ARTS ZINE MARCH 2025 by Robyn Werkhoven

LINDA GREEDY

Page 16

Left: Sprig of Melaleuca groveana, Oil on timber, 23 x 13cm. Linda Greedy 2023.

AKSARA HARRIRAM

Victoria Landscape, Aksara Harriram.

Halloween in Kyiv and a Return to Irpin

HUMANITY IN DANGER AND THE KYIV ART SCENE

GEORGE GITTOES

THERESE GABRIEL WILKINS

Page 90

Shimmer in Nature, US Ecodye Paper Drypoint Handcoloured 54 x 56cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

BERNADETTE MEYERS

Page 146

Soft Awakening, Soft pastel on Archival paper, 24 x 24cm. Bernadette Meyers.

Glass

Sculptures by Dale Chihuly in the Adelaide Botanic Garden

Lorraine Fildes

Page 118

E I G A R Tales of a City XI (Manchester) Page 154

MAGGIE HALL

Page 112

GRESFORD COMMUNITY GALLERY

slp studio la primitive CONTRIBUTORS

Linda Greedy

George Gittoes

Hellen Rose

Aksara Harriram

Therese Gabriel Wilkins

Lorraine Fildes

Maggie Hall

Bernadette Meyers

SEIGAR

Reese North

Peter J Brown

Eric Werkhoven

Robyn Werkhoven

Gresford Community

Gallery

Arts National Newcastle

Timeless Textiles

Barbara Nanshe

Back to Back Galleries

Straitjacket Gallery

Dungog by Design

Helene Leane

Studio La Primitive

Dancers and Devil Dog, Acrylic on canvas, 40x30cm. Robyn Werkhoven 2025.

Demons I, Ink drawing, George Gittoes.

EDITORIAL

Greetings to ARTS ZINE contributors and readers, this is our first issue for March 2025.

We are featuring some great artists and exhibitions.

Hunter Valley artist Linda Greedy’s works are semi abstract oil paintings, and her subjects always have an affinity with nature.

Renowned artist and award-winning film maker George Gittoes features an article -

Humanity in Danger and the Kyiv Art Scene. “My exhibition and film ‘Ukraine Guernica’ were a warning and still is, Humanity is in Danger. Hellen, Ave and the Ukraine artists we are working with, are united in this belief and our resolve to keep making art which protests the brutal direction we are all being dragged into by sociopathic leaders who care nothing for human life or the planet. By being there our creativity is empowered by the fight against the darkness creeping over the world”.

Artist and poet Maggie Hall presents another surreal and distinctive piece Skin Candy and the White Rabbit.

Lorraine Fildes, travel writer and art photographer features the fabulous Glass Sculptures by Dale Chihuly in the Adelaide Botanic Garden.

Artist, photographer and writer Bernadette Meyers features The Joy of the Creative Process in the Age of AI.

International, award-winning Spanish artist and photographer SEIGAR includes a series of photos – Tales of a City XI (Manchester).

We have a follow up article on the contemporary Gresford Community Gallery in the charming rural village of East Gresford in the Hunter Valley NSW.

Don’t miss out reading new works by resident poets Peter J Brown, Reese North, and Eric Werkhoven.

The compelling Hellen Rose, singer, performer and filmmaker presents an articleHalloween in Kyiv and a Return to Irpin.

Aksara Harriram is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Newcastle NSW.

Aksara has moved from place to place exploring her background culturally, bringing forth ideas of home, belonging and displacement having emigrated to distant lands.

In this issue Arts Zine is revisiting the contemporary Australian artist, Therese Gabriel Wilkins. We are featuring her love of photography, words and her latest printmaking.

ART NEWS and information on forthcoming art exhibitions.

Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words and art works in future editions in 2025.

Deadline for articles 15th APRIL for May issue 61, 2025.

Email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com

Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven

The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. Copyright © 2013 Studio La Primitive. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced , in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher.

S T U D I O

L A P R I M I T I V E

Interior Scene with Nude

Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 23 cm. Robyn Werkhoven 2025.

LINDA GREEDY

LINDA GREEDY

Born and raised in Cessnock, Linda lives and works in coastal Port Stephens.

Linda holds a Bachelor of Visual Art and Bachelor of Education from Newcastle University, and a Diploma of Visual Art from Newcastle Art School. Over the years Linda has been a secondary school teacher of art, interior designer, operated her own business and worked across a number of roles within the public art museum sector.

Linda has held many solo exhibitions and been included in more than thirty group exhibitions with work held in public and private collections and has been selected as a finalist in Paddington Art Prize, Muswellbrook Art Prize, Lethbridge 20000, NSW Parliament Plein Air Art Prize, STILL National Still Life Art Prize.

Page 16: Untitled, Oil on linen, H51 x W75cm. Linda Greedy.

Right: Afternoon Walk, Oil on linen, H75 x W51cm. Linda Greedy.

Banksia serrata branches in two vases

Oil on timber

90 x 90cm.

Linda Greedy 2023.

LINDA GREEDY - INTERVIEW

When did your artistic passion begin?

I have always been interested in art and creative activities. I grew up in Cessnock the third child of creative parents. Mum’s first job was hand colouring professional studio photographs. She later became a florist and teacher of floristry, while Dad was someone who could do anything, having built our family home, a boat (including the trailer) and anything else that needed doing. He helped mill the timber for the house, and along with a band of friends and helpers, cut every piece of timber and drove every nail to build our family home. I would love to help Mum hand colour any spare damaged studio photographs, and ‘wire’ flowers for wedding bouquets as much as I loved helping Dad in the shed, hammering, cutting and building my own small projects alongside him.

I remember a neighbour having a clean out and gifting me a large tin of watercolour paints. The tin was in the shape of a red double decker bus. I thought I was made. I loved those watercolours and so began my love of painting. Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I have always loved painting but I was so naïve that I didn’t know that I could be an artist. I thought that was the domain of other people, the ones I read about in Art History books, predominantly men. It wasn’t until later in life that I thought art was a career I could pursue.

Describe your work?

I always work in oil paint. I love that it is slow drying and can be pushed and pulled, scraped back, scrubbed or thickly dolloped on. I would say that my work is semi abstract and my subjects always have an affinity with nature. Landscape and the environment always capture my attention. I’m a keen hiker and being outdoors in the elements is always inspiring, sometimes painting a broad view and other times honing my view onto a particular species of plant.

What is the philosophy behind your work?

I like to express a certain stillness and mood articulating the natural awe of the landscape.

I find walking and being in nature quite meditative, and I feel the same when I am painting. Both are my salve and a perfect antidote to the chaos and upheaval in the world.

Do you have a set method / routine of working?

An ideal day would start with a walk through the bush or on the beach, and then be in the studio around 10 am. I often have a long lunch break and then paint through the afternoon until around 6pm. I like to listen to ABC radio Sydney while I paint.

How important is drawing as an element to your artwork?

As much as I love drawing I’m often impatient to get painting and will start without resolving compositional and palette dilemmas. Bad habit, but one I persist with, and probably why I end up doing a lot of scraping back.

What are some of your favourite artworks and artists?

I have far too many favourites to mention. If I mentioned some, I would later regret leaving others out.

I love collecting art books, and social media has introduced great accessibility to images and artists.

What are the challenges in becoming an exhibiting artist?

Every artist faces unique challenges, and those challenges change and fluctuate over time. Perseverance is essential.

Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions?

Hmmm! That changes as time goes by. What is important at a particular moment in time can change as different challenges and opportunities arise.

What are you working on at present?

I’m working on a series of small landscapes to be included in an online exhibition for Paddington Art Prize. One of the many positive experiences that have been offered since being included in 2024’s Paddington Art Prize.

What do you hope viewers of your art works will feel and take with them?

I hope that viewers have an emotional response to my paintings. I hope that the paintings resonate with the viewers own life experiences.

Your future aspirations with your art?

I just want to keep painting and keep challenging myself. At the end of each series of paintings I’m always keen to get started again on a new series and refine my ideas and processes. Forthcoming exhibitions?

I have a series of paintings on exhibition at Michael Reid Southern Highlands Gallery.

First Light, Oil on linen, H 35 x W 28 cm. Linda Greedy.

G A L L E R Y

L I N D A G R E E D Y

Page 22: Single Banksia Serrata Oil on timber

30 x 30cm.

Linda Greedy 2023.

Right: Casuarina glauca and Banksia integrifolia in a small vase Oil on timber

30 x 30cm.

Linda Greedy 2023.

Banksia in Glass Vase

90 x 90cm. Oil on timber. Linda Greedy

Melaleuca groveana and Persoonia lanceolata

Oil on timber

30 x 30cm.

Linda Greedy 2023.

Untitled Oil on timber 30x30cm. Linda Greedy

Untitled, Oil on timber, H40 x W30cm. Linda Greedy.

Untitled, Oil on timber, H30 x W 20cm. Linda Greedy.

Grey Afternoon, Low Head, Oil on linen. H51 x W 75cm. Linda Greedy.

Late Walk, Oil on linen. H35 x W 28cm. Linda Greedy.

Late Afternoon, Low Head, oil on linen, H35 x W28cm. Linda Greedy.

Three Banksia serrata in three green vessels

Oil on timber

90 x 90cm.

Linda Greedy 2023.

Greedy

Left: Long stem of Banksia serrata in a vase, Oil on timber, H42 x W25cm. Linda Greedy 2023.

Seagulls and Dolphins

Six seagulls flying under the Arctic sun

Six seagulls flying and their flight is a song

Six seagulls flying and their flight is a singing song

Six seagulls flying, flying along

Six seagulls flying, wind lifting their wings

Six seagulls flying and one of them sings

Six seagulls flying in the Autumn sun

Down to the west of New Zealand

With a glint in their eye

That’s sharp as their cry

And black as magnetic lodestone

While down below in the waving water

A dolphin is swimming so strong

In the blue clear sparkling water \under the Arctic sun

With his tail that’s straining so strong

In a blue that’s aqua and cerulean.

And down in the water the dolphin’s swimming

Strong as the waves that bear him

Skin as smooth as a river’s run

And on his back is a sailor

With the sun in their eye and a merry merry rhyme

And down below in a long straight line

The dolphin swims to Opononi.

The Last Time I Saw Gwenda

The last time I saw Gwenda was at my daughter’s second wedding here in Australia at her mother’s farm in Muswellbrook. I was on my way home, up the 10k of dirt road to town in the blazing sun, and her Winnebago came down.

