The thirty drawings which are featured in this book are an odyssey through the unique world of James Gleeson. They represent an important statement by an artist who made his debut at the inaugural Contemporary Art Society exhibition in Melbourne in 1938 as a surrealist. He has remained that par excellence and has been a major figure in Australian art ever since. During the last two decades he has achieved that rare maturity of vision which is accorded to few artists. The works in this book belong to a series where the artist, in complete control of the means of expression, is reaching beyond rational thought to things which words cannot express. What is particularly splendid about these drawings is their great freedom. They are the release of creative energy without struggle or selfconsciousness. They were summoned and they came. Together they form a journey of the Imagination which is inspiring and instructive. Each one contains passages, phrases and poems, some by Gleeson himself and others by authors who have has a lasting influence on him. To make them more accessible these passages have been transcribed and face the drawings. The book presents us with a journey worth making; a journey where we can make interesting and lasting discoveries. The Method of the Drawings A number of different techniques were used in various combinations. The paper was usually dampened and the ink applied with a brush. Frequently the sheet was then laced face down on prepared blocks of polystyrofoam or lino which had been incised or cut into a range of patterns. The patterns were brushed with varying densities of ink and a roller was used to obtain an imprint from them. In many of them an airbrush was also used to deposit mists of black or coloured ink on the paper and the forms were created by blocking out the surface with a wide range of fixed or moving objects. Frottage was extensively used, particularly in the added collage elements where the paper was thin but strong enough to be rubbed with a block of black or coloured wax so that the texture of the underlying surface was superimposed on the image to be applied to the drawing.