Ogoh! I Missed the Burning

Staying at Wrest Point Casino, the guests receive a free copy of The Mercury newspaper each morning, which is placed outside their motel room door.
On the Monday morning of my checkout I was disappointed to see the picture and headline on the front page and realized I missed what would have been a grand finale to my weekend in Hobart.

My first newspaper that landed outside my motel door on Friday

I had collected the four papers that the casino had given me and took them home to read at the end of my trip when I had time to do so.
I just glanced at the headlines and flicked quickly through most of the papers left at my door.
Had I bothered to read them a little more closely I may not have missed the burning ceremony, but maybe that was not meant to be for me.
Dark Mofo: Monster-burning ceremony to inject light into dark winter days
"A PROJECT inspired by a Balinese monster-burning ceremony aims to inject light into Tasmania’s darkest winter days. 
The ogoh-ogoh project is an artistic and spiritual initiative inspired by the Balinese tradition of creating, parading and burning giant, demon-like sculptures in a ceremony designed to restore balance between the “seen” and “unseen” worlds of Balinese Hinduism ahead of the New Year.
Volunteers from the Tasmanian College of the Arts, along with three Balinese artists, have been working on a spotted-handfish sculpture which they will burn at a purging ceremony during Dark Mofo.
The ceremony will dispel of Tasmania’s negative energy and welcome the light that follows the state’s darkest day — the Winter Solstice on June 21."

At least the video of the event was posted on You Tube for me to see. 

Mercury rising in Van Demon's Land?-)

The voice of a red headed demon?!:-)

I never really noticed that the map of Tasmania used in the newspaper's mast looks suspiciously like a devil's head with the outside islands of the state of Tasmania looking like horns. 

I was heading for Port Arthur for two nights and wanted to do the Port Arthur convict settlement on the Monday, before I did the ghost tour that night, as I heard the weather for Tuesday was going to be miserable ... which it was.

So I didn't get a chance to read right through the Monday paper, but if I had I would have seen that a movie director who I much admire passed away on the 18th of that weekend. 
On Borrowed Time/Paul Cox

In fact, I had not heard or seen any word of Paul Cox's passing until last night (15th July, 2016) when I finally laid eyes on the article in The Mercury while I was taking photos for this post.

Australian Director Paul Cox Dead at 76
"Paul Cox, who is widely regarded as the father of Australian arthouse cinema, has reportedly died aged 76.
The Dutch-born director is known for his films Man of Flowers, A Woman's Tale and Innocence. The Australian Directors Guild announced his death on Twitter on Sunday. 

Cox, born April 16, 1940, rose to acclaim in the 1980s with films such as Lonely Hearts and My First Wife.
American film critic Roger Ebert described him as "one of the best directors of our time" and "one of the heroes of modern cinema".
His last film in 2015, Force of Destiny, starring David Wenham, is loosely based on the director himself. The intimately personal drama is inspired by Cox's own experiences living with terminal cancer."
I had never personally talked to Paul, but I did buy and read his book 'Tales from the Cancer Ward' after I had seen him in a talk at The Byron Bay Writers Festival one year.
Armstrong and Cox: If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words
In fact, his quote - "Best to stay away from religion and go for the dreaming - the most powerful religion of them all", and book-cover image have been up on the right-hand side of my blog ever since I read his book, as regular readers here would know (Update: I've since removed that saying) -
"... And There's So Much Water So Close to Home" Paul Kelly

FORCE OF DESTINY - Trailer
Paul was the bard of modern cinema, in my opinion and a very spiritual man. 
My favourite film of his was 'Vincent' 

"This documentary on the life of artist Vincent Van Gogh is told through his letters to his brother Theo from 1872 until his tragic death. We gain firsthand insight into the man, his motivations and his humanity."
I think it was kind of apt that Paul should pass away in the halcyon days of the Southern Hemisphere, and may his films live on like I'm sure that his spirit does.

Animal Dreaming (Kingfisher)

Artwork I bought just outside
Eden on my way home

Plate bought at Seascapes
in Port Macquarie

The Hobart Cenotaph

Some of the land to the side and behind
The Cenotaph in these photos

I also thought it was a coincidence to see this article about a plan to build another Eden project in Hobart on land behind The Cenotaph, as I was heading for the town of Eden to stay for two nights on my way back to Brisbane.
My blogging friend in the UK Mike Perry often writes about visiting Eden in Cornwall on his blog, such as posts like these -
In Search Of The Birth Of Spirits At Eden

67 Not Out blog

The Lungs Of The Planet Illustrated At Eden
So, it looks like an exciting idea to me and will surely be good for Tasmanian tourism.

Click on image to make bigger to read

One last thing that caught my attention was this "letters to the editor" piece above about the crosses used at Dark Mofo.

That is like arguing over the one side of a coin and forgetting that there is another side to it.
The cross represents both life and death and there is nothing "Satanic" about its use in Dark Mofo, because even though the festival does celebrate the winter solstice and reflect on that period of darkness, it is also a celebration about the coming of the light that we all know will follow the seeming death.
It is quite a symbolic festival and can work for Atheists, Agnostics, Gnostics and Christians alike in my opinion. 

I'm looking forward to returning to the Dark Mofo festival in the years to come, as I think it is a great idea and experience, and I for one wouldn't support something that I thought was "Satanic".
It's a great time to be down in Tasmania when The Mercury drops;-)