Zombie sees blue poles and a walk in the sculpture garden

Way back in 1973, our government bought a painting.
Gough_Whitlam was the 21st prime minister. He had radical
socially progressive ideas and ruffled alot of conservative feathers.

Feathers hit the fan when he decided to buy a Jackson Pollock painting.
It was the most Australia had ever paid for a painting
and it didn't even have a nice picture of a lady on it.

There was such a kerfuffel.

In the end they threw Gough out in a very controversial
dismissal, but they kept Blue Poles.
No Zombie, this isn't it.

Zombie says he has always liked Henry Moore.
There is something about seeing art "in the flesh".
Henry Moore has two pieces gracing the bush setting of the sculpture garden.
The lines are organic, feminine and erotic.

There are ten indigenous women from Alice Springs here making beanies.
You can sit all day with them and crochet or learn to spin
by hand from these remarkable elders.

They are from Arangu country, speak no English, but
yarn transcends such things.
This is the essence of knit.
One has no need to speak, the synchronicity of our repeated actions
join us, loop, yarn over, hook..

These guys are some of the Burghers of Calais, getting ready
to go to the enemy camp and be heroic.
They stand on the pavement, just like people.
This morning they sport beanies.
Not sure if Rodin would like it, but he was also controversial
at the time of making this sculpture,
so maybe he would not mind.

I came across this and it's too good not to snap.
They were gone by lunch time.
Some art is fleeting.
Some endures.

Poles are being warmed all over the garden and
my heart is warmed by the sight.
Children run up to each to exclaim,
investigate and caress.

The first pole goes up.
Each day, people arrive to see if their knits have made it
on to the poles. Some come to help stitch the long pieces
end to end ready to wrap, others unpack and tag.

Some are so high up.
We have over 500 knits here.
500 or more pairs of hands have created this work.

And there is more to come.