April 2024
Hello to you and the end of April.
Here we are, another month down. I am already writing magazine stories for August issues and have a very warped sense of how far we are into the year. But still - April has passed? So strange.
Our Bon Person this month is Melbourne-based Jane Davidson. Jane and her partner, Jimmy Casson, make up Narrow Window, a studio producing well-crafted soft furnishings and furniture, specialising in unique and limited runs. It all started in 2021 with a hunt for good cushions and has since expanded to furniture restoration, with a focus on Grant Featherston's iconic mid-century designs. Read about design-savvy Jane’s picks for April, and link through to Narrow Window, below my usual rummage of things and stuff.
READING
… The Dawn of the Dumb House Town & Country magazine
Give me a ‘dumb’ house over a smart house any day of the week. I lean toward the technophobe end of the spectrum - ‘a Low Key Luddite’ as the article suggests- and I prefer houses that age gracefully with no software updates required. A fully automated, tricked-out home can add a layer of convenience to daily life, but at what cost? What happens when there’s a tech issue and ‘computer says no’? As an interior designer states in the Town & Country article, “Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
… In Moonland by Miles Allinson (2021)
LOVED this. Spanning the 1970s to a not-so-distant apocalyptic future, the story is presented in four parts, beginning with a young father in Melbourne obsessed with learning more about his father’s rogue life. The narrative swings to 70s India at the now infamous Osho ashram/cult, a real-life movement dissected in the incredible 2018 docu-series Wild, Wild County (totally worth a watch!). This book is about freedom, family, burning out, dropping out, and the meaning of ‘it all’.
… Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery (2023)
Mmmm. Well, the premise interested me. It’s a fictional account of a high school dropout who worked as a typist in Andy Warhol’s Factory in the late 1960s. Her daily task involves transcribing the taped conversations that became Warhol’s book, a:A Novel. I started reading this as soon as I finished In Moonland, and it felt vacuous and superficial, much like the protagonist's assessment of the pop art icon’s universe centred on a New York City warehouse.
… Cressida Campbell by The National Gallery of Australia.
This gorgeous book celebrates the life and work of heralded Australian artist Cressida Campbell. It includes original research and reflections from curators, artists, poets, and writers, as well as the artist’s own autobiographical notes. I borrowed the book from the library and plan to buy a copy so I can dip into the beautiful pages and words again and again. Cressida and her home garden in Bronte were recently featured on Gardening Australia.
ATTENDING
… Trent Parke in Conversation with Robbie Buck at the Art Gallery of NSW
Trent Parke is a titan in the Australian photography landscape and the only Australian invited into the prestigious international photo agency Magnum. He spoke for an hour at the gallery, covering his childhood in Newcastle, his start in photojournalism, and a life that has revolved around chasing incredible shots and moments. He spoke almost manically about his work, with a fully charged sense of passion and humour that comes through in his captures.
LOVING
They are actually related to the elephant! True story!
… Jane Davidson’s collages
Read more about Jane and her collaging process below!
WATCHING
… Light Years: Olive Cotton (1990)
A poignant film about Olive Cotton, a key figure in the development of contemporary photography in Australia. With Olive’s gentle tone and persona and the cinematography featuring poetic snippets of rural Australian life, I felt calm and peaceful after viewing Light Years. It was released in 1990, thirteen years before Olive Cotton passed away on 27 September 2003. Available on SBS OnDemand now.
… Our Flag Means Death
This goofy, romantic pirate series starring Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi is loosely based on pirating tales of yore. Taika plays Blackbeard, and Rhys is the Gentleman Pirate, a bumbling, well-to-do society man whose midlife crisis led him to abandon his family and wealth for life and love on the sea. It’s silly, heartwarming, and sometimes pretty gross and gorey. Stream this short-lived series on Binge.
LISTENING
The song selection in Our Flag Means Death is so fun and unexpected. Ever since hearing Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain in a pivotal swashbuckling moment, we’ve been playing it on repeat at home.
This mesmerising piano track popped up in my Discovery Weekly. It’s a beautiful song to listen to with your eyes closed- it sounds like it should be a French film.
Watching… The Curse. One of the most original series I’ve seen in a while. I’ve recently been exploring the films of the Safdie brothers and had seen bits of pieces of Nathan Fielder's work, so when I heard Benny Safdie and Fielder had written this together, my interest was peaked. The show makes you feel incredibly uncomfortable at times, and is totally unpredictable. The ending was wild and although not intended to be comedy per se, it had me uncontrollably laughing at the unexpectedness of it all.
Listening... Rag by Porches. My partner Jimmy introduced me to the artist Porches, and I found myself taking a deep dive into his albums whilst working at our Narrow Window pop-up shop at the end of last year. His new single, Rag, was released earlier this month and it’s been on high rotation since. It’s super energetic and definitely hits the nostalgia buttons for me.
Exploring… collage. I’ve recently started to explore collaging and am thoroughly enjoying it. I find it incredibly therapeutic to cut out pieces from a scene and completely transplant them into a new surrealist setting. I’ve always enjoyed op shopping, but the general standard isn’t very good these days. So now I’ve started exploring the book section and found some absolute gems for collaging. I picked up an old 1980s hardcover on cosmopolitan London the other day, and it’s already proven it’s worth far beyond its $1 price tag.
And that’s it for this month! Thanks for scrolling BON PUBLIC.
Leave me a note. Share your thoughts. Send me raccoon memes.
jessica@jessicabellef.com / @jessicabellef / www.jessicabellef.com
I pay respect to the past, present and future traditional custodians and elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.