Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions have been lifted just in time for a collective of local artists to come together and exhibit at the Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC) for Fresh Arts 20/20. Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) Cultural Development Coordinator Jessica Moore says that because some shows have been postponed or cancelled, Fresh Arts 20/20 is now being exhibited until October 2020.
“This is the first exhibition of Fresh Arts that we’ve shown in about ten years, they’re a collective who work locally, so a couple of years ago we decided it was time to do a show with them, so we worked with the group over many months to pull together works that each of the artists felt best articulated their practice,” she said.
There are 16 artists featured at the WPCC exhibition, one of them is Pauline Griffiths from Dubbo who has created prints of fruit cut open. Pauline was interested in the different shapes that can be found inside the various fruits, and has used an unusual technique to create her fabric prints.
“Sienna-type printmaking is an old style of printmaking, where the fabric is treated with sun-sensitive chemical, and from that, I transfer an image that has been drawn, or you can use other things from the environment such as leaves, and you lay them onto the sun-sensitive fabric and expose it in the sun for 15-20 minutes, then wash it in cold water which stops the chemical reaction, and you end up with a white image on the blue fabric” Pauline said.
Also exhibiting this year is Rae Ayling, who has exhibited at Fresh Arts in the past, but for this revived exhibition, she has tried a new art-form, as a way of challenging herself.
“I decided to do something different, so I started with a photograph, and I altered the photograph digitally, and from there, I printed it onto a piece of watercolour paper, then I painted it, then I took a scan of it and I had them printed on a large sheet of watercolour paper, then I painted it completely, so I’ve painted it three times, it’s a long process – but I’ve actually enjoyed it!” Rae said.
The WPCC exhibition space can be set up in various ways to make different works standout, and upon entering the WPCC, you’ll notice a very glowy selection of canvas oil paintings by Sally Noble. The work has been lit up by the lights in the exhibition space, making them look like they’re painted in glow paint.
“I’ve got five paintings, two of dogs and three of horses. I decided to build my own frames, and it’s a technique I learnt years ago at TAFE. So I stretched the canvas and primed them, but that was just the preparatory work.
I had to figure out what to paint! I find that you can have a plan, but after a while, the painting starts to dictate what you do,” Sally said.
The exhibition has been a culmination of months of work by each artist, and as the first time many have exhibited at the centre. Mayor of the Dubbo Region, Councillor Ben Shields, says it’s great that local artists are featuring with the long weekend coinciding with the first weekend the WPCC will be open to visitors.
“These artists have come from not just the Dubbo region, but Warren, Gilgandra and surrounds. DRC is proud to be able to support these artists and provide a space for them to exhibit their works,” Councillor Shields said.
Source: DRC
Featured Image: Fresh Arts artists with Cultural Development Coordinator Jessica Moore