Urban Creatures - Toyota Community Spirit Gallery

Toyota Community Spirit Gallery presents emerging artists from the cities of Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip & beyond

URBAN CREATURES 28 March to 20 July 2012 Toyota Australia, 155 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria Gallery Hours Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm or by appointment. Inquiries Ken Wong 0419 570 846

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 750 artists. This project is mounted in consultation with Hobsons Bay City Council and the City of Port Phillip.

URBAN CREATURES Featuring the works of 23rd Key Pamela Bain Terry Barclay Frances Brown Ying Chi Cathyann Coady Marianne Diaz Row Doyle Andy Dudok Emma Hamilton Sinead Hanley Sarah Hickey Bob Hickman Kim Hyun Ju Elly Jolly Ehsia Lawrence Philippe Le Miere Larissa MacFarlane Sue Manski Karleena Mitchell John Monro Robert Moyses

Thanks to

Stephanie Neoh Dan O’Donnell Sarah Oxenham Rachel Peters Tracy Potts Robyn Rich Carmel Rogan Hideaki Sakurai Maria Simonelli David Spencer Anne Spudvilas Marc Standing Shasta Strauss

Emma Stuart Ronak Taher Anthony Tanner Antonia Tatchell Fiona Taylor Janette Thompson Marguerite Tierney Liezel van der Linde Hartmut Veit Claire Anna Watson

Tania Blackwell, Hobsons Bay City Council Louisa Scott, City of Port Phillip Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Committee Katarina Persic, Toyota Australia Steve Blakebrough

Catalogue editing Ken Wong

(watcharts.com.au)

Pre press & Graphic Design Sandra Kiriacos (watcharts.com.au) IMAGE FRONT COVER The Elephant Vanishes by 23rd Key, Aerosol on canvas, 2011.

INSIDE COVER Charlotte pondered the family tree (detail) by Sarah Hickey, Oil and mixed media on canvas, 2011.

IMAGE THIS SPREAD Cherry Popped by Marianne Diaz, Rice sack, rice, cotton, thread, 2011.

IMAGE FOLLOWING SPREAD: It’s in my nature (detail) by Karleena Mitchell, Cast glass, 2001.

IMAGE BACK COVER: Untitled 7 (from the series Subterranea) (detail) by Sarah Oxenham, Photography, 2011.

The opinions and points of view expressed by participants through the artworks and artists statements in this exhibition and catalogue are those of the individual person or persons and are not intended to reflect the position of Toyota Australia.

KEN WONG CURATOR This is the 28th exhibition for the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery and our 9th annual emerging artist exhibition.

It features local emerging artists from the cities of Port Phillip and Hobsons Bay, as well as guest artists from wider metropolitan Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate. They are all part of the diverse cultural community that is contemporary Australian society.

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As always the term emerging artist applies in many different ways. Some are young recently graduated students, some are mature age graduates. Others are following a passionate private pursuit that has gradually become a career path, while still others are recommencing practice after a long hiatus or starting over in a new direction or in a new location.

The title Urban Creatures picks up on a thread that is present in many of the works, about what it is to be human animals who are continually challenged to adapt to survive in the fast changing environment of the modern man-made world. It mirrors in some ways, the way that creatures of the wild have and are adapting to the new habitat of urban Australia. In recent years in particular, I have noticed a number of native and imported species, from magpies, ducks and swans, to possums and wild rabbits, finding a new existence in our urban and suburban environs.

The works also explore cultural questions and new beginnings, like being transported from a place or country of origin, and learning to live in a new location in a completely different culture. There are also deeper questions about the effect of industrialisation and consumerism on the natural environment, and its ability to adapt and continue to provide the fertile and vital biosphere that we all depend on to survive. There are also questions about how we, as a society, are being touched by the global financial and economic crisis; and how we as humans, can adapt to a radically changing situation that could potentially be a signal of the beginning of the collapse of the capitalist world as we know it.

As modern humans we are the descendants of a species that has survived for millions of years and over the past tens of thousands of years, built innumerable and sophisticated empires and societies; which inevitably rise and fall, only to rise again. Yet never before have we held in our hands the potential to push the natural environment that sustains us to a point beyond which it can no longer recover. Let us hope our instinct for survival is too strong to allow us to let this happen. As an intelligent species, it is incumbent on all of us to provide for the habitat of the generations to come, not to squander their resources on an extravagant lifestyle that is unsustainable.

Welcome to Urban Creatures.

Ken Wong is the Director of Watch Arts, a Victorian based contemporary arts consultancy. He has worked in the fine arts industry for over 15 years in both commercial and community arts, curating and managing a host of projects including gallery and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.

EXHIBITORS 08

23rd Key

20

Bob Hickman

09

Pamela Bain

21

Kim Hyun Ju

10

Terry Barclay

22

Elly Jolly

11

Frances Brown

23

Ehsia Lawrence

12

Ying Chi

24

Philippe Le Miere

13

Cathyann Coady

25

Larissa MacFarlane

14

Marianne Diaz

26

Sue Manski

15

Row Doyle

27

Karleena Mitchell

16

Andy Dudok

28

John Monro

17

Emma Hamilton

29

Robert Moyses

18

Sinead Hanley

30

Stephanie Neoh

19

Sarah Hickey

31

Dan O’Donnell

32

Sarah Oxenham

33

Rachel Peters

34

Tracy Potts

35

Robyn Rich

36

Carmel Rogan

37

Hideaki Sakurai

38

Maria Simonelli

39

David Spencer

40

Anne Spudvilas

41

Marc Standing

42

Shasta Strauss

43

Emma Stuart

44

Ronak Taher

45

Anthony Tanner

46

Antonia Tatchell

47

Fiona Taylor

48

Janette Thompson

49

Marguerite Tierney

50

Liezel van der Linde

51

Hartmut Veit

52

Claire Anna Watson

23rd KEY RePRESENTED BY Just Another Creative Agency CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

The Elephant Vanishes Aerosol on canvas, 40 x 60cm, 2011, $500

The Elephant Vanishes is based around the idea of espionage.

Going with the idea that there’s a big pink elephant in the room wearing a tiny mask - which wraps around the canvas. It’s also made a bit stranger by the fact that it’s on a fairly small sized canvas.

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23rd Key was born and raised in Albert Park.

She began her foray into stencil art in 2005 and has been exhibiting her work since 2008. With a background in printmaking and audio engineering, she is now in her third year of a graphic design degree at Monash University and is working towards developing this into her already photorealistic style. 23rd Key takes no short cuts, spending up to 6 months on any one piece.

She hand carves each doily-like layer, and this attention to detail is fast becoming a trademark of her work. In 2011 she was awarded the Australian Stencil Art Prize.

