• Fremantle artist David Prior is helping to raise funds for the Environment Defender’s Office. Photo by Kavi Guppta.
WA artists are banding together to raise funds for the Environmental Defender’s Office – the only legal centre in WA providing free, specialist advice on environmental issues.
Now in its second year, the EDOWA Art Exhibition is the organisation’s major fundraiser and social event.
“As the only community legal centre in WA working exclusively on environmental law, our main focus is to represent community groups and clients to protect their country and the special places that this state has to offer, such as the Exmouth Gulf and the rock art on the Burrup Peninsula,” says EDOWA’s principal solicitor Declan Doherty.
“It is crucial that we raise sufficient funds from the public to continue this important legal work.”
With a theme of Connection to Country, this year’s exhibition will explore artists’ personal connections to WA’s unique and fragile environment.
Connection
More than 100 original artworks including pieces from Anya Brock, David Prior, Jane Tangney and remote Indigenous art centres Papulankutja and Warman will go on sale this month.
“Coming from the Yamargi/Wadgari language group which covers a huge area of the desert stretching north east around the Gascoyne and the Murchison rivers, my connection to country is crucial and central to my art,” says Prior.
“It’s at the heart of everything I paint.”
The exhibition kicks-off at 6pm on Friday November 23 at King Street Art Gallery in Perth’s CBD.
The evening will feature a welcome to country by Noongar elder Uncle Ben Taylor Cuermara, a speech by water minister Dave Kelly, and a live art performance by Fremantle’s “Shakey”.
Attendees will have the chance to view and purchase works selected by EDOWA curators.
The works will also be exhibited on Saturday November 24, with online sales starting next day.
We can all make a difference WHAT can the average Perth resident do to contribute to helping homeless?
Contact your local homeless shelter to donate items like blankets, toiletries, multi-use water bottles, backpacks, clothing and durable shoes.
Contact your local representatives and push for new legislations and housing projects to support the homeless, mentally affected and domestic violence victims.
Respect, don’t judge. Having a conversation with a fellow human being helps us realise there is not a lot of difference between us.
It is often a personal tragedy, loss of job, divorce or illness and a lack of support structure that could cause any of us to fall.
A smile and a friendly face can make a big difference for someone to feel less alienated.
If you can make time to volunteer at a local homeless shelter you could answer phones, sort mail, cook, serve food, distribute clothing or fix things for free at the shelter. Find out what they need.
Collect toiletry bags, blankets, backpacks, water bottles, warm socks and boots during the warmer months from your home, friends and family.
Pack a big bag and head into town. The homeless people there are not only grateful for the gifts, but the fact that someone cares.
Find out if there is a chance to organise classes through the shelter or a community centre that offers to teach homeless people computer skills.
Finding support networks for legal advice, nutrition awareness, addiction support and counselling, learning English/new language or an instrument, to feel less isolated and part of a community.
It is handy to have contact numbers, if they are new to Perth or their situation, for free food, emergency shelters, domestic violence, counselling and rehab facilities. Simone Dominique Address supplied
This news is not second-hand AS a regular donor of decent-quality items to op shops, I was horrified to read Simone Dominique’s Speaker’s Corner “An opportunity wasted” in last week’s Voice, alleging major problems with many op shops.
She claims they needlessly throw out many high-quality or even new items for a range of disappointing reasons.
As a long-term heavy consumer of news media and ardent watcher of politics, it seems to me she has discovered a story that deserves coverage well-beyond the pages of the Voice.
I would encourage her to build on her Speaker’s Corner piece with more examples of her observations of waste and the poor excuses given by op shop management.
I suspect the WA environment minister would be suitably scandalised. Cameron Poustie Federation Street, Mt Hawthorn
I HAD booked interviews for last Tuesday before it dawned on me I’d miss the Voice Melbourne Cup party, but given the state of some colleagues the next day it worked out well and I enjoyed a peaceful lunch at Sayers Sister instead
I’ve been to Sayers in Northbridge quite a few times and the service is always excellent, and this occasion was no different.
I was too early for the lunch or I would have gone for the seared barramundi ($31), which D’Angerous Dave and I have enjoyed before.
But there was plenty on the breakfast/brunch menu, including your traditional favourites and a few exotic surprises like the zucchini and sundried tomato bread with minted ricotta, tempura zucchini flower and poached egg ($19.50).
