Nick Mitzevich, Director of National Gallery of Australia opens What the Wayfarer Saw.

The exhibition, What the Wayfarer Saw, at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery charts an 86 kilometre odyssey on foot from Goulburn to Braidwood over six days, sleeping by the roadside, in pubs and country homes along the way. The measured and slow pace of walking allowed the artist to deeply connect with people and place.

This beautiful and brutal journey brought to the fore the artist’s personal experience of queerness within the framework of regional Australia and involved a process of vulnerability, exchange and openness.

Underpinning the work is a Homeric narrative, revealing insightful perceptions of home after a long time away. Monde described the pilgrimage, ‘like Odysseus in Homer’s epic poem, I encountered obstacles and setbacks, met strangers along the way and was tempted off course.’

In his opening address Nick spoke of the naked figure in the landscape exploring vulnerability. He compared the vulnerability that’s evoked in these works to the work of other artists like Arthur Boyd.

See the artist interview and more works at raymonde.com.au