In this article of Volume 9, #2, 2023 of Routledge London journal Critical Military Studies, I share my experience of using William Blake’s 1793 poem America a Prophecy as a lens to explore the mythic, subconscious and literary constructions of military interventions in the Indo-Pacific with my 2021 painting ‘Australia a Prophecy’ & a 2000 word essay.

My new article for the Routledge journal Critical Military Studies explores my painting ‘Australia A Prophecy’ where I invite William Blake’s 18th century character Orc - from his poem America A Prophecy - to travel forward in time to Australia to guide an alternative imaginary lens to unpack the gendered, mythological stories driving geopolitical & military tensions in the Indo-Pacific where I live.

Thanks Robert from The Victim’s Ball for sharing his musical journey with my artwork Bals des Victimes adapted for cover art for his new album Body Parts. They have an iconic Melbourne sound, obsess about the French Revolution and make you think of attending a carnival in an alleyway in the middle of a lost town somewhere beyond the black stump.

I was invited to be a part of an inspiring interview experience for a new street-theatre oral history called The Lion Never Sleeps. Thanks to Noemie the director and creator who made this incredible audio journey that takes the audience on a live walk through the inner-city streets of Northbridge in Perth, Western Australia. They have re-created the stories of the people who were there (like me), and how we survived the AIDS Crisis in the 1980s. 

Not many people saw this painting, because Covid-19 hit hard as this exhibition just got started. I was short-listed for the Collie Art Prize with this work, but they had to close down early for the lockdown. I hope it gets a longer viewing because it is my spiritual diary during these times. 2020 was so disturbing and disorienting for us all.