Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents
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an exhibition of art & craft by the Toyota community based in Altona & Port Melbourne
DECEMBER 5 2007 TO FEBRUARY 2008 Toyota Australia, 155 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne VIC 3207 Inquiries phone Ken Wong 03 9690 0902 Gallery Hours Thu & Fri 1pm to 6pm or by appointment
Toyota Community Spirit Gallery The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery is an initiative of Toyota Community Spirit, Toyota Australia’s corporate citizenship program. Toyota Community Spirit develops partnerships that share Toyota's skills, networks, expertise and other resources with the community. The Toyota Community Spirit Gallery aims to provide space for artists, especially emerging artists to show their work. The space is provided free of charge to exhibiting artists, no commission is charged on sales and Toyota provides an exhibition launch and develops a catalogue for each exhibition. The gallery has now shown works by over 280 artists. This project is mounted in consultation with the Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip.
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TiDe Exhibiting Artists Cameron Anderson Kylie Beard Andre Cornford Amanda Davis Cristina Doyle Lynette Durham Peter Hannett William Hope Desmond Howlett Emma Jakobi Gail McDaniel
an exhibition of art & craft by the Toyota community based in Altona & Port Melbourne
Karen Murray Stevie Palos Edwina Pleming Gary Robinson Peta Skinner Gary Smith Stuart Tennant Qui Thang Truong Felicity Tonkin Phillip Withers Valma Wroblewski
Curator Ken Wong Thanks to
Tania Blackwell, Hobsons Bay City Council Sharyn Dawson, City of Port Phillip Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia
Catalogue Editing & Prepress Watch Graphic Design Sandra Kiriacos
Arts (watcharts.com.au)
IMAGES: FRONT COVER Peta Skinner London Sunset, photograph 2003, 25x20cm INSIDE COVER Emma Jakobi Bathing Box (detail) Charcoal on paper 2003, 163x105cm THIS PAGE Des Howlett Reflections (detail) photograph 2007, 95x54cm
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Ken
Wong CURATOR
his is the fourth annual exhibition by the Toyota Communities based in Port Melbourne and Altona and this year includes the art and craft works of a record twenty-two artists incorporating not only employees but also contractors and family members.
Rising Tide is an appropriate title that speaks to the growing level of interest among the Toyota community in the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery program with nineteen new artists who have not exhibited with us before. In fact many of them are taking advantage of this opportunity to show their works in public for the very first time. As a company, Toyota prides itself on bringing creative and innovative approaches to every aspect of it’s business, and it is very pleasing to see how this is reflected in the private artistic pursuits of the wider Toyota community. The standard of work for the exhibition this year is very high and I congratulate each and every one of the participants on their endeavours. Some of the works created have quite a contemporary spin and I would like to think that exposure to the works of contemporary artists from our open program has played a role in nurturing, inspiring, and expanding the horizons and creative instincts of Toyota people over the past few years. Thematically, this Rising Tide of awareness of contemporary art and issues is also followed through by this exhibition with many works exploring an interest in the environment and sustainability of our modern world. In particular, the issue of rising sea levels as a result of climate change and global warming comes into focus through some of the works in this exhibition. These themes also speak to the awareness of the need for change and innovation for Toyota as a company and as a community, that reach out into the broader community to meet the rising challenges of providing for a healthy and sustainable future.
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Ken Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Melbourne based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked in the fine arts industry for over ten years in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.
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Welcome to Rising Tide.
