Deep in Fitzroy off a side street and down a lane there is a space called Cake Wines Pop-Up... A small space in which three even smaller spaces are separated by curtains... In the central area a number of tables are set out for drinks and to either side are the spaces devoted to exhibitions and performances... 'Playing Statues' was a small exhibition that had drawn an even smaller crowd who held on to their wine glasses and closed in on the pictures. The pictures were comprised of tiny detail upon tiny detail of temples and buildings and figures representative of traditional Japanese culture. Sean Edward Whelan, the artist, had incorporated these into figures, the statutes of the title, that were in conflict with various pieces of equipment associated with playgrounds and theme parks that symbolised modern Japan. Based in Niigata, Whelan no doubt had been exposed to the ugliness of over development. It was a nation-wide phenomena that had preoccupied the best minds of a generation such as Miyazaki Hayao. His animated film 'Spirited Away' explored the same contested space in which modernity fought against tradition. In the case of Sean Edward Whelan, the battle is contained to a few frames on display in Kerr Street at the tiny gallery in Cake Wines Pop Up. The gallery, tucked away down a laneway, is a perfect location given the number of pictures on display. To some extent an esoteric display, it probably represented more of a playful nod in the direction of dystopic fantasy rather than the full blown surreal assault on the senses that a disciple of performance artist Mori Mariko might have attempted. It was even less of a nod in the direction of Yoshitomo Nara or Murakami Takashi who had dramatised the lives of little girls with bandaged limbs and mutant plants respectively. The walk back home up Brunswick Street past Naked for Satan, Mary's House of Welcome and the Uptown Jazz Club was all that it promised to be. A diverse range of venues catering for a diverse range of people. Mary's House of Welcome apologised for the early closure during the day but promised to be open in the morning for breakfast as usual.
