Well, hello Melbourne! It is nice to be back. Especially when you put on such a beautiful day for my first trip back to the city after being away!
No-one does laneways quite like you <3
Tag: new
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Perfect Chromatic Pitch
I knew nothing about this exhibition before I went see it because I had never heard of Bonnard. What drew me in was the poster outside the front of the NGV and the name India Madhvi. Oh and my poetry friend George raved about it. That helped.
When I got into the exhibition I was a little surprised to learnt that Bonnard was an impressionist French painter who was considered one of the greats. I have to say that as much as I appreciate this style, I've seen rather a lot of white, male artists painting blurred images. Where's the rest of the world beyond Europe? Where are the folks who don't identify as male?
Where Bonnard stood out for me however was that he painted domestic interiors and also nudes of himself. Most male painters have been obsessed with the female form and I am sick of the objectification of women. Hew as also invested in the portrayal f street life and called it 'the theatre of the everyday'.
Bonnard was also an early adopter of photography and took many selfies! He was alive when cinema first began and the exhibition included vintage footage from his friends, the Lumière brothers, shot in France in the 1809s. Seeing ordinary people on the streets of Paris in their old fashioned clothes was fascinating. A small glimpse into the everyday life of yesterday.
The exhibition features more than one hundred works by Bonnard and was created in partnership with the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Many of my favourite pieces in the exhibition were created by his contemporaries including Vuillard.
I can see parallels with William Morris from the UK as Bonnard also designed fans, folding screens, posters, sets and costumes. And Bonnard even illustrated children's music primers for his brother-in-law who was a composer.
It's interesting to see an artist of the past straddling the fine art and commercial worlds in this way. When I think of artists, I tend to see them as non commercial, that is to say, not using their art to illustrate products, objects or furniture. Bonnard's approach is a much more pragmatic one ensuring he earns an income and also a more egalitarian one (whether he intended it to be or not) allowing his art to be affordable for everyone and not just hidden away on some collector's wall or in a museum's collection.
The NGV commissioned the celebrated architect and designer India Mahdavi to design the exhibition’s scenography. The New Yorker calls her a ‘virtuoso of colour’ and ‘possessor of perfect chromatic pitch’. According to the NGV website, 'Her singular approach to colour, structure and texture has resulted in numerous acclaimed projects, including commissions for hotels, restaurants and retail…'
My favourite section of the exhibition was the latter half with theitsbold coloured walls, carpets, chairs and lamps. Large canvases hung on the walls which sometimes had windows cut into them, giving you different views of the gallery space.
I can see why my friend George raved about this exhibition. The design by India Mahdavi took it to the next level. The paintings were good, don't get me wrong but I don't think they were necessarily outstanding or ground breaking, although they may have been at the time they were made. However, the design of the exhibition with its bold colours, patterns, space and light made the exhibition as a whole created than the sum of it s parts. Design is usually a silent partner, not noticed until it goes wrong. In this exhibition, deign is the assertive big sister, saying 'Yes, I am here too!'
This painting of an almond tree was my favourite. It was also Bonnard's last completed painting. Of course this photo sones't do it justice. You'll have to check out the exhibition for yourself if you want to see it in its full glory.
I'll finish this post with a quote from Bonnard that is spot on for any artist or person wanting to learn and do.
'A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn, and one in which to practise his (sic) art.'
Pierre Bonnard
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High Society
After we visited Floriade yesterday, we strolled across to The Marion for high tea. Mum was really keen to take the girls somewhere nice for cake and this place came up when I searched online for a suitable venue. The Marion is named after Marion Mahoney who was the partner and wife of Sir Walter Burley Griffin. She was a landscape architect and responsible for much of Canberra's beautiful early design. When you think of the bush capital, you really should be thinking of or thanking her.
