Perc Tucker Regional Gallery

Ron McBurnie, This was Whistler's mother's cat's third attempt to jump onto the table of the Margaret Olley painting, 1997, hard ground etching and aquatint, 39 x 49 cm.

METAL AS ANYTHING
RON McBURNIE
26 June until 16 August 2009

Metal as Anything showcases thirty years of the diverse and intricate etchings of Townsville artist Ron McBurnie. A place where misbehaving dogs, ducks in box kites, jumping cats and eccentric toad shooters meet to examine their place in the carnival of characters and landscapes that the artist has created.

McBurnie's etchings are inspired by whatever he is exposed to at the time, "If I am marvelling at an old print, then that inspires me. If I hear an idiotic story about a corrupt politician then that story will inspire me. If I am playing a piece of music that takes me to an extraordinary place, then that is my inspiration. To me, inspiration for my work comes from a variety of different sources. Sometimes ideas and inspiration come from the weirdest of sources."

The diversity of events, both large and small, that inspire McBurnie's artworks are telling of the artist's greatest strength - his ability to highlight the weird and wonderful events that occur in our ‘mundane' suburban environment. It is so easy for these fleeting, humorous moments to be lost, buried underneath the drudgery and commitments of our daily grind. McBurnie, unlike most, captures these moments in his own life and ensures they are not misplaced.

This was Whistler's mother's cat's third attempt to jump onto the table of the Margaret Olley painting captures one such moment. Certainly, to watch a cat jump into a painting would be cause for a chuckle, providing the viewer was not overly attached to the cat in question, or an over-zealous animal protection activist. To hear the story secondhand from a friend may provide a wry smirk, but is unlikely to distract one from their daily routine. For McBurnie though, it captures his overactive imagination, with the endless possibilities from this event taking precedence in his mind, and sparking him into action, "I was interested in his account of this incident because I hadn't realised that cats had the ability to see two-dimensional images in three dimensions – now I wonder why our pets don't watch more TV."

The exhibition is complemented by dedicated education resources. Teachers can download the Primary and Secondary Education Resource Kit by clicking the link below.

Metal as Anything Education Resource Kit  (2,085 KB)

Billy Missi,
Wapil Nathaik (roasting fish), 2007, hand coloured linocut.

URAPUN KAI BUAI
CONTEMPORARY TORRES STRAIT LINOCUTS BY BILLY MISSI
19 June to 16 August 2009

The works featured in Urapun Kai Buai (one big kin) play a significant role in providing an insight into the Zenadh-Kes (Torres Strait) way of life through contemporary visual representations of traditional stories and culture.

Missi is rapidly gaining a reputation as an important guardian and ambassador of traditional Zenadh-Kes culture. His interest in art was initially stimulated when he viewed works by contemporary Torres Strait Islander artists in 1992. However, it was not until years later, with the support and encouragement from peer Dennis Nona, that he felt he could dedicate himself completely to his artistic pursuits.

The work focuses on everyday stories relating to kinship, the changing of the seasons, ceremony and day-to-day survival. They also deal with the importance of maintaining traditional cultural values, respecting traditional knowledge in the everyday, in the little stories of his culture – not just the big.

Missi speaks about his inspiration for the title piece: "Torres Strait Islanders are all related to each other; or so my grandparents, uncles and aunties told me when I was young. Growing up in the islands has made me see and realise that. The sharing of food and traditional visits and staying over, in the village or on neighbouring islands, called Garab Thiay, are important kinship events.

Wongai is a native fruit of our region and I use it as a metaphor for kinship. Therefore it is placed at the very centre of this piece. The wavy lines going outwards represent the movement of relatives to all four corners of the Straits. This happened mainly through intermarriage.

Today the increase in intermarriage has made it far more complicated for modern Torres Strait Islanders to understand their family relationships. The patterns on the far left and right represent the fact that it is very important to our current elders to pass on the knowledge of these movements of people; for our kinship knowledge to be available to the younger generations, so they can know and consider them."

Dan Johnson,
Man's Mineral Mood, 2007,
oil on canvas, 150 x 100 cm.

A LITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION – CHROMATIC AND TEXTURAL NUANCES
DAN JOHNSON
10 June until 28 June 2009

This small collection of paintings has been put together to give an exploratory insight into the world of rocks and the potential minerals that lie within them. The search for minerals necessitates an understanding of rocks, how they form, their general characteristics and how they weather. This is part of an exploration process. This hunt for minerals and rocks (commodities) is driven by our increasingly complex lives and has seen our demand for minerals ever increasing.

Jan Hynes
Blooming Cannas
(Venue is CityLibraries Aitkenvale)

artabout is Perc Tucker Regional Gallery's art-for-hire venture. artabout offers artwork loans to corporate clients at reasonable rates. To discuss borrowing artwork from the Gallery's extensive collection please contact the Gallery's artabout Officer.