Four courtyards each styled in a different motif. An exhibit of Japanese shunga. Pieces from Doris Duke’s Shangri La. Photographs of full body tattoos. A well stocked book store and gift shop. The Honolulu Museum of Art enchanted me.
Back in February, I had one day to explore O’ahu solo on my way home to Brisbane from Vancouver and there’s no where else I would have spent it. Here are some of the art works and architecture that caught my eye.
Ah Shanghai. I never suspected you would be so meta.
During our adventure to People’s Square, Genevieve and I stumbled upon free admission to the Shanghai Art Gallery. According to Genevieve, whether or not patrons are charged for museums or galleries is totally random. Sometimes it’s Mao’s birthday. Sometimes it’s the guards are in a good mood. In our case, it was the final day of an erotic and slightly disturbing painting exhibition.
This is the top corner of a scene of half-clothed women. The exhibition featured mostly-nude portraits that were simultaneously real and surreal.
People went crazy for these Christina Rossetti Goblin Market girls (and boys). Snap happy patrons talked loudly, pointing to the artist’s photos and sketches. We had no idea what was happening. We didn’t even know the name of the artist. All we knew were the painting dimensions. Everything else was written in Mandarin.
On the next level up we found blown up photographs of a Northern Chinese town, completing with patrons taking photos of the photos. The nameless photographer (again, no English signage) was hyper realistic. The colours were so brilliant, we wondered if he/she was aided by Photoshop. Never the less, we enjoyed his candid shots of Chinese life.
On the top floor, we came face to face with the prints of Joan Miro. All one hundred and sixty seven of them. A group of French speaking elementary-aged students were drawing on the floor of the immense exhibit. I couldn’t help but get a photo in the gallery; when else could I stand between two life-size Miros with a security guard nodding by?
Outside the gallery we found my namesake restaurant, another ambivalent guard, a woman drinking Starbucks who obviously thought I was off my rocker. So ended another perspective-shifting gallery visit, my first in China.
Last weekend we drove north to Townsville. Our trip was a breath of fresh air to my slightly de-oxygenated small-town brain. We drove for four and a half hours each way, taking turns and singing along to the radio and my playlists. We slept at the Aquarius Hotel on The Stand and spent our two days exploring the Townsville CBD. The highlights included:
The eats
While Mackay has some tasty offerings, the restaurants and cafes in Townsville were refreshingly modern and eco-conscious. First we shared a meal at A Touch of Salt. Our table over-looked the river. My creme brule came with chocolate cookies infused with lavender. It was bliss.
On Sunday morning, we munched on jaffles at The Sweatshop Cafe, pictured above.You may wonder, as we did, what a jaffle is. As we learned, a jaffle is a stuffed, grilled sandwich. I was immediately reminded off the metal sandwich presses used back home for camp fire cooking. Back then we filled them with jam. This time, my jaffle was filled with eggs, spinach and tomato chutney.
Our last meal in Townsville was lunch with iced coffees at Millie J. A charming family-style cafe, Millie J is housed in a green-glass enclosed pavillion. They boast gelato and gourmet tea.
The architecture
With heritage buildings lining the streets, Townsville immediately reminded us of Winnipeg, MB. The fact that both cities are mid-size and relatively ‘up and coming’ solidified our association.
The culture
In Townsville, we took in the Perc Tucker Art Gallery which featured aboriginal paintings and outrageous glass art. We frequented book shop Mary Who? where I bought Triple J’s Like a Version volume 7, a beautiful greeting card and dark chocolate. We strolled through the farmer’s market, eating deep-fried banana puffs, smelling the Australian leather products and tasting the New Zealand raspberry jam.
The nature
The wet season has hit Northern Queensland. We drove through torrential downpours, hoping to catch the sun in Townsville. On Saturday, we were caught in a deluge that soaked us to the bone. Thankfully we took shelter in The Brewery where we drank craft-beer, played scrabble and snacked on nachos.
We pointed gleefully at the birds in Townsville, who seemed to revel in the rain. We told them that we’ll be back soon, for more eating and exploring.
The sound of balcony rain woke me. Fluttering my eyes open, I caught a glimpse of lightening behind the window shade. Counting the seconds after the flash, I finally heard the thunder. Almost 12 hours later, the storm returned with a torrential downpour and epic light show. After drenching the city and my t-shirt, the clouds cleared and a rainbow appeared. And I thought Australia was all sun and surf.
After the first shower cleared in the late morning, Chris and I ventured out to the conglomerate of arts and culture venues in Brisbane’s Southbank. Our first stop was at the Queensland Art Gallery for the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition. The show was comprehensive and captivating. Ever since I picked up a calendar featuring his work when I was fourteen, I’ve loved Cartier-Bresson’s lines, use of shadow and ability to capture the ‘decisive moment.’ It was a treat to see both his framed prints and original copies of the magazines where his work appeared.
En route to our second stop, the Gallery of Modern Art, we explored ‘The Edge’ a digital media centre for young adults, and the State Library of Queensland. Both spaces were incredibly intriguing in terms of architecture and available content/resources. The Edge was hosting a digital writing conference that I wish I could have attended. State Library of Queensland featured an area called ‘Infospace’ which housed computers, comfy work stations and ‘The Corner’ space for kids. I couldn’t help but think the libraries at UBC could take a page from SLQ.
The Gallery of Modern Art didn’t disappoint. Their exhibitions on fabric and/as art, Torres Straight, and family/ritual were informative and in some cases, awe-inspiring. The exhibit that took the cake was the Alfred Hitchcock retrospective, which featured all of his films. We watched ‘Number 17’ in a beautiful in-house theatre; the film bordered on mystery, crime and comedy. While the plot development left a little to be desired, watching the original film complete with a dodgy soundtrack and cigarette burns was highly amusing.
Apart from the art, GoMA features multiple cafes, one of which hosts high tea. Australian’s sure have civilized art galleries. I’m looking forward to taking in the permanent exhibits at the Queensland Art Gallery and checking out the galleries hosted at Brisbane’s universities.
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