I’ve been thinking about automated vehicles lately and wondering if, in order for visions of their ideal function are to be realised, cities/societies will need to change wholesale – rather than incrementing as people slowly adopt new technologies/models.

Because our individualism and increasing inequality is a huge concern

By narrowing the gap between scientific understanding and spiritual understanding, we get closer to god.

When I “bags” the last Tim Tam who/what is keeping track? When I “pinch and punch for the first of the month” and then declare “full locks, no return” who/what is watching on? When I go to the toilet during the third quarter who/what is making sure Richmond gets a goal? When I pray for world peace is anyone listening?

I have just finished a painting on the Myall Creek Massacre for the Blake Prize. Part of me feels like I should be advocating in my artist statement but I was not driven by advocacy when painting; I was driven by inquiry and emotional turbulence

And I don’t wanna talk to a scientist.

Yay for discovering water on Mars and flying past Pluto and all that, but should we be looking at WTF is happening on our own planet a bit more?

The edges of our roads should have piles of worn-off rubber everywhere, but I don’t ever see it.

These things seem at odds, and unsustainable. There has to be a better way forward.

El nino and la niña are natural weather phenomena. Climate change is not. Is a scientist or two measuring co2 in the australian atmosphere so that we can mitigate our behaviour and transit to market in a considered way. This affects peoples living standards. Let’s avoid poverty!

Viewed from an economic perspective, does the arts suffer from something similar to the military-industrial complex, minus the extreme violence? It seems like everyone in the arts think that more funding will fix all our problems. I was thinking of this in the light of ever growing artistic output and too much choice that the inner city life has to offer, and the idea that art is like violence in the sense that it will continue to be practiced impulsively by humans regardless of funding. To me, what seems to motivate reasonable decisions and priorities as governments struggle to allocate resources justly is the education and learning environment people have access to rather than the size of our arts or “defence” budget.

Public discourse on politically contested matters—like climate change, refugees, distribution of resources, etc.—seems to be at a low ebb. We need to find ways to address these issues constructively if we are to have any hope of meeting the challenges of the coming years. But how can we be a part of the solution and not just a part of the problem?