punk monks go pop

last thursday [october 06] saw the wet weather launch of the pop up night markets at taylor square for which i'm curating the vibe for with the punk monk propaganda team headed up with co-conspirators craig bunkwaa & stevie dunstan. it's a community microcosmos, space for the senses to be soaked & soothed in a mild edible, tactile, visual & aural orgasm. baby steps towards a long distance street party dream.

below is a pic of bunkwaa looking awesome & me emulating an autocratic melted wax doll. if nothing else i will spend the rest of my life avoiding that particular facial expression. stevie somehow escaped evidential humiliation. aren't photos grand?

we're collaborating with the wonderful sydney sustainable markets which emerged from humble yet aspirational saturday morning beginnings [stevie & i were there for the christening & still have our recycled city council silk banner bags to prove it] and are going from strength to strength now stretching wings to a new tomorrow via the sydney crave food festival. undeterred by the incessant rain the people still come...

in addition to a handful of incredible food stalls [no gozleme in sight] which sold out despite the on/off opening downpours our semi-usual projection bombing of experimental light onto buildings and spaces with or without people can be witnessed each week. this time round we'll be illuminating entire heritage buildings with our well-loved OHPs.

rotating interactive workshops designed to provide a hands on artistic experience for the curious & adventurous. this time, recycled zines! as seen here last week, sustainable jewellery mentored by highly skilled & versatile sydney artist christie torrington. 

this coming week, christie's handiwork can be witnessed with live illustration whilst playing alchemist with the rest of the uber punk monk artists via our grateful dead re-appropriated & signature liquid light projections as she fuses both analogue disciplines into a wondrous sight whilst combating ambient spill from street lights in taylor square. we'll also be bombing ground zero with video animations you can dance on in the fleeting shadows. kill switch anyone? 

each week we can promise live music to complement the existing oxford street soundscape... featuring two different folk artists combined with our own handpicked & much loved DJs/experimental noise artists [defender sound & interstellar starfish].

not to mention our regular live art collaboration with street artists. last round: bunkwaa, konsumterra & andros in some sort of epic pirate panel battle. who knows what will be on the agenda this time with additional moonlighting visitors armed with poscas who come & go in the night?

you can always spot a punk monk event-side by our telltale hands. follow the colour trail & you'll find us. somewhere between our makeshift dancefloor pulsing rainbow waves of light, hub of quietly humming artists, the sultry chai tent & inlet of industrious marquees spewing out seductive aromas of yum. despite what our mothers told us, we still like to play with our food.


NB. photos all rights reserved by dave cheng for punk monk propaganda


pop up night markets at taylor square
every thursday in october
taylor square
oxford street
darlo. sydney
17:00 - 21:00

shadow puppetmasters

the shiny new punk monk experimental interact projection breakaway faction[ky, nick and yours truly] play shadow puppets on the pine street wall as kate, alex, clare and mel bathe us in liquid light. meanwhile we project back down onto the expansive floor beneath at their feet. it's a projection off!

this quiet little article in city news who covered the opening event on the night pays a little homage atop a well curved and pink covered before and after bum. dirtyland. that's us.

meanwhile i manage to twist not so very hard, salubrious graffiti artist & festival co-director craig bunker AKA bunkwaa to come join us to demonstrate the mechanisations of flipbook & ad hoc paint programs with a well placed projected crab. the kids go wild. especially us.

this lively punk monk collaboration lives on into the smart arts closing night party this friday april 15 at red rattler where punk monk propaganda play with alice spacedoll & the divine knights with freestylin MC UN-1 playing evening MC. look for more light, live animations, a nano fanzine and things to skew/enhance your vision during and after. ALL FREE.

then you'll find us at the closing party on tuesday april 19 for hugely successful jurassic lounge at the australian museum bleeding interactive love onto gemstones by night. dance on & with us. while around the bend, our liquid light alchemists will bathe the museum in trippy coated goodness.

and if you're not sick of us then punk monks can also be found at the regrowth festival for alice spacedoll's album launch combining work, play and plant growing over easter weekend.

that's april pretty well bombed.

:)

city news covers smART arts

Smart ARTS to showcase Sydney’s young talent

The Smart ARTS festival kicks off on April 1, providing young local artists with a unique two-week window to showcase their talents.

