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...

Lovely Legs - the Guerilla Knitters strike again! While we were enjoying our morning tea on Friday and looking across at the former Christmas tree, I remembered that in its last incarnation, Hobart’s Guerrilla Knitters had covered it in knitted stars and hearts. Obviously they were still going because a tree on the way to the Square had also been kitted out in vibrant colours and I had seen the same thing in Geeveston recently.   It’s not just a Tasmanian phenomenon either. There are excellent examples of what can only be termed yarn sculpture in Guilford in Western Australia and also in Hurstbridge, Victoria, where a full steam train has been created on a fence at the Station in memory of the days when apple orchards were the reason for its existence. For more amazing examples of yarn art see Wiki , Pinterest or some of Lori Zimmer's collection. The Guerrilla Knitters have been busy in Geeveston too Not surprisingly Geeveston's Yarn and Craft store also...

Is it a seat? Art? Implement of Torture? Something weird is happening in our fair city. There has been a whole rash of new seating. At least I think it’s meant to be seating. The Play School Model - it's a shame that you can't tell how small these are from the pictures. Maybe the Council had the same problem The first group is clustered mainly around Liverpool Street and I call it the Play School Model. The individual pieces are a bit small and low for seating, are mostly made of metal and are brightly coloured – fire engine red, sky blue, lime green. The only trouble is that they don’t look very comfortable. They are hard and unforgiving and on these cold and frosty mornings I avoid them because I have the feeling that there would be a tearing of flesh should you attempt to get up after sitting on them.  Some remind me of preschool desks. Our Mayor is young.    On the other hand, I wonder if the purchasing officer ordered them from a catalogue witho...

"Yes Mountain" Street Art by Bonsai and David Booth aka Ghost Patrol,  in Victoria Street Yes, I know big cities such as London, New York, Paris, Berlin, from Reykjavik to Buenos Aries, even Melbourne, have had Street Art forever, but now Hobart is getting in on the act. After years of spending around $300,000 a year trying to get rid of it, the Council has discovered that nothing keeps unwanted graffiti away as much as well executed public art. Until now it has been a furtive kind of thing -done after dark, in unlit alleys, deserted carparks or the subterranean world of the Rivulet, and always under threat of prosecution and heavy fines if caught. "Teraform" -Tom O'Hern's delightful jungle in Mather's Place   Not so long ago, the Council removed the work of Peter Drew , whose posters promoting tolerance of asylum seekers were put up all around Australia. Now under its Urban Art Walls Project, they are back, along with several other co...