2014 EXHIBITIONS
19 OCTOBER - 2 FEBURARY
STORIES FROM OUR PLACE
ABC OPEN
From Mudgee to Lightning Ridge and Coonabarabran to Bourke, communities across the Western Plains region have been telling their stories and publishing them on the ABC. This diverse exhibition showcases community made content from a range of ABC Open projects. Stories from our Place brings together photographs, video, written and audio stories showcasing the stunning surroundings and extraordinary people that make the Western Plains unique. Celebrate the creativity of local ABC Open contributors from the Western Plains and perhaps even be inspired to share your own story.
23 NOVEMBER - 26 JANUARY
TRUE SELF
David Rosetzky
Selected Works
One of Australia's foremost exponents of video art, David Rosetzky creates intensely beautiful videos, photo-collages and installations exploring identity, subjectivity and interpersonal relationships. This is the first comprehensive survey of his work to date and will present a selection of early portraits and longer duration videos, photographs, photo-collages and sculptures.
30 NOVEMBER - 12 JANUARY
LOCAL COLLECTIONS
This exhibition features works from the art collections of residents of Dubbo and surrounds. It presents an alternate view of the region by examining the tastes and possessions of its citizens. Local Collections features artworks that reveal stories about the past, the aspirations of the region and personal histories.
7 DECEMBER - 26 JANUARY
WANDERLUST
JUDE CRAWFORD
In Wanderlust Jude Crawford has produced a series of large abstract paintings that focus on the atmosphere of a place rather than its physical appearance. Crawford takes inspiration from the traditions of Calligraphy and Colourfield painting within the Abstract Expressionist movement and uses these to create meditations on the enormity of the Australian landscape. A playful use of the micro and the macro evokes an immersive experience that attempts to fathom the vastness of the country that surrounds us.
Jude Crawford, Pond (detail) 2013, acrylic on canvas. Image © Jude Crawford.
7 DECEMBER- 2 FEBURARY
NIGHT SHADE
BILL MOSELEY
Using the 19th century medium of wet plate collodion photography, the loosely based narrative in Nightshade follows the turmoil surrounding the life of the central character, the 'running man.' At the heart of this narrative is the concept of the 'white settlers' alienation and the often illusionary world of reminiscence. This patchiness of recollection is reflected in the unpredictable and often strange results produced by this antiquated process.
18 JANUARY- 2 MARCH
THE ANTIPODEAN STEAMPUNK SHOW
The Steampunk movement takes mass produced products and transforms them into unique and finely crafted objects of desire.
1 FEBRUARY - 30 MARCH
AFTER AFGHANISTAN
BEN QUILTY
Ben Quilty, Archibald and Moran Prize Winner, was appointed as an official war artist by the Australian War Memorial in 2011, and deployed to Afghanistan from 11 October until 3 November. During this time he observed the Australians’ activities in Kabul, Kandahar and Tarin Kot. His task was to record and interpret the experiences of Australian servicemen and women who are deployed as part of Operation Slipper. Ben Quilty: after Afghanistan showcases 21 studio paintings, along with 16 works on paper sketched by the artist during his tour. The works, many featuring the heavy use of paint the artists is known for, also reveal Ben’s key eye for the human aspect of war and battle.
Ben Quilty Trooper Luke Korman painted in Robertson, New South Wales, 2012
aerosol and oil on linen, 190 x 140 cm acquired under the official art scheme in 2012
ART94526
1 FEBRUARY- 16 APRIL
BONES AND BREATH
JUDE FLEMING
In Bones and Breath Warren based artist Jude Fleming uses trees as a symbol of our relationship with the environment and as way of viewing our place within it. The exhibition uses installations of found objects, animal bones and fibre works to create a space of contemplation and reflection on the forces of nature. To Flemming, trees represent endurance and strength, shelter and sustenance, as well as spanning the divide between the temporal and the ethereal. The exhibition also includes collages in vivid colour to contrast with the earthy colours of the materials appropriated from the artist’s environment.
Jude Flemming, Bonfire, 2013, paper collage, 210 x 295mm. Image © the artist.
8 FEBRUARY-30 MARCH
52 SUBURBS AROUND THE WORLD
Cities are usually known only for their icons, monuments and ‘top 10’ tourist attractions. In 52 suburbs around the world, photographer Louise Hawson ignores the postcard clichés, finding beauty in the places where ordinary people live. Hawson, along with her eight-year-old daughter, Coco, travelled to 10 countries, 14 cities and 52 suburbs to find the unusual and lesser known neighbourhoods of famous cities. Hawson’s vibrant photographs turn the ordinary into extraordinary, capturing not only the differences between countries and cultures but also the remarkable similarities. This exhibition is supported by Momento.
