Melbourne Photo/Talk 2015

Photo/talk

Silvana Tuccio2015

Melbourne

Relying, as I do, on my senses, I sometimes stumble on animage while wandering thecity. Remember writingcompositions?In photography, the handholds the camera, and theeye roams for that play of light at the end of the lens. Lucky I had a smartphonehandy.

MELBOURNE

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Silvana Tuccio

It hardly seemsMelbourne, what with water, apartmentbuildings, boats and sunsets. Perhaps it's tryingto be Marvellous,again.

Silvana Tuccio

A friend had been awayfrom Melbourne six years. He was perplexed whenI suggested meeting at theDocklands. Now, Latrobe Street, CollinsStreet and Flinders Streetcontinue on from SpencerStreet, to the waterfront. The old docks are new. Here the City of MelbourneLibrary finds home. As well asthis pop-up café, which is neithera tent nor a glasshouse, nor anursery, but it’s ever so spacious,while sitting in a sun-filled cornerand sipping green tea.

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The water shimmerswith the reflection ofold wooden poleswith shiny hats, like an army underthe skyline. If it’s cold and wintry,there is drama atDocklands. How cool, I'd say!But winter inMelbourneisn’t funny.

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A conversation on the other side of the Yarra fromFlinders Street Station and Saint Paul’s Cathedral, whose spires rise with the skyscrapers. Notice those moving left in procession, and the talkerstending towards the right. Immobile, and ever so feint, a person is reflected on the surface of the glass. Could be me, eavesdropping.

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A glowing installation atFederation Square.Quite the opposite tothe Yellow Peril. I wrote an essay indefence then. The Melbourne CitySquare along SwanstonStreet was also oncebeautiful.

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A shabby feel wheelbarrow,where cactus are nestled,stands outside a flower shopin trendy Clarendon Street,South Melbourne. on the otherside of the Yarra. Melbourne shopping stripshave it all: the charming, thequaint, the kitsch, and there iseven room for the ever soordinary.

Silvana Tuccio

Away from the city, at SanRemo and Phillip Island.Water greens and bluesare striking. Difficult tocatch the depths with thephone camera. But I wasdiving with my eyes. The stretch that separatesthe island from the coast,resembles the sea (youcan dream of theMediterranean). This boatis moored to the jetty.

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Here's the jetty, along with the bridge, the coastline and the reflection of clouds.What a treat to be able to escape the city.But how many kilometres and how muchcity to leave behind, while racing south,almost to Antarctica.

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The Great Stupa stands in a50acre property near Bendigo,two hours from Melbourne. Inside are the Jade Buddha forUniversal Compassion and astatue of Padmasambhava. We visited it, along with theAtisha Centre, part of theFederation for the Preservation ofthe Mahayana Tradition (FPMT),founded by Lama Zopa Rinpocheand Lama Yeshe. Kangaroos and other wildlifethrive in the bushland.

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Posters on a wall. Antonio Gramsci lives in the minds andhearts of students at the University of Melbourne. Gramsci, who founded the Italian Communist Party, was madea political prisoner with the rise of Fascism. He did not live tosee his children, nor a new Italy, nor his legacy as one of thetwentieth century's great thinkers. Nelson Mandela's legacy lives on, too.

Silvana Tuccio

Inside the National Gallery of Victoria, between William Blake’sverses and lithographs, and the Italian masterpieces from theSpanish Court, here was a Big Blue Bear look alike. There wereothers, even suspended from above. This one was lying on hisback. What was on his mind? Not another climate change talkwithout consequences! (Assuming his origins were polar). Silvana Tuccio

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