From Saturday 28 November 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 31 January 2021 – 04:00pm
This exhibition is an exploration of ‘texture’ in its many and varied forms. In the visual arts, texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art. It is one of the seven formal design elements, along with line, colour, shape, form, value and space. Texture can affect mood, evoke psychological associations, bring attention to a medium, or toward materials used in an artwork.
Our experience of texture in visual art relies on our experience with the physical world. At its most basic, there are two types of texture. Physical texture are the patterns of dimensional variations in a physical surface. It can be felt by touching the surface of the object or material. Visual or implied texture is the illusion or representation of physical texture. It is created through the manipulation of light and shadow to mimic the visual experience with the physical world.
The artworks in this exhibition present a range of mediums, showing various textures. To allow a deeper engagement with the works, the viewers are encouraged to use a questionnaire to further explore the notion of ‘texture’.
From Saturday 21 November 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 21 February 2021 – 04:00pm
Eight: The Shift is an exhibition of photography by Western Australian artist Christopher Young. Uncovering end-of-life cultural experiences, the work explores how people respond to the experiences, environments and institutions they encounter during such times.
In hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and funeral homes, the work reveals addresses the paradox between highly-charged, emotive events in seemingly sterile and controlled spaces. For some, the sterility of these places might seem calming and reassuring. However, Young found the ‘otherness’ difficult to overlook in his own experiences.
This project stems from visits to funeral homes when Young’s father was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The first was a macabre behind-the-scenes tour and later for his Father’s funeral. He found both experiences disturbing and thus far unique in his adult life.
“My relationship with my father was distant and often dysfunctional. Our collective apathy left us with limited shared adult experiences as well as an inability to communicate. Despite his diagnosis and the associated ‘deadline’, we never found the language to sit down to discuss his looming death.”
Despite it being inevitable, death is not something we freely discuss. It is often seen as a taboo subject, especially intergenerationally. The passing of a loved one can be further complicated by the foreignness of the surrounding experiences. As death is inescapable and inevitably part of everyone’s experience, this series has opened a dialogue with Young’s audience that has been enriching for all involved.
The series also includes anonymous interviews with people about their own end-of-life experiences. Eight: The Shift was first exhibited at the Perth Centre for Photography in 2019. A limited-edition book was also launched at that event.
The project was made possible by the Australian Government’s regional arts program, the Regional Arts Fund, which gives all Australians better access to opportunities to practice and experience the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is administered in Western Australia by Regional Arts WA.
The regional tour is also supported by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
From Saturday 31 October 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 17 January 2021 – 04:00pm
The South West Printmakers are a group of artists based in the south west and southern coast of Western Australia. Each member operates their own studio from Donnybrook, Dunsborough, Bridgetown to Kronkup, and collaborate regularly to exhibit their work. The artists run workshops on all aspects of printmaking, to share print and other art related techniques used in each art practice. The artists attend an annual art camp, which has become an important part of the group’s activities. The art camp is a time to explore, be inspired and collaborate which contributes to personal and professional development. The art camp results in a collaborative work, the Camp Project. The South West Printmakers also share prints with one another, which is possible through the editioning process. The techniques used in this exhibition are lino, woodcut, etching, stencil and screenprint and cyanotype.
From Saturday 24 October 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 06 December 2020 – 04:00pm
Disappointing Vanilla is the latest instalment of experimental prints, drawings and paintings by collaborative artists Trevor Bly (WA) and Patrick Doherty (WA) exploring the ideas of localism, conflict, myth making and the human condition. Bly and Doherty have been working together for more than 10 years, bringing together their former backgrounds in the graffiti subculture and contemporary art. This decision to merge two distinct practices, styles and approaches has led to an examination of home and how identity is informed by place and space. Disappointing Vanilla offers a continued investigation of combined signifiers referencing the Perth suburban experience, the ‘unhomely’ nature of disconnect and scribbles from the taboo.
Visual artists Trevor Bly and Patrick Doherty are a collaborative duo from Perth, Western Australia. Alumni of Curtin University they have developed a partnership since 2003 presenting a united approach to contemporary art through printmaking, drawing and painting. They are the co-curators of “Duty Free”, ArtsHouse Gallery (2004) and the seminal exhibition “The Salvation Show” (2005), ArtRage Festival. They participated in the installation project “Windows on William Street” (2008) while being awarded the “Celebrating Joondalup” award in 2009. In 2013 they undertook a residency at the Fremantle Arts Centre to continue their unique working methodology. Recent works were exhibited in “PostCode Party”, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne (2014) and achieving the Overall Prize, COJ Invitation Award (2015). In 2017 the pair exhibited again at the Fremantle Art Centre with “One street from Happiness”.
