Saturday, October 20, 2018

Unconform

We do not conform
We live on the edge
In the western wilderness

I love this about Queenstown - a place surrounded by stunning wilderness landscapes and full of resilient people who think differently.

The Unconformity festival 19-21 October 2018

Tectonica - with incredibly loud sounds of tectonic earth movements, earthquakes, rock falls - a huge rock was lifted from a truck and lowered and left in the main street for the duration of the festival.
 Crib Lane - food and music for hungry miners of culture
 New murals popping up all over town

There is a brand new cafĂ© in Queenstown - good coffee and great mine inspired decore

New art on sheds

In sheds and galleries
The Black Line refers to the colonial attempt to round up and remove Tasmania's first people.

Raymond Arnold explaining how he makes the copper plates he uses for his amazingly detailed etchings and prints inspired by the landscape of the mountains around Queenstown.
These are some of the 90 individual plates and an elegant whippet. On the wall behind me the prints were all combined to create the wonderfully intricate and detailed huge work - Elsewhere World. I forgot to take a photo. The whippet distracted me.
Raymond has written a book which describes the creative process behind the plates. It is part of A Published Event's slow publishing project - Lost Rocks. More info click here. (They also published my book Floundering as part of The People's Library)
Variations on an Energetic Field - blocks of ice layered with local rocks slowly melting and dropping into drip trays.



Queenstown viewed from Penghana, the original mine manager's house.
Rory Wray-McCann filled the CWA hall with geological maps, rock specimens and geologic art work.


 and a good sense of humour
 Queenstown's resident bagpipe player. Love this music.
 Craft in action on the street
The Empire Hotel's cellar hosted a chandelier made from toffee, heated and slowly melting onto the floor. It smelled delicious. We were invited to catch and taste the drips before they hit the floor.
 
The whole festival was delicious. Why conform when you can unconform?
The next Uncomformity will be in October 2020. You might want to book accommodation way ahead. The whole town sold out - all 8 hotels/motels, b&b's and the caravan park!