Today's Posts
Petra Pattinson, Nikita Sukhanov, Peruvian visitors, Which Way?, From the Archive
Petra Pattinson
We approached Petra while she was taking in some winter sun before her day got going.
It was a brief but lovely encounter and we hope to bump into her again.
“I moved to Australia from London with my family in 2003, unprepared and shamefully ignorant of the country and its history. Before I left, I met a lovely Scottish woman at a party, married to an Australian and living in Bondi. She gave me her number and said ‘call me when you get there’. It was almost the first thing I did and I’m not sure we would have stayed if it weren’t for her taking us under her wing. I had heard of Newtown as being an interesting place for us to live – but ‘why travel across the world and not be by the ocean’ she said! So we rented nearby and the children went to the local public school. She introduced us to her friends and to other iconic coastal places like Byron Bay.
Three months after our move I can remember crying uncontrollably, feeling bereft of a sense of identity – I don’t think I’d realised how much personal history, particularly friends and places, contributed to a sense of knowing who I was.
Once I started working at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) and became part of a great team of people, I started to find my feet. There I was introduced to the work of Australian contemporary artists, in particular the work of First Nation artists like Karla Dickens and Fiona Foley, and I began to learn so much about Australia, Aboriginal culture and the atrocities of European colonialism.”
Nikita Sukhanov
It’s always fun to meet the artists behind any new work appearing on the wall.
Nikita was born in Russia (with an accent to prove it!). He has been here for nearly five years but still not sure if this is where he’ll stay.
In regards to his mural he says:
“I just wanted to create a contrast between Australian winter and snowy winter in other countries. I miss snow a bit and also miss snowboarding.”
Check out Nikita’s work at CXPK.art
PS: We’re always a bit flummoxed that those naughts, crosses and/or squiggly lines can turn into a completed artwork.
Janet and Paul
These 2 were visiting Bondi from Peru but looking every inch Greek Islanders
Which Way?
We like to call this the ‘This Way Cloud’
From the Archive
From this time two years ago:
The bride-to-be was surprised by the groom-to-be last Sunday evening. She thought they were just coming to Bondi for dinner with friends. It was the perfect evening for it.
We did wonder though, will there ever be a ‘get-down-on-one-knee and propose’ sort of proposal again? Still and all, it was lovely to see.