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The Lladrian Edwards Aaron Hutchins Adele Kay Adele Mirowski Adrian Adam Alexander Salter Alexandra Gibson Alison Hawthorne Ford Alyce Hancock Amanda Carmen Cromer Amy Bishop Amy Goodwin Angelica Pasten-Anderson Anne Rosser Anneke van de Vusse Anneliese Milk Barrie Byrne Bec Adamczewski Bek McWhirter Belinda Bauer Belinda Robertson Ben Britten ben ikin Ben Walter Bill Seager Brett Littleton Brett Maryniak Bronilyn Smith Bronwen Jones Cameron Baxter Candice Marshall Caren Han Caroline Burbury Casey Garrett Catherine Case Catherine Forman christie sweeting Chris Cooper Chris Nicholas
are a group of young (ish) people who enjoy engaging in a bit of cultural gluttony at the tasmanian museum and art gallery to join visit Claire Morford-Waite Claire Sullivan Danica Pitt David coleman David O’Byrne David Tng Dean Duggan Debra Reeves Delia Nicholls Denise Devitt di andoni Diana Dzelalija Diane Masters Donita Shadwick Edwina Morris Eleanor Downes Elizabeth Clark Elizabeth Jack Ella Richmond Ella Woods-Joyce Ellen Daniels Emerson Shuey Emma Bett Emma Reid Emma Savage Erin Linhart Essie Kruckemeyer Felicity Graham Finegan Kruckemeyer Fiona Hazelwood Freya Van de Vusse Garrett Donnelly Geoff Attwater greg kerin Greg Lehman Gretchen Meares Hayli Ryan Helen Berwick ingrid berger
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Irene McGuire Jacqui Noonan James Bryce James Wood Jana Amonthaweepon Jane Anderson Jane Christie-Johnston Jane Longhurst Jaqi King Jenni Sharman Jennifer Lavers Jennifer Phillips Jeremy O’Wheel Jess Atkinson Jessica Benthuysen Jill Mure Jill Walker Jim Smith John Graham John Keane John McGregor John Morgan John Sexton Josef Martin Justin Munday justin murphy karryn dargie Kate Gray Kate Heffernan Kate Webb Kate-Ellen Murray Katie Ferguson Katinka Seaberg Kay Nguo kell y eijdenberg Kelly Pinner Kevin Redd Kim Foale Kim O’Sullivan
korinna leach Lea Crosswell Leigh Faulkner Liz Fitzgerald Lucy Hawthorne Lucy Henry Madelyn Munday Maria Pate Mark Fitzpatrick Mary Anne Lea Mary Cunningham MaryAnn Herbert Mathew Oakes Melanie Brough Melanie Horder Michael Carrington Cromer Michael Lavender Miguel de Salas Mike Coffin Mike Rowe Naomi Skelly Narelle badalassi Natalie Whitehosue Nicola Smith Nicole Gordon Noela Foote Norin Alam Pam Webb Pat McConville Peta Knott Pete Smith peter burridge Philadelphia HansonViney Prue Loney Rachael French Rachael Gates rachael rose
FRONT COVER: Around The World in 80 Days by Tony Flowers, City of Hobart Art Prize. Photo by Glenn Mead. Views expressed in this newsletter reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the TMAGgots group or the TMAG.
Rachel Dean Rebecca Harwood Rebecca Roth Robert Kilpatrick Rohan Astley Rowan Henderson Ruth Snape Sam Dix Sam Poynter Sarah Bishop Sarah Reinhart Sarah Woodward Saz Newbery Selka Beyerle Sharon Joyce Shaun Wilson Sheona McLetchie Simon Reynolds Skye Targett sophie carnell Sophie Edwards Sophie Underwood Steph Houstein Stuart Edwards Sue Baker Susan Molyneux Susie Rowe Suzy Cooper Teresa James Tom Hiscutt Tony Brown tony hope Tracey Cockburn Tracey Taylor Travis Tiddy Valentina Marshall Veronica Sierink Vicki Colville Warwick Marshall Warwick Pease Wes Young Yvette Watt
Dear supporters, welcome to the last edition of The Apple for this year. I am pleased to introduce some terrific new members to the TMAGgots management team, including Skye Targett, Bronwen Jones, new Publicity Officer Ally Gibson (ally@tmaggots.org.au), Volunteer Manager Ingrid Berger (ingrid@tmaggots. org.au) and Events Officer Rebecca Harwood (bec@tmaggots.org.au). And yes, the new TMAGgots President will be voted in at our September 5 Annual General Maggoting (AGM)! Keep an eye on www.tmaggots.org.au/howyou-can-help for all the fresh faces, and feel free to contact any of us to provide feedback, or get more info about TMAGgots programs. It has been an absolute pleasure volunteering for the TMAGgots for the last six years and I look forward to seeing what the group gets up to next! Please continue your support of The TMAGgots, and I hope to see you at next month’s event!
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more than just fine printers.