From Saturday 12 September 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 18 October 2020 – 04:00pm
Claire Davenhall is an international artist who explores the early migration of people to Australia through her sculptural work, capturing the lost soles from convict women from the first and second fleets. This work aims to provide historical identity to those lost souls, condemned to transportation, sentenced to land beyond the sea.
Her sculptural installation on the floor the Convent Gallery comprises of 108 convict soles taken from the shoes of the convict women of the first fleet on-board the Lady Penrhyn Ship in 1788. Folklore suggested the broad arrow was stamped on the sole of each convict shoe, so if they ran away, they could see which direction they were heading. There was no right or left shoe and you were considered lucky if you had two! Cast in resin they are finished with a green & gold colour changing pigment to represent the national colours of Australia and their final resting place.
Above, float prayer flags from 200 convict women from the second fleet, on-board the Lady Julian Ship in 1789. Made from remnants of white cloth, (evidence from their crime), identical in shape and size of ladies handkerchiefs complete with embroidered identity markings, they symbolize the tears and fear of their fate, held together and intertwined with black handmade rope, like prayer flags they drift across the room in waves representing the daunting width and depth of the sea.
The sea with all its calm and hardships, quietly observes these inhuman amounts of people boarding boats, their lost souls, drifting a vessels of hope, travelling across the sea in their search to reach a land of hope and dreams. The first migration is the bond that ties our cultural heritage together, bringing a sense of people and place through art.
From Saturday 05 September 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 29 November 2020 – 04:00pm
ART ON THE MOVE touring exhibition Yagu Gurlbarl (Big Secret) presents a collection of works by renowned artist Julie Dowling. Yagu Garlburl (Big Secret) centers on the theme of slavery of First Nations Peoples in Australia, both in past centuries and in current Australian society.
The exhibition presents a series of highly decorated figurative artworks that will draw in and engage the viewer. Closer inspection reveals a strong political edge challenging the myth that First Nations Peoples were/are lazy and a drain on society. The beauty presented in the works becomes a metaphor for the resilience and wisdom of First Nation’s Peoples to overcome the narrow narrative that has mythologised colonisation. This is a unique opportunity for the regions to present a solo exhibition featuring a significant Western Australian artist.
From diving for pearls, back breaking farm labour and minding children of their colonial masters in past centuries, to present day work for government benefits Dowling forces Australians to face racist discourses. The works in Dowling’s exhibition speak of these atrocities and show how beautifully resilient her people are despite this. Between 1800s and 1970s, Aboriginal workers in Australia were enslaved, denied wages that were stolen by corrupt officials and employers and generations of First Nations Australians were locked into a cycle of poverty that still exists today.
A clear example of the inequality of wages is referenced in the 2016 Australian Census which states that 20% of First Nations Peoples reported a weekly household of $1000 or more compared with 41% of the rest of the population.
“The works in Dowling’s exhibition speak of the atrocities of slavery and show how beautifully resilient our people are despite this.” – Carol Dowling
ART ON THE MOVE would like to acknowledge that Australias First peoples are the traditional custodians of this land and we pay our respects to the Elders both past, present and future for their unique contribution to the cultural life of communities across Australia.
An ART ON THE MOVE touring exhibition.
ART ON THE MOVE is supported by the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
From Saturday 29 August 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 08 November 2020 – 04:00pm
Collaboration WA Inc was formed by a group of enthusiastic West Australian wood artists in early 2008. The idea behind the formation of the group was to bring together not only artists working in wood, such as wood turners and carvers, but also painters, jewellers and textile artists, amongst others, to work together in a collaborative way. This gives participating artists the opportunity to work with people who have a variety of different skills and backgrounds.
From Saturday 01 August 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 06 September 2020 – 04:00pm
Through practicing, teaching, and communicating mindfulness, my understanding of the Pali word Suñña continues to deepen. It is often translated to mean ‘nothingness’ or ‘emptiness’, however, Suñña means the potential of all things; that all things are ever-changing and ever-unfolding. In the practice of mindfulness we don’t attempt to negate consciousness. Rather, we are attempting to bring about a state of full awareness of one’s own mind, body, and environment: to remember Suñña. Through this understanding we move towards calm, peaceful, and responsive action.
From ash comes soil;
From soil comes a tree;
From a tree comes a book;
From a book comes an idea;
From an idea comes an action;
From an action comes peace…
Or more ash.
