - SHEET METAL 1Sheet-Metal Wall in a Sunset Light – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This striking ‘detail’ of a section of the sheet-metal wall of the Penny’s Hill Vineyard Cellar-door took on a golden radiance and sheen under a setting winter sun.

IMPRESSIONISM - Behind the LinesBehind the Lines – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Following a theme and subject matter of ‘lines’, this is a detail of a section of glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The reflection in the glass is from the water in front of this sheet of corrugated glass, which in turn reflects the cloud in the sky above. These multiple reflections give and added depth to the image; in the centre there is a kind of ‘pareidolia’ with a figure that seems to be peeping through the curtain of glass.

ABSTRACTS - THROUGH A WINDOW - The ChildThrough a Window: The Child – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at the same glass fountain in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It is also part of the on-going series – ‘Through a Window’. These ‘windows’ are portals; when one gazes through these ‘windows’ one can see and imagine a number of imaginative possibilities.

HOPE - THE RAINBOWThe Rainbow – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

The rainbow is a symbol of Hope, which is what is vitally needed in these challenging times.

ABSTRACTS -Two PolesBPoles Apart – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony LICE-7)

These two poles are part of the old ruined jetty at Rapid Bay. Whilst beautiful in themselves there is a relatively tragic dimension. It is as if these two poles are lovers who yearn to be together but will be forever apart, able to see each other but never to touch.

ABSTRACT - Sniffing out Out LeadsModern Times: Sniffing out Leads – Windy Peak, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This ‘abstract’ is a satiric metaphor of modern business. With virtually everything moving to be on-line the relative ‘positivism’ and optimism of modern business from a certain perspective seems to have become rather desperate in sniffing out potential leads and ways to make money, at a time when most people don’t have much money to spare.

BLACK & WHITE

PEOPLE - DancingIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Dancer – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On one of my walks around Port Willunga, from the cliffs above I glanced down to the beach below and saw this young woman. She was dancing in the surf with the setting sun – an expression of freedom in this time of ‘self-isolation’.

_1210271aIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: On the Phone – Port Willunga (Sony ILCE-7)

How many times during these challenging days have we seen this? A person sitting alone on their mobile phone. I saw this young man on his mobile phone and also noticed how his surrounding, particularly the iron fence seemed to box him in, adding to the sense of ‘isolation’.

Little Hampton School 2The Old School House – Littlehampton, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a day trip to the small South Australian rural town of Littlehampton we stopped to visit the old sandstone Schoolhouse, which had been built in the 1860s. At one time this country school had over 60 students all crammed into this tiny school house. It has been beautifully preserved and restored by the local community.

AUSTRALIAN ROMANTICISM 1 - The Winter TreeThe Winter Tree – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This marvellous old tree sits on a little island in the middle of one of the ponds in the garden. It has a ‘pareidolia’ aspect that is perhaps more noticeable in Winter when all its leaves are gone – a fantastical tree creature.

AUSTRALAIN ROMANTICISM - Murdoch AvenueMurdoch Avenue – Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Murdoch Avenue’ is one of the most magical parts of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. I have deliberately put a sepia filter over this photograph to complement the charming nature of this location.

LANDSCAPES

PENNY HILL'SVINEYARDPenny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘Penny’s Hill Vineyard’ in the McLaren Vale is about 1hrs drive south of Adelaide. It is one of the oldest vineyards in the region and is very ‘English’. This is exemplified by the old sandstone Georgian main-house, as well as these ‘black-faced’ Suffolk sheep.

NIGHT

AUSTRALIAN ROMANTICISM - Adelaide 2Adelaide @ Night – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one cold July at Mt. Observation in the Adelaide Hills, which gives one a wonderful view of the Adelaide Plain and the Adelaide CBD. It is a very ‘romantic’ view of Adelaide, yet also one that has resonance with photos of Los Angeles.

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination in which one sees faces in natural and man-made objects. The following photographs are part of an on-going series devoted to the human phenomena of ‘pareidolia’, which is something we all share in common – a thing that unites us as human beings rather than divides us.

peeping truckThe peeping truck – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

It is as if this truck is peeping at you as it passes over a concrete bridge in Port Adelaide. This photograph has been deliberately manipulated to give it a kind of ‘pop art’ feeling and tone.

