Playground of art
Travel to one of the most southerly places on Earth, and you’re in for a surprise.
The Museum of Old and New Art – MONA – has made its home overlooking a bay near Tasmania’s capital, Hobart. It’s the baby of wealthy art collector David Walsh, who made his fortune from gambling.
If you’re expecting a stately trudge around an Australian Tate Modern, think again. You don’t even make it inside the doors and the outlandish architecture of the surrounds are a beguiling delight, with rusty metal ramparts and even an elaborate chapel tucked away on site.
Getting to grips with the collection is a novelty as you’re handed an iPod to navigate your way around floors of exhibits which dazzle, challenge and quite simply entertain, from water spouts which spurt out randomly generated words to the pungent-smelling cloaca, which mimics every part of human digestion.
There is also a room dedicated to artworks where “parental discretion is advised”. Hard not to make a beeline for that. It’s not all titillating and subversive at the museum, but interesting it most certainly is.
After the art, there’s the inevitable gift shop and raft of cafes. Outsized beanbags are scattered across the lawn where you can lounge and reflect, while noticing a wealth of quirky details in every corner of the grounds.
Walsh may have put his cultural playground in a distant place, but if you make it there, this experience has to be high up on your list.
Click first image to launch the gallery
mikeosbornphoto 
Just back from the Flinders Ranges and catching up on posts – glad you made it to MONA in Tassie, love the abstractness of some of the images. I still haven’t gotten myself there. On the list for the next time I’m down that way :)
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I’d definitely take a look, Lee. I hope you enjoyed the ranges and look forward to seeing the fruits of your lens!
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Beautiful images…. sincerely, Andrea :))
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Thank you very much, Andrea. I really appreciate your visit today :)
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Beautiful place! I cannot see anything that needs a warning on it, though… :)
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It’s quite something. Corridor to subversion was the culprit – I decided to slightly blur the potentially offensive, er, part. I can send you the original if you like! Well I walked down the corridor and had no idea what it was… :)
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That makes sense now I know which photo to look at (read the titles as well as looking at the images, Richard… Doh!) :)
I’d be intrigued to see it, though, lol…
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I’ll email it and see if you can make it out…!
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Love this set of images Mike……very cool and very arty…:0)
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Cheers Mark. It’s an inspiring place (and good fun for a “museum”). However, I had to carefully edit Corridor of Subversion – it was possibly a little too subversive for some tastes!
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That’s a great museum! Wonderful photos of the museum and the collection, Mike.
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Of course, Koos, this is of interest to you. If you ever travel far south, take a visit. It doesn’t feel like a museum at all.
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