"Unearthed" by Trevor Hood

UNEARTHING THE MEANING WITHIN

Trevor Hood asks us, “Mostly the world goes unnoticed. Do we notice below the surface? Do we look longer than the fleeting moment?

Either we don’t know what to look at or we fail to understand its importance and miss the opportunity to look at all. Much that we see is on our periphery and fails to register in any meaningful way. Sometimes we see phantoms, but what we see is only ever a slice of what can be considered real. No two people understand the world in the same way and no two people look, think or imagine alike."

These artworks are snapshots that can be seen to give some shape and drama to unnoticed shadows and unearth the barely perceived.”

This is Trevor’s first solo show at Jayes Gallery & Sculpture Gardens and we’re very excited to unearth what Trevor has been working on. His large and impressive works take us into unknown territory, the unseen forces of nature around us. His long career as a teacher in the arts gives him a dexterity with paint and canvas that is rarely seen. The works are finely tuned to build forms that incite the imagination with layers of transparent washes over solid shapes. This will be an outstanding exhibition of the highest standard.

"Red Earth"

Exhibition opens Friday 4 May at 6 pm - all welcome!

"Elemental Sky" by Aida Pottinger

"Reflections" Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 50 cm x 70 cm

Artist’s Statement – Aida Pottinger

My mother was a Latvian refugee who fled the Russian invasion of Latvia into Germany and from there; she went as a refugee to England where she met my father. I was conceived in Lancashire and was born in Yorkshire where I was neither English nor Latvian. This exhibition tracks the landscapes linking mother and daughter. A powerful and emotional journey through war and migration, connecting Europe, England and Australia together. Land has a powerful hold over one’s identity. It is part memory, part anchor, part mystery. Peter Haynes, Director of ACT Museums and Galleries describes my work as “highly atmospheric, dream-like presentation with an air of mystery and nostalgia which captures the veils of memory”

I work in a variety of mediums including oils acrylics and ink and while working with a particular location in mind I am not bound by an exact recreation – I prefer to let intuition and the medium dictate what happens on the surface, exploring images which arrest the eye and are arrived at spontaneously. Working from life and landscape as a jumping off point. I like to push the source material to capture an atmosphere or mood visually echoing memories and emotions. My work emerges out of a landscape I may be working on and is a subconscious recognition of how the earth gives birth, nurtures, sustains and eventually reclaims the life on it.

My interests in composition, atmosphere and light reflect several of my artistic influences. First is the tradition of romantic landscape and the obvious influences of JMW Turner and Caspar David Friedrich.  A second direct influence on my work are the works of  Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, who explored spatial structure and resonant colours in their abstract works. My work continues in these traditions by constructing landscapes that directly and meaningfully resonate to the viewers’ presence and engagement.

"Birdsong" by Lucy Watts

"Quenching the morning's thirst" Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 45 cm x 45 cm

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

The beautiful Australian Magpie has always inspired me. As a young girl I clearly remember looking through an enormous arch shaped window of a very old building onto towering gum trees. I was searching for the group of magpies that were making the most heavenly sound. I had just started in the junior school choir at the time and we practised once or twice a week. I thought “These birds are incredible. Here they are throwing together a complex choral masterpiece on a whim from the trees when we, in the school choir, were struggling to hold a two-part harmony.”

Much later I learned that these stunning bird songs were actually battle tunes performed to assert territorial dominance but at the time their music seemed like a glorious celebration of the Australian bush. It’s hard to imagine a bush setting like this without the melodious warbling of the Australian Magpie. This idea of the magpie song celebrating Australia’s natural beauty is the inspiration behind this exhibition.

The remote property where we live is in the Central Western farming district of NSW. Our garden drops away to a patchwork of endless plains that move with the seasons. The quilt of paddocks is set against a backdrop of deep blue mountains. In the early morning members of the huge colony of magpies that have made our garden and paddocks beyond their home, play in the garden together. They teach their young to fly from the nearby power-lines. For hours they supervise their young as they copy the technique their parents have displayed earlier. They duck and weave among the trees, dance under our sprinkler and warble atop our Hills Hoist. Their antics never fail to entertain and fascinate me.

My intention with this body of work has been to capture the personality, energy and texture of these wonderful creatures.

