Elliott Nimmo: Pop Venus and PoHo

We are pleased to support local artist Elliott Nimmo in his current solo exhibition Pop Venus which is now open at Studio W in Woolloomooloo. In his recent work Elliott addresses consumption, obsession with branding and our desire to self-individuate using these means. The sumptuous images he has created speak of luxury and high status culture with references that include Louis Vutton, Prada and Chanel.

Soon Elliott will leave Sydney and take up his residency in London in February 2013, before moving to New York City.

Studio W is located at 6 Bourke St Woolloomooloo.

Here are some images from the Pop Venus:

Still life for Wallpaper*

Still life for King George V Hotel - 1

Editorial for Purple Magazine

Spring is in the Air

Spring has announced its arrival for many weeks now using early season blooms and bees as its messengers. The bees are buzzing around our poppy buckets, crawling inside petals and across the pistils of anenomes, ranunculus and other blooms on the PoHo table.

Its a busy time for us, we have spent the week preparing for the first day of Spring, this Saturday. Every year we launch into the new season with our special Spring Promotion. This year in partnership with Ray White Elizabeth Bay we will be handing out bright yellow Spring gerberas on Macleay Street, out the front of the shop. If you are in the right place at the right time you may walk away with your very own flower and a PoHo promotion card offering a 10% discount when you next visit the store.

Along with happy bees and warmer weather Spring brings its own special seasonal range of blossoms and blooms. Some of the flowers that you can expect to see at this time of year include daffodils, anenomes, arum lilies, boronia, corn flowers, flannel flowers, wild freesias, poppies, jasmine, jonquils, lilac, fruit blossoms, magnolia, peonies, stock, tulips and water lilies.

Here are some snap shots from Springs past to get you in the mood for what to expect from us...

Potted daffodils all lined up on the ladder

The PoHo table full of bursting peonies and a glimpse of some corn flowers and delphinium

'Tis the season for water lilies and we get them just like this (minus the pond).

Musical collaborations

At PoHo we align ourselves with the senses and we are influenced not just by the natural materials that we use and the spaces that they inhabit, but also by others who find passion, treasure and influence in elements that bring the senses to life.

There are some things that we will always associate with a fragrance, a sound, a texture, a taste, or an image. The memory of my fingers brushing across the hard and noisy petals of a yellow paper daisy will always remind me of my time at PoHo and will evoke the heady mix of fragrance which hung in the air around the flower table.

Over the years we have developed relationships with internationally renowned orchestras in Sydney: the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) and recently the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). These orchestras create music that enlivens the senses, creates emotion an exhilerates audiences.

We are excited to partner with artists with whom we connect creatively. In a sense, we work alongside them in the shop, listening to their music while we create our own masterpieces.

Australian String Quartet

The Australian String Quartet was established in 1989, they are the Quartet in Residence at the University of Adelaide. ASQ tours widely in major cities and regional communities and have toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand and Asia.

The Quartet are Kristian Winther and Anne Horton - violins, Stephen King - viola and Rachel Johnston - cello. Kristian and Stephen have joined this year (2012) as the Quartet launch their next exciting era of music making. We have worked with the ASQ since January 2008.

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra are a period instrument ensemble who bring music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to life in their joyful and uplifting performances. Under their inspiring music director Paul Dyer and since their formation in 1985 they have gained international acclaim and won five ARIA awards.

Brandenburg's last season was the Bach Eternal which showcased both the Brandenburg Orchestra and Brandenburg Chior. Divine, uplifting, soothing, rousing and truimphant are descriptors which have been in reference to Brandenburg's Bach Eternal.

Still to come this year we look forward to Dazzling Virtuoso (July/August), Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (September), Beautiful Minds (October/November) and Noel Noel (December).

We have worked with the Brandenburg Orchestra since January 2010.

Australian Chamber Orchestra
The internationally renowned Australian Chamber Orchestra is directed by Richard Tognetti, they play modern and period instruments, and have a repertoire spanning six centuries. A unique engagement in cross artform projects ads to the vibrant and adventurous attraction of the ACO. Their latest project The Reef is dubbed as performance at the intersection of music and nature. The Reef is a multi media collaboration between music and film which connects the ocean, landscape, music and surfing. It was created in the north of Western Australia on the rugged surf coast at world heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, it is a co-production by the ACO and Tura New Music.

Poppies, the cold weather love story...

Finally its poppy season. I will happily admit they are a favourite flower of mine. I love their vibrant colour. Right now in my lounge room I have a single bunch divided across a trio of vases, on a table next to the window. Each bright flower has space to unfurl and flourish. They make a lively contrast to the murky weather which lurks beyond the window.

Part of the captivating nature of poppies is that you can watch them open before your eyes. Slowly, starting with just a crack they open their tightly closed fur jacket and let bunched up tissue petals burst from it.

I asked some friends to tell me what comes to mind when they think of poppies. In return I was given these words: rich, seductive, dreamy, furry, memorial, fresh, evocative, sensual, papery, heady, wild, fragile, tissue like, opiate, saucy... No wonder they are such a favourite.

