A challenge rewarded - The Narrow Road to the Deep North

I was given this book by an English colleague, after I had returned to live in Australia, as an interesting read by an Australian author. It also happens to have won the Man Booker Prize in 2014. But it was such a challenging read - reliving in gruesome detail, lives of prisoners of war, who were forced to build a Burmese railway in an unrealistic time frame, managed by the Japanese, who were doing this for their Emperor and country. The story was told through the eyes of a young medic Dorrigo Evans. He had been caught in a lustful affair while engaged to a most suitable future wife. This set the scene for the investigation of love, values and purpose in life against the cruel backdrop of the end of the Second World War. During the war we lived the individual struggles of both prisoners and guards and we also followed the unexpected twists of their lives after the war. Richard Flanagan is a very descriptive writer, both in terms of the physical environment, but also the inner questions and concerns of men, who may or may not be able to actually vocalise them. It is very interesting that his father was a survivor of The Line, as this Burmese railway was called. He must have shared his memories in a very therapeutic manner with his son, and it does not seem a coincidence that he died on the day it was published - it certainly would have been way too painful for him to read. Somehow, there is a deep authenticity that this book brings to the reader - and the reality of the story leaves little room for hope. The nasty twists and turns of life are truly lived out in ways that are quite horrific. So it was on holiday in Tasmania that I was able to complete reading this book, spurred on by Richard's Tasmanian heritage and high status in his home state. So my summary is that this book is so genuine, that it engenders gratitude and deep appreciation for everything I have in my life - and it helps me to keep aiming for the opportunity to live out the values that are important to me - and be even more thankful that I have a real chance to do this in my lifetime. I feel very lucky.

Shocked and inspired by MONA

I have not heard anyone criticise the 5 year old Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, since I have been back here in Australia. THere has been a lot of talk about how it would likely shock and surprise me. So I set off to find out what is behind the vision of David Walsh; the eccentric mathematician who had made his fortune through gambling and now collects art and artefacts. So it seems that in building the gallery below ground and in using low levels of light, he wants to truly embody the darker side of life. To me, it is also quirky and innovative. It starts with the boat trip; a camouflage catamaran with sheep seats at the back for the children. From the purpose built landing up over a hundred steps, the main entrance is through a mirrored side wall. We then walk back down about 100 steps to enter the gallery from the lowest floor; there are no labels on the art so we all are given an iPod with headphones to identify and learn about the art and for many pieces, there are several interviews and music to listen to. So it is hard to remember all the impressive pieces; organ music piped into the bottom floor foyer area, a waterfall made up of random words, an eating and pooing machine (Cloaca professional), a synchronous choir of Madonna fans singing as individuals, and a draped red fibroglass covered Porsche. In amidst all this are quite a few Egyptian relics, including several mummies. There are also some great Australian and international artists including Sidney Nolan, Brett Whitely and Damian Hirst. My only concern is that I did miss some pieces because I did not look carefully into every corner. And yes the toilets are educational, in lots of different ways!

Gilbert & George at home in MONA

I had thought I knew something about Gilbert & George from having often seen their work in English galleries. I knew they had met as young artists in Central St Martins in the late 60's and had set up their home and studio in East London. I had also recognised that they lived a creative dichotomy between looking like very proper English gentlemen (even though Gilbert is Italian!) and making art that can be both bold and confronting. So it was fun to learn a lot more about them in their first Australian exhibition, from their gigantic photographic installations and some very honest movies in place throughout the exhibition. I also recognise, that from my knowledge of Australian art galleries, that MONA is best suited to their own philosophy of life and art. I was fascinated by the way art always was and is their life; they claim to reflect the basic ideas, struggles and desires of life in universal ways - where they extend attitudes and thoughts of their viewers. I found their videos helped me to recognise this. However I found much of the iconography of London both familiar and confronting. They seem to have been ahead of their time in producing work 20 years ago that is still extremely relevant today. I bought the catalogue, which has been autographed by both Gibert and George - and reflects their desire to be involved in the design of the exhibition and catalogue.

Tasting southern wines at Moorilla

It was great to walk through a suburban vineyard north of Hobart. I learned that Claudio Alcorso purchased this land in 1947 and started growing riesling grapes there in 1962, at the same time they were growing in South Australia. He later introduced opera to Australia and set up the Sheridan company - but in 1995 he sold this and another vineyard to David Walsh, the current owner. David has kept the vines growing with his head winemaker, Conor van der Reest. So it was fun today to inspect the vines and then follow their journey through large stainless steel vats, French oak barrels and to the bottling machines. We tasted quite a few and I particularly enjoyed the Praxis Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Merlot.

entranced by The Rosie Project

This book was recommended to me and sadly I just missed hearing the author Graeme Simsion talking in one of the free sessions at this year's Brisbane Writer's Festival. However, I was prompted to buy the book and reading it was easy. OK so my first impression was that this was a scientific attempt to identify love. I was prepared to be swept along on Don Tillman's journey, given that he was a professor of genetics. However, it quickly became apparent that while he was very intelligent and he used an evidence-based approach, he was behaving like a person 'on the spectrum'. His obsessive need for control made his low emotional intelligence quotient fairly obvious. However,his insightful honesty was endearing, and I decided to travel with him, for his wife project; using a survey to filter out women who drink, smoke and arrive late! So when Don met Rosie Jarman, who was quickly disqualified, he was somewhat disarmed, and ended up helping her on her personal quest to find her biological father. So that began the challenge as to whether he would or could recognise the friendship as anything more...

Lurid (surrealist) Beauty at National Gallery Victoria

I have always been fascinated by surrealist art and the somewhat successful communication of a very intellectual message through the visual senses. Renee Magritte is one of the few artists that have challenged and rewarded me with a deeper insight. So the recent exhibition in Melbourne set out by proclaiming that surrealist artists used techniques such as automatic drawing and collage to liberate the unconscious mind and disrupt current social and political realities. I remember the reaction in northern Europe to the psychological theories of Freud and Jung, and how artists explored ways of communicating with and about the unconscious mind. I enjoyed reminding myself of some of our classic and esteemed painters such as Albert Tucker and Russell Drysdale and the wonderful photographer Max Dupain. But the most surprising insight for me was that I just enjoyed the visual and sensory experiences as I escaped from my own reality for part of an afternoon.

Tracy Chevalier recreates Remarkable Creatures

It was such a luxury to enjoy reading a historically factual novel without realising it. Tracy Chevalier transported me back to the early 1800's in Lyme Regis, along the southern English coastline. I enjoyed her interacting story of 2 women of different ages and social classes, united by their love of fossil hunting. For Mary Anning, the fossils were her survival as she sold them as curios to passing travellers. Elizabeth Philpott had been sent to the coast with her 2 sisters by her brother upon his marriage. They were quite physically dislocated from London and socially disconnected as none of them had ever married. Elizabeth genuinely enjoyed collecting and categorising objects of difference. So as they gathered fossils of increasing magnitude, they both began to question the traditional view of creation in their very conservative society. So while it was fun to read the alternating chapters in the language of their heroine, the great challenge was in how the two ladies reacted to the attention and perhaps love of a passing gentleman. The personal and class differences were so powerful yet the personal courage and integrity of Elizabeth in requesting credit for the discovery work by Mary was impressive, by any time or standards. A totally captivating read.