I didn't manage to get a photo of the first course because I was too busy inhaling it. Pancetta, seed crackers, vegan feta, vegetable fritter, chutney and artichoke soup in a little cup. It was followed by the traditional high tera cake stand filled with dei,icous goodness. The top tier held bite-sized cakes of magnificence, the middle tier contained sandwiches with the crusts cut off (I had slalom & dill and egg & chives) and the bottom tier a scone with lashing of jam and cream. All of this accompanied by an individual pot of tea for each person from a very extensive menu. You can also get coffee. My choice was the woku tea.
The best thing for me about this incredible high tea was that everything was gluten and dairy free. I didn't always have exactly the same as everyone else but for once I didn't care because the food they made me was just as good, if not better! If you're like me and have dietary requirements, I would highly recommend coming here for a real treat. You just need to give the kitchen twenty four hours notice to cater for your needs. My other tip is to ask for extra servings. Apparently they can't give you a whole additional savoury plate but you can ask for parts of it which I did – getting some more pancetta, vegan feta and crackers. I also asked for extra sandwiches and got a refill of boiling water for my teapot when it was empty.
The views from the restaurant, located at Regatta Point on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, were magnificent. They were the icing on a rather fabulous cake!
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A Blooming Good Time
This morning we managed to sneak in a visit to Floriade on our way to our other engagements (high tea at The Marion and a concert at St Paul's in Manuka). When we left my parents' place in Tuggeranong, it was slightly overcast but by the time we had found a car park, it was a classic Canberra spring day of blue skies, sunshine and a slight crispy edge to the morning air.
It wasn't too crowded given the earlyish hour so we had ample room to wander along the garden beds checking out the magnificent displays of tulips, daffodils and irises. So much magnificent colour all artfully arranged. It is such a magnificent sight.
On our drive from Melbourne to Canberra I had remembered that Floriade was on again but I figured we wouldn't have time in between catching up with family and friends. I am pleased to say that I was wrong! It's one of the many blessing of having older children. You can easily do several things in a day because there's no need for naps or constant snacks!
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Of Lakes
I've been watching Lakshmi R Kanchi (aka Soul Reserve) posting about the Cockburn wetlands and all the amazing events she created when she was their poet in residence. I wanted so badly to visit this beautiful place and this morning my dream came true!
Her husband Ro picked me up from my digs and along with the Washington State poet Laureate, Arianne True and her fiancee Liz, we headed out of town. On our way out, we drove past the Derbal Yarrigan / Swan river which is huge! After the Birrarung Mar in Naarm, I was so surprised to see this mighty river. It looks more like Sydney harbour than a river! We headed south along the coast, stopping at Cottesloe along the way to meet the Indian Ocean. Ro was a great guide telling us so many stories about the places we were driving through.
The wetlands centre in Cockburn is on land that was going to be cut through by a major highway but local residents and scientists banded together to save the bushland. They established the wetlands centre to educate locals, especially children about the beauty and value of the swampy area containing two unique lakes and eco systems. This idea worked because when the government again tried to develop the area, the kickback from voters was immense, stopping the roads and saving the lakes.
On our arrival at the wetlands in Cockburn we were met by Lakshmi, Jaya Penelope and the WA Poets Micro Poet in Residence, Gillian . The centre is a beautiful building that until recently was shared by many local groups, including their oldest scout group in WA. They have just finished the display in the entrance which is filled with imagery and captions in Noongar. Ro introduced us to many of the people working in the wetlands centre, including some of those who fought to save it.
We then walked through the bush to the lake. As we walked along the path about twenty metres (I think, but I'm hopeless at estimating distances!), a kwenda/bandicoot, scurried across the path behind us. It's not often that you see mammals out and about in the middle of the day (except for homo. sapiens that is). As we walked, accompanied by bird song my eyes were everywhere, drinking it all in. Seeing the details, noticing the little things and the big. Trying to see what is different and what is the same. The soil was sandy and the trees were familiar but different.
I was hoping to see some new birds but there were a lot of familiar faces. Kookaburras, fairy wrens, magpies, galahs, ravens and on the lake Eurasian coots, black swans and purple swamp hens. Walking back along the boardwalk from the lake I spotted some smaller birds in the bushes. And then later, some of the endangered black cockatoos flew over the Wetlands centre. After our walk we were treated to a traditional Aussie BBQ cooked by the volunteers. And we met some alpine dingoes.
