LIGHT | INTERSECTION and NUDES

Visual Art (Photography) Exhibitions Review | Brian Rope

LIGHT | INTERSECTION I Alex Walker
NUDES | Skye Thompson

Photo Access, Canberra | 11 April - 10 May 2025

I will start by suggesting these two exhibitions have no obvious or apparent relationship to each other. One is about drawing us into “a dynamic encounter where light is both subject and material.” The other “floats towards” troubling family histories and “re-sensitises.” I will return to this later but first let me discuss each exhibition quite separately.

Alex Walker is a trained darkroom photographer interested, amongst other things, in analogue processes and spatial perception. Her work seeks to explore how light travels. Showing it in Light | Intersection, she changes our perception of what we see. Information on the gallery website and in Kathryne Genevieve Honey’s essay in the room sheet explain that it is a site-specific exhibition exploring the role of light in photography and architecture.

The “architecture” of the gallery is not exactly spectacular. However, the moment I walked in and saw coloured lights moving around and across the surfaces of the first space and of the exhibits within it, I was drawn in. The light impacted on the sensory information which I received and endeavoured to understand and interpret. That, after all, is what perception is all about.

Alex Walker, Window Warp II, 2025

Light | Intersection installation image – Brian Rope 

Light | Intersection installation image – Brian Rope 

In the second gallery space Walker has placed illuminated light boxes within the ceiling - and above mirrors on the floor. Walking carefully between the mirrors whilst looking into their surfaces and at the changing lights overhead is a joyous sensory experience revealing more new ways of considering and experiencing photography.

Light | Intersection installation image – Brian Rope

Light | Intersection installation image – Brian Rope

The second exhibition, Nudes, is in the separate third gallery space. The artist, Skye Thompson, has reimagined what she describes as “the overlooked material of 8mm home films - transparent leader, light leaks, and physical blemishes - as a space for reflection and repair.”

The “vaguely sexual titles” of a number of artworks brought smiles to my face. A copy of her Nudes zine in a fabric bag alongside a handwritten instruction “touch me” and an arrow pointing to it. A vibrating artwork about the clitoris. Even a copy of the room sheet is somewhat cheekily displayed within an article of feminine underwear.

Image of Thompson’s vibrating artwork on light box – Brian Rope

 

Image of displayed room sheet – Brian Rope

However, the important message in this exhibition is not humorous. The artist has written in the room sheet “Architectural shapes, the body and vaguely sexual titles all speak to my longing for a connection that is not predicated on denial. The aura of violence and its disavowal can be felt in these works. Past and present are touching each other in a dream space. My Nudes call for intimacy and repair.”

Thompson studied screen production in the late nineties, directed film clips for bands, and shot her own vignettes and small documentaries. For these artworks, she has drawn from 8mm films created by her family forebears - slicing and overlapping selected fragments. The resultant delicate compositions “explore memory, the body, and the politics of visibility.”

Skye Thompson, Sun Bake, 2024

Through a practice grounded in disruption, she embraces imperfection as a form of resistance. Her digital scans of film retain whatever particles are on the material – dust, saliva, whatever. Quite the opposite of cinematic clarity and control, the result is an alternative archive - intimate, fractured, and quietly radical. Each artwork is well worth spending time with - looking, exploring, noticing, doing what every good photographer does – SEEING! 

So, was I wrong to suggest there is no connection between these two exhibitions? Yes, I was. Both are very much about sensory experiences. Both should impact on the viewer’s perceptions. Both challenge us.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

Emotional Landscapes II

Visual Art Exhibition Review | Brian Rope

Emotional Landscapes II I Margaret Gordon, Manuel Pfeiffer and Alan Pomeroy

ANCA Gallery I 23 April – 11 May 2025

In July/August 2024, ANCA exhibited Emotional Landscapes I by Jenny Adams, Julie Delves, Eva van Gorsel & Delene White. Van Gorsel subsequently received a Canberra Critics Circle award for her imaginative and creative observations and, in particular, her key part in that exhibition.

Emotional Landscapes II featuring artworks by three other artists has the same purpose - questioning the dichotomy of being apart from nature versus being an integral part of it. Photographer and former climate scientist van Gorsel curated this show, in close consultation with the artists.