PAMELA BAIN CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

City of Port Phillip Tram Tracks Watercolour, pencil and pastel, 40 x 45cm, 2011, $250

MAPOLOGY is my ongoing project of creative reinterpretation of maps. My inspiration originates not only from intellectual curiosity but from the organic sensibility inherent within cartographic structures: the lines, shapes and curvatures themselves which create a cacophony of bizarre formations are a pleasure to express in my own anthropomorphic style.

In this work, the interlocking suburb shapes, tram routes, and overall configuration of the City of Port Phillip are analogous of the human body: an organism having individual components that function together as a whole much the same as cities of people do.

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Pamela completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Tasmania in 1994, but has had links with the City of Port Phillip through work and family for over 10 years. Further studies include two Graduate Diplomas and a Masters degree in other intellectual practices achieved from the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

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Terry Barclay GUEST (VIC)

To boldly go Carved and painted wood, 60 x 67 x 60cm, 2010, $1200

“ This work is part of a series themed around the flying fish, in this case exploring the subject as a means of transport.

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Terry lives near Frankston but was born in the North of England where he studied design at Bradford College of Art. After graduating he worked as a commercial artist for several years before he and his wife migrated to Australia where he has worked as a designer with both government departments and consultancies including NGV and The State Library of Victoria.

Since retirement in 2007, he has returned to painting and sculpture and is currently studying a Diploma of Visual Arts at Chisholm Institute.

He has exhibited at the Oakhill Gallery in Mornington, Brightspace Gallery, St. Kilda, and Cube 37, Frankston. In 2011 he exhibited his first solo show at the Art Centre Frankston and was a finalist in the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award.

Frances Brown GUEST (NSW)

Beachhouse 1 Screenprint, 55 x 72cm, 2011, $350

Apart from my interest in the diversity and textures of natural forms, a major theme of my work is the changing urban and coastal landscapes. In particular I am concerned with the rapid pace of redevelopment of the Australian coastline, and the subsequent loss of natural beauty and memories of the past. This is a screenprinted image of a 1950’s beachhouse, of the type that is often being knocked down and replaced in the current craze for redevelopment.

The colours are non naturalistic, evoking a dreamlike state and childhood memories of holidays at a beach cottage similar to this one.

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Frances originally studied for a Degree in Biological Science, and an interest in the natural world and the environment informs her work as a Visual Artist, which includes photography, printmaking, design and digital imaging. Images are often a combination of these artforms, like this photographic image digitally modified and then used as a template for handmade prints.

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Ying Chi REPRESENTED BY Amaroo Arts Program city of hobsons bay

“ I wanted to bring the scene of Ponte Veccio in Europe to life by enhancing the blue sky and water, the green mountains and yellow bridge. I am drawn to the castles and surrounding buildings as they merge with nature.

The subject shines under the afternoon sun and gives you a sense of being there yourself.

Ponte Veccio Oil on canvas, 68 x 53cm, 2011 $450

Ying was born and raised in China. Largely self-taught, she has pursued a keen interest in painting for some years since her arrival in Australia and through art classes including The Amaroo Arts Program in Hobsons Bay. She has participated in several group exhibitions and received various art awards including ‘the people choice awards’ for the State Trustee’s Connected 2011 exhibition and the ‘achievement award’ for the ADEC Art Ability 2011 exhibition. Ying is in the process of planning her first solo exhibition for June 2012.

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Cathyann Coady city of hobsons bay

Chill Pill (version 1), Fibreglass, acrylic and perspex on aluminum, 92.5 x 62.5 x 10cm, 2011, $4620

In the flower power era of the 1960’s ‘drugs’ escaped the poultice, came out of the medicine cupboard and partied. Recreational drugs were the cornerstones of the hippy lifestyle. Less control meant freedom from ultra conservative views and the pathway to enlightenment. In the suburbs where responsibility was a premium commodity for success drugs were a way of maintaining decorum and physical endurance. Has much changed on the surface of our western societies? What we wanted then we can get quicker now. The pathway to success is never easy but it can be pain free!

Drugs have placed themselves firmly at the nexus of a new frontier in sustainable living. The stigma still lingers but its being overshadowed by the hope they offer to live better and longer with less down times. This piece is not a declaration of the right or wrong but a statement of our fragility.

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Cathyann grew up in Melbourne and was crowned Miss Williamstown in 1977 at age 16. These days her art practice is designed to challenge her audience to examine and contemplate humanity, exploring the continual role in which notions of femininity, youth, pharmaceuticals, religion and motherhood have played in her ever changing world. In her early years she studied under Howard Arkeley and continues her art practice with regular solo exhibitions and participation in the Art Melbourne art fair. She was a finalist in the Portia Geach Memorial Art Award in 2009, the Whyalla Art Prize in 2011 and the Limestone Coast Art Prize in 2012. She has been collected privately in Melbourne, Sydney, London and Singapore and was featured on Chanel 9 The Block after her painting Annie 1 was purchased for the TV series.

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Marianne Diaz GUEST (VIC)

Cherry Popped Rice sack, rice, cotton and thread, 47.5 x 37 x 12cm, 2011, NFS

Over the past two years I have explored the sculptural installation of altered objects. I am interested in exploring what is repressed beneath the surface or facade of objects, that which is absent and invisible. I select, arrange and display objects which are familiar and culturally resonant to me so as to create a sense of order to what I perceive as the chaos of cultural identity. I also seek to challenge and subvert cultural tropes with humour, and invite my audiences to look beyond the works’ kitschy façade to consider their own latent stereotypes.

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Marianne was born in 1985 in Manila.

She completed a BA in Media and Communications and Commerce majoring in politics at the University of Melbourne in 2008 but in recent years has turned her attentions to visual art and is currently pursuing her Masters in Fine Art at RMIT University. Remixing Asian experience with popular culture, her work relies on materials and visual sources that stand-alone formally, but also have strong ties to childhood memories and social and political commentary.

Row Doyle GUEST (VIC) My current works involve the cutting and splicing of paper to create new landscapes. I am interested in how the elements translate from maps to abstract works. I enjoy the contrast of colour, form and texture which present themselves and the challenges of making these materials work together. This work was created for this exhibition exploring themes of cultural and environmental diversity. It represents part of the Murray River in South Australia specifically Coorong National Park, a place of cultural significance to indigenous people.

Its name is thought to reference the shape of the lagoon system. Its unique interaction of fresh water and the salt water of the Southern Ocean causes a variety of climatic conditions and diverse landscapes. The continuous movement of sand and sea causes geographical boundaries to shift, merge or disappear.

This forms cycles of renewing, reviving and recontextualising.