I stopped to let her pass and we exchanged a farewell. She was dying of cancer yet she drove here from WA, attended the ceremony and drove back; and later died. This to me is not least

a testimony to the human spirit, I can honestly say I respected her.

I sit here losing my memory, the years collapsing into each other, getting ready slowly to die.

I have not travelled in 40 years though my family are great travellers. Gwenda travelled the world over and I respect her spirit. So we said goodbye on that dusty track in telescope time some years back.

Peter J Brown, 6-1-2016

HUMANITY IN DANGER AND THE KYIV ART SCENE.

E O R G E G I T T O E S

O R G E G I T T O E S

HUMANITY IN DANGER AND THE KYIV ART SCENE

George Gittoes

The election of Trump has occurred while we are in Kyiv.

This is a critical time for a country which has fought valiantly to preserve the kind of freedoms we enjoy and take for granted in Australia. Trump enjoys his buddy bully relationship with Putin and wants to have similar dictatorial powers over the US. From the start Putin’s hope is to weaken the NATO alliance and regain the territories of the former Soviet Union and Trump is fulfilling Russia’s wishes with seeking the kind of appeasement deal that Neville Chamberlain did with Hitler in 1938. He is excluding Ukraine from the negotiating table and isolating European Allies. He ridicules Zelensky as small time comedian and makes the false claim that he is a dictator when it is Putin who is the dictator and Trump has set America on the path to dictatorship. My exhibition and film ‘Ukraine Guernica’ were a warning and still is, Humanity is in Danger. Hellen, Ave and the Ukraine artists we are working with, are united in this belief and our resolve to keep making art which protests the brutal direction we are all being dragged into by sociopathic leaders who care nothing for human life or the planet. By being there our creativity is empowered by the fight against the darkness creeping over the world.

Page 34: Drawing Husk - George Gittoes.

HUMANITY IN DANGER AND THE KYIV ART SCENE.

This is our third time spent in Ukraine. When we first arrived, it was March 2022 Russians and tanks surrounded the city, but Hellen and I began filming and drawing immediately.

One day, when I was sitting in the back hatch of an exploded tank, drawing a dead Russian a Ukraine soldier, Sasha, came to watch. When I told him I was from Australia he was amazed and grateful someone had come so far to support them. I told him how much I admired the courage of Ukrainians for being prepared to die rather than lose their freedom and that I would keep coming back until it was over. I am keeping to that promise and will be back again and again for however long it takes for victory. Trump is bragging about his deal making powers and that he will bring an end to the war, due to his special friendship with Putin. But people in Ukraine have paid too high a price to accept a deal which rewards Russia.

Over these last three years Hellen and my time has been divided between Ukraine and Afghanistan. In Jalalabad we have our Yellow House Art Centre which is miraculously surviving under Taliban rule. I only spent 4 weeks in Australia in 2024 when I returned for my ‘Ukraine Guernica’ exhibition at Hazelhurst and Deakin University galleries.

During our first visit, beginning in March 2022, we were at a loss to know how we could contribute until we witnessed the destruction of the House of Culture in Irpin. This was proof of how Putin had given orders for all places of culture to be destroyed. He wants to deny that Ukraine has its own culture separate to Russia. We curated an exhibition for the exterior walls, presented performances and created new collaborative artworks in the ruins. The locals loved this act of defiance and supported our efforts to the limit, making it a community art project and all felt inspired by our optimism.

George, Maryisa and Taras working on murals on the bombed remains of the House of Culture, Irpin.

While Hellen worked with a host of musicians and other performance artists I began what I now regard as the most important collaboration of my career with Ave Libertateamour. Together we produced a kind of wordless Graphic Novel titled ‘Kiss of Death’. Our prints from the book are travelling art museums throughout Poland and in July 2025 will be shown in Rome. I discovered Ave’s work in an exhibition in Odessa curated by Uma who collects war art by Ukraine Artists off the internet and makes prints which are displayed in public spaces, as all art galleries and museums have been closed and bordered up. Ave’s graphic style is as dark as mine. We had arrived at a similar visual language for interpreting the war before being aware of each other. We were both targeting Putin and trying to find the symbolic needle that could pierce his heart and help end the war.

Our creative relationship has become so close we are able to work on new pieces when I am either in Afghanistan or back in Australia. The nine metre drawing on canvas ‘Supreme Evil’ which was part of the Ukraine Guernica exhibition was completed in Jalalabad with Ave and I sending new and improved drawings back and forth until the composition was completed. Our small drawings were scanned and easily projected onto the canvas .It was painted where it was hung on the back wall of the Yellow House Rose Garden. Ave watched the progress on social media posts.

During our second time in Ukraine we met three young local artists, Marysia, Artem and Sasha when purchasing supplies at an art store located in the Bohemian quarter of the city. We worked together doing street murals and a large Kiss of Death mural on the House of Culture. This was the start of our introduction to the Underground art scene in Kyiv.

When we returned this time in 2024 Artem and Sasha had escaped to Berlin to avoid being called up and sent to the front. They are both supportive of the war and want to protect Ukraine freedom but as passivists they could not, personally, pick up a gun to kill. Maryisa has remained in Kyiv and introduced us to her circle of other young artists who have decided to stay, regardless of the possible consequences of being sent to the frontline trenches. Her closest friend Taras had an immediate connection with me and agreed to work at the House of Culture to assist with making a series of new murals. These are now complete and have turned the exterior into an exhibition of large scale black and white art including compositions by Taras and Maryisa together with the new collaborative works of Ave and myself. We have had to work in sub zero temperatures and snow conditions to complete the project. This has meant Taras, Hellen and I have often needed to sleep overnight in one of the houses that have not been totally destroyed by the Russians. Often there have been missile bombardments with near hits close to where we have been sleeping.

Above: George and Maryisa. Below: Maryisa working on her mural. George and Taras.

Being with these young artists is like going back to the early 70s at the Sydney Yellow House during what we called ‘the Age of Aquarius’. They are concerned for the planet and belong to the green movement. All are vegans and wear second hand clothes that make them look like characters from an old black and white movie. They purchase their wardrobe from thrift shops. They even draw on recycled paper from discarded packaging. I had thought that Ave’s dark drawings were unique to her but I have now discovered they fit into a shared style that has been born out of this war. While each work has its own personal and signature difference the language and expression is united as much as the work of the German Expressionists. Maryisa reminds me of a Ukraine version of Kathe Kollwitz and Taras is like an Otto Dix. I had told Hellen that at my age I had gone past the need to celebrate birthdays and wanted my 75th to be a quiet day with just the two of us. In the evening our film ‘Ukraine Guernica’ was premiering at a cinema in the Artist Quarter, and we had agreed to attend and do a Q & A. The film had won Best Documentary at the Bobritsa Film Festival Kyiv, sparking intense local interest. The Cinema has a café and bar attached with the kind of atmosphere imagine existed in early 1900’s Paris with personalities like Picasso, Dora Mar and Modigliani at the tables. I sat preparing myself to answer difficult questions about how a film, by an Australian, had portrayed Ukraine at war. To my total surprise Taras appeared from behind a curtain with sparkling candle lit Birthday Cake. The icing spelt out ART NOT WAR and Taras also added a wild expressionist portrait of my face. Hellen had organised all this without me knowing including the arrival of friends like Ave with her 18-month-old baby Penelope. From expecting nothing it had sprung into becoming the best and most memorable birthday of my life.

Ave has become pregnant and given birth to her baby girl, to her husband Anton, in the time we have been working together. Many nights she must curl up with Penelope in the hallway while air raid sirens wail. Penelope is now walking, and Ave has made puppets and a puppet theatre to entertain her in their small apartment. Ave insists we should always work from our subconscious with the drawings and has revived the surrealist in me. We are both happy to work purely in black and white and small format.

Ave relates to Aubrey Beardsley and feels, like he did, that there is no need to add colour. The small pieces of paper we use feel precious and remind me of working on copper or zinc plates for etching. When our drawings are scanned the blacks become thicker. I use our Epson printer to make limited edition, A3 sized prints which are larger than the originals. We frame and exhibit these and not the fragile drawings.

Above: George and Eva. Below: Ave Libertateamour’s mural.

Above: George’s birthday cake. Below: Hellen Rose with puppets and puppet theatre.

Each time we have been in Kyiv we have stayed in the Historic Maidan which is the centre of the old city. We have grown to love our artist friends and where they live, so much, that we will find a place in the Artist Quarter when we return in 2025.

My main art project, now, is to complete the second book of drawings I am doing with Ave which we have titled ‘Humanity in Danger’. The subjects of these drawings have widened to include what is happening in Gaza and with Trump in power in the US, as well as the threats of climate change and poverty. I know I will have to find a way to work in Gaza in the upcoming months. The places where I lived and worked there, in the past, have all been destroyed and many friends killed. Watching the news of the war in Gaza while in Kyiv feels closer and more heart wrenching than seeing it in the safety of Australia.

Ave and I are in daily email contact. Many people see our work as dark and wonder if our personalities are equally dark.

This morning Ave expressed her thoughts on this very poetically :

‘I was thinking about the darkness you talked about, in our drawings, and I came to the conclusion, that it's like a box in ghost hunters, or like when * the demon tells the exorcist its name *, it's a designation of fear, a cataloguing of it, it becomes visible, and therefore vulnerable, he is locked in a frame.

I think that fear is an abyss of the unknown, a dark matter in which, anxious for a human spacesuit, the brain tries to see at least something and, not having the opportunity to grasp this darkness, draws familiar scary entanglements variants of horror. As soon as the light falls into the thick darkness, there are images of what is possible to understand, and therefore you can build expectations.

This is probably how therapy with a diary, or art therapy, works.

Mostly, my dark drawings are an attempt to catch the future, build defences, form expectations, how to move in the unknown viscous darkness of fear, hold fate by the tail, which is like a balloon slipping into an electrified night stormy sky.

This is a hunt for an explanation. With blindfolded, wide-open eyes, in unknown darkness, in search of light.’

A V E L I B E R T A T E A M O U R

Putin hopes to wear down the resolve by targeting the power generating facilities during these cold months of winter. Electricity rationing means we only get a few hours each day. When it gets dark Hellen, and I go to a café that runs a generator so we can continue to draw and write. Last night a beautiful young woman entered with a couple of girlfriends all laughing and excited. When I looked up to her, she smiled and nodded with interest to see me drawing. Then I looked down and noticed she had a prosthetic foot. It was made of steel with a hinge at the ankle. Hellen started a conversation with her, and I asked, “do you think Trump will make a deal as he promises with Putin and Zelensky.” She looked towards her foot and then back into Hellen’s eyes and said, ‘Our new religion is Victory or Apocalypse.’