My initial reaction on entering the gallery was to immediately see the landscape in Pfeiffer’s pieces, but not in the other works. That was my narrow interpretation of landscape. Gordon’s works feature landscapes of nude human bodies, whilst Pomeroy has “set out to re-imagine the contemplative posture as a composite posture figure set against evocative landscapes.” Pfeiffer’s art is not a straightforward representation of landscapes as we might actually see them. Like those of all good artists, they are interpretations of what he saw.

Each artist has revealed something of their personal emotional experiences to a variety of landscapes, enabling viewers of the works to reflect on their own emotional responses to landscapes they explore.

Gordon most commonly produces small sculptural pieces of her models. But here she presents mostly pastel and charcoal drawings, with just one acrylic painting and one ceramic sculpture.

Margaret Gordon, 38 Small Form, 2024, ceramic sculpture, 13.5 x 18.5 x 10cm

Photograph provided by ANCA

All these human landscapes are female. She participates in a variety of workshops sketching both genders, but as selected pieces for this show she felt it appropriate to use only drawings of female models. The drawings are diverse, showing various amounts of detail in differing parts of the sketched bodies. That, plus the variety of body types reveals the diversity of the female body landscape. How we each respond emotionally will depend on our genders, ages, personal body types and more.

Margaret Gordon, 26 Another Seated Form, 2024, pastel and charcoal, 52 x 46cm

Photograph provided by ANCA

Six of Pfeiffer’s works on canvas are painted with acrylic; two are mixed media. All eight vibrantly colourful works are striking in appearance. As always with this artist, they are beautifully composed and executed. One most interesting feature is the inclusion of shapes, such as that of a diamond or an egg. They are paintings of landscapes many of us have visited or, at least, seen in photographs. We can clearly recognise some outback places. My favourite work is of the Devil’s Marbles, but they are all a joy to look at.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 04 Karlu Karlu (Devil's marbles), 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 24x36 inches (61x92cm)

Photograph provided by the artist

Some of the landscapes portrayed are less obvious, but the titles identify them. So, for example, we know the Nullarbor is being portrayed even if we don’t immediately recognise it. I very much enjoyed the clear representation of the long straight stretch of road through a flat landscape with no trees. The magical place known as Larapinta is also delightfully shown, almost demanding we walk on the long trail.

Manuel Pfeiffer, 07 Magic Larapinta, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 24x36 inches (61x92cm)

Photograph provided by the artist

And then there are Pomeroy’s wonderfully thought-provoking works. Again the catalogue titles arguably provide keys which enable us to open the doors to the material we need to explore in order to properly think about what this artist is saying. Each piece shows figures set against evocative landscapes. They are observing and meditating, fingers pressed against their mouths almost being gnawed. They are sitting on the fence in one work – seeking the wisdom of the three wise monkeys?

Alan Pomeroy 02, On the Fence, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 91.5 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE

All are simply delightful paintings. And there is also a most affordable 40pp book featuring the artist’s own photographs of his art. In it his artist’s statement reveals the inspirations for these works in his continuing artistic inquiry, and his hoping to encourage awareness of the power of thought .

Alan Pomeroy 05, In Too Deep, 2024, oil on canvas, 76 x 112 cm. Photograph, Alan Pomeroy. TBE 

As with its forerunner, Emotional Landscapes I, this exhibition most successfully achieves what its artists set out to do. They have created artworks which cause us to reflect on our personal emotional responses to the natural world in which we live. And invite us to ask ourselves how and whether we can live in harmony with our natural environment.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

 

2024 Concept to Publication

Exhibition Review: Visual Art | Brian Rope

Concept to Publication | Andrea Bryant, George Kriz, Meredith Krust-McKay, Louise Maurer, Helena Romaniuk, Sari Sutton

PhotoAccess Gallery I 28 November 2024 – 21 December 2024

This exhibition is the outcome of the 2024 Concept to Publication workshop series conducted by Photo Access. After nine months of mentorship by David Hempenstall exploring the art of the photobook, the participants have created new bodies of work showcasing their unique photographic styles in books.

There is quite a variety of book types on display. Not unexpectedly, the subjects and types of images in them vary considerably. Of even greater interest though is the varied styles of books. Some are traditional and commercially printed photobooks. Others are cleverly handmade and quite fascinating to see. 

Andrea Bryant is displaying four separate books. Unleashed has just eight images of Scrivener Dam overflows during major rain events. It has a ribbon hinge accordion binding with a marbled cover. Upright has only six monochrome images in a concertina binding with flag pouches for the images. Both these books were crafted for the artist by Joy Tonkin of Bookarts Canberra.