8 FEBRUARY- 2 MARCH
COMBOVER
SHERRIE KNIPE
In Comb Over artist Sherrie Knipe explores her interest in the humble comb, which becomes oversized and playful in this large installation. Knipe has a fascination with everyday domestic objects, and throughout her practice items such as shoes, teapots and watering cans create a template upon which the audience can project their own interpretations. Within this collective storytelling, Comb Over offers an opportunity to explore a household item in a new and enticing way.
8 MARCH - 4 MAY
ART & AUSTRALIA COLLECTION
2003 - 2013
The Art & Australia Collection 2003 - 2013 features works from the Art & Australia Contemporary Art Award. The award was established by the respected art journal Art & Australia, to promote the work of artists from Australia and New Zealand in the first five years of their careers and is an exhilarating glimpse into the diversity and complexity of contemporary art in Australia. It includes a variety of innovative works of art including video, painting, sculpture, light installation, sound art and photography.
8 MARCH - 25 MAY
JASON BENJAMIN: EVERYONE IS HERE
Everyone is Here an exhibition by painter Jason Benjamin is a distillation of deep-felt encounters around particular landscape sites, where the artist has concentrated his energies and talent on shaping a pared back vision of light and space. The series had its origins on the austere expanse of the Hay Plain and the Monaro regions of New South Wales. Lengthy field trips to these sites resulted in the series, which reveals the artist’s re-affirmation of a landscape tradition that lies at the heart of the Australian experience.
Jason Benjamin, She's searching for you too, 2010, oil on linen. Image © the artist.
22 MARCH - 4 MAY
SURROUNDED BY SOCIETY
LEWIS BURNS
In Surrounded by Society, Dubbo based Indigenous artist Lewis Burns uses native animals as a metaphor for the adjustment of Aboriginal cultures to contemporary life. The exhibition is inspired by the artist’s ideas on the changing roles for Aboriginal men, now that the daily role of hunting and providing food and shelter for the family has been made redundant. Burns depicts native animals trapped in unnatural environments, seeing them as symbolic for many of the social issues facing Aboriginal people.
Lewis Burns, Surrounded by Society, 2003. Image © the artist.
5 APRIL - 8 JUNE
SELFIE
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In 2013 the word 'selfie' was voted the Word of the Year by Oxford University Press. This exhibition will examine the social media phenomenon of the selfie and its historical precedents. Using self-portraiture as the focus, the exhibition will crowd source selfies, allowing members of the public to contribute to the exhibition. By examining the selfies of a particular age group in a particular locale, a slice of society can be made visible – its aspirations writ large. A selection of historical photographs (from the collections of WPCC and the Art Gallery of NSW) will provide a context for the development of photographic processes as well as the shifting social use of photography. |
Unknown maker, American, daguerreotypist Portrait of Unidentified Daguerreotypist, 1845, handcoloured 1/6 plate Image: 6.7 x 5.2cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
5 APRIL- 15 JUNE
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
EMMA THOMSON
Produced as part of an Artist-in-Residence at Western Plains Cultural Centre, Take Your Best Shot presents large-scale photographic portraits of women who partake in hunting in the Central West. Thomson placed ads in the local Classifieds for models and collaborated with her subjects to produce the portraits. The resulting images present young contemporary women posed within the Australian landscape,
Emma Thomson, Rachel, 2013, pigment print. © Emma Thomson
31 MAY- 13 JULY
WRAPPED UP
LYRA BURGHAUS
In 1960 Yves Klein created “Anthropometry”, in which models covered themselves with blue paint and printed their body imprints onto paper. Lyra Burghaus takes this seminal work as her inspiration and transports the use of these expressionistic markings onto her textile designs. An established textile designer, the German born Burghaus creates garments and corresponding photographs that explore issues of personal responsibility, body awareness and behaviour. Throughout the exhibition, Burghaus uses the colour blue as a symbol, an expression and as a medium.
Lyra Burghaus, love, 2012, printed silk, cotton, lace. Image © the artist (detail)
31 MAY- 13 JULY
THE MIRACLES
DEBORAH KELLY
This work, completed in 2012, comprises 37 photographic portraits of families with children conceived through the various Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), from turkey baster to IVF. In the images are single parents, opposite sex couples, same sex and transgender couples, families who are recipients of egg or sperm donation, gamete donors, families made through surrogacy and other child-rearing arrangements involving extended kinships and familial innovations made possible by ART. The families contain children born (or expected) through the use of ART; technically, miraculously, the products of virgin births.
Deborah Kelly, After Madonna della Sedia, 2012. Image © the artist.(Detail)
10 MAY- 3 AUGUST
CUSP
Design has always affected the way that we live. From furniture to gadgets, clothing and housing, design’s ability to improve the way we look, move, work and feel has long been evident. In recent times, design has increasingly been recognised as a virtuosity that offers the world more than simply utility and beauty. CUSP: Designing into the Next Decade explores this terrain, presenting twelve outstanding Australian designers with ideas that could change the way we inhabit the world.
