QRAA touring exhibition Brissy launch

This coming Saturday (16 Nov.) see's the Brissy launch for 'The Essential Character of Queensland', Flying Arts touring exhibition for the 2012 Queensland Regional Art Awards and also marks the final leg of the 12 month Queensland tour.  

Throughout 2013, the selected works travelled far and wide to galleries in Roma, Gladstone, Mundubbera, Texas, Chinchilla, and now the tour concludes in the Brisbane exhibition at The State Library of Queensland.

Exhibition festivities kicks off on Saturday (16 Nov) from 1pm with a public forum and a floor talk, then at 3.30pm the exhibition will be officially opened by Chris Saines, Director QAGOMA. With the previous venues being way to far to travel, I am really looking forward in seeing the exhibition.

Exhibition dates: Sat 16 Nov to Sunday 15th December, 2013.

Here's a link to the gallery for more details and gallery hours.

Road Trip, 2012 Printed photographs on acrylic skin adhered to a perspex cube.

I took these four photos when I was about 8 or 9 (amongst 100 others!) on one of our many road trips up north, being a city slicker I was totally marvelled by the country, spanse of the land, the cane fields, the number of bugs hitting the windscreen attracted by the car headlights at night, the air was fresher, crisp and smelt different, the country was a totally different world coming from the city....fond memories etched deep in my psyche of family, fun and a simpler way of life.

To give you a little insight into the photos, the foreground, a man sees me taking the photo and waves as he drives past on his tractor, taken from our car window whilst in motion. Only years later did I notice, there are only two tyres on his tractor, classic! The photograph on the right, cane fields being harvested. The photograph at the back, cane fields littered the landscape and seemed to stretch for miles and miles, and on the left is a giant Fig tree, totally amazed at its scale, I asked to stop so I could take a photograph and saw a landmark noting the biggest Fig Tree in Qld, if only I had thought to photograph the plaque!

Artist Statement:

"In the eyes of a child you will see the world as it should be" - Unknown

This cube encapsulates the essential character of Queensland as seen through the eyes of the artist as a child on a holiday trip to Sarina, North Queensland in 1975.  The Field, the Harvesting and Transporting the Cane along with the towering fig tree.  Hovering in the heart of this cube is a piece of sugar, the defining moment of being a Queenslander in a simpler age where "one of the biggest trees in Queensland" was something to be marvelled at.