Showcase of exhibition works held at Art in the Lane

THE GRID PROJECT

Covid19 lockdown and isolation: I was thinking of something we might do ‘together’.

This GRID Project has become an engaging collaboration during this pandemic – 2020

Thanks to Ben for this video

‘GOLDFIELDS and WOODLANDS’

After a stay in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields area of Western Australia, he has produced a series of paintings: WOODLANDS. These are based on an abstracted idea of the trees of the Great Western Woodlands, particularly the Blackbutt trees – Eucalyptus lesouefii.

Returning with a range of natural ochre colours, he has used these on plywood panels to show dense matt colour and texture of the earthy medium suggestive of elements seen in the Western Australian GOLDFIELDS – April 2017

There were 32 pieces of work shown in this exhibition
Below is a sample of work from that exhibition

‘SILVER CITY – Twice removed’

An exhibition of watercolours, drawings and photographs after a visit to Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia – March/April 2014

There were 33 pieces of work shown in this exhibition
Below is a sample of work from that exhibition

BROKEN HILL – Silver City

Outback mines deep underground:
twice removed from what most of us know.
These paintings were inspired by a recent visit to Broken Hill:
a city located in a harsh, remote environment,
with big blue skies and once vast mineral wealth.

The township and surrounding areas were stripped of vegetation,
at times choked with windblown dust.
Zones around the city were regenerated with native plants.
An enormous flat-topped ‘hill’ hangs across
the south side – mullock heap, grave, monument.

Compositions are based on a collage of squares representing
structural supports of mine stopes and the squared grid of the city’s streets.

Elements in the paintings represent sterling from the silver ore,
blood, sweat and ingenuity,
valuable metals extracted during a brief history of hard labour,
a living hard earned,
death and burial for some
and generation of immense wealth
for some others
from a land of ancient geology.

Watercolours

CAMELS

There are camels out at Silverton… for riding.
Not for me though. I asked if I could draw them. Well, two of them, tethered waiting to turn a buck; a captive audience, who couldn’t turn tail and run as did the roos, emus, feral goats, horses, pelicans and lizards. Hence, you see none of those represented here, just camels.

Some ‘explorer’ camels escaped or were set free in the outback in the 19th century. Burke and Wills were up this way back in 1860 so, if their camels survived I figure these at Silverton might just be about, shall we say, 15th generation progeny of those 1860 expedition camels, which brings me to the charcoal you see used here.

A permanent campsite for that ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition was set up by the Darling River, out Menindee way. There is an old River Red Gum there similar, in a commemorative sense, to ‘The Dig Tree’.

It just so happens that my neighbour dropped by to visit while I was in Broken Hill. We drove out corrugated roads, chatting with teeth chattering, to have a look at the campsite noticing several remnant campfires; small heaps of charcoal.

I picked up some pieces. I drew with them, some profiles of the two camels.
And so you see here, drawings of camels fifteen generations descendant from Burke’s expedition made with charcoal from an 1860 campsite by the Darling River in outback New South Wales – perhaps!