day eighty two

an image i am working on for a group show in july

day eighty one

went down to tassie on good friday for ten days; had to drive my work down and install for show called love bites; which meant catching the boat; what a fucking experience; 9 hours on a floating food court; never again; except for the return journey; arrived at devonport 7pm; met up with gary & douglas in deloraine for a beer; headed down to hobart; drove around and around looking for a place to stay; all booked because of easter; i couldn't stay in uni accom until sat; drove up to the beat; settle to slumber; was uncomfortable in cabin of truck; then started feeling unsafe; thought fuck it; has to be a motel somewhere; ended up on derwent bridge flyover; took hard left off motor way; sign posted "government house"; to avoid going out of city; next minute in the bush; look in rear vision mirror; discover cop car following me; proceed as normal; on top of hill; lights flashing; i pull over; questioned about, what i am doing; where am i going; what's on the back of the truck; explain the wine barrels; he takes my license; upon his return i ask; why have you pulled me over? he replies "oh come on mate, you're driving around at 2.30am with a truck full of shit; I didn't know that was illegal occifer? he says "is this your truck?" - yes, you just checked my rego etc out; well imagine if it was stolen, you would want me to pull them over." fuck - i'm like what are talking about? - he says or would you rather i be bludging back at the station. i reply well my definition of bludging is wasting time - ur wasting mine and urs. he then said he could have the truck searched if he wanted. i said, we done? ; yes; drove off; ended up at 3.30am at the casino paying $158 for 7 hours in hotel.

met up with sarah the curator and pat brassington on saturday arvo; and dumped my stuff in the gallery and and went to my apartment; bought back memories of 1999 with mandy mcintosh; running a muck; caught up with a mate on easter sunday; was driving back from sandy bay and was pulled over by a booze bus; and guess who i run into; yup; say occifer from friday night; he says; arh twice in three days; here i am out protecting the community again; i roll my eyes; he instructs me to blown in breathaliser; i refuse as i didn't see him unwrap the straw; he takes it off; unwraps a fresh one; i blow; he says hmmm zero reading; i say what were u expecting? he asks me to remove the straw from the breataliser i refuse saying that i have no where in the truck to dispose of it and i am sure he is provided with ppe and a bin. i then invite him to the opening and lecture; smile and drive off;

matt was in town for the week of easter; was good hanging out with him; he drove me around hobart and we lunched; museumed; and drank; was good seeing him;

installation began on wednesday and was absolutely brilliant; aaron the gallery technician was amazing and everything was done in a day; not like when i first showed the work; it took three days and two nights to install!

mark arrived in hobart on thursday eve; was great to have him there; the artist forum talk i had to do on friday went well; even though i was a nervous wreck and my whole head was glowing like rudolf's nose; exhibition opening was great and met some good folk


the video below; dedicated to mandy mcintosh;

click on image above to play video


was funny; sitting at cafe with mark; eating brekky; the last saturday were in hobart; flicking through the local rag; and here they were! lol
click on image below to read article

day eighty

made it back to sydney on australia day weekend; first time since i left 3 years ago; luella's 40th b'day; whole week was fucking great; it was a delight being back in sydney; so pretty; but not a city for me; scotty the blue bunny from nyc was in town for the arts festival; la cliche; was a great night; good to finally meet him after all these years

day seventy nine

finally pulled my finger out for an update; this pics are going back a while; all the way back to boxing day eve 2008; i went home to yack for xmas; drove back to melb boxing day eve; rang mark; needed to go out; we couldn't decided where to go; so i said; what about adelaide; so off we sent at 10pm boxing day night
















first stop for mark to have a ciggie was trqawalla state forest

couldn't resist shinning the headlights on the giant koala for a pic





















we slept on a futon in the back of the truck under the stars along side the road; we pulled up there was a truck and another car; dead excited; making too much noise the other campers moved on; leaving us there by ourselves to wake to the sun rise
















here were are having breakfast some where in south australia
















we only stayed in adelaide for about 12 hours; i managed to head to a beach for a swim and watch the sun go down; mark entertained his mate who were we gunna stay with but didn't as it was about the road trip; so after trying to go out in adelaide we decided to get back in the truck and head home; leaving at 1am
















and here we are somewhere on the south australia coast line heading back to melbourne;

day seventy eight

click the play button to hear this very angst filled version of chris issacs wicked games by a swiss performance artist pipilotti rist

day seventy seven and a half

day seventy seven

day seventy six

day seventy five

arh melbourne cup weekend; booked the week off from the friday prev. to the thursday following the supposed greatest race; the race that stops the nation; ended up pissed at the olive tree hotel in sunbury that friday; saturday was in the truck up to wangaratta with matina; on our way to bright to start the ride
















started off meeting my mum and dad in wangaratta; they drove us, our camping gear and bikes to bright; ate lunch and loaded up the bikes; ready for a three day bike ride back to wangaratta via lake buffalo and miliwa; arh what joyeth t'was! a beautiful early spring glorious day riding along with mt buffalo just there; matina riding along the road as we searched for nug nug camping ground approx 20ish kms from myrtleford;
















