EC-Rider Travels

There seems to be so much to see in Canberra that we decided to abandon our plan of going via the Blue Mountains on the way to Sydney, in favour of a second night here. The apartment we were in was not available for a second night (which we all agreed was quite a relief!) and checked in to The East Hotel nearby. We then headed for the National Gallery of Australia which we had heard so much about. Sarah and I had a lovely walk there, including an encounter with a very noisy galah.

Sarah and I approached the gallery through the sculpture garden which is impressive in itself as indeed is the gallery, though not a beauty! Set over three floors, there are many interconnecting galleries offering wonderfully light space and not too many pieces in any of them (although the gallery apparently houses 166,000 artworks!). It was established in 1967 by the Australian Government as a national public art museum and is generously offered free of charge. The artwork is very eclectic and of all genres from Diaghilev’s costumes to some lovely indigenous work which now makes so much more sense to me. It is largely presented by theme/subject matter rather then genre or date providing a very interesting and rather thought provoking experience.

Favourite pieces included Bert Flugelman’s Cone in the Sculpture Garden, a very moving Aboriginal Memorial, Anselm Keller’s, Abendland, and perhaps one of the most extraordinary was a life-size wax candle of a man standing on a fridge looking at his IPhone. It is called Francesco by Urs Fischer and is lit every day, gradually burning down over eight months until it gets down to his waist and is recast. There seem to be many different interpretations of this piece: our mortality, the ever changing world we live in; life is ‘one long decay’ and a mere moment in history and of course our current obsession with electronic devices.

And perhaps most special of all is James Turrell’s Skyspace: Within, Without, which is an installation in the garden set on blue water with a central chamber with a cut-out circle to the sky. You sit in the stillness of the chamber and watching the natural light show contrasting the light inside the chamber with the changing light outside. Stunning – Tim you would LOVE this.

We then went to the magnificent war-memorial to witness the Last Post Ceremony which is performed every evening acknowledging the sacrifices of the armed forces during the wars of the last decade. With bag-pipes and a faultless trumpeter playing the Last Post it was very moving and a privilege to witness.

After dinner we returned to the NGA to watch the sun go down through James Turrell’s Skyspace. It was extraordinary sitting in the dome which as it got darker was washed with gradually changing light which altered the colour of the darkening sky above. You rather have to see it to believe it, but it was truly beautiful and a very special experience.