‘Nay, tis not I that maketh the art tis the place where I doth dwell’.
There’s something about Coraki that takes me back to old Balmain.
I think it’s the deeply sown roots of working-class people.
I owe a lot to Balmain, centre of the Old World where I first began to see through different eyes and finally found something to say and a way to say it. It was there that I was flung out of Pottery World into Art World. Somehow I was not a comfortable fit in either camp.
A couple of decades later I stumbled into Coraki.
Coraki - rough around the edges, once Battlers’ Boomtown now Centre of the New World.
Out along the road from Coraki is Casino, Beef Capital of Planet Earth, and you wouldn’t want to mess with them.
Then up the way is Lismore Love More Land and that’s exactly why this work is here because I thought you Lismore lot would understand why someone like me would want to paint pictures about love, on paper bags We Coraki people haven’t yet exposed ourselves to the wider world with a catch cry to reel in the punters because we are trying to keep our blood line pure. We’re not the sort to take on the bio eco spiritual boutique vibe, but we did once win the tidy towns award so we have a lot to protect.
But now and again there is a whiff of change in the air and today I’ve tidied up the kitchenette because our local hero has invited himself over. He tells me he can only eat off certified organic plates, so I’ve scrawled ‘certified organic’ across the plastic plates. He reckons he’s a rock star. He makes rock walls for the wealthy, on planet Byron Bay. He gets his rocks from Coraki and by the time they reach Byron Bay they are allergy free vegan rocks and everyone is happy. But his bucks get spent here at the Coraki Pub where the publican understands the difference one certified organic beer glass can make to his takings and our Rock Star, is riding high because he sees the rest of us as his diehard fans.
So that’s it from Battler’s Boomtown where a rock is still a rock and we’re still battling on.
Coraki
where all the women are strong
all the men are good looking,
and all the kiddies are above average
