07/07/24 - 10/08/24
THE GALLERIES
Ember
Vicki West
As a proud pakana woman, I choose to work with fibre to reconnect with the place/country empowering me to create a diverse range of forms. I access a broad range of differing fibres depending on the message I want to express.
The works in Ember are a representation of my practice over the past 30 years.
In my own arts practice I often use ‘traditional’ materials and draw on ‘traditional’ weaving techniques which I have adapted to produce contemporary sculptural forms and installations. These artworks are testament to living cultural survival in practice. As a mentor I continually pass on my skills, knowledge and culture and in this way keep culture alive. Not only does my art contribute to cultural survival but I, as an individual, am a living example of cultural survival in action.
Aboriginal culture has not been lost, it has a strong and resilient voice that demands to be heard and respected.
Over the years I have worked on numerous environmental installations, expressing my concern for the Tasmanian land/waterscape and how the environment is being damaged, changed and impacted upon by current land/water-use practices. This reinforces the importance of the environment as both a source of materials and inspiration in my work.
Since the arrival of Europeans in Tasmania over 200 years ago, the way in which the environment is managed has changed dramatically, with land clearing, forestry, mining and industrial development all impacting negatively on this country/water. Over the past generation (my lifetime) this has gradually accelerated. I believe that we are now on the edge of a critical balance, and that country is being compromised by greed and power.
Our ancestors lived in unison with country, knowing that we are just one part of an interconnected and interdependent natural system and that we have an obligation to care for and protect all things that are a part of this.
Image credit: Andrew Leigh Green
THE SPACE
Egregious Encounters: A collection of post-modern narratives
Catherine Phillips
Egregious Encounters delves into the visceral and often uncomfortable realities that challenge our perceptions of human connection, weaving together threads of emotion, perception and memory to create a visual chronicle of experience, an artistic "Burn Book" per se. This exhibition is a bold confrontation with the egregious—a term that historically signifies something remarkably good but has evolved to represent the shockingly bad. It is within this duality that the artworks presented here oscillate, offering a space for reflection on the vicissitudes of the human condition. Each artefact within this painted and sculptural assemblage is a testament to encounters that leave indelible impressions. The artist has employed a diverse array of materials, symbolism and layered meanings to manifest a discourse on the nature of experiencing the egregious, utilising the jarring dissonance of a mixed-media installation to compel the viewer towards an illumination of the more discomfiting facets of the human psyche.