"Up Close & Personal" by Janelle Bowler

Jayes Gallery is pleased to present the photographic images of talented Janelle Bowler in this forthcoming exhibition. Many of the works have been printed as large format giclees on canvas and would make a statement in any home.

Janelle says of her works, "So often when taking pictures I’m asked “Why do you get so close?” 

Such unique perspectives, patterns, even colours come to life when you take a different point of view and go in close on your subject, whether with a camera or whatever media you choose to represent the world through.

Suddenly a plain old leaf lying in a gutter takes on new value and calls for appreciation as intricate details or fascinating forms that you never realised were there, emerge to enlarge your vision and the beauty that lies there unbeknown to the casual observer.  What was just an ordinary scene, becomes extra-ordinary.

The beauty of the camera is that the lens can take you there, right up close where often your eye would or could never venture. The creative work is already done. You however have the great pleasure of revealing it to a world unawares.

Getting up close and personal certainly pays off in the end enriching our lives with the knowledge that beauty really is all around us."

Janelle's work is really perceptive and original so why not come and be inspired!

'BURNT HILLS" AND "WILD WOODS' INSPIRE ART!

In an exhibition of works "Burnt Hills", artist Sally Watson brings us a fresh view of her world inspired by burnt hills and the natural world. Watson has a strong sense of line and form and these are works with a 'zen' quality that will hold your attention.

Opening on Saturday, August 21 at 6.30 pm, everyone is invited to attend.

SALLY WATSON'S STATEMENT:

"I have always loved the round hills of the landscapes around Orange. There is something maternal about the roundness and they seem to hold things in place. A daily walk is often a source if inspiration for may drawings, whether it is the shape of a leaf or an abstract idea. In November 20009, there was an out of control grass fir e which burnt out paddocks for kilometres until it was finally extinguished within 500 metres of where I lived. The familiar round hills were blackened and marks with the tracks from the fire trucks and I was reminded of the drawings by Rover Thomas. I was inspired to make a series of drawings based on the burnt hills. The hills are beside the road which I walked for many days and which had served as an inspiration for artworks, From November until January, I created large and small drawings, which were based on those burnt hills and the emotions of anguish and release of fear. I let myself go so I could explore my feelings through the drawings.

This exhibition also includes works from my Organic Abstraction Series. In these drawings I have not been concerned with representing any seen reality. One method I have used is automatism where the act of drawing, painting or writing is based on chance, suppressed consciousness and free associations. The subconscious holds thoughts and feelings, which can be hidden from us. Drawing an be a spontaneous way of letting go of control and allowing the work to emerge. Meditation, Zen and solitude always influence my work.


My arts practice includes keeping a visual journal, the observation of life around me, the inclusion of meditation as a way of becoming conscious of thoughts and feelings, the development of mark making, along with the loosening up and letting go of control in drawing and brushwork. I also make drawings, which are composed entirely of words, which represent a spontaneous flow of my consciousness. To me this is cathartic. The Organic Abstraction Series has nature nature and human emotion as the source for inspiration and also makes the use of gestural drawing and brushwork.


The richest way for me to be with myself is to paint and draw."

JUDY WHITLOCK'S STATEMENT:

"I work on paper in a  variety of media, painting, watercolour landscapes and leaf studies; drawing trees in pen and ink; and printmaking: etchings, mostly of trees, and oil-marbling. I make miniature books and photography is becoming an obsession.


My finished work is studio-based using sketch book drawings and photographs. I visit specific locations to obtain this material; on such trips I tramp around with a pen, sketchbook and camera. Working in pen forces a decision and creates a confidence in line and style. It is a very productive method and I have filled dozens of sketchbooks.

My paintings and etchings all evolve from the sketches. In the studio, (painting or preparing an etching plate) I like to play with composition, quality of light and bring my own atmosphere to a picture.


My tree drawing begin in situ and are finished in the studio. I vary the substrate and style but always there are millions of lines.


I am constantly refining, rethinking; I am always at work."


On inspiration, Judy says "All trees evoke some kind of response in me. They are the quintessential landscape. Many of my specific travel locations are for the trees alone. Some preferred areas are, the Darling and Murrumbidgee Rivers, western NSW, that area round Lake mUngo and it' many dry lakes, southern Alaska, and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State USA.


