MONA – An art museum like no other

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The forecast was for showers and cooler temperatures today, perfect weather to go to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). But first…brunch at Jackman and McRoss. The 10 year wait didn’t disappoint. Sweet or savory was the hardest decision of the day. Savory won out! 

Full to the brim we boarded the 11 am art catamaran to MONA. I’ve never been on a ferry with a “posh pit” VIP lounge, obviously we didn’t pay the extra for that so we had to sit in cattle class which had sheep seats and a model cow – truly cattle class…prepare for a Museum like no other!

MONA Ferry Cattle Class
Cattle Class on the MONA Ferry

Built into cliffs on the banks of the Derwent River, the mostly underground, fortress that is MONA is a masterpiece in its own right; $75M of architectural wonder privately owned and financed by local guy David Walsh who amassed his fortune developing gambling systems.  The collections inside are considered the world’s most controversial and provocative with Walsh seeking out pieces dedicated to sex and death.

3 hours after arrival we’d run the gamut of thoughts on the Museum…was it complete and utter tosh?  Fascinating?  Funny?  Shocking?  Thought provoking?  In truth, it was all of these things. 

The exhibits that resonated with me were:

  • Tim the Tattoo Man who sits shirtless for 5 hours a day six days a week, so still I wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t a sculpture.  The tattoo across his back is owned by a private collector who will literally receive the skin off Tim’s back when he dies, to be framed and exhibited in his personal art collection…what?!
  • I was so glad I didn’t miss Temple to the Fandom of Madonna since that was the hardest I laughed all day; a white cubed room with a wall of 30 TV screens streaming Madonna fans singing her classic hits acapella style – absolutely hilarious and very very affective.
  • The much talked about exhibition of 151 porcelain vaginas sculpted from real women –the less said about that the better.
  • In the 20:50 exhibit, the gallery is filled to waist height with recycled engine oil and a walkway extends from a single entrance, leading the viewer into the space until they are surrounded by oil on three sides reflecting the architecture above creating a trick of the eye and a mesmerizing visual experience – it’s very hard to describe, even photos can’t quite capture it but it was very cool.
20:50 Engine Oil Exhibit MONA Hobart
  • There were works by Tessa Farmer an English artist who pairs taxidermied wildlife and insect carcasses with skeletal winged fairies less than 1 cm tall.  Mystical or malevolent?  It’s for you to decide!  I loved it.
  • Finally Bit.fall which greeted us on our arrival; a curtain of water, the droplets of which form words every few seconds from the most-Googled headlines of the day using algorithms.  Mesmerizing, I could have stood and watched it all day. 

Writing about these specific exhibits has made me realize that I did take away a lot from my visit to MONA, certainly more than any other gallery or museum I have been to which makes it a winner in my book.

Tripping the Light Fantastic MONA Hobart
Tripping the Light Fantastic @ MONA Hobart

We returned to our accommodation via Jackman and McRoss to pick up a slice of orange and almond cake for afternoon tea and had a couple of hours relaxing before heading down to the waterfront for the evening.

The sun came out so we went to The Glass House on the water for cocktails and appetizers. Fast forward 2 hours and we’d also had a bottle of bubbles and a selection of their small plates which were all absolutely delicious and full of complex and interesting flavors; octopus, sea urchin, trumpeter fish, pork belly. What a treat.

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