Artists & Works Cameron Anderson Kylie Beard Andre Cornford Amanda Davis Cristina Doyle Lynette Durham Peter Hannett William Hope
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Desmond Howlett Emma Jakobi Gail McDaniel
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Rose Mixed media
2007
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The truth in distance Mixed media on canvas
2007
POA
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Colour study # 3 from city project Oil on canvas
2007
NFS
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Incinto con Sara Marble
2003
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2002 2002
$800 $750
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2003
$2000
2007 2007
$490 $500
Toyota collection Model cars
various
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Coy Reflections Towards
Photograph Photograph Photograph
2006 2007 2007
$320 $220 $320
Lighthouse Bathing Box Pavillion
Charcoal on paper 2003 Charcoal on paper 2003 Charcoal on paper 2003
NFS NFS NFS
Venetian Tattoo
Oil on Canvas Oil on Canvas
Stonehenge Photograph Ricky Ponting Kostya Tszyu
Memorabilia Memorabilia
Andre where’s your violin? Metal Birds Beach Mixed media
2007 2007
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11 12 13 14
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Artists & Works Karen Murray Stevie Palos Edwina Pleming Gary Robinson Peta Skinner Gary Smith Stuart Tennant Qui Thang Truong Felicity Tonkin
The Cycle Spray paint on canvas
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2005
POA
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Charcoal on board 2004 Acyrlic on board 2007
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Untitled #1, Untitled #2 & Untitled #3 Photograph 2007
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London Sunset Saharan Road Train View from a Window
2003 2003 2003
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Reflections Photograph 2005 Beach Boxes Photograph 2006 Moon rise over Mornington Photograph 2006
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Cocoon Mixed media
POA
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The Night Blooming Cerus (Hylocerus Undatus) Photographs 2007 NFS
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Untitled Photograph
2005
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pure thought Mixed media on canvas
2005
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Sugarcane Shed Oil on canvas
2007
$450
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Self Portrait Untitled
Photograph Photograph Photograph
2007
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Valma Wroblewski
Acrylic on canvas 2007 Acrylic on canvas 2007
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Phillip Withers
Low Tide Cherry Blossom
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Cameron
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Anderson
Cameron began working with Toyota in 2003 and is currently Senior Engineer with Customer Quality Engineering, Toyota Technical Centre Australia based at CHQ in Port Melbourne. He has become interested in creating works of art like the piece exhibited here over the past couple of years, drawing inspiration from visits to various galleries. His practice is self-taught and this is the first time his work has been exhibited on public display.
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Rose Mixed media, 2007 50 x 50 x 50cm
rtificial packaging for life.
The baby is oblivious to the thoughts of her mother.
Kylie
Beard
The truth in distance Acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 2007 45.5 x 45.5cm
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he distance between a hope and a dream is as short or long as the heart is strong.
Kylie was raised in a creative environment with both parents being interested in drawing, painting, photography and crafts. With a background in product design, she currently works as an interior designer, with the majority of her day-to-day work being created on computer. Painting is her creative outlet where she can “colour outside the lines� and create fluid rather than structured works. She is mainly self-taught and has been creating art over the past eight years. Her partner Jonathan Lathleiff works with Toyota.
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Andre
Cornford
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Colour study # 3 from city project Oil on canvas, 2007 43 x 51cm
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Andre began working with Toyota this year as a member of the BSS Facilities Management team at CHQ. His professional career has had many incantations but he has a lifelong interest in the visual art forms completing art school qualifications and has exhibited widely across Australia and also taught art at various institutions including Curtin University in Western Australia. From the early 1980's to the1990s he ran an electronic music and sound production studio. It allied business concerns ranging from music composition, sound design and audio engineering with his personal development as an interdisciplinary artist exploring the use of sound with images. A strong professional interest in contemporary multi-media environments led to an involvement in complex co-operative projects that brought him into contact with a broad spectrum of people within the business and art community. During this period he sustained a parallel commitment to painting, performance, music for theatre, radio broadcasts, Festival of Perth and Festival Fringe activities, and scored and produced many soundtracks for experimental and commercial filmmakers.
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have a strong interest in the interplay between colour, surfaces and forms and continue to find interesting nuances of colour and form when exploring the possible extent of this medium. I have experimented through a range of different media, yet I return to the painted surface as a favourite place of my practise. I also have a strong interest with ideas to do with colour and sound and a lot of my painting has this influence in its making.
Amanda
Davis
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his work was formed in 2003 from Persian Travertine during a residency in Pietrasanta, Italy. It is inspired by a pregnancy.