DSC00749bCrocodile Logs – Old Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

These two logs sit in the Onkaparinga River near Old Noarlunga, a small rural town about 40 minutes south of Adelaide. Crossing the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Onkaparinga River I noticed these two logs. They looked like two crocodiles lying in the shallow water, which reflected the hills towering above the river.

P1110377HThe grumpy rock – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This is part of a spectacular cliff face at Christies Beach on the Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. It struck me that this particular section looked like a grumpy old man – hence the title – ‘the grumpy rock’.

ELEPHANT ROCKaElephant Rock – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This rock face at the base of a cliff at the northern end of Port Willunga beach struck as looking a bit like and old elephant.

PEOPLE: In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’

The following photographs are part of an on-going series entitled In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’. This is an attempt to chronicle as well as express the sense of bafflement and isolation that is very much a part of the challenges of these days when confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic.

IN THE TIME OF SELF-ISOLATION - MemeIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Meme – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This a photograph of my friend Meme with whom I often go for morning walks along Port Willunga beach and other locations in the region.

P1110442DIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

At times the effect of living with the Covid-19 pandemic seems rather surreal. Despite the very real threat and with certain restrictions, nonetheless, here in South Australia we are relatively safe and free to move around – and in such a beautiful place even in mid-Winter.

P1110389In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Searching the Sands – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

I saw this young girl searching the sands on the Port Willunga beach one sunset. I don’t know what she was searching for but she was quite focused if rather frantic. It struck me as rather metaphoric and symbolic of how we are all trying to find answers but finding it all rather baffling – searching for answers in the sand.

DSC01048In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Red Hoody and Stormy Seas – Rapid Bay, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

On a rather wild and stormy day I went to Rapid Bay, which is about a 90 minutes drive south of Adelaide. At the end of the pier there was this young boy looking out on the rather turbulent sea. This also struck me a rather metaphorical and emblematic of these times. Gazing out to sea may bring some solace sometimes, but it can also express our bafflement and anxiety in these stormy days.

SEASCAPES

The following photographs are part of an on-going series of ‘Seascapes’, primarily from the Onkaparinga region. This includes Aldinga Beach, Port Willunga, Maslin Beach, Port Noarlunga, and Christies Beach – and more.

PORT WILLUNGA - WINTER SUNRISEThe Morning Walk – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00834On a Winter’s Day #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

PORT WILLUNGA - WINTER.jpgOn a Winter’s Day #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

PORT WILLUNGA - The FishermenFishing – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00855oCormorant and Ruins – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC00965 2A Foggy Day – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

DSC01128 copyRapid Bay – Fleurieu Peninsular, Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

SUNSETS

It somehow seems appropriate with the ending of mid-Winter and also the seeming end of so much that we may have taken for granted due to the Covid-19 pandemic that this July 2020 retrospective fishes with ‘Sunsets’. These are from a number of locations, including Mt Observation, Port Willunga, and Penny’s Hill Vineyard.

BarrelaThe Barrel – Penny’s Hill Vineyard, McLaren Vale (Sony ILCE-7)

after rothko 2aSunset (after Rothko #1) – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

AFTER ROTHKO - Port Adelaide.jpgSunset – Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

AFTER ROTHKO - AdelaideSunset (after Rothko #2) – Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

If you have come this far – THANK YOU.

Just one more, which is a bit of a self-portrait. I saw this piece of ‘Street Art’ at Christies Beach where I was picking up some medication for the local chemist for my tinnitus. I wasn’t feeling the best, not just because of the tinnitus, which is just annoying, but for the fact that after applying for numerous jobs I didn’t get any – only one interview and that wasn’t very pleasant.  I connected with this torn and damaged piece of ‘street art’. I took a photo of a section and then later played around with it – this is the result.

UnknownIn the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: Torn & Twisted Self-Reflection – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Tony Knight – July 2020 (c.)

