Ben Apfelbaum

RED CARPET : CIRQUE DU SOLEIL : CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

There was almost as much action prior to the opening of Kurios outside the Big Top as there was on the inside. A quartet of aerialists danced across the outside of the grand chapiteaux including one wielding a double bass.

The first night attendees walked the red carpet amidst gushes of steam and a line of steam-punked  costumed poseurs. A group of TAFE students took the trouble to create dresses of the era, some reminiscent of  a Toulouse Lautrec painting. Many of the guests themselves were dressed in Victorian and Edwardian outfits and accompanying accessories. to add a bit of spice to the evening a bevy of drag queens  were on hand, perhaps to remind us  of the Weimar Republic in early 20th century German history.

Some of the costumed performers posed with the invited celebrities adding further splashed of colour to the evening. As a result  the audience was well and truly primed for an enthralling night’s entertainment.

Featured image Lisa Wilkinson. All pics 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.