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Where the river meets the sea Collage, 65 x 55cm, 2012 $600

Row is interested in domestic spaces and the ways in which women have been represented in history and literature. Embracing the handmade - needlework, embroidery, sewing and weaving, she re-contextualises traditional women’s arts and crafts of the past to explore contemporary themes.

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ANDY DUDOK CITY OF HOBSONS BAY

The Answer Metal, 10 x 50 x 20cm, 2011, NFS

I consider myself an emerging artist as I find my enjoyment and satisfaction growing with each new piece I create and believe that my best is yet to come.

As I started riding my bike to work, I became acutely aware of all the benefits of this and was inspired to create The Answer.

For me it represents ‘the answer’, to your health, the environment, cost savings, road congestion, parking issues and enjoyment.

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Andy is an employee of Toyota from the factory floor at Altona. He first became interested in sculpture as a high school student and won second prize for a wood carving at the 1975 Royal Melbourne Show. He has been creating steel sculptures since 2003, drawing heavily on his obviously excellent technical trade skills. His art practice is self-taught and inspired by his love of working with steel.

Emma Hamilton CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Emma graduated from Monash University with First Class Honours in Fine Arts in 2011 and was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award, for which she is currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Art by research at the Victorian College of the Arts. In conjunction with the City of Port Philip, she will also be presenting a large-scale public video projection work onto the side of the Palais Theatre building, as well as undertaking her first curatorial project at Platform Contemporary Art Spaces, a project that will span 5 months.

Untitled (white landscape horizon) Perspex, inkjet on cotton rag, rubber bands, 27 x 38 x 4cm, 2011, $2800

While studying I was fortunate to combine my two passions of art and French by travelling to France to study at a Fine Art School in Nantes. This has greatly influenced my artistic research, allowing me to read texts not yet published in English. My 2011 Honours project employed an obscure concept by French artist Marcel Duchamp called the infrathin. This concept examines ephemeral perceptual moments in the everyday world and the encounter of surfaces. I have used it as a tool to research our perception

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of landscape. Some pertinent examples of infrathin moments for me are: the physical contact between images in the technique of collage and the way in which we loose our sense of scale in spectacular natural environments.

These landscapes are at once blank and infinite in their whiteness. The depicted terrains were both viewed through plane windows, an environment of transit.

Like a traditional frame, the landscape has become trapped or preserved in the mould like structure, which is the exact dimensions of a port hole on a plane.

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Sinéad Hanley CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Ganges Goddess Digital montage, 62 x 62cm, 2011 $565

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My work explores spirited graphic compositions using imperfect lines, photographic textures and clashing hues. A love of scouring thrift shops for old books and records has led to an integration of nostalgic type, forgotten places and vintage maps into the work.

Sinéad comes from a background in graphic design and has worked for over a decade in the design field. Always doodling and dreaming, the past 4 years her visual language has evolved into drawing, collage and illustration. She is currently working on a children’s book and solo exhibition.

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Sarah Hickey GUEST (QLD) I love painting women. Women who reside in glittering, exotic worlds of ornamentation and beauty.

Some are accompanied by owls and assorted avian, others are paired with the more risky of the animal kingdom. Hair-filled and fur laden, these women feel like playful versions of self; avatars and adorned companions I’m yet to meet. I like the celebration of all that is fantastically feminine; the frilly bits that we were told not to like in an earlier version of feminism. I am drawn to all that accompanies and surrounds feminine mythology. I believe the act of creating art feels like a conversation with spirit, a deeper energy of understanding. We are more than this physical flesh and bone. Perhaps my fascination with all

that is beautiful, adorned, and embellished is a reflection of who I believe we are on the inside.

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‘We are ourselves works of art, and as we work to bring forward the art within us, we express our inner divinity’.

Julia Cameron

Charlotte pondered the family tree Oil and mixed media on canvas, 140 x 100cm, 2011, $3100

After completing bachelor degrees in fine arts and education, and then 5 years of teaching art in Queensland High Schools, Sarah started to produce art professionally after a long hiatus from her own creative practice. She attributes her ‘creative recovery’ to New York artist Julia Cameron, who has mentored artists through a successful series of workshops and books. In 4 years, Sarah has held 8 solo shows and participated in 19 group shows. A recent finalist in the Clayton Utz Art Awards and recipient of the WLS Sponsors Award at Art from the HeART, her work featured in Curvy magazine and was chosen as the brand identity for Barossa Belle wines.

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Bob Hickman GUEST (VIC)

“ My works revolve around the themes of urban cityscapes and/or nostalgia.

Sometimes these themes are interwoven, sometimes they stand alone.

My most recent exhibitions have centred on the theme of urban decay and renewal with new opportunities springing from our cities laneways.

AC/DC Lane Acrylic on canvas 67 x 52cm, 2011 $1500

Bob was born in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey, England and spent his childhood in both the U.K and Melbourne, Australia. Upon finishing his formal education in England at Rutlish School, he commenced a Datec Diploma in General Art and Design in Croydon, Surrey. He then moved to the Midlands to gain his Bachelors of Art (Honours degree) at Loughborough College of Art and Design, majoring in print-making /painting and History of Art. After a short spell tutoring in printmaking at the Foundation College in Loughborough, he returned to London and then Melbourne. Bob has exhibited paintings, sculptures and prints in England, Melbourne and locally. Meeniyan and Leongatha Galleries exhibit his artworks currently. He continues to teach adult art classes locally in Leongatha and Warragul as well as students at Community College Gippsland.

His artworks hang in both private and public collections in England, France and Australia. www.bobhickman.blogspot.com.au

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Kim Hyun Ju GUEST (VIC)

Blue Bird With Me Mixed media on paper, 55 x 76cm, 2012, $800

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Always my head and heart are filled full of imaginations that make my own world.

My art is the only language to explain it. I like the idea of primitive men who acted by their instinct and followed

their nature. There are aesthetics of primitive man’s life which are untrained, unaffected, inartificial and pure. They lived naturally in nature which is most important to me. I am inspired by nature. And finally I mix my feeling that is always different.

Kim completed her BA in Fine Art at Dankook University Korea in 2001 and her Masters in Printmaking at Visva-Bharati University in India in 2009. She has exhibited in London and at the International Symposium of Painting in Patras, Greece. Kim has also completed studio residencies in Cairo, Egypt and New Delhi, India and been awarded multiple scholarships. She has worked in various capacities as a designer and art educator and between 2008 and 2010 did volunteer work at Mother Teresa’s house in Kolkata, India. Kim recently moved to Australia where he is working as an artist in the printmaking studio at Trinity Grammar School, Kew.