For the carnivores there’s bacon and eggs or pulled lamb and pearl barley with sweet potato humus, tomatoes, egg, flat bread and minted chimichurri ($23).
But for me it had to be the coriander and cumin beans tagine ($17.50).
Not a fan of eggs, I asked for them to be left off and was pleasantly surprised when the waiter suggested I could have mushrooms instead.
The dish was so rich and tomatoey it should have been illegal; with a wonderful sharpness that was followed by a hint of chilli on the tongue.
A dollop of pesto and hummus added to the richness of the Moroccan spiced dish, creating contrasting but balanced flavours.
With appointments looming I grabbed a lime and coconut slice and a piece of carrot cake ($7) to go.
Enjoyed with a cuppa at home they were fantastic: the lime slice a perfect mix of sweet and sharp, with an undercarriage of chunky, coconut flakes.
The spicy carrot cake was like Christmas on steroids, with creamy white icing and a generous lashing of rich cranberries, walnuts and dried apricots.
Sayers Sister is never an outside bet for breakfast or lunch, and it romped home in first place again.
By JENNY D’ANGER
Sayers Sister 236 Lake Street, Northbridge 7 days breakfast and lunch licenced
WIDJIMORPHUP is in WA’s wheatbelt, but you won’t find it on any map.
Instead the town is located in the vivid imagination of acclaimed local artist Leon Pericles.
There’s plenty of Widji in Just Scratching the Surface, a sprawling retrospective of his career that includes 500 artworks from the last 50 years.
Pericles arrived at Kay Gallery for our interview in a rush, fresh from filming an ABC documentary about his art, and clutching his latest creation.
“Be careful the ink’s still wet,” he says.
Moira, his wife of nearly 50 years, was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago and proceeds from the sale of the three limited edition prints, titled Etching for Moi, will go to The Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.
Linton and Kaye Gallery is waiving its commission for the cause.
Quixotic
Moi prints have delicately drawn flags fluttering from a lighthouse.
“Most yachties could read it – it says Moira,” Pericles says.
As with much of his work, a tiny detail adds layers of meaning, like the quixotic rotary hoist at the base of the lighthouse.
“It’s typical of the work women do and are not given enough appreciation for,” he says.
Over his prolific career Pericles kept two prints from every run for his children, but with their homes now bursting at the seams with dad’s art, they can now be snapped up.
Pericles grew up in Meekatharra, where his parents owned a pub.
With deep mining shafts and deadly snakes all around, his dad told him not to go outside the gate, “or I would die.”
He took it to heart and stayed indoors, drawing an imagined world beyond the fence.
His talent was picked up at Hale School by another West Australian art icon, Robert Juniper, whose encouragement saw him head to the United Kingdom to undertake postgraduate studies.
A wicked sense of humour is evident in Pericles’ art as he sends up Aussies icons, like when the Royal East Widjimorphup Yacht Club entered Kiss of the Shag, created from corrugated iron, into the America’s Cup.
“The sails were made from old pyjamas from the Widji old men’s home,” quips Pericles.
A pre-fame William McGuiness was the captain, Oldsea Dog, and Pericles reckons it was the actor’s first big break, as the launch went viral with international film crews keen to spice up their news reports about the Cup action in the port city.
Another unforgettable performance was the Royal East Widji Art Society’s 1983 exhibition which featured the uncovering of an historic art find under its town hall.
But to show there’s more strings to Pericles’ bow than just Widji, he was also the recipient of an international kite-making award for one of his creations, which was flown before a Chinese audience of 200,000 people.
Just Scratching the Surface is on at Linton and Kay Gallery, Aberdeen Place, West Perth, until December 23.
NEW YORK chic meets industrialism in this two-storey townhouse in Highgate.
Designed to have two bedrooms, the owner didn’t want to be fenced in, so the second level was converted into an open lounge area with a cute study nook set in a wall of faux ivy.
Should the new owners want two bedrooms, dividing walls would be a breeze to put up.
With polished concrete floors and two huge north-facing windows, this area is warm in winter and cool in summer, without sacrificing natural light.
The en suite has a sweep of bench space, with double vanities.
The open-plan theme continues downstairs in the generous living area, where honey-gold Tasmanian oak floors and north-facing windows conjure light and space.
The kitchen is compact but not claustrophobic, with a sweep of Caesar-stone benchtops and a central island. There’s a heap of storage, including a pantry.
