One the great pleasures I had in writing Naked Hero was some of the research that needed to be done. As one scene near the end of The Journey Away takes place in an art gallery featuring Aboriginal works, I had to look into this ancient art form. It was fascinating, and I really liked the styles, of which there are several. And what a surprise - another serendipity - to find that one of the most iconic pieces was titled 'This Man's Love Story' as that is what Naked Hero is about - Lewis Macleod's love story... His love for his father which runs through both books, and his search for another 'Perfect Man' who can measure up to the ghost.
There are actually several versions of the painting, but this is the one I opted for to be seen by Lewis at the gallery. I just describe it as I saw it, which is probably a lot of nonsense, but then Lewis is no art critic either, so it seemed appropriate to do this.
Here's how I describe the painting...
Lewis wandered around the rooms as in his own dream world. It wasn’t just the visual impact of the paintings, the skill that was there, the colours used - they excited the imagination. They were speaking to him, but he couldn’t understand the language, he only felt the words that had their roots in creation itself. At the end of the tour, one picture remained. Alinka was silent as Lewis gazed on it. She wanted to hear his thoughts.
“This is a class apart. It’s stunning,” he said without prompt.
“What do you see?” asked Alinka.
“It’s like I’m looking at some fantastic terrain from an aeroplane: bits of cloud in the way, but adding to the view, becoming part of it. Like how you see fields in Europe from above, but not regular, man made... this is untamed - a vast landscape.” He pointed to a part of the painting. “This symbol coming down from the top - three concentric circles linked by lines - so that’s a pathway travelled by ancestors, you said. It’s so vast, so they’ve travelled everywhere. Then there are these other tracks, footprints, coming and going to the central circle. Perhaps that’s man, the artist maybe, making his
own journey, retracing the steps of the ancestors. This central circle seems important though, one of the journeys doesn’t lead out of it, but instead the journey ends there, and transforms itself into this most incredible creature, almost exploding out of the centre, or beamed out of it like a laser. If you ask me, it’s like... The Journey Away... and then... well it has to be... The Journey Home. It’s absolutely amazing... What should I have seen?”
“Only what you see. Each person should decide,” replied Alinka.
“Who painted it?” asked Lewis.
“It’s by one of our most famous artists: Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.”
“Well, he’s had quite a journey. And he found something very special at the end of it,” said Lewis.
“Thank you... It’s called, ‘Man’s Love Story’. I think you saw that. I’ll leave you now to look at the paintings on your own.”
There are actually several versions of the painting, but this is the one I opted for to be seen by Lewis at the gallery. I just describe it as I saw it, which is probably a lot of nonsense, but then Lewis is no art critic either, so it seemed appropriate to do this.
Here's how I describe the painting...
Lewis wandered around the rooms as in his own dream world. It wasn’t just the visual impact of the paintings, the skill that was there, the colours used - they excited the imagination. They were speaking to him, but he couldn’t understand the language, he only felt the words that had their roots in creation itself. At the end of the tour, one picture remained. Alinka was silent as Lewis gazed on it. She wanted to hear his thoughts.
“This is a class apart. It’s stunning,” he said without prompt.
“What do you see?” asked Alinka.
“It’s like I’m looking at some fantastic terrain from an aeroplane: bits of cloud in the way, but adding to the view, becoming part of it. Like how you see fields in Europe from above, but not regular, man made... this is untamed - a vast landscape.” He pointed to a part of the painting. “This symbol coming down from the top - three concentric circles linked by lines - so that’s a pathway travelled by ancestors, you said. It’s so vast, so they’ve travelled everywhere. Then there are these other tracks, footprints, coming and going to the central circle. Perhaps that’s man, the artist maybe, making his
own journey, retracing the steps of the ancestors. This central circle seems important though, one of the journeys doesn’t lead out of it, but instead the journey ends there, and transforms itself into this most incredible creature, almost exploding out of the centre, or beamed out of it like a laser. If you ask me, it’s like... The Journey Away... and then... well it has to be... The Journey Home. It’s absolutely amazing... What should I have seen?”
“Only what you see. Each person should decide,” replied Alinka.
“Who painted it?” asked Lewis.
“It’s by one of our most famous artists: Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.”
“Well, he’s had quite a journey. And he found something very special at the end of it,” said Lewis.
“Thank you... It’s called, ‘Man’s Love Story’. I think you saw that. I’ll leave you now to look at the paintings on your own.”