APHK PHOTOGRAPHY – SALA 2020: Australian Romanticism

02 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 17TH CENTURY ART, 21st CENTURY ART, abstracts, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, Australian Art, BEACHES, BLACK & WHITES, FILM, Film Noir, HISTORY, IMPRESSIONISM, PEOPLE, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, TREES, Uncategorized, USA, VINEYARDS

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Adelaide, ART, Australia, PHOTOGRAPHY, SALA 2020, South Australia, SYDNEY, TRAVEL

IN THE TIME OF 'SELF-ISOLATION' - DRIVE-IN1. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: At the Drive-In – Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

INTRODUCTION

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic I was unable to hold my annual photographic exhibition for this years South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA). Subsequently I will present my exhibition via my WordPress website as well as other social media; all 18 photographs in this collection are available for sale via my Bluethumb.com site.

The overall theme for this exhibition is Australian Romanticism. The collection includes ‘Landscapes’, ‘Seascapes’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Night’, and ‘Abstracts’, as well as photographs from on-going series, namely ‘Adelaide Noir’, ‘Through a Window’, ‘Pareidolia’, and ‘In the Time of Self-Isolation’. This later series, exemplified by the above photograph, is an attempt to express the surreal nature of these current times in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sources for inspiration behind this collection are numerous. They include the natural extraordinary beauty of the Australian countryside, as well as influences of major artists; this includes early colonial artists John Glover, German ‘romantic’ artist Caspar David Friedrich, and American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko.

As the above photograph also exemplifies there is often a romantic ‘theatrical’ aspect to my work. Behind all my work is my motto and attempt ‘to make the ordinary “Extraordinary”!’ Hope you enjoy this collection.

LANDSCAPES

28. THROUGH A WINDOW - SILVERTON2. Through a Window: Ruined House, Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The old mining town of Silverton is about 25kms north of Broken Hill in the north-western corner of New South Wales. It has often been used as a location for Australian films, including George Miller’s Mad Max series. This photograph is part of the on-going series ‘Through a Window; gazing through a window one can see and imagine numerous possibilities.

'SUGARLOAF' - HALLET COVED3. ‘The Sugarloaf’ – Hallet Cove Conservation Park, Hallet Cove, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘The Sugarloaf’ is one of the most distinctive features of the Hallet Cove Conservation Park, about 21kms south of Adelaide on the Gulf St. Vincent. This extraordinary formation is part of the remnants of an old pre-historic glacier; white sand replaced the ice as the glacier slowly melted 15,000 years ago. Early colonial settlers called it ‘The Sugarloaf’ due to its resemblance to a ‘loaf’ of hardened white sugar.

12. AUTUMN - MT LOFTY 14. Autumn 2020 – Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens, Mt. Lofty, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Autumn in the Adelaide Hills is simply spectacular! The Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens is a terrific place were one can see this colourful spectacle. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed for most of this Autumn due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it re-opened for the final week of Autumn 2020 and I drove up immediately and found this tree that seemed ablaze with Autumn colour.

DSC00599a5. Penny’s Hill Vineyard – McLaren Vale, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Penny’s Hill Vineyard is one of the most charming and picturesque established vineyards  in the McLaren Vale, approximately 35kms south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsular. There is a strong sense of old England at Penny Hill’s Vineyard, with its sandstone Georgian two-storey main house, as well as these Suffolk ‘black-faced’ sheep.

SEASCAPES

14. SEASCAPES - MASLIN BEACH 36. Maslin Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

Maslin Beach is one of the ‘best beaches’ in Australia. It was also the first nudist beach in Australia, which is at the southern end of the beach. You can just see the small sign on the left of this photograph that states that this is the ‘Unclad’ section of the beach. I took this photograph one cold and stormy Winter’s day. I waited for a break in the cloud, a ‘decisive moment’, when the sun burst through the clouds and lit up the cliff face. Extraordinary.

IN THE TIMES OF 'SELF-ISOLATION'in the time of 'self-isolation7. In the Time of ‘Self-Isolation’: The Walker – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one early Winter morning at Port Willunga, about 35kms south of Adelaide on the the Gulf St. Vincent. It is part of the on-going series ‘In the Time of “Self-Isolation”‘, and can be seen metaphorically as a reflection of these current times. The cliff face can be representative of the almost overwhelming nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the female walker standing tall but alone against this formidable force.

CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS - PORT NOARLUNGA8. The Conference of the Birds – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken from the Port Noarlunga jetty on a cold early Winter’s day. It looked like this flock of seagulls were debating certain issues; such as, in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic – ‘Where have all the humans gone? Where are out chips?’. Subsequently, in order to find food they would need to brave the cold sea and debating, ‘Well – who’s going in first?’