– KELLY EIJDENBERG President, TMAGgots Inc. (kelly@tmaggots.org.au) 1
MONA Island Sarah Kanowski has a love for the written word and is the new editor of Island, a contemporary literary magazine published in Tasmania since 1979. ANNEKE VAN DE VUSSE talks to Sarah about her first edition of the magazine, which piggybacks on the excitement surrounding the opening of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). Sarah Kanowski was so inspired by a holiday to Bruny Island that she moved her entire family, including two young children, to Tasmania from Sydney to begin her job as editor of Island magazine. They moved to Hobart in January which, coincidentally, corresponded with the 2
MONA festival and museum opening. Her first edition of Island was to focus on foreign traditions but, after experiencing the MONA hype, Sarah thought it would be “insane” for Island not to do something about it. The latest edition of Island magazine, which is published quarterly, was launched at the MONA wine bar in June. At the launch, renowned Tasmanian artist Geoff Dyer gave a visionary speech which provoked laughter stimulated by champagne bubbles. His oil-painted portrait of David Walsh, the founder and owner of MONA, was an Archibald finalist this year and features on the cover of the magazine. Turn open the cover and inside there are fiction and non-fiction articles and poems to devour. All written in creative response to the museum, they present a variety of perspectives from local and interstate writers.
“Interestingly, the two most critical writers were local writers: John Armstrong and Peter Timms,” says Sarah. Other contributors included Elizabeth Mead, Phillip Adams, Patrick Hall, Natasha Cica and even David Walsh himself. “I am so glad that David contributed a short story,” says Sarah. David Walsh’s fiction piece is about a young man from Chigwell who commits a sexually violent murder. “He [David] strongly said no to my editing suggestions.” David’s work was published unedited – “just because he is David and MONA is his forum.” Sarah grew up in Queensland, completed her Masters in London, spent a year in South America, and for the past six years she has been working for ABC Radio National in Sydney. “I think it would be near impossible to edit this magazine if you were from Tasmania. In lots of good ways it’s a really small place
but there is lots of history between people here, which can be limiting.”
where it is – in the northern suburbs – and making it free.”
Sarah has lived in Tasmania as long as MONA has been open but she still talks about the place like an outsider. “Tasmania is economically a lot darker then the other states; that is something I didn’t notice when I was on holiday here. Poverty and lower educational standards are something that I have significantly noticed. To be honest, I wondered: are the Tasmanian people actually going to buy Island if they don’t have much money to spend?”
According to Sarah, this edition of Island magazine has attracted different audiences, too. “This issue is definitely drawing different sorts of readers. We have had to restock every one of our retailers in Hobart which I don’t think has happened for a long time.”
On the contrary, David Walsh is a very wealthy Tasmanian who owns a museum that is free to visit. “Compared to other art galleries interstate it’s a much more diverse group of people that you will find at MONA, which is great,” says Sarah.“I think that is part of the pleasure he [David] has in putting the museum
Sarah admits that the buzz surrounding this issue of Island magazine is because MONA has generated a huge amount of interest. “Partly it’s David Walsh’s money, but partly once you create something it creates other things – I think the snowballing of creative endeavours is really exciting and it is definitely happening here in Tasmania. Although Island magazine has a long history I hope that its next stage can be a part of that.” •
www.islandmag.com 3
Researcher of the Month BEN MAYNARD By Ella Richmond
It seems Ben Maynard can’t escape the water. As a CSIRO Aquaculture Molecular Biologist, his work sees him in, out and looking at the water every day. Even in his spare time he kayaks, and he has been one of the world’s top five white-water kayakers. An Aquaculture Molecular Biologist is not a job title many people would have; in fact, Ben is a rare species of researcher. After realising that his dreams of being a fisherman were not the safest option, he saw aquaculture advertised in the paper and decided to study science. He then added molecular skills through Honours and, PhD and with this rare combination, his career had added value, making 4
him a unique type of researcher. Eight years of university is certainly not for everyone, but Ben says he would do it all again. He does add that if they awarded degrees for water sports, after fifteen years of kayaking he would have received several PhDs! Ben and his team are helping protect fish from the effects of climate change. This includes researching conditions that affect the farming of fish by looking at the DNA of the organism. They aim to find the genetic tell-tale traces of metabolic, disease and physiological challenges to living things so they can understand what is happening and why. They find ways to help and solve the issue through better diets, vaccination or treatment. Ben focuses on Atlantic salmon and nutritional/immune aspects but has also conducted research on abalone, seals, whales, dolphins and barramundi. His research can be
as broad as fluorescently labelling 44,000 gene probes on ¼ the size of a microscope slide, to as narrow as sequencing and arranging every single DNA base in a single gene segment. It’s easy to forget the importance of our fishy friends, but Ben is committed to the ocean. He maintains that the species and industries he works with are important to the economy, and the technologies he works with represent the future of food production. The issues Ben tackles are linked to climate change, as the species he researches are very vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Working with the water has sent Ben around the world; whether it be to the mainland to work at a “barramundi sauna” (indoor barramundi farm), by light airplane to abalone farms in South Australia or down the South of Tasmania on boats. Ben has been to Asia for conferences and to Spain to
interrogate the streams of computer data generated by modern DNA sequencing. He enjoys the mix of lab, field and travel that his job entails. Ben’s passion for his job never seems to cease, whether he is down on a salmon cage in wet weather in a huge southerly, or enduring late nights and last-minute deadline madness, he says the thrill of discovery drives him and other scientists, and the challenges along the way are all a part of the thrill.
