Academic
My work as Director of Photography and Situated Media at UTS consumes a great deal of time and energy, but the rewards are worth it. We are already 5 weeks into the Spring semester, our 2nd as a program. It’s very exciting and new and under constant development. I haven’t mentioned it here because in my mind it’s always evolving, putting the program into words is almost impossible. Suffice it to say, the students are creating some extremely exciting work, and there will much, much more to talk about in the near future.

Academic, 2
In a few weeks I will join friend and colleague Adrian Lahoud for a two week workshop in Beirut. For the past three years, Adrian (along with Samantha Spurr and others) has run a Master of Architecture studio researching Post Traumatic Urbanism. (Read more about it here. And buy this in a couple of months.) This is a trip I have been looking forward to for a long time. More later.

Writing
I just submitted a review of Terroir’s new Leichardt House for Monument Magazine. This is new territory for me, and I must admit, I really enjoyed it. My short article will appear in the next issue (#99) due out soon.

Other
There is more to report, but I’ll leave it here for now. Get in touch.

The opening for CO-ISOLATED was huge fun. Thanks to the 400+ people who braved the commute to our remote warehouse. We’ve spent the past few days taking images and videos, we’ll post them here and at the exhibition’s site: http://so-ad.com/co-isolated

There are also rumors about that the show will re-emerge in the near future. We’ll keep you posted…

Hello! I’m pleased to welcome you to my new site. This transition has been a long time coming and it feels good.

Tomorrow night is the opening of CO-ISOLATED. Richard, Michael and I finished the installation last night, and I couldn’t be happier. I hope to see you tomorrow night in Alexandria.

For a map, instructions for the free bus service we’ve arranged, and more information click here: http://so-ad.com/co-isolated

At the risk of over-exposure, I’d like to remind you about CO-ISOLATED. The show is a one-night (plus symposium) affair, so we’ll see you on Friday April 16th, no? For a detailed map, click here.

We’ve just confirmed that renowned Australian sculptor Ken Unsworth will open the show Friday. Also, the symposium panel for Saturday now includes Andrew Benjamin, Adam Geczy, Adam Jasper along with Adrian Lahoud and Tarsha Finney.

For full details, please visit: http://so-ad.com/co-isolated

See you Friday!

CO-ISOLATED, an exhibition of new work by Richard Goodwin, Michael Snape and David Burns, will take place the weekend of 16 April 2010 in a 3000 square meter (30,000 s.f. from my American brothers and sisters) warehouse in the Alexandria suburb of Sydney.

I’m very excited about this show. I’ll be exhibiting a new piece that follows Triptych 01 of 2009, but at a significantly larger scale. Richard is planning a new performative piece that should not be missed and Michael is working with large foam plinths. Oh yes.

If you’re on this side of the planet, please stop by on Friday 16 April. It’s going to be huge.

Full details here: http://so-ad.com/co-isolated.  And on Facebook.

See you there!

MAS Context, an architectural journal from Chicago, has recently released its new issue titled, University Works.

Their words:

University Works relates some of the most promising architecture work developed in universities around the world during the recent academic years. This work has been selected by curators directly involved at each of the universities. University Works wants to know and share what is produced in different contexts, establish parallels, understand challenges, and discover opportunities.
Discuss, Enjoy, Participate.

Last October I was in Chicago giving a talk at UIC and Iker invited me to curate some projects from my current home, the University of Technology, Sydney. I picked a few projects from the M.Arch Encapsulations studio I ran last year with Adam Jasper, a couple of projects from Adrian Lahoud and Sam Spurr’s Post-Traumatic Urbanism studio, and a couple of undergraduate projects as well. The students were stoked to be involved and we owe Iker a huge high five.

Download or order your copy of MAS Context University Works here.

It’s time for a change. Over the next few weeks (or months), I’ll be slowly phasing out SO-AD. It’s bittersweet.

In the meantime, there is a lot happening. I am now directing a new program at UTS, the Bachelor of Design in Photography and Situated Media. My exhibition with Richard Goodwin and Michael Snape, Co-isolated, is back on schedule and opening on April 16th. And finally, I was recently invited to be on the advisory panel for Open Agenda, a new competition for young Australian architects.

Apologies for the radio silence. I’m back.

-David

Pleased to hear this week that AGENDA won a bronze medal from the NSW State Awards for Excellence in Print. Nice one!

On a slightly more upbeat note, the first print run of AGENDA is now sold out and a second printing has just arrived. We’re pretty excited about that and are humbled by the response.

For those looking to buy one, copies of the book are on their way to bookstores across Australia as we speak. Our distributor tells us they should be available at the following stores:

Sydney
Architext
Published Art
Gleebooks
UNSW bookshop
Kinokuniya
Museum of Sydney Bookshop

Melbourne
Architext
Metropolis Books
Readings Carlton
Avenue Bookstore
Melbourne Co-op Bookshop, RMIT

Adelaide
Unibooks Citywest campus

Brisbane
Folio Books

Perth
Boffins Bookshop

We’re hoping for international distribution very soon, we’ll keep you posted…

We’ve been invited by Gerard Reinmuth of Terroir and Marcus Trimble of Super Colossal to participate in the upcoming Australian Architecture Association’s annual exhibition at the Sydney Customs House. We’re in good company, the show also includes Adrian Lahoud, Offshore Studio (Anthony Burke and Ben Hewett) and lots of others.

Specs:
AAA Annual Exhibition
Sydney Customs House
30 September – 29 November 2009

See you there!