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Aquascaping as art


melbournebetta

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Some of those tanks......wow. I have no idea how they go about making something so beautiful. Just amazing. I always love looking at Wolfgangs tanks in Jodis shop. One of my favorites is a shrimp tank on the counter.

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How great are they Bus?

I nearly squeeled when I saw the one with the external length of ...stick - how often do you see a GIANT bit of driftwood and think.... if only I could fit that bugger in my 3 foot tank....

Love the idea of taking it to a new level of aesthetic.... I guess you gotta learn how to keep plants (you boys are on the right track) I stil struggle with Anubias.

Maybe I should just outsource and get Jordan (who won that international aquascaping comp last year) to just keep everything ALIVE.....

Maybe some ideas for the next Aquascaping comp - nobody did anything with novelty!

x

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That's funny as I am more drawn to the planted lush tanks. But I do not have an artistic bone in my body, can't draw, paint (rooms maybe :-) ) or photograph. Most artistic thing I have ever done that looked half good was bonsai and my tanks. Still, nowhere near this level.

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Yes, well perhaps there is a new gallery space that's got just the space (subscape opening a new aquascape space upstairs)

Anyhoo!

Bus: I know what you mean, I still love a heavily planted happy tank, but there's something very Damien Hurst about those gallery shots...

Fist: no ugly curation in my dream aquascape exhibition!!!! How can they not have thought of suspending it? Hello, fishing line???

Art, I like it.

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Maybe the fishing line wouldn't have been solid enough. I expect it would have swung if anyone accidentally bumped it. Not that the metal stand looks particularly solid.

Subscape gallery would be really cool. When is it going to be ready? Next stop Ian Potter then on to the National Gallery. What the hell, might as well tour the whole country.

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Very nice! First I've heard of tanks being used in this way as an exhibit!

The wood looks like it already has fishing line on it, you can see from the shadow of it in the first pic. As 'Razzi said, it doesn't look very stable and you wouldn't want anybody accidentally knocking it.

Maybe they could have made another tank the same, holding the other side in.

Wait, Fist said that the other tank would have been a good idea... missed that...

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you know what, if you can do this:

3656846733_a04fa438f2.jpg

you can find a clever way to suspend a stick!

I'm a snob, I'm sure they had the stick hanging there with fishing wire ( yeah I saw it in the pic too) and it probably got knocked off by some nuff nuff, so they had to put that stupid support there.

Anyway - I'll curate it, you'se just scape it artistically!

x

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Cruel, sadistic and just plain wrong coming right up....

Ness, suspending a dead horse like that is easy. It's when they're still kicking and bucking that it starts to become a challenge!

*Couldn't resist*

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ROFL this thread is to much fun. Ness when they get that gallery up and running could you please get permision to take some pics and do a write up on it? a bit like the trip you did, it woud so help us remote localatise.

Cheers

les

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Fist: no ugly curation in my dream aquascape exhibition!!!!

Is the Australian aquascaping scene big enough at present to sustain a national level exhibition or competition with the level of exposure like, say, (don't laugh) The Archibald?

Speaking in broadly simplistic terms now, I think the first step is for the public perception of the fishkeeping hobby to shift away from the goldfish-in-a-bowl thing (which would be a good thing anyway) to include what is being done in gardening, lifestyle, landscape/architectural, sustainable living, and environmental areas. You've heard all this from me before. I think at some point in the future there is scope for a fine art exhibition or competition in aquascaping at that level.

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If you want to get jiggy (and commercial) you take out a stall at the Melbourne flower and garden show with an insane set up and a pitch that is designed to inspire newcomers to under water gardening.

Fact remains that keeping a well maintained scaped and planted tank is hard.

Unlike the bromeliad that people walk past and buy because it's artificially hatched greenhouse flower is blooming, and never will again in Melbourne's climate.... you know you can buy that, feel good and forget about it.

The other alternative is working like Exotic Aquatic (friend/like them on FB and see what I'm on about) They are promoting the bejesus out of scaping and the possibilities - however you're preaching to the converted.

Personally,

I like the far-reach.

Have some uniform 4+ foot tanks in one huge expansive exhibition space, white walls, good lighting, minimal everything.....

Bring Aquascaping to the "masses" (i.e. those who hear about it on design blogs, gallery go-ers, and the hipsters that come to shows for free grog) you could flog it wider and further with good PR.

And actually scape 8 big beautiful tanks, not in a traditional sense, but like these ones - pushing the boundaries of contemporary artforms, and creating little worlds (like we try to do in our scaped tanks) but instead of trying to recreate relity, i love the idea of scapes that are completely implausible (i.e. stick hanging out the side) or other such quirks.

In my perfect world I wouldn't have different "designers" either, there could be a collaboration - sure, but those shows look too "bitsy" if you're placing the aquarium in an art context, you make it behave like art, and have an exciting over-all look.

Oh, and as for orderves, I would insist on serving sashimi.

OH THE IRONY.

No, I don't think scaping has anywhere near the interest to compete with Australia's most popular art competition.

More like the bald-archy: http://www.baldarchy.com.au/

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hmm... I get the difficulty/skill issues you raised. And probably cost as well. And perhaps the time it takes to maintain a well scaped tank.

I really like that practical idea of hitching a ride with the gardening crowd, I really think that is where it's at, rather than viewing all this as a completely separate hobby/discipline. In recent years there have been a surge in outdoor living (see Jamie Durie for example), and again the perrenial gardening crowd. I think the fishkeeping/aquarium mob (and by that I mean the MOB that pours billions to the aquarium industry) need to marry up with the more visible areas which I've mentioned, with a crossover into the fine art world too.

That brings it down to costs and time. Maybe it should start with the low tech methods, I'm not sure yet.

hah, that Bald Archy, I didn't know about that. That's like the IgNobel Prize....

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This is where I hit the extent of my understanding and outsource, i can't keep java fern happy.

if this show ever happens (need the funds for a gallery space, I'm working on a new space too) i'll be begging jordan to nail the scapes for me... i do the drawing... you make it go.

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