2015 Sydney Peace Prize winner launches exhibition in Townsville
Date published: 12 February 2016
George Gittoes: I Witness, a major exhibition of the work of leading Australian artist and filmmaker George Gittoes, opens at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery tonight.
Developed and toured by the Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre the exhibition presents a chronological journey of Gittoes’ 45-year career with a diverse body of work that includes paintings, drawings, printmaking, artist diaries and films from the fields of war.
Continually pushing the boundaries of his art practice by positioning himself at sites of conflict and upheaval, this exhibition reveals a remarkable body of work from his mobile studio of camera, video and richly illustrated diaries that document the sites of cultural conflict including Nicaragua and the Philippines in 1980s, Rwanda, Cambodia and the Middle East in 1990s, and more recently in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Community and Culture Committee chair Cr Sue Blom said the images were stark, confronting, demanding and illuminating as they appealed to the viewer’s capacity for compassion and justice.
“Gittoes’ work is both thought provoking and confronting. Despite the fact that Gittoes has been creating work in some of the most difficult regions of conflict throughout the world, he has the unique ability to document these wars and struggles without losing sight of compassion,” Cr Blom said.
“Gittoes’ career focuses not so much on war, but on the larger questions of the nature of peace making and human politics as well as the individual stories of the people he encounters.”
Gallery Services manager Shane Fitzgerald said Townsville had enjoyed a long relationship with George Gittoes.
“He is one of the most important contemporary artists from Australia,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“We are honoured to be able to receive this exhibition and take a journey through his amazing career and see the world through his eyes.
“With Gittoes’ long history of documenting some of the world’s most hostile and troubled regions with compassion and empathy, there is sure to be a great deal of interest from the community.”
George Gittoes: I Witness will be on display at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery from February 12 until March 27. The exhibition will be officially launched at 7pm tonight.
George Gittoes’ film Snow Monkey will be screened at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery tomorrow, Saturday, February 13 at 5.30pm. Both the launch event and film screening are free events and open to the public, with a chance to hear directly from the artist during his visit to Townsville.
