Perc Tucker Regional Gallery

Barbara Cheshire, Air Evening, oil painting on front of aluminium shield, 2009.

LANDSCAPE AS EXPERIENCE: INTEGRATION OF SENSES & SOUL
BARBARA CHESHIRE
11 December 2009 until 7 March 2010

Every work Cheshire produces is purpose driven. Each and every brushstroke is aimed at representing what is for Barbara the ‘complete human experience’ – the marriage of the physical and the spiritual. Thus we have the integration of senses and soul.

This recognition and celebration of the spiritual is a theme that has underpinned much of Cheshire’s artistic career, and comes as no surprise given her strong religious beliefs. Landscape as Experience: Integration of Senses and Soul marks an aesthetic departure from Cheshire’s previous work, though the driving force remains the same.

The striking focal point of the exhibition is the twelve large, hand-hammered aluminium shields. Depicting different landscapes in Townsville at morning, afternoon and evening, Cheshire explores the elements; Fire, Earth, Air and Water.

On the front of each shield is a layered painting, the result of combining five gouache studies. Each study represents an individual sensory response to the site – what Cheshire experiences from the smell, look, sound, taste and feel of the place.

On the back of each shield is an etching of what first drew the artist to the particular location. These etchings depict a small snippet of what the artist saw in the landscape. Cheshire is an artist who, despite thorough planning, must also ‘feel’ something is right in order to pursue it. In these ‘small snippets’ we see what convinced her that each place felt right, what led her to develop each series of gouaches.

Depicting place and our experience within the landscape is important to Cheshire as she sees it as “a meeting point of the artist and the Divine, and [also] a liberating force to release the spiritual energy which is essential to create artistic works.” Landscape as Experience: Integration of Senses and Soul is a reflection of Cheshire’s own strong spirit, and her complete physical and spiritual response to place.

Donna Ives, Identity, acrylic on canvas, 2009.

IDENTITY
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ART UNIT
BARRIER REEF INSTITUTE OF TAFE
11 December 2009 until 28 February 2010

Certificate and Diploma of Visual Arts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student exhibition, showcasing the works of these talented and dedicated students.

More works from the Landscape as Experience: Integration of Senses & Soul by Barbara Cheshire.

Ellen Danaher, Bohle Pink, 2008,
acrylic on cotton, 87 x 126 cm.

cityColour
ELLEN DANAHER
19 January until 21 February 2010

A series of fabric wallhangings by local textile artist Ellen Danaher brings into focus often-overlooked patches of vivid colour found in unexpected locations across our city. Painted in acrylics with fabric medium on cotton, the works are variously stitched, appliquéd and quilted. Textural additions of copper wire, string, cord,feathers and semi-attached appliqué are used to create three-dimensional artworks of vibrant colour.

Student photography from Northern
Beaches State High School
Artists-in-Schools project

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS
NORTHERN BEACHES STATE HIGH SCHOOL
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY WITH LORI NEILSEN-CARR
9 November until 6 December 2009

A small group of senior students and staff participated in the artist-in-schools program lead by Lori Neilsen-Carr of Lori Neilsen Photography. The program focussed on students and staff learning to use SLR digital cameras to take their own professional quality portraits.

The students involved were Brodie-Lee Montgomery, Lisa Hammond, Jenna Hardacre and Elysia Battersby; teachers included Christina Papadimitriou, Lynda Onton O’Shea and Paula Adams-Thompson. The six week program was a great opportunity to partake in a ‘real life’ art experience culminating in this exhibition.

Neela Curran, Darkness Comes
Calling, watercolour, 36.5 x 26 cm.

IMAGES OF AUSTRALIA - IMPRESSIONISTIC LANDSCAPES AND SEASCAPES
NEELA CURRAN
2 February until 28 February 2010

The impressionistic style mirrors the artist’s yearning for a more simple, carefree life – which she believes is an increasingly difficult quest for people in today’s world. She aims to evoke emotion in the viewer, with glimpses of an easier, restful time, when the world moved at a slower pace, and the human spirit was more in harmony with the spirituality of the land and the sea.

There is, therefore, a fascination and admiration for the Aboriginal culture and the concept of the dreaming, and the belief that the mind is strengthened in solitude and tranquillity – a major theme that runs through most of the collection.

“We live in a world of very harsh reality and it is good for the mind to step away from that sometimes, and just dream a little. If someone looks at my work and feels something, some emotion, then I know I have done my job as an artist.’’

Jan Hynes
Blooming Cannas
(Venue is CityLibraries Aitkenvale)

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