IMAGINE

Following a major two-year redevelopment, the new Gippsland Art Gallery presents ‘Imagine’, an exhibition of 134 works from 81 local, national, and international artists representing five centuries of art making.

‘Imagine’ filters the history of the earth through the human imagination, from the fires of first creation through to our techno-scientific era and beyond. Conceived by Gippsland Art Gallery Curator Simon Gregg and designed in tandem with the building itself, the show unfolds through a series of five rooms, each exploring a different aspect of the earth and humankind. The visual storyline is told from the perspective of a child discovering the wonders of the universe, inviting audiences to contemplate the symbolic parallels between the infinity of the human mind and the vastness of the evolving earth.

Some works, including major paintings by Peter Gardiner and Peter Booth, suggest this relationship has not always been harmonic, while other artists share a more optimistic perspective about life on earth. A sequence of paintings by German-born American artist Julika Lackner channels the shimmering beauty of the earth’s atmosphere while an immersive video work by UK-based Norwegian artist Solveig Settemsdal plunges viewers into a strange, liminal space where the universe seems to be forming before our very eyes. Other highlights include Sam Jinks’ hyperreal human-fox hybrid sculpture, a series of needlework star clouds by Claire Pendrigh, miniature cities built of cardboard and plywood by Daniel Agdag and Tricky Walsh, and Tanya Dyhin’s serene flower skeleton. Works commissioned specifically for the exhibition are also featured, including a prismatic rainbow arch by Adelaide artist Amy Joy Watson, and a dreamlike installation of animals by Sydney artist Adam Laerkesen.

EXHIBITION
Imagine
6 January –  18 March 2018
Gippsland Art Gallery, Vic