Wallabies Pop-Up Exhibition
From Saturday 10August 2024
To Sunday 18 August 2024
Experience Matthew Clarke's captivating wallabies on the front lawn of BRAG for one week only.
Wallabies have bewitched Clarke since 2012 when one appeared outside his loungeroom window in South West Victoria. He finds the animal’s fugitive habits mysterious and compelling – the wallaby appears and disappears like a mythical creature.
Hailing from Warrnambool on Gunditjmara Country, Clarke draws inspiration from his surroundings, whether it's the local wildlife, landscapes, cityscapes, or wind farms. This exhibition features ten newly crafted wallabies, specially designed for travel in Clarke's camper-bus.
Having previously been showcased in cities like Brisbane, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Melbourne, and Sydney, Clarke's wallabies have delighted audiences across Australia. Inspired by the positive response at the 2023 Rising Festival in Melbourne, Clarke decided to bring this pop-up exhibition to Bunbury.
Visitors are encouraged to take photos with the wallabies and share their experiences. Don't miss this unique opportunity to enjoy art in a relaxed outdoor setting.
Follow the journey from Warrnambool to Bunbury on his Instagram page - featuring his wallabies in iconic and less-than-iconic locations along the way.
Matthew has been drawing ever since he can remember. His life started as an artist in 2005 when he commenced studying Arts, Crafts and Design at South West TAFE.
Matthew’s works have constant themes of the people who are closest to him and self-portraits. He also likes painting wind farms/windmills, wallabies, and cityscapes inspired by travel.
Matthew works with acrylic paint on linen and paper. He draws with fine liner pens on paper. He also paints acrylic paint on plywood as part of his process to make sculptures.
Matthew thrives on painting ‘super’ large works. His largest work on linen is 9.2 x 1.9 metres! His largest street mural was 12 x 4 metres!
Matthew was chosen to exhibit his linocut in the National Gallery of Victoria for the Melbourne Now Exhibition in 2023.
Matthew is proud of his achievements which include Finalist in the 2021 Archibald prize in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, having his work covering a Melbourne and an Adelaide Tram, having art work in the ArtBank collection, City of Melbourne Collection, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery Art Collection, Art Gallery of Ballarat collection and the National Gallery of Victoria Collection
Matthew is often heard saying “I like to paint to make people happy”.
In 2024, Matthew became a two time Wynne Prize Finalist at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Photo: Rising the Wallabies by Rick Maxwell Douglas