Here at PoHo we stock the Iceland poppy variety in vibrant mixed colour bunches. The stems should be recut before placing in water, be careful not to completely cut off the darkened lower section of the stem, these have been scalded to help the flower to absorb water. The water should be changed daily to avoid a build up of bacteria.

Indoor Clouds

With the recent chilly weather we may be becoming accustomed to the idea of winter, and we may come to expect clouds.


This week I happened upon an artist who is attracted to transition and spaces that are in a transition. In recent exhibitions he has transformed indoor spaces with form that we've only seen in nature... Berndnaut Smilde creates real cloud installations - indoors.


The clouds are created using smoke, moisture and dramatic lighting which plays on the shadows created in the cloud. The humidity in the room must also be monitored.The experience is fleeting and viewers may only engage with the cloud for a few moments before it dissipates inside the room. 


Here are some images from two of Berndnaut's recent exhibitions...

Nimbus II, 2012, Cloud in Room
Photo: Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk

Nimbus D'Aspremont, 2012, Cloud in Room
Photo: Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk

Hype the Chrysanthemum

Fresh, vibrant, colourful, abundant, fragrant, classic...

Chrysanthemums deserve a good reputation. In their disbud form they are as full as peonies or dahlias. With their big size and a fresh, light fragrance they have a real presence. The disbud is the giant version of the chrysanthemum, it is created by the grower removing all but one bloom from the spray instead of letting the plant produce side shoots. All of the energy which would usually create the spray goes into the production of a single magnificent flower.

Chrysanthemums come in many long lasting varieties, in the flower shop they are available in their disbud, spray and spider form. Chrysanthemums are always available but with Mothers Day just around the corner you can expect to see more of them.

War and Wreaths

With ANZAC day nearly upon us and as we work the through orders for memorial wreaths, its time to give some thought to the reason behind the public holiday. I for one was a bit sketchy on the details but I have scratched the surface and learned a little more about the holiday.

It is commonly known that ANZAC day (April 25) is the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at Gallipoli in 1915. Gallipoli marked the first major military action for Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The ANZACs set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey with the intention of opening a path for the allied navies and knocking Turkey out of the war. 8000 Australian soldiers lost their lives in the campaign which dragged on for eight months and was ultimately a failure. It had a profound effect on Australians at home and since April 25, 1916 ANZAC day has existed to commemorate those who lost their lives in war. It has become a day which memorialises Australians who have died in all wars, conflicts and peace keeping operations.

ANZAC day is a time to reflect on the many different meanings and experiences of war. As I learned more about ANZAC day I found some lesser acknowledged stories. There are not many records of the number of Indigenous people that fought in wars for Australia although thousands have participated in campaigns since the Boer War in 1880, despite being denied citizenship until 1967. When Indigenous Australians returned home from war their reception was vastly different to that of their non-Indigenous comrades. They were denied the right to march with their comrades in ANZAC parades or to participate in after parade events, some found their children had been taken from their homes and that their families had been denied access to their pay and other benefits while they were away.

In 2006 and 2007 the first formal Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander ANZAC memorial events were held in Redfern, Sydney to pay tribute to the largely unrecognised contribution of these Australians. There is now an official Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Commemorative Ceremony on ANZAC day.

I found this poem written in 1933 by Cecil Fisher (here), an Aboriginal Australian who fought in the Korean War. Black Anzac draws on his experiences in Korea and on the realities of being a returned Aboriginal serviceman. It is written in commemoration of all Aboriginal Servicemen that have fought for Australia.

Black ANZAC

They have forgotten him, need him no more
He who fought for his land in nearly every war

Tribal fights before his country was taken by Captain Cook

Then went overseas to fight at Gallipoli and Tobruk


World War One two black Anzacs were there
France, Europe's desert, New Guinea's jungles, did his share
Korea, Malaya, Vietnam again black soldier enlisted
Fight for democracy was his duty he insisted

Back home went his own way not looking for praise
Like when he was a warrior in the forgotten days
Down on the Gold Coast a monument in the Bora Ring
Recognition at last his praises they are starting to sing


This black soldier who never marches on ANZAC Day
Living in his Gunya doesn't have much to say
Thinks of his friends who fought some returned some died
If only one day they could march together side by side 


His medals he keeps hidden away from prying eyes
No one knows, no one sees the tears in his old black eyes
He's been outcast just left by himself to die
Recognition at last black ANZAC hold your head high


Every year at Gold Coast's Yegumbah Bora Ring Site 
Black ANZAC in uniform and medals a magnificent sight
The rock with Aboriginal tribal totems paintings inset
The Kombumerri people's inscription of Lest we Forget

Cecil Fisher, 1933

Good reading:

http://www.redwatch.org.au/media/080303cd

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-04-25/indigenous-veterans-to-commemorate-anzac-legacy/1662112

http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/

http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/korea/faces/saunders/