Standing still the trees: works on paper by Carol Archer was held from April 1 to 7, 2021, at The Shop Gallery, located in the lively inner-city Sydney suburb of Glebe. Archer describes the show as as ‘a timely meditation on our relationship with the trees we so often take for granted.’
The drawings and prints in standing still the trees celebrate the sense of immersion and wonder one feels when standing with trees. Meanderings near the artist’s home in the Myall Lakes region of N.S.W. and further afield have moved the artist to make these pictures. A preoccupation with light suggests the ephemerality of human perception. The viewpoint, towards ground rather than sky, underlines trees’ resilience and rootedness in ancient earth and rock.
Archer’s work has long been focused on the experience of place, but her preoccupation with trees began with a body of work entitled Time with the Sky which was exhibited at Hong Kong’s Cattle Depot Artist Village in 2010. Most of the works in standing still the trees focus on bushy landscapes in various parts of N.S.W., while some were completed during artist residencies in Sweden, Norway, Cyprus, Spain and Iceland.
The launch of standing still the trees on April 3 was lively and well attended. The exhibition was publicised in the Myall River region of N.S.W. as well as by Sydney City Council.