Each day we hear beautiful choral singing of mourners with an open coffin, passing our apartment. St Michael’s cathedral is up the hill from us and coffins down from there to a section of the Maidan where there are thousands of blue and yellow flags for those who have sacrificed their lives in the fighting. Yesterday Hellen and I followed the procession. When the coffin was rested at the base of a column where there is an angel, that resides over Kyiv, the handsome young soldier looked like he was just sleeping. His wife or girlfriend was running her fingers through his hair and his mother began kissing his face while her tears flowed onto it.

Further away a man in dark cloths and black woollen beanie stepped up from the footpath and walked in amongst the memorial flags. This seemed disrespectful of the relatives who were there to place flowers. Then I noticed the sleeve of his jacket was hanging free and that his left arm was missing. His right hand was heavily bandaged as he tried, with difficulty, to salute where there were flags and photographs of his ‘less lucky’ comrades. As he turned his young face was badly disfigured with deep scars and burns. Hellen came up to him and hugged him as he returned to the pavement. His mother was there and thanked Hellen and walked him away with her arm around his waist. After almost 3 years of war Kyiv is a very sad place to be.

Page 47: Drawing Red Rider I by George Gittoes.

Ink drawing The Thinker I - George Gittoes.

Ink drawing Capsule I - George Gittoes.

GEORGE GITTOES

George Gittoes is a celebrated Australian artist, an internationally acclaimed film producer, director and writer. Gittoes’ work has consistently expressed his social, political and humanitarian concern and the effects of injustice and conflict"I believe there is a role for contemporary art to challenge, rather than entertain. My work is confronting humanity with the darker side of itself."

As an artist Gittoes has received critical acclaim including the Blake Prize for Religious Art (Twice) and Wynn Prize. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of NSW. His films have won many International Awards and in 2015 he was bestowed the Sydney Peace Prize, in recognition of his life’s work in contributing to the peace-making process.

Right: George Gittoes, photo courtesy of artist.

Halloween in Kyiv and a Return to Irpin Hellen Rose

Halloween in Kyiv and a Return to Irpin

Hellen Rose

The sirens are screaming across the city in the daytime and there is another funereal parade down the streets of Maidan, George has gone out to film. We experienced our first blackout last night between 4 and 8pm we went down to a restaurant we like that has plenty of space called Rokola on Khreshchatyk which is a main street leading to the funeral flags for the dead, we walk past this site nearly every day to go to the supermarket, when we first arrived in 2022 there were only a few for the group known as the Fallen One Hundred who were shot down in this very square in the EuroMaidan in 2014 now there are thousands. Its 2024 and we are staying back in Maidan. After nearly a year and a half of residency, if we add all the months together, we know the area well and have an attachment to it, Irpin is about a 20min drive out of the centre. We are staying in an apartment on the well-known Mala Zhytomyrska St that is like a David Lynch set with the flat having a bright yellow faux leather lounge and red curtains with red tiled floors, and a completely red tiled bathroom. The owner, Irina has gone to a lot of nervous trouble to match everything and even the plates and cups are red. There is a huge run-down building next to ours, you can see it close up from the flimsy balcony that is attached to the back near the tiny kitchen, its curled iron railings low and easy to fall from, but prim and neat with more red tiles. I remember when the city was empty, back in 2022, walking down this very street watching a stray cat perched up so high in the top story window that was glaring down at me, a sense of someone staring at me made me turn and meet eye to eye with this feline as it glowered down on me like I was a mouse.

The abandoned animals whose families were killed, or who have not come back to their homes, or been displaced are well fed by the animal loving Kyven’s, but perhaps not cuddled up at night, as they surely would be by their owners and still seem confused as to what’s happened, I think of our dogs, my dear little Snug and Star and the pain stabs at my heart.

Now in Irpin and suburbs all over targets Ukraine, there are so many orphaned cats that the neighbourhoods set up little wooden communal cat houses with bowls of water and food on the sides of the foot paths.

Page 52: Sculpture in the park near Zmkhova Gora. Kyiv.

Apartments still in need of repair in Irpin Cat Home, Urpin.

The top of the hill on Andriivskiy Yzviz

Sculpture in the park near Zmkhova Gora. Kyiv.

This crumbling building dates back to the time when Bulgakov lived on the other side of the hill on Andriivskiy Decent, where he grew up with his family and wrote the White Guard based on the Ukrainian War of Independence 1918. It’s incredible to read the book that clearly describes the very streets I am traversing daily only from the turn of the century. We visit Bulgakov’s childhood home and now political correctness dislikes him and describes him as a supporter of Russia yet somehow his home remains with a wonderful brass sculpture of the demonic cat from The Master and Margarita sitting grinning on the side of the neighbours building, passers-by rub the cat’s nose for good luck and its always well-polished. I like to believe that Bulgakov would have a different opinion today had he witnessed the new Russia and its atrocities, in some cases, for me, that is the intrinsic problem with ‘cancel culture’ its imposing todays beliefs, knowledge, psyche, everything on the past and a context and history that was evolving. Nikolai Gogol, another favourite writer of mine also loved to wander along the Andriivskiy Yzviz and look out over the bohemian quarter of town below, a place where many of our artists friends live, called Podil. His description of schoolboys up near St Sophia’s still rings true to the boys today. Incidentally he shares the same birthdate of March 20th as me, of course I am several hundred years older than him… Gogol was hounded by the ‘politically correct’ of his day and ended up burning part 2 of his masterpiece, Dead Souls and committing suicide as someone had convinced him he was in league with the ‘Devil’.

The streets of Kyiv are ancient and date back to Mesolithic era and built on geographically strategic hills where ancient towns and tribes gathered in prehistoric times and the buildings are from every era from the Medieval Golden Gate and the old gas light buildings on Khreshchatyk street.

The people of Kyiv are back and toughing it out in their destroyed neighbourhoods and so it seems the ghosts have returned at night; they play with me in my dreams tormenting me with a myriad of horrific scenarios. Ghost plants seem to crawl from the delipidated building next door across the walls and spread a ghostly hanging garden across the ceiling of our bedroom, a little ghost bird chirps a strange a tonal sound and a ghost child plays with a ghost cat. I am being tortured by an ugly giant man, bloated and covered in some horrendous skin splitting disease, he is naked and singing some kind of monotonous Russian song… I wake in fright and it’s always 3:45 and I see some strange shape standing over the bed, I blink and blink again and suddenly it’s just the angle of the curtain and shadow formed from the phone charge light, amplified and twisted into the shape of a giant wolf or soldier in the total black out. Night after night of torment until inexplicably, suddenly it all stops, and I have no more dreams and somehow sleep through the night. I feel my initiation back into the psyche of Kyiv has been passed by the spirit world.

The Cat from Bulgakov's Master and Margarita next to his childhood home on Andriivskiy Yzviz. Bulgakov's house on Andriivskiy Yzviz.

Saint Sophias Cathedral. Kyiv.

Icon to the Pre Christian God Parun on Mnt Dytynka, Kyiv.

Zwyntar performing live. Hallowe'en, Kyiv. 2024.

Its Halloween and pagan rituals are second nature to all here. Everyone is dressed in the most fantastic costumery, and I am going to see my friends Eric and Sascha’s band ZWYNTAR preform at a club about 7mins away by car. The bat is the icon of the band, and a gorgeous young man has dressed in a full fur suit and masked ‘bat monster’ costume, accompanied by a sylph of a blond girl, dressed in white, veiled 17th century lace, they are in the centre of the packed club dance floor with thousands in attendance. The crowd are going off and singing along to every song, the makeup Sascha wears is unapologetically over the top, wild eye lenses the lot, and her beautiful voice rings out across the hall. Eric is playing his German Banjo that has a wonderful folky sound and the young crowd start a type of huge conga line of pure dancing and musical joy, they grasp strangers and friends by the waist and wind like a colourful happy giant snake all around the large dancefloor. I’m super excited to be working with Eric and Max on a song for Ave’s daughter Penelope Athena and all the children of Ukraine that will feature in the new updated version of our Ukraine Film, Humanity in Danger. Ave has created the most gorgeous little puppet theatre for her to play with and it’s called ‘Penelope’s Theatre’, the song is titled ‘Penelope Rules the World’ and with Mick Harvey also involved, its like a medieval folk song. Suddenly the bomb sirens howl out across the City and the gig must end early with everyone leaving in an exodus of clattering heels and swishing skirts. Calm ques form, from the third floor down, in the beautiful old wooden building and there is no fear on the young painted faces of these polite and chic Kyivan’s, they are just going through ‘legal paces’ as they chatter and pose for photographs in all their dressed-up finery, laughing and making jokes.

Girl in the crowd at the Zwyntar gig on Hallowe'en 2024 Kyiv.

I order a ‘Bolt’ which is the Ukrainian version of Uber, an expensive black Mercedes arrives although I ordered a cheaper ride, as the snow falls down in this magical Christmas card world, the golden spires of St Michaels are shimmering through the snow, in the pale city lights and the ancient cobbled streets slow down the cars, as modern tyres seem to wobble over them, I’m alone and a very long way from home. I get into the Mecedes and the driver is one of those huge Ukrainian Guys descendant from the Cossacks, and is as tough as any man could get, yet he exudes kindness as he apologises for not speaking English very well, he puts me at my ease like a brother and drives through the winding streets in this black night with no moon, the car smelling faintly of expensive aftershave and leather seats. We stop and say farewells and the building is in total blackout with no elevator, so I must navigate my way up the dark stairs guided by the light from my iPhone. A niggling paranoia in my tiredness starts pricking my nerves, it would be easy for someone to hide here on the stairs and mug me, Irina our landlady is full of such fears and warns me to never allow anyone into the apartment that hasn’t been prearranged, she fears roaming gangs of house invaders and the blackout means the doors to the street no longer lock. Suddenly my neighbour from upstairs Oksana appears like an elderly phantom and my eyes take some time to recognise her and clearly I have startled her as well, we are all on edge, we laugh when we recognise each other’s faces in the dim light of our battery flagging phones, and we squeeze each other’s hands and laugh with relief and slight embarrassment, at our own shared fears, her gold teeth flash warmly as she smiles, parting, she descends as I ascend the freezing darkness. I arrive back and George is writing in his diaries by a battery-operated light.

Penelope's Puppet Theatre made by Ave.

