we need to talk about Reg...

This is Reg Mombassa's "Self Portrait With High Pants",
which he submitted for that particularly Sydney slagfest, the Archibald Prize.
He thought that this would be close to "what Bon Scott would have done as a self portrait".
I rather like it. Actually, I like it lots.




He is mostly known for his irreverent "larrikin" style graphics used by mambo designs. (His contribution to the Sydney Olympics was a fly-infested backyard bbq scene in the Closing ceremony: hilarious and bewildering).
Originally from New Zealand, he is a lovely painter who explores nostalgia and half remembered places, investigating the landscape from the perspective of the perpetual traveller.

and here he is with Dog Trumpet, playing "Lili Marlene." Monday night at NGArt in Chippendale.
Absolutely Brilliant.




This was the unexpected bonus for undertaking that military style operation called "going to an exhibition opening across town when you have small children and a densely tangled life."
Well, the boychild and I were amply rewarded.

Listen to the South Pacific guitar riffin' jangles. I defy ANY of you, if you are australian, to deny the presence of a few of those vibrato chords,deeply embedded in your psyche, those twangly guitar riffs, traces of any old "Mental as Anything" song played in a pub or an RSL club, or on the radio on a long car trip.

This was the best exhibition opening I ever went to.
Gosh it was fun...
( TWO doses of miss jane on the ONE day. AND her work was sold..go miss j.)

And the fishspawn had the best of all times too.


Go there: NGArt: "There's No Place Like Home" features artworks by Reg AND brother Chris O'Doherty, (not to mention the lovely Miss Jane.)
Little Queen St Chippendale.