Incinto con Sara Marble, 2003 27 x 10 x 10cm
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Amanda was interested in art throughout her school days and has continued to pursue it as a part time hobby. While travelling in Italy in 1999, she spent time in a marble studio in Pietrasanta and was instructed by the late master Cesare Riva. The challenge of working with marble and the inspirations that come from life are what motivates her practice. Her sister Lucy works with Toyota, and this exhibition has provided her first opportunity to exhibit her work.
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Cristina
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Tattoo Oil on canvas, 2002 115 x 115cm
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Cristina has a Bachelor of Education in Fine Art, majoring in print making and painting. She has been creating works like the ones exhibited here for eight years. In 2002 and 2003 she exhibited works at Smik restaurant in the city and at Independent Mortgage Corporation in Camberwell. Her sister Mary-Anne works with Toyota at CHQ in Port Melbourne.
Doyle
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Venetian Oil on canvas, 2002 183 x 61cm
sometimes approach the canvas with an abstract theme in mind such as light filtering through a ‘Venetian’; I use broad brushwork and bright colour to express the concept. I also enjoy applying colour and thick paint in a random and abstract way to see what image and composition evolves. I encourage the natural qualities of oil paint to add interest and texture and I particularly enjoy the effects of juxtaposing one vivid colour against another.
Lynette
Stonehenge Photograph, 2003 77 x 101cm
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Lynette began working at Toyota in April of this year with the finance and accounting team as the Accounts Payable Supervisor. About five years ago, before taking an overseas trip, she decided to read up on photography to ensure her photographs were of a good quality. She has been a keen photographer ever since, learning from books and training herself in the art of taking beautiful, momentary glimpses of memories for herself and other people to enjoy.
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he howling winds and ever changing skies around Stonehenge enhance the eerie sensation that one feels when looking at this fabulous wonder. The stories behind the creation of Stonehenge are fascinating, but even more so, the accuracy of it’s structure - astrologically, geographically and mystically are breathtaking. This photograph aims to capture the darkness surrounding the history of this druid masterpiece.
Durham
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Peter
Hannett
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Peter began working with Toyota in 1996 in the paint shop at Altona and is now working at the end of the line. He was always a keen sportsman and footballer, so his interest in sports memorabilia was a natural progression. About three years ago he became interested in collecting items and signatures and turning them into memorabilia.
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Ricky Ponting (detail) 2007 63 x 63cm
y son and I have been turning mementos we have collected into memorabilia over the last few years.
I love to get sporting memorabilia that are ‘one offs’, and we now have a few buyers who are collecting some of what we produce. These pieces are unique, we design the layout and what information and photographs to include and have them professionally framed. Kostya Tszyu signed the boxing glove through a friend of mine, Barry Michael. Ricky Ponting autographed the souvenir bat when he made an appearance at a Melbourne bookstore.
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have always enjoyed building models and these pieces are part of my second major collection. The first model I ever built was a Harley Davidson police motorbike. I enjoy using my time creatively and find it relaxing. Having worked with Toyota for such a long time, I guess it was inevitable that I would end up with several Toyota’s in my collection. Some of these are modelled on vehicles owned by my workmates. I have been a member of several clubs for many years, including the Waverly Scale Model Club, one of the oldest clubs in Victoria.
William
Hope
Toyota 4WD and rally car models sizes variable
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Above: William with some of his collection
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William is based in the paint shop at Altona and has worked with Toyota for twenty-seven years. He has been building models since he was fifteen years of age and his collection includes model cars, motorbikes and trucks and even the odd ‘scary plane’ as he calls them. He has won various awards and prizes for his models and currently has work on display at Vic Hobby Centre in the city.
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Desmond
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Towards Photography, 2007 77 x 130cm
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Desmond started work at Toyota as a contractor in CSD, where he became full time in warehousing after completing his vehicle industries certificate. He also completed studies in workplace training and assessment and currently still works in the Warehouse at CSD. He took a picture framing course a few years ago and has been attending workshops and building his own frames for his photographs ever since. His work was exhibited as part of an exhibition entitled Nature’s Diversity at Melbourne Zoo in 2007.
