Hobart: MONA in Berriedale

How do I describe MONA … Hobart’s world-renowned Museum of Old & New Art … and our destination today?

Quirky … weirdly fascinating … edgy … confrontational … x-rated (with a warning to parents about one particular gallery) … overwhelming … cool … out-of-the-ordinary … challenging … easy-to-lose yourself (literally and figuratively … a volunteer told us that if we felt lost, we were doing the museum right). Did I say weirdly-fascinating? Anyway, all those adjectives — and more — fit the museum, which is located on the grounds of a vineyard in Berriedale … about 8 miles north of Hobart.

The building itself is quite unique as it was constructed within a three-level subterranean cave excavated into the Triassic Period sandstone. The setting is beautiful … overlooking the Derwent River. Even the founder is not your run-off-the-mill millionaire. He apparently made his money as a professional gambler and used those gains to found the museum. Or so I read.

An article in “Traveller” magazine describes the installations as being “… all over the place, literally and taxonomically.” So true. We saw everything from artifacts from ancient Egyptian sarcophagi to ultra-modern art that made us scratch our heads in wonder … such as “The Confessional” … a pitch dark room you reach by following a felt-covered maze … where anything you say can be heard by passersby on the terrace several stories above you! (Best described here … https://www.oliverbeer.co.uk/copy-of-household-….)

No visit to MONA is complete without lunch at its signature restaurant — The Source. Mui made reservations to dine there at noon … giving us a break from all the “interesting” things our brains were trying to process. Even here we found something quirky at which to shake our heads … the tables on the terrace were covered entirely with vegetation … plates and drinks placed on metal stands to keep them stable while you dine. Too many bees around the tables, so we skipped this interesting dining opportunity and sat inside. The food was delicious. And as one might expect at MONA … interesting.

(I don’t have enough space or time to explain in depth some of the art I’ll be posting … Google it if interested.)

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For those whose curiosity might be piqued by the “food porn” photo, here is what we ate for lunch …

* Fried buttermilk cauliflower with almond cream, tahini dressing, pomegranate burnt honey, puffed wild rice & garlic crisps

* Mosaic of Spain consisting of roast line caught local fish, seared scallop, Spanish XO, smoked tomato, squid ink, saffron fennel, roast peppers, confit tomatoes, pickled basil, guindilla

* Pasta Caprese consisting of tagliatelle, tom yum heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella foam, zucchini flowers, basil oil, victory garden basil & mint.Read more