General: Couple of good cunts go and look at ARTISTS and their studios, or those mo fuckers from The Big Art Trip (really) beat us to it.

Like to write this round up you will need Famous Grouse Whisky and like Monteith’s Original Ale and you know like play Installation (a game). For this you will need: a large collection of sculptures and like people to move the works around with, don’t think too much about it, it’s all about process. Then prior to all of this like you know watch the Warrior Within and git drunk. Visit some studios, drink, coffee/booze, whatever, not too much mind. Lovely. We listened to New Order "Get Ready" and indulged in a bit of artplotation as a valid form of expression when placed within a position which maintains irony as a concept for a system that enables piss taking. Streuth you flaming mongrels but seriously folks, ah. Good Work, good, great, nice. Better than like say the Chartwell collection, better than say many of the previous shows on offer to dirty old Dunedin’s art LOVING public like DPAG. Just keep in mind that these two (Jim and Mary Barr) kind decent folk like to have fun with art - also liked the Mikala Dwyer pieces, Ronnie Van Hout, Ricky Swallow, Michael Parekowhai blah blah, even went to the floor talk (did not complain) and kind of liked it

First off with Studio visits: 1. Ava Seymour, 2. Nigel Bunn, 3. Art School ‘n’ Michael Morley and Kate Belton, Hayden Prujean, Katy Lyon, Nikki Campbell late late on Monday - no one there really but maybe we just didn’t look hard enough.

Ava Seymour

Sitting around drinking wine and eating sheep’s milk feta, Ava knows a good spread. I arrived early so I got to eat the snacks first and have a cup of tea okay, Doug and Escher followed. From memory it was some sort of Dutch biscuit with Vanilla Tea, vanilla. She has been working on her like photomontages of the central Otago landscape, mostly. However she is putting some work into the Haunted House show at DPAG you know, also had some pieces in the Sex Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll at CoCA in ChCh. Nice works too, no photography thanks just painting and blow up sex doll heads and needles on chairs, Anna Bibby will be/is showing Ava’s work from her time spent in duner’s central Otago landscapes with anatomical attachments, central Otago landscapes with Graeme Sydney’s bones. Ha Ha you big art trippers were not gon git the goods. Struck by the lovely time had by all, great photos, good books that were hard to put down (circus freaks, obscure medical conditions and antique porn, deviants.) Escher became a bandit with cowboy hat, gun belt and all, Ava’s very own cowboy. Although the check out chick did not take his demands very seriously.

Nigel Bunn

Offered coffee on arrival at Nigel Bunn’s house, oh do you guys wanna cup a coffee yeah yeah, repeat. The distractions of antique eye candy left us almost forgetting about it. A man with all the toys to create his constructions. A plethora of ideas and machines, practical but beautiful constructs of an almost Victorian quality, like read The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, have to imagine that the machine/computer age came early and you mo fuckers got left behind, literally, you did sorry. Gifts exchanged - one speaker, some fuses, and other misc electrical equipment, coffee, and fudge supplied by Carolyn (Doug dropped some sorry) which got ate and someone was hyperactive N/A. This man is really working through some brilliant ideas, the experiments with explosions and ink for instance (all for the love of it) repetition ra ra repetition. Fly and meat painting machine idea impressed ay, plus radioactive art, which may like give you a quick smack on the ass. It is a pity he has to move and the inner city apartment boom is destroying cheap studio space. We ran home to drink wine and watch Star Wars.

Art School

Art school put the S and M in art, boy do those students need more exhibition space, the foyer gallery ain’t big enough. The Sculpture students were pile-driven in (one metre between works please). Expect riots for more exhibition space. I wonder who would take on the riot policing activities (time to buy your helmets and shields/garbage can lids). Word on the street has it that the art school is changing with Michael Morley and Serephine Pick going down to work the art school coal mine and Peter Nichols is leaving and Derrick Ball is going part time but that is not far enough. Let’s hope they will get some good tutors in. Hayden Prujean from the sculpture department is like playing around with site specific works; Katy Lyon was doing some cool paintings that are leading towards installation; also Nikki Campbell looked like she had some interesting ideas going on in her space, all I know is furniture and mattress are not safe right now; Kate Belton has been building ladders, lots ‘n’ lots of ladders, what does it mean?

So like what does it mean? That’s a roundup folks.

Love Doug, Michael and Escher "when are we going dad" Kelaher

p.s. Looking forward to Haunted House at the DPAG and testi (go see the lads at Dowling Street they will sort you out).

Douglas Rex Kelaher is a founding member of the Blue Oyster Artist and likes his power tools.

Escher Rex Kelaher has been a major force in the Dunedin art scene for several years, impervious to physical attack since aquiring the ability to turn himself into ghostform at will.

Michael Denys Charles Havell has previousley plauged the big D with sound, soccer and text. Mostly well behaved he lives on Canongate with his cat Bootsy Collins aka Miss Pretty.