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Elly Jolly GUEST (VIC)

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Skeletal Watercolour, 58 x 48cm, 2011 $600

Elly has studied art at Monash University, Frankston and Bendigo University. Originally working in ceramics, she has slowly developed a passion for painting, exploring her love of nature and the natural world. She works in watercolour, a medium that allows her to get as close as possible to the natural colour of her subjects.

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My practice consists of long walks always with an eye to the beauty around me and how I can depict it on paper. I was born as a white child on an Aboriginal reservation in Yuendumu, Northern Territory.

The natural organic forms were my friends, my toys, and my objects of play with my Aboriginal mates. The familiarity of these natural objects entices me to paint them in their natural state.

To show their beautiful colours, their form and line.

So often we don’t see or we forget how beautiful nature can be and disregard it, or find it of no consequence.

These may be discarded but they have a simplistic quiet beauty which I endeavour to show the viewer.

Ehsia Lawrence GUEST (VIC)

What we focus on is what we create Black and white photography, 49.7 x 49.7cm, 2012, $350

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I was born an artist. I believe we all were. Though I enjoy exploring different mediums, painting, ink drawing and sculpture, photography is where my passion now exists. It really always has been, ever since my grandpa gave me my first camera at 8 years old. It was a Pentax SLR. She was beautiful, and she quite possibly changed my life. This year shall see me focus the lens of my life. What we focus on is what we create.

Make the future you wish to step into.

Ehsia was born into a family of artists and musicians and has always felt the urge to create. Her final year HSC art works were chosen for exhibition in the travelling Art Express Awards of Australia in 1992. Her career until recently has been in music, but she is currently preparing her first photographic exhibition with another artist, entitled Life through the eye of my iPhone3 :)

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Philippe Le Miere CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Puppet, Oil on canvas, 57 x 72cm, 2012, $600

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Rather than working from an observable reality, my work is drawn from the observations of my ‘mind’s eye’. This painting titled Puppet is an active imagination of a dream sketch dated 4th January, 2012 . The painting depicts a cool, open rocky landscape, and in it stands poised a female, clad in robotic armor. Why has she halted to this spot and what has captured her attention? Armour both protects and obscures an individual’s identity. When we mask ourselves it transforms us, evoking a more confident image and providing temporary housing for the gods.

Philippe was born in Melbourne in 1975 and graduated a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Victorian College of the Arts in 1997. He has worked in arts education and currently works from his home studio bordering the City of Port Phillip, where he is an active member of the local arts community. The main focus of his art practice is the study of dreams and the reasoning of unconscious content, beginning with the daily recording of a ‘dream beat’ into a dream sketch diary. From these drawings further active imagination sketches are made.

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Larissa MacFarlane CITY OF HOBSONS BAY I am primarily a printmaker, e x p l o r i n g the mediums of etching, mezzotints, lino and woodcuts.

Living in Melbourne’s West, I am inspired by the physical and cultural environments that extend from the Port of Melbourne, along the Maribyrnong River to Point Gellibrand and beyond. I am interested in exploring what it means to live at the intersection of the industrial, the suburban and the natural worlds, and to explore the ways that we coexist with technologies and structures that at the same time we can be so disconnected from.

Depicting these subjects within the traditional format of printmaking may enable us to look anew and (re) examine our contemporary urban landscapes.

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West of the Great Divide Reduction linocut, 50 x 40cm, 2011 $300

Larissa completed a Diploma in Visual Arts at the CAE in 2010, majoring in Printmaking. In recent years, she has exhibited consistently, particularly in Melbourne’s west where her work as a printmaker is becoming well known. She has lived in the West for the past 10 years, regularly travelling by bicycle through Hobsons Bay to her studio in Williamstown, and its landscapes inspire much of her artwork. This year will see her fifth solo show as part of the annual Hobson’s Bay Art in Public Places exhibition. In 2011, her work was selected for the Big West Festival’s premier visual arts exhibition Larger than Life. She also undertook several community arts and curatorial projects in 2011, including co-curating Trans at the Footscray Community Arts Centre as part of the International Printmaking Conference Impact 7. She has won several awards including the 2011 Arts Access Australia Award and the 2010 Wyndham Contemporary Art Prize. Her work is represented in the collections of the Maribyrnong City Council, Mind, TAC and the Mental Health Foundation, as well as private collections in Australia and overseas. She is soon to undertake undergraduate studies in printmaking at RMIT.

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Sue Manski CITY OF CITY OF HOBSONS BAY

Completeness Acrylic on antique mirror, 56 x 56 x 56cm, 2011 $1400

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Originally trained in the performing arts, Sue worked for many years in voice and movement based performance, set design and costuming.

This experience armed her with valuable tools, both physical and practical, and a wish to pursue further creative studies. In 2008 she completed a Bachelor of Design Arts at the Australian Academy of Design. On completion of the course she started her own business, specialising in both graphic and bespoke leather design. She is a regular at The Substations Artist’s market in Newport and has been part of the Go West exhibition at the Joel Gallery in Altona for the past 3 years.

An enduring love of traditional arts and crafts encourages me to explore processes, which allows me to create and solve what my heart wants to express. A certain material or method of working will be the catalyst or seed from which the inspiration will grow. I am presently using antique bevelled edged mirrors as my medium. I feel they carry a sense of familiarity, comfort and nostalgia as well as having the engaging quality of reflection. My work deals primarily with personal experience, through memory, emotions and recollections of times past. The current body of work explores universal themes surrounding life, death and beyond.

Whilst these images stem from grief, sadness and loss, they also bring with it a sense of energy and sustenance for love and life, a way to remember, honour and pay homage to those lost.

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Karleena Mitchell GUEST (VIC)

It’s in my nature Cast glass, 20 x 25 x 25cm, 2001 $5000

My chief objective as an artist is to give expression to the impact of world situations that are the concern of us all, yet which the busy-ness of our daily lives leads us to regard as too unpleasant, complex or difficult to deal with.

Just as the snake is the ambiguous symbol of both knowledge and evil, so humankind tragically applies its superior intelligence to evil purpose. Snake green is a blend of the green of nature with poisonous chemical green. The free bird of the human spirit is suddenly, shockingly, trapped in the maw of catastrophic inevitability. We never thought we would do this to ourselves. But it’s in our nature.

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Karleena was born in Singapore, but completed a BA in Auckland, New Zealand in 1980 before a BA in Fine Arts in Sculpture at Monash University, Melbourne in 2001. She has exhibited throughout Australia since then and was this year selected a finalist for the McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award. Her work explores socio-political themes of her own experiences as an immigrant and more universal concerns related to philosophical questions about the nature of humanity.