In art we are the creators of worlds. When I look through the camera lens I reach into a universe of potential meanings, and name the beings and feelings that announce themselves there. However, Suñña reveals that the fruits of these worlds are transient, without any being or meaning in themselves. There is a conflict, a resistance between the personal labour of my art practice and the embodied practice of mindfulness: my attachment to these artworks and the world in which they are produced precludes their remaining nameless.
www.timborobertsart.com
From Monday 29 June 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 23 August 2020 – 04:00pm
The theme for this year’s National NAIDOC Week celebration of Indigenous culture Always was, always will be, recognizes that Australia’s First Nation people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65000 years. BRAG’s Noongar Country 2020 Exhibition, Your mark, your story: always was, always will be, celebrates the contribution of the Noongar people to Australian art and culture. The theme acknowledges the importance of the culture and stories of this unique group of people who occupy the South West of Western Australia. It is always through the sharing of stories that we connect with one another; it is through our stories that we learn to navigate uncertain times, understand and celebrate our past, our present and our future.
The Noongar Country Exhibition is an annual highlight in the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery calendar. The exhibition opening coincides with NAIDOC week and is an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate the rich history, diverse culture and achievement of all First Nation people. The exhibition showcases work from established and emerging indigenous artists living and working on Noongar country and it will include the work of children from the south west region. Noongar Country provides an opportunity for all members of the Noongar community, regardless of age or experience, to be part of an exciting art event. It is a true celebration of community.
The City of Bunbury offers a major prize of $7500 and two additional Highly Commended prizes of $1000 each. These prizes will be announced at the opening event. In addition, a $500 Viewers’ Choice prize will be awarded at the end of the exhibition.
The Noongar Country Exhibition is also an opportunity for artists to be included in the City of Bunbury Art Collection. This ensures that artists from the Noongar community are represented in the Collection for many years to come.
From Saturday 07 March 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 10 May 2020 – 04:00pm
Ever conscious of my own youth spent making works in and on the streets and its inherent lack of permanence this exhibition has been inspired by my exploration of John Keats and the mythology of youth.
John Keats wrote “to make old prose in modern rhyme more sweet” in 1818, when he was still a young man, in fact we know that although he was never to become an old man, passing away as he did at 25, his words and letters were those of some one beyond his years with him oft referred to as an “old soul”.
I started to think about what it would mean should we be granted the good fortune to gather more years than Keats, before the memories “fade far away, dissolve & quite forget.”
In many instances Keats’ words still ring true & are contemporary today, indeed Bob Geldof states in the introduction of “Love is my religion” that Keats can easily be equated with some of the “more sensitive pop heroes” and “very emo” in that his words resonate today as poignantly than they did when first written.
When I embarked upon this body of work I did so in much the same way as Keats, as a “Grand Tour” of my own, a creative journey, armed with a little knowledge and experience.
There was a visit to the Keats-Shelley House in Roma, his grave-side that includes the epitaph “here lies one whose name is writ in water” a parallel with the temporal notion of street works and life itself.
There is a memory in a repeated action, there is a whisper in a line, when our eyes walk us through the gate of admission on our exit when we all momentarily forget all else, an artwork we have lived, loved and truly experienced.
From Saturday 29 February 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 19 July 2020 – 04:00pm
Susan Ecker, a native New Yorker, earned a Bachelor of Science in Design, with Honors, from the College of Architecture and Design, School of Art, University of Michigan. She continued painting at the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, prior to receiving a Master of Arts, Fine Arts, from the University of Maryland. Thereafter, she did one year of postgraduate study in art history.
She has extensive experience in the visual arts including lecturing about art history and architectural design. She has taught at the university level and was Adjunct Professor of Art at Linfield College in Oregon. Since 2011, she has been teaching visual arts at Edith Cowan University, School of Arts and Humanities, South West campus.
Her work has been exhibited widely and received well in the United States and Australia. In 1997, her painting Theme:Virgil, a mixed media piece reflecting the landscape of the east end of Long Island, received Honorble Mention, at the 59th Guild Hall Annual, from the exhibition juror, Arthur C. Danto, art critic of The Nation. Giles Auty former art critic of The Australian wrote the catalogue commentary for her first retrospective in 2005. In late 2015, her show, Players, Places, at the Peter Marcelle Project, was the subject of a strongly positive opinion piece by Jennifer Landes, Arts Editor, of The East Hampton Star.
She continues to work in East Hampton, NY and her studio in Donnybrook, WA.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the support of a grant from the City of Bunbury.
