Soxhibition - everything is about socks

Nothing elaborate or ostentatious. Just an unpretentious exhibition solely dedicated to the art of socks, held at an unassuming basement venue inconspicuously hidden on the very hippy Flinders Lane. It is a unique display with an unconventional theme, a literally “underground” style, and a hint of unintentional cuteness.

Drawing inspirations from individualized heritage and ordinary objects, the audience is invited to examine the original designs and to explore the stories behind the fancy woven footwear. We see oriental dragon scales, daisy floral prints, geometrical and non-geometrical shapes, repetitive patterns, and animal-inspired stripes and spots. It is fun and unsophisticated, a pure enjoyment of something simple and modest.

The Soxhibition is part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival arts program. It is a beautiful outcome produced as a collaborative effort of some of the most interesting local artists and designers, thanks to The Social Studio and the savagely stylish Soxy Beast.

Location:

Fortyfivedownstairs Inc, Basement 45 Flinders lane, Melbourne

When:

7 – 18 March 2017

Tues- Fri, 11 am – 5 pm

Sat, 12 pm – 4 pm

This is a free event

Female Traffic Lights - how can you not love Melbourne?

The town is busy discussing about the female pedestrians silhouettes on the 12 traffic lights, recently installed at the intersection of the always-bustling Flinders and Swanston Streets. Some view it as a significant symbolic gesture combating unconscious gender bias; it is a lovely touch, a befitting move in conjunction with the International Women’s Day. The cynical raised their eyebrows and questioned the necessity of such a meaningless act. Melbourne is out of its mind; why spend money on replacing a few traffic icons when the fund could have been used for more worthy causes? Think about the more pressing issues such as unemployment, crime rates, domestic abuse, and wait a minute! Who said woman must wear a dress?

Regardless of the general disapprovals, we are glad that the project has provoked interesting conversation about gender equality and inclusiveness (amidst the beeping and buzzing sound of traffic lights). Angry taxpayers were assured that their hard-earned money has not gone into the controversial initiative. The 12-month light-replacement trial was funded by Camlex Electrical and hence, no public money was touched.

The movement was initiated by the Committee for Melbourne, a not-for-profit organization comprising various business and community groups in Melbourne. The ultimate goal of the organization was to install (progressively and slowly through routine maintenance/ replacement) an equal number of male and female pedestrian signs in Victoria, as a way to openly demonstrate to the world at large that women represent half of the population. 

Where:  Intersection of Swanston and Flinders Streets

Beaney Lane - a new street art transformation

Like a mischievous illusionist armored with invisible magic wand, the city sprung surprises on its unsuspecting audiences time and again, silently transforming the least noticeable laneways into the most glorious hallways full of evocative images, almost always in the blink of a night.  

Once, Beaney Lane was that low profile bloke who intensely enjoyed its inconspicuous status without a whine or whimper. Carefully and without drawing too much attention to itself, Beaney Lane provided a quiet access to vehicle owners in search for parking spaces, or the nighttime partygoers craving for an exotic venue with a Middle Eastern touch (the glamorous Spice Market bar and cocktail lounge).

Yet its secretive charm was soon discovered by a group of street artists. Beaney Lane is no longer that deserted place harboring no attractions of its own. Its vibrancy flourishes and captures the attention of all persons who casually swing by the south end of Russell Street. It presents a magnetic scene entrenched with an unspoken mysteriousness.

A pair of guarded, fearful green eyes hidden behind a veil of blue satin; Melbourne’s favourite realism artist Matt Adnate has once again created striking emotions within a static sphere of wall. Mongolian born artist Heesco painted a portrait of a very beautiful Asian model, with an enigmatic twist of blue complexion similar to a character from Avatar.

Place:

Beaney Lane: off Russell Street, between Collins Street and Flinders Lane.

RMIT Swanston Academic Building - the camouflaged chameleon

A distressing eyesore or a symbol of innovative vibrancy? The RMIT Swanston Academic Building is bound to create topics of interest and invoke incessant discussions. True to its usual eccentricity, Lyons Architects played with the audacious concept of a camouflaged chameleon and shook up the central-north landscape of the CBD with something out of ordinary.

The geometrically tricky scales of the structure were arranged in bold colour scheme that roars and rumbles. Anodized aluminum panels dyed in bright yellow, sky blue and sharp orange folded and posited at different angles. Numerous triangular windows display subtle reflections on translucent surfaces, accentuating the kaleidoscopic choice of its wild designers.

The structure reminds us of a distorted Rubik’s Cube that went out of shape, or a Hensel and Gretel’s gingerbread house with a contemporary metallic twist. The building curves and bends mischievously, creating peculiar dimensional illusions with its odd arches and jagged corners. Protruded and concaved spaces stood in gravitational defiance, surrounded rebelliously by spiky and uneven edges. The design mocks boring symmetry with its irregular elements and lopsided features. It unleashes a wail of freedom and a desire to discard any boundary yet to be pushed or challenged.

The surprises stop not at its attention grasping façade. Its interior is equally exciting. Like a Picasso’s colour palette encountering its newfound liberty, the inner space is a shimmering modern venue divided into several independent or interconnected settings draped in thrilling cloaks. Think of flexible swivel chairs and cheeky green tables in funky shape, industrial style ceiling and Manhattan jazz club’s chesterfield lounges in golden brown, Height-adjustable bar stools and rustic wood wall, bright orange lecture theatre and full height glass window partially obscured by grey zigzag structure. The interior is a series of chemistry experiments involving numerous mismatched items; the outcomes of which, surprisingly, rhyme and chime quite harmoniously in their most unusual way.

The building wears the prestigious Five Star Green Rating badge, and proudly lives up to its reputation as a green campus on a daily basis. Numerous sustainable functions and environmental strategies, both visible and invisible, were employed vigorously to maintain its standard of resource-efficiency: natural light utilization, natural ventilation mode, rainwater retention system, energy saving lighting, and solar powered hot water. The building might be aesthetically controversial, but its intelligence and functionality are perhaps indisputably top-class and definitely deserve to take home the prize. 

Location:

445 Swanston Street, Melbourne