David Bielander and Vicki Mason

 I finally made it to see the David Bielander exhibition at Gallery Funaki yesterday, and it is, as advertised, a Ripsnorter! There is a two and a half meter long python neckpiece, a pearl necklace with ears that can be reassembled into a three-dimensional pig's head, and a necklace of sausages carved from the wood of a carefully selected chair - all of which are made with a (purportedly unintentional) humour and a (certainly intentional) technical mastery. I had to get a copy of the catalogue, which is in essence a printed version of the artist's talk at RMIT on 28 October.

Tomorrow is the exhibition's last day - see it before it goes!

I also attended the opening of e.g. etal's last exhibition for the year last night. The gallery is awash with colour emanating from Vicki Mason's Botanical Fictions, a collection of powder-coated brass and sterling silver floral brooches, neckpieces and rings featuring the tightly coiled PVC and fiber centres that have defined the artist's previous work. The colour combinations and stylisation of these bouquets and sprays ensure the botanical forms do read like fictions, becoming stranger and more exciting than the real thing. The exhibition runs until 15 November.