PAREIDOLIA

‘Pareidolia’ is that unique aspect of the human imagination that sees faces in natural and man-made objects.  The following photograph is part of my on-going series devoted to this wonderful human phenomena, which is something that unites rather than divides us. Nonetheless, the faces and creatures that one may see in these photographs is up to you.

WHAT LIES BENEATH?9. Pareidolia: ‘What Lies Beneath?’ – Port Noarlunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

‘What Lies Beneath?’ – some see a serpent, some see a crocodile, some see a turtle, and some see a ram with a golden fleece – what do you see?

ABSTRACTS

22. ABSTRACTS - BRAVE NEW WORLD 1-210. ‘Brave New World’ – Austinmer, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken in January 2020 during the height of the Australian Summer Bushfires. Whilst it may seem that this photograph has been ‘doctored’ in some way in actual fact I did very little re post-production. The unique and relatively disturbing colours were due to the continual haze that hung over Austinmer, a beach town on the South Coast of New South Wales, for days and days and days.

10. ABSTRACTS - RIPLES - After H. R. Giger -211. Ripples – Christies Beach, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one Winter morning on Christies Beach, which is about 20kms south of Adelaide. The ripples across the sad reminded me of the work of German illustrator H. R. Giger who created the ‘Alien’ for Ridley Scott.

SUNSETS

18. SUNSET - PORT WILLUNGA12. Sunset #1 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph and the two following were all taken at respective sunsets at Port Willunga. They are all very different in their own ways, inspired by different artists. The one above is influenced, particularly in terms of colour and tone, by the early Australian colonial artist John Glover.

9. SUNSETS - AUTUMN LIGHT13. Sunset #2 – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken on Autumn 2020 sunset. This photograph and the one following were influenced by the American ‘abstract’ artist Mark Rothko. They are specifically designed and crafted to encourage and support meditation and reflection, particularly during these challenging times.

SUNSETS - BATHER - PORT WILLUNGA 114. The Bather – Port Willunga, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was also taken one Autumn 2020 sunset. The young woman in the photograph swims every day and in every season the considerable distance from the ruined jetty at the southern end of the Port Willunga beach to the northern headland. As with the previous photograph this is specifically created and designed for meditation and reflection.

9. SUNSETS - BOWRAL 215. Bowral ‘Bushfires’ Sunset – Bowral, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken one January 2020 sunset at a friend’s place in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales. Whilst all may seem relatively calm and peaceful, nonetheless, this was taken during the height of the catastrophic bushfires that dominated the Australian Summer. The orange glow in the distance is not from the setting sun but from a relatively nearby fire. As my friend and I gazed out over this landscape water helicopters continually flew by and over us.

ADELAIDE NOIR

1. ADELAIDE NOIR - BEACON, TORRENS ISLAND 2-216. The Beacon – Dolphin Sanctuary, Port Adelaide, South Australia (Sony ILCE-7)

This photograph was taken at Port Adelaide at the end of Summer 2020. It can be seen as a metaphorical expression of ‘Hope’, referencing the old Australian Labor Party and Christian motto of ‘the beacon the hill’ being a light of hope in the surrounding darkness.

NIGHT – TOWN & COUNTRY

The following two photographs may be taken as continuing the ‘noir’ theme from the above section. However, these two photographs are from two radically different locations – one in a modern Australian city and one in a remote Australian country town.

sydney War memorial17. Sydney War Memorial – Hyde Park, Sydney, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

The was taken one still and balmy Summer’s night in late December 2019 in Sydney. Whilst the city was surrounded by Bushfires there was a relatively strange peace and quiet in this place of memorial and reflection.

silverton dust storm18. ‘Municipal Chambers’ (in a Dust Storm) – Silverton, New South Wales (Sony ILCE-7)

This was taken one night in early December 2019, in Silverton, in the far north-west of New South Wales – during a furious dust storm. The taking of this photograph was a ‘decisive moment’ and more. I was driving very, very slowly through this dust storm when I noticed the way the ‘Municipal Chambers’ appeared under the respective lights from the moon and nearby lamp, both affected by the haze of the dust storm. With the wind, dust, and rocks whirling around me I positioned my car up against a wall on the opposite side of the street, and with my back against a wall to keep me steady and using the open car door for some protection I took this one shot – which in the end came out rather well – like a Russell Drysdale painting.

