Veronika Wild

Dark arts, sepulchral trees, folk memories ancestral memories, fires and flames “And when you’re out in the woods, be nice and good and don’t stray off the path.” Brothers Grimm “Little Red Cap.” I was wrong about Dark Mofo. It was busier than ever with over 15,000 people attending and many events and performances already booked out.   I didn’t go to the parade or the burning this year, but you can catch the latter on the ABC’s page . I did however, tackle Dark Path which was essentially a four Km  Art Walk with a nod to dark fairy tales, witches and disturbing thoughts.   It’s a pity that it was -3 ° C or I would have stayed around for more of the events, but here are a few glimpses. (Pity help the dawn nude swimmers in the morning!) I followed the torchlight procession struggling uphill over the Domain, a largely grassed area flanked by trees commemorating the war dead. Government House is near the top a long with the old Powd...

The Waterfront seems quieter than usual The crowds were there. The red crosses were there. Businesses were open. The aroma of sizzling steak filled the air, yet it seemed to me that Dark Mofo was neither as big nor as shocking as in previous years. Not that there wasn’t some gratuitous violence or exhibits which made you shudder, but Dark Park remained   dark and the kind of events which usually took place there, were either confined to strictly limited crowds inside the former Forestry building or scattered about across other venues including the Domain and the Botanic Gardens, but more about that later.     For now, a little about “A forest.” Into a forest...... We approached “A forest” with some trepidation. We were issued with earplugs on the way in and were warned about the possibility of experiencing depictions of violence before entering the Virtual Reality segment. With sudden thunderous noise, inexplicable exhibits and frightening images, i...

It's easy to lose yourself in David Keeling's "regrowth" forest which is part of a larger work You could say that this week I have been flat out like a lizard drinking, to use a typically Australian expression that means “I have been really busy,” not that I have ever seen a lizard drinking. No chance to get out into the bush, but I did manage to see a couple of exhibitions, both at least vaguely related to nature The painting and the installation are meant to be viewed together   Not so long ago few people had access to photography. Now that photography no longer requires hugely expensive equipment – especially if you have a smartphone, nor darkrooms, nor film purchases and development costs, let alone extensive knowledge of exposure time, film speed and shutter speeds, almost anyone can provide accurate representations of objects in nature or elsewhere which was once the preserve of the artist. This leaves the artist free to bring his or her im...