thosespacesinbetween

the importance of family…. many of you know that I recently went in search of roots… my races… the journey back to my country of birth… not sure exactly what I wanted to find… not even sure I had any expectations… I just knew I had to do it… and I did… and what I found was a family not only inspirational and forever driven to succeed in all its goals… but I found love… for me and my family… growing up without an extended family (grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins) is actually quite tough… you never quite understand your parents… the reason they are who they are… think about it… for those who have experienced this it actually cuts pretty deep… but this also helps shapes the person that you are and in many cases forces your family to become much closer… cause for the most part that’s all you’ve got… I was asked before I left chile to gather my thoughts and maybe put down a few words to describe those feeling that this trip has brought… to sum up my time in chile… and I guess what I came up with is this… thank you chile… thank you for the love… with luv x

how much talent can one kid have… my buddy paul was recently chosen as a finalist for the lethbridge 10 000 small scale art award (run by the lethbridge gallery in brisbane) a competition inviting not only australian but international artists to submit paintings, drawings and 2D artworks up to 60cm in any direction… with a first prize of ten thousand dollars up for grabs his artwork “cock” (drawn in biro) attracted some quality attention, even being published in the paper in the lead up to the finals… although he did not win (the winner al shah was named on the 24th of May) I know the talent of this kid has been duly noted with this drawing the first in a series he hopes to produce… just wanted to send a shout out to say I’m proud of my boy, oh and just to mention that this talented architect can’t really be too upset on the loss, he recently won (alongside his buddy jeremy marsden) the boral design award for architecture with their entry “jacaranda house” a take on what could be the new australian family home… good work guys, looking forward to seeing some more quality collaborations in the future… with luv x

cock by paul focic (biro)...

jacaranda house by paul focic and jeremy marsden...

just got back from what i can safely say was one of the best experiences of my life… five days trekking from salkantay to machu picchu … roughly sixty nine kilometers… a ten kilo backpack… an altitude ranging from 3,000 to 4,600 meters above sea level… ending with the lost city… and a whole lot more respect for the stories and plights of the andean people… a whole lot more respect for all native people… and unfortunately an ever growing sadness for what colonisation has destroyed…

i cannot recommend enough visiting this place to hear the stories and become one with nature… but make sure you take some time to hear the stories of your own back yard… australia has an important environmental history of its own with stories centered on respect for our mother earth and respect for each other… it might give you some new perspectives and most probably make you a little sad… hopefully it will give you some drive to stand up and make a change…

find out more here… check out some 360 degree machu picchu goodness here… and check the photos below…

all photos (except one) shot by deluxe… view more on the deluxeflickr photostream… with luv x

a few years back my good good friend nicola showed me this great video of the arcade fire playing some tracks crammed in an elevator… not an easy feat for a group with eight plus members… at the time i was left wondering well where did this video come from and is there more… hence it was a pleasant surprise when a link to the french music site la blogotheque’s self-produced take away shows popped up in my inbox (yes another tribute to flavorpill’s daily dose)… the site features unedited footage of so many great artists… the handsome furs, department of eagles, architecture in helsinki… all performing their music art in various public places… the street, the subway, the elevator…  vincent moon (also a co-founder of the site) is the man behind the lens in a number of these shows and i guarantee you will not be disappointed… i hope you enjoy… with luv x

following our earlier posts i thought this might be fitting…. ok so maybe for most the pursuit of an ecologically sound and socially equitable society does not instantly equate happiness… but if you consider having cleaner air to breathe or a society which values the greater good over individualism might make you a little happier, then you may like this website… founded in 1976, at the conclusion of the unhabitat conference in vancouver and in partnership with the University of British Columbia… the habitat exchange is an online venue for governments, ngos, academics and civil society across the globe to share and discuss best practices, appropriate technologies, action plans and other tools relevant to the pursuit of ecologically sound and socially equitable urban development… you can download a bunch of papers and other resources which might help you continue to fight the big fight… have a read it may change your outlook… with luv x