From Saturday 22 February 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 05 April 2020 – 04:00pm
The Big Wide Land exhibition comprises of large pastel drawings by Western Australian artist Joel Smoker. The drawings are sketched on location, then completed in the artist’s studio at Binningup in the southwest. The subject matter are places from around Western Australia that Smoker found interesting and would, he believed, yield good compositions. These locations include Bell Gorge in the Kimberley, Red Bluff in Shark Bay, Denham, Cobra Station in the Gascoyne, Karlamilyi National Park (Rudall River), Leeman, Dongara, Port Denison, The Pinnacles, Castle Rock in the Porongurups, Elachbutting Rock in the wheatbelt, Gladston.e Falls and Irwin Inlet in the South West.
Joel Smoker has travelled widely around Western Australia for many years seeking out places that interest him and may offer good compositions for the pastel drawings that he has produced. When he finds a good location he sets up his folding chair, clips his paper to a MDF board and draws what he sees in front of him. He then takes a photograph of the scene and uses this as a reference when he completes the piece in his studio.
Joel has exhibited widely around Australia since his first ceramics exhibition at Carols Art Gallery in Perth, in 1979, showing work that has included ceramics, photography, pastel drawings, silk screen prints, and collage. Joel’s art is represented in major collections including the Art Gallery of WA, The Fremantle City art collection, The Shire of Munda ring art collection, The City of Geraldton art collection and The National Gallery of Victoria.
From Saturday 15 February 2020 – 10:00am
To Sunday 26 April 2020 – 04:00pm
Join us for the opening of this year’s survey exhibition ‘South Western Times Art 2020’. Make sure to pencil the date – this will be an event not to be missed!
Live music, performance art, food and drink will all be on show, along with the announcement of the prizewinning artists. The survey exhibition has a long history of showcasing the creative talent from the South West region and is a significant event in BRAG’s calendar.
The year 2020 is a time in which we assessing the past and consider issues affecting us now and in the future. The South Western Times Art 2020 exhibition presents a snapshot of artists currently practicing in the South West of Western Australia, providing the opportunity to reflect on our place and times. Curated by WA writer and curator Lee Kinsella.
Exhibiting artists:
Alice Alder, Christine Baker, Penny Baker, Jenny Barr, Amanda Bell, Christine Blowfield, Tara Boulevard, Jeana Castelli, Rebecca Corps, Julie Cox, Cassie-Jo Davis, Tony Davis, Merle Topsi Davis, Joshua de Gruchy, Kate Debbo, Anthony Debbo, Sue Dennis, Sheree Dohnt, Yvonne Dorricott, Elizabeth Edmonds, Natalia Ford, Andrew Frazer, Mark Francis Grey-Smith, Anne Grotian, Shayne Hadley, Roslyn Hamdorf, Suzanna Hay, Simon Hemsley, Catherine Higham, Peter Hill, Sharon Hinchliffe, Sue Kalab, Peter Kovacsy, Dan Kus, Claire Linaker, Alice Linford Forte, Elisa Markes-Young, Lesley Meaney, Katharina Meister, Kellee Merritt, Katherine Papas, Kim Perrier, Geraldine Peterkin, Paul Reynolds, Rizzy, Liz Royce, Helen Seiver, Jessica Seroka, Sue Smorthwaite, Anne Sorensen, Britta Sorensen, Melissa Spencer, Frances Sullivan-Rhodes, Rosemary Taylor, Ian Thwaites, Neil Turner, Bianca Turri, Ross Vaughan, Mary Wallace, Jillian Warnock, Charlotte White, Paula Wiegmink, Chris Williamson, Tony Windberg, Michael Wise, Maddisson Witmitz, Christopher Young
From Saturday 21 December 2019 – 10:00am
To Sunday 23 February 2020 – 04:00pm
Steve Vigors is a multi-award-winning local South West artist residing in Busselton who recently featured on the internationally known Colour In Your Life program viewed on YouTube. He is a member of a several art societies and plein air groups and participates in the Margaret River Region Open Studios annually. Vigors works in a variety of mediums ranging from acrylics, oils, pastels, watercolours, pen/ink and charcoals. His artwork is enjoyed throughout the metropolitan, national and international arenas, as far abroad as the United Kingdom, USA, Canada and China. Vigors prefers a loose fluid application of paint and uses acrylics in layers to build up the look he desires. At times Vigors’ work can get quite textured with the many layers that he applies.
Vigors mainly paints in an impressionistic / realistic style, welcomes challenges and loves learning and trialing a variety of new techniques and applications. He is inspired by our beautiful and ever changing South West coastline, which he regularly frequents. He never tires from visiting the same areas and vistas, as the different seasons brings him an abundance of new reference material.
