GROUP SHOW : REALITY CHECK
Exhibition dates. 29June - 10 July 2022
Opening Reception : Thur 30 June 2022, 6:00 - 8.30pm.
The Exhibition view
Kym Tabulo
Responsive, diverse, and arising from adventures, my Reality Check artworks are visual memories of pre-pandemic travel. Each one depicts something that inspired a personal reaction, such as an iconic place, a symbol, a surface texture, a critter, or a philosophical thought. The aim of exhibiting them is to stimulate others to consider how they feel about future world travel.
The pandemic has changed the way most people live, work, and travel. As an artist I had several exhibitions postponed, along with cancelled overseas and interstate journeys. Opinions about world tourism are changing because of health, socio-economic and environmental concerns, including war. In a time of uncertainty I hope my work allows others to pause, look, think, and formulate opinions about ethical travel. Perhaps this can foster the contemplation of sustainable lifestyles because I believe art has the power to reach out to the public in a positive way to generate change.
To convey this theme I create digital collages by using my original paintings and drawings, and some are overlayed with travel photographs or readymade images. I combine these digitally using an XP–Pen drawing tablet, Photoshop, and filters to blend several layers into a final image. There are varieties of colour schemes and subject matter presented in this exhibition, which are amalgamations of realism and abstraction, and most contain some form of symbolism. Overall this collection of artworks is positioned at the intersection of art, travel, and the environment.
Naomi Rodgers
Paper is an artistic medium that demands attention because a wrong move with the knife can destroy hours of work. Yet paper is also pliable and can be moulded into something beautiful. Its opposite natures are appealing to me when making an artwork. Paper is minimal and intricate, as well as being able to reflect light and create depth. These qualities can inspire limitless possibilities by balancing its fragility and durability, its strength and delicacy.
Each one of my works plays with this dichotomy of paper, using backlighting to emphasise different shapes, depth of field, and tonal qualities. The interplay of light and dark areas draws the viewers’ eyes into the work as they peer into see what mysteries are inside.
I begin each artwork by sketching designs on pieces of paper which combine into one complete image. Every layer is cut intricately with a scalpel knife. The whole work is designed and created from the foreground to the back, ensuring each delicate layer fits with the one below it, and shines through the desired amount of light. Next I assemble the individual layers into a box backlit with LED strip lights to create the final installation. The finished piece is illuminated from behind which creates depth and highlights the dimensions of the work.
When viewing my work I hope you lose a sense of reality and drift into a surreal landscape of luminous hand cut paper layers. Focus on the depths in the work and forget reality, or where you are, for a moment or two. Enjoy the peace and tranquillity you find there.
Jenny Neubecker
This collection of abstract, collaged landscapes is a response to the changing textures and colours of the landscape. As the seasons evolve, the pastures, grasses, sky and clouds evolve through seasonal and surprising cycles. This exhibition invites the viewer to “check in” to the day-to-day reality of my changing landscape.
The work for this exhibition is a grateful nod to the importance of the sun, soil, plants, animals and water in a healthy ecosystem. Every artwork is born out of awe and wonder but also respectful recognition of our humility and futility in the landscape. Some art works focus on the energy in the landscape; the joy of rain after a drought, the power of a storm or seeds being whisked afar on a playful wind. Some works are about the amazing colours of the landscape; the rich greens of a long, wet summer, the blackness of a storm cloud, the muted greys of winter rain or the iridescent reds and blues of wrens and kingfishers as they flit through the grasses. Others are a celebration of the colours and textures of various grass species; the delicate seed heads of Rhodes Grass at dusk, the vibrant reds, pinks and purples of Creeping Lantana or luminous Red Natal that can swathe whole hills in glowing maroons, reds and pinks.Some works are a salute to the incredible work of soil and the micro-organisms that are the essential foundation of all healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people.