Ruby Tuesday

On Sunday I ventured out with friends to an exhibition about Titanic held at the Museum and found my weekly splash of red in a number of huge woven tapestries at the Museum.

These were amazing … and there were so many of them.

I decided to do a little research and it turns out that tapestries are in celebration of federation … when the various Australian states and territories merged in 1901. There were ten tapestries in total, woven by 24 weavers between June 2000 and November 2001.

Here's a taste of a few of them:

The tapestry We All Live in Australia was a favourite of mine. This was designed by Murray Walker, who incorporated drawings by Aboriginal children from primary schools in Echuca, Cape Barren Island and Bathurst.


In essence they plead with us to take care of one another, and to look after all parts of the environment. Worth acting on ... I think.


One of the tapestries … this one with the number 1901 at the top was a giveaway federation had something to do with it. This one’s so soft and subtle … with touches of red and orange to draw the eye in.


The seventh tapestry celebrates the important role of Australia's artists in the Federation process. It celebrates ways Australians in the last two decades of the 19th century used literature and art to create and express a unique national identity.


And this beautiful red flower of course forms part of the mural ... please don't ask me what kind. I can't name trees ... let alone flowers.


This is a close up from the sixth tapestry which celebrates Home Sweet Home. The panel concentrates on the importances of the family home, and its important to many Australians who dream of owning their own home with a garden on a large block of land.


The next panel is quite different ... a summary of the themes underlying the whole suite. It presents an historical process from before the arrival of European settlement, through various voyages of discovery to the first white settlement of Australia.


The images are all part of our history, including the picture of Bungaree, an early Aboriginal from Sydney during the very earliest settlement of Australia.


This panel forms part of the tapestry focussing on Alone in the Bush. It depicts the loneliness and isolation many Europeans felt. The shepherd newcomer, his dog and sheep are shown with other animals including a kangaroo, now under the control of the British crown.


And last, but not least ... the Celebrations 2001 tapestry celebrating the 100th anniversary of Federation. A fitting close to this post and the week's red theme.


I hope you enjoyed this little look at Australia's history ... but this is just a peak at the many types and shades of red around the world, so visit Mary at Work of the Poet. There's much more to enjoy.

Project 365 Tue 7 Jul 09

HOW MUCH HAVE THINGS REALLY CHANGED?
Usually my building lobby is all marble and open space, but this week there's been an amazing exhibition of Aboriginal art work and photos and I've been wandering around each day looking at something else. In fact, there are quite a few pieces I wouldn't mind seeing each day at home.


My absolute favourite; I'd love this on my bedroom wall.

But today this caught my eye ... permission in 1951 for an Aboriginal resident on a mission to leave.

I've heard and read about how protectionism and paternalism operated towards Aboriginals; hell, they weren't even recognised until the early 1960s as citizens of the country they inhabited before white people arrived.


The certificate.

But this. Cast your eye towards this sentence at the bottom where it offers Joseph Edwards the chance to " ... live like a white man".

Lucky man to be given that chance!

Project 365 Sat 6 Jun 07

IS AUSTRALIA RACIST?
Australia's been copping some flak in the international press for recent events that suggest racism. Check out this article by an Indian writer who offers a perspective I hadn't considered: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/dont-believe-the-media-hype-racism-is-often-a-twoway-street-20090601-bsto.html

But are the events cited in the article examples of racism, or even evidence of a systemic problem?

My relationship in life (ie living with a West Indian and our two children) puts me a little closer to experiencing racism in everyday life. My personal experience, though, with my kids and the wider world is of little racism. But my experience is too narrow and others like me (ie white people unlikely to experience racism except at second hand) and I think it's difficult for us not to view our experience or understanding of the world as evidence for or against racism.


Horace reading the newspaper ... yep, I'm struggling for a photo.

So I did the sensible thing and asked the girls whether they'd experienced much racism and what they thought of recent events.

Their view was apart from name calling and standing out in crowds racism hasn't been a large problem for them. But again we're talking anecdotally and it's not to say the cry of racism against black people (especially given the recent influx of North African immigrants) isn't already been discussed within those communities and won't be heard again in the future.

What I hope is that this represents a sort of 'settling in' period each new wave of migration seems to experience eg the post-war arrival of Greeks and Italians, and the arrival of boat people from Vietnam during the 1970s.

What I'd dearly love is for people to be better students of history and themselves ... and learn from experience that new doesn't always equate to something to be feared, and that each successive wave of migration brings something unique and valuable to the melting pot that is Australia.

Project 365 Day 35 (Wed 4 Feb 09)

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
You know things are pretty bad economically when the middle class without school age children are promised money via a government spending package.



That's where Horace and I find ourself in the most recent $42 billion National Building and Jobs Plan. The lucky recipents of a decent sum of money to spend (not save!) on anything we want.

We've never really got anything in the past. The most we ever got was a couple of school bonuses for Clarissa ... we didn't even get the first home owner's grant despite buying our first home as recently as 2000.

So it feels strange to be standing with our hand out.

And I don't feel good about taking the money because in the back of my mind all I can think is that things must be pretty bad when we all have jobs, we're meeting our mortgage repayments and can afford to go overseas later in the year.

Fingers crossed the package has the impact planned by government, and I can move on from the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.