Nick Barberton
Brisbane, en-route to Adelaide
Posted by Nick Barbeton on 17th February 2007
Hi, Another letter, I am being beaten by time so I had better cover more ground this time. We spent an hour or two in Brisbane airport, before flying on to Adelaide. Very impressive, the sub tropical coast with all the waterways and marinas. I wished we could have planned in seeing the Asia –Pacific triennale while we were there. The woodwork group were off to Kangaroo Island, so we rented a car and set off south. Missed the second ferry so had to waste the afternoon and catch the 6pm. one. We got to Vivonne bay at dusk. Tom found us space in the dorm. The next day the party rushed off to see the sea lions, the remarkable rocks and the fur seal colony. We had Gareth and Dave in the back, practising the Australian art of humorous banter. The following day the students Rhode Island and Jam Factory made sculptures from found objects. In the evening, we walked round and had statements and crits. There was some impressive work there. On the third day we got up early for a swim, cleared up and returned to Australia. We drove the long way back through Hahndorf (an old German settler town in Aspic) and the vineyards. Monday evening we went to Stephen’s Currie evening and met a lot of the Jam Factory. Wednesday we flew to Ayres Rock via Alice Springs, checked in at our air conditioned mobile at the campsite and booked a visit to Uluru for sunset. Lay down to wait for the evening. 40 degree days are not worth the effort. We were dropped for a walk at dusk, picked up an hour later and taken to the sunset spot where a hundred vehicles and their occupants wait for the moment to go Click, Aah. The next morning We were picked up at 5 and taken to see dawn over Kata Tjuta and then went for the Walk of the winds. A marked trail through the rocks in the company of Christian from Paris. We nearly missed our lift back ‘cos we were 10 minutes late. Spent the midday in and out of the pool. Skipped the evening outing and walked round the resort instead. Saw sunrise at Uluru and caught the plane to Sydney. Went to the back packers and were shocked to find that they were full. Ditto the Youth Hostel, so we were directed to the accommodation beaureau, where we phoned up til we found space at the George. A flight of stairs in red light district where we almost expected to be evicted after the first hour. We rode the monorail in a circle to acclimatise and found an Oriental Market and we then had an excellent and reasonable meal. The next morning we checked out but put our big suitcase into storage while we toured Sydney. It is a fantastic waterside with ferries and buskers and art exhibitions and bridges. Speedboat taxis with toothy grins bouncing around and botanical gardens where one can watch the parrots or flying foxes or just chill out under a tree. We snuck into the Opera house but were soon evicted. After 5 we contacted Glynis and caught the bus to her house. Had supper with her and Marcus. The next day we caught the Manley Ferry. Syann and Glynis went for a swim while I protected our clothes from the underdressed locals. Ate at another Japanese restaurant and back with Glynis. The next day we rented a car and set off for Wagga Wagga. Got to Gareon and Trish in the evening where Christian turned up, we had a Barbie and talked and drank till the early hours. The next day we went round the farm, then the Art Gallery in town, then Gareon’s factory. In the evening the neighbour turned up and they discussed the drought. Drier supper and the next morning we were back on the road. A thousand kilometres and 38 degrees ahead of us. There was a reserve where we crossed the mighty Murrey with roadsigns warning us not to run over Koalas so we went for a walk and Syann found one. We got into Adelaide at dusk and we ate at the Thai café and went to bed. Returned the car, bought food, communicated with the locals and this morning Syann returned to the UK and I went to the workshop to crit the post K. I. projects.
"AUSTRALIA"
Nick Barberton presents his artist's talk during cHAT week at Sanskriti, Delhi, India. March 2007 (note: the beginning of this video is missing due to a recording error)
Click on image to open QuickTime movie