If you have read and gazed at all the above I hope you have enjoyed it. I feel I have grown considerably in my development and evolution as an artistic photographer. The future? Who knows – but I am more certain about my artistic eye and aesthetics, which is, unashamedly, ‘Romantic’.

Tony Knight – August 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

THEATRE: ALFIAN SA’AT – Singapore’s ‘enfant terrible’ & ‘prankish provocateur, libertarian hipster’

24 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Adelaide, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE, ART, ASIAN ART, ASIAN THEATRE, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, HISTORY, LITERATURE, PEOPLE, PLAYS, SINGAPORE, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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download-10With Alfian Sa-at’s and Marcia Vanderstraaten’s  HOTEL (2015) about to open here in Adelaide as part of the Oz-Asia Festival I thought it opportune to write something about Alfian Sa’at, one of Singapore’s best modern playwrights. Most people in Australia may not be aware of Alfian Sa’at and his work. This is an attempt to slightly address that. He is an exceptional playwright, poet, and from my all to brief dealings with him, a really great guy as well. I first became aware of Alfian Sa’at’s work whilst I was living in Singapore. During that time I was fortunate enough to see a number of his plays being performed by Singapore’s terrific Wild Rice theatre company, led by another exceptional person, Ivan Heng, the Artistic Director and co-founder of Wild Rice. The productions I saw included Dreamplay (2000), which is Part One of Alfian Sa’at’s beautiful Asian Boys Trilogy (2000-07), Cooling Off Day (2011), Cook a Pot of Curry (2013), and my personal favourite, the intriguing The Optic Trilogy (2001). All these are terrific plays and make an excellent introduction to the world of Alfian Sa’at.

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Alfian Sa’at was born in Singapore in 1977 and attended Raffles Junior College where his passion for theatre was first revealed. His tremendous creative spirit led to the publication of his first collection of  poetry One Fierce Hour in 1998. This was a instant success with The Malaysian New Strait Times praising and calling him a ‘prankish provocateur’ and ‘libertarian hipster’. What followed was a steady outflow of excellent work – a collection of short stories called Corridor (1999), many of which have been adapted for television, and his second collection of poetry A History of Amnesia (2001). All these are available and are excellent reads; personal favourite being Corridor.

It was partly due to this work, and subsequent others, that Alfian Sa’at earned the moniker of being Singapore’s enfant terrible. He is a ‘provocateur’. This rebellious stance is also evident in his many plays, which are often acute observations of contemporary life in Singapore, combined with a deep knowledge and appreciation of Singapore’s history, as well as World Theatre in general, and a delicious and mischievous wit.

download-7The Asian Boys Trilogy is something that could be seen during Sydney’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and/or Adelaide’s Feast Festival. This is a terrific ‘gay’ play that is not only enlightening about ‘gay’ life in South-East Asia, past and present, but is also very entertaining. I have only seen Part One – Dreamplay, which is theatrically influenced by Strindberg’s Dreamplay, and was directed by Ivan Heng and featured the wonderful Singapore actor and dear friend Galeb Goh, amongst other excellent Singapore actors.

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One sequence in Alfian Sa’at’s Dreamplay that I found particularly fascinating and gripping involved a relationship between a young Chinese-Singaporean and a Japanese officer during the horrendous Japanese occupation of Singapore during WW2. To be frank, Australians know virtually nothing about this tragic chapter of Singapore’s history, and yet we are intrinsically involved, not just because of the horrors of Changi Prison, but much much more, which time and space does not allow me to enter into here.

downloadCooling Off Day (2011) was actually the first Alfian Sa’at play I saw. It is a series of monologues based around the then recent Singapore General Election. I didn’t know much about the politics of Singapore so this was a terrific introduction. Whilst some of it went way over my head and was very local specific, nonetheless, it was extremely entertaining and enlightening. I loved the structure of the piece, a snap-shot of Singapore at a particular and politically important moment in time, the different voices and perspectives, a cross section of Singaporean characters and society, and the vital and engaging performances by the respective actors. It was also through this play and production that I became aware of the delights of Singlish.

