Cookie : Camillo Ippoliti
I’m one of many people who believe that Camillo Ippoliti is largely responsible for putting Melbourne on the international map, after he founded and nurtured Prahran’s Revolver Upstairs (since 1997), and the CBD’s Cookie (since 2003) and The Toff in Town (since 2007). All three venues are now cultural institutions, the first one boasting a thriving live music scene, a rotating art gallery, and a DJ culture that has attracted acts such as the Avalanches, Blackalicious, DJ Cash Money, Anton Newcombe and Fatboy Slim. I first met Camillo while I was a leccy (slang for electrician, in case you don’t know), fixing up the wiring in Revolver when it first opened. Me and Camillo stayed friends, meeting for beers in Prahran, Fitzroy or the city. Whenever I had lunch or dinner at Cookie, he’d be sitting at his table, observing his clientele, always thinking of ways to improve his venues, his businesses, the experiences for his customers. I painted him with the backdrop of Cookie’s wall, covered in mods and sharpies (these were a kind of social schism back in the 60s in Australia, particularly Melbourne. Before punks, there were sharpies). The painting is, I guess, a celebration of both the venue and the man; both high class, both daring, both enduring.