Downtown Perth

Today Ashley & I went to the Art Gallery of Western Australia. I think I love Australian art. One exhibit was called Wonderlust. It included Indigenous, Australian & International art, both old & new, juxtaposed. It was cool to see the old and new, or the international and Indigenous, portraying the same subject or theme within very different styles of art. Another exhibit was called thing. This exhibit had furniture, sculptures & photography. The piece I found the most interesting was a rearrangement of IKEA furniture pieces. I love IKEA, but this artist didn’t so much. The final exhibit was called Year 12 2008 Perspectives. It was art created by the State’s TEE Art & Art and Design graduates of 2008. The art was incredible. They are so talented. On top of that, it was fascinating to read about the themes & concepts that the artist were portraying. It was good to know that youth are thinking about challenging & controversial topics.

After the museum, Ashley & I went to the Bell Tower, home of the swan bells. The Bell Tower is a gorgeous, modern tower that resembles the combination of sailboats and a spaceship. I went up the tower. At each level there were posters telling the history of bell towers and how the swan bells worked. You could even see inside the room where the bells are rung. The bells originally were at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. They were given to Australia to commemorate Australia’s bicentenary in 1988. At the top of the Bell Tower is a 360-degree viewing deck. The walkway around the tower was pretty scary – just a metal grate floor. Still you could see beautiful views of the city & Swan River.