I’m in Melbourne now for my upcoming exhibition at red gallery. In an email to a friend I wrote about my drive to Melbourne. This is the first time I have ever written a description about what I remember of my day, and thought I would share it here
“I have never seen the country so lush. Wonderful rain has transformed the land. Driving along the highway is like walking down the aisle in a mesculin market , textured greens in clumps as far as the eye can see. The roadside is plump with bulging cushions of lime shaded leaves, with sprays of seed heads exploding like fireworks. Guideposts awkwardly try to peek over the tops of the grasses. Soft green velour covers the paddocks where the cattle look like they have been brushed with shiny black oil. The eucalypt leaves had shades of lettuces with the luminescence of the new growth making it feel like a magical place rather than just along a highway. Trunks like burnt toast held leaves which glimmered like spilling silver and gold coins from a treasure chest to the ocean floor.
I came over a ridge just south of Moonie and the Cyprus looked like an army of medieval worriers with their fluffy beards, chain mail suits over their full bellies, with black spears and pointy steel helmets. They were all standing clumped in long battalions along the highway. The rain had cleaned all the leaves and revealed all their colours. It was time for the plants to show off rather than the dirt and rock. After Hebel, heading south, the foliage became more silver and seemed like it had a light dusting of icing sugar. Lillies stretch up from low lying areas like white straggly spiders on sticks. Seeing the old locals gather at Lightning Ridge was like looking at a table at a primary school fete – old skin like caramel, amber toffees with hundreds and thousands of melanomas – and fudges, and chocolate with whiskers of coconut.
I set my alarm to go for my swim this morning because the pool was only open from 6.30 – 7.30am for morning swimmers. It opened again at 11am until 7pm at night. It reminded me of primary school swimming training – dark sky with twinkles above the flood lights I think the first time I was cognisant of seasons was at primary school swimming training, when I used to observe the position of the sun over the blocks on our breast-stoke set. I was glad as the season progressed toward Easter because the sun became less invasive into my eyeballs! It was beautiful this morning observing the apricot hues of the sunrise on the rim of my goggles as the sky turned a dusky blue as I looked upward when I was kicking on my back.
Not sure where I am off to today. Macquarie marshes I think for a bit of a look – but I think the good rains stop a little further south from here, so I best prepare myself for the dry conditions ahead.”
