A moment in time can change the direction of a life, for better or for worse. It might be an accident, a fluke, a coincidence, or by taking a risk. Is it luck? Chance? Fate? A lottery? Just to be born is said to be lucky. Life then tosses up possibilities, moments to grasp. A chance to live and live again.
Ben Lee, born 1978
Ben Lee
by Laurent Orseau, 1999
... real danger is about putting yourself on the line emotionally. It's about going somewhere you've never been before; it's about trying to say something in a new way, and for me, there's more risk in that than getting into half a dozen bar room brawls. Everything good comes out of risk But at least you know your limits.
Ben Lee, 2005
Australian musician Ben Lee received his 'big break' when he was 14. After seeing Nirvana play in Sydney he started a band, Noise Addict, with three mates.
They made demo tapes on their four-track recorder at home and sent them to radio stations and record labels. Waterfront Records was the only company to have a positive response, and Ben invited them to the band's first gig: the Waverley Library sausage sizzle.
Promoter Stephen Pavlovic went to the gig and immediately signed the band to support Sonic Youth during an Australian tour.
Ben's first guitar that he bought himself, and on which he wrote all his early songs, is on display in the gallery.
Steven Bradbury on the winners podium, Salt Lake City, 2002 Newspix
This is my fourth Olympics and I've walked away unhappy from the previous three, and that's definitely not the case this time. If I can have a bit of luck, I'm gonna ride it.
Steven Bradbury, 2002
Steven Bradbury was the first Australian to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Bradbury won gold in the men's 1000m short track speed skating event at the Salt Lake City games in 2002. Bradbury won when all the other competitors in the race fell after the leading skaters collided. He had been coming last at the time.
Bradbury said of his win 'You know that's the nature of the sport in short track, you take your highs and your lows.'
In the Eternity gallery you can see Steven's skating suit and record your own story of chance.
I was in the Granville Train Crash with my daughter ... you know people can see things as a positive or negative but for me the Granville Train Crash was a huge turning point ... I survived and started painting it – that's when I started painting.
Jenny Kee
Jenny was born in Bondi in 1947 to parents of Cantonese, Italian and British heritage. Jenny studied design in Sydney and later formed a dynamic and innovative partnership with fashion and textile designer Linda Jackson. The pair made exciting use of Australian flora and fauna in their characteristically colourful designs.
Jenny's paintings of opals, tropical fish, parrots, flowers and animals were printed onto exotic silks and achieved in Australia and abroad. Her fabrics and designs are now part of the history of Australian fashion design.
Jenny's Eternity story centres on her chance survival in one of Australia's worst train disasters, the Granville Train Crash in 1977.
Visitors can see a doll decorated by Jenny in 1973. She describes the doll, a caricature of herself, as: 'a totem, symbolising my transformation into an artist'.
Hear Jenny speak about life, love and loss at our audio on demand service.