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now showing
2011 City of Hobart Art Prize
23 July–18 September 2011, art galleries 1–3
The 2011 City of Hobart Art Prize offers an exciting snapshot of Australian contemporary art practice. Due to its shifting focus across disciplines and mediums, the City of Hobart Art Prize exhibition is among the most interesting in Australia’s calendar of art prize events. The 2011 Art Prize categories are Wood and Paper; the exhibition includes some of Australia’s leading practitioners as well as work by some relative new-comers in the diverse fields of sculpture, design, installation, drawing, painting, printmaking, collage and paper making. The selected entries range from the bold and three dimensional to delicate works on paper.
STAR/DUST The Reading Room / Brigita ozolins
23 July–16 October 2011, art gallery 4
The Reading Room is an exhibition about the wonderful world of books and reading. The gallery is transformed into a warm den of
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carpets, plush furniture and reading lamps. Lining the room are literally thousands of books, arranged in great piles, and across the red walls a mysterious code appears. Watch and listen to people—famous and ordinary —read excerpts from their favourite books. Go to The Reading Room website and upload your own recorded readings to contribute to the art work. www.brigitaozolins.com/thereadingroom
PRIMAVERA 2010
8 October–20 November 2011, art galleries 1–3
STAR/DUST To catch a tiger / james newitt
5 November 2011–12 February 2012, art gallery 4
To Catch a Tiger is part museum display, part public archive and part film set. It’s an intriguing art exhibition involving performances, images, objects and stories relating to that elusive legend; the Tasmanian tiger. In this realm of fact and fiction everyone has a part to play. From the dark to the compelling, the ‘evidence’ presented will have you asking: what’s real, what’s imagined and what’s yet to be discovered?
Primavera is the Museum of Contemporary Art’s popular annual exhibition of young contemporary artists from across Australia. Focusing on emerging contemporary arts practice, the works in Primavera 2010 are highly experimental and actively engage audiences through tactility, immersion, humour, performance and emotional resonance. The exhibition features works by Akira Akira (SA), Julie Fragar (QLD), Agatha Gothe-Snape (NSW), Alasdair McLuckie (VIC), Jackson Slattery (VIC), Emma White (NSW) and James Newitt from Tasmania.
what should I do at tmag this weekend?
MAGGOTof the month Spring clean yourself at Island Shacks... Welcome the warmer days with art, culture, wilderness and gourmet produce in Tassie’s coolest coastal hideaways. Our absolute beachfront Island Shacks make for the perfect getaway for creative types, couples, families and anyone needing serious battery recharging. Escape to our fisherman’s cottage, Carrington (pictured), on peaceful North Bruny, or our authentic Spring Beach Surf Shack on the stunning East Coast.
Go to www.IslandShacks.com, or find us on Facebook.
BRETT LITTLETON was abducted by aliens at a very young age and spent his childhood being forced to make maps for their world domination plans and drawing pictures of animals to aid in their vivisection experiments. Little did he know that this would prove invaluable work experience for when he grew up and became a cartographer. He soon tired of having to explain that no, he didn’t take pictures of cars, so he became a graphic designer and illustrator and now spends his days drawing pictures of animals and plants for the state government. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts under his belt to prove that he is a ‘real’ artist, Brett’s etchings, linocuts and screenprints can be found at the Handmark Galleries in Hobart and Evandale. When he is not making art, Brett enjoys playing bass in his band Piss Weak Rock World, drinking Belgian beer, talking about himself in the third person and wasting his money on collectable vinyl toys that he refuses to share with his eight-month-old son Zac. 7
If they Fall
KELLY EIJDENBERG talks to artist James Newitt about his digital artwork If They Fall. If They Fall has been purchased by the TMAGgots and donated to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery using the funds raised from last year’s TMAGgots Quiz Night. It is the first digital artwork to enter the TMAG collection.
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Is If They Fall a concept spark that you acted upon quickly or an idea that had been niggling away at your brain for some time? If They Fall took a long time to develop. I first realised that I wanted to develop a work that explored the complexities of the forestry industry in Tasmania while I was on residency in Los Angeles in 2008. While I was in LA I was following the rising tensions of the forestry debate at home and I was sent a video of some activists who were caught in a quite violent altercation with some forestry workers and sub-contractors. The video was used in a lot of media but when I first saw it, it really shook me up. That initially planted the seed for me and when I returned to Tasmania in early 2009 I started work on a series of videos and photographic works, of which If They Fall is the most recent addition. I made a video in 2009 which I titled Passive Aggressive, and I saw it as a kind of research document in the lead up to making If They Fall.
How important is it that we document what is happening in Tasmania? I think it’s incredibly important that we critically discuss and document what is happening with forestry conflict in Tasmania. The rest of the world seems to be talking about it, so it seems even more crucial that we contribute to that debate through both subjective and objective view points. I have exhibited both If They Fall and Passive Aggressive in Berlin and I was really surprised about how informed the audience was about forestry conflict in Tasmania – this is not just a localised debate.
“The rest of the world seems to be talking about it, so it seems even more crucial that we contribute to that debate...”
