Art in Albury: MAMA Knows Best

Something that's impressed me in recent years is the quality of art galleries in Australia's regional towns and cities. As someone remarked a few years ago, they seem to have taken over from churches as the spiritual hub of communities in these secular times.

Last week Narrelle and I visited Albury, a city in New South Wales on the Murray River border with Victoria. I was keen to have a look at the Murray Art Museum Albury, MAMA for short.

It's certainly an attractive building from the front, housed as it is in the former Town Hall building on Dean Street:

The interior, however, is anything but old-school, with a modern extension stretching out behind the original structure:

As for the art, there are several galleries with interesting exhibitions. On the ground floor, the main gallery houses items from MAMA's permanent collection.

One that particularly caught my eye was this untitled piece by Allan and Phil Murray, Indigenous men from the Yorta Yorta people of the region west of Albury. It's a fascinating mix of ancient craft and modern presentation:

More works from an Aboriginal creator were on display in Flyblown, a series of large framed photographs with elemental themes, the title hinting at the effect of colonisation on the original peoples of Australia.

MAMA specialises in photographic art, and one gallery displayed entries in the 2018 National Photography Prize. I was particularly taken by the work of Kieran Butler, a Mauritian-born artist who upends conventions by mashing together photos and other materials to explore identity.

The most intriguing set of photos in this gallery was created by Tully Arnot. His large images, draped and curled around the space, featured high-definition shots of the human body, augmented by artificial intelligence filling in gaps.

The most engaging exhibition at MAMA, for me, was Flagging Opinion, which had a story behind it.

For a mural project in the town of Tallangatta, artist Ashlee Laing had painted a Muslim woman in a niqab (the traditional veil which covers most of the face) bearing the pattern of an Australian flag. The owner of the building which it was painted on had then removed it, igniting an intense debate about identity.

For MAMA, Laing recreated the original piece, and paired it with a Ned Kelly figure in a helmet decorated with an Australian flag.

Speakers dotted around the room played recorded comments from members of the public about the original work. It was bold and provocative art, sparking a conversation about the Aussie identity - and stereotypes of it - that is well worth having.

If you're passing through Albury by car (or my preferred option of train), I recommend MAMA for a dose of thought-provoking art.

MAMA is located at 546 Dean Street, Albury, Australia. Free entry, find opening hours and other details at its website.

The Historic Tree of Albury, Australia

Between Christmas and New Year's Eve last year, Narrelle and I stayed in Albury for a few days.

To anyone fascinated by borders (as I am), Albury is an interesting place. It lies on the north bank of the Murray River, which is the boundary between New South Wales and Victoria.

On the south bank, Wodonga is its Victorian twin; together they form a busy regional centre of about 100,000 people.

We arrived at Albury's impressive railway station (see photo, top right) via the XPT train which runs twice daily between Melbourne and Sydney.

It's a grand edifice partly because of its lofty station building, which marked its importance in the 19th century as the crossing point between colonies.

Another impressive aspect is its very long platform, a product of the insanity by which each colony had different rail gauges. Until 1962, passengers on the Melbourne-Sydney journey had to change trains here, crossing from one side of the platform to the other.

We walked to our accommodation at the Best Western Hovell Tree Inn, on the western edge of the city centre near the banks of the Murray. The river here is fringed by a beautiful section of parkland, the Noreuil Park Foreshore, a lovely place to walk and a credit to the city.

Nearby is Hovell Tree Park. One day Narrelle and I were sitting at a barbecue area there, eating something we'd bought from a bakery across the road, when I found myself wondering what and where exactly was this Hovell Tree?

So I walked across the grass toward the river and found the tree!

 

It was marked by the explorers Hume and Hovell on 17 November 1824, on their epic expedition from Appin, south of Sydney, all the way to Corio Bay near where Geelong now stands.

This journey took place over a decade before Melbourne was founded, so much of this terrain was unknown to the white newcomers to Australia, though had been inhabited for millennia by Aboriginal peoples.

They were apparently surprised to encounter such an impressive river as the Murray, and had to jerry-rig a boat using a tarpaulin, in order to cross it.

The rest of the trip was equally eventful, with many difficulties involving the crossing of rivers and mountains, with occasional backtracking; you can read about it here.

Anyway, it was interesting to discover a fragment of colonial history across from our hotel, almost by accident. I felt a bit like an explorer myself.