Unleashed by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Upright by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Footloose is a whimsical exploration of feet and shoes. Unnamed is abstracts of our urban landscapes. The imagery in both these books challenge us to appreciate them. 

Footloose by Andrea Bryant – installation photo by Eunie Kim

George Kriz presents Holding On, Letting Go. It is a tribute to his beloved wife Marjorie who passed away at the start of 2024. This is an artwork speaking to us about letting go and saying goodbye. The artist invites viewers to contemplate the transient nature of our existence. Whilst the physical book is not entirely easy to handle and explore because of its somewhat complex structure, viewing the accompanying powerful video is a most moving experience.

Holding On, Letting Go by George Kriz – installation photo by Eunie Kim

Meredith Krust-McKay invites us to get Up Close and enjoy the beauty of birds. The images of the avian world are excellent, and the chosen types of handmade books are fine choices, in the artist’s words “conveys parallels between the structure and delicacy of the feathered subject matter and the intricacies of one book form.”

Up Close by Meredith Krust-McKay - installation photo by Eunie Kim 

Up Close by Meredith Krust-McKay - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Louise Maurer’s contribution is titled Australian Tales. It is a creative imagining of explorer Charles Sturt’s search for an inland sea. It and her Memorial series about those who attempt to cross the waters but never find land became one in the process. Her “creative revision” method of developing the images has been beautifully used.

Australian Tales by Louise Maurer - installation photo by Eunie Kim 

Australian Tales by Louise Maurer - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Helena Romaniuk is showing photobooks about rust developed from her project which involved experimenting with templates, collages and colours. There are a number of books in her series titled Colour of Rust. Each one contains images of rusted metal surfaces, weathered machinery and forgotten relics. The textures, pattens and vibrant colours are effectively used to reveal unexpected beauty.

Colour of Rust by Helena Romaniuk - installation photo by Eunie Kim

Sari Sutton was a Dark Matter artist-in-residence at Photo Access this year. Her body of work, Dark Energy, was developed during the residency. Using archival Mount Stromlo imagery and botanical materials collected on site, photogram artworks inspired by astronomy and the cosmos were made – deliberately moving or placing objects on the photosensitive paper. Here the artist shows a photobook dummy of darkroom prints (which are the same 8x10 inch dimensions as her original silver gelatin prints) in a way which allows us to touch and hold them.

Dark Energy by Sari Sutton - installation photo by Eunie Kim

This exhibition is well worth a visit. It is a credit to the six participants, and to their mentoring by David Hempenstall. This annual program has delivered worthwhile creative results.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

2024 Concept to Exhibition

Photography Exhibition Review | Brian Rope

Concept to Exhibition I James Bolto, Kate Leddick, Fernanda Pedroso, Albert Soesastro, James Whitehead

PhotoAccess Gallery I 28 November 2024 – 21 December 2024

This exhibition is the outcome of the 2024 Concept to Exhibition workshop series conducted by Photo Access. After nine months of mentorship the participants have created new bodies of work showcasing their unique photographic styles.

James Bolto’s series of artworks explores wildlife – in particular the resilience of wildlife in the context of our expanding urban areas. Creatures have to adapt to live with us – or relocate to other habitats. The artist tells us that, in order to co-exist with us, wildlife species each have to find ways of living alongside us if they are to survive. His images provide information about various creatures which invite us to think about our co-existence with various species. This series effectively poses the question “to what extent should their challenges matter to us.” 

James Bolto - Black Mountain Colony, 2024

James Bolto, 2024 (Installation Image)

Kate Leddick’s series The Messy Journey of Motherhood, 2024 reflects on various aspects of family life, including love, parenthood, separation and chaos. The images have come from diving into her archives. The resultant series is, for her, a personal one about memories of what she considers to be a messy motherhood journey. The exhibition catalogue provides further details of how her feelings emerged as she undertook her exploration of her archives. 

In another series Silent Currents, 2024 Fernanda Pedroso has explored “the quiet sadness” of Tokyo – a city of silent currents, spaces between and spaces within: a city of crowds, of pulsing streets, and “where individuality thrives, yet human connection feels elusive.” Each of the images contributes to a most interesting overall snapshot of the busy city and reveals elements of the city that this artist has identified. This series is an excellent example of how photographers can explore specific urban areas and paint descriptions for those fortunate to see their imagery.

