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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A Trip to Hobart, Part 2: MONA

A highlight of our Hobart sojourn was a day trip to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art); the return journey by ferry was a pleasurable extension of the experience. 

At MONA Ferry Terminal, Franklin Wharf. The MONA ferry is on my right.

Shane enjoys the view and anticipates our day ahead as the MONA ferry departs from Franklin Wharf. 



Arrival at MONA


The following are a handful of gems from MONA’s rich and varied collection.

Directly below is Tessa Farmer’s The Fairy Horde and the Hedgehog Host (2010) mixed media, 800 x 534 cm. (The exhibit was dimly lit, so my photograph doesn't do it justice).


I first discovered Farmer’s compelling Gothic fairytale evocations in the exhibition Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide at the Art Gallery of South Australia in 2011, and have been an admirer of her work ever since.


Details of the work are pictured above and below. The tiny winged skeletons were constructed from insect remains, which the artist sourced from the roadside near her London home.


To learn more about Farmer and see more of her work, go HERE, HERE and HERE.
           
Like Farmer’s work, the mesmerizing BIT.FALL by Leipzig-based artist Julius Popp bridges art and science. It was a challenge to capture on camera just some of the words generated by the huge water wall. Originally sourced from the internet, they appear for only seconds, then fall away. Sometimes unintended narratives are created via this process of hit and miss:



To learn more about BIT.FALL, go HERE and to see a short film about the work with commentary by the artist, go HERE.

Chapel (2010-2011) by Belgium artist Wim Delvoye was commissioned specifically for MONA. It is majestically positioned on the lawn overlooking the Derwent River. 

Shane outside Wim Delvoye's Chapel at MONA



Art and science are also linked in this work. The chapel's headlight windows are pictured below: 




For more information about Chapel, go HERE. Wim Delvoye's website is HERE.

Delvoye’s Cement Truck (2008) is installed on the nearby plaza: 



For many, however, the greatest work of art, is MONA itself. To visit the website, go HERE.

For those who prefer their information distilled to the very basics, some key facts and figures about MONA are HERE.