Do you think that, if some people regard the forestry issue in Tasmania as black and white, If They Fall represents the grey area? Absolutely. If They Fall was a very challenging work for me to make as I was working with people on both sides of the forestry debate who devote their lives to their beliefs. Here I was trying to create an evocative portrait about the complexity of the industry and the people involved in it, without really taking sides. At one point the forestry contractor who I was filming and working with turned to me and said, “I’ve told you about what I think of all this; you tell me what you think.” That was a very confronting question to be asked by someone whose livelihood depended on forestry. I tried to give him an honest answer and he respected that. I think a lot of the black and white perspectives on the debate are perpetuated by the media – when you scratch below the surface of some of that very reactionary and simplified reporting there is a lot of grey to be explored!
artist profile
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“I wanted to see if the work would stand up outside of the context in which it was made.” Do you think If They Fall will change attitudes or perceptions? It wasn’t my intention to change perceptions with this work. I guess what could come out of it is an open question that is left for people to continue the debate. If anything, it was probably my attitude which was altered during the making of the work. What is your favourite slice? I love the excavator ballet… a lot of the people I’ve showed it to have responded strongly to this scene. Pat Beretta, who I worked with to develop the sound track, loved this scene too, and his incredible soundtrack adds a lot to its impact. I think for me this scene really sums up the work, there is something so beautiful and elegant about the way these destructive machines are moving. 10
Do you think that conservationists are stereotyped in If They Fall? I hope not, as this wasn’t my intention at all. I spent a lot of time at Camp Florentine during the making of the work and the people there were really supportive of the project, so I would be disappointed if I’ve contributed to a negative stereotype. I’ve sent the video to some of the people who helped me make it – both activists and forestry workers – and the response was very genuinely positive, so I think that’s a good indication so far. Perhaps the dialogue at the end of the video is a little confrontational but I also thought it accurately described the difficulty in seeking resolution between these different ideologies.
If They Fall premiered in Berlin: what's the story there? In 2009 I had an opportunity to exhibit work in a great little artistrun space in Berlin, so I presented a number of works, including the premiere of Passive Aggressive. Later in 2009 I won a prize which allowed me to travel overseas the following year. So as soon as I finished making If They Fall I was back in Berlin and I thought it would be great to show the work in that gallery again as a sort of sequel to Passive Aggressive. Showing the work internationally is also really important for me because it deals with such a potent subject matter for a lot of Tasmanians. I wanted to see if the work would stand up outside of the context in which it was made.
Does If They Fall receive a different reaction overseas to locally? Yes. I find that in Tasmania it is seen as more of a documentary, whereas when showing it in different contexts people are a lot more willing to see it as an open-ended artwork. I never intended it to be a documentary, but I think that is because we are so used to seeing similar images through local media that this influences the reception of the images I’ve captured. What does it mean to you to have a piece purchased by the TMAGgots/ TMAG? It’s incredible, a huge honour and even more so considering that the TMAGgots were instrumental in raising the funds to buy the work. This is the first time I’ve been included in the TMAG collection and, from what I understand, this is one of the first times the TMAG has purchased a video work. Basically I’m really stoked and think the TMAG is a perfect institution to have this work.
What are you working on now? I’m pretty busy at the moment working on two projects. The first is a commission through the TMAG as part of its Star/Dust series. I’m working on an exhibition which explores the myth of the Thylacine through anecdotal history and contemporary understanding. This exhibition is actually connected to If They Fall as the Thylacine is a platform to talk about issues of environment, economy and media. The second project is part of a series of public artworks organised by Contemporary Art Services Tasmania (CAST), titled Iteration:Again. For my project I’m creating a temporary, floating island which will be the central point for a series of events and performances to expand from. James Newitt If They Fall 2010 Production stills copyright the artist
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OPEN
PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD On 21 July, City of Hobart Art Prize Judge Peter Hughes took us on an exclusive pre-opening night tour of the exhibition. Warmed by scrumptious Fish Frenzy fish and chips and Three Wishes Vineyard wine, we explored the beautiful wood and paper artworks, speculating about who would take home the coveted prize. Left: Artist Tony Flowers demonstrates how his intricate pop-up book can be folded up.
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recent events
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ICE ICE BABY PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD
On 8 June a number of sassy young Antarctic scientists wowed us with slides from their recent field trip down South, joined by John Brennan of the Tasmanian Polar Network.