Fernanda Pedroso - from the series Silent Currents, 2024 

Fernanda Pedroso - from the series Silent Currents, 2024

Albert Soesastro has long been passionate about both photography and skateboarding. It makes sense therefore that he has merged those two passions and created photographs about skateboarding. These images immediately attracted my attention as I entered the gallery. They are vibrantly colourful and, together with their titles, reveal much about skateboarding to those of us who don’t have the knowledge.

Albert Soeastro - Argenis Urbina, Backside five-o-grind, Hume, 2023

Albert Soesastro - Annie Walker, Nose slide series, Canberra City, 2022

James Whitehead’s series reality : dreaming, circa 1987 – 2024 is about wondering what “the other side” was like, which side he was on, images recalling memories, everyday light, and new life taking shape. There are two distinct styles of images alternating on the walls of the gallery. Small colour prints arranged in groups are, presumably, memories. His other exhibits immediately say “artwork”. 

JAMES WHITEHEAD - from the series reality : dreaming, circa 1987 – 2024 

JAMES WHITEHEAD - from the series reality : dreaming, circa 1987 – 2024

Overall, the exhibition is well worth a visit. It is a credit to the five participants in the workshop, and to their mentoring by Alex Robinson. Once again, this annual program has delivered a worthwhile outcome.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

Punk, Romantic

Visual Art | Brian Rope

Punk, Romantic | Sophie Dumaresq

CCAS Manuka | 6– 15 December 2024 (11am–5pm, Friday-Sunday)

Punk, Romantic is the debut solo exhibition by Sophie Dumaresq, a recent graduate of the ANU School of Art + Design (SoA+D). She was selected for the prestigious Hatched: National Graduate Show 2024 at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, is participating in Next Wave’s 2024/25 Kickstart residency program, and is the 2024 artist-in-residence at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, having received the 2023 CCAS ANU SoA+D Emerging Artists Support Scheme Mentorship and Exhibition Award. 

I first became aware of Dumaresq in March 2020 when I saw her work The Hairy Panic, a significant part of a broader exhibition at the Nishi Gallery, for which she received an ACT Arts Award. Sadly, that exhibition was taken down early because of COVID-19. Her artworks in it featured tumbleweeds she hand-made from chemically processed and hand-dyed human hair and painted pink steel. One work was later a finalist in the Mullins Australian Conceptual Photography Prize, another a finalist in the Goulburn Art Prize. 

Fast forward to 2024. At the beginning of this year View 2024, Photo Access’s annual showcase of emerging photo-media artists from the ACT and surrounding regions, included three Dumaresq artworks – a digital print & mixed media piece, a digital video and an installation comprising a digital video, an expanse of fluffy pink carpet, cow pillows and a beanbag. 

Now, at the close of this year, Dumaresq has her debut solo show. Dumaresq has created a structure in which a divided cow’s skull with a jaw cast of recycled ocean plastics is connected mechanically to a unicycle generating chewing actions as she pedals it whilst attempting to stay balanced. She sees it as a robot which uses her brain as its microprocessor.

Dumaresq was mentored by performance artist Stelarc in 2023 as part of the Creative Australia and Creative New Zealand Digital Leadership fellowship. An essay by Stelarc accompanying the room sheet tells us The multimedia, interdisciplinary and performative projects of Sophie Dumaresq are about a personal sensibility that combines the human, the animal and the machinic in permutations and combinations that are uncanny and surreal. Simultaneously conceptually driven, embodied and performed, but also with an awareness of the potency of the documented image. Her projects and performances are heroic acts in that she is audacious and undaunted in realising her ideas. And in her ecological awareness and inclusion of the animal, there is a more astute understanding of the ecological systems of both the natural and the technological.

The structure, CowPunk, takes centre stage in the exhibition space, securely held in place. Visitors can examine it close up and explore the diverse elements from which it is constructed. Another exhibit is a looped GIF – if that meme term is unfamiliar you can read about it here. And on the walls of the gallery are remote shutter-controlled artist self-portraits, in which she is balancing on the seat. Sometimes a friend is standing alongside holding the robot.

The location for the images is a rock ledge adjacent to the ocean – chosen because it is a place of wonderful childhood memory, a place where her dad took her as a baby in his arms, and of which she has photos. The first attempt to create the images proved difficult because of the strength of the wind at the time, so Dumaresq and her friend returned very early the next morning and were rewarded with a beautiful sky featuring, again, pink.

