If you live in NSW or Queensland and you’re into NRL - your time starts NOW!
This weekend’s Rugby League Grand Final promises to be a testosterone fuelled battle of the titans - Bulldogs vs. Rabbitohs
Driving through downtown Canterbury today we copped an eyeful of blue n white streamered houses, blue n white jerseys and blue n white fans cruising the hood in their blue n white Commodores proudly flying their giant Bulldogs flags. Would’ve been great to have been in Redfern to see how the Rabbitohs fans were preparing… C’mon the Bunnies!
The other Big One to watch is the Koori KnockOut held in Raymond Terrace, NSW.
The NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout has been held annually since 1970 and is the largest Koori gathering of its kind in Australia. This year the Newcastle Yowies are the hosts and there’ll be both women’s and men’s knockout games being played over the entire October long weekend.
Our good friend Amanda James has been documenting KnockOut for 15 years and she’ll be there taking photos, catching up with old mates, screaming her support from the sidelines and yarning with young fellas, Uncles, Aunties and Elders.
Photo Amanda James Copyright 2014
Check out AJ’s photos of KnockOut, festivals, sporting events, family and indigenous community.
Indigneous ink and contemporary tattoos are AJ’s passion and she’ll also be talking about tattoos and tattoo safety up at KnockOut this year.
Look out for AJ with the big camera - she’s going to be recording interviews about your tattoo stories for our KnockOut Hep C project so get ready for a yarn and to show off your ink!
Watch live coverage of the 44th Annual KnockOut on NITV
Shannon is a man who appreciates tattoos - and why not? His unique goanna tattoo has been a work in progress for a couple of years with several visits to the artist for outlines, fills and detail.
Here’s a short 1 minute video we shot of Shannon at the NCIE - National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.
The Tattoo Safely video is part of our KnockOut Hep C project - an exciting health promotion initiative we are taking to KnockOut Festivals and other sporting events. Basically our message is: If you’re gonna get a tatt - do it safely. Choose a place that’s clean, where the tattooist uses clean needles and equipment every time. If you don’t follow those simple tips, you could run the risk of getting hepatitis C. And that’s the point of the KnockOut Hep C project - to get people to think about the risks
Check out our Tumblr photos from the making of our KnockOut Hep C video
Maybe you’re into all kinds of bodyart? Piercings, plugs, noserings, implants?
OK, so join about a gazillion other Australians in the race to become indelibly marked with their own picture book. Every second person, including the lovely Imogen (above) is tattooed these days. And we’re not talking about one or two love-hearts, a lone anchor or a sailor’s bluebird.
Old school tattoos that profess love, hate or loyalty are now part of a much bigger picture. Literally. Incredible works of bodyart cover entire anatomies - comprising sleeves, fully inked legs and arms, faces, foreheads, necks, ankles, feet.
An enormously popular industry has been launched on the back of tattoos. Many local newsagents now carry more Tattoo magazines than HomeGlam/Lifestyle publications. Tattoo festivals are held across the globe, and social media is well and truly #inked with #tattoo hashtags. The past 24 hours featured over 2000 tweets on the subject.
Whether you’re into ink or not, tattoos are here to stay…for good.
But what lies behind the sexed up body art photography, the ‘glamorous’ tattooed celebrities, and the testosterone-driven allegiance to a particular gang or tribe?
Funnily enough, pictures of elderly citizens with sagging skin distorting their youthful self-expressionism don’t often make it into the public domain. Glossy magazines don’t tend to portray inflammation, infections pustules or ink poisoning…