approx 46 kms from bright with butts burning; the fellas sore; and matinas lady feeling like she'd been...; we arrived at nug nug; pitch our tents as far away from the dudes with all the mod. cons.; i saw a microwave; gas flame torches (lights); cars backed up; tarps stretched creating undercover tv entertainment areas; here we are in our $27 tents and therma-rests; matina had a ruff first night waking at 2am freezing; her sleeping bag (her daughters slumber party sleeping bag she used to use when she was um.. 10-12 years old) wasn't cutting it;
















thank god for a public bench table; beinng the only ones at the campground without a car; and tents pitched in dirt and not grass; the public table was all ours; love my little petrol cooker; brings out the firestarter in us all;
















a feast of miso soup and udon noodles
















peddling through undulating green pastures on our way to lake buffalo we passed over the surprisingly named buffalo creek; such cowboy land;
















and there we were; stopped for a morning tea; another opportunity to crack out the petrol cooker; lake buffalo; this is now where day two really began;
















me; shagged; day two; 11km's from milawa; (our second sleeping stop - we've gone all out and pre-booked non powered sites at the caravan park;) spirits we low immediatley prior to this photo being taken; after enduring: 70 odd kms of mostly up hill; sore fellas;sore arse; tired; hungry; grumpy; drunk; wishing we were already there 60kms ago

day seventy four

jeezarse; whoops; i fell off the face of the earth; here are some "professional" pics of some of the work in my exhibition just gone; such a long time ago! some of this work is part of a group show gardner's gallery in richmond

below; DU2; 2008; Ink on paper; &; Dr Follicle; 2008; Human hair and wood





















Untitled (Slash); 2008; Acrylic on canvas; 121cm x 91cm





















Untitled (Welts); 2008; Acrylic on canvas; 121cm x 91cm





















Untitled (Punch); 2008; Acrylic & tissue paper on canvas; 121cm x 121cm





















Untitled (Vanik); 2008; Acrylic on canvas; 121cm x 121cm

day seventy three and three quarters

PIG; 2008; Acrylic & urine on beaten leather





















exhibition opening went well; knackered all the same; full on day/eve; great thing about getting on it early is that one is in bed early; think i made it to 11pm before collapsing, and not on my face
















nerves were at an all time high (drunk as hell as well) whilst riding in cab to the gallery with a atomiser of piss that sat in front of the fire all night; some leaked in the cab; reason - needed to re "wet" the pig hide with piss; as i had pissed on it sunday night before the opening thinking it wouldn't dry out before the opening; alas it did; and as it was strung up i couldn't piss on it directly; so thanks to the atomiser it received a good drenching while my mates distracted the gallery attendant; floor copped a bit too;
















nate & graeme all het up on beer at the opening; was good having the lads around





















steve raving on; or is he singing hymns; i am not sure

day seventy three and a half

day seventy three

weekend full of the little things that will only take an hour but take forever; monday and what a day it's been; installation day; 9 hour time frame; fuckin' knackered; having a few well earned jars; 98% of show is up; rest will do on wednesday; photo below was taken at the end of the first two hours; that's when i had managed to get everything to the gallery and was finally able to begin installing; i need a f150

exhibition info here


















a big thanks to michelle for her help; i even managed not to loose it

day seventy two

opening of macarthur cook art prize; my photograph was highly commended; the image that was selected can be seen here; below a photo of me with the Managing Director; Craig Dunstan (left); Chairman; Richard Haddock (right) taken at the opening; was a great night; mark was very drunk; as we all were; catering was fantastic; matina and i ended up being forced to walk around the gallery drinking wine from a tumbler; total class;
















the stunning photo below is of the award; missed out on the big cash; but was stoked that i got a mention; people responded really well to my work which was a delight

day seventy one and a half

studio; all day; finished a painting; continued on another (happy so far); completed two drawings i had been working on; fucked up a painting; broke an implement; so guess after 9 hours in the studio i'm a drawing up

day seventy

have been keeping busy with preparation for exhibition; 13 days to installation; all on track; the stress of it all made my nose bleed wine; after schizing out over pasting tissue paper on my latest canvas; all is well; all is resolved; a challenge indeed
















now working on trying to make poly/cotton and/or cotton brittle; the ladies at spotlight have no idea; have tried varnish; sugar & water; alas not getting desired effect; perhaps i'll have to go with stabbing rather than kicking

marked in the line of duty; usually covered in paint patterns after a session in the studio; panayiota documented these marks below; later; met mark at my studio for video shoot; he asked concernedly what's on my head? he thought i had been bred

day sixty nine

invite; upcoming show; red gallery contemporary art space; 157 saint georges road; north fitzroy; opens thursday august 21; 5pm-7pm; runs august 21 - september 6

day sixty eight and a half

hey ashlee; today i flew to adelaide to see my grandmother; i am really sorry i have stuffed you around; my friend helped me move my stuff out today; good luck with everything; ps my new number is 0433717090; don't worry about the bond; keep it; quentin

dodgy number; correct number; 0419437170; prank?
