It was so good to be out of the city. To be in the bush. To be walking the naked land.
Lakshmi's poetry residency has ended and as a farewell gift she left a poetry trail around the wetlands. these boxes contain treasures, writing prompts, waterproof pencils and notebooks so you can add your poetry to the collection. A wonderful idea and a great legacy for a remarkable year of poetry from a brilliant poet.
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A Poemabulation
I'm in Perth for a week to attend the 2023 Perth Poetry Festival curated by the incredible community organisation, WA Poets Inc. The week is chock-a-block full of incredible events, open mics and workshops.
This morning I braved the rain (hello Melbourne, brought the rain and clouds with me!) to do the Searching for Uglieland walking tour of the Perth CBD. When I read the description of this event in the festival program, it immediately went to the top of my list of things to do. I love walking around cities, wandering down laneways and popping into galleries and shopfronts. What more do you want really when visiting a new city?
The best things about this tour was that it was run by locals with added poetry! That's right people, this walk included the poetic history of the city as well as poets reading their poems along the way. We stopped for coffee (or a hot chocolate for me because it was freezing!) and ended the morning with lunch together in an underground food court.
picture of Jaya Penelope (left) and Mar Bucknell (right)
I had the best morning meeting new people, hearing poetry (I even recited one that I had composed that morning on the walk from my hotel to the meeting point. Fresh!) and wandering through Perth's arcades. The original plan to walk further afield was changed because it was pouring.
It was so inspiring, particularly meeting Davina Edwards and seeing her belligerent bunting project. She dyes scraps of fabric, writes on them with marker and exposes them to the sun through the cyanotype process which I am now keen to check out.
If you're coning over to Perth, I highly recommend checking out one of these tours. Mar Bucknell is a wellspring of information!
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A Week in Paradise
I have just spent six wonderful days in Bali wth my gorgeous younger daughter. We had the best time lazing by the pool and slowly defrosting after a Melbourne winter. It was so lovely to be back in paradise, staying at our favourite hotel and eating all the amazing local dishes. Gado gado and lumpia for lunch, mie goreng, beef rendang and satay ayam for dinner were a few of the stand outs for the trip. And checking out all the new little cafes that have popped up since we were last here four years ago. We just had to sample the cakes and find our favourites.
As well as snacking, there was swimming, snoozing, massages and of course shopping for sunnies and Balinese silver for the folks back home. I could have easily spent a month here, being pampered and having delightful people cook and clean for us.
When I go travelling one of my favourite things to do is to go to the local supermarket and see what things are the same and what are different. I love discovering and sampling new food items and supermarkets are great places to do so. it's also interesting to see how tings are packaged and displayed differently in different places. When we were in South America, you could buy milk in plastic bags!
We were in Bali to surprise my Dad for his 80th birthday and it was wonderful to celebrate this milestone with both him and Mum. The look on his face when we turned up for breakfast at the hotel was priceless.
On his birthday, we took him out to a fancy hotel restaurant for happy hour cocktails overlooking the beach. At his request, we had made the ultimate sacrifice and got up earlier than the sun to start the day with a sunrise walk along the beach to meet Angelique the cow. Dad can befriend anyone and anything!
It was the perfect mini break and the only fly in the ointment was that the lovely man and the oldest girl couldn't be with us. They were at home working and studying and keeping the cats company.
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Golden Days
Sovereign Hill is an incredible slice of history preserved in timber, steel and brick. It’s even more amazing when you realise that this bustling historic ‘town’ has only five original buildings and that none of them are original to the site. Someone with a passion for history and a love of the detail has spent a lifetime preserving this part of the Australian story.
Wandering the streets and exploring the buildings was heaps of fun. As was chatting to the costumed storekeepers and craftsmen (yes, they were all men back in those days). I visited Dawson & Ash, the undertakers, where I viewed the latest in after death technology – the safety coffin. It had a rope attached to a bell that could be rung in case of accidental burial.
