Melbourne, Fourth Time Around

Actually, I have lost count of the number times I have been to Melbourne in the past five years. It is at least four times but it could be my fifth or sixth visit. But hey, who’s counting, right? Each time I have come here to house sit for friends, who take the opportunity to enjoy a summer break elsewhere.

Each time I come back, I like to return to locations I have enjoyed on previous visits. Places like the Melbourne Museum, the ArtsCentre, the National Gallery of Victoria, ACMI (the Australian Centre for the Moving Image) at Federation Square, and of course many other places.

HOTHAM STREET LADIES

This time my first trip into the city took me as always, to Federation Square, and since it was Saturday, I went straight to the Atrium where every Saturday numerous booksellers from around the city display their second hand titles to a constant flow of willing buyers and interested browsers. Right next to the Atrium is the Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria, Australia. I popped into the gallery, but decided not to do the rounds of the various exhibition halls. I confined myself to several large, colourful installations on display in the foyer of the gallery. These sat under the collective title: At Home with the Hotham Street Ladies. The installations were created by five female artists who go under the name, Hotham Street Ladies.

Above: A typical suburban lounge room setting with a difference. Each of the major pieces of furniture are here adorned with individually hand crafted icing fashioned to resemble pieces of pizza (and the box the pizza came in), cigarette butts, home furnishings, and other items.

Above: What appears to be a multicoloured floor covering on closer inspection (below) is an installation consisting of thousands of individually placed elements ‘woven’ together from ordinary icing coloured to give the impression of carpet fibre.

In an artist statement on display at the exhibition the group state: “We like to make art that is interesting, funny and even a little bit disgusting. We take old fashioned activities such as cake decorating and handicrafts, and make them fresh and new.“ The statement goes on to explain that the work was inspired by the house they used to share in Hotham Street, Collingwood.

Above: I particularly liked this installation, because it reminded me of the many family gatherings  which always left assorted crockery and tables covered with the detritus of long, wholesome, home cooked meals. Incredibly, all the ‘food’ on the table is made from coloured icing.

Above: The title board for the installation consists of hundreds of small icing sugar candies (see detail below) that are literally good enough to eat. One can only wonder at the patience and fortitude of the artists as they slowly and methodically created each piece of icing, hand coloured it, and carefully attached every piece in place.

The installation is on display until March 2014. I wonder if we are allowed to eat the icing once the exhibition is over?

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The Never Ending Vacation Continues

I write this on New Years Eve from what has become a regular house sitting visit to Melbourne, Australia. This is the fourth house sit for the same owners in as many years, and I have begun looking forward to my stay in the city as I explore its numerous alleys and cultural institutions (and bookshops), more and more. Here in no particular order are my favorite Melbourne haunts - places I return to again and again on each visit.

The National Galley of Victoria
Each year I return to the National Galley of Victoria to take in the latest exhibition, and to reacquaint myself with the permanent works of art on display there. However, like all major museums and galleries, the NGV pulls works out of storage and returns some of the items currently on show back to their storage vaults, so visitors never see exactly the same artists or work on return visits.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image
I wrote about the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) after my first visit there in January 2010, so I won't repeat myself again. Suffice to say, that I always enjoy returning to the Centre, not least because there is an excellent cinema complex on site, showing an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary movies.

Federation Square
The heart of Melbourne's revitalized downtown area, Federation Square features live music and arts performances on a regular basis throughout the summer months, and the giant outdoor screen is used for a variety of live broadcasts including tennis, Australian Rules Football, the Grand Prix, and numerous other events. Oh, and both the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and the National Gallery of Victoria are part of this massive complex.

Melbourne Museum
Completed in 2001, and located in the Carlton Gardens, the Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and "provides a place for education, history, culture and society to engage with each other in a contemporary setting". The museum has seven main galleries, including a Children's Gallery and temporary exhibit space. Along with a couple of theatres, the museum is also home of the city's IMAX Theatre.

Queen Victoria Market
The QVM is a Melbourne institution covering several city blocks. There are hundreds of stalls selling everything from tea to T-shirts, exotic soaps, faux aboriginal trinkets, CDs and DVDs, and so much more. A section of the market is devoted to fresh fruit and vegetables, and the indoor food and delicatessen departments are a gourmands delight.

Arts Centre Melbourne
While I have never been to the Arts Centre to catch a performance in any of its venues, I have made a point of visiting to see free exhibitions that take place over the summer inside the main building. Over the past couple of years I have seen the raucous AC/DC exhibition and the wonderful Reg Livermore Take A Bow exhibition which I wrote about in an earlier post. I don't know who or what the current free exhibits feature but I am looking forward to checking them out as soon as possible.

Melbourne

Flinders Street Station by Adam J.W.C.

~ After an exhausting eight hour day wandering around central Melbourne – buying books and visiting the Melbourne Museum and the Australian Centre for The Moving Image (ACMI), I returned to my house sitting base in Fitzroy North, and pretty much collapsed from the effort.

It doesn’t bode well for the rest of my five week stay, but I’m sure I will adjust to the routine – as long as I don’t make the purchase of books a regular part of that routine. Personally, I thought my Training For Travel program of daily hour long walks would have prepared me better for the rigours of extended city walking, but of course, there is a big difference between walking for an hour, and being on my feet for at least seven of the eight hours I was out and about yesterday.

Right now, I am still in recovery mode. Thankfully, my feet are complaining less, and my back is a lot happier now that I am spending most of the day reading, writing, and relaxing. But watch out, body, tomorrow we hit the streets again. So suck it up, and make the most of your layover day. The adventure is only beginning.