A set of almost floor-to-ceiling windows on the southern side look out onto a small internal courtyard, while on the northern side the windows offer views of a spacious al fresco.
The pleasant courtyard, protected by high walls and secure fencing, leads to the car-port, which is accessible from a rear laneway.
The tall frangipani in the corner of the garden will add a sweet fragrance over the summer months, especially as the morning sun spills over the wall.
With 105sqm of internal living space this funky townhouse on Lord Street is a great abode for singles or a couple.
And unlike an apartment or other townhouses, there’s no strata fees.
East Perth station is at the bottom of the road, and when it comes to relaxing the Mt Lawley and Beaufort Street strip is a stone’s throw away.
by JENNY D’ANGER
350B Lord Street, Highgate EOI from $499,000 Carlos Lehn 0478 927 017 Acton Mt Lawley 9272 2488
THE Voice often throws around some niche LGBTI cant, so with gender reassignment reforms and gay surrogacy laws wending their way through parliament we wanted to take some time to explain some of the terms used during the debates.
Some of these are from the Australian Law Reform Commission’s glossary, some were defined by Maylands MP Lisa Baker in Parliament, and we threw in a couple of the terms we’ve come across that you might be puzzled about.
As Ms Baker said in parliament, “terminology is a movable feast. The context and interpretation of things that meant something 10 or 20 years ago change as the community changes and as cultures change.
by DAVID BELL
• Gender: According to the ALRC, the way a person identifies and expresses their masculine or feminine traits. For transgender people, this doesn’t match the sex they’re assigned at birth.
• Sex: The ALRC defines this as chromosomal, gonadal and anatomical characteristics associated with a person’s biological sex.
• AMAB/AFAB: Assigned-male-at-birth or assigned-female-at-birth: When the doctors looked at your bits and decided your sex. A lot of trans people prefer this to saying they were “born a man” or similar, because they don’t feel they were “born a man”—they were born as them and “assigned” as a man before they had a say in the matter.
• Transgender: The “T” in LGBTI+. Refers to a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. A trans man was assigned female at birth and now identifies as a man, and a trans woman was assigned male at birth and now identifies as a woman.
• Transsexual: Also sometimes the T in LGBTI. Refers to a person in the process of, or who has already undergone medical or surgical treatment to affirm their biological sex characteristics in line with their gender identity.
• Gender dysphoria: Distress felt by someone whose sense of gender differs from their sex assigned at birth. This can be caused by seeing parts of their body that don’t align with their psychological identity, or by being called the wrong gender.
• Non-binary or Genderqueer: An umbrella term for gender identities that aren’t exclusively male or female. Includes agender (doesn’t identify as any gender) and pangender (identifies as all of them).
• Them/They/Their: A genderless pronoun, preferred by some people over “he/she/his/hers”. Uncharitable pedants will sometimes argue this usage of the “singular they” is grammatically incorrect, since “they” is meant to refer to a plural. But the “singular they” usage has been accepted as correct for about 700 years, and only recently has been criticised by prescriptivist grammarians who wanted people to use “he” as a generic stand-in pronoun for everyone.
• Cis male, cis female, cisgender: Cis is a Latin prefix that basically means the opposite of “trans”. If you’re a cis male you feel like a man and you were assigned male at birth. It’s not in any way intended to be an insult. Cis-het is short for “cisgender, heterosexual”.
• Gender binary: The theory that there’s just men, and just women, and that gender isn’t a spectrum. It’s a fairly culture-bound concept that the west has long been wedded to. Many cultures around the world had “third genders” or more, including the Kinnar of India, or Albania’s Burrneshas. Assigned female at birth, these people from families with no male figure to continue the patriarchal line swear an oath to work, dress, and live as a man, with all the relevant male burdens and liberties, including patrilineal inheritance, effectively making the Burrnesha head of a fatherless family.
• Intersex people: The “I” in LGBTI+. A person with genetic, hormonal or physical characteristics that are not typically male or female. Sometimes it’s apparent at birth because they have ambiguous genitalia, sometimes it’s only apparent during puberty.
• Slurs: The word “tranny” is almost universally considered a serious slur by the community, and “he-she” and “shemale” are also out. “Hermaphrodite” is scientifically inaccurate when describing humans with intersex characteristics and has also fallen out of usage. “Transvestite” is someone who wears the clothes traditionally worn by another gender, and usually isn’t the right word for transgender people.
