Artistic Director: Emma Cash
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners, and ongoing Custodians of the land and waterways, the Jagera people. We extend this courtesy to all Indigenous peoples of this continent and its neighbouring lands and acknowledge their cultures as the oldest continuously living cultures in human history. We honour the ancestors of our local country and recognise the deep spiritual connections that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with the land, sea, sky and community. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.
A JOURNEY WITHIN
An exploration of the tiny and significant moments/stories within our lives that move us closer to the truth of who we really are.
We are the sum of the stories we tell; the places we’ve been, the sights we’ve seen, our accomplishments, and all the souls we’ve ever touched. With every moment that passes us by, we add another meaningful mark to the canvas. So, rise high like the sun, unafraid; live passionately with your heart-pockets open, and someday we will look back at this life and discover a work of art.
Artist #1: Eulalia Martin
Eulalia Martin is a Bunuba and Gija woman from The Kimberleys in Western Australia, who now resides in South-East Queensland. Martin creates Aboriginal dot paintings, inspired by her cultural origins and ancestry, which influence both the style and content of her creations. Religion, culture, family, country, and individual narratives are frequent topics in her works. Martin claims that both of her grandmothers were “great creators with their hands” and believes that they are the source of her talent. Martin uses the end of a paintbrush and paint with high consistency, when working in her small art studio. Martin either works in silence, prays or sings along to Christian music, while tapping into her intuition to design in the moment, allowing her spirit to create the story.
Women Supporting Women
Acrylic on Canvas. 70cm x 50cm
This artwork shows various earthy browns and pink tones, which represent the diverse and inclusive feminine culture. The dots appear like flowers, weaving, overlapping and connecting to the next, supporting each other along our individual journeys. When women support eachother, incredible things happen.
Ynubbu Creations
Acrylic on canvas. 76cm x 91cm
Ynubbu means Father in Martin’s native language. The work signifies Ynubbu God and the birthing and rebirthing of a Mother and baby. It shows Gods breath breathing life into both of them.
Heart of the Swan River
Acrylic on canvas. 91cm x 71cm
The swan River is in Perth, Western Australia. It was named the Swan River, because it flourishes with Black swans. This painting incorporates the Swan River, swans, a canoe, and the Bimban kissing tree—a traditional Nyungar Dreamtime love story between a man and woman. Heart of the Swan River, is produced from an aerial view, embodying the physical characteristics of The Swan River, and portrays a family’s journey. The many coloured dots layer ideas, pictures, and information like a map, shifting the focus from a single point of view.
Ocean Light
Acrylic on canvas. 76cm by 61cm
Waves represent the ocean in this artwork. The center circle shows a woman who is surrounded by thirty smaller circles of life, signifying that she is thirty years old. The encompassing white dots symbolize the light within her soul, which illuminates her delightful energy, allowing her to attract beautiful people into her life.
Come Alive
Acrylic on canvas. 76cm x 56cm
Inspired by the ocean, the work shows four circles that represent a family of four and their adventures by the seaside. The blue hues ignite the feeling of a calm soul beside the ocean, and the various shapes and forms represent a multitude of sealife.
Artist #2: Neela Curran
Neela Curran is a British born Australian artist who started out as a Cake decorator, and later explored painting as a way to enhance her work. Curran spent several years attempting to master drawing and watercolour, eventually leading her to study Visual Art at the University of Southern Queensland. Curran is inspired by moody, dramatic landscapes, weather elements, living a simple uncomplicated existence, as well as her lifelong search for a sense of home. As a childhood and adolescent trauma survivor, Curran believes painting transports her thoughts to another dimension, allowing her to escape from her own PTSD. Curran’s creative style is spontaneous and unplanned, surrendering to experimentation and releasing all control.
The Traveller
Inks, pastel, charcoal, pen, and collage on 300 gsm paper. 76cm x 56cm
This artwork represents Curran’s personal journey, travelling extensively throughout her life and living in 6 different countries. It signifies her continual search for a sense of self, home and belonging. Clocks signify the passing of time, and the central image shows a landscape with a lone cottage, however, turned sideways, it features the shape of a woman with a hat. The toy train and teddy bear images indicate the artist’s earlier travels; when her parents sent her on a plane overseas from England to grow up with relatives at three months of age, leaving her to be cared for by flight attendants.
