A happy discovery

On Sunday, in an attempt to while away a few hours whilst waiting for a massive set of photos to be printed, I headed to one of my very favourite places to kill time, Magnation. Magnation, like me, and many other awesome things, has flourished in Australia, but in fact originated in New Zealand. Basically, it is a magazine shop run by giant magazine nerds, for other magazine nerds to browse, oogle at, and hang out in. In addition to pretty much every mag on the planet, they have coffee, moleskines, wallpaper guides, funky stationery, and super comfy chairs. Now I am as much of a mag nerd as anyone, but what I was really going for was the chairs. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover at Magnation not only cushiony comfort, but also a new favourite for the magazine rack: Sydney-based EMPTY magazine.

Empty is, in its own words, quite simply a magazine "about creativity, in all its forms." The current issue of EMPTY is billed as "Image Only," which meant it was refreshingly free of the pretentious writing and reviews which so frequently spoils comptemporary art mags. Instead, EMPTY is packed with full size reproductions of work by Australian and international illustrators and artists. I won't say that I loved every piece, but I sure did find a few favourites:

Chris Scarborough

Untitled (Self Portrait), 2009

Amy Casey

Electricalize, 2008

Michael Hsiung
Puppeteer re-enacting scenes from Panda vs Unicorn Wars, 2006

Morgan Blair

Modified Scenes from my Childhood (3 of 7)

In all honesty, Morgan Blair is so interesting she (if she is indeed a she..?) deserves a post all of her own. But right now my head deserves the pillow more. I promise to be back soon, with both Morgan, and the second installment of I-love-art-by-Michaels.