Artistic Involvement

Returning from MONA with Penny, we were approached in Salamanca Place by an enthusiastic middle aged lady asking us if we could spare 15minutes of our time. Did we manage to disguise rolling eyes? Our first thought was of missionaries from the Church of Latter Day Saints or Seventh Day Adventists but she didn't quite fit the stereotype. What was it all about?

In a courtyard at the Kelly's Stairs that lead from Salamanca Place to Battery Point an artist, Cristina Palacios was completing an 'installation' with a photo shoot that required the presence of 28 women. Previously committed recruits had let the artist down and there was a scramble on by her helpers to gather the extra's required. Fresh from our visual adventure to MONA and feeling quite relaxed by the beverages on offer on the ferry ride back to Hobart, we thought "Why not!".

A number of carved timber totems were erected in a circle around an arrangement of spherical stones. The summer solstice which was occuring that day was in some way implicated in the display and each of us was asked to stand adjacent to one of the totems for a photograph to be taken of the completed work.

Half sun and half shade.

Is this evoking the Solstice?

Penny in position behind 'her' randomly selected totem.

I don't think Penny nor I were the only ones pondering the significance.

While I'm pretty clueless as to what it was all about. It was quite interesting to stand in a circle holding hands with a bunch of strangers and helping out with someone's 'vision'. It didn't take more than 10 minutes before we were once more on our way to find out how the boys had fared for the day without us.