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HARRY HARLOW PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD
On 18 August about 70 people attended the powerful performance of The Harry Harlow Project, starring James Saunders, at the Salamanca Arts Centre. Afterwards, the TMAGgots held a forum in th Sidespace Gallery where local artists and scientists joined the performer to discuss the implications of the play, including the ethics of testing on animals for scientific and often well-meaning purposes. 1515
PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD On 28 July, TMAG staffers Belinda Bauer and Kathryn Medlock gave an awesome talk on the rich history of the Zoology Gallery and some of the creatures that have (and still do!) inhabit the room. Deputy Director Peter West also gave a brief overview of the TMAG redevelopment, including the eagerly anticipated Members’ Lounge! 16
AN Illustrated history of the Zoology Gallery
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LIVE SCIENCE AT ROSNY August TMAG 16PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD
On 28 August, nature printing guru Kevin Redd taught a large number of TMAGgots and their younger friends about the finer techniques of painting and printing fish. PHOTOS BY GLENN MEAD
NATURE PRINTING
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While our cinemas are bombarded with the usual array of big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, Tasmanian students are getting out and making their own films. Thankfully, filmmaking is no longer confined to those with studio budgets behind them. With cameras everywhere, consumers are turning into creators and getting their own stories on screen. And MyState Financial is backing them all the way. Back for the ninth year running, the MyState Student Film Festival is giving students a chance to make it big. And winning Tasmania’s biggest film festival is not just for the glory, there’s $10,000 worth of prizes on offer. While you can get away with shooting a film with equipment as simple as the phone in your pocket, it’s hard to know how to make it a good film. With this in mind, MyState Financial are providing five easy-to-read guides
that will show students what to do to make their film awesome. Written by experienced local filmmakers, these MAKE IT guides are available on the Festival website (mystatefilmfestival. com.au). After reading the guides, if students still need tips they can head over to the Festival Facebook page (facebook.com/mystatefilmfestival), where filmmakers will answer any questions posted. In order to be part of the Festival, students need to make a film no longer than five minutes that contains the feature item, Five Dollar Note. And they need to get it in by Friday 21st October. The entry categories for 2011 are Primary, Secondary, and Post Year 10 – University. Finalist films will be screened in front of fellow filmmakers, VIP’s, and the general public at the high-energy Awards Event held at the Theatre Royal in Hobart on Sunday November
You Can Make It 20. Hijinks and shenanigans will unfold as the films are celebrated and awards handed out, including the People’s Choice Award, where the public get to vote for their favourite. The MyState Student Film Festival is a chance for young Tasmanians to make it. They can make it awesome. They can make it romantic. They can make it scary. They can make it whatever they want, because it’s their film. 21
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IMAS UPDATE Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Prof Mike Coffin, Executive Director GRAPHICS BY John Wardle Architects
UTas’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) is at the vanguard of a new era in Australian marine and Antarctic research and education, coming into being when Australia is recognising the importance of the marine environment through major new investments in marine capability totalling $340 million, including Australia’s first ice-to-equator ranging, blue water, national research vessel Investigator, which will have Hobart as its home port, and the University-hosted, national Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). Australia’s marine jurisdiction is the third largest in the world, and Australia claims 42% of Antarctica. With 85% of Australia’s population living within 50 km of the sea and the $44 billion value (4% of national GDP), of marine economic activity (2008–2009), it is of
vital national interest to understand and sustainably manage our precious ocean resources. Australia shoulders significant responsibility for environmental stewardship of the Australian marine realm and Antarctica, among the most pristine areas on Earth. The oceans and Antarctica are embedded in the Australian psyche, and the combination of the two nowhere more so than in Hobart, one of the world’s great centres of temperate marine science, a major aquaculture industry, and the point of departure for many Southern Ocean and Antarctic expeditions since the early 1800s. IMAS has been established to build a critical scientific concentration of internationally recognised expertise and leadership in quantitative marine and Antarctic research and education, both at UTas and via strengthened relationships with the major Commonwealth marine and Antarctic research organisations in Tasmania — 23
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) — and with the State of Tasmania and its marine research agencies. IMAS builds upon more than 20 years of UTas leadership in cooperative Antarctic research, and aspires to a similar leadership role in temperate marine and Southern Ocean research. 24
Our mission IMAS aspires to be the internationally recognised centre of excellence for marine and Antarctic research and education, developing environmental understanding, and facilitating sustainable development for the benefit of Australia and the world.
research outcomes, educational outcomes and knowledge relevant to marine and Antarctic environments and their resources, fisheries and aquaculture in particular. To enable this advanced research and education, IMAS will provide state-ofthe-art facilities.
The mission of IMAS is to improve understanding of temperate marine, Southern Ocean, and Antarctic environments, their resources, and their roles in the global climate system through our three core activities of research, education, and outreach, and to advance regional, national, and international seafood security.
Amazing opportunity To deliver our vision and mission, IMAS must become an internationally recognised, globally distinctive research and educational institute, delivering excellence in basic, mission-oriented, and applied research. IMAS will support first class education, training, data, and knowledge services, and communications and outreach programs, together with the basis for informed policy development. IMAS will be characterised by research and education which: are innovative, ground-breaking, relevant, and outcome-oriented, generating
IMAS researchers will focus on integrating marine and Antarctic research across traditional scientific and social scientific boundaries, serving stakeholders and users across government, industry, and academic institutions. IMAS will deliver new
income and investment; make a strong contribution to sustainable development and marine resource management; make a strong contribution to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture development and management in Tasmania, the rest of Australia, and the Southern Ocean; contribute to informed marine
and Antarctic policy development; entail broad-ranging and relevant collaborations and networking; deliver trained researchers, serving the needs of government, industry, and academic institutions; involve knowledge transfer and enterprise; are responsive to stakeholder needs; and therefore will enhance
the reputation of the University of Tasmania, the State of Tasmania, and Australia. The future The Commonwealth has partnered with the State of Tasmania and UTas to provide a new landmark building housing IMAS, IMOS, and associated
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entities on the Hobart waterfront adjacent to CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research (MAR) that will foster new research and educational opportunities. Environments on Earth are changing, and Australia, Tasmania, the Southern Ocean – and especially Antarctica – are in flux, demanding that we prepare for a different future. IMAS must work assiduously to address the major questions
in marine and Antarctic science, particularly living marine resource research, through new collaborations, novel interdisciplinary investigations, and intellectual vigor. IMAS is poised to place UTas in the globally distinctive strategic position of being identified as a world leader through Antarctic research and education, and in seafood security. Global recognition MAS will take a truly multidisciplinary, whole of system approach to research, education, and outreach. IMAS will build on marine and Antarctic expertise at the University of Tasmania, at CSIRO MAR, and at AAD, all enhanced by new directions and priorities that are dictated by its Mission, and developed through initiatives that achieve integration and international recognition. People are our most important asset, and IMAS will strive to provide a
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working environment that will make everyone feel valued, engaged, and motivated. IMAS has been established with a core research and education capability, initially consisting of significant and internationally recognized expertise in the foundation themes of Climate & Ocean Change; Fisheries & Aquaculture; and Marine Ecology & Biodiversity. To meet integrative and multi-disciplinary research goals, these themes will be expanded in the future by strengthening two key emerging research themes — Integrated Ocean-Earth System Science and Ocean & Antarctic Policy, SocioEconomics, & Governance. These will give IMAS truly global recognition. IMAS has an ambitious and exciting start-up agenda, one that requires close collaboration throughout the marine and Antarctic communities and beyond. We intend to build upon our close relationship with TMAG and the TMAGgots as we advance matters of common interest.
