This beautiful street mural painted clandestinely in the 1970's in Clifton Hill has now apparently been heritage listed because it is so popular. Possibly the first remaining example of shadow tracing I have seen, and one of the most psychedelic. Anyone recognise the artist who did it? Photo by Tim

While in Adelaide recently for the Adelaide Fringe Festival, my friend Rob E and I discovered The Strawberry Project installation by Peter McKay at the Carclew Arts Centre with the following artist statement: "For about three years I have been planting strawberry plants in the cracks in the pavement and guttering of the city of Adelaide. I like strawberry plants because I think they are particularly generous plants, especially considering their size. Sometimes these plants are documented photographically. More importantly the plants are always recorded on a map of the city. Plants can live either a suprising long time or a suprisingly short time depending on weather, the various modes of traffic around and on them, and random acts of generosity toward them. From a distance I have seen a good number of people 'discover' a strawberry plant for themselves, and from what I can tell they seem to think their encounter borders on the miraculous. Please take a strawberry and plant it in a crack in the city if you feel so inclined. Digging tools are available too, but please return them for others to use. Peter McKay, 2006"


We were so inclined, so we borrowed a gardening implement and made our way out on to the streets, which was hopping with energy in the midst of the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, et al - definately a great time to be in Adelaide..

We chose some pavement near the river entrance to the Adelaide University. As Rob E dug his plot in the naked soil between the gravel concrete and the fence I stood look out and took these photos. Passersby were intrigued by our random actions, and stopped to ask questions. We found they were very impressed with the idea and voiced the idea in all of our heads; 'why is it that we don't ever grow food in public?' It was a question which had been raised a few times in the Community Gardens Conference held out in Flinders Uni earlier on in the week. City Councils the world over have developed an elaborate public park infantry of professional gardeners and intricate underground watering systems, but none of this infrastructure is used to actually produce food.


I think that Peter McKay's artist statement gets to the point when he recognises the 'miraculous' nature of finding a fruit plant in the city street. But what does this simple act say about our culture and it's disenfranchisement from the simplest of natural wonders?


Under the suggestions of the pedestrians who stopped to talk (our Community Consultation process, no less) I decided to plant on the other side of the wall, to maximise shade and excess run-off from the university gardening system. Unfortunately these factors limit the potential for random discoveries by other pedestrians. It was a tough choice...


If you are in Adelaide, please take the time to visit our Strawberry plants and see how they are doing. They are located between Adelaide University and the River Torrens, just a little west of the main footpath entrance to the Union area. If you taste one of our strawberries, please drop me a line to tell me what they tasted like!

thanks to Peter McKay for the beautiful ideas.. Long live the guerilla gardening meme! xx Tim

science doubtsreligion believesbut who knows?
(drawing by tim parish, jan 2006)

The message is the medium, This tale was mass produced at the mint, Abstract universal language tool of trade, Your symbols are of puritan utility, only as useful as your laws of translation base matter into gold. Fluid currency river awash through the world's commerce, The fuel of work' pilgrimage to riches, Physics began your secular ascendency, Gifting atomic signifigance to the practice of base materialism. Science distracted elsewhere in morality + ethics vacuum noticed not, taken advantage like a prodigy made to write soulful sonnets to corrupt monarchy as it was. Rational demon, not pagan, but ancient as the conquest of land. Not animist but animated, You are the first Information Technology Traded in the marketplace or the stolenwealth of natives You lurk in the mythology of the Level Playing Field You have one message. Power. In backrooms under cigarette sacrament, Rituals of dice and dollar envisioned ancient tribal wastelands. Tainted with the slave wage, Passed over ecocides wake, Thirsting for Cities of Gold The pirates of civilization following the carrot on a stick Colonial Las Vegas Mecca's breed like casino cultures, stealing from bored bourgeoisie, encouraging the recycle of poverty, merely amusing the impossibly wealthy,. All in your faceless name. You are everywhere and every night I watch Economist Acolytes pronounce spells of stockmarket santeria on the television altars Sermons updating the health of your Church Politicians feed you sacrifices of public assets in hopes to lure fortuitous harvest each financial season, and even Marx unwittingly wrote your bible. It was called Das Kapital.

image sifted from the detritus of television culture, a few years ago.. the 'powerball' of wealth looms over suburbia people leave their television cocoons to cower underneath it's supernatural glow... somewhat inspired by the 'Wealth Religions' such Hillsong. "God wants YOU to be wealthy!'

objects..

collage by verb and wren, nov 2005

A portrait of Albert Hoffman reliving his the first acid trip on his bicycle (vehicle of the revolution) I made this image for Rak as an illustration he was doing for an article about the 1006 LSD Symposium, for 'Penthouse' Magazine./../ Unfortunately they said it looked too much like a 'New Scientist' image.. (is that code for 'not sexy enough'?)