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John Monro CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Morning in Collins Street Acrylic on canvas, 42 x 57cm, 2011, NFS

Two men walk purposefully on their way to work, each immersed in his thoughts but hopefully still aware of the quiet beauty of his surroundings.

This painting has a special meaning to me, as it is based on a black and white photograph I took around 1960.

I was just a young man commencing university studies when my parents dropped me off on this crisp, bright, autumn morning in Collins Street. The work seems to capture that sense of freshness and new possibilities, while also having a nostalgic air that evokes ideas about the relative nature of time, space and our perceptions of memory.

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After a career in electronics and mathematics education, and many years of occasional, casual sketching with pen or ink, John joined the painting group at Port Phillip U3A in 2011, at age 68. Not having done any painting since his school days, he experimented with different media, and has adopted acrylics as his preferred medium. John is now busy exploring its apparently limitless possibilities while at the same time striving to develop his own technique and style.

Robert Moyses GUEST (VIC) In 2006, whilst visiting a quilting exhibition, I became fascinated by the complexity, colour and design of these works in fabric.

Later I imagined these as being produced in paper, so combining skills learned in the printing and publishing industry, I started work on a self portrait as my first trial and completed effort. This is achieved by layering cutout pieces of coloured paper into recognisable highly stylised and textured images. The images have evolved into quite detailed works representing various subjects captured through photography.

This shot was taken whilst walking around the Williamstown foreshore.

I was fascinated by the strong verticals of the high-rise apartment building as a backdrop to the storage of the small boats in the foreground, along with yacht masks and floodlights. All these elements combined are broken by the selective use of horizontal elements to break the elongation of the work.

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Small Boats in Storage -- Williamstown Scissor cut coloured archival paper, 65 x 52.5cm, 2009 $850

Robert has always had a strong interest in all things relating to art from an early age, and was a prolific drawer. He started oil painting seriously in the mid 1970’s, with no formal art training, except for two years studying figure painting at CAE and abstraction with a local artist. He also studied the works of artists of the past and of painting techniques and composition through books. In the early 1980’s with two children, family, and work commitments; he gave up painting but retained a strong interest in art, visiting various exhibitions. In 2006, he rekindled his interest with a complete change of media, and has won five first prize awards and one second prize in local art shows.

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Stephanie Neoh GUEST (VIC)

Lost World II (Edition of 7) Archival Photographic Print, 2012, 55 x 100cm (unframed), 65 x 110cm (framed) $1000 (print only) $1500 (framed)

At a time when the Western world is so concerned with climate change and ecology, it is my belief that conservation strategies should consider the aesthetic appeal of the romantic philosophical tradition, and incite desire for conservation by depicting sensuous, embodied experiences of the natural world. As renowned artist and writer, Robert Adams once wrote, “what bothers us about primordial beauty is that it is no longer characteristic. Unspoiled places sadden us because they are, in an important sense, no longer true”. Learning

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to read and create landscape narratives provides creative ways of building more affective bonds between people and the land. Non-rational approaches to nature conservation can help to re-enchant conservation and environmental issues.

How can we have an affection for the land, when we have no connection to it? Romantic philosophy is partly based on the idea that reality is ultimately spiritual, with nature itself a mirror of the human soul. Thus this work seeks to provide the viewer with an experience of the land that may encourage their own metaphysical connection with it.

Stephanie graduated from RMIT with her Bachelors degree and First Class Honours in Fine Art Photography in 2007. Since then she has worked as a lecturer in photography, and it is only recently she has had the opportunity to focus on her own practice. More of Stephanie’s work can be viewed online at www.stephneoh.com

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Dan O’Donnell GUEST (VIC) When viewing an artwork, it is not unusual to mentally dissect it – like a child pulling a machine apart in order to see how it works. Once the machine is in pieces, it can then be quite difficult to remember how it goes back together again.

We have a tendency to break down the meaning of an artwork into the “who, what, why, where and when”, and then forget the reason that we liked it in the first place. I believe that there is as much to gain from knowledge as there is from the acceptance of not knowing. My artworks are a celebration of this very concept. Mixed in between representation and abstraction, the works explore the themes of freedom, danger, anxiety and the strange. Using a mixture of collage, painting and drawing, they are journeys into a space and time where old and new materials intersect and where the viewer is invited to release their control over reason.

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Was Never Here Collage and acrylic on canvas, 90 x 69cm, 2011 $920

Dan has always been interested in art and pursued this interest at secondary school, particularly the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico. He studied painting at the Victorian College of the Arts, completing his BA in 2006. This invaluable experience was followed by a trip to London where he assisted Australian artist David Noonan with preparing work for an exhibition. He completed his Dip Ed at University of Ballarat in 2008. He now lives in Ballarat and continues to create art and regularly exhibit work in solo and group exhibitions

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Sarah Oxenham GUEST (QLD)

Untitled 7 (from the series Subterranea) Photography, 73.7 x 95.7cm, 2011, $1000

This work is from the series Subterranea, which evolved from an interest in the relationship between our body and the domestic space it inhabits. The series features the underneath of Queenslander houses and deals with that which resides beneath.

What we initially covet, we then place in hidden spaces with the intention to revisit later. As I search amongst these shrouded spaces, I question what we deem public and private within our personal lives and how the domestic space can be a representation of those that reside within it. The works were made using long exposures and light painting which allowed a personal interaction with the house and the residing objects. In order to understand more about how I am informed by the domestic, I forced myself to enter these abject realms at night, which allowed a process of experimentation and interpretation.

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Sarah is an emerging photographic artist who lives and works in Brisbane. She is currently completing Honours for a Bachelor of Photography (2011) at Queensland College of Art and was recently awarded the Queensland Centre for Photography Graduate Award for her series Subterranea.

Sarah’s experience as a nurse has merged with her visual practice, which is informed by social documentary and performative photography and an ongoing fascination in human practices and idiosyncrasies.

Rachel Peters GUEST (VIC)

“ Skirting around the edge of the desert, scratching through the layers of personal and community history, the eternal eludes us. But there ...sitting in the belly of the space, a clear beautiful experience of truth exists. It has developed like the pearl of great price, in the dark without us knowing and gives a luminosity that lifts us.

The Truth Lies In Places We Avoid Acrylic and sand, 153 x 115cm, 2011 $2000

Rachel has a background in Occupational Therapy but has enjoyed painting as a pastime ever since childhood. In recent years it has become a focus and a career path for her and in 2010 she completed a Diploma in Art, Craft and Design at South West TAFE. Her practice explores themes of diversity and connections between people, their land and their history. Her works are a way of processing her life experiences, which may begin with a specific geographic place or community in mind, whether visiting Cambodia, or taking her daily walks along the cliffs of her home in Warrnambool. She has exhibited in regional Victoria and Melbourne and more of her works can be viewed at www.tidalart.net

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Tracy Potts REPRESENTED BY Anita Traverso Gallery GUEST (VIC)

“ Specimen jars - from childhood, jars of tadpoles, the butterfly chrysalis – remember them? Checking at least ten times a day for evidence of growth, of change, of emergence. Cling film with holes punched through for air, held captive with a rubber band. Later, biology labs with dark glassfronted cabinets, long-dead creatures floating eternally in their baths of formaldehyde.

