Born in Melbourne in 1913, Noel Counihan was a social realist painter, printmaker and cartoonist, and a passionate social campaigner. The namesake of Merri-bek City Council’s Counihan Gallery, his experiences of unemployment and poverty during the 1930s, and his lifelong involvement in protest movements, inspired his powerful and prolific images of the working class. Donated by the De Fazio family

Rennie Ellis was an Australian documentary photographer and a key figure in Australian visual culture. Grand Final breakfast 1982 depicts a cluttered table during a football Grand Final day breakfast. The messily covered tablecloth, as well as the appearance of alcohol at a morning event, displays the signature larrikin attitude and passion with which football events are undertaken in Australia. This work was shown in the 2017 Counihan Gallery exhibition Leather Poisoning, along with many other works by Ellis, capturing the nation’s love of the game. Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Vol. 10, No. 4, [sic] Summer 2005-06 CONTENTS Alan Marshal Young Writers Short Story Award Winner 3 Winning stories from the William Barak Short Story and Bushcraft competition by Joydyn Chandler and Bethany McGill 4 John Jenkins on Ian McBryde 6 Leanne Mooney 9 Isabelle Clements 10 Poetry 11 Book Reviews 13 CWA meets CSA 15 Social Realists at the Counihan Gallery 16 Ian McBryde Poetry Reviews 19 Music & CD Reviews 20 Artin' About 25 Art Services & Classes 29 Wining & Dining 30"Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 32 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) 10th Anniversary Edition!art streams, art streams magazine, alan marshal young writers, bethany mcgill, ian mcbryde, isabelle clements, john jenkins, joydyn chandler, leanne mooney

Luke King’s mixed media artwork Portrait (2023) was shown in the group exhibition Fever’Dreams at the Counihan Gallery in 2023. The group exhibition explored the slippery boundaries between abstract and figurative artwork, showcasing local artists with a strong connection to Merri-bek’s arts community. King uses portraiture to highlight the importance of gesture and facial expression in personal storytelling. Exhibition curator of Fever’Dreams, Mitchel Brannan, writes of King’s work: ‘King explores the profound capacity of the human face to convey emotions within the context of constraint. Through his art, King invites viewers to reflect on the complexities of human expression and the underlying dynamics of restraint within society.’

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was as a pivotal figure in Australian visual culture. He was both a documentary photographer and a prominent presence in advertising, television and photography. Ellis was known for his candid documentary images of contemporary Australian life. His photographs of social events, such as music festivals, fashion parades or nightclubs are iconic, but his practice also encompassed the grittier side of life. In his AFL series, Ellis skilfully portrays the nation’s passion for the game, extending his lens beyond the boundary line to showcase the spirited fans alongside the on-field action. In Ellis’ photograph Malcom Fraser, VFL Grand Final 1979 we see a young supporter shake hands with Liberal Prime Minister, Malcom Fraser. In the grand Australian tradition, politicians and PMs are active in the football sphere. This work was shown in the 2017 Counihan Gallery exhibition Leather Poisoning, along with many other works by Ellis capturing the nations love of the game. Donated by the Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive

Born in Tehran before moving to Australia in 1985, Nostograph 1 is part of Hootan Heydari’s enquiry into ideas of displacement, memory and disruption. Nostograph 1 is a key work from Hootan Heydari’s solo exhibition Yeki Bood, Yeki Nabood, which was held at the Counihan Gallery in 2022. ‘Yeki bood, yeki nabood’ means ‘one was there, one was absent’ in Farsi. It’s a phrase used to begin a story, similar to ‘once upon a time’. Yeki Bood, Yeki Nabood explored the compulsion to return to the past; to process trauma, but also to resist historical and cultural erasure. Yet memory is slippery; repeated exposure to images of the past blur and conflate with the artist’s memory. In Nostograph 1, Heydari attempts to remember and outline rooms and spaces from his childhood, as described by delicate strips of gold leaf. The gold leaf overlays an archival photograph of a crowd gathered during a mass demonstration during the 1979 Islamic revolution. In Nostograph 1, personal and public histories intersect.

