Sharing of PLACE

We have always been aware of the need to make as little impact as possible on this piece of land we have claimed as OUr OWn. We have endeavoured to maintain the uncleared vegetation, while starting a re-planting program, so that we may maintain a diverse environment, that will sustain us all.

Some times it feels like a terrible swim against a current of - ' not my problem'

So when I was recently approached to submit some work for an online gallery, concerned with the study of Human-animal relations - A shared environment, I was more than thrilled to do so.


What an incredible diverse wildlife we are lucky to share this land with.

Animals, People - A share environment

10 - 13 July 2011, Griffith University, Brisbane


Some of the most challenging and exciting new work in Australian studies has emerged from the Fine Arts. In Honour of these human-animal artists, and their subjects, the Australian Animal Studies group has developed and online gallery. The gallery aims to promote the artists and the animal issues they care deeply about.

http://www.aasg.org.au/gallery

The Australian Animal Studies group and Environmental Futures Centre proudly present the 4th Biennial Australian Animal Studies Group Conference 2011 on; Animals, People - a Shared environment.


This conference will bring together animal theorists and scientists from a broad range of academic disciplines with representatives from non government and government officials from several nations and representatives from industry, to examine the interrelationship between human and nonhuman animals from cultural, historical, geographical, environmental, representational, moral, legal and political perspectives.

A very worth while study . . . .

Selected works and their inspiration

After receiving an inquiry from a person in USA regarding my works in the recent exhibition, at Logan art gallery - I thought I should add a little about some of them here. (note - these works are not for sale as they were subjected to too much moisture during the build-up to the recent Brisbane floods 2011)

Beauty of Patterns Lost. 2011

Beautiful day, quiet open countryside.

Anticipating uneventful, peaceful trip.

Not to be !, someone has been here before me.

Stop the car, reach for the camera,

Creaking door, reluctant steps, heavy heart.

Sensuous fur textured with blood and bone. Viscous red smeared, 

brilliant white splintered, eyes sightless, body deformed.

Metallic cloying smell, insects buzzing.

Focusing, click of camera, recording what need not be -  Waste -  Loss.

Dilemma! respectful removal of carcass, or to leave as reminder?

Leave or move, move or leave ?

Record  –  respect  –  move.

A Pouch is No protection against a Bull-bar. 
94cm x 94cm

Acrylic on canvas 

Sometimes sustainable ordered boarders cannot be maintained, to suit both the farmer and the native fauna & flora. Road’s meandering through countryside devastated by drought and abusive farm practises, results in the unwary flora needing to source their feed along the roadside where grasses still thrive: only to cause havoc when in a state of heightened terror and headlight blindness they become target practise for mammoth machines designed to protect the occupants not the outsider.
How can the people not be aware that these animals have a right to life too?

'Too Far, Too few'

Acrylic on canvas

Changes can make survival for some species near impossible. Introduction of vegetation that replaces the necessary food sources of resident species, can make their survival unachievable. They must travel too far to gain too little. 

'Paradise Bird Lost'

Acrylic on canvas

Extinction happens. Paradise Parrot - A colorful parrot species native to the northeastern region of Australia, this bird was included on the list of 17 extinct birds, in the last 100 years, in 1927. Hunting by bird collectors and predation by feral cats were responsible for its decline.

'A tangled web and a very fine thread'

Acrylic on canvas

The recent floods have bought home to us all, just how fragile we are. We continuously weave a tangled web of complicated lives. However, when Gaia, Mother Nature, the chosen Entity, or the ecosystem forces its hand, we can find our best-laid plans unravel very quickly. 

Biodiversity is a slippery subject.

Acrylic on canvas

Biodiversity is the foundation of life on Earth. It is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems, which provide us with products and services without which we could not live. Oxygen, food, fresh water, fertile soil, medicines, shelter, protection from storms and floods, stable climate, and recreation - all have their source in nature and healthy ecosystems. 

I remember tall Trees

Acrylic on canvas

Unlike foods and other products that we buy in supermarkets, many ecosystem services have no price tag attached to them. This means that the importance of biodiversity and natural processes in providing benefits to people, is often ignored by financial markets.

SOLO EXHIBITION – 25th February – 2 April - Logan Art Gallery, LOGAN

Beauty of Patterns Lost is an exhibition of works inspired by the observation and documentation of the loss of native Flora and Fauna, along a stretch of road we have travelled, over the past ten years. I am interested in the way people shape their habitat and the consequences their behaviour has on the native wild life . . .

Biodiversity is a slippery subject.

