And the runners up are ...

Here's the rest of the pics from Strand Ephemera.
I'll let you make up your own mind.


Fountain with curtain of coloured beads.

Hanna Barbera meets Freddy Krueger.

Licorice allsorts (sand flavoured).

Elton John's love child?

Townsville's new defence system.

Family portrait

Snapped this at Townsville's Cultural Festival a few years ago. Even though you can't see their faces (I am assuming they are mother and son, but they could be a couple), there is something just plain nice about this little group. They seem completely in harmony with one another. Everything from the relaxed attitude of the birds to the woman's 'galah' coloured scarf says what a neat little family group they are. And yes, the birds are tethered, but they don't seem to mind. This is one of my favourite pics, because it gives me the warm and fuzzies every time I come across it.

The Great Art Heist

Someone stole one of the exhibits from
Strand Ephemera early on Sunday morning.

After a public outcry, it was left anonymously
at the back door of the art gallery.

The artist immediately set about restoring
it to its former glory.

And I was there to film the closing chapter.

Imagine trying to sell that at Cash Converters.

"What is it?",
"Ummm, it's called 'Man On Beach',
"But it's not on the beach?",
"Oh, yeah. Umm, it's just called 'Man' then".

To the Victa goes the spoils

This was my favourite piece at Strand Ephemera 2011 out of a fairly lacklustre field of entries. It shows a bit of warped humour at least. My interpretation is that the mummy mower (she's the one with the catcher) is being 'serviced' by the daddy mower (I can't see his filler nozzle, but I'm sure it's there somewhere), while the baby mowers all look on. No shame in nature (or in mower land), I guess.

Land of the giants

Was browsing through old pics and noticed a recurring theme. Every place we've visited seems to have a giant something or other to call its own. There's the giant mango in Bowen, the giant crab on the road to Cairns, the giant brolga at the entrance to Townsville, the giant banana in Mackay, the giant Ned Kelly in Glen Rowan and the giant galah in the middle of the Nullabor. What's with that, I wonder? Would make an interesting holiday (worthy of the Griswalds) to travel around Australia photographing every giant this or that you could find. I wonder if Darwin has a giant sea wasp? Or if Canberra has a giant politician? There you go! A giant Tony Abbott in his giant budgie smugglers! (ewwww)

The art of lawn care

This image always plays with my head. It is either the aftermath of a serious disagreement with a ride-on mower, or some kind of statement about earth and sea or something. I don't know who the sculptor is. It was one of the exhibits at Strand Ephemera a few years back, an annual event where they plant works of art by the sea shore in all kinds of surprising places and people stroll along the Strand discovering them. It is my favourite event and on again in a few weeks. I don't know much about art, but I know what I like and I like this ... whatever the hell it is.