And later still, to the present day, jars and glasses and boxes filled with collections – shells, skulls, discarded exoskeletons, feathers, pelts, seed pods.

Specimen Jar Mixed media, 142 x 91cm, 2011 $3000

Tracy completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and has studied Visual Merchandising. She began exhibiting her work in Melbourne in 2001 and the medium of textiles has gradually taken over as the cornerstone of her practice.

She has recently become a represented artist at Anita Traverso Gallery.

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Robyn Rich GUEST (VIC)

“ My artwork is filled with whimsical tales, obscure ideas and subtle comments on everyday society and the everyday objects we encounter. In creating this work I aim to communicate stories to the viewer and allow them to walk away with their own interpretation.

In The Clouds Oil on canvas, 101 x 75cm, 2011 $1800

Robyn is a Melbourne based artist who works in bronze, aluminium, fabric, pencil, ink and oil, creating a wide range of artwork varying from fabric food sculptures to narrative oil portraits. After leaving high school she studied Visual Merchandising (Window Dressing) at the Melbourne College of Decoration and is currently pursuing a Diploma of Visual Art at Chisholm Institute in Frankston. She has exhibited in various galleries around Melbourne, created pieces for The Johnston Collection Decorative Fine Arts Museum and recently had her fabric sculptures featured in frankie magazine issue 45. More of her work can be viewed at www. robynrich.com

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Carmel Rogan CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Petalliscious No.2, (Edition 1/10) Photography, 52 x 52cm, 2012, $480

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This work is from a series titled Seasonal Rorschach. It is a collection of abstracted floral studies created from a set of rules. The process then evolves like the images, relying on intuition to build the image layer by layer, revealing a fundamental nature. From this juxtaposition of methods, an image emerges that is not predetermined. In reading the resulting images, the responses become metaphors representing an evaluation of Rorschach’s.

Carmel completed her BA in Fine Art Photography at RMIT in 2010 and is currently a part-time photography and Photoshop teacher. Her work includes running a Photographic Workshop program through St Kilda Community Housing. Her own photographic art practice is influenced by her previous occupations in Applied Science. With an inquisitive mind, Carmel has researched and experimented with abstraction techniques that are a feature in her work. From family portraits to the floral studies she now creates, her artwork delves into the unseen physical and psychological states of her chosen subject matter.

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Hideaki Sakurai GUEST (VIC)

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I work to capture “art and beauty” in the ordinary scenes around us.

Often many people do not notice them.

I want to find unnoticed perspectives, which touch a person’s senses, in natural scenery, objects and/ or people occurring in the moment.

When I travelled in Prague, Czech Republic in 2007, I found this wall, called Lennon Wall. The wall is full of colourful graffiti. An old pump stands in front of the wall. I wanted to capture the contrast of the sense of history; to document and show the story of this scene.

An Old Pump and the Lennon Wall in Prague Photography (giclee print), 43cm x 53cm, 2007 $300

Hideaki was born in Japan and moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1999. He previously worked as a secondary school teacher. In 2008, after finishing a photography course at PSC (Photography Studies College), he moved to Annapolis, MD, USA and tried to start a new career as a photographer. While selected for a number of juried photography/art competitions and shown in the group exhibitions, he found it was difficult to break into this industry and now continues to do tutoring and emergency teaching for schools. He is still working on creating and developing his own personal style of photography.

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Maria Simonelli CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

My Tribe Wax and fabric 48 x 36 x 20cm, 2012 $660 each

This work came from a similar piece called Hoody, which, although deliberately ambiguous in its title, appeared to evoke unintentional emotions of gangs and secrecy. My tribe, is a small story of people and inter-relationships that reflects current issues relating to separation, support and protection. Are the hoodies designed to hide our body form or do they reflect tribal messages and rites of passage? While assembling the pieces I became aware of the silent connection between the individual figures and their unique personalities. Are they as one, a unit with the same collective ambitions or are those figures in the background vying for the top position‌his right hand man or just after his job?

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Maria lives in South Melbourne and has a strong association with local council having served as a community representative on the Sustainable Environment Forum (Advisory Committee) and the Community Grants Assessment Panel over the past 10 years. This local community experience has informed her art practice. She has created art all her life and has just completed a Graduate Certificate in Visual Art at VCA, Melbourne University.

This allowed her to explore sculpture as a medium and the broader expression of meaning and ideas in contemporary art.

She is interested in creating and connecting figurative forms and exploring how they can be a vehicle to express and interpret emotion and relationships. Communication has been a key component of her career, which has now entered a new phase of deeper expression through her art practice.

David Spencer REPRESENTED BY Buratti Fine Art GUEST (WA)

This thing my heart Mixed media on canvas, 132 x 168cm, 2008, $5500

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My work is an observation of the modern industrial world. I use colour, pattern and reoccurring symbols. With these elements combined, I discover a composition that dignifies both my imagination and subject.

David was born in Dampier, Western Australia in 1974. He completed a Fine Arts Diploma in 1994 at Central Metro College and held his first solo exhibition at Hudson Gallery in Perth in 2004. Since then has continued to exhibit in solo and group shows, progressively developing his practice and pursuing his career as a professional artist. His work has featured in a range of state and national publications including Australian Art Review and Australian Art Collector, and he is now pursuing opportunities in states and territories throughout Australia.

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Anne Spudvilas CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Anne held her first solo exhibition of paintings in Geelong in 1985 and has worked as graphic artist and currently, as a children’s book illustrator.

She also holds drawing workshops with students and has worked as a portrait artist and a court artist for the Melbourne media. ln the past 10 years she has been learning and practising printmaking and is working to make this her fulltime occupation along with drawing and painting in her own studio practice.

Songbird Etching with chine colle 50 x 40 cm, 2011 $385

My work has always been strongly associated with people, in the past portrait based but more recently featuring garments, uninhabited garments; evoking the spirit of the unknown wearer. My past interest in colour has predominantly given way to black and white, both in printmaking - monoprints and etchings, and drawing – in graphite and charcoal. This is part of a series of images of dresses found in unexpected places that look at the layers of transparency which belie the mystery of the unknown wearer.