The Punk Rock Idle, Attempt Two, Yuin Country, Australia, untitled #4, Punk Romantic, 2024 

The Punk Rock Idle, Attempt Two, Yuin Country, Australia, untitled #2, Punk Romantic, 2024 Remote shutter-controlled artist self-portrait 

Behind-the-scenes self-portrait with Emma Rani Hodges, Punk, Romantic, 2024

I expect we will see more of CowPunk as the artist seeks to further realise what she wants to achieve using it.

This review is also available on the author's blog here. 

 

RGB & UNKEMPT COGNITION

Exhibition Review: Visual Art | Brian Rope

RGB | Nicci Haynes

UNKEMPT COGNITION | Ella Barclay

Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS) Lakeside Canberra | 13 July – 14 September 2024

These two exhibitions are both exciting, visual treats to enjoy. The colours are mostly vivid, powerful, almost mesmerising.

Nicci Haynes is an artist based in Kamberri/Canberra. She works in a variety of media, including drawing, performance, print, film, and installation. Her experimental practice is process driven. She is creative in her use of a variety of materials and spontaneous in her approach, frequently recycling technology and odd objects. In RGB this artist expands her investigation of how language and communication intersect and interact across various media.

Haynes is showing just three artworks, but each of them is excellent and, as previously noted, richly colourful. RG-Being is a 1-minute-long digital video which flicks very quickly through a series of photographs by Andrew Sikorski. Each image is full of colour. Each is, I presume, of the same person in a variety of poses wearing, displaying, putting on or taking off brightly coloured but otherwise plain items of clothing, all absolutely in the RGB spectrum.

NICCI HAYNES 'RG-Being' (still 3), 2024, Digital video (photos by Andrew Sikorski), 1’00” duration

Then there is an installation utilising digital videos, TVs, projectors and electronics. A wonderful tower of more colour on numerous monitors (once discarded but now re-used). A constantly changing mosaic – pinks, yellows, blues, oranges, all vying for attention. And the third piece is another installation – a multi-projector projection of more colours - less vibrant, more pastel. Three great artworks.

NICCI HAYNES '255, 255, 255' 2024, Installation (digital videos, TVs, projectors, electronics), dimensions variable, photo by Brenton McGeachie

NICCI HAYNES 'Being Colour' 2024, Installation (multi-projector projection), dimensions variable, Photo by Brenton McGeachie

The room sheet essay by Dr Denise Thwaites is titled Harmless Fun. It makes an interesting suggestion - that the artworks are monumental, but worn, reminding her of a place in Budapest where old Soviet monuments have been torn down and reconfigured. Haynes artworks here ask what we can see in piles of junk. This essay is a fine accompaniment to the exhibition.

Ella Barclay's first institutional Kamberri/Canberra solo exhibition, Unkempt Cognition, features brand-new work created during a residency at ZK/U The Centre for Art and Urbanistics, Berlin, in 2024. The exhibition combines photographs and a series of humorous light installations to investigate basic human experiences inside our networked everyday lives. A world of growing disasters and clumsy automation awaits us in the doom-scroll bed-rotting experience.

Again there is a great deal of vivid colour. Three large inkjets on archival cotton rag from her Enhanced Entanglements series are vibrant, multi-coloured Contemporary abstract creations shouting look at us.

ELLA BARCLAY 'Enhanced Entanglements 1 (Deployments and Abstentions)' 2023, Inkjet on archival cotton rag, 84 x 61.4cm, Photo by Brenton McGeachie

As much as I enjoyed the three prints hanging on a wall, they have to compete for attention with nine installation pieces which are quite fascinating. 

Three large, molded blankets of black acrylic adorn parts of the floorspace. At one end of each piece we see colourful footwear peeking out; the other end reveals parts of blond wigs. Are there bodies hidden under there?

ELLA BARCLAY 'Quiet Serfing 2' 2024, Acrylic, Crocs, blonde wig, beach volleyball, 230 x 120 x 40cm, Photo by Brenton McGeachie

Accompanying the three-dimensional blankets in the space are various assemblages utilising more of the black acrylic, plus LED lights, electronics, aluminium, silicon, hand blown glass and other materials. Some of these pieces are also on the floor, others suspended from the ceiling. Above them all a wonderful and lengthy tangle of LED silicon lights delivers multiple colours that reflect delicious patterns on the shiny surfaces of the black acrylic artworks. Once again, rich colours in abstract patterns.

