Mona

Today was set aside for our trip to Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art. We travelled up and back on the ferry along the Derwent River and climbed the 99 steps at the end.

Fortified by coffee, drinks and canapés in the Posh Pit and relaxed by sitting in large leather armchairs overlooking the scenery along the river, we managed the steps with little difficulty.

Known as Australia’s Temple of Weird, Mona is a controversial museum funded by an eccentric millionaire.

Many of the exhibits are indeed controversial. Deep down in the museum’s cavernous underbelly—inside that mirrored box building—sits Wim Delvoye’s cloaca machine, otherwise known as “the shit machine.” The Belgium artist’s vast array of whirring tubes and bags mimic the workings of the human digestive system. The apparatus is fed food and produces poo. Dedicated to sex and death the museum is also home to 151 porcelain vulvas sculpted from real women.

But this isn’t all there is to see at Mona. Clever technology, stunning artwork and photography makes up the largest proportion of Mona’s exhibits. Yes there is an emphasis on sex and death but also on life and loving.

Hated by some, loved by others, MONA has put Tasmania on the map, single-handedly bumping up international tourism. Last year more than 330,000 people visited the museum—more than 25 percent of all tourists in the state. Tourism Industry Council Tasmania has estimated that the museum adds more than $100 million annually to Tasmania’s economy, one that previously relied on faltering industries such as forestry.

We spent most of the day at Mona and returned mid afternoon to put our feet up before returning for the Golden Hour, a communal dining experience with a degustation menu designed by Mona’s Executive Chef, Vince Trim. Sharing a long table at The Wine Bar with some very amicable company we ate our way through oysters, gazpacho soup with scallops, slow cooked pork with accompaniments and some very good Tasmanian wines, before adjourning to watch the sunset at Amarna.

Armana is the work of celebrated Arizona-based artist James Turrell and is one of a series of more than 80 Skyspace installations he has built in high altitude and geographically isolated locations. Mona’s is the largest Skyspace to date and the southern-most installation.

It is a roofless skyspace that creates a spectacular colour show as the light changes from day to night. Up to 90 visitors can experience the coloured light cycle from heated concrete seats around the rooftop perimeter or you can view the luminous phenomena lying on a central bed of volcanic sand. Concerned that I may not be able to get up again with some semblance of grace, we chose the heated seats.

It was a truly memorable experience.

Adjourning back to the Wine Bar we finished off with a pannacotta, berries and desert wine before saying farewell to our newfound friends and returning home.