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| Fifth Province / Second Home |
The unwanted large birthday continued to disguise itself in
other activities as we headed to Melbourne for a weekend of art exhibitions.
One was particularly meaningful - that of Annemieke Mein, whose work has constantly inspired me since I first saw it. More on that soon....
We arrived to some pretty miserable weather, but found
refuge in an Irish pub just a block from our apartment, as we waited for it to
be ready. We were to return here a few times, as it was right beside the tram
stop to the city, full of friendly Irish people, and as I said, a block from
home. We settled in to our very handy abode before heading down Ackland Street,
enjoying some amazing old buildings along the way, enjoying the crazy vagrants (many
shouting, and some with large sticks) and the rain somewhat less.
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| Kirra Gallery |
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| Buttons and mushroom |
We met up with fellow WOW folk, Phillipa and Mark
Stitchbury-Cooper for dinner and a diagnosis of this years WOW show, as we
never managed to catch up with them afterwards in Wellington. It's always good
to talk WOW!
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| Federation Square Atrium |
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| Arintji lunch |
The next morning dawned with some charming wind and driving rain.
We
wandered down to the markets anyway, but ended up catching a tram into town
for a wander around, stumbling into some lovely markets inside the atrium at
Federation Square, where I couldn't resist some unique buttons, as well
as a visit to Kirra Gallery. I managed
to sneak a wee photo from the side, with elements of the amazing chandelier
visible behind the bowls in the window, but I think I got fairly frowned at for
this from the counter. However, I went in and enjoyed the display of both
retail and exhibition work, and decided to purchase a wee memento of the
weekend in the shape of a pink, orange and purple glass mushroom (we have a
family history of being vulnerable to glass and ceramic mushrooms). By now we
were ready for brunch, and I was thrilled to be taken to the lovely Arinjti at
Federation Square. It was a tough choice, but I was very happy with the decision I made, with the guidance of our
helpful waitress.
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| Road texture |
We caught the tram back to St Kilda to transfer to the bus
to Brighton - oh no - we have half an hour to kill! Hello, Irish Pub! (Did I mention that the roadway where we crossed to go to said pub/tram/bus stop was quite lovely, and I'm happy with the way the photos turned out - Matt did not enjoy the process - get OFF the road, Svenja!!)
We caught
the bus alright, but it did not run to
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| Annemieke Mein exhibition, Brighton |
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| St Hotel |
the route I had researched, and slightly
too late I questioned the driver, who advised us to get off then and there.
Unfortunately, this meant a walk of around 4 kms back to Brighton town centre,
with me stressing about missing the Annemeike Mein exhibition, and Matt
grumping about having to walk so far. However, we made it in the end, much to
my relief and my absolute delight. Unfortunately, as with many textile
exhibitions, the lighting was negligible, which, as I get older, bothers me
somewhat! Also, photographs were not permitted. I gazed in wonderment at works
I have drooled over in a book for years,
and got to see the stitches in the flesh. Some works were bigger than I had
imagined, which afforded me an even more detailed view than I could have hoped
for. Some had sparkling threads and beading that I had been unaware of. Did I say photographs were not permitted?
There was no way I was going to be denied this once in a lifetime opportunity.
I wouldn't use flash anyway, so I don't really see the problem. I was sad not
to get one of me with a work, but Matt not only snuck some on his phone, but
acted as decoy whilst I took a few! Bless! We left, and trudged the streets of
Brighton for a while before realising that a bus back into town on a Sunday was
not terribly realistic, so bit the bullet and called a cab. Traffic was shite, so we got out as soon as
we could.
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| Melbz laneway |
Desperate for a beer, we headed to get some takeaways at Woolies, but
got drawn into the St Hotel, which had some live music. We only had a little time before our next
activity - dinner with a work colleague of Matts, who took us up some
high-rises he does the water treatment
on, for some fantastic views of the city and surrounds.
Then it was off for dinner in Hardware Lane, where we sat outside
because it just felt a bit groovier, although it was quite chilly!!
Monday morning was Melbz CBD day, and we set off leisurely,
arriving at the NGV just in time as it opened, so it was off to the Viktor
& Rolf Exhibition for this happy little Bunneh!! Ohhhh, sparkly, sculptural
deliciousness, where photography was most welcome! And photograph I did. This
is but a taste of what I acquired. I loved the row of the 'Russian Dolls'
series, displayed on slowly rotating mannequins - so often we are stuck looking
from only one angle - and the sparkles looked almost electric
as they caught
the spotlights. There was also some fabulously atmospheric music, setting a
real scene for the works.
Next stop, the pure fun of Kylie costumes, certainly a very
different genré, however, I couldn't help but boogie along to the video
footage! Goodness, those mannequins were tiny!
From there, it was off to visit the creation of a friend, no, not some wearable art, but some engineering art. Matt's mate Steve made this impressive smoker, now in residence at San Antone at Crown Casino. It was just before lunch when we visited - then we saw they had Fried Green Tomatoes on the menu, so we just had to stay. They were fabulous, as was the brisket burger that we shared.
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| Rolex shop window - beautiful leather work |
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| Fabulous lighting in Crown Casino |
We rolled out and trotted through town, to visit Tessuti
fabrics, as well as stopping at Quick Brown Fox along the way (lusting after a green
rabbit fur coat so tempting but so unnecessary in Queensland!) We also enjoyed a play in RetroStar, a wonderful vintage shop.
Then it was back
on the tram to - ooooh, the Irish Pub (Fifth Province for those who are interested)
for some drinks, conversation, marvelling at the blue sky, and another shared
meal. My first ever chicken parmigiana,
with Napoli sauce - quite fabulous!
Our last sleep in the fabulous bed of our abode and Matt
woke me with a frightened 'did you set the alarm?!!', as it was already quite
light outside. Heart attack over, I packed up as Matt picked up coffee and
croissants - what a man!
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| View of The George from our pub |
Back home, and I have relished getting straight back into
work - I enjoyed a bit of design drawing
whilst I was away, and was totally inspired by things I saw - but nothing
replaces the feeling of sewing and cutting leather, and pinning it into a foam
head to create something rather lovely.
Happy to be home, but love you Melbz.