To view all the works please follow link to facebook page under 'recent works 2011'

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=100000627695363

Coming to the end of the exhibiting time, I have to take the oppertunity to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire process of exhibiting, at the Logan Art Gallery.

Thank you to Program Leader Cultural Services, Annette Turner for being the guest speaker at the exhibition opening. Thank you to the Exhibitions officer Gabriella Szablewska, Judy Constable Acting Art Gallery Assistant, Georgina Gould Art Gallery Trainee, Jillian Beardsworth and Public programs Officer Lesley Nicholson, for their support and encouragement, throughout.

I found conducting the two day workshop with the assistance of the Public Programs officer Lesley Nicholson an added bonus. The 12 creative ladies were enthusiastic and a delight to work with.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to the numerous volunteers who work in the Logan Art Gallery. Their warm and supportive manner throughout the exhibition made the entire process a very enjoyable experience.

Last but not least, Thank you to everyone who attended the opening of Beauty of Patterns Lost, your thoughts, well wishes and engagement with the works is appreciation.

Layers

At a recent workshop I conducted at the Logan Art Gallery, I was trying to encourage some of the participants, to let go of each layer of their work and enjoy the development of their paintings, through the 'what if' process.

What if I painted over this with another glaze? What if I added another layer of printing? What if I added another stencil? What if I splattered all over it? What if i made patterns over the top?
I wish I had this video then, to show them how enjoyable the process is . . .
don't you just love their ability, to paint over the pre-existing layer and allow the next one to develop, prior to loosing it again. . . . .

Such freedom of expression.

Video removed . . . .?

1week of art works

In the News March 2011

Acrylics explore animal lifeNEWS • Arts & Entertainment
8 Mar 11 @ 06:52am by Kate Wilcock
Animal death . . . Artist Sharon Lee with her work Is There A Bear In There? at the Logan Art Gallery.
LOGAN: A mob of native animals is inhabiting an exhibition space at the Logan Art Gallery this month as Sharon Lee’s Beauty of Patterns Lost exhibition settles in.
A total of 17 works explore the themes of biodiversity and delicate balance between human and wild animal habitats.

Ms Lee said two of the most powerful works in the exhibition are, Is There a Bear in There? and A Pouch Is No Protection From A Bull Bar. They depict the loss of native animal lives on roads and the impact of land changes.
Most of her works are based on animals she sees at her Esk property, in the Brisbane Valley, with the exception of Freedom Above and Below Choice, which was painted after a recent visit to Turkey.
A work entitled When We Move in, Who Moves Out? reflects development in the Brisbane Valley, with the urban sprawl extending exponentially.
``This is the first time the entire exhibition is animal themed,’’ Lee said.
Works in the exhibition, which took one year to create, are all acrylic on canvas.
Logan City Council program leader for cultural services Annette Turner said the artist painted in a very accessible style, using easily identifiable symbols and iconographic animals embellished with large splashes of colour and pattern.
``Her work also contains another layer of story-telling, which can be accessed by reading the titles of each painting,’’ Ms Turner said.
Beauty of Patterns Lost will be displayed at the Logan Art Gallery in Logan Central until April 2

sophie munns: homage to the seed: Beauty of Patterns Lost - showing in Brisbane this month

Brisbane is small and well-connected ( read: incestuous), however it is this very thing that allows most artists to bond, share and maintain a supportive network. So I was bubbling with enthusiasm when Sophie said she would like to put an article about my recent exhibition on her BLOG. Thanks Sophie for your support.

Sophie has a informative and delightful BLOg, full to the brim with insightful ideas, reviews and comments. . . not to leave out her bright, layered art works which are worth a visit . . .again . . . .and again!



sophie munns: homage to the seed: Beauty of Patterns Lost - showing in Brisbane this month

Opening Night Beauty of Patterns lost

Thankyou to everyone who was able to attend the opening of my exhibition, at the Logan Gallery on Friday night. It was a joyous night with family and friends being supportive and festive.

I loved seeing and hearing peoples reactions to the 17 works I produced. I appreciated that the majority understood and appreciated the meaning and messages of each painting.

I found myself explaining the theme and processes, without my usual hesitation and self conscious embarrassment. I don't know if that is because I am getting used to that part of an exhibition, or that I knew I was also surrounded by loving and supported people who were really enjoying seeing the work.

Having the Talking tapa exhibition opening that night meant that there were Polynesian / Melanesian dancing and singing outside on the grass area, prior to the opening. It granted a very festive mood to the entire evening which we all thoroughly enjoyed . . . .as we sipped our champagne and chatted. Great!!!!