Three generations of the Whish-Wilson family have created a Tassie wine-making legacy: the boutique, awardwinning Three Wishes vineyard in the Tamar Valley.
Making Wishes
Three Wishes premium wines are hand-crafted and grown according to organic principles, producing select parcels of gold-medal-winning Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. When you’re next in the Tamar, drop in to the Three Wishes Cellar Door: an original 1850s ‘maids’ quarters’ overlooking the vineyard, beautiful Spring Bay, and the ancient ‘Lava Mountain’, with its caves and world-renowned rock-climbing walls. (There’s also a crackingly good woodfired pizza oven!) To discover more about Three Wishes, go to threewishesvineyard.com
www.artscienceilluminations.net
BY ANDREW BAIRD
Illuminations
As the importance of supporting rational enquiry increases in the face of shallow, populist and often irrational responses to the many problems faced by humanity we need more than ever to get behind those best equipped to illuminate a way forward.
We live in a society deeply indebted to the work of scientists, yet their presence in the public consciousness is mostly eclipsed by sports personalities, movie actors, popular entertainers and even politicians. This project aims to redress that imbalance in some small way.
My artwork Illuminations comprises an ongoing collection of portraits of scientists, each highlighting the work of that individual as a part of the greater project of science.
The portraits are all executed with the subjects’ eyes closed. This puts the focus onto the inward nature of the scientists’ work, while presenting a meditative and thoughtful visage.
With the eyes closed, each portrait becomes less about the subject’s personality, and more about their work. To further enhance this, a pictorial representation of their field of endeavour is placed in the hands, brilliantly lit in vibrant contrast to the human figure. The message is that the quiet, ongoing work of scientists in the interests of our common good is something to be applauded. These are the heroes we need.
Goodwood’s Garden
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ALEXANDRA GIBSON Not many people know a great deal about the Southern Tasmanian suburb, Goodwood. The inhabitants along the outskirts and beyond may have heard murmurings of a rough past, Government housing and the odd news story about the Zinc Works – but mostly it’s a mystery. The boundaries of this suburb are rarely penetrated by non-locals, simply because there is no real reason to turn off the Brooker to go through Goodwood, unless you’re specifically aiming at it. This may make Goodwood an unfamiliar, and perhaps even daunting, area, but at the same time, it has meant that Goodwood has become a private oasis for its locals, many of who have parents and grandparents next door or down the street. If an outsider spent more than ten minutes poking around this tiny suburb, they would find it a
picturesque, almost self-sufficient, place to live. Take a left at the roundabout, away from the vast corner of the Prince of Wales Bay that runs the length of Goodwood, and you will stumble across Goodwood’s centre: a hairdresser, a family owned supermarket, a newsagency, an op-shop that charges pre-vintagetrend prices, and a community centre. Surprisingly, amid the car park, there is a flourishing vegetable garden attached to the community centre. It remains completely unfenced and open to all that come across it. Lucy Ware, co-ordinator of the Shalom Community Vegetable Garden, says this is a deliberate move. “I don’t know who is taking the vegetables sometimes – strangers often come in and take them from the garden. If it means they’re getting something they need that’s nutritional, then that’s great.”
When I meet Lucy in the Community Centre she’s being called over by the woman across the street, standing in the doorway of her supermarket. Lucy, a fairly new addition to the Goodwood Community Centre, returns with pumpkin soup. “She made me lunch,” she explains. Apparently, this relationship was kindled when Lucy discovered someone had been cutting the zucchini flowers off the zucchini plants. After further investigation she found the Italian family across the street were the thrilled culprits and they’ve been making her lunch ever since. “They take the weeds and make dolmades as well as the dandelions for tea; it’s amazing.” Community Centre co-ordinator, Rachel French, re-affirms this friendliness as a usual trait among the community and the centre.
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“There’s this kind of perception that Goodwood is a bad area, where really it’s not. It’s a beautiful area. The people that live here have real pride in their homes,” she says. “It’s a changing community.” Rachel feels that community centres play a vital role, not just in Goodwood, but also for society in general. “Basically, I believe that community centres have replaced churches in their capacity to allow people to socialise and come together and participate in activities – share meals, have a conversation. It’s just a space where they can celebrate.” “And they do,” adds Lucy. “A lot of people who come here laid the bricks for it, so it’s very close to their hearts.” The vegetable garden itself definitely contributes to this coming together of the community. It is a multi-faceted 32
project, designed to engage the local community.
garden is to teach people how to grow and cook.”
