JANITA RYAN

There Ain't No Such Thing as a Sanity Clause

26 November - 20 December 2008
‘Twas the night before Christmas 2006 and I was scouring Borders for presents. My father had passed away ten days earlier.

On the remainders table were these ornamental reindeer. They had a bewildered look on their tiny, flocked faces as if to say, “How did it all come to this?” The weather had been hot and filthy and the smell of smoldering bushfires filtered through the air-conditioning, enough to make any critter that belonged in a snow dappled forest jittery.

Existence seemed like a dance between binaries and extremes. In the middle of our blistering summer we celebrate the winter solstice festivities packaged as Christmas. We over imbibe whilst pontificating about our New Year’s resolution of dieting. We lavish gifts upon one another whilst feeling unease about unsustainable consumption and global warming. With high spirits we rejoice with family and friends around the barbie and plastic fir trees whilst all the while feeling even more bereft by the absence of those who have passed.
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