Next Wave Festival - so far, so fucking good!

Tuesday 14th March was the official opening night of the 2006 Next Wave Festival, with the theme of 'Empire Games' (the title by which the Commonwealth Games was previously known). It was held at Shed 14 at the Docklands, the site of a tremendous group exhibition called The Containers Village, which represents the work of 43 artists' collectives from around the contemporary Commonwealth.

Each group's work is displayed in a shipping container, which are placed around the cavernous space of Shed 14. Some are on the ground, others suspended above the ground by a series of scaffolds, walkways, ramps and bridges that connect them all. This is a fantastic exhibition, almost overwhelming in its scale, and highly recommended. You'll probably want to go back several times for a repeat visit. The opening night party was also fantastic, with a throng of artists and freeloaders in attendance, speeches kept to a minimum, and a warm and excited atmosphere.

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Friday night I attended the opening of three shows, and also checked out a tremendous installation in Hosier Lane.

New Ruins is a site-specific group installation in the old City Watchhouse in Russell Street, next door to the old Magistrates' Court (where I was tried, years ago, for possessing a proscribed weapon, to whit, a studded leather belt) and the Old Melbourne Gaol, where Ned Kelly was murdered by the state.

Featuring some stunning work, it's the result of a residency program by a group of young Glaswegian artists, whose installations are featured alongside the work of their Melbourne peers. Among the artists whose work I especially enjoyed are the ambitious TAB installation piece by Melbourne's Jensen Tjhung, a fragile yet violent sculpture by Glasgow's Jonathan Scott, a haunting and moving piece incorporating dripping water and black plastic by Melbourne's Christopher Hill, and pretty much everything else in the show with very few exceptions! Congratulations to Tai Snaith for her work in co-curating the show - it's fucking stunning, and a real festival highlight.

Friday night's opening was so over-crowded that I went to see it again on Saturday night, taking my mate Glen along with me after we'd caught up over dinner. For someone who's not been exposed to a contemporary art exhibition before, he certainly seemed to enjoy the show!

New Ruins is open between the hours of 8pm - 10pm until 1st April.

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Clean is a superb installation and soundscape in the city's street-art gallery Hosier Lane, between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane parallel to Swanston Street. It's a subtle yet overt commentary on the hype around the Com.Games and the tactics used by the City of Melbourne and other games organisers to wallpaper over the ugy reality of city life. Motion sensors set off a series of speakers are you move along the lane, immersing you in the realities of life on the streets, in the form of conversations with the homeless, the sounds of the city, and much more. There's also a literal homage to the process by which this reality has been hidden away in the form of wallpaper plastered over the nearby alley walls - examine it in detail...

Clean is showing until April 2nd and is another must-see event. Kudos to Nicolas Low, its creator. Go here for the Clean website.

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Deceased Estate is a walking tour that celebrates the life of a (fictional) Victorian scoundrel. The tour itself starts from tonight, but FRiday I had a quick taste of what's in store from the hosts of the show in the form of a slideshow. It looks great - imagine having a fop and Steve Irwin taking you on a chaotic history walk and you'll have some idea of what you're in for! I can't wait to go on the tour, which promises to bring to life the opium dens, back-street slums and other lowlights of early Melbourne.

Deceased Estates - 20-25 March, 2pm - 3.30pm.

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Finally I briefly looked at Bedroom Games, an installation by artist Rafaella Pandolfini, in the National Trust Gallery at Tamsa Terrace in East Melbourne. As it was opening night, I didn't get much of a chance to look at the work before the room became too crowded, but I will go back! The piece uses photography, sculpture and video installation to explore ten different personal empires - the bedrooms of 10 people.

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What else have I been up to?

Let's see, there was the live call of the vastly disappointing and anticlimactic opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on 3RRR (although I did like the flying tram that kicked things off - sadly though, it was all downhill from there)...

Yesterday, Sunday, I headed up to Bendigo for the day wearing my Fringe board hat, for the opening of a re-staging of Human Momentum, previously presented as part of rhe 2005 Melbourne Fringe Festival at Federation Square. I haven't been to Bendigo in years, and as I didn't get much of a chance to look around, I think I'm going to have to go up for a weekend, or at the very least a proper day trip, some time quite soon.