“I think it’s the social thing – especially for my regular volunteers. It’s about having a purpose, saying ‘I did that’. The have a proud ownership over something and a little bit of responsibility.”
Lucy says there is a large gap between growing the vegetables and actually cooking them, because of the introduction of fast food to the Baby Boomer generation.
The volunteers who work in the garden are a mixture of regular locals, kids, physical and social disability groups and sometimes those completing community service orders. “Anyone can volunteer,” says Lucy. “Our main disability group that works in the garden is called Headway and we’ve just had a wheelchair-friendly path built for them in the garden so that they can have their raised beds and be able to get all the way around.” Apart from enjoyment, the garden provides an ongoing opportunity to educate the local children about nutrition. “The whole purpose of the
“They’re working mums and dads. They had to start buying their tomato sauce, instead of bottling 20 jars of homemade sauce! It’s just not feasible,” says Lucy. “They’re out working and going to the supermarket at 6pm.” Therefore, the centre is trying to target the local kids, teaching them how to cook and eat the veggies they grow. “It’s easier to educate a child compared to an adult, who already has their diet,” says Lucy. “They plant it, they grow it, they pick it, and they eat it. We’ll plant beans with them – we’ll read a book about beans and we’ll eat something with
beans. The kids respond really well. They get really excited about it.” In saying that, the Community Centre is aiming to develop new programs to bridge any gaps the older community members may have with food and cooking. “We do a lot of cooking days with young mums and with playgroup,” says Rachel. As well as providing education, the garden benefits the entire Community Centre. On Lunch Day and Bingo Day, they have a Harvest Table where community members can buy the produce for a small donation. They use the vegetables in cooking classes, as well as using them in the community lunch held once a fortnight.
“It’s good for the volunteers, because it means they actually get to eat it, and it’s nice for them to be able to say ‘We grew this’,” says Lucy. As well as that, the garden has provided an unexpected link between young and old. “I’ve heard that the kids will have conversations about the garden with their grandparents, because the grandparents definitely went through an era where they were growing their own veggies,” says Rachel. “Yeah,” confirms Lucy. “They spend a lot of time going up to Grandma and Grandpa, telling them all about the garden.” Lucy’s next job is to work towards ensuring the garden is 100 per cent self-sufficient. At the moment, she feels she still needs to be there to steer the progress and the volunteers.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t get a lot of participation from the larger community. They all love the veggies, but they don’t work so much,” she says. While getting them into the garden may be providing a challenge at the moment, once they’re there, the garden speaks for itself. “I have a lot of volunteers [from the general community] that once they’ve done it for the first time, they will stay, because they love working in the garden so much.”
“community centres have replaced churches...”
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Submarine REVIEW BY SIMON DELITTLE
No creative exaggeration is involved: I can honestly say that Submarine is the best film of the year. Written and directed by Richard Ayoade (Garth Marenghi, IT Crowd) Submarine tells the story of Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), a schoolboy in the Welsh seaside town of Swansea. Oliver’s troubled teenage life is split between two arenas – home and school. At home his neurotic mother Jill (Sally Hawkins) is experiencing martial difficulties with her depressive husband Lloyd (Noah Taylor). With the appearance of Jill’s first love, mullet wearing new-age healer, Graham (Paddy Considine) Oliver takes it upon himself to save his parents’ marriage with hilarious results. At school, life is even more difficult for Oliver,
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who believes superior intellectual aptitude to be more important than social status. He is a bit of an outcast and suffers from routine bullying, a problem he accepts as a mere inconvenience. When he falls in love with Jordana (Yasmin Paige), Oliver’s sporadic attempts at being the ‘best boyfriend ever’ are awkward yet endearingly and charming. As worlds collide, Oliver is forced to accept that his inflated ego is not justified and that reality will always catch up with him in the end. Yes, it’s one of them ‘coming of age’ films. One of the best I’ve seen, in fact. In his debut feature film as director, Ayoade is exceptionally impressive. Every scene is carefully crafted to draw us towards the characters. The oft hilarious, rapid-fire dialogue is expertly broken up with montages of beautiful scenery, dream sequences and mini films within the film. Like Orson Welles on Kane, it seems
that Ayoade has embraced the film medium with child-like enthusiasm as “the best set of toys a boy ever had”. All sorts of devices are employed; included breaking the fourth wall (the point where a character acknowledges that they are fictional) – a risky venture that pays off superbly thanks to the director’s intelligent sense of humour. The drama in Submarine is equally well handled. It is impossible not to empathise with Oliver’s heartbroken despondency when things go pearshaped with Jordana, made all the more difficult by issues on the home front. The boy is submerged under the weight of the world he inhabits; a feeling teenagers know all too well. The acting is Submarine is first class. As Oliver, Craig Roberts is like a cross between Harold Chasen and Adrian Mole. His deadpan expression is a wonderful juxtaposition to the turmoil going on all around. He is both
review intelligent and caring yet naïve and prone to serious errors in judgement. You want to simultaneously comfort and slap some sense into him. Yasmin Paige is also a great talent and brings a quirky (shit, I’ve been trying to avoid that word!) charisma to Jordana that is intriguing and carefully restrained. Supporting actors are all wonderful, with the standout being Considine as Graham Purvis. While emphatically extolling the virtues of ‘light’, the idiotic Purvis delivers the film’s most memorable quotes; one in particular caused me to miss at least two minutes of dialogue. Noah Taylor also deserves an honourable mention as the Tate patriarch who awkwardly tries to engage with his teenage son in a bizarre youthful dialect. Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys’ soundtrack is fantastic (I’ve had the EP on loop for days) and melds wonderfully with the gorgeous photography of Swansea by Erik Wilson.