Trees communicate a wealth of information relating to their environment and station in life; eg - White Spruce in southern Alaska are attacked by the brown beetle. This beetle has a degenerative effect and as a consequence, the spruce now stand sad, alone and forlorn.


Leaves are as interesting as their trees; all different and individual. I have vast collections of them, some, years old. They all have a story to tell. 


Some trees even grow on sand hills. Like leaves, who could not love them? - sand hills I mean. They lie waiting to be climbed, drawn and painted. The sun changes their colour; the wind, their shape. Alive, they creep slowly across the land devouring all in their path.


My printmaking specifically etching, is an extension of my drawing - studies perhaps rather than landscape as a whole. I like the atmosphere of a finished print and the whole printing process."


These two women artists both have insights and the love of this land that inspires many artists to express themselves. This is indeed a lovely exhibition with many pieces that will likewise inspire you, the viewer to a new understanding of Australia and the nature of this place.

"Line and Link" - Digital artists challenge the 'way we see'!

Jolanta Nejman, Australian/Polish artist and surface designer. Her passion for creativity has been rich and diverse spanning many decades and countries. Having been a fashion designer, interior designer, set designer, costume designer, television production designer, mixed media artist and involved in many other areas. Over time she has gathered the knowledge of many skills, not all at expert level of course.
As a dabbler, always curious about varied fields and techniques has given Jola the knowledge to combine in her art works some elaborated mixed media. Her inspiration comes from nature, design and society.

The first exhibition in 1992 set the path for exploring shape, texture and colour. The first pieces, a series of framed mirrors, hand shaped, painted and sealed were just a step on a long trip. Phil, her partner is an explorer and amongst his many talents is Industrial Design which helps when Jola's aim is beyond the familiar. With time she embraced his love of computers and they are now an indispensable tool in what they both do.

If you wonder about her creative process, well, it begins with an idea, progresses to gathering references, sketching, drawing, scanning, researching and experimenting. As the days go by the original idea usually evolves, sometimes the art tells her to stop and sometimes it asks for more. Sometimes she gets in a moment and creates without conscious thought but mostly there's a lot of thinking and figuring out how to get just the right texture/colour/balance.

The images reflect, love, loss, thoughts, emotions, the intensity of the new and the fading of the old, the lines, the curves, the ebb and the flow…. but mostly they say that I miss my mother, she was young once and I wasn't even born.

Philip Salmon is a thinker, photographer and industrial designer. His family background is light and engineering and from 14 years old he has had a fascination with light that eventuated in starting entertainment lighting businesses that others took over when his passion for capturing light became a focus. Photography has been a 30 year old passion cemented while studying Industrial Design at Sydney College of the Arts in the late 70's. As a 3 dimensional thinker, lighting, sound, sculptures, architecture and anything really interesting, captivates and nourishes his need for knowledge. Macintosh computers and Photography have combined in his latest work to elaborate the capture of a moment into a statement. He loves doing, making and finds inspiration in his surroundings, be they people, bush or city.

Philip has exhibited in the Central West for almost a decade now. Using photography as a medium of expression to shine a light where our eyes often fail to focus his work is infused with texture, rhythm and pattern. The last exhibition saw him go further in his exploration of printing, from the traditional darkroom he has now progressed fully into this millennium and embraced the digital age. Phil's studio now boasts large format printers that not only print on 61cm rolls of paper but can print on almost any media, including fabric and wood. These tools enable his fertile imagination to produce photographic prints which are complex in structure and tell a story beyond the image.

Line and Link is based on events since 2004 which were pivotal in putting us on a road of inner learning. The interest in how we link together originated because of the immense void left in our hearts when we were deprived of our mothers’ presence. To become orphans, no matter what the age, is to be cast adrift from the familial centre. 

Lines and Link is a dual exhibition of Philip Salmon and Jolanta Nejman.

The theme of the past shaping the future, the line of evolution, lines that unite are sometimes the lines that divide us, the networks we live with, the links that we make and the links that bind us. Lines and Link explores different printing media specifically focused on wood.

All these stem from the lines, links, webs between us, seen and unseen. The link between a mother and her child, the link of our foremothers, the ability to be in a crowd and feel alone… 

So after months of preparation, welcome to our exhibition, hope you enjoy it.