MONA is the Museum of Old and New Art and is a must-see experience in Hobart. The ideal way to visit MONA is to take the ferry along the Derwent River, travelling under the Tasman Bridge, and arriving at the jetty. The stairs leading into the museum complex are supposed to symbolise the Greeks arriving in an amphitheatre.
The MONA complex sits on this outcrop and there are many external structures to explore before delving inside. We spent hours here exploring and enjoyed lovely food as well.
Here are some of my favourite works of art.
There were many delicate iron structures on site. This Gothic-style mausoleum had stained glass windows of bone X-rays.
Light is everything, and this room had windows with glass prisms to split the sunlight as it flooded into the room. One did have to be patient though because the sun did not always shine! Even the trees outside seem to have been chosen for their architectural nature.
This rabbit hole was particularly intriguing.
My favourite of all was this light corridor, and the optical illusions it produced. The floor at the side of the central light path is not floor, just pure light! So there’s someone there all the time to remind you to stay on track.
One had to queue for the next installation as only one person was allowed to enter at a time. All around you is a layer of smelly black oil, perfectly level and acting as a huge mirror to reflect the structure of the surrounding wall. There is a viewing gallery above, from which I took this photo.
There were several interactive displays in MONA. In this one, you were asked to draw a bicycle showing how it works, add your name, age, and occupation, then put the drawing in a box unfolded. In the next room, selected drawings had been framed and displayed. Here is Lawrence’s contribution:
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