Anthony Grima's weblog

Things have been a bit crazy since I've gotten back with Christmas/New Years celebrations and just generally catching up with everyone, but I've still found some time to do some drawing whilst I've been here. I'm quite enjoying drawing statues at the moment and there certainly isn't a shortage of those here.



The water nymph
This is a statue that lives in the Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne.



Albert Dunstan and Herry Bolte statue
There are four statues of Victorian Premiers (who served more than 3,000 days in office) outside of Treasury Place.



The Arts Centre
The Arts Centre is one of Melbourne's most iconic buildings and sits on the Southbank, right next to the National Gallery of Victoria.


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8:30pm in melbourne

I feel so relaxed right now.

I've come to realise that I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing city to come home to, it is without a doubt the best city in the world to me. Everyone is just so happy and carefree, no credit crunch in sight here and there is a warm and friendly vibe in the air.



The weather has been just incredible everyday and it has been so refreshing to have such great friends around me constantly.



A couple of days ago I received my long awaited decks and mixer from my friend pat and have been relishing being able to mix music in my room.


The view from my bedroom

I live in an awesome flat with my awesome friend and, well ... I really couldn't ask for more. My london life feels like a distant memory for me ... I'm so happy to be home.

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I have mixed emotions about my trip home to Melbourne ...

On the one hand, I'm excited about the prospect of the adventures that await me. I have a great flat in the city sharing with one of my best friends and a country retreat (my parents place) for when I want to escape the city. I've already been looking into studio spaces in Collingwood and have a list of extra-curricular activities that I'll be applying for at the start of next year. I've been receiving reports of the beautiful weather back home and of the clear and starry nights. I'll be able to mix music again, have friends to hang out with on the weekends and family just around the corner. I'm excited about the prospect of a new job, meeting new people and discovering my own backyard. I'm excited about Japan, Sydney and New Zealand and the many weekend adventures install for 2010.



On the other hand, there is a big part of me that is gonna miss London. I'm gonna miss the galleries, the large built up landscapes and the sheer efficiency of the place. But I think most of all, I'm gonna miss the people who I've grown to love here, the people who have welcomed me into their worlds and who have always found time for me. For me, my friends are the most important thing in my life ... They've propped me up when i'm feeling down, entertained and confided in me. I really couldn't ask for better friends and whilst it's gonna be sad to leave them, I know that I'll always be in contact despite the fact that I'm on the other side of the world.



At the end of the day, I can take solace in the fact that I have no attachments and that I could very well be back at any time .... who knows what happens! If London has taught me anything it is that there are so many places in the world that I would like to visit or even live. I see this move home as the start of a wider adventure, a means of collecting my thoughts so to figure out what my next destination in life will be.


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I always try to put myself in the shoes of my audience whenever I am faced with a creative brief. This week I've had to ask myself how I would feel if I were vulnerable and English wasn't my first language, how I would react if I were a busy MP who had just been handed a 90 page white-paper 20 minutes before parliament commenced or unemployed and in a Jobcentre looking for information about government assistance.

For me, good graphic design is about questioning your audiences circumstances and creating a visual solution that responds to their needs specifically. It dictates how information should be ordered on a page and how colour and photography should be used.


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Last night I had the most peculiar and vivid dream. When I woke up this morning, the images were still so clear in my head that I had to frantically write it all down.

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I was living with my parents who lived in a stately home on the banks of the thames near clink st, the roads were cobble stone but the streets were alot smaller (tighter) than the ones found around there. It was modern day because we were wearing modern clothes but the atmosphere had an older period about it.



Anyway, I was walking through the house which had at least three levels. The second floor had a study in it which was very ornate with Victorian styling throughout. Large paintings of countrysides, hand-carved desks with lots of wooden ornamentation ... it felt cold and foreign to me because I was walking around inquisitively like it was the first time I had been there. As I walked around the study, I could hear a horrible screeching sound every couple of minutes which I can only really liken to the screeching of that creature from Lord of the Rings that flew on the dragon. I walked outside to investigate what was going on ... my parents were fairly nonchalont about it all like it happened all the time.

Outside, the weather was chilly like an ordinary January night in England but the night sky was mostly devoid of clouds and I remember looking out into a clear and starry sky and glowing moon. I could hear lots of people around me but they stuck to the shadows of the buildings and I didn't feel like I was amongst crowds of people even though I could hear them. It was so cold that the walls of the buildings were wet and glistening from the chill of the night air. As I walked along the narrow, cobble stoned side-street outside my house I recalled how the buildings that surrounded me blocked out any light from the sky and cast dramatic shadows on the landscape ... there was hardly any lighting.



