The last few days

The day we were orange picking the temperature was between 27-30 degrees C.  The next day it was around 12 degrees and wet.  We had planned on going for a walk but in the end we went to the Wollongong Art Gallery because I wanted to see the exhibition 'Dreams Nursed in Darkness'.  Do go to the website and read the description of the exhibition.

24K gold-plated razor blades as prison shackles by Abdullah M I Syed

The art work in one room was made by various contemporary artists around the theme of crime, convicts and colonial history.  The second room had work by current inmates of NSW prisons.

The shackles above were in the middle of an installation that used an image of a found Australian map progressively degenerated through repeated photocopying.

 

I'm not overly fond of contemporary art but I found the exhibition to be really interesting.  I don't know whether any of it will feed into my current theme of Captivity, Freedom and Identity.  Apart from one piece which I wasn't supposed to photograph so I'll not show it here. However I can show you the description!

 

If you go to the NSW Department of Corrective Services website and scroll down you will find it!

I am thinking about making a textile piece called I Am Not A Number using all the numbers by which I can prove my identiry eg passport number, NHS number etc.

The weather was a bit better the next day.  Still needed my vest on and a coat and waterproof!  We found that there was a free bus that we could get to where we wanted to walk.  We walked through a nature reserve and then along the coast path back into Wollongong.

 

 

We had a hot chocolate at a cafe right next to this beautiful Art Deco building.

These were the only people on the beach because it was so cold! 16 degrees C or so.  Back in England I'm pretty sure there would have been people in coats sat behind windbreaks!

We went back the next day when it was back to about 26 degrees  and there were loads of people in the sea and on the beach.

Anyway, back to the walk.  We finished the walk by the lighthouse, with its view over the city of Wollongong.

We used the free bus again to get to the Botanic Garden where we met up with the family.

And so to our penultimate day which I have already written about here.

Our last day involved a short visit to an art gallery.  Then off to the airport, lunch and the flight home.

I hope you have enjoyed the last few posts.   I have many, many more photos of the 3 weeks we were in Australia with only a very few posted here.  I hope it has given you a flavour of the places we visited.

Thanks for being here today
Bernice