At the post office I bought a nib pen and composition book so Miss Thirteen could practice her penmanship once she went back home. At the printers I refrained from buying a wanted poster with my name on it although I was very tempted. I have a thing for graphic design, vintage style and personalised objects – it must be a hold over from my childhood and never being able to buy anything with my name on it because it's so unusual. Instead I snapped lots of photos of all the advertising posters pasted up around the town.
I popped into the bowling alley but didn’t get to go back and try my luck.
I visited little houses that looked as if someone had just ducked out to go to the shops. There were even woodpiles and chickens in their gardens.
On the goldfields I bought a miner’s licence (they were expensive and mandatory back in the day) and little jars filled with water to hold all my gold. I had high hopes of filling one with gold flakes to take home to Miss Seventeen and was briefly infected with gold fever. Luckily (or unluckily depending on which way you look at it) my legs weren’t up to the rigours of crouching by a stream for long periods of time so she is now the proud owner of an empty glass jar!
Of course the highlight was the lolly shop with all those boiled sweets in jars. Not surprisingly it’s Sovereign Hill’s biggest money maker. Unsurprisingly I didn't get any photos of the lolly shop because I was too busy choosing my next flavour! Instead you'll have to make do with some interior shots of other shops.
In a separate building they hold lolly making demonstrations three times a day. The room was always packed and at the end they handed out tastings of what they had just made (mmmm, raspberry drops). The mould used to make the sweets is 175 years old. Of course they’ve replaced the lead plates with brass and made a few other minor alterations such as the heated table to work the sugar on but most of it is original. Sadly they now use artificial colours. Back in the day it was all natural with charcoal for black, grass for green, bark for brown and rusty water for orange and yellow. Hmmm, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all!
They also had live demonstrations at the blacksmith’s and wheelwrights. Seeing a forge being worked is always fun. And it’s warmer than elsewhere as well. I learnt that smithys were always dark so you could see the colour of the steel and know when to work it. The wheelwright’s set up was all steam powered belts and pulleys that drove the machines. The beginning of the industrial revolution side by side with the hand fired forges of the past.
I had an enjoyable half an hour talking to Brett in the saddlery section where he had the best range of leather craft tools (all period of course!) and a sweet set up. I wanted to hop over the counter and go in a play!
All the staff were in period costume and the building’s exteriors and interiors lovingly recreated so it felt just like you were stepping back in time. I could have spent a week here but I am super grateful that I had two whole days to explore. It was so much fun!
The first day was wet and muddy underfoot as all the streets are made of dirt. I wandered in and out of buildings having the time of my life. When I got weary, I found an old pub with carpeted floors and lots of chairs that was completely empty and sat down and read. It was warm and toasty inside.
On the second day it was fine and sunny with clear blue skies. Braziers with fires were set up in the streets to warm yourself. Costumed characters wandered the streets putting on performances. There was the night soil man looking for a new apprentice to muck out his wagon once a week. The mad inventor demonstrating a failed battery. A woman with a parasol arguing with a man on the first floor balcony of the theatre. A teacher shouting at the troopers as they marched past. So much life and colour!
Even though I had two full days at Sovereign Hill, I didn’t get to do a whole heap of things including a tour of the diggings, a performance at the theatre or the parlour games. We decided not to make a candle because we’ve done that at home and theirs were made from paraffin. Not the best as it’s derived from petroleum. In the olden day they would have used tallow which I think is rendered animal fat and I am sure it would have smelt disgusting.
I tried my hand at panning for gold, went on a mine tour deep underground and took a Cobb & Co carriage ride down the main street. I also saw gold being melted and turned into an ingot. They’ve done that particular demonstration over 90,ooo times, reusing the same gold over and over again. Its currently worth $275,000.
There was a small nod to the Chinese presence on the goldfields in the form of the Chinese Protector’s house which had information panels about the lives and trails. Unfortunately the Chinese encampment was being refurbished and the Joss house was closed. I found only one mention of the Indigenous Australians as the Native Police in the goldfields area as well as the obligatory Welcome to Country sign at the entrance to the site.
