PRUE GIBSON begins a metaphorical journey with Amanda Penrose Hart's colourful caravans.

Caravans imply freedom, fun and flight from suburbia. However, they also represent the trap of cheap accommodation for those on the poverty line. This adds a melancholic twist to the duplicitous but compelling image of the caravan.

The first caravans to travel across the epic distances of Australia were the wagonzelts (wagon-tents) of the 1830s. These were German introduced vehicles. The tarpaulin covers, flung over round wooden structures, much like a whale skeleton, could be undone at night. These covers would then serve as flaps of a make-shift tent beneath the wagon.

To read more of this item and others, subscribe now or simply order Issue 21 of aAR by clicking here.

Image: Amanda Penrose Hart, Cherries, 2009, oil on canvas, 60 x 60cm. Photography Michael Bradfield, Sydney. Image courtesy King Street Gallery on William, Sydney.