There ain't no such thing as a Sanity Claus
Anita Traverso Gallery 26th November - 20 December 2008
"Twas the night before Christmas and I was scouring through a bookshop for presents. My father had passed away ten days earlier.
On the remainders table were these ornamental reindeer. They had a bewildered look on their tiny flocked faces as if to say, "How did it all come to this?" The weather had been hot and filthy and the smell of smouldering bushfires filtered through the air-conditioning, enough to make any critter that belonged in a snow dappled forest jittery.
Existence seemed like a dance between binaries and extremes. In the middle of our blistering summer heat we celebrate the winter solstice festivities packaged as Christmas. We over imbibe whilst pontificating about New Year's resolutions of dieting. We lavish gifts upon one another whilst feeling unease over unsustainable consumption and global warming. With high spirits we rejoice with family and friends around the barbie whilst all the more feeling bereft by the absence of those who have passed.