The event will feature a broad variety of works, ranging from film screenings and live music to more traditional exhibitions, and is expected to attract visual and performing arts enthusiasts from all over Sydney.

The festival is the creative platform for the City of Sydney’s annual Youth Week celebrations and will draw from the creative talents of 16-25 year old Sydneysiders.

The event coordinator Christie Torrington said: “The great thing about the City of Sydney at the moment is that there are more and more opportunities being made for young artists to get out there and exhibit their work.

“The event will enable them to show a wider audience what they can do in a creative sense and that’s what smart ARTS is all about.”

The festival will be hosted by the Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, which has in recent years become an integral part of the local art scene, serving as a stepping-stone for young people seeking a professional career in the field of creative arts.

The festival will commence with an art exhibition and launch party featuring performances by the Sydney Youth Orchestra as well as light projections by award-winning filmmakers, Punk Monk Propaganda.

Victoria Waghorn, founder of Punk Monks, said audiences can look forward to a spectacular display.

“On the opening night the walls are going to be lit up with liquid light and we will be playing projections and interactive animations,” she said.

During the course of the festival, Waghorn and other members of her team will also be offering free workshops, teaching youths how to make mobile films that will in turn be shown on the closing night.

“It’s an evolution of following your dreams and pursuing your passion!” she said.

When asked about the impact of the arts centre and the upcoming festival, Waghorn replied: “When I first came here I didn’t realise the scope it had. “This centre actually pulls in people from all over Sydney, not just the neighbourhood behind the university.”

Another highlight will be a performance by the Divine Knights synth-pop duo, who will be playing at the closing party on April 15. Gerard Anthony from the Divine Knights said: “I am really excited to be part of something that’s so creative and that’s supporting young creative people. It’s incredibly important.”

The City of Sydney’s smart ARTS festival will run from April 1-15 at the Pine Street Creative Arts Centre in Chippendale. All events are free but bookings are required for some events. For more information visit www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/pinestreet.

By Alexander Meyer-Thoene

smART arts opens

friday april 01: smart arts opened. running a little ragged & behind schedule [i brought my technical problems curse with me] come 18:30 almost on the dot we were ready to rock in the subdued light as we waited for the sun to disappear.

...and the crowds from the art exhibition mocktail queue inside to venture out. we breathed a collective sigh of relief as the show got underway. noone had died from our hair raising stunt set-ups in between. WHEEE!

us punk monks have a fair share of involvement in the fest and are really excited to be involved in such a progressive enterprise promoted & run by the council for the youth of sydney [16 - 25s].

organisers christie torrington & craig bunker have put together an inspiring and action packed programme for the two week duration. we're  a very happy & key part of the visual action & vibe.

we projection bombed the space within almost the last inch of itself [although as ky & nick point out we could have fitted at least one more projector].

not only did we flood the floors & walls with light and imagery we combined liquid light alchemy courtesy of kate [taylor], alex [papasavvas], clare [devlin-mahoney] and mel [papasavvas] with a visual mash of film [me, stephen dunstan, steven kastrissios, kate taylor, dan simmonds, angela bishop, tony lawrence], 2 and 3D animations [craig bunkwaa & alison locke] with some onsite live pencil meets flipbook programme [yours truly with ky [-lee menzies] & nick [radford] and guest animator bunkwaa] creating patchworks of interactive imagery using ground zero AKA the basketball court as our canvas. 

...and we made dreamcatchers too which hung ghostily from trees and eaves. the amazing silhouette lamps were created in a props workshop by talented artists & volunteers leading up to the fest. small 3D bunkwaa effigies danced in faerie circles in the grass carefully keeping watch. it's all about psychedelic dreamtime texture.

all these photographs were taken by guest punk monk & underground KINO film friend, emerging photographer vaughan allan. aren't they stunning? we love being made to look good.

we're just getting warmed up... want to come to the red rattler on april 15 for closing party to see what happens next?

and then, and then, and then - there's the whole journey in between. check out the programme. and while you're there sign up for my mobile film workshops!

smART arts festival

a pine street creative centre initiative

[with sydney city council]

april 01 - april 15.