above; a drawing he did; left on the desk; suicide art? or decoy? adolescent all the same; thank fuck he has gone; 3 weeks with a 17 year old house mate was enough; cops; salvos; interstate flights; church; stabbings; assault; cancer; pathological liar; just to name a few; and the worst of all; a stash ripperofferah!

currently in process of returning spare room to office; looking forward to having brendon & graham coming to stay in august; me love you long time

day sixty eight

All Mod. Cons. digital lambda print; 65 x 50 cm; 2008 (copyright ashlee laing)
















arh what a day; what a day july 9, 2008 has proven to be; a sparkle of positivity shone through all the shit of family; housemate; having locks changed; i received a phone call today to advise that a photograph of mine has been shortlisted for the macarthurcook art prize; this years theme the built environment; opens on tuesday august 5; 5-8pm; fortyfivedownstairs in flinders lane, melbourne

happy 1st birthday to my twin nephews, leonard and daniel

day sixty seven and a half

new object to paint with; guess it's the tickle part; jeezarse; gotta say; to farquing fiddly; little farquer it was; glue and feathers everywhere; should have used tar; still needs work; binding; handle; etc

day sixty seven

wee video; me in studio; starting a new painting

Click To Play

day sixty six

the village; yarraville; twee springs to mind; mark moved there; coburg to yarraville; oh the contrast; decided to do something different; matina & i decided to go visit mark; a night out at the commercial in the village; due to driving restrictions; long weekend and all; we were forced to use public transport; and no i won't go on; i won't go on about how fucked public transport is in melbourne; actually make that australia; fuuuuuuuuuck; when are we gunna get it right? it took us 1hr 10mins by train; ok i am going on about it;
















the great thing was; walking from train station to the commercial hotel; 10-15mins; through tweeville; to this; these photos i have taken below; so love the port; its a welcomed juxtaposition in tweeville; always loved a back lane; wink
















rocked up at the commercial; munted & intoxicated through inhalation; as well as the fucking effort it took in relying on connex to get us there; it was a different space; "nice" change; too many drag & show bags for my liking; great location though; middle-of-nowhere; hmmm the port; met mark & his housemate mel; good times roll; yabbered on about shite; mel is canadian; here as internat. studette; like the rest of us; on the prowl for a decent rooster/boar; think she lucked out on the venue; arhahhahaah
















well all good times must come to and end; our end was 11:15pm; couldn't miss the last hell train from tweeville to shity; the whole experience from pub to home; 1hr 40mins; i'm going back to drink driving & back streets; fuck all that for a fun night out! (in the background; a wee bear on his way to the laird)

day sixty five

finally; after 7 months of sitting on the kiln room shelves; there was enough other finished earthenware work to justify a firing; my beakers; complete; very happy; terracotta; coil; cobalt oxide on outside surface and clear glaze inside vessel and on lip; such great wee red wine beakers; kinda modeled from spanish sangria mugs





















must confess that the ceramic process really isn't something for me; love ceramics but will leave it to those with a love of process.

day sixty four and a half

Mum, im a fucking private school girl, i don't belong at a public school... I wanna come home i'm gonna get fucking raped here... Do you want me to fucking get pregnant?! Then you'll have to raise the kid... is that what you want?!" "Do you want me to fucking smash your porcelain collection?" "I fucking hate you... you're such a bitch!"
















god -daughters' 20th b'day party; 30 Ja'mies' in one room; me; the only fella; aside from the poor cunt who turned up a quarter of the way through the night; he made it to the kitchen; chatted to ash; then legged it; matina and i outside; in the cold; smoking; pissing ourselves laughing at the princesses trying to walk in their 20" stilettos; watching it all unfold whilst dubbing summer heights high over what we thought was going on; people just kept rolling in; being smashed i legged it through the ja'mie's to get another bottle of wine; then ran upstairs to toilet; ended up in matina's room; head out the window; pleading for her to come up; as i couldn't go back down; ended up passing out on the bed with highlander blaring on the tv; woke up at 12.30am; everyone had gone out clubbing; matina informed me that the boys had been and gone; in the end i wasn't the only fella; i missed it all

day sixty four

i tried not to; tried not to get caught up in the bill henson thing; i don't particularily like his work; i was introduced to his work in 1991; final year of high school; i have scanned a few images of his from a book i purchased about him in 1992; i rang roslyn oxley gallery (henson's sydeny dealer) to ask whether the works confiscated were recent/new work; they replied asking me why i wanted to know; i told them; they didn't advise; understandably

bill henson
untitled sequence 1977
1977





















bill henson
untitled 1983/84
1983-84





















bill henson
untitled 1983/84 (panel 2 of 3)
1983-84
















yesterday i received a letter of support for bill henson via tolarno galleries (henson's dealer in melbourne) from creative australia 2020 summit representatives; quite lame indeed; what i did find hilarious was this "The allegations that he (henson) is making child pornography have done more to promote his work to possible paedophiles than any art gallery, where the work is seen in it's proper, contemplative context."

as long as it's in a gallery it's safe. oh the gallery, paedophiles don't go to art galleries, do they? the world has gone nuts! i mean the guy's been doing it for years. oh god! The bourgeoisie. if i'm poor and mad, i'm a crazy. if i'm rich and mad. i am eccentric.