I found out the other week that my film The Backpack will be screening at the West End Film Festival. The end of production was kind of anti-climatic -there was no popping of champagne and the official screening at the Schonell Theatre came five months after the film completion, so when I heard the news about WEFF I did have a bit of a belated giddy squee of excitement. The screening is on the 21st April 8:30pm at the Rumpus Theatre at West End for those who can make it!

http://westendfilmfestival.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WEFF_Program2013.pdf

I love wandering uninvited into art exhibition openings. Not only is there free wine and nibblies but occasionally I stumble across hidden gems. A Sojourn by Lucy Bonnin is one of those rare finds. I was ambling past Hahndorf Academy the other night when I heard the soft hum of cultural repartee and the distinct smell of a cheese platter. Naturally I snooped around but unfortunately the event was just ending. However, I saw enough to be impressed and took myself back to the exhibition the next day.

Bonnin’s A Sojourn is a series of oil paintings which explores the duality of human and the beast. I was blown away by her technical execution (she is only 26!) but it was the humour evident in the juxtaposition of her compositions which appealed the most. For example, in Delia Lion Heart the disproportion between the main character and the tiny chairs in the background has an Alice-In-Wonderland quality to it. Double Helix is like a Dali-esque dream with portraits of humans in animal suits watching you watch them.

Double Helix By Lucy Bonnin

Have You Ever Been Down The Water Spout? By Lucy BOnnin

Delia Lion Heart by Lucy Bonnin

More of Lucy Bonnin’s works can be found here

http://www.bonnin.com.au/