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Marc Standing GUEST (QLD)

Marc was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1976. He attended the University of Cape Town in South Africa where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree with a major in painting.

In 2003 he left Africa permanently and travelled. He immigrated to Australia in 2005 and became an Australian citizen in 2007. The majority of his work consists of oil paint on canvas although he also works with paper and collage.

Consistent themes in his work allude to issues concerning identity, displacement, loss and human fragility.

The Flycatchers Oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm, 2011 $4500

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‘It is rare that the subconscious consciously dominates, and so beautifully at that. Marc Standing’s work is a wild and ethereal map of what travels in and out of perception and introspection. Sprightly colours and nebulous shapes reinforce the nature of the world Standing regards through his brushes….Of mortality, the instinctual facades we put up, human nature embroiled in social order – Standing lets each question percolate, facing head on the whimsical and the dark realities of what we are. As we witness his journey, we are called to do the same and delve into the potent meditation of unearthing what is hidden beneath the surface.’

Zoe Dulay

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Shasta Strauss CITY OF PORT PHILLIP

Genteel Memories Oil on canvas 33 x 41cm, 2011 $580

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With all the fashion nowadays for “afternoon teas” and “cupcakes” I thought I would paint a memory of the days in the past when life was more genteel and afternoon tea occurred daily in many of the wealthier homes. Where a magazine would be supplied on the tray, by the domestic staff, along with beautiful fine china cups and saucers. For an extra feminine feel, and to place the painting back in the age I wanted to reflect, I added a beautiful antique kidskin shoe to further express the formality of the subject. This work reflects nostalgically on the quietude that has been lost to our frenetic modern existence, something which may yet be proved to be essential to our wellbeing as biological animals.

Shasta has a Bachelor of Education and taught Art and Craft at Pt. Gellibrand High School and Williamstown High School. Over the past 15 years she has held stalls at the Arts Centre Sunday Market and the Red Hill Art and Craft market. She has been a member of the Emerald Hill Art Group for approximately 8 years and exhibits with the group annually at the St. Kilda Town Hall Gallery and Gasworks Arts Park Gallery. She has painted using oils on canvas for most of her life and has recently been exploring tempera on wood and the genre of Religious Icons. This has led to a commission to paint all the Icons for a Church in the Philippines. She is pleased to have reached a time in her life now, beyond teaching and concentrating on selling her hand painted glassware at markets, where she is able to spend time developing her own practice as a painter, incorporating her broad artistic and life experience.

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Emma Stuart REPRESENTED BY Kick Gallery GUEST (VIC)

The natural world can be deeply and profoundly unpredictable.

The very same things that make it so, are what create its pattern, structure and ultimate beauty. My subjects are untamed landscapes, which portray the unpredictable and familiar patterns in nature and the intrinsic manner in which order and chaos coexist and ultimately; create everything we see.

I am also exploring the link between the laws of physics in nature and the inevitable consequence of the human imprint.

My aim is to create a sense of awe, terror and reflection concerning the immanent need to protect our natural environment.

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Abandoned Romance Oil on linen, 152 x 107cm, 2011 $3200

Emma has been working as a visual artist and professional children’s book illustrator for the past 12 years.

Stemming from her illustrative background, the focus of her fine art practice prior to 2011 has been on creating delicate micro-scenes using water colours, ink and pencil. While she continues to create works that are intricate and detailed, she has increased the size of the surface she uses and moved into painting with oils on linen. This upsizing of her micro scenes to monumental scale has provided a vehicle for her desire to capture and acutely accentuate the omnipresence of nature.

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Ronak Taher GUEST (VIC)

Bride Can Digital print, 30 x 40cm, 2012 $80

Ronak was born in Iran in the 1980’s when the country was experiencing huge changes because of the Islamic revolution. She completed her BA in Graphic Design at Tehran Art University in 2007 and her Masters in Illustration at Azad Art University in Tehran in 2011. Her film Bride Can, from which the image exhibited here was taken, has achieved recognition internationally at Montreal World Film Festival, Chicago World Film Festival, Florida International Film Festival and Shnit World Film Festival, Switzerland, South Africa, Germany, Austria, Costa Rica and Singapore.

Across different societies, taboos, social contracts and costumes limit people’s freedom and sense of individuality. Their unique individual is taken away and they end up conforming to the standards of society. Because of this, majority of people in any generation end up following the steps of their predecessors and living a rather predefined life. This happens in both traditional and modern societies, and it does not matter if they present themselves as nice antique decorative boxes or as cans with nice labels. Depersonalization has always been one of the most important topics in various artistic styles and periods. Being born and raised in Tehran, has given me a unique personal experience!

The Islamic revolution, in 1979, made substantial changes in my country; red lines changed; new ideals and taboos were created which in some cases, were just the opposite of the previous ones. Occurring so rapidly, these massive changes, brought up new identity crisis to our nation. This is the differentiating point of my work! I have chosen art as a powerful medium to expose people with this issue. In my art, content is superior to form. I choose the materials and media according to my topics. The unique origins of all the music, visual elements and sound effects in my art works come from my past memories.

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Anthony Tanner GUEST (VIC)

Quasi-oblivion Digital Print (Edition of 10), 35.5 x 46cm, 2010 $450

Recently my artistic practice has primarily dealt with the multifaceted conundrums associated with street violence, notably the quasi-oblivion or social disconnectedness which is often portrayed, where the lack of involvement or intervention now substantiates an acceptable response.

My imagery attempts to perspicuously dramatize the axiomatic passivity found in contemporary society, thereby imploring the viewer to assess their own social involvement to similar scenarios, in hope of influencing a more socially connected and socially conscious milieu.

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In 2008, Anthony completed a Diploma in Sustainability at the National Centre for Sustainability, Swinburne University and a Diploma of Arts (Visual Arts) at Victoria University, graduating the recipient of the Fiona Myer Award. Since then he has been involved in numerous exhibitions, holding his first solo show at Brunswick Street Gallery in 2009. His work is included in the Victoria University Collection and various private collections throughout Australia. He is also a Student Ambassador for The Ian Potter Museum of Art, where he helped curate The Lawn Party, which was an event aimed at promoting student attendance to the museum.

Anthony is currently studying at the Victorian College of the Arts and is due to complete his undergraduate degree later this year.

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Antonia Tatchell GUEST (VIC)

“ The real joy for me is the deep investigation of colour. I love to play with the application of paint and to challenge the notion that there is no one single colour to an object, rather an assortment of hues assembled together in different orders. My subjects have direct meaning to my experiences growing up in the 70’s. I have struggled with what it means to be a white Australian and continually question ‘What is my place? What is my culture?’. I paint images that make me feel proud of my heritage and are deep explorations of this.

