2006 is the "Australia-Japan Year of Exchange", and the Australian government invited me on a research trip to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. I had been playing with the idea to go and see by myself what’s on at the moment in Australia, so of course I didn' t hesitate to accept the offer. But then came a letter telling me my incredibly tight schedule: almost 60 meetings in ten days (including transfer time)! There were more than a hundred people I was supposed to meet. All of them were members of the government’s cultural department, or key players of the local art world, and while admiring how they managed to squeeze appointments with all these busy individuals into such a short period of time, on the other hand I was fed up and sethed underneath for being sent across half the continent. Inside my heart I cursed Mrs. T. from the embassy in Tokyo, and left Narita for Australia.

But once I reached my destination, my annoyance gradually evaporated. The time on the road was indeed hectic and troublesome, but without exception the people I met were all very friendly and enthusiastic, and everybody was really passionate about their work. If I dug deeper I'm sure I'd have discovered a few problems here and there, but everything from alternative and artist-run spaces to commercial galleries and government-led projects was extremely interesting and informative to see. And even more than that, I found out that Australian food is delicious! I withhold details in order to avoid being frowned upon, but just thinking about the food at that Chinese restaurant or that other place, a Tapas bar, makes my mouth water.

But I digress. What I enjoyed most this time was the opportunity to meet a number of artists. A particularly unforgettable experience was the afternoon I spent with Simryn Gill. She’s a Sydney resident artist of Malaysian origin, who expresses her explorations of such themes as memory and environment, indvidual or collective history with the help of various media, including among others installation and photography. Previous exhibitions include solo shows at the Center for Contemporary Art Kitakyushu and Shiseido Gallery, so she must have quite some fans in Japan. Simryn’s work is presently on display in a solo exhibition at London’s Tate Modern (through May 7).

Simryn is living in Marrickville, in the outskirts of Sydney. According to information I got from the embassy, it’s "one of the most multicultural parts of Australia, where people of more than 140 nationalities live." The artists lives with her husband and two children in a one-storied building in a quiet residential area. The day I met her was a holiday, so I found her husband, Dr. Yao Souchou, a professor at the Dept. of Anthropology, The University of Sydney, reading in a cane chair in the garden. Without the intention to peek, I caught the title "Best American Short Essays 1993". When I told him that I once met Claude Levi-Strauss, the professor said with a hallipy smiling face, "Well, his theory is a bit behind the times I guess…"

He also seemed to be into movies, and while having a cup of green tea we talked about the likes of Kurosawa Akira and Kitano Takeshi. Later then he and his daughter had some other engagement, so only me, Simryn and her son went out for lunch. After a 10-minute walk we reached the Gills' favorite Vietnamese restaurant, where the handsome, comedian-type owner took our orders and served food while winking in a strange manner everytime he approached our table. I ordered the Pho with tofu and vegetables that Simryn recommended, and was served a truly delicious soup with a plainly salty yet very rich taste. The audience in the restaurant was a mixture of Asian and white guests.

"This here is a middle-class residential area. From here you can go by car to an interesting town called Campsie. There are many Koreans, but also Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos and other Asians, as well as Lebanese, Egyptian and Indian muslims. You can get tasty Korean grilled meat and kimchi, and other wonderful Asian dishes!" she explained while slurping another delicious noodle dish. Now something would be wrong with me if this didn't make me curious. When I asked her to take me there, that seemed to be just what she was waiting for me to ask, and replied, "With the greatest pleasure!"

It took us about 20 minutes by car to get to Campsie. At first glance it looked like a perfectly ordinary city, but upon closer inspection I recognized letters in lots of languages other than English. There was Chinese, Vietnamese or Spanish writings in the fish shop, the tailor’s shop or the dry-cleaning shop. In the Christian church I found Korean hangul letters. Between all the Korean and Chinese, I heard some people speak Japanese. The dominating colours of the people in the streets were yellow and brown. The scent of rice was mixing with the flavours of fish and spices. Try and imagine a place like Belleville in Paris, or Queens in New York.

During the hour we strolled through the streets, Simryn said several times with a muttering voice, "Everytime I come here I feel comfortably relaxed." I noticed that I was getting relaxed too. The city is located in a basically Lebanese district, so naturally there often seem to be conflicts between Lebanese and Korean kids. In theory a coexistence of different cultures is easy, but in reality it’s often quite difficult. When I asked Simryn about her opinion on the current issue of veiled muslims in France, the artist avoided to answer directly, but replied the following: "All kinds of people are talking about 'multiculture' all the time, but even before reasoning like that, I think that every human has the right to live where he or she wants to live." "When Souchou told his university colleagues that we were going to move to Marrickville, they reportedly asked him, 'Why do you want to live in such an Asian place?' Isn't that strange? I mean, we're Asians after all…"

Simryn said that with a very charming smile. She bases her works on her roots and on herself, and the results appeal to people in every region of the world. It occurred to me that the reason why her works have this quality is probably to seek here, in the outskirts of Sydney. Both Marrickville and Campsie are antithetical for example to the images of abandoned, Western-style architecture in her photo series "Standing Still", shot at various locations across Southeast Asia. In stark contrast to those "deserted" sceneries, in these cities, and their down-to-earth inhabitants, there is life and energy.

I'm not mad at Mrs. T. from the embassy anymore. Actually, I think I'm feeling rather grateful now…

Ozaki Tetsuya / Editor in chief / REALTOKYO