Australia Archives | Page 2 of 2

Architecture

Explore Uluru in Style at Longitude 131°

May 17, 2017 Architecture

Uluru, formerly known as Ayer’s Rock, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, and definitely in Australia. It’s sandstone form, beautiful red color, and amazing views make it a destination for people from all over the world. If you can splurge, Longitude 131° might one of the most memorable places you’ll stay, on any vacation. Located just a few miles from the giant red landmark, the resort features 15 tented pavilions decorated by local indigenous artists, and all the luxury trappings you’d expect. Plus the resort offers guided excursions to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, so you can explore the natural beauty, cave paintings, and sheer size of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Via Uncrate:

Uluru Credit Xavier Lambrecht — Photo by Xavier Lambrecht

Art

Gabriel Scanu’s Vibrant Aerial Views

May 1, 2017 Art

Utilizing both drones and helicopters, Gabriel Scanu manages to spend a lot of time way up in the Australian air, looking down at the beautiful surf below. His views of Bronte Beach, outside of Sydney, are gorgeous, the surf a brilliant turquoise color, and the beachgoers reduced to ant-sized specs, leaving trails of footprints in the sand. He also features work in Miami and California, and it’s fun to compare the vibrant beaches in his gallery. The magic of aerial photography is the way it simplifies and turns complex landscapes into textures and forms. It makes us very eager for summer, and to hit the sand. Beautiful work, v ia Instagram:

Art

Outback Scouts

April 12, 2017 Art

Ian Connor and Jonathan May have an awesome photographic series that follows several plucky, weathered Aussie kids as they adventure their way through the Outback. The lighting, costumes and style call to mind Wes Anderson’s idyllic childhood scenes, mixed with a rustic fashion shoot. The story background is a fair bit more dramatic in nature:

A scout troupe set out exploring the Australian outback. Escaping the scorching heat, they ventured into a cave. Emerging, they come to a sombre realisation: an airborne virus had wiped out most of humanity. They would have to survive in the wilderness alone, armed with nothing but their wits, courage and their scout skills.

Great costume design, set pieces and lighting. We take away more of a positive vibe from this than the apocalyptic feel the artists described, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Via Behance:

Animals

Two Thirds of the Great Barrier Reef Now Bleached

April 10, 2017 Animals

Considered one of the true treasures of Planet Earth, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral system on the planet, able to be seen from space. And now, due to human caused climate change, it’s been severely, severely damaged, possibly forever. Coral bleaching, caused by high water temperatures, has been happening on the reef for the last several years. But a severely hot summer there this year has increased the bleaching to reach two thirds of the entire reef system. This means bright, colorful, living coral has now been killed, leaving white skeletons of the coral behind. The chart below show the amount of bleaching from 2016 to 2017. Sadly, the trend is not going in the right direction. Via James Cook University:

With such a huge area of bleaching, what can be done to stem the tide? Well, cutting emissions is the first critical step. And judging by current politics, that seems uncertain. For reference, a healthy, beautiful section of the Great Barrier Reef looks like the below photo:

Animals

Sleep In the Middle of a Lake in Tasmania

April 16, 2015 Animals

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If you find yourself in Tasmania, head over to Lake St. Clair and check out the incredible Pumphouse Point, a vintage hydroelectric plant set deep in the lake itself, and transformed into a luxury hotel. Dating from the 1930s, this hydroelectric station sits on Australia’s deepest lake, and has been vacant and shuttered for the last 20 years. Now open as a premiere lodging destination, it is steeped in industrial history and provides an amazing view of the gorgeous Tasmanian countryside. They have a beautiful website, and rates start at $240 Australian bucks a night.