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Singlish is the English based patois or slang that is spoken in Singapore. When I was there Singlish was often denigrated as not being ‘proper English’ by those in the so-called social and academic elite, who can be ruthlessly and dully conservative. I loved it! When queried I would be mischievously provocative with these borish snobs, stating that I thought Shakespeare would have loved it too. Shakespeare was a words-smith and you only have to be familiar with his plays, as well as his contemporaries, to see how much he incorporated colloquial English (and others) slang into his works.

download-9I tried many times to speak Singlish, much to the amusement of my Singapore friends. I even had a couple of Singlish dictionaries, and would fervently implore my Singapore students and friends to speak Singlish as I just loved hearing it. Unfortunately, I never got the hang of it – lah. Friends would just giggle at my attempts, my problem centring on differences in stress. Australians follow our English-speaking heritage with an iambic word/vowel stress (Dee-DUM), weak-strong; Singaporeans follow their English-speaking heritage with a trochaic word/vowel stress (DUM-Dee), strong-weak. I couldn’t break my Australian cultural habit. Instead of saying the common ‘CAN lah’, I would say ‘Can LAH’, which generally produced shrieks of laughter. Nonetheless, I was acutely aware that whenever Singlish was spoken in the theatre, as in Alfian’s plays, it was like an electric current suddenly shot through the audience, making them excited and animated – it was fantastic! This was most apparent in Alfian Sa’at’s delightful domestic comedy Cook a Pot of Curry – I didn’t understand half of it, but it didn’t matter, I just enjoyed the vitality of the show, and the joy of the Singapore audience as it would roar with laughter at recognition of themselves and their unique colloquial language. I am sure Hotel will have some Singlish in it – can’t wait to hear it again.

download-12As previously mentioned, my favourite amongst Alfian’s plays is The Optic Trilogy. This is a two-hander between an unnamed man and woman in three separate scenes. I remember this Wild Rice production clearly, which featured dear friend and colleague the wonderful Brendon Fernandez,  and how from the very first scene set in a hotel room I was absolutely transfixed – by the drama, the complexity, the language, and the brilliant performances. This is a play about deceit, full of poetic metaphors, and is often very funny. It has been performed in a number of other countries, but not, as yet, in Australia. This is the play that I would love to do in Australia. I can only encourage you to get hold of it, as it is published, and read it. But please – let me do it! Haha!.

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Hopefully this brief little introduction to some of the works of Alfian Sa’at will encourage you to find out more about this terrific Singapore playwright and poet. It is well worth the effort. Also – if you haven’t as yet booked your tickets for Hotel here in Adelaide then please do so immediately – now! From all reports it is simply marvelous – both parts. I know that if you do you will not be disappointed and discover the joy of Alfian Sa’at, as well as Wild Rice.

TONY KNIGHT

OLD TIMES by Harold Pinter

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, ACTORS, Adelaide, ART, Australia, DRAMA, HAROLD PINTER, LITERATURE, PEOPLE, PLAYS, South Australia, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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Adelaide, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE, Australia, DRAMA, HAROLD PINTER, PLAYS, South Australia, THEATRE, Tony Knight

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OLD TIMES by Harold Pinter was first produced in 1971 and went on to be performed around the world. Since the beginning of the 21st Century it has been consistently revived, the play’s dark and mysterious content and subject matter seemingly striking a resonate chord with the modern zeitgeist.

The play has been interpreted in many ways. Pinter never really offered any concrete explanation; he once told Anthony Hopkins who when he was playing the character of Deeley asked Pinter to explain the ending, ‘I don’t know. Just do it’.

It is the open ambiguity of this play that fascinates me. I am mid-way into rehearsals and just letting it unfold as I work with the actors. I have some idea where I am going with it,of course, but I know that it is a journey – and where I am now may not be where I finish. That is part of what makes this play so marvelous. I want people to talk about it afterwards and discuss their own interpretation, rather than me and the actors signposting it, and simply leaving the theatre immediately forgetting the piece as if it was some sort of fast-food rubbish, and ‘where shall we go for drink?’

