WHITE RABBIT GALLERY – is nothing too hard for a Chinese artist?

It took Shi Jindian three years to sheath every part of a side-car motor bike in woven wire, creating Blue CJ750.

Something that impresses us about much Chinese art, quite apart from what it looks like, is the amount of time, effort and detailed work which has gone into its creation. It seems that nothing is too much trouble.

In Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery, one of the world’s greatest private collections of contemporary Chinese art is available to anyone who’s interested, absolutely free. Thanks, owner Judith Neilson, for opening our eyes to this world of imagination and whimsy combined with extraordinarily patient effort.

THE ART OF CYCLING

Christian Petersen admires the facade of his bike shop in Atlandsberg, north east of Berlin. http://www.pixdaus.com

Soren Lyngbye – Punk Frog. Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney.

There’s something intrinsically funny about a bike in art. Hang a bike in an unexpected place, use it in an inventive way or build a weird-looking machine and you’ll be guaranteed to raise a smile.

I back-pedalled through my photo files and found I’d felt compelled to take a shot every time I saw a bike sculpture. A bit of googling showed me many others had done likewise.

The internet is full of images of two-wheelers put to witty artistic use. My photos first, then we’ll see what others have discovered…

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: FOREIGN – Signs we’re not in Kansas

Despite the signs in English, Kathmandu can be a little daunting for newcomers.

I’m enjoying these Weekly Photo Challenges. WordPress’s Daily Post suggests a topic to give bloggers a nudge in the ribs. We then do our best to post something worth looking at, and check out what others have come up with.

This one is about ‘Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more’ moments.

Street signs I come across in Asia are a constant source of innocent merriment.

Australian buses sometimes have ‘Do not distract the driver’ signs. Buses in Singapore have other rules.

MIND THE GAP (and watch your head)

Anecdotal evidence: If I hadn’t been wearing my helmet, my hair may have been messed up too.

The most divisive topic in Australian cycling circles is no longer ‘Did Lance dope?’ Now that one’s been so sadly settled we can get back to our favourite controversy – ‘Should helmets be compulsory?

Here I go, head first over the handlebars into the hornets’ nest…

If you wear a helmet in Holland you’re a show-off. If you don’t wear one in Australia you’re a bloody idiot – possibly literally.

MARRICKVILLE MERMAID – the daring, diving Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman in 1916, doing the first nude scene in a major motion picture – A Daughter of the Gods. Also possibly the first woman to appear unclad on this blog. Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia.

Mevrouw T’s recovery from knee surgery involves regular trips to the hydrotherapy pool at our local Annette Kellerman Aquatic Centre. It’s an excellent state-of-the-art swimming facility and wellness centre (a pool and gym in other, plainer words).

While my wife bobs in the water practising knee bends, I have time to imbibe the morning heart-starter from Kellerman’s Cafe and study the plaques telling me about Marrickville’s famous daughter. It’s an extraordinary story.

SHOOTING SCULPTURE – finding an angle aint easy

A slippery slope…Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney 2012.

Photographing sculpture ought to be a pushover. Someone else has already done the hard work and, if they’ve done it well, we amateurs just need to point and shoot to get a satisfying result.

Anybody can do that, and millions of us do. The hard thing is to find an original angle.