Howlett
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have been interested in photography in one form or another all my life, at least for as long as I can remember. I am selftaught and my aim is to capture the unusual, the strange, the unassuming and unsuspecting beauty of all things. Photography allows me to capture a moment in time, whether it be a structure, place, person or just the shear beauty of the earth and its environment.
Emma
Jakobi
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he medium itself is where my real passion lies. I love immersing myself in my artwork, physically using my hands to shape drawings with both stick and ground powder to explore nuances and contrasts. The production is so messy and seemingly out of control, yet the outcome appears so precise. My choice of subject matter developed from a childhood fascination with lighthouses, progressing through the exploration of the surface qualities and textures of coastal structures. Bathing Box Charcoal on paper, 2003 163 x 105cm
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Emma began experimenting with charcoal in her HSC (NSW VCE equivalent) year in 2003 and was encouraged to take part in a two-day summer course at the College of Fine Arts (Sydney). It was here she was introduced to the medium of charcoal. In 2003, her work was shown in the exhibition ART Express at Hazelhurst Gallery, NSW. Emma’s father Rob works with Toyota and is now based at CHQ in Port Melbourne.
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Gail
McDaniel
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have always been interested in art in all its forms. Starting as a small child first drawing, then to sticking matches and icy pole sticks together, knitting, tapestry, crossstitch to most recently metal sculpture. Almost anything can be made into a work of art all you need is the inspiration and that can come at any time. Sometimes I have woken up with an idea, gotten up and written it down or gone straight into the shed or the spare room and started work on a project. Sometimes it is the challenge, just to see if I can do or make something. This is my first metal sculpture which came about when I first saw Andre Rieu, a classical violinist, on television. I began to fully appreciate classical music the way it should be as being a part of the music and feeling the joy Andre obviously feels as he plays classical music.
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Andre where’s your violin? Metal, 2007, 130 x 30 x 30cm
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Gail began working for Toyota in 1996 on the assembly line and after six months started an adult apprenticeship as a Maintenance Fitter. She currently works with Press Shop Maintenance in Altona. Her art practice is self-taught and over the years she has done a variety of textile and wood craftwork as well as photography. She has been greatly inspired and encouraged by her participation in the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery employee exhibitions over the past few years and has recently been creating more sculptural art pieces.
Bird’s Beach (detail) Mixed media, 2007, 40 x 50cm
I started scrapbooking about 3 years ago and have done over 600 pages on family, friends and travels. My favourite saying is “A birth certificate says you were born, a death certificate says you died but a scrapbook says you lived.” It is a written and photographic legacy that can be handed down to the next generation.
Karen
Murray
Low Tide Acrylic on canvas, 2007 60 x 70cm
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Karen has had an interest in art all her life but until recently had not held a paintbrush since high school. A couple of years ago she decided she needed some ‘me time’ and wanted to do something that she has always “put off”. Her daughter in-law Veronica, works with Toyota and this exhibition has provided her first opportunity to show her works.
rising Cherry Blossoms (detail) Acrylic on canvas, 2007 80 x 63cm
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started to paint again after nearly thirty years using acrylic paints and l find them easy to work with. I have attended some classes in painting over the past two years and I love to paint in what little time l have to myself. My love is mainly seascapes and old boats with the occasional landscape. Much of my work is done from photos l have taken and by painting them it gives me a permanent reminder of places l have been or would love to be.
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Stevie
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Palos
Stevie graduated from high school and joined Toyota in 2006 where he started at Fuel Tanks in Port Melbourne and has since transferred to Unit Parts where he is now the HSR. He has been creating artworks like this for around three years, starting naturally with smaller pieces and graduating to larger works. This is his first opportunity to exhibit his paintings in public.
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The Cycle Spray paint on canvas, 2005 100 x 100cm
hen I used to catch the train to school I loved looking at the graffiti around railway stations and walls. I am inspired by it as an art form that is admired by so many but never really officially recognised or appreciated. The cycle is a piece of remembering what has happened and what will come, the cycle has a beginning and a end with the end normally ending at the beginning; but have we learnt from the end to have a better beginning?
