‘On the way, this!’ is an etching that refers to the trees that line the creek that I cross when I walk down to my studio. Illuminated by the low winter sun, they cast networks of shadow – and the creek bank vibrates with energy. I’m really pleased that this picture is will appear in one of Australia’s excellent regional galleries, the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale, N.S.W. It is the gallery that houses the Museum of Printing, an historically significant collection of printing machinery and equipment.
I’m also happy that my work will be in fine company – alongside that of colleagues from Newcastle Printmakers Workshop, Black Gully Printmakers, Print Circle, and Southern Highlands Printmakers. Thanks go to a number of members of Newcastle Printmakers Workshop, and in particular Sally Picker, for her hard work co-ordinating our group’s participation, and of course to NERAM.
The LOCUS exhibition opens November 5. The brief was that participating artists make a work that reflects on the theme of place. As the gallery’s publicity states, the exhibition explores the ‘different meanings of place to each artist in a time where the world has become smaller and connection increasingly essential. With more than 50 printmakers from geographically different locations participating, the exhibition is diverse, insightful and a micro view of a universal experience.’ The exhibition runs until January 30, and now that most of the state is out of lockdown, I’m hoping lots of us will have a chance to see it!