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Animals

Australia’s Funky Fungi

May 15, 2014 Animals

The world of fungi is vast, producing some of the most mind-bending shapes and colors in the natural world. Photographer Steve Axford catalogs much of Australia’s vast trove of fungi. Via Colossal:

Panus lecomtei

Marasmius haematocephalus

Panus fasciatus

Leratiomyces sp. / Found in Booyong Reserve, Booyong, NSW

Mycena chlorophos

Cyptotrama aspratum or Gold tuft

Schizophyllum commune

Hairy mycena

White Mycena

Mauve splitting waxcap

Marasmius sp. / Marasmius haematocephalus

Animals

The Great Barrier Reef

March 28, 2014 Animals

https://vimeo.com/88829079

Coral reefs are in trouble, and human-caused climate change is to blame. As the oceans get more warm and acidic, fragile reefs are dying out, and they take with them some of the most biodiverse, and incredible life we’ve ever seen. A video called Slow Life is simply mesmerizing, showcasing some of the gorgeous and extraordinary details of this amazing reef. It brings into focus the world beneath the waters of our oceans, and show us why they are worth protecting, if we still can. Watch the video in HD, and prepare to be enthralled. Via Jarratt M:

Via the producer:
“Slow” marine animals show their secret life under high magnification. Corals and sponges are very mobile creatures, but their motion is only detectable at different time scales compared to ours and requires time lapses to be seen. These animals build coral reefs and play crucial roles in the biosphere, yet we know almost nothing about their daily lives.

Architecture

Spinifex

October 4, 2012 Architecture

Great sculpture in Australia, Via Colossal:
Giant Tree Branch Sculpture Installed at Croajingolong National Park by Corey Thomas trees sculpture land art Australia

Giant Tree Branch Sculpture Installed at Croajingolong National Park by Corey Thomas trees sculpture land art Australia

Spinifex is a recent sculpture by Australian artist Corey Thomas. The piece was constructed from local tree branches and other plant material before being air-lifted with a helicopter into Croajingolong National Park in Victoria. You can see a short video about Corey’s processhere. (via my darkened eyes)

Design

Active Child & Australia’s Raw Beauty

July 6, 2012 Design

Pat Grossi is Active Child, and his swift rise to notoriety followed the 2011 release of his first album, This is All I See. I first heard it through an NPR interview last year, and was taken with the spare arrangement and hypnotic (if subtle) beats that carry his music along. Grossi traveled to Australia to film the music video for the single Johnny Belinda, an odd-named, but beautiful song sung in choral-falsetto. Shot by Dylan Wiehahn, the video is monumental in visual scope, capturing time-lapse storm clouds and the raw expansiveness of Australia’s east coast. Watch it below, or better yet, watch it in fullscreen HD to really feel the experience.

Architecture

Life-Size Lego Town

July 5, 2012 Architecture

Pretty amazing installation in the outback of Australia.

Via Gizmodo:

Desert Town Wakes Up to Find Giant Lego Garden Grown Overnight

The citizens of the desert town of Broken Hill were surprised when they woke up to this surreal scene: giant Lego trees and flowers—66 times bigger than the actual pieces—had grown everywhere overnight.

It was the work of Lego, which is setting up installations all around Australia to celebrate its 50 anniversary there. I hope they gave people minifig costumes too.

Next: life-size Lego minifigs of the Priscilla characters at Alice Springs. Make it so, Lego. [DesignBoom]

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Art

Cailan Burns’ Tasty Colors

June 8, 2012 Art

Cailan Burns is an illustrator from Adelaide, Australia. His work is both trippy and charming. The piece above, entitled Mothface is so dripping with color and depth that I feel like licking the computer screen would result in a high.

Via Grove:

From the artists’ portfolio site:

My works are crafted through the use of a range of mediums including paper collage, acrylics, water colour, canvas, wood, ink, digital collage and composition using Flash, Photoshop and Illustrator.

I draw inspiration from a wide range influences such as Children’s Book Art, 60’s Psychedelic Poster Art, Russian and Czech Animation, Cultural Masks and Costumes, Folk Tales and Japanese Anime and (Yōkai) Ghost Stories.

Architecture

CO2 Absorbing Algae Lamp

April 8, 2012 Architecture

Via Treehugger:

French biochemist and Shamengo pioneer Pierre Calleja has invented this impressive streetlight that is powered by algae which absorbs CO2 from the air. We have featured algae-powered lamps before but this one takes out 1 ton (!) of CO2 per year. This is as much CO2 as as a tree absorbs on average during its entire life.

It seems to me that this is a pretty amazing idea that could really work and clean the air pollution from urban areas (like parking lots, tested in the video above) and at the same time look good. That said, reducing is still better than restoring, but in the meantime- let’s get this lamp working!