• Deadnaming: Calling a trans person by their old name. Most trans people don’t want to be called that or asked what it was.
• LGBTIQQCA++: The increasingly unwieldy “alphabet soup”, as it’s jokingly referred to by many people under the umbrella. Apart from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex, the lengthier versions include “Queer,” “Questioning,” and even “curious”. There’s a debate among the LGBTI+ community at the moment as to whether the “A”—asexual, belongs. Some “ace-exclusionists”—mostly online activists—don’t think cis-het asexuals should be included in the soup, feeling that they haven’t been through the same oppressive experience. You don’t really have to say the whole cumbersome acronym every time: “LGBTI+” or even just “LGBT” is usually assumed to cover the whole community, even if the rest of the letter train isn’t trundling behind.
A new era
IN recent times there have been victories on the LGBTI+ equality front, but people around the world people still face violence, inequality, torture and execution because of who they love.
This year’s Pride Parade theme is “Together”, with the organising committee saying only by working together can we achieve a world of equal rights.
This will be the first Pride Parade since the legalisation of marriage equality, so we might see a few newlyweds among the buff lads, nipple pasties, unicorns, Dykes on Bikes and samba dancers.
It’s also the first year the Parade will be running since the opening of Yagan Square, and the march will end at the new public space.
It kicks off at 8pm on Saturday November 24 and can be seen from Francis, Lake and James Streets, and then the southern stretch of William Street before it ends up at Yagan Square.
Australia’s favourite roast chicken is now even easier to order.
There is no question that West Australians love Red Rooster.
The iconic Aussie brand that is 100% Australian owned and operated started up in Perth in 1972, with its very first restaurant in Kelmscott built and
opened by well-known WA businessman Peter Kailis.
Over 45 years later the newest Red Rooster restaurant has opened in Northbridge, taking the total number of restaurants in the state to over sixty.
WA is one of Red Rooster’s biggest markets with the brand currently employing around 2500 West Australians and extending from Kalgoorlie to Peppermint Grove and from downtown Perth to Bull Creek and Beachboro.
This latest restaurant is in the heritage listed Chung Wah Association building in James Street, Northbridge.
The restaurant design is contemporary and the menu features everyone’s favourite roast chicken, along with the usual and much-loved sides, wraps, snacks and burgers.
At the helm is franchise partner Jo Lee. Jo is an amazing businessman and family man who also runs the Red Rooster restaurants in Rivervale and Warwick. He has given jobs to around 100 locals and is committed to making a difference in his community. He has a great history with the brand and is a successful businessman in his own right.
Originally from Malaysia, Jo moved to Melbourne to study IT before becoming a proud Perth resident in 2005 and moving into real estate sales. Then, a decade ago, Jo sold a house to a Red Rooster manager that changed the course of his life. Now Jo is the proud owner of three Red Rooster restaurants!
Jo says that more than anything he is looking forward to being part of the James Street community.
The locals have warmly welcomed him in the first few weeks of trading and they have already served some great regular customers.
Red Rooster Northbridge is at 128B James Street, Northbridge and is open 7 days for lunch and dinner, and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Delivery available.
• Maylands artist Eva Fernandez with mayor Dan Bull. Photo supplied.
EIGHTH AVENUE in Maylands has been transformed into a lush art space as part of the local council’s commitment to rejuvenating the town centre.
The median strip has been lined with native plants and trees, and giant planter boxes will feature works by local artists.
The first artist to be showcased is Eva Fernandez, who was born in Toronto but now lives and works in Maylands.
Colonialism
Fernandez has exhibited in Brookfield Place and Arcade 800 in Perth, the WA Art Gallery and the national galleries of Victoria and Adelaide.
Her Eighth Avenue work After the Tea Party explores the complex legacy of colonialism.
Bayswater mayor Dan Bull said the city’s ‘Art on Eighth’ project was a great way to showcase local art while greening up the streetscape.
“At the city’s place activation workshops the community told us they want to see Maylands become a lush green town centre while continuing to celebrate the arts culture that is so prevalent here,” he says.
“Street trees will be grown in the new planter boxes as a trial for areas limited by space or underground services.
“We know that trees have traffic calming effects as well as improving walkability along streets, which is ideal for Eighth Avenue.