It was strange driving into Irpin, nearly 3 years after we were some of the first people to witness the murderous rampage and destruction that the Russians inflicted upon the innocent people, mothers and children burned alive, fleeing in their cars and vans. Little Eva and her family hiding in their basement as the Russians reduced their home to rubble above them and murdered and raped their neighbours for ‘fun’, looting for ‘spoils of war’. Olga across the road hiding and peering at the atrocities before fleeing up the back streets to her parents’ home.

Hundreds of the cars burned on Irpin Bridge now form a type of mangled mountain of anguish, a buckled and burned monument and all the duco completely burned off them, the exposed metal a rusty orange. The cars were moved into this area away from the bridge in the early days just after the expulsion of the Russians and have remained there. They are a type of unwholesome tourist attraction, and someone painted ugly Kitsch sunflowers on them. I was surprised to see that so much has been repaired over the couple of years, what has not been fixed is hidden by large walls and gates assembled to protect what is left of the people’s homes, also to somehow hide the depressing detritus of blasted homes and lives. The need to move on, to keep living although the sirens still wail and the bombs still fall, somehow people are living through this because they have no choice, desperately trying to keep the invaders out but also to get on with fulfilling so many dreams thwarted and kept in suspension. The Ukrainian winter is cruel, and we are working out doors on the wall that is left from the destroyed building.

We have a new team member here, he’s 25 named Taras after the great and beloved Ukrainian Poet, Taras Shevchenko, he is highly educated in the arts and a lot of fun. We both adore him. Marysia is also around and is also adored by us both, she speaks very poor English, but she emanates light and is a deep thinker. Taras’ girl friend Lillia looks like pre-Raphaelite painting and speaks excellent English as does Taras. They all get along well with Ave, Anton and Penelope Athena. Irpin is being slowly rebuilt and patched up if the foundations of the bombed buildings are still solid enough. The apartments across from the Central House of Art have just stood deteriorating, their burned out windows even darker and more foreboding, the ghosts have fully settled in and you can see them going about their spectral deeds in the light of day, they have no fear of the sun anymore, as the sun seems to have enough shadow cast over it, to make the day seem like night enough for them to not give a damn. The living also have a cast over their eyes anyway as nothing more would surprise them, they have each had some kind of nervous breakdown and recovered in their own way with their own newly fortified inner reality to see ghosts as nowhere as vile as the living enemy always lurking.

Artist Taras, photographs courtesy of Hellen Rose.

Sleeping at Olgas parents’ house, just around the corner from the house of art we found ourselves emersed even more deeply than we expected. Going right back in time, the house her parents died in and where she grew up. A traditional barnlike shape, built by her father’s hands. Olga’s own house that was right across the road from the House of Art, where she witnessed her neighbours being mutilated and beheaded by rampaging Russians, blowing up their homes as she feared for her life and hid. One night she fled through the back streets hiding in shadows and crawling across glass from random Russians on the prowl, all the way to her parents’ house, there she had found they had died; they had been shot dead in the back yard of the house, trying to run. I myself walked down that way one morning with Taras to the House of Art, past workmen patching up bullet holes and rebuilding blown up walls. I thought of Olga running in the dark with bombs and gunfire all around her, witnessing such horrors and then finding both her parents dead when she got to their house.

Olgas’ parents’ house felt like stepping back into old Soviet times, a decent sized yard with plenty of room to grow vegetables and have chickens, a cow and dogs and fruit trees. Bullet holes are only smattered across the exterior, compared to surrounding homes where the machine gun fire completely destroyed walls and windows, there was roof damaged sustained, that has since been patched up, Olga pointed this out to me. The house is huge actually and with plenty of room for a family of five children or more. Olga told me her father was a womaniser with women all over town, as we touched the impeccable wood panelling made with his own hands, probably from trees he had chopped down himself.

Olga with young Olga on the mantle behind her. Photograph courtesy of Hellen Rose.

Certain areas of the house were clearly unused, Olga has an apartment in town somewhere and spends most of her time there. It was obvious that when we went into the dining area, the beautifully wooded sideboard and shelves were covered in dust, everything was covered in dust. I started to wipe everything down for her, including the bedside tables where we were to sleep, between the dust and the biggest, fattest, plush ball, black cat, we had ever seen, I had a sneezing fit that was about to kill me. Nasal sprays and eye drops later it all calmed down. We found ourselves somehow falling into ancient roles in this home, Olga like the mother who loved mothering Taras even washing his overalls for him, getting him to help cut the bread etc, I became like the sister who helped set the table with porcelain, that had clearly also been laid quietly gathering dust in the cupboard sepulchre, of family dinners, remembered and forgotten, I dusted them all down dutifully along with the silver cutlery. George was the man of the household and Olga really looked after him so well, anything for George, she doted and fussed, I could see how much she cared for him, and it was very touching. The Eastern bloc, clashing patterns of wallpaper, tiles and then beautiful carpets hung on walls, reminded me of Afghanistan’s, ‘over the top’ wallpaper, looking quite similar, it made me wonder if the Russian invasion was the result or the ancient silk road, cultural exchange, that had been going on for centuries. Olga fussed in the kitchen like a super chef and made a superb vegetarian Borsht along with a special, influenza blasting, traditional dish of schmaltz with raw garlic, in garlic bread. Delicious potatoes and chicken for the meat eaters, the men who had been working all day outside in sub zero temperatures devoured this food.

I insisted that Olga stay seated, and I took the dishes out and washed them and brought in plates full of beautiful fruit and unusual, sweet treats we had bought at the farmers market earlier in the day, we drank wine, vodka and tea and Taras and I began the after-dinner entertainment! George of course had me stand and sing one of the Pashtun songs in my repertoire that the Ukrainians love, they are fascinated to hear these ancient songs. I tested out my new dark country style songs on this captive audience, accompanying myself on guitar which everyone enjoyed, then Taras took over and played some wonderful improvisational works. We chatted on while George and Olga went off in different directions. Taras is highly educated in the arts and music, so we had much in common to discuss and we have stated performing live together with his freestyle jazz band, he also has a great absurdist sense of humour which seems appropriate for these times…

The room George and I were to sleep in had two very old-fashioned single beds with ww2 style rock hard single mattresses on them, they had been pushed together, by Olga? Not sure, she did fuss around like the best hostess getting us warm duvets and covers with giant feather pillows.

One night I was invited to perform at a small bohemian bar called Otel in town, very much like the Sydney scene I use to jam with back in the late 80’s, an improvisation jam. I barely met a young woman called Aniya at the second night I performed there, we met again for 5mins at the screening of our film at a Bohemian Cinema in Podil, I saw some of her images on Instagram and contacted her to work with me on a long-distance collaboration, without the use of many words we instinctively knew each other’s souls and connected creatively. I have created Sprechstimme Kurzgeschichte a ‘Tone Short Story’ telling, a short story type of recording. I asked Aniya to simply improvise something on the piano on the theme of the ancient Hill in the middle of Kyiv called Dytynka next to Zamkhova Gora that features in our film Ukraine Guernica - Art Not War.

I asked her to put pauses in the music track. A couple of weeks passed, and she sent me a 16min track. I started a stream of consciousness style writing based on a vision between dream and wakefulness, I often wake around 4:30 and get up and work as that period of time when I am between worlds, the door to the surreal and the dream visions of Eternity, both future and past, seem to be open, where I excitedly travers and record all I see, hear, smell, taste, feel in either writing, art or song. Sometimes whole songs come to me in dreams or paragraphs for stories etc.

Right: Hellen Performing with Taras and friend at Otel Kyiv December 2024

On the last night of our stay in Kyiv, we took Taras down to our favourite Georgian Restaurant in Maidan where the staff have got to know us well over the years and treat us as old friends. We ordered up a feast with vodka for George and Taras and wine for me. The discussion became loud, and the other tables got loud as well, we were not monitoring ourselves at all as we spoke of everything from the War to music and art. The table next to ours filled up with three of the hugest Ukrainian tough guys like they’d had stepped out of the most horrendous B grade ‘Bad Guys’ action movie! Our jokes got more and more ridiculous and the laughter louder and these tough guys started to join in! Vladislav was the leader of the trio and his nose was broken across his face at an angle that was almost comical but one would surely never laugh unless you wanted him to give you a matching one. Igor was the absolute giant with the shoulder width of an ox and Borys was the sly, shifty eyes type that didn’t speak much. We were suddenly in the lion’s den and young Taras looked nervous but of course George made buddies with each of them as did I. “So what to you guys do”? Asked George, they clearly wanted to test our fear levels and Vladislav looked straight into my eyes like a Bear searching for judgment or weakness, before finding an excuse to pounce. In a very typically guttural accent stated proudly, “we are smugglers!” “Wow I responded, I f’n LOVE smuggling!! OMG, Sooo exciting, (I bullshitted my brains out) “I can drive boats, helicopters, light aircraft, I bloody love it”! (the whole time knowing I would never be put to the test, I hope those guys don’t read this)… the whole time I’m thinking, these guys could be Russian mercenaries sent to break our bones, as the Russians are well aware of our presence in Ukraine, George being the recipient of many awards for social justice world-wide, our support here has seen us targeted on social media by some nasty ‘fake accounts’. We were however surrounded by our friendly waiters who fussed around us. One of the waiters sparked up with, “Hellen, sing us one of your Afghan songs”!! “Yes”! People at other tables chanted “Spivaty! Spivaty!” (sing, sing!). I had no choice but to stand and do my very best, which I did! At the end the whole restaurant was applauding and Vladislav, the one with the broken nose and the big scar running down the side of his face, banged the table and demanded more drinks for us. He started trying to match make me with Igor, “well” I said, “Igor you are really, all man” and I brought both my hands down on his massive shoulders and biceps, with a hearty slap. “Yes”, said Vladislav, “he is the toughest of us also!” “Toughest, eh? I looked down at his plate and next to it was two tiny tightly rolled hand towelettes placed primly on a little silver plate that the waiters had placed, “Igor, you are so tough but what is this?” They all looked down at the petite and poncy towelettes and burst into huge laughter at Igor’s expense. Igor himself saw the humour in my joke and laughed along.