Veteran Britcom editors, Nick Fenton and Chris Dickens are also worthy of mention for the steady rhythm of sequences and clever use of surreal special effects to keep the audience amused and engaged. The Super 8 love/fantasy scene is simply magical. I honestly think audiences will struggle not to fall under the spell of this wonderful film. The screenplay by Ayoade is absolutely hilarious and every line is delivered with expert precision. Submarine works on many levels and deserves to be held up alongside anything Wes Anderson (comparisons are unavoidable) has produced. Having enjoyed Ayoade’s work as an actor for many years, I look forward to seeing him direct more films of this quality with great, sincere enthusiasm. •
Submarine is showing now at the State Cinema (www.statecinema.com.au)
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SCAVBOT BY KELLY EIJDENBERG
The TMAGgots have just received a Tasmanian Community Fund grant to produce an exciting new mobile cultural heritage experience. Tasmania has a plethora of cultural icons – but they’re not all attracting the youth market. The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG) is a key asset to our State, but their own surveys indicate that they are not getting many young people through their gates. How do you connect 20-year-olds with rich cultural assets like the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens when they may not be interested in learning via traditional interpretation models? Enter: The TMAGgots! The project – working title ‘ScavBot’ – involves a free iPhone-based scavenger hunt 36
for young people that showcases Tasmania’s history, science and art in the setting of the beautiful Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. ScavBot will act like a modern scavenger hunt and utilises current geo-caching trends (ge-ocaching is where you use your GPS receiver [often a mobile phone] to find caches [usually plastic boxes containing objects] hidden by other players in streets and parks and other public places around Australia), requiring players to follow a digital compass on their mobile phone between challenges that relate to the physical area around them. To play, the user will download the free application to their iPhone from iTunes and head to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Once inside, they will pick a ‘quest’ according to level of difficulty and how much time they have, then they will follow the ScavBot compass
to various locations around the Botanical Gardens, answering multiple choice questions, decoding word puzzles, or finding hidden clues to send them to the next location. All of the questions will relate to the environment around them. As players complete challenges and quests, they will build up a collection of rewards. They can compete with their friends and enemies to collect the most rewards – and every time they do, they will be further exploring the Gardens and gaining a deeper understanding of the science, history and art related to the site. Participants will also be rewarded for successfully completing quests. The RTBG represents living collections, with more than 6,000 species and varieties of plants. An integral part of the game would be learning about these specimens – including many trees of ‘substantative maturity’ – while subtly conveying the RTBG’s message of conservation.
However, one of the heritage values held dear to the RTBG is the “social values: including a landscape experience that enables people to engage with the smells, sounds, textures, shapes and colours of nature and contributes to the lives, experiences and memories of Tasmanians.” In collaboration with TMAG and the RTBG, the TMAGgots will use historical information about the Gardens and present it in a way that will be interesting to young people. The project is inspired by The DigiMacq Walking Tour (http:// artofmultimedia.com.au/solutions/ multimedia/digimacq-interpretivetour) in NSW, which was presented at last year’s Interpretation Australia conference in Launceston. DigiMacq is a downloadable iTunes application that takes the user on a ‘multi-media adventure’ through the streets of Parramatta 200 years ago, in order
to communicate some of the life and experiences of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. ScavBot is being developed by young, local creative studios Poco People (www.pocopeople.com.au) and Bluehat (www.bluehat.com.au), in close consultation with the TMAGgots, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. We are currently in content development stage, and aim to launch ScavBot during the 2012 Summer Festival in Hobart, in January. As far as we are aware, ScavBot will be the first of its kind in Tasmania.
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Contributors...
Glenn Mead’s parents always wondered whether adopting a child raised entirely by seals was the right move.
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Kelly Eijdenberg is graphic designer by day, ninja TMAGgot by night.
Simon Delittle possesses all the integral qualities of a born leader, except followers.
AManda cromer takes part in anything that involves words, pictures and free food.
Ally Gibson has a penchant for writing in cafes and not tolerating rudeness dressed up as honesty.
ANNEKE VAN DE VUSSE has spent 48 hours examining vagina sculptures, has explained the O Device 1449 times, has cleaned up Cloaca poo on 7 occasions and has told 653 people not to touch the Fat Car.
MAGGOT of the month
James Wood moved from the UK to Tasmania in 2006 and was shocked to discover it wasn’t in Africa. Five years (and a massive change in wardrobe) later, James has settled into Hobart life and successfully juggles the heavy demands of seed conservation with the consumption of large quantities of pesto. Interested in natural history from an early age, James became focused on botany at 16, but has still found time to be bitten by a wide array of vertebrates and invertebrates, demonstrating a commitment to equal access victimhood. He likes holding hands, walks on beaches and any excuse for a really good rant.
NOVEMBER
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