Edwina
Pleming
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am motivated by my emotions and try to express my feelings about my life and the world around me through my pictures. I feel happy when people appreciate my artwork. I have attended some part time art classes but my practice is mainly self-taught. This is the first time I have exhibited since 1990 in the Philippines.
Self Portrait Charcoal on board, 2004 48 x 58cm
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Untitled Acrylic on canvas board, 2007 40.5 x 30.5cm
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Edwina started working with Toyota in October 2007 in the Emerald Bay Bistro. Originally from the Philippines, she has been interested in drawing and painting since studying Drafting Technology in 1982 where one of her subjects was Art Appreciation. This is the first time her works have been shown in Australia.
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Gary
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Robinson
hese three images are representative examples of my final folio main theme “Landscape/Nature” for PSC this year. In these images I was looking for solitude and timelessness in the landscape, not just a series of images about rocks and trees. Rock Tors in particular are the Methuselah’s of the world; especially those found at Hanging Rock, created eons ago they stand strong against time and weather. These rock features also display a minute beauty and texture in their weather worn cracks and crevices, I think these monoliths photographed as either the majestic sentinel or for their small detail are fascinating subjects.
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Untitled # 1, Untitled # 2 & Untitled # 3 Photograph, 2007 45 x 37cm each
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Gary has been working at Toyota for just over nineteen years. His first job was in the steel order planning for the Altona press shop, several years later moving into Project Control where he had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of minor projects that have increased his knowledge and experience of the TMCA manufacturing processes. He has been interested in photography on and off for many years now, more recently though his renewed vigour is due to his studies over the past year or so at Photographic Studies College in Melbourne, successfully completing Year 1 in July 2007. His motivation is the challenge of trying to encapsulate in an image some of the emotion of an experiential moment in time. His works were first exhibited at the Toyota Community exhibition in 2004 and that experience encouraged him to enter the 2005 Qenos Art Show in Altona where he won a first prize in the photography section. He has also exhibited in the Werribee Mercy Hospital Art Show and the Toyota Community Spirit Galleries’ open program.
Peta
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Skinner
hotography is a medium that enables me to capture the mood of a region or place I am visiting. I enjoy experimenting with lighting and the placement and framing of the objects or scene I am capturing within my lens.
Peta’s interest in photography is a hobby to compliment her passion for travel. She is self-taught and enjoys capturing images of her travels as a permanent record of happy times and experiences. Her partner Carlo D’Angelo works with Toyota and this exhibition is her first opportunity to share her images with others, outside family and friends.
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All photographs, 2003 20 x 25cm each
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Images from top: London Sunset Saharan Road Train View from a Window
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Gary
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Smith
enjoy bushwalking and getting close to nature. I found the need to record some of my experiences and the incredible sights that are offered by our wonderful country. Photography offers me the maximum flexibility with a minimum amount of equipment. It also allows me the freedom to explore nature in both the wide landscape and the macro formats to bring out the beauty of both the bush or that of a single leaf.
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Reflections, Photograph, 2005, 30 x 42cm
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The watery stillness of the pond and bush backdrop, encourages the observer to reflect on the perfection of nature and man's impact on the bush. The small ripples focus your mind as you reflect on the individual contribution you can make to global harmony.
Beach Boxes, Photograph, 2006, 30 x 42cm
Bright and boxy cubes cut a broad swathe through ochre hued sand, and the dusty gnarled trees with their verdant headdresses. I can smell the sunscreen and salt biting the air. I run and feel the sand scratching and shifting under my feet until, heaven, the cold bite of the sea numbs my feet. Yes, it's summer again.
Moon rise over Mornington, Photograph, 2006, 30 x 42cm
Soft murmuring as the sea shifts and sways across the sands. A languid spent force the sun kisses the treetops on its way to rest. Jewel bright; a fire in the night. I try in vain to hold back the final moment before night descends.
