2 December 2006 to 25 February 2007

On the Beach tackles the mysterious allure of Melbourne’s beaches head-on in a kaleidoscopic pageant of artefacts, images, art and popular culture. Beaches and beach culture possess a magnetism that cannot be explained away by mere beach balls, bathers and bottoms, with Melburnians flocking to the shores in Summer since the nineteenth century, shedding inhibitions en route.

In this fun and celebratory exhibition there lies a dark undercurrent, in which the ‘otherworldly’ aspects of the beach are also explored. As Hollywood actress Ava Gardner reputedly said during filming of Stanley Kramer’s 1959 classic On the Beach, shot in Melbourne: ‘If you’re going to film the end of the world, this is certainly the place for it’.

Curator: Simon Gregg
Venue: Seasonal Exhibition Gallery

To read more click here.
To tour the exhibition photo gallery click here