We became friends and we told them all about our work in Ukraine and they thanked us. Vladislav said to me quietly so that no one else could hear, “Why don’t you come with us, this can’t be your man?”, as he nodded towards Taras. I laughed “the other is my husband, “oh the tough one he replied”. George is such a calm and kind person I don’t think that others, see him as tough, but for that split second when I glanced over at him, I saw the man that the Chicago gangs respected during the 18 months we made breaking news regarding the police murders of African Americans on the streets of segregated cities in the US and see as a dear friend father figure to the teens and who the Taliban listen to with respect and who they call Baba which means revered Grandfather/Elder. The man who worked with our Australian Defence Forces for nearly 2 decades, at one time being the only person to photograph and break the news of the atrocities of the Kibeho massacre in Rwanda and being deployed to Mozambique the next day, who years before then was at the front line with Marie Guvera and Donna Maria Taez in Nicaragua and over 14 different engagements including Sanai, Bosnia, Bougainville. Somone who the Israeli’s shot his camera out of his hand in Palestine back in 1994. The only white guy to head-butt Tare Le Blanc’s brother at one of their fascist rallies and bust his nose causing blood to spray across his face on South Africa ABC, the first time Nelson Mandella told him, that he or anyone in Africa had ever seen a white man bleed on National television. “Yeh the tough guy”, I replied.

George Gittoes beside sculpture in the park near Zmkhova Gora. Kyiv

HELLEN ROSE

Singer and performer. Awarded BVA Hons, M Teach, Grad Cert Arts and NSW Premier's Award 2014. Manager / Co founder The Yellow House Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Rose is Co Producer and Music Director at Gittoes Films Pty. Ltd.

George Gittoes and Hellen Rose make documentary films, often in and about war zones. Their latest film White Light deals with the gun violence that's rampant in the Englewood neighbourhood of South Side Chicago, USA.

Hellen Rose’s short film "Haunted Burqa," has been selected as a semi finalist for Best Short in the Berlin International Art Film Festival 2022 and the Indie Short Fest, Los Angeles International Film Festival 2022. www.hellenrose.com

Left: Hellen in Lodz Poland at the Kiss of Death prints exhibition with the book and the award winning soundtrack to Ukraine Guernica Art Not War. The Museum of Cinematography, Lodz, Poland.

REACHING BACK

After this I will do some Yoga, as is usually the case.

Keep the less perfect body in reasonable shape.

I might make an early garden tea, a pot full.

There are a few chores in and around the house and yard.

There is no real reason to go out, even up the hill seems out of the question.

We will keep busy as per usual.

There is a tear in the large Batik hanging.

Indonesia, a faraway dream or destination.

So many links severed, so what is still intact?

Some ancestry of lineage to Holland, to China to France.

Or does living in Australia make us adopt other alliances on the world’s stage.

Do you like to hear a success story, do you like to hear an update on the latest thoughts?

A not so far away cry in the wilderness, starting a fire quietly burning in the dark night, below the constellations.

LABELLED SENSITIVE INFORMATION

While the rest of us can not say nor do a great deal, but suffer from the temporary upgrades.

As if some great madness brings in the heavy machinery (project mammoth), labelled as infrastructure expenditure.

A drainage problem, as if a domestic war is being conducted, whilst we could call it progress.

Budget blowout, expansion of more motorised human specimens, on a rampage killing spree, just to feed themselves.

Just to get to A to B or to fly across the globe, to reconnect.

Processing each food item, identifying the source, or to erupt into some orgy of killing each other.

To fit somewhere in the historical archives.

Events that mark the hand over of the scarred, pock marked landscape, annexed as payment for collateral damage.

Stop it please we have heard it all before and it doesn’t change anything!

AKSARA HARRIRAM

AAKSARA HARRIRAM

Aksara is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Newcastle NSW. Aksara has moved from place to place exploring her background culturally, bringing forth ideas of home, belonging and displacement having emigrated to distant lands. Aksara has a background in technical drawing, scientific illustration, design and is on the path of an emerging visual artist. Exhibiting her work in many galleries in the Hunter Region and Melbourne.

In 2022 Brenda Clouten Memorial Art Scholarship, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Maitland.

In 2025 Aksara will hold a solo exhibition at Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford,NSW 4 - 27 July OPENING Friday 4 July, 6pm.

Page 72:

Surreal Estate Debris of the Past, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2023.

Right: Surreal Estate Ocean Slice, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2022.

Earth Ocean Slice

Acrylic on board

Aksara Harriram 2023.

AKSARA HARRIRAM

For as long as I could remember the satisfaction of creating with the purpose of cultivating awareness through storytelling has always been my focus. This took shape in the form of the creative arts and design where ideas could be expressed and experimented upon”, she says.

Art school for Aksara was a place of experimentation in all aspects from more delicate processes such as scientific illustration to carving with power tools making large scale and intricate sculptures. This schooling did not lead her to pursue a creative practice in the arts. With a solid foundation in the arts, she moved on to more structured applications of art and focused on her education in Visual communication design which led her to follow a career in graphic design which has been paramount. “If anything, learning more about how to apply my design knowledge to more free form art practices has deeply encouraged my understanding of the creative industry. It has been a never-ending pathway of opportunities.” Aksara has been focussing on documenting her life experiences, deep impressions of her sense of self, environmental and social issues that have weighed on her subconscious and adding the so needed colour that appears drained from the world metaphorically speaking. Aksara is not just an artist; she is a weaver of worlds.

Through her diverse artistic practice, she constructs intricate narratives that explore themes of culture, identity, belonging, and displacement. Her work is a vibrant tapestry tethered from personal experiences. Her cultural heritage translates to her unique perspective as an artist who has traversed geographical and cultural boundaries, constantly evolving and reimagining her ideas of ‘home.’

These spaces have been explored in different communities through the evolving floating suburb project (@floatingsuburbproject) which Aksara initiated in April of 2023 for Youth Week in collaboration with Newcastle Gallery. Here, Aksara creates a safe space for ideas to be explored bringing forth people’s representation of home and what their future city may look like. The fourth representation of this project will be seen in Central Coast city centre on the 22nd of March as part of the Harmony Week festival where participants are invited to collaborate with the artist on creating a future city with her. She will also showcase a new body of work alongside the Floating Suburb Project at her solo show at the Gosford Regional Gallery on the July 2025 with the opening reception at 6pm, 4 July 2025.

Visions Beyond the Fold, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2024.

The piece which has initiated her evolving art style is a painting created in 2022 called Surreal estate: Ocean Slice. Aksara has always linked inner landscapes to what’s current, chaotic and indescribably morally questionable in these paintings. These colourful pieces illustrate a form of whimsy mixed with hard truths and scary realities. “I like to create this overwhelming feeling of overabundance, claustrophobia, devastation, clutter, chaos in a chasm enveloped by multiple plains as these multiverses take formation. These spaces can feel overwhelming and riddled with symbols. It’s this idea we are obsessive due to our consumerist mindset and the layered emotional distress by the fast-paced world we live in.

An artist that has captivated Aksara is the works work of New Zealand artist, Kushana Bush. The piece, ‘Other People’ (2016, gouache, gold and pencil on paper) shows the artists enigmatic approach to the chaos and layered aspects of the world we live in. “The details piles on social issues, speaks of our connectivity to the planet, human dynamics and decoration in a riveting scintillation of beauty”, Aksara says. Aksara mostly draws inspiration from her involvement as a volunteer in the community, music and books. She also revels in the work of Shaun Tan an Australian artist and published children’s book author and illustrator. “His projects are soulful and masterful in style which really resonate with me,” she says.

The driving force to encapsulate and channel her own inner child brings fun to her work but with compelling and more serious inclinations. She advises people to delve into the work with thoughtfulness. she is not shy to experiment with colour and form in these works which can be seen as visually overstimulating with the use of bright colours and meticulously emboldened linework. “We tend to live in a world where colour metaphorically speaking can be drained from our surroundings to a more minimalist palette. The appeal of a blank canvas to me is underwhelming. Every surface I work with begins with a vibrant and unplanned emotive splash of colour blends before any form, structure and planning takes shape. It’s the unique take on my art practice as even I can’t see the final product from that perspective. It is purely affected by moods and energies from my current state of mind. From this, forms and shapes are pulled from the surface that is worked on and is key to what feels organic as well as exciting about my method”, she explains. Her choice of mediums is driven by her desire to work in layers quickly and use a lot of discarded or abandoned materials. Her paintings and drawings allow her to explore a whole spectrum of colours and composition, while her model-making provides a three-dimensional outlet for her fascination with architecture and urban landscapes she has seen on travels. The versatility of her practice allows her to constantly experiment and find new ways to communicate her vision.

“Less is more doesn’t exist in my world. I choose to overdo; more is more and that is okay.”

Some of Aksara’s greatest achievements is her current solo exhibition at the Randwick Children’s Hospital in Sydney in which as she states, “I hope that my work can bring a sense of comfort to people and families that pass these halls. I always intended my art to be placed here as a safe space of healing and bring a little light and hope in a space where it is so needed.” Aksara also speaks highly of Maitland Regional Art Gallery where she is an art tutor. She was picked as a Finalist for the Brenda Clouten Traveling Scholarship Award in 2022 which was a step forward in her growing art career and a springboard for other large scale art projects and collaborations. Some other exhibition’s Aksara will be involved in, is the upcoming International Women’s Day exhibition at The Creator Incubator in Newcastle on 6 - 23 March, 2025 with the opening reception at 6pm, 8 March, 2025. She will also be part of the annual Newcastle Writers festival group show at Back to Back galleries 28 March – 13 April 2025.

G A L L E R Y A K S A R A H A R R I R A M

Page 80: Squeaky Clean, Aksara Harriram 2022. Above: Dont Worry I’ll Heal You, Aksara Harriram, 2023.

Mauritius #2, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2022.

Slumber, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2022.

Above: Aksara Harriram Youth Week 2023. Photo credit Joshua Hogan.

Below: Aksara Harriram Youth Week 2023. Photo credit Joshua Hogan.

Floating Suburb Project, Onwards Gallery Solo, Aksara Harriram 2023.

Aksara Harriram, Brenda Clouten Traveling Scholarship 2022. Photograph courtesy of artist.

Mauritius #1, Acrylic on canvas, Aksara Harriram 2020.

https://www.aksaraharriram.com/

Mauritius #4, Acrylic on board, Aksara Harriram 2020.

R E E S E

TIDES (Post-Climate Change Reckoning)

Spring flowers burst into flame — the trees are alive with birdsong, the flash of rainbow coloured feathers mixes with soft brown shades of sparrows flitting from branch to branch –a Sea Eagle glides above the bay –Kookaburras fill the air with raucous laughter. The seasons no longer fail to arrive on time, as if a secret design is written

into the ecology & every living creature accepts without question whatever emerges from the natural order of this renewed world.