As I turned the corner (think Clink St near the old boat), I looked out into the direction of the thames and saw the mast of an old english ship swaying wildly from left to right as it careered sharply away from the shore of the thames. I couldn't see below the mast because a building was blocking my view below and to the left of the scene, but I could hear the water of the thames crashing into the bank and could see whitewash fly into the air. As I slowly walked towards the ship, the horrible screeching sound was deafening and echoed through the streets. I noticed that the English ship had suddenly disappeared but was being followed by a menacing ship that towered over the English ship from behind. It had all the markings of a pirate ship with its skull-and-cross bones etc and it was following the English ship. As I walked closer to the foreshore, people began coming out of the shadows, they were normal people - parents with their children and couples, but they were walking around like they were at a festival. The smell of mulled wine began to emanate around me as I walked closer to the water and I caught a glimpse of hundreds of Jack O'Lanterns that defined the bank of the Thames and which spread as far as I could see. There were people everywhere now, chatting and having fun and basking at the wonder of the re-enactment (of the ships) in front of them. I just stood there and watched in amazement of the scene. The ships were so lifelike and were maneuvering so violently in the water, and the jack o'lanterns along the bank with their warm glowing light reflected on the water ... the chill of the wintry air mixed with the warmth of the festivities. As I continued walking along the foreshore, fireworks shot out into the sky and as I looked over the Thames wall I could see lots of little food stalls which ran along the sand. There were people dresses as vampires and English infantry and witches and skeletons everywhere I looked, I recall there being lots of Mexican death festival costumes as well.



So overwhelmed by it all, I ran back home to tell my parents and get properly clothed to head out some more. When I told my parents of the festival that was going on outside, they seemed not to care for it too much but my mum told me that I would get a better view of it all from the window in the attic. She proceeded to take me to have a look and I noticed the cat sleeping next to a big, bright yellow snake which was also curled up and resting peacefully. The snake was docile but it scared me just being around it ... mum asked them to move over (like the snake was a pet) so that she could access the window. As I looked out of the window I could see the complete scene. The two ships battling wildly in the Thames and the menacing screeching sound that the pirate ship made as it pursued the smaller English ship. The waves of the Thames crashing into the foreshore like it were the ocean. The jack o'lanterns and costumes riddled throughout the winding streets and along the foreshore, and people everywhere enjoying the festivities.

It was at that point that I woke up (unfortunately).... No amazing twist but you just had to be there I guess


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Every two or three years I find myself dusting off the old graphic design folio in readiness for my next career prospect. As I sit here with all of my work laid out in front of me, I'm amazing as to how far I've come as a designer in my time in London...






There's something nice about taking the time to look at what you've accomplished in your career since the last job.

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I'm the apple of your eye.
I'm bright red, I'm shiny and I'm appetising.
I share a space with other apples who, on the surface, are as perfect as me.
No-one ever takes notice of the imperfect apples because they are flawed.

When you bite into me, I am infact bitter and sour.
I hate that I hide behind my perfect skin because it's not who I am.
For me my skin is more revolting than my insides.
At least when you bite into me, you get a sensation.

"There's no hope in this world for a bruised apple".
Who am I kidding.
Why does it matter whether I'm perfect or not.
I don't want to be devoured by just anyone.



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It's been a while since my trip to the aquarium and the subsequent mini-manifesto that I wrote in my blog a few weeks ago (see Where to from here?) so I thought I'd take a moment to update you all on my progress to date.

I've been investing alot of time in developing the thoughts I had written down earlier. Last saturday I decided to take my camera for a little walk around london bridge/blackfriars and came back with numerous pictures of bridges, underpasses, tunnels, walkways and alike. There's something about the protectiveness of these man-made environments that really inspires me for some reason. One area of interest for me was the underpass on Clink Street next to the Clink Prison Museum. I sat and watched waves of people pour through the area for well over twenty minutes ... at times the crowds were immense and then they would die down before the next wave of people passed through. The area was ever changing due to the human traffic and I couldn't help but draw correlations with that and waves in the ocean.



There's something about the power of the water bursting through (and cleansing) these familiar places that really excites me about these drawings. When I drew these I was merely substituting the human traffic for water but have since grown to identify with the ferociousness and destructive nature of the water. There's a sense of calm, serenity and helplessness in these scenes for me.


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