Skater Dude Oil on canvas, 150 x 100cm, 2011 $3800

Antonia has considered herself an artist all her life and painted murals when she was in her twenties. In 2008 she completed a Diploma of Visual Arts and the experience changed the way she viewed and practiced art.

She has painted full time since then; from her shed in Aireys Inlet, Victoria to her bedroom in Kuranda, QLD, to currently a studio in Brunswick. She is excited to be commencing a Bachelor of Fine Art at VCA this year.

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Fiona Taylor REPRESENTED BY Arts Project AustRALIA GUEST (VIC)

Buildings & Boat Laser print, 72 x 53cm, 2011 $245

Fiona was born in 1979 and is an emerging artist inspired by urban landscapes and nature. Her style references urban and figurative imagery from books and magazines, and includes works on paper that utilise painting and printmaking processes. In 2011 her work was included in the National Gallery of Victoria’s 150th Anniversary Event and also the Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, St Kilda.

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Janette Thompson GUEST (VIC)

“ I am interested in current events and studies of both humans and animals in peril are dominant subjects in my work. This piece is part of a series of drawings on endangered Australian animals. These animals are rapidly declining/ becoming extinct.

Can we save them before it is too late?

Bilby 1 Pencil on paper, 80 x 55cm, 2011 $850

Janette has a Diploma of Art/Design and Graduate Diploma in Education. Working across mediums including painting, printmaking and drawing, she has exhibited widely in many solo and group shows.Her influences include German expressionism, particularly George Grosz and Otto Dix and also Egon Schiele.

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Marguerite Tierney GUEST (VIC)

Marguerite completed a BA in Contemporary Arts at the University of Western Sydney before moving to Melbourne.

She completed a Certificate III in Visual Art at CAE last year and is currently pursuing a Diploma of Fine Art. She held her first solo exhibition at Bower Gallery, Ripponlea in 2011 and has been accepted to exhibit at the Maitland Regional Gallery in her native NSW in 2012.

Pig lady has a bird friend Oil on canvas, 45 x 45cm, 2011/12 NFS

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I didn’t realise I could illustrate and paint till I was 22 years old. It was like the thought suddenly popped into my head out of nowhere and then I couldn’t stop. This was when I had just moved to Melbourne from the Hunter Valley, isolated from my friends and family, I found art was a great way not to feel lonely in a new city. Art is now an obsessive and completely compulsive thing to me. Dinner is always burnt. I’ve been drawing animals and people in a very hybrid way for a while now. I don’t eat meat, I have a strong sense of duty towards animal rights and think this painting humanises the pig. I wanted to make her expression sad and perplexed. I want people to see this pig as their daughter, or friend.

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Liezel van der Linde GUEST (VIC)

“ I have asked myself questions regarding loss, the loss of oneself, your childhood and in particular your innocence and what brings that about. Is it what we see that makes us less vulnerable, less naïve?

Are our eyes covered in a veil that keeps us from seeing the world as it is.

Therefore the question can be asked, is being innocent, also being ignorant? Can one experience life in its fullness without losing one’s innocence?

Innocence Oil on board, 90 x 50cm, 2011 NFS

Liezel grew up as the daughter of a South African artist, teacher and potter. After completing school she studied at the University of Pretoria in South Africa completing her Bachelors in Art specialising in Information Design.

She worked in the South African advertising industry for 9 years, developing a career as an Art Director. Still feeling the pull towards Fine Arts, she gave up design and started painting full time in 2009. Specialising in oil on mixed media, she has exhibited in South Africa during two exhibitions in 2010 and her works are in private collections in South Africa and Australia. In 2011 she held her first Australian exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery. Her work is influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement of the 1840’s and their return to abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions.

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Hartmut Veit CITY OF HOBSONS BAY

Untitled Pine needle brushes displayed in freestanding vitrine (vitrine 105 x 90 x 60cm), 2011 $1500

My work explores issues of perception, and the often more illusory aspects of human experience. My art is historically linked to surrealism, and the search for a different level of perception (which bypassed observation and analysis) and for the recognition of a more direct sensory engagement to our environment. My studio work acknowledges the wider perceptual possibilities for intuitive insight and interaction, evidenced in the shamanic tradition and the many dimensions of this which are fundamental to modern religious belief and integral to an ongoing tribal understanding of the world.

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Hartmut is in the process of making a career change from Graphic Design to Fine Art and commenced his Masters of Visual Art at Monash in 2011. His artistic practice is shaped by his German cultural heritage and childhood experiences of growing up in remote rural areas in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea and the Rocky Mountains of Canada, contrasted against subsequent experiences of urban living in highly industrialized societies in Germany and now Australia. Interrogations into anthropology, ecology and sustainability, the activity of collecting, the role of artifacts, and the museum as medium are important aspects of his practice. He lived in Williamstown for 10 years and has strong connections to the community having served on council committees for Urban Planning & Development, among others. The pine needles for the works exhibited were collected from the pine trees growing on the foreshore in the Williamstown Botanic gardens precinct.

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Claire ANNA Watson GUEST (VIC)

Untitled #1, Tree Study #1 Series Type C Print, metallic paper (Edition 1 of 6), 91 x 122cm, 2010, $2240

During an arts residency in Portugal in the region known as Alentejo, I fixed strawberries on to a native tree so that they appeared to be in a somewhat natural setting.

The distortion was subtle in its manipulation of the natural world. Only natural media was incorporated. The work was intended to spark a series of questions in the viewer such as: What do we know about the food that we eat? How is it produced? Where has it come from? By re-contextualising food in this way I was hoping to reawaken the viewer’s relationship with the world around them.

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Claire is a Melbourne based artist working across media from ephemeral installations, photography and video-based work, through to public art. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Art from RMIT University and last year completed her Masters of Fine Art at Monash University. She has presented her works nationally and internationally and has been awarded international residencies that have culminated in major public art works. In 2010 she was invited to present one of her Tree Study Series at the Evora City Council Festival in Portugal and in 2008, she presented her work to the local community of Haukivouri, Finland, through the widely acclaimed work Epiphyte. She is a finalist in The 2012 Alice Prize and solo exhibitions include Counihan Gallery in Brunswick in 2008 and Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale and BLINDSIDE, Melbourne in 2011. Her recent work considers the transitory nature of existence and is focused on reinterpreting science and the natural world, particularly plant life and food products.

Sales Enquiries Sales enquiries for any of the works in the catalogue can be made by contacting the curator Ken Wong on 0419 570 846.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery program or wish to be added to our mailing list to be kept informed of upcoming events, email info@watcharts.com.au or visit ww.watcharts.com.au/toyota.html or phone 03 58214548.