Everything changes, so we are told…and as I sit on my back verandah, sipping a coffee, with Lou Lou at my feet, I contemplate this idea and wonder how to grow it…how to catch the momentum. I have just returned from a sojourn to Hobart to visit Shene Historic House just outside of Hobart. I am hoping to do an artist-in-residence in the New Year. A glorious place…the custodians, Myfanwy Kernke and her family (David and Anne Kernke), are turning back time, creating a unique experience for their guests. My favourite place is the barn (see below): huge doors, and huge history…I think Myf and her family have caught the momentum and are creating a legacy for Australia.
Here is Myf, the curator of SHENE HISTORIC HOUSE TASMANIA
Creating legacy is perhaps what it is all about. Bryan Nason has done this in Brisbane. He often invites friends into the lounge room of his outrageously glorious Queenslander where small performances happen. One such performance occurred last night. I watched Travis Ash play a brilliant solo show “Dream of a Ridiculous Man” in Bryan Nason’s lounge room. A small group of guests lined the walls while Travis inhabited the artistic mind of Dostoyevsky…yes, everything changes. I remember Travis at 13 playing in this same living room in one of the many Shakespearean readings done by Grin ‘n Tonic Theatre Troupe. He is now 22 and his storytelling is simply astonishing.
Travis Ash
I think that is one of my favourite things: to watch young artists grow and develop…we have many here in Brisbane. Ben Schostakowski has just returned from a year’s submersion in the NIDA directing course. I still remember him as a young first year who auditioned for “Gone to Earth”, a Vena Cava production I directed mid 2000’s. I was only auditioning 2nd and 3rd years. Ben was a 1st year. He sneaked in anyway and of course became part of the marvellous ensemble who have since excelled in the Brisbane Theatre world.
Ben's final show at NIDA, November 2013
Everything changes…how do we harness this change…I think we constantly redefine who we are, and where we are and why we are…do we always have to have momentum? Yes, I think so, but not at the same speed all the time. Without reflection we have little to build on…everything changes, and this is so exquisitely represented in one of MONA’s exhibitions. Buddha: made out of incense ash…it is slowly disintegrating and in that disintegration is enormous beauty. In that disintegration is a world of meaning… This was my favourite art piece at MONA this visit:
Buddha at MONA, HOBART...made of incense dust, constantly wearing away...everything changes