On the road again....

and I could have waited to get back out on the road again!! But unfortunately I had some circumstances that led me to be back on the country roads again - and out to good ol'Wagga Wagga! Its been a while since Ive been back and the old adage was correct in this instance that some things change but most stay the same.... the sights, the smells, the old haunts and bike trails....

By the way- that is not me in the camper van!! But thought in was a nice shot and a lovely reminder of the lovely Amanda Penrose Harts work....

So while I was there I did get a chance to get a great coffee from the brilliant Premium Coffee Roasters in Trail St, had a look in the new store Scissor Paper Cloth that is tucked in around the corner from the cafe and then went to the Art Gallery....

On display was the Musuem and Galleries NSW touring exhibition of Shaun Gladwells work curated by Blair French, which is a timely regional show for people who cannot jump on a flight to Venice to see the Australian Pavilion at The Biennale!! Actually in Saturday's Spectrum section of the SMH John Madonald has some interesting opinions on Shaun's show...Did you catch them? Here is a little snippet...

there is very little in these works that might be called amusing, witty or entertaining. The intellect is not engaged, merely lulled into a stupor in which one begins to imagine there is more to each piece than meets the eye.

Pretty blunt. But I guess alot of us know Johns feeling about new media by now and most is not flattering... But the video pieces at Wagga Regional art gallery such as Storm Sequence 2000, Tangara 2003 + Woolloomooloo Night 2004 are well known pieces to most and they are enjoyed for their slow balletic movements and moody atmospheres...

I do love the video piece Woolloomooloo Night... The slow capoeira movements of Emma Magenta are hypnotic to watch as she moves on an artificial stage with a petrol station cement floor as her space with which to move. Her red hair glows with the neon lights blaring and there is no sound....

{As a funny little side note - Emma Magenta is the illustrator and creator of the books A gorgeous Sense of Hope and The Origins of Lament... And she is a lovely person to boot!!}

Anyway after catching Shaun's show upstairs I then went down to the main floor of the gallery to see the huge exhibition Colour Country: Art from Roper River curated by Cath Bowdler. I think most of you would know by now that I am mad about colour so this exhibition was truly a pig in mud situation!! It was so beautiful that it was hard to move around quickly as you wanted to study the amazing mark marking and details in each work. The artists come from an area near Katherine NT with each artist attempting to visualise their families country and culture for a new audience... The work of Ginger Riley Munduwalawala was amazing and immediately grabbed your attention as you walked in such as this work below... The Limmen Bight River: My Mothers Country 1993...

But it was the work of Gertie Huddlestone that got me!!! Her perspective and attention to detail was so beautiful and quiet that you knew the works were heart felt and personal...

However all all good road trips do come to an end and Im now back and in the land of the cold + windy ... I hope you are warm + woolly!!

Couple of things if youre keen - Savage River is a brilliant play that is on now at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross until 18 July.. Its gritty, full on but completely worth it!!! And finally I got to The Falconer for a quiet night of reclining in one of their warm booths - and it is truly one of the best small bars going..they even did a Jackson tribute on the turntables... as Miss Fi would say... "Bless!"