Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Wobbly times number 180

Recommended for those who want to break free from the 'norm'.

Australia is huge and still relatively unpopulated.  There's a reason for this.  The reason is rooted in the fact that Australia has a very old surface.  The Bungle Bungles formed some 360 million years ago is not a geographical spot where many people are going to be able to provide food, water and shelter for themselves.  That's just one example.  Here's another:

My road trip with John Tattersall from Perth to Lake Ballard with stops in Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie, The Broad Arrow Tavern, Ora Banda and Menzies. Antony Gormley placed 51 pieces of sculptures which represent casts taken from residents of Menzies, making Lake Ballard one hell of an art exhibit. Sorry about the wind drowning out my excellent commentary on Lake Ballard itself.  

Suffice to say, Western Australia is an awesome exhibit of its own. Its flora and fauna have an amazing resilience to them. I include the citizens of Australia in this description.  You see them depicted, out on the lake, under the moonlight. The starlit skies are to die for. The weather can be harsh and unpredictable. The flies, as you may be able to detect in the film, are ubiquitous during the daylight hours, but seem to disappear as the Sun sets.  There's a lovely tinge of wild and dangerous when you're out there in your swag listening to the wind, looking up through your insect screen.   

Think of a vast, empty, hot, sparsely populated sunny landscape and there you have it: Western Australia and its people depicted as a work of art on dry salt lake.  Makes you want some cool, clear water...


Kindly edited by Jennifer Armstrong.