“If you’re an artist who has a connection to Maylands, I encourage you to get in touch with the city’s place manager to express your interest in exhibiting your work through Art on Eighth,” he said.
The planter boxes are the latest initiative by the city to revitalise Eighth Ave, with previous measures including road resurfacing, new street furniture and upgraded street bins.
If the planters go down well with locals, the city will consider putting more on the verge.
UPDATE: That was quick. It took just days for a miscreant to vandalise the installation, pulling all the native plants out of one of the boxes on the weekend and dumping them on the ground. Bayswater councillor Catherine Ehrhardt tells us she’s reported it to the council and they’ve then got onto police. Apparently the coppers have footage of a suspect causing a ruckus further down the street but the planter boxes themselves were out of frame.
• Perth council’s commissioners have backed a swag of initiatives raised by suspended councillor Reece Harley, which he says were initially rejected for political reasons. File photo by Jarrad Seng.
PERTH councillor Reece Harley says it’s bittersweet watching from the sidelines as many of the issues he’d pushed for come to fruition.
He and the rest of the council are suspended while the state government carries out an inquiry into the “serious and long term failure by the elected council to ensure the city performed its functions properly.”
Collateral
Cr Harley says that under the old rules the state couldn’t just suspend lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and the rest of council was collateral damage.
Last week the commissioners sitting in for the council signalled an easing of the city’s strict al fresco policy, prompting Cr Harley to peruse his 2015 campaign material when he ran for mayor, ticking off issues that have come to fruition.
Cr Harley had long wanted to get rid of the clothing allowance that allowed councillors to spend thousands of ratepayer dollars on designer labels. He couldn’t get enough support on council, with only Crs Steve Hasluck and Jemma Green agreeing with him. Commissioners scrapped the allowance in September.
His campaign letter said he’d move to “abolish alfresco licence fees” that charged restaurants big bucks to put chairs and tables on the footpath.
The fees weren’t abolished, but they have been lowered and commissioners committed to reviewing them at the October 30 council meeting.
Another one of his issues was vindicated last week, when the commissioners sacked City of Perth CEO Martin Mileham.
Cr Harley says “Myself, [Jemma] Green and [James] Limnios all voted against the CEO’s permanent appointment. We raised at the time various concerns about the recruitment process that let to his appointment…after viewing his performance in the role in the last eight months, the commissioners have said they don’t believe he’s the right person to lead the city into the future”.
Likewise, he’d pushed for council meetings to be recorded—that finally started in 2016—and after a long effort they finally got rid of the rule forbidding individual councillors from speaking to the media last year.
Soon after getting on council in 2013 he started to clash with Ms Scaffidi, and the majority of the councillors back then were firmly on the lord mayor’s side.
Political
He says “I feel that many of the ideas I proposed were instantly rejected simply because I proposed them. I do have a feeling that whenever I raised an issue, it was immediately rejected for political reasons rather than being assessed on its merits.
“But, over time, when people have been able to consider them more and consult more fully with stakeholders, they’ve realised the benefits of those ideas and have come around to supporting them.”
He says “it’s heartening to me, but also frustrating to see this agenda being implemented” while he’s not able to be there. “I guess that’s a good thing. You want to come up with good ideas and set them free.”
• Audrey, Lily and Dylan playing upstairs. At ground level is Lily’s dad Steve McQuillan, Emma Cole, Dylan’s dad Dan Loden and Lily’s granddad Colin Rogers who built the treehouse. Photo by David Bell.
THIS treehouse in Mt Hawthorn is exactly what Vincent councillors had in mind when they scrapped their prohibitive verge rules.
Like most local governments, Vincent had strict rules about what could be put on a verge, with tyre swings, little benches or cubby houses forbidden.
The rarely-invoked rule was brought into the spotlight in November last year, when someone complained about a rope ladder and a swing on Chamberlain Street.
Technically, under the council’s verge rules, it had to go.
That set mayor Emma Cole on a mission to revise the rules, and she says this new treehouse in Mt Hawthorn is the kind of thing they hoped to see when the changes were approved in August.
Colin Rogers, the father-in-law of Mt Hawthorn resident Steve McQuillan, is a skilled carpenter and built the cubbyhouse while visiting from the UK.
He borrowed some tools from Vincent councillor Dan Loden, and built the treehouse in a sturdy bough from recycled lumber.
Perth Voice Interactive 