Ben Apfelbaum

CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR ZODIAC LANTERNS

Just like the Vivid light installations surround Circular Quay, so do the giant lanterns representing the Chinese signs of the Zodiac.

Apart from Aries the Ram in western zodiacs, the Chinese monthly symbols are very different.

This year it is the Year Of The Rat and although it has negative connotations, the Chinese stress its positive attributes such as speed, ingenuity and cunningness.

On the night I went, serendipitously, lion dances were being performed in some of the giant lanterns. Some lanterns were exhibited last year but placed in different locations. However there were sufficient novel sculptures to maintain one’s interest.

Most of the lanterns  are inflatables but it seems to be the case that the particular year in question has a solid sculpture. This is the case with the Year Of The Rat which has a three tiered ‘cake’  upon which the rats revolve.

I was also hoping to cover the final weekend of festivities but they were washed out due to the welcome but torrential rain.

Furthermore, there were not many people viewing the lanterns and i have heard reports that attendances were down due to coronavirus fears.

I hope that next year’s celebrations are not marred by existential fears and that it will be bigger and better as has been the case with previous celebrations.

All pic s by Ben Apfelbaum.

 

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.