Outside the NGV in January 2012

After visiting the NGV on 20 January this year, I came across an amazing  impermanent construction being made outside by children. Each had a ball of pink twine that they were winding in, around and through the interwoven criss-cross strands. Whatever it looks like to you - Icing that drips on a birthday cake gone wrong, fairy floss on sticky fingers, an abstract painting, a nomad's tent or a fragile carousel - it was carnivale, topsy-turvy and such a contrast to being inside the very orderly gallery. To me it was such a reflection of life - each child on a path, which intersected with  others. Their need to step carefully in order to negotiate the chaotic and limited space, whilst simultaneously challenging the obvious boundaries. This was play, but play with a message.