From Saturday 14 December 2019 – 10:00am
To Sunday 16 February 2020 – 04:00pm
Imagine a time when all clothes were stitched by hand. It is estimated that the invention and availability of the domestic sewing machine reduced the time to stitch an average shirt from 14 hours to 4 hours, this was a turning point in history. ART ON THE MOVE touring exhibition Machines & Makers captures twelve established artist responses to this invention, which was viewed as a disruptive technology in the 19th century.
In 1860, Singer became the world’s largest manufacturer of sewing machines with over 15,000 machines made that year. The tradition of working on a sewing machine continues to be cherished within communities and passed on through generations.
“Part of the phenomenon of this machinery is that these objects, made in their hundreds of millions, continue to work as well in the 21st century as they did in the 19th century when they were new.” – Curator, Jude van der Merwe
Machines & Makers connects with the City of Melville’s vision to ‘work together to achieve community wellbeing for today and tomorrow’ by bringing audiences together to reflect on their experiences of the handmade and explore memories throughout everyday life.
Curated by Jude van der Merwe, the exhibition brings together high calibre Western Australian artists reflecting on the political, social and economic differences made by inventions, many of which are seen through the lens of memory.
As part of this exhibition, audiences can engage with ART ON THE MOVE’s hands-on activity Making it Reel, by creating their own composition using materials such as colourful reels, buttons, cotton spools as well as scrap materials.
An ART ON THE MOVE touring exhibition.
www.artonthemove.art
ART ON THE MOVE is supported by the State Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
Act-Belong-Commit Engagement Program presented by ART ON THE MOVE is funded by Healthway promoting the Act-Belong-Commit message.
From Saturday 07 December 2019 – 10:00am
To Sunday 09 February 2020 – 04:00pm
STEEL: art design architecture is a major exhibition exploring innovative ways that steel is being used by artists, designers and architects in Australia in the 21st century. Steel is a medium rich in human history. An alloy of iron and carbon, steel dates back to 4,000 years ago and traces the technical and cultural development of multiple civilisations.
Today steel is one of the most ubiquitous materials in the world. It inhabits the landscape of our bodies, our domestic spaces and our built environments. A material that ranges from raw and functional to lustrous and decorative – steel blurs the boundary between utilitarian and precious. Its affordability and durability has made it so pervasive that it is often overlooked. Just think of an average day: you may awaken in a house or apartment block whose structural form is made of steel; head to the bathroom where you turn steel taps for a shower under a steel shower rose; next to the kitchen to open your stainless-steel-covered fridge, turn on your steel kettle, and eat breakfast with utensils made from steel; before leaving in cars, motorbikes, trains, trams or buses, over bridges and on tracks, all of which contain some steel.
The exhibitors represent a broad range of approaches to working with steel, and the range of work in the exhibition is extensive – from fine, hand-crafted jewellery to high-tech research facilities. Some of the exhibitors include: the multiple award winning architectural firm BVN, BVN is known for their public architecture having won more Sir John Sulman Medals than any other practice, industrial designers Brodie Neill now based in London and the Bombay Sapphire Design Award winner Trent Jansen for Tait, Contemporary art and design duo Korban Flaubert, leading Aboriginal artists Lorraine Connelly Northey and Gunybi Ganambarr, founding member of the acclaimed Gray street workshop jeweller Sue Lorraine as well as work by the late jeweller Mari Funaki.
The art, design and architecture in an exhibition and publication such as STEEL: art design architecture allows us to think upon the links and similarities between the creative processes, problem solving and design thinking undertaken in these various disciplines. It reveals that many of the concerns that drive these innovative uses of steel engage the themes of identity, locality, materiality and sustainability. A material of such great potential, steel influences nearly all aspect of our lives, rendering the ingenuity, craftsmanship and skill of those working with it practically invisible.
From Saturday 30 November 2019 – 10:00am
To Sunday 02 February 2020 – 04:00pm
Glass Artists of Western Australia (GAWA) is a community of glass artists in Western Australia, aimed at promoting glass art and collaborating on exhibitions, events and all things glass.
GAWA began when a group of like minded glass artists got together after the hugely successful National Glass Exhibition “Flair” which was held in Perth in 2014. A Facebook page was set up to allow glass artists to communicate, to share images, information and to connect to the wider community. The Facebook page took off with followers from all over the world checking in to ‘like’ the posted content.
A core group of people have been working together to facilitate opportunities for glass artists in Western Australia. The aim has been to bring the different disciplines of glass together to the WA public with the purpose of increasing awareness and appreciation of the studio glass art form.