THE complexity of the mother/child relationship is a theme photographer Toni Wilkinson has recorded since her children were born. With a daughter now 20 and a 12-year-old son that’s a lot of images. But it’s the past five years that form her latest exhibition Uncertain Surrenders. The images were part of a PhD with a…

RINA FRANZ blends romanticism and scientific gloom in her latest exhibition Absent…landscape. The Perth painter was enjoying a six-month residency in Basel, when she became obsessed with the plight of the shrinking Swiss glaciers. “Only two glaciers in that region have not been affected by the global rise in temperature,” she says. “Scientists estimate that…

PRINCESS ANNE, a corgi riding side-saddle behind her, rears her horse; the hounds are off, and the hunt is on. Acclaimed Queensland artist Melissa Egan’s art is part realism/part satire and sending up the Queen’s daughter was meant to have been just one of a number of royal-themed pieces. “[But] after one princess I thought,…

REVEREND HORTON HEAT frontman Jim Heath is content with his career. After 28 years bringing an unabashed celebration of sex, booze and hard living to venues across the US, Heath and his band have cultivated a diverse and loyal fan base. Heath is feted by peers and loved by fans for his ability to make…

Robots can build cars, fly planes and even beat Garry Kasparov at chess—but when it comes to emotions and art they fail miserably. Or do they? WAAPA playwright Travis Cotton examines the relationship between Shakespeare and the silicon chip in his debut play Robots Vs Arts. In his dystopian future, robots have taken over the…

ARTHUR MILLER’S Willy Loman, in Death of a Salesman, is an unlikeable person. He verbally abuses and bullies his wife and sons and is a liar and a braggart in his efforts to sell himself as a big man with a big future. But he is utterly human and his emotional pain is palpable, leaving…

We felt that since we’d recently released a live album we had a little more freedom to play with some new sounds THE gals from Hussy Hicks rounded up some of their fave musicians, stocked up on some duty-free scotch and produced an album in five days. The Gold Coast-based duo of Julz Parker and…

Stuart Elliott likes to toy with his audience, to create ambiguous art that offers a peek of the hangman’s noose, without revealing whether the rope is taut or limp. He latest exhibition Facility 2—Beacon, hints at a dystopian future where science is rogue. Inspired by a derelict and now-demolished building Elliott glimpsed in Gnangara, his…

American monologist Mike Daisey’s expose of Apple’s factories in China was a powerful and deeply moving account of inhuman working conditions. After hearing his piece The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (having downloaded the podcast on my iPhone), I rushed to tell friends they had to listen to this show. But, shortly after the…