As light fades to evening day-birds settle in their nests, & the oil lamps of fishermen glitter on the shoreline, & dance on the hulls of bobbing rowboats in the middle of the bay –darkness falls –the stars open out like young flowers

in a celestial garden filled with shining white Shasta Daisies, white Freesias & Frangipani blossoms –but the full moon is dirty brown, & remote, as if it is a stranger from a distant galaxy — except for the occasional Owl, Silence is everywhere.

One moonless night the heavens were as black as pitch not even the stars were out –the sea raged against the shoreline –white foam flew above the channel walls & a freezing wind blew from the South Pole, stones of ice fell from the sky. The following morning I stood on top of a sand dune, the sky was alive with hundreds of birds,

pelicans, sea eagles, mountain lowries, kingfishers, & seagulls — the forest was aflame with multicoloured wrens. Was this Art?

Nature at Her best showing us what we can represent with pen & chisel, brush & song.

When I finally slept that night endless images ran through my dreams as I searched for a way to write what I’d seen in that remarkable day –but no combination of words did justice to my visions until I realised:

“Tell it as it was!”

Silently, I walked across my room pondering the shape my poem would take. I knew inspiration has a magic of its own, so I waited clutching my pen like a painter’s brush finally, I began the only way it could be told:

“One moonless night the heavens were as black as pitch, not even the stars were out –”

Therese Gabriel Wilkins

In this issue Arts Zine is revisiting the contemporary Australian artist, Therese Gabriel Wilkins. We are featuring her love of photography, words and her latest printmaking. Wilkins is an award winning artist, print maker and sculptor. Her works capture images of birds and the land which are an integral part of Wilkin’s life.

“As a traveller on an art road, my work captures moments in time. It tells the story of where I live, where I have been, what I have learnt and seen on the journey.”

Page 90: Ibis in the Wetlands , Collagraph Drypoint ,Hand coloured 50 x 50cm.Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees.

Right: Spirit of the Land, Photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees.

THERESE GABRIEL WILKINS - INTERVIEW

From a young age Therese loved art.

The attraction to all forms of art was sown as a child and nourished as I grew. The walls of our home were adorned with prints of Degas, Drysdale, Namatjira and Van Gogh.

Therese describes her art practice as -

A Cornucopia of prints, mixed media, drawing, with a dash of sculpture, enriched by photographic images.

To create art that engages, educates, makes connections and focusses on the land, its history, people, fauna and flora. Capturing the now for the future.

What inspires my work creations?

The daily writings and photography and the scene out a study window and the ever changing, land, fauna and flora of the lake opposite. Nature, the land, its everchanging shapes, colours are a constant source of inspiration. The people, their stories and history. Winged messengers –endangered species have featured a lot in work over the years using art as a vehicle to increase awareness of their plight and need to be protected.

Therese Gabriel Wilkins in her studio. Photograph courtesy of artist.

Do you have a set method /routine of working?

The routine or method is dependent on the subject matter, the location and art form being created. Every day when at home I create a short sentence or two based on observations through my study window, I will select at random a photograph taken on jaunts around the lake to add to this and post on Facebook. A little artistic routine that started during Covid where viewers were given a brief glimpse through words into a moment in time and a view of the lake where I live. The intention, to create and make connections through art forms, especially for those living alone. Covid ended and this continued, sharing moments in time with a wider audience.

As a traveller on an art road, I research the topic/place/ history. There is a lot of walking involved where I gather information making:observations, asking questions, sketching, writing and taking photographs of the land, the people, fauna, flora. These are the ingredients for works.

A decision is then made as to what form /forms the new work will take.

Photography - captures the moment and apart from cropping a photograph there is no other digital enhancement – it is presented as I saw it through the lens. It is an adjunct to my visual art, rather than an art form, so very rarely are works developed and enlarged.

Writing – the daily sentences have developed into poetic form. Each morning these are created looking through the study window to the street and homes opposite shrouded by she oaks on the lake.

Descriptive passages, or narrative poem creation – research, notes, images, observations, stories are all the ingredients - decisions on what want to say, describe, or story to tell and then start to draft, redraft, edit and final copy.

Printmaking - Decision on image, sketching, reversing imaging and in some cases enlarging the image. Decide on what type or types of printmaking - drypoint, tetra pak, woodblock, monoprint, photopolymer, or collagraph. Once decided, then work out size of plates and create plate/ plates. Work out colour compositions, whether single or multilayered print. Prepare the paper: - cut, soak, blot. Prepare and ink the plate then lay on the press and over the top the paper / cover paper/ lay down blankets and hand roll – gently lift one corner of the print to see if pressure is correct and take a deep breath – it is like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis – it hangs in your fingertips waiting to emerge into the world.

What have been the major influences on your work in recent times?

In the last four years with Covid was the springboard for photography and descriptive posts each day. The solitary confinement as it were, led to other means of communicating and making connections. It also prompted daily hourly walks on the lake opposite resulting in descriptive observations and an abundance of images of birds that seemed to have come from all over as things were quieter. Travel to Alice Springs, Queensland, King Island, Tasmania, Melbourne, Pilliga, Warren and a South Pacific cruise increased the storage bank of sights, sounds, history and people to explore through art. Residencies in Stuart Town, Dungog, Gulgong have provided a lot of historical insights and afforded opportunities for encounters with new terrain, people, fauna and flora.

What are the challenges today in becoming an exhibiting artist?

The challenges when starting out in the art world and trying to initially exhibit include:

Creating a suitable space to work in and store all your art supplies and equipment.

Finding suitable venues to exhibit your work and gaining acceptance to exhibit.

Navigating all the tasks included in creating a body of work to completion – creation, framing, labelling, cataloguing, publicity, photographing, invitations, ability to do artists talks, possibly run workshops.

Ensuring you have media coverage – Facebook, Instagram, website.

Making contacts and gaining acceptance into the art world. Joining art societies, groups, attending workshops.

Keeping abreast of the changes that take place and upskilling.

Ensuring you are financially viable to cover the costs of exhibiting and creating art work (venue hire, framing, materials, travel, accommodation, publicity, openings) The expenditure varies of course depending on whether you are in a group exhibition or solo and the distances you are travelling.

You require a steady income to follow your dream, if you are passionate enough you, like me will do that.

Captured Moment

Collagraph, Drypoint

Hand coloured

50 x 50cm.

Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees.

What are you working on at present?

Creating a series of composite works which are made up of multiplate printing, collage, hand colouring and drawing.

Printing onto material using a hand cut plate through the press.

Creating some installation work

Writing a narrative poem

Daily – short descriptive sentence / with photo

Working on Powerpoint and storyboard to collaborate with filmmaker to create a short film.

Your future aspirations with your artwork:

To inspire, engage, educate, create awareness and focus attention on our land, its people, their stories and history and the wonderful flora and fauna that is part of who we are. To continue the journey on the art road, learning and increasing knowledge and skills. To exhibit in many different places thus sharing the visual narratives with a much wider audience. To create multisensory exhibitions thus immersing the viewer in all facets of the art and its story.

Forthcoming Exhibitions:

‘Coastal Impressions ‘Newcastle Printmakers at Nobbys Lighthouse, Newcastle, Feb/March, ‘Celebration ‘Women in Art Exhibition, The Art House, Wyong, March.

‘Port Stephens Art Prize, The Port Stephens Community Centre, March

Solo:‘Unearthed The Women of the Gulgong Goldfields’ – Holtermann Museum, May /August 2025 – opening 10th May, 5p.m. Theatrette Holtermann Museum.

Green Frog on Leaf Backyard, Photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees.

A Room with a View Therese Gabriel Wilkins ‘Trees’

The View from the Study window is the subject of the poetic description which appears everyday on my Facebook page. It started over three years ago during Covid. I decided that I would do a small description each day of the subtle changes in this small landscape and share that with people, especially those who were on their own and isolated. It developed from literal description into a poetic form. As I was allowed to walk for a while during this time, I chose to step across the road do the short walk down the lane and onto the walkway around the lake. Armed with my trusty Nikon, it was a delight to take in the fresh air and capture the lake and all it had to offer. My home, my special place ‘The Lake ‘was then able to be shared also.

These walks led to not only a visual record of life on the lake, but also stimulation for art and writing. As a printmaker, I see the resemblance between the printmakers plate – the matrix, and The Reserve that strip of land between urbanisation and the lake. The image of the plate remains constant, as does that strip of land between home and the lake. But no matter how often you visit The Reserve, there is always something new to awaken the senses and please the visitor.

Below is a fortnight in the life and times of the View from the Study Window.

Painting pictures with words.

Grey sky, driving rain, nature in constant motion.

Tears fall, sentinels sway, rhythmic patterns on puddles.

Magpie forages, meandering over the green carpet.

Aerial acrobats glide, swoop, dive and walk on wire.

White crests on blue, sea eagle soars over silent sentinels. Radiant beams, blue horizon, warm, insects buzzing.

Fungi emerges, carpet of pink on verge, dragonflies hover.

Tessellations reflected in glass, bird on wire, mountains of white.

Grey hangs on the horizon, landscape scene fragmented by streaks of rain. Swish!

A concerto of raindrops, saturated nature, constant patter.

Parched earth refreshed, water crystals cling, flourish of yellow and white. Cacophony of birdsong.

Silhouettes framed in glass, glistening web, urban hush.

Dragonflies flit here and there. Silence on the street.

Radiant beams pierce the blue creating start bursts of light on tile and metal. The gutter jungle flourishes sending shoots skywards.

Mountains of white hang in the air, Sentinels stand still. Magpies weave in and out branches.

G A L L E R Y P R I N T M A K I N G

T H E R E S E G A B R I E L W I L K I N S

Page 100: Cockatoos over the Lake Mixed Media

50 x 50cm.

Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees.

Left: Shag on a Rock

Collagraph Drypoint, Hand coloured

68 x 45cm.

Therese Gabriel Wilkins Trees

Lake Series 1 Morning Herald, Mixed Media, 60 x 54cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins. Lake Series 2 The Bush Storyteller, Mixed Media, 60 x 54cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Lake Series 4 Ibis, Mixed Media, 60 x 54cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins. Lake Series 6 Community Godwits, Mixed Media, 60 x 54cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Shag on a Rock, Collagraph Drypoint Handcoloured 68 x 45cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins Freedom , Drypoint Handcoloured 72 x 57cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

The Lake, Mixed Media, 50 x 40cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins. Swift in Nature, 40 x 52cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

A L L E R Y

P H O T O G R A P H Y

Morning Gathering, photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

T H E R E S E G A B R I E L W I L K I N S

Airing by the Sea

Photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Ibis, photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Birds on the Lake, photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Gum Nuts, photograph by Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

Wilkins

Dandelion in the Wetlands, Photopolymer print 28 x 28cm. Therese Gabriel Wilkins.