Recluse
Oil pastel on 300gsm paper. 48cm x 36cm
An impressionistic cottage in a moody atmospheric landscape that speaks of stark isolation and a lost sense of belonging. Created using oil pastel, the lone cottage in the moonlight is a recurring theme, and the dark tones and cool colours represent a heightened feeling of reclusiveness.
Memories of Majesty
Oil pastel on 300gsm paper. 29.7cm x 42cm
This work was inspired by England, the artist’s birthplace, portraiture, and the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Curran, now an Australian citizen, felt homesick after being sent overseas to live in her early life. Curran was deeply moved by the Queen, admiring her qualities and love of animals. Created using oil pastel, this work has allowed further exploration of the possibilities and limitations of this medium.
Darkness Comes Calling
Watercolour on 300gsm paper. 42cm x 29.7cm
A sense of stark isolation set amongst dreamy romantic terrain and sea, are present within this artwork. The vibrant and dark hues of watercolour, along with the impressionistic style, both mirror the artist’s yearning for a simple and carefree life, which is an increasingly difficult quest in today’s world.
Time Stands Still
Watercolour on 300gsm paper. 42cm x 29.7 cm
The work was created to evoke emotion, with glimpses of an easier, more restful time, when the world moved at a slower pace, and the human spirit was more in harmony with the spirituality of the land and sea. A single boat represents how the mind is strengthened in solitude and tranquility.
Artist #3: Lisa Lawson
Lisa Lawson is an Australian artist who works with graphite, ink, watercolour and oil. Lawson began taking art classes in 2018. Through art Lawson expresses herself, processes and finds solutions to historical and contemporary issues in both, her personal life and the broader society. Lawson builds fantastical worlds where seemingly unrelated elements come together to form narrative compositions, creating stories of personal and universal relevance. By juxtaposing disparate colours, historical referents, paint techniques and shapes, Lawson adds tension and interest to the artworks. The artist investigates different methods of disrupting space, which has gifted another compositional tool to make engaging and intriguing work. Lawson is currently studying a Bachelor of Visual Art at the University of Southern Queensland.
My Left Boot
A2 graphite on paper.
This artwork showcases a technical, detailed drawing of a Doc Martin boot, created using a grid, and accurately conveying tonal values. After starting her degree at QCA (Griffith Uni) in 2019, a student dropped an easel on Lawson’s foot, fracturing her metatarsal. The left boot signifies the injured foot, the start of her art education and the most outrageous purchase the artist ever made; Lawson is naturally a conservative introverted person.
Resilience
A0 watercolour and ink on paper.
The artwork depicts a ballet dancer (Lawson herself) in various positions. With focus on life drawing and self-expression, short videos were recorded, which allowed Lawson to merge poses together. In addition, art deco ornamentation was added to incorporate Lawson’s love for drawing plants.
Scenes From Childhood
Graphite on paper. 24 x 30 inches
A constructed narrative using disrupted space and Lawson’s own autobiographical elements. The artwork was created through memories of Lawson’s sons’ primary years, during which many hours were spent building Lego cities, creating his own imaginary narratives. The work shows a building on fire, a Lego hero, a worried robot, helicopter, sleeping bunny and sky diver. The burning building was inspired by the recent catastrophe in Ukraine.
I am a (Reluctant) Domestic Goddess
Oil on canvas. 24 x 30 inches
Lawson shares her delicate balancing act between motherhood, wifehood and life’s passion. A juxtaposition of old and new/ conservative and radical/figurative and abstract. The artwork depicts women at a pro-choice rally being consumed by darkness. The center face is filled with Greek goddesses with censored mouths, which represents the advances in female equity and status, that can and are being reversed, yet our voice and rights continue to be precarious. The concept refers to Roe v Wade.
We Always Grow a Garden
Oil on canvas. 24 x 30inches
This work showcases a collage of cutout motifs of the native Brisbane Lily, along with elements resembling forms cut from books/magazines, and a pinky promise. The ochre dots travelling throughout refer to landscape plans where vegetation is drawn as circles. The artwork relates to Lawson’s family’s numerous relocations, over twenty years, due to career and improvement. Every move provides a new opportunity to rejuvenate the garden, planting only native species, leaving a legacy for the local fauna, and each project enriched family partnerships through planning, planting and watching them grow.