Currently, I see the play as a kind of power-struggle in regards to memory. Who controls memory? We will all have different perspectives and interpretations about the same experienced event. How many times has that happened to you? That you get surprised by what another person remembers about a mutually shared experience.

Pinter wrote, ‘The past is what you remember, imagine your remember, convince yourself you remember, or pretend to remember’. This is explored in OLD TIMES.

He also wrote, ‘A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false’.

I am reminded of other ‘memory’ plays that seem to connect with OLD TIMES; such as Sartre’s IN CAMERA, and Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE. THE GLASS MENAGERIE opens with the character Tom stating, ‘The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seem to happen to music’. This is true for OLD TIMES, with the importance of music from the 1930s playing a significant part; however, it s not ‘dimly lighted’ but rather glaringly bright as if one is in kind of surgical waiting room. In regard to it being ‘realistic’ or not, Pinter wrote about his work, ‘What goes on in my plays is realistic, but what I’m doing is not realism’. Delightfully ambiguous.

This production is the launch of a new professional company in Adelaide. It is only a short season, playing 6-9 APRIL in the SPACE THEATRE at the ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE. I would like to thank the FESTIVAL CENTRE, CARLA ZAMPATTI, as well as the STAR THEATRE Adelaide, for their generous and kind support. Like the play itself, my business partner and myself are taking a leap into the unknown. Our intentions are good, we are doing this for the art and for Adelaide actors – hopefully you will come along and support us – BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!

 

TONY’S TOURS: PUBLIC ART: ADELAIDE 1: The Three Oldest Statues in Adelaide

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in Adelaide, ART, Australia, HISTORY, PEOPLE, PUBLIC ART, South Australia, STATUES, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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Adelaide, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE, ADELAIDE SPORTS OVAL, Australia, BOER WAR, CANOVA, CHARLES KINGSFORD SMITH, GALLIPOLI, HERCULES, PUBLIC ART, RIVER TORRENS, SIMPSON AND HIS DONKEY, South Australia, STATUES, VENUS, WAR MEMORIALS, WWI

PUBLIC ART: The Three Oldest Statues in Adelaide

After spending a large amount of this morning in a dentist’s chair, and feeling a bit numb in the mouth, I walked back to the Adelaide CBD from North Adelaide via the Torrens River. Once again – a fabulous discovery of just how exquisitely beautiful Adelaide is. showing off this lovely sunny February day, and reminding me of certain English, American and European towns that have a river running through it. It also gave me chance to further my file re public art. As mentioned in a previous blog – PUBLIC ART: SINGAPORE – my definition of ‘Public Art’ is basically anything that is in and for the public eye, which can include statues, graffiti, sketches, advertising, memorials, etc. Here are some photos I took on this walk.

I had no clear itinerary worked out, just ‘went with the flow’ as to where I meandered. I walked past the ADELAIDE OVAL, which is a large stylish modern building – with a number of statues of classical heroic athletes, such as Hercules, as well as modern Australian ones.

THE STATUE OF HERCULES, also known as The Farnese ‘Hercules’, sits in Pennington Gardens in front of the Adelaide Oval. It was the second public statue to be erected in Adelaide; given to the City of Adelaide in 1893 by William Austin Horn (1841-1922). W. A. Horn was a prominent South Australian businessman and politician, of whom it was once said that he was ‘one of the most generous public men‘ in South Australia.

Whilst it is a copy of an original, dating from 1892, nonetheless, it is rather unique, presenting a rather reflective and melancholic older-Hercules.

William_Austin_Horn.jpgI should add that in 1892 William Austin Horn in had already donated what was Adelaide’s first piece of public art; a  classical statue, a beautiful copy of Canova‘s VENUS. This statue was rather controversial at the time. The controversy was possibly inflamed as well as ignored by the fact that one of old Adelaide’s most popular ‘Gentlemen Club’ of the 1890s was directly across the road from the statue which lay on North Terrace in the CBD. Members of the club could go onto the balcony, enjoying their evening brandy or port and cigars, whilst list-fully gazing at this beautiful Canova ‘Venus’. The statue, as well as the building that hosted this club are still there on North Terrace – long may they be so!