SkinCandyandtheWhiteRabbit

MAGGIE HALL

Skin Candy and the White Rabbit

The Ocean is in a chain of chaos. She kept the jewels and got a facelift. Climate change cynics imagine, the next resilient strain. The day is beaming hi resolution UV rays, people are flocking to the closest waterways. Momentary relief in material strings, and a slathering of sunscreen.

We run down to the sand and jump into the nearest wave. In the beginning, the wanderer got lost without his stick, a man who had never heard of the wind. The day T S Eliot wrote a book of cats who were men. How do you read a book that doesn’t speak? How do you forgive yourself, when there is nothing to forgive? She sticks out her tongue to taste the mist, patch working green leaves in a conversation. Placing seeds to grow a vine that might reach the sun, recycling dreams. Paid to recreate a night sky, they release drones dressed up as butterflies. Turning in a curtesy, wood elves hide among the trees, wearing a family of hats they stroll past.

Dangerous muse, what falls away while sitting beneath the apricot tree? Desert queen of thorns, the ace of hearts trumped by stars. Looking from a birds eye view, the cinematographer becomes God. The hard drive is full of data driven code. The slower they come, the harder they fall. I’m ten minutes late to a funeral, as they stick a needle into her soft head. Jumped off the train at Epping to catch the Metro to Gadigal. Ten minutes late to a writing group at SMSA. A study of religion and spiritual space, deep in my mind, I experience every place. In my heart there was a hole that fitted the last piece of a puzzle. This is the end.

The afterlife tells of three stories yet to be written; a mystery kept hidden through generations. I have never met another with your condition. Might you release the chains that bind every dragon? The warrior princess sleeps every night on top of a golden pea, a cow in black and white pajamas. A fellowship of the fourth kind, citizens of Cain who were Able to thread the eye, blood-soaked red. Antlike neighbors trapped in a simulation; military led. In biblical times, on the sabbath of a blood moon, all the planets aligned.

Always keep alert, the brain never sleeps, with cunning, filled with fire. The book of psalms is meant to be sung, oh Jerusalem. As the sun gives birth to prophecy, the next tree bears fruit from a flower, leaves of hope in every prayer, the east star guiding the west to catch up, unaware. Peace in every seed and prayer. The pure joy and freedom of song, and dance without thought. To believe in the power of hope. Inspiration in a butterfly, or moth. And all the birds above the wind remind us, that nothing can bind a body to one place. Wait for the breeze in her eyes to lift your hand, guide the way forward, an angel, both weak and strong, the pot at the end of every rainbow. A lone wolf wrapped in pearls, carried by the sea was once held by chains, but now free. The rosary without a cross, it’s a Saturday sitting.

The hardest thing before death takes you away, the regret of never shaping your clay. And laying on a pillow of dust, feathers from a hat never worn. At the end of the shoot, she forgets the pain, and for a moment the earth stood still.

Glass Sculptures by Dale Chihuly

Fildes

Lorraine

Glass Sculptures by Dale Chihuly in the Adelaide Botanic Garden

Lorraine Fildes

Dale Chihuly (born September 20, 1941, Washington, U.S.) is an American artist who produces amazing glass sculptures. Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington in Seattle (B.A., 1965) and received an M.S. in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied glassblowing. In 1968 he received an M.F.A. in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). That same year he traveled to Italy on a scholarship and worked at Venini Fabrica, the renowned glassblowing workshop in Murano. Returning to the United States in 1969, he established the RISD glassblowing program and founded (1971) the influential Pilchuck Glass School north of Seattle. There he created environmental installations—a group of clear glass bulbs floating on Pilchuck Pond.

In 1976 an automobile accident left Chihuly blind in one eye, and thereafter he was dependent on assistant gaffers (glassblowers) to execute his distinctive designs.

In 1996 he completed Chihuly over Venice, a collaborative international undertaking involving glassblowers from Finland, Ireland, and Mexico.

“Chandeliers” were installed around the city and lit by natural light, and other glass forms were released to float along the Venetian canals.

Page 118: Red Reeds on Logs by Dale Chihuly.

Above: Blue Crystal Tower by Dale. Chihuly.

Chihuly’s technical innovations enabled the production of vibrantly coloured, creatively patterned and richly textured organic glass creations. He has created many incredible glass exhibitions.

The following information is from the Adelaide Botanic Gardens website:

“The world’s most celebrated contemporary glass artist, Seattle-based Dale Chihuly, has chosen the stunning Adelaide Botanic Garden for the first major outdoor exhibition of his work in Australia and the wider southern hemisphere. Chihuly will present a curated selection of largescale installations and sculptures in this Australian-exclusive exhibition from September 27, 2024, to April 29, 2025.

Known for pushing the limits of the glass material and elevating the medium from craft to fine art, Chihuly started placing installations in conservatories and gardens in 2001, beginning what has become known as his “Garden Cycle.” With this new exhibition, Adelaide will become only the third city outside the USA to host a “Garden Cycle” exhibition, following Kew Gardens in London and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

Chihuly’s work was last seen in Adelaide in 2000 at Jam Factory.”

"I have sought an opportunity to return to Adelaide since 2000 when I first presented work at Jam Factory,” said Chihuly. “Adelaide Botanic Garden offers so many rich colors and textures – the ideal environment for the placement of my work, and I look forward to sharing this new exhibition with the Adelaide and South Australian community.”

Mottled Onyx Ikebana with Clear and Gilt Stems by Dale Chihuly.

Ethereal Spring Persians by Dale Chihuly.

by Dale Chihuly.

Red Reeds on Logs by Dale Chihuly.

Glacier Ice and Lapis Chandelier

by Dale Chihuly.

Blue Polyvitro Crystals by Dale Chihuly.

Lime and Lava Red Tower by Dale Chihuly.

Vivid Lime Icicle Tower by Dale Chihuly.

Fiori Boat by Dale Chihuly.

Macchia Forest by Dale Chihuly.

Mottled Trumpet Flowers and Plum Feathers by Dale Chihuly.

Macchia Forest by Dale Chihuly.

Tango Rose Ikebana with Pink and Indigo Stem by Dale Chihuly.

Amber Ikebana with Antique Bronze Flowers by Dale Chihuly.

Jet and Crimson Fiori

by Dale Chihuly.

Neodymium Reeds

by Dale Chihuly.

Paintbrushes by Dale Chihuly.

by Dale Chihuly.

Red Bulbous Reeds by Dale Chihuly.

Polyvitro

Chandelier by Dale Chihuly.

Red Bamboo Reeds by Dale Chihuly.

Golden Ikebana with Poppy and Leaves

by Dale Chihuly.

Gilded Aqua Ikebana with Violet Stems by Dale Chihuly.

CHIHULY EXHIBITION AT NIGHT

Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds by Dale Chihuly.

Red Reeds on Logs by

Dale Chihuly.

S U N

by Dale Chihuly.

T H E S A P P H I R E

by Dale Chihuly.

Vivid Lime Icicle Tower

by Dale Chihuly.

Glacier Ice and Lapis Chandelier

by Dale Chihuly.

The Joy of the Creative Process in the Age of AI

BERNADETTE MEYERS

Ebb and Flow , Soft pastel on Archival paper, 24 x 24cm. Bernadette Meyers.

The Joy of the Creative Process in the Age of AI

Bernadette Meyers

Some people wonder why we artists still choose the winding, messy path of creating original art by hand when, a computer can whip up an image in mere seconds. Technology is racing ahead, but let’s be honest—there’s nothing quite like the wonder of making art the traditional way.

In our fast-paced, digital world, we often hear voices like Bill Gates celebrating a future where machines do almost everything, leaving us humans with extra time—or so they say. But personally, I’d rather spend the moments that make up my days and years exploring the infinite realms of creativity than sit back and watch robots take over. With a universe full of inspiration and endless blank paper and canvas waiting to be filled, boredom is not something likely to enter my world any time soon!

For me, the joy is found not in the final painting, drawing, print, or photograph, but in the creative process itself. Every brushstroke, every sketch, even the “failed” pieces that are never shown to others, are valuable steps on my journey as an artist. These explorations teach me what resonates and what doesn't, helping me to express my unique experiences and communicate visually.

Art, in its raw form, helps both the creator and viewer to heighten their senses. It’s about opening our eyes and hearts to the extraordinary hidden in plain sight in everyday life. And when we share our creations, we invite others to experience our unique perspective—even if just for a moment. I hope that people will be tempted to linger a while in ‘my world’ and enjoy the beauty that is all around us. That connection, that spark of understanding between souls, is what makes art so special and unique to humans.

There’s something undeniably satisfying about the tactile experience of mixing luscious oil paints on a canvas, or the soft feel of charcoal on paper - a reminder that we’re part of a long, unbroken chain of human expression. Even modern pursuits, like digital photography, have a meditative quality. You can easily lose hours peering through a camera lens, revealing beauty in the mundane.

Yet here we are, in the age of AI. It’s pretty wild to see a computer generate a digital masterpiece in a flash - a creation that might take us hours to create after many years of practice. And while these AI-generated works can be impressive in their technical precision, I can’t help but wonder: Will they evoke the same lasting connection as art that comes from human hearts and hands?

After all, our world is constantly bombarded with images - The average adult living in Australia sees between 4,000 and 6,000 still images in a day. Only around 5-10% of these are original artworks, illustrations, drawings or photographs of human-made art. Perhaps, in this oversaturated digital landscape, our original art becomes even more precious.

In a time when we all crave genuine connection, nothing compares to the raw, unfiltered emotion that a handmade piece can offer. Even photographs of original artworks are pale representations. How many times have you set the gallery alarm off by peering too closely at the thick paint on a canvas?

Ocean Song

Soft pastel on Archival paper, 24 x 24cm.

Bernadette Meyers.

So, while AI might revolutionise many aspects of our lives I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing it could handle the housework, admin, or even grocery shopping, freeing us up for more creative pursuits—I don’t want it doing my art for me! I’d much rather spend my hours immersed in the tactile joy of making it even if it is an antiquated, inefficient way to work. It’s not just about the final product; it’s about the soul, physical experience, struggles and joy behind every piece.