The Tapa work reminded me of our time in PNG and also made me very aware that I have been influenced by the design element, I was aware of and delighted in, throughout my time there.

The Logan City gallery team were efficient, helpful and gracious throughout. I do love exhibiting in this gallery, with these people.
Sharing Coffee and desserts with a few close friends afterwards, was a very enjoyable way to end the evening. I do love to share the wicked stuff along with some good belly laughs.

To the many people I did not invite, I do appologize if you would have liked to come along. I was torn between believing that the show was of some small significance, compared to the ravages of the flood and did not want to make anyone feel obliged to attend, when they are still in recovery mode. When someone rang and pointed out that they would have enjoyed seeing the work and having a night out . . . . I suddenly felt I had made a wrong decision . . . . . sorry. I should have extended the invite and allowed you to make your own decision. 
Next time.

Beauty of Patterns Lost

I love to paint and experiment with techniques . . . . I adore our environment and the life it supports.

This exhibition allows me to combine these two aspects of my life, in a way that I hope will highlight the beauty that is lost . . . . when we are careless with our natural resourses . . . our wonderful assets.

Over the past ten years we have travelled to a small block of land in the Beautiful Esk Shire, over looking the Wivenhoe Lake. Travelling regularly weekly, we have seen the carnage on our roads and the changes to our environment through clearing for houses and stock.
We started off by calling this constant slurry ROAD KILL and then it became ROAD PIZZA, but now we just think of it as WASTE.



Exhibiting at the same time is, Talking Tapa which is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian government program supporting touring exhibitions.
Pasifika bark Cloth in Queensland showcases the diversity of Pacific Islander cultural practices, heritage and visual iconography through beaten bark cloth and tapa.

Also showing is a delightful selection of student works curated from the Logan Art Gallery workshop program.

If you have time I am sure you will enjoy the opening. . . . and the works on show.

Cheers
Sharon

Life goes on, as it must !!!

I may be destructive, but I belong 61 cm x 61 cm

Life has been hectic and full to the brim, with chaos for so many here in Australia.

However, I feel like we personally have been exceedingly lucky, as we are on high ground and as such we missed the rivers rise. We had people staying with us and were without power for days . . . . and still have piles of other peoples belongings, strewn throughout our abode, but that is a minimal disturbance compared to the poor individuals who experienced the damage inflicted by the rising water and the mud . . . . and are still cleaning up.

With the amount of humidity here in Yeronga (and I guess everywhere at present) and the activity here over the past few weeks, (what with housing some family and friends who were displaced due to the floods and storing their goods), my paintings have been relegated to the hall-way, where they have been kicked, knocked over, moved and brushed against too many times to count. So it was with relief that I handed them over to a secure and cool location.

Biodiversity is a Slippery Subject 61cm x 61cm

Now, I can't wait to see them up on the walls.

I am always impressed with the way the people at the Logan City Art Gallery cur rate and hang their exhibitions. They are totally professional. From the beautiful brochures to the exciting opening nights, everything is taken care of.

So please pen in the 25 th February, for the Opening night of my exhibition, Beauty of Patterns Lost.

Yes, I will send out an email closer to the actual date and I Look forward to seeing you there.

I do hope, you and yours are well. Best wishes, xxx

Paper cut

Another person experimenting with the cutting edge approach is Elista
And below, Elsa Mora



Annie Vought



Gorgeous . . . .

paper cut

Doing printmaking I have always had a fascination for the art created using 'paper cut'. Along with many others, I have used intricate surgical precision to produce stencils to use in screen printing, mono printing and mixed media work. 

In 2004 and again in 2006 I used a layered process with paper and canvas cuts, cushioned between perspex and luxaflex translucent paper . . . . however, while on our travels we were seriously fascinated by the sophistication of this particular art form and how it has been taken to the streets.

The rice paper stencils pasted directly onto walls in Rome, which will slowly disintergrate. The flour paste acting as paint, which is rolled through the stencils, we saw on walls in Sienna, Cortona & Istanbul . . . . all intrigued us with their fresh vibrancy.

(We were also pleased to see that these artists are thinking of the environment)

We admired the work of 'Swoon', (artist Caledonia Curry ) with her intricate paper cuts in Venice. There is an entire paper art culture with artists like Kuko - Yamamoto and Lee Bovey (http://www.boveylee.com/ ) pushing the envelope daily.

I have always had a facination with the process of 'what to remove & what remains'?