The other statues that I noted as I wandered through Pennington Park was a rather impressive one of Sir Donald Bradman (1908-2001), and somewhat perversely one of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935). What ‘Smithy’ has to do with sport and the Adelaide Sports Oval I’m not quite sure? Nonetheless, as it may be that younger (and older) Australians have no idea who Kingsford-Smith is (or rather, was), nor of his heroic importance to Australian and World-History, better that he is there smack-bang right at the entrance.

On the other side of the main road there are a number of gardens and war memorials. I didn’t go to all of them, but the ones I did were excellent and somewhat surprising. I’m starting to appreciate the unique quirkiness that one finds in Adelaide, as often as not expressed in it variable range of ‘public art’, which can sometimes be placed in somewhat ironic modern day position. For example, this beautiful stone cross that is right next to speed sign; I call the pix ‘Stone Crucifix in a 50km/hr zone’ (haha).

Attracted by one that had a plethora of petunias, I discovered a statue dedicated to WWI Australian Gallipoli hero John Simpson (1892-1915), of ‘Simpson and his Donkey‘ fame.

Just a little further on was another war memorial shrine, in a classical pagoda with a very unusual life-size statue on the steps.

From here I just walked straight down to the banks of the River Torrens – the vista speaks for itself – marvellous!

I walked towards the city along the bank footpath and under the bridge…..

….continuing my fascination with ‘pathways’, what they look like, and where they lead. The path under the bridge was no exception; plus I discovered a piece of ‘public art’ that I’m pretty sure most people passing through this ‘pathway’ would never really notice – a series of large blue tiles with black drawings and silhouettes.

Emerging from this tunnel, you get a fantastic view of the city of Adelaide, the River Torrens and the Festival Centre.

I then went up and crossed the bridge that becomes King William Street, one of the main roads that travels through the CBD. There are parks and gardens on both sides of the road, but the biggest is the open park in front of the Festival Centre, looking directly across the Torrens to the Sports Centre.

I continued walking up King William Street until it meets North Terrace. Just next to the Festival Centre, on the other side from the park and the river, there are a number of examples of ‘public art’, modern and those from a more distant time.

Was particularly taken with this one; playing with the reflections….

And this lovely drawing near the entrance to the Festival Centre Car Park….

Finally, at the corner of King William Street and North Terrace there is rather impressive War Memorial statue, of a soldier and his horse in action. What is wonderfully intriguing about this terrific bronze statue is that it is dedicated to those South Australians who served in the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902); the same war that saw the court martial and execution of  Lieutenant Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant  (1864-1902). Morant’s name is not on any of bronze inscription panels that are places around the statue’s pedestal, which list the names of those who fought in the Boer War. However, the name of his comrade, Lieutenant Peter Handcock (1868-1902), who was also courtmartialed and executed at the same time as ‘Breaker’ Morant, was added in 1964 after a family and public campaign to do so.

The statue was designed and created by Adrian Jones (1885-1938); another of this English sculptor’s work, his ‘public art’, is the The Peace Quadriga that sits atop of Wellington Arch in London. After a vigorous competition involving public opinion, The pedestal was made by local firm Garlick, Sibley and Wooldridge, the granite coming from nearby Murray 200px-Quadriga,_Wellington_ArchBridge. The statue was offical unveiled at a big civic function by Sir George Le Hunte (1852-1925), Governor of South Australia from 1903-1909. The date, 6 June 1904, was chosen carefully, coinciding with the birthday of the then Prince of Wales, later King George V (1865-1936).

From the time of it’s unveiling up to present day, this memorial statue, placed right in front of Government House, has been central to any Australian war meorial function, including ANZAC Day. The statue has been known by a number of names. Initially it was the National War Memorial, a position it held until 1931. Today it is called The South African War Memorial and/or The Boer War Memorial.

What is simply wonderful – well I find wonderful in my own romantic way – is that The South African War Memorial, as well as the Canova ‘Venus’, and the Fernese ‘Hercules’, have all witnessed and played a part in the history and evolution of Adelaide. For many Adelaidians over the centuries these statues would have been, as they are now, part of the background for contemporary life and lives. They may not have been directly and regularly noted and commented upon, but was something buried in the conscious and sub-conscious, particularly in regard to memory and place. A common reference point for a number of people from Adelaide, the surrounding region and South Australia. A Collective Memory – what we see now other also saw in the past. Something to treasure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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