I can’t believe it took me so long to come here. Next time I’ll have to bring the whole family!
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Feared and Revered: Feminine Power Through the Ages
It's the middle of winter. Actually it's only the start. But I'm in Canberra where it's absolutely freezing so it feels like it's the middle. I'm here to visit family and to catch the Feared and Revered: Feminine Power Through the Ages exhibition at the National Museum of Australia. According to the website, this blockbuster collaboration with the British Museum 'celebrates the power and diversity of female spiritual beings in cultural traditions and beliefs across the globe.’
In planning our visit to the exhibition I came across this excellent sensory map for the museum as well as the quiet hours guide for the exhibition. It’s wonderful to see a national institution catering for the needs of all visitors. Every time I visit this museum I see the enticing exhibits in the foyer and promise myself that next time I’ll make more time to see the other rooms. It also has a brilliant shop with a fantastic range of books and gifts. I must remember to save the pennies before my next visit!
I’m not sure what I think about this exhibition. I really wanted to like it because it’s continuing the current trend of recognising women’s contributions to the arts. It joins the National Gallery of Australia’s Know My Name and ACMI’s current Goddess exhibition in positioning women firmly within the narrative we tell about ourselves as human beings. Celebrating and sharing feminine stories, identities and beings is vital for everyone, not just women and non-binary folks.
The whole thing was in one large room which was good because you could see in one glance the whole exhibition and pace yourself accordingly. There was enough to feel like you were getting your money’s worth but not so much that it felt overwhelming. The exhibits themselves were grouped into five sections of Nature & Creation, Passion & Desire, Magic & Malice, Justice & Defence and Compassion & Salvation. However it was hard at times to know which exhibits belonged to which section because they weren’t clearly divided. A platform running through the centre to divide the different areas would have been great.
Feared and Revered had a great range of exhibits spanning centuries and regions across the globe including Africa, Asia, Europe, India, Latin America, North America and the Pacific. There were sculptures, paintings, clothes, masks, coins, figurines and more. The historical and contextual background for each piece was fantastic as was the information about the artist. Unfortunately, most of the exhibits were displayed in cases which made it almost impossible to take a good photo or get a good look at the contents because of the reflections on the glass. It made me realise that I usually visit galleries where the art is much easier to view.
I really enjoyed seeing how women have been portrayed through the centuries. Seeing the common threads and the differences. And seeing creation, death and destruction from a female perspective. It’s quite different to the usual patriarchal art made by white men that inhabits most gallery and museum spaces. I particularly enjoyed the Creation painting by Judy Chicago that imagines the world being birthed from a woman’s vagina.
My favourite pieces were the almost 2,000 year old Roman/Greek marble sculptures, the head dress from Nigeria, the Maori cloak woven from flax seeds and the Kali statue wearing a necklace of severed heads.
While I had mixd feelings about the exhibition, on the whole it was thoughtfully curated and a great introduction to women and power through the ages. If you’re in Canberra it is well worth checking out.
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Poets Speak
It was awesome to be in the city last night, in a funky little laneway bar listening to poets reading their poems from issue 2 of Mantissa Poetry Review. I have raved about this journal before – it's my favourite print journal because of it's amazing design and layout as well as the exciting content editor Erin Lyon curates within its pages.
On top of all that, Erin does a great launch with poets from the issue reading their poems plus an extended set by Sam Morley, author of Ear Shot which I just had to buy after hearing his poetry. We also heard poems from Ruby Davis, Jocelyn Deane, Guido Melo and FM Papaz.
It was great to rub shoulders with other poets and I finally got to meet the emerging Greek-Australian poet, FM Papaz who was in town from Brooklyn, USA which she now calls home. I first 'met' Papaz on Instagram and published her poem, Empty-handed, Open-hearted, in Issue 6 of the Pocketry Almanack. She is a beautiful human being and a poet to watch!