Vol. 7, No. 5, Nov 2002-Feb 2003 CONTENTS Comment 2 Raising Young Voices - Robert Williams 3 Gardening: The New Rock and Roll - Kate Hird 7 blOKes at the Collingwood Gallery 10 200? Banyule Youth Art Awards 11 A Trip in Time and Space - Seren Little 13 Melbourne Art Fair 2002 - Felicity Gordon 15 Eltham High School Photography 16 Susan Pickering: A Shift in Passions - Corinna Tautsche 18 Poetry News and Reviews - John Jenkins 19 Book Review: Amerika Psycho - Pam Dougherty 20 Book Review: Mirka Mora - Louise Poland 21 Noel Counihan: Geoff Todd: Op Art in Australia 22 Australian Music: Elizabeth Scarlett 23 CD Reviews: John Sangster, Judy Jacques, Bob Sedergreen 24 Artin' About 27 Wining & Dining 30 "Peter Dougherty has been involved in the local art scene for many years. As publisher and editor of the arts magazine Artstreams, his comments on the various branches of the arts are widely respected. His "The Arts" column in the Diamond Valley Leader presents a brief summary for a much wider cross section of the local community. Peter also operates his own gallery and the Artstreams Cafe at the St Andrews market. Peter has a wealth of knowledge about present day and historical aspects of local art and artists." - Eltham District Historical Society Newsletter No. 161, March 2005Colour front and back cover with feature articles and literary pieces with photographs and advertisements printed in black and white. 36 pages, 30 cm. Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1996) - Vol. 10, no. 5 (summer ed. 2005/​06) art streams, eltham east primary school choir, willy wonka's ice cream gourmet food, anne williams, eltham fullife pharmacy, dynamic vegies, gardening, kate hird, thompsons pharmacy, chris dickson, banyule youth art awards, st andrews hotel, eltham wiregrass gallery, melbourne art fair, eltham high school, susan pickering, corrina tauschke, john jenkins, poetry, montsalvat, hurstbridge arts & craft, atmosphere nursery & cafe, bulleen art & garden centre, sushi wushi

myanmar, conflict, displacement, resilience

In creating these pieces, Vipoo Srivilasa initiated the process by sculpting three figures with bare surfaces. Bundit Puangthong then added his artistic touch by painting each sculpture. The artists' conceptual visions harmonized perfectly, especially considering their shared commitment to Buddhist principles, which frequently inspire their respective artistic practices. After Bundit completed his painting, Vipoo enlivened the pieces by adding eyes to the figures. He also embellished the works with pom-poms, lending them a softness that makes them appear both approachable and innocent, despite the weightiness of their themes. Each sculpture embodies a specific teaching from Buddhism: "FLESH" features a golden umbrella, serving as a metaphor for sex.

These captivating pieces are part of a series called "FOOD / FLESH / FAME," a collaborative effort between Melbourne-based Thai artists Bundit Puangthong and Vipoo Srivilasa. Drawing from Buddhist teachings, the series explores the three elements of attachment: Food (consumption), Flesh (sex), and Fame (power). Although these elements are known to cause suffering, they remain persistently alluring, a paradox that the artists intend to explore further in the future. In creating these pieces, Vipoo Srivilasa initiated the process by sculpting three figures with bare surfaces. Bundit Puangthong then added his artistic touch by painting each sculpture. The artists' conceptual visions harmonized perfectly, especially considering their shared commitment to Buddhist principles, which frequently inspire their respective artistic practices. After Bundit completed his painting, Vipoo enlivened the pieces by adding eyes to the figures. He also embellished the works with pom-poms, lending them a softness that makes them appear both approachable and innocent, despite the weightiness of their themes. Each sculpture embodies a specific teaching from Buddhism: "FOOD" depicts a durian, the king of fruits, painted by Bundit Puangthong. He notes, "Despite its pungent aroma, many people still love to eat it."Donated the by the artists

Jenna Lee dissects and reconstructs colonial 'Indigenous dictionaries' and embeds the works with new cultural meaning. Long obsessed with the duality of the destructive and healing properties that fire can yield, this element has been applied to the paper in the forms of burning and mark-making. In Without Us, Lee uses charcoal to conceal the text on the page, viewing this process as a ritualistic act of reclaiming and honouring Indigenous heritage while challenging the oppressive legacies of colonialism. Lee explains in Art Guide (2022), ‘These books in particular [used to create the proposed works] are Aboriginal language dictionaries—but there’s no such thing as “Aboriginal language”. There are hundreds of languages. The dictionary just presents words, with no reference to where they came from. It was specifically published by collating compendiums from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with the purpose to give [non-Indigenous] people pleasant sounding Aboriginal words to name children, houses and boats. And yet the first things that were taken from us was our language, children, land and water. And the reason our words were so widely written down was because [white Australians] were trying to eradicate us. They thought we were going extinct. The deeper you get into it, the darker it gets. But the purpose of my work is to take those horrible things and cast them as something beautiful.’Framed artwork

merri-bek public art collection