Gary began working with Toyota in Technical Service Operations in 1997 and is the technical author responsible for the development of LM repair manuals, owner manuals and all CBU warranty and service books. An example of his work is the development of the TRD Aurion repair manual. He has become a keen photographer over the past five years. He is selftaught and is exhibiting his works here for the first time.
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Cocoon� feelings expressed in words and picture, probably an image which portrays or means different things to different people, emotion is unlimited. The person whilst partially hidden is looking beyond the strong hand? Possibly to the future? The framework is about being solid, strength in some ways, about holding on, the padlock represents not the locking of emotion but the opportunity to release if we have the inner acceptance of the situation. Make of it what you will, I am sure. Special thanks to Gary Robinson for photography and collaboration on the exhibit.
Stuart
Tennant
Cocoon Photo on perspex/steel frame, 2007 90 x 60 x50cm
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Stuart started working with Toyota in 1988 in the Purchasing Department, before transferring to Quality Control where he currently works as an Assistant Manager. He has always had an interest in the arts and in his younger days was a musician/lyricist with punk band The Studioz. Twenty-two years later the band have just released a retrospective collection of The Studioz best works from 1980-1985 called Time for the Beat available on ebay and released through Mayday Records. These days his main pursuit is in writing poetry and he is motivated by watching, listening and feeling everyday life, people, music, moments, surroundings and situations. This work is collaboration with fellow Toyota employee Gary Robinson, and is the prototype for an envisaged series of works. This is Stuart’s first foray into exhibiting as a visual artist.
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Qui
Thang Truong
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The Night Blooming Cerus (Hylocerus Undatus) Photograph, 2007 22 x 31cm
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Truong migrated to Australia from Vietnam and has worked with Toyota in the welding shop at Altona for twenty years. He is a very keen and devoted gardener, keeping a well attended to tropical garden that includes exotic plants and tropical fish. He is also a keen photographer, as he likes to document the fruits of his labours. These photographs are of one of the plants from his garden, a type of tropical lotus called Cereus (Hylocerus Undatus) or Truong with his tropical lotus plant The Night Blooming Cerus. Only one bloom appears on this plant per year and it only opens for an hour or so on one night at around twelve midnight.
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have been growing this plant for years and have learned to recognize when it is about to bloom. The year before last I was waiting up to photograph it but fell asleep and missed the whole thing. This year I had my camera ready and was very pleased with the results!
Felicity
Tonkin
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y Dad loaned me his SLR in high school for an assignment. I still have it. As is said by many ‌ photography is painting with light. It’s the art of creating the image that motivates me, not a specific style, subject matter or any underlying message to the viewer. I created this image using a low-key lighting technique. This technique is generally utilised to create a rough, darker style image. Untitled Photograph, 2005 60 x 45cm
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Felicity began working at Toyota with DAS Management in 2006. She has been interested in photography since high school but has pursued it more conscientiously since 2002 through studies in photography at TAFE and RMIT. This is the first time her work has been exhibited in public.
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Phillip
Withers
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pure thought Mixed media on canvas, 2004 75 x 100cm
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Phillip has been interested in art since high school, studying for and completing his VCE in 2002. He went on to further study for a Diploma of Screen Print Design at RMIT. The work displayed here was part of his assessment project which was the concept design for his own screen printing, clothing and design business which incorporates both his commercial and fine art practice. His father Peter, works with Toyota at CHQ in Port Melbourne.
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Pure Thought is to reach inside your dreams and aspire to the opportunities that lay hidden in our journey. Life’s questions may never be answered, but our dreams are undeniable. To follow your heart is the first step, to breathe your existence is to then make your mark‌ A pure thought is an art form brought to life.
Valma
Sugarcane Shed Oil on canvas, 2007 61 x 76cm
saw the sugar cane shed whilst on holidays at Port Douglas and decided to recreate it on canvas.
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I love working with different colours, bringing out the detail in my work. This type of medium relaxes me and I love seeing the end result.
Valma has always loved looking at art. She recently decided to give it a go for relaxation and it has become a passion. She has been painting and attending hobby group classes since early this year and this is her first exhibition. Her daughter Donna works with Toyota.
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Wroblewski
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