ELLA BARCLAY 'Unkempt Cognition' (Canberra Contemporary Art Space exhibition installation), 2024, Photo by Brenton McGeachie

Another fine room sheet essay, by William Kherbek, discusses the distinction between information and knowledge. It tells us that “Barclay’s works regularly explore the edge cases of presence, the body is present, or has been present, its traces are visible, the edges of its intentions are visible if not entirely intelligible”. I encourage all to visit the two exhibitions and to read both the essays, both before and after seeing the artworks. They are also available on the CCA website.

All contributors to the two exhibitions have delivered a great show.

This review is also available on the author's blog here.

MONACHOPSIS

Exhibition Review: Photography | Brian Rope

MONACHOPSIS | Hilary Wardhaugh

CCAS Manuka | 14 – 24 March 2024

Speaking at the opening of her exhibition, local long-established career professional photographer, Hilary Wardhaugh, announced it was the first step in her new career as an artist. There was much laughter and positive response to that. Having long believed artists can emerge later in their life journeys – without undertaking formal tertiary art studies – I was delighted.

Wardhaugh has been capturing images for around 27 years, specialising in portrait, event, editorial and branding photography. But now, she proclaimed, a separate artist career was also underway.

In fact, this photographer’s website states that, more than a photographer, she considers herself an artist, activist/provocateur, volunteer and creator of community. It says her creative endeavours bring people together in the pursuit of a better world, her interest involves the human condition: irony and contradiction - and she also pursues topical and creative projects to highlight a theme or an issue, most recently climate change.

Wardhaugh has curated many projects involving women and photography; for example, Loud and Luminous (with Mel Anderson as co-Creator) and most recently a climate change project, The #everydayclimatecrisis Visual Petition, which achieved global recognition. Those projects have clearly demonstrated this photographer is an artist, activist, etc.

So this artist is very passionate about using photography as activism and demonstrating that through artistic, provocative and innovative means. And that is just what she is doing with this solo exhibition.

I had not previously heard the word monachopsis so turned to online sources seeking its meaning. I learned it is a new word, coined by writer John Koenig in his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It describes the feeling of being maladapted to your surroundings, like a seal on a beach. Monachopsis is temporary for most people and diminishes when the unfamiliar becomes familiar and new routines and unknown faces become norms.

I now know I have personally experienced monachopsis as a result of being in a new and not familiar situation. I’m sure everyone else has had the same type of experience. But have we had quite the type of experience Wardhaugh has put before us here?

The journey that has culminated in this exhibition actually began in June 2016 when Wardhaugh saw the Queanbeyan River’s bank was littered with what she has described as “the detritus of the capitalist Anthropocene era”, and as a “grim testament to our collective negligence.” The sight stirred within her “a potent blend of horror and introspection.”

However, these exhibited artworks were created later. Wardhaugh visited Indonesia’s Bintan Island, and Greece’s Santorini. Again, the artist saw vast quantities of waste on beaches. I only saw pristine beaches on those two islands when I visited them many years ago; clearly our personal experiences depend on where we go and when.

So, this exhibition of artworks by this emerging artist is very much a response to experiences, revealing her hope that nature might reclaim those beaches.

Portrait of a discarded plastic sunscreen bottles cultivated by molluscs on Bintan © Hilary Wardhaugh

Feral car reclaimed by prickly pear on Santorini © Hilary Wardhaugh

Derelict building spoiling the natural landscape on Santorini © Hilary Wardhaugh

The artist has also created a site-specific artwork, placing digital copies of waste objects she found onto a long decal laid on the gallery floor. Her aim was to make exhibition visitors reflect on their responsibility to our planet. During the opening numerous visitors unintentionally walked on that artwork.

There is a very large print filling the entire end wall of the gallery space. And there is to be a closing ticketed event with composer @ruthleemartin who has created three new pieces of music in response to the exhibition.

Everything in this splendid exhibition encourages reflection about human impact on the environment. It transports us into that unsettling place to which monachopsis refers. Wardhaugh’s belief that art can provoke valuable conversations and lead to meaningful action underpins her purpose. And she has most successfully achieved what she set out to do.

This review (in an abbreviated form) was first published by Canberra City News on 17 March 2024 here. It is also available on the author's blog here.