In the end, art is a deeply personal language—a way of sharing our experiences, thoughts, and emotions with others. No machine, however fast or technically brilliant, can capture the full spectrum of the Human soul and creativity. And that, to me, is why the creative process remains a joyful, irreplaceable adventure in our increasingly digital age.

So here’s to embracing the journey, celebrating every imperfect sketch and wild brushstroke, here’s to messy hands, smudges of paint on one’s face and knowing that the true value of art lies in the heart behind its creation.

Whispering Waters Soft pastel on Archival paper, 18 x 18cm.

Bernadette Meyers.

Bernadette Meyers

“Art has been a vital part of my life for as long as I can recall.”

Bernadette is an artist and photographer and the owner of Breeze Pics. Creating, exhibiting and teaching art and photography has been her life and passion for the past twenty-five years..

She is a writer for several print and online publications including Thrive Global and is a regular contributor to Arts Zine magazine. She has been teaching art and photography since 1995 to people of all ages and abilities including tertiary college, large conference gatherings, community college, studio workshops and individual mentoring.

Her watercolour paintings, photography, collages, etchings and installations have been exhibited in countless galleries and exhibitions since the early 1990s. During the seven years she lived in the Hunter Valley, Australia, she owned Shiloh Art Studio where she held regular classes, workshops, artist talks and group exhibitions.

Diploma of Creative Arts, Major Visual Arts 1994

Associate Diploma in Fine Arts 1992-1993

Morning Tide, Soft pastel on Archival paper, 30 x3 0cm. Bernadette Meyers.

Eucalyptus Forest, 21 x 30cm. Soft pastel on Archival paper . Bernadette Meyers.

Tales of a City XI (Manchester) Seigar

Tales of a City XI (Manchester) by Seigar.

Since 2005, I have been working on a long-term travel and street photography project in the UK. This eleventh installment, captured in Manchester in December 2022, reflects the city’s distinctive orange bricks and the warm light I was fortunate to encounter during winter. Deeply connected to English culture both emotionally and professionally, I sought to express this personal bond in a pop-art style, my most significant artistic influence. My work also offers my perspective on British identity.

During my short stay in this industrial city, I followed an online guide highlighting urban spots for street photography. This led me to explore the recommended locations, where I managed to capture my recurring motifs: shop windows, “plastic people" and curious finds. I was also drawn to the city’s street art, pockets of nature, and steam-filled scenes. Staying true to my style, I experimented with reflections, repetitions, and saturated colours.

In this chapter of the project, I feel I’ve embraced a new sense of artistic freedom—focusing less on technical precision and more on emotional expression. I allowed myself to flow naturally, moving at my own pace and embracing the joy of creation. This shift likely stems from a conscious effort to let go of my ego and prioritize enjoying life, a first for me. This sense of freedom is evident in Tales of a City XI. As a conceptual artist, I aim to communicate directly, delivering clear and explicit messages through my imagery. For me, this approach is essential.

Enjoy this installment of the series—and remember: carpe diem!

Seigar Biography

Seigar is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Tenerife, Spain, specializing in travel, street, social-documentary, conceptual, and pop art photography. With a passion for pop culture, his work often reflects this influence. In addition to photography, Seigar has explored video art, writing, and collage, contributing to various media outlets. His greatest inspirations are travel and people, and his art is driven by a desire to tell stories through his lens, weaving a continuous narrative from his journeys and encounters.

A philologist by training, Seigar works as a secondary school teacher. He is a self-taught visual artist but has also completed advanced courses in photography, cinema, and television. His work has been showcased in numerous international exhibitions, festivals, and cultural events, and has been featured in publications worldwide. Recently, he was honoured with the Rafael Ramos García International Photography Award. His current artistic interests include exploring themes of identity and spreading the timeless message of "Carpe Diem." Seigar shares his art and cultural musings on his blog, Pop Sonality.

G A L L E R Y S E I G A R

12 Park Street East Gresford NSW. Gallery Hours: Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm.

GRESFORD COMMUNITY GALLERY - NEWS

The Gresford Community Gallery re-opens after the holiday break on the 1st February 2025, with exciting new exhibitions of Hunter Valley artists’ works. The gallery will be presenting a few new artists – paintings by Louise Rees, Georgia Horacek and Aksara Harriram. Stunning glass work by Cherie Platen and photographer Cecily Grace who captures the beautiful bird life of the area on her camera. New small, wood sculptures by Peter Ronne. Beautiful woven scarves and shawls by Linda Bizon will be available in the gallery in Autumn.

The Gresford Community Gallery committee would like to invite you to join them in celebrating the new exhibitions for 2025 on SATURDAY

15th MARCH 2 - 4pm.

Gallery at 12 Park St. East Gresford (next to Arboretum /park). Entrance at ramp /red door.

All are welcomed to attend the event; refreshments will be served.

Please drop by to view a captivating showcase of Hunter Valley artists.

The exhibition includes a great variety of quality art and craft, featuring painting, drawing, sculptures, ceramics, photography, fibre art and jewellery.

The Gallery has a Face Book page which will give regular news / updates of the Gallery’s forthcoming exhibitions, workshops and features on the artists.

Please Like and follow our page.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555506220944

12 Park Street East Gresford NSW. Gallery Hours: Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm.

Or by appointment phone 0417 686 816 Robyn Werkhoven. E: gallerygresfordcommunity@gmail.com

C H E R I E P L A T E N

Monarch Butterfly Glass Vase by Cherie Platen

CHERIE PLATEN

Gresford Community Gallery Featured Artist -

Hunter Valley glass artist Cherie Platen. “Cherie feels deeply connected to Nature and the Flow of its Energy. Her works reflect the fleeting transience of the natural world through the luminescence of glass. This Artist works in many techniques. Cast Glass direct from Mother Nature's template, Torchwork over a flame to create the fine and delicate lacework pieces, Kiln Fused and Slumped Glass. Some of the processes are long and complicated”.

Left: Norfolk Pine, Glass Sculpture. Below: Large Glass Plate - Abstract.

E T E R

R O N N E J A N E T S T E E L E

Painting by Louise Rees and sculpture by Michael Garth at Gresford Community Gallery.

Connecting people with the arts, and each other

2025 membership now available on-line.

Attend nine evening lectures on the arts

– from February to October.

Be entertained, fascinated and informed. Become a member or attend individual lectures as a guest.

The 2025 program includes lectures on John Brack, Georgia O’Keeffe and street art (Art or Vandalism).

After each lecture join the lecturer for conversation and light refreshments.

https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/

17 March 2025 – Evening Lecture

Babylon: Art and Legend presented by Sue Rollins

Babylon: the very name is evocative. Once one of the greatest cities in the ancient world, a vanished metropolis which lay deserted for over 2000 years, its history is bound up with myth and legend but it has never been forgotten.

Our presenter Sue Rollins lives in London and holds degrees in Near Eastern archaeology, South Asian studies and conference interpreting.

More information on lectures and speakers is found at https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/

Both evening lectures take place at 6:30pm at the Hunter Theatre, Cameron St, Broadmeadow.

Guests are invited to attend $30 – register on-line but if that’s not possible just show up on the night.

2025 memberships are still available – complete the membership form and make payment at the website.

Babylon: Art and Legend

Constantinople and Istanbul

17 March 2025 – Morning Lecture

Constantinople and Istanbul: A Tale of Two Cities presented by Sue Rollins.

Two names for one city. One city straddling Europe and Asia: Byzantine capital for 1000 years then capital city of the Ottoman Turks.

Our presenter Sue Rollins lives in London and holds degrees in Near Eastern archaeology, South Asian studies and conference interpreting.

The morning lectures starts 10am at the Apollo International Hotel, 290 Pacific Highway, Charlestown. There will be 2 lectures with a break for morning tea. Guests are invited to attend $55 – register on-line by March 12 2025.

https://artsnationalnewcastle.org.au/.

2025 memberships are still available – complete the membership form and make payment at the website.

STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE ARTS

PREVIOUS ISSUES

Arts Zine is an online independent art and literary magazine, featuring artist’s interviews, exhibitions , art news, poetry and essays.

We have been publishing the Zine since 2013, featuring many high profile national & international artists – Blak Douglas, Wendy Sharpe, Kathrin Longhurst, Nigel Milsom, Loribelle Spirovski, Kim Leutwyler ,Matthew Quick, Braddon Snape, and many more. George Gittoes has been a wonderful supporter and contributor to the Zine.

The Zine is free, with no advertising from sponsors. It is just something Eric & I want to do for the Arts, which has been our lifelong passion.

Our extensive mailing list includes art collectors, art lovers and galleries.

Arts Zine in 2017 was selected by the NSW State Library to be preserved as a digital publication of lasting cultural value for longterm access by the Australian community.

- Eric & Robyn Werkhoven

T U D I O L A P R I M I T I V E

A Drama Unfolding I, Acrylic on canvas 40x30cm. Robyn Werkhoven 2025.

POETRY & SCULPTURE

Right

Right : Fragment from a Dream, Autoclaved aerated cement / cement / lacquer.

Photographs by Robyn Werkhoven.

90 Hunter St. Newcastle, NSW. https://timelesstextiles.com.au/

Colours in the Valley, Acrylic on board, Helene Leane.

S T R A I T J A C K E T S T R A I T J A C K E T

ISABEL GOMEZ

1 - 23 March

Ellie Kaufmann

Zachary Craig

29 March - 20 April

Paul Maher

Malcolm Sands

Daniela Cristallo

26 April – 18 May

Isabel Gomez

Brett Piva

Rhino Images - Art and the Rhinoceros

Lorraine Fildes and Robert Fildes.

Art and the Rhinoceros - There are over three hundred Rhino images in this book.

Whether in the ancient past or in the present the rhinos are always represented as huge, powerful and solitary animals. The book includes paintings, drawings, woodcuts, etchings, rock carvings and sculptures of the rhino all depicting the power of the animal.

These images of the rhino range from early civilisations such as in China, Roman Empire, Indus civilisation in Pakistan/ India area and from Southern Africa down to current day images of paintings and sculptures produced by modern day artists.

The text indicates where you may find these wonderful images as well as the websites of the artists concerned, the caves where the rhino images have been found and the places where posters use the rhino image.

There are very few of these magnificent wild animals left in the world, so unless they are protected and managed, artistic images will soon be the only viewing option.

Rhino Images – Art and the Rhinoceros, First Edition, 2017, is available for download at The Rhino Resource Centre web site.

Direct Link : http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=ref_detail&id=1518479271

K S A R

Floating Suburb

Mixed Media

Aksara Harriram.