Sunday Selections #162

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.

Like River I usually run with a theme.  This week I am going back to Enlighten.  We loved it, and there were some additional features added after the first week.  That said, it was MUCH more crowded when we went back, and I am grateful to have seen it in cooler, less crowded conditions first.

So what did we go back to see?  Fiers A Cheval - which was advertised as giant inflatable horse puppets, lit from within and set in motion by puppeteers.  Hailing from France, the horses were performing for the first time in Australia.  And I couldn't resist going.

I took many, many photos - most of could be charitably described as rubbish.  A selection of the better ones follows and will, naturally, embiggen if clicked on.

Aren't they beautiful?  And they danced to some spectacular music too.

We also wandered up to the National Gallery again, where a Peruvian fair was being held.  A bit of a disappointment in some ways - a bar, some very ordinary food and folk-dancing to taped music.  However, the Gallery had added some new projections to its facade, and I was intrigued by this costumed woman wandering through the crowd (though I did wonder whether any of the children she approached would have nightmares?)

Essentially both visits were more than worth-while - and I will be back next year.

Enlighten

We still don't have a date for the skinny one's surgery.  Hiss and spit.

So we are improving the shining hour by getting out and about while we can.  Last week we went on yet another outing.  Another treat.

Canberra, my city, is widely regarded as making ditchwater seem positively scintillating by comparison.  Arguable, but never mind.  So when a festival started last week to illuminate the capital we had to go - despite it being after dark (and after dark is my bed-time).

Some of the Enlighten Canberra events were ticketed and not cheap.  We took the freeby option and had a wonderful evening.

The facades of buildings in the Parliamentary Triangle were illuminated.  I expected to see them bathed in colour and they were but it went a lot further than that.  The displays on the building changed every few minutes, and some of them were animated as well.  Music, food stalls and very happy crowds.  And pleasant crowds too. Which was a win because I often don't like crowds at all.

Please come with me - and settle in for a looooong ride with a lot of photos.  As always photos will embiggen when clicked upon.

We started at the National Library, arriving just before the lights were turned on...

And then the fun started.

Then on to Questacon, our interactive Science museum.

The National Portrait Gallery was our next stop.

And here is a snippet from one of their animated sequences.

From the Portrait Gallery we moved to the High Court - and its fire garden.  They apparently featured fire to remind us that it can be beautiful and fun.  Given the destruction that fires have caused my city and my country it was a timely nudge.

Nearly finished now.  Just two more buildings.

Firstly, the National Gallery, where some of you will remember the Gold and the Incas exhibition is currently showing.

The hanging ball isn't part of the Enlighten program, it is a permanent fixture but I love it.  It hangs over the road outside the entrance to the gallery and is a replacement for one I also loved which was smashed in a storm a few years ago.

Final stop now.  Old Parliament House.

I found this one a bit on the creepy side.

If you have had the stamina to get this far you will have seen an explosion of light and colour.  Enlighten - and Enliven. 

We loved it - and will be heading back this coming Friday when there are a couple of new installations being added.

Sunday Selections #161

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.


Like River I usually run with a theme. And this week I am going back to my birdy obsession.  Early one morning this week this cockatoo was sitting in the camellia outside the front door obviously as interested in me as I was in him.  As always, click to embiggen.

And, because I am nothing if not consistent, another begonia.  This one flowered for the first time this year, and I love it.

Mapping our World

Another outing, another exhibition, another treat.

We are on a bit of a roll at the moment.  Last week we went to our National Library to see 'Mapping Our World:   Terra Incognita to Australia.'

I find old maps romantic.  Here be dragones...  And they are frequently beautiful.  And I am amazed at their accuracy - and sometimes at their inaccuracy.

Photography was banned at this exhibition too.  And they were very serious about it.  Mobile phones turned off (and a guard or two in each room).  Large handbags/shoulder bags to be checked in before entering.  So again I have bought postcards - which I am happy to share.  Let me know in the comments if you would like one.

I took a few photos (on my phone) before we went in.

And then to the exhibition.
Starting with a fridge magnet (of course).

Amazingly, this exhibition was free.  And the crowd control was very well done.  Relatively small numbers of people were allowed into the exhibition at a time, which meant that looking at the exhibits, reading about them, absorbing them was not only possible, but enjoyable.

The earliest map featured was from c.1050 and was itself a copy of a map originally created in 425 AD by the Roman philosopher Macrobius.  It shows the way that Europe viewed the world, dividing it into zones or climates.  Pretty amazing for the time.  Macrobius imagined the Antipodes to the south as a large, frozen and undiscovered land.  And was surprisingly accurate when Antarctica is factored in.

The most recent map in the exhibition was published in 1814 after Mathew Flinders had completed the first circumnavigation of Australia.  And the detail and the accuracy was phenomenal.

The exhibition includes maps, atlases, globes and instruments - including a long case clock which travelled with Captain Cook (unsurprisingly it apparently was in need of repair by the time he reached Australia).

I was, and am in awe at the courage, initiative and sheer skill of the early explorers - and the cartographers.  Many of the maps are works of art.

I could rabbit on indefinitely, but won't.  A selection of the post cards follows instead.  Clicking will embiggen them so you can see some of the details.

And, as I said, I am happy to share them and will post a card to anyone who wants one - until I run out.