A Sentimental Journey
Last weekend, I went to Toowoomba, largely to take in the projection of an art work of mine that is part of the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery collection. The artwork itself is somewhat sentimental, which I will explain later, but the journey to and within the city of Toowoomba evokes memories from what now seem like past lives, going back the best part of 50 years.
As a child I lived for a while in Ipswich and as an adult worked there and whilst the drive to Toowoomba doesn't really include Ipswich, it does shave its North West suburbs and places that I recall from both my childhood and time working in the city. I have lived in South East Queensland for the last 40 something years, so the two and a half hour journey to the regional city of Toowoomba via the western outskirts of Brisbane evokes many memories.
We travelled through the Gap, where I drove my son to school for a year in 2008, the same year we visited Tasmania and that a huge storm ploughed through the Gap and surrounding suburbs where we then lived. The trees on the hills that looked weather beaten for years after the storm have now grown back to their previous glory despite all the surrounding development.
From the Gap we moved through Brookfield and Kenmore, evoking memories of time spent around the Baptist Bible College during the years I was entrenched in the Church. Out through Pullenvale, Moggil and Mt Crosby, past Kohlo Creek where a memorial to Allison Baden-Clay stands after her husband left her broken body there following her murder.
Crossing the Brisbane River via College's Crossing evokes more memories of childhood where I played and camped as a child. College's Crossing is adjacent to Allawah, a scouting camp ground we often went to when I was a child living in Ipswich. Back then, Allawah seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, whereas today it is nestled in outer-suburban Ipswich. Allawah was also the site where years later I spent several torturous days on a camp with other students from my art teaching course. More than two full ute-loads of alcohol were consumed by the camp attendees, and boat races on the river banks didn't involve actual boats - a lesson for tmy naive 17 year old self!
After hitting the Warrego, we journey through Marburg where I once attended a children't literature conference at Woodlands. There I met a number of authors and illustrators, including Michelle Toft and Andy Griffith. I recently saw Griffith on television and was shocked by his aged appearance, as I remember him as a (somewhat annoying) young man. The truth is that he would likely be in his late 60s now which would explain the wrinkles he has acquired in the meantime.
Past the turn off to Amberley air-force base where my brother once worked on the now defunct F1-11s of Squadron 1. On through the Lockyer valley, which I remember was evacuated in 2011 due to the flooding around the Toowoomba region involving loss of life. We drove past the road to Emu Gully were students from the school I used to teach at went to for their leadership camp in year 11.
Toowoomba itself holds many memories for me due to the amount of time I have spent there as a postgraduate student (probably 7 years all up). As an online student, I made frequent trips to Toowoomba, usually spending most of the time on the South side near the University, but also in the CBD and beyond.
On one of my visits I discovered what I now affectionately call "the gourd place" more officially titled the Danish Flower Art complex at Highfields. Discovery of this place began my excursion into the making of gourd bird scultpures, whimsical garden art.
Once arriving in Toowoomba we stayed in the CBD in a hotel not far from the Empire Hotel where the projection was taking place. The project was to celebrate the history of the floats made as part of the Carnival of Flowers. Most of the artworks, including my own were photographed by Carl Warner, a photographer well known to me and who has photographed my artworks and exhibitions for years.
I originally created the artwork Arcadia as a tribute to my 10 year old neighbour who passed away 18 years ago from Leukemia. At the time, she was exactly the same age as my own daughter, and her passing struck me as deeply unfair. Her family never really recovered from the loss. I entered the work in the Crate on Wheels exhibition, where it travelled around the Darling Downs for the next year, especially to schools as a spark for students to create their own memorial objects. It was good to see this sentimental piece again, albeit in a projection on the Empire Theatre facade.
It is interesting to me that many of these memories are evoked or associated with art works, art communities, and other artists that I have encountered in my personal juourney. They serve as markers or milestones for stages in my life. Hopefully other artworks of mine will serve as markers for other's memories and life events they have encountered along the way. Unlike many other things, artwork holds memories, especially works like Arcadia that are themselves made from objects of reflection, assembled in a meaningful way.
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