Leah Heiss, Seed Sensor,2011. Image (c) Narelle Sheean
14 JUNE - 10 AUGUST
ANNE FRANK
A HISTORY FOR TODAY
The exhibition ‘Anne Frank – A History for Today’ was created by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam (Holland), which was established in 1957 to preserve and maintain the Secret Annex, where Anne and seven other Jews hid for more than two years during the Second World War. Today, the Anne Frank House maintains the Annex as a museum and spreads Anne Frank’s ideals as outlined in her diary, which she wrote in hiding. Anne Frank’s life story encourages people to work together for a free and democratic society, in which people tolerate each other despite their differences.
Entrance to secret annex via bookcase. Image © Anne Frank House
21 JUNE- 24 AUGUST
WASTE TO ART
REGIONAL EXHIBITION
Waste 2 Art has been a community institution for many years now, inspiring hundreds of locals, young and old alike, to recycle potential waste into quirky, thoughtful, and often beautiful, works of art. The Regional Exhibition brings together winners from 28 local exhibitions and is a compelling insight into the ingenuity of the rural mind.
Jackson Scott, Piston Pup, found materials.
28 JUNE- 24 AUG
STEPHEN KING: SCULPTURE
Stephen King is best known for his work in Sculpture by the Sea where he has been invited to exhibit for the past 15 years and awarded a main prize in 2013 for his work Fallout. King employs humour and storytelling in his work to address the more serious questions about our relationship with the environment. As a grazier King has become interested in genetics and the continuum of life. Moving from carving into lino to using a chainsaw to sculpt logs; the land continues to influence his art. This exhibition looks back at 30 years of work and showcases the achievements of an artist who has quietly achieved prominence through commitment and dedication to his practice.
Stephen King Horse and rider III 2012 Stringybark. Image © the artist
30 AUG- 19 OCT
CREAM: FOUR DECADES OF AUSTRALIAN ART
Cream: Four Decades of Australian Art chronicles the development of modernism in Australia from 1940 to 1980 and articulates influences and stylistic diversity within the movement. Artists including John Perceval, Arthur Boyd, Charles Blackman, Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, John Brack, Grace Cossington Smith and Fred Williams are represented. In the mid 1970’s Rockhampton Art Gallery began collecting art, resulting in a significant national collection. The location of this collection highlights the development of modernism in other regional centres; challenging the view that Australian modernism belonged to Sydney and Melbourne.
Sidney Nolan (1921-1992) Burke in central Australia 1964 oil on composition board. Collection Rockhampton Art Gallery
9 AUG- 2 NOV
REMAIN IN LIGHT
Remain in Light: Photography from the MCA Collection provides a broad overview of contemporary photographic practice from the 1960s to the present day. During this period photography underwent a tumultuous redefinition by contemporary artists and broke free of its constrictive, solely media based context. Photography is a ubiquitous form of representation and a highly accessible art form. All visitors to Remain in Light will have been involved with it either as photographer or subject.
Polixeni Papapetrou, Wrestlers: Mr. Wrestling 1992, silver gelatin print, Museum of Contemporary Art, gift of the artist, 1993, image courtesy the artist and stills Gallery.
10 AUG- 9 NOV
EXPERIMENTA
SPEAK TO ME
5th International Biennial of Media Art
Our ability to communicate with each other anywhere, all of the time - ultimate interconnectivity - has been with us for some time. In a rapidly changing technological field, how do we consider these new relationships to the world, technology and each other? Experimenta Speak to Me brings together works that offer multiple perspectives as to how we form connections with others and how we negotiate intimacy in our lives. The exhibition features significant Australian and international artists, and has a focus on the Asia Pacific region.
Scenocosme Lights Contacts 2010 (Installation view) Image courtesy the artist
16 AUG- 30 NOV
JACQUES CALLOT
This exhibition from the collection of Albury City features Jacques Callot, who was one of the great artists of 17th Century Europe and influential in turning the technique of etching into an art. Born and raised in France, he travelled to Italy to be trained under the great masters of the time and with the patronage of the powerful Medici family he became one of the most significant artists in Europe. The printmaking techniques pioneered by Callot continue to be used by artists today.
Jacques Callot 1592 – 1635 Man in Military Costume etching 1624 Daniel Gift AlburyCity Collection ( Detail)
25 OCT - 9 NOV
EMPIRE:
I'M GONNA MISS YOU
The development of the Dubbo Regional Gallery collection is enabled through the generosity of the Friends of WPCC and individual donors. This group of new acquisitions (some of which were acquired through the Federal Government's Cultural Gifts program) include works by Francis Lymburger, McLean Edwards, Elizabeth Cummings, Rew Hanks and Joseph McGlennon, significantly bolstering the Animal in Art collection.
Donated through Cultural Gifts, an Australian Government Program
Daniel Boyd I’m Gonna Miss You 2009. Oil on canvas. Collection Dubbo Regional Gallery. Gift of the artist. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2013
18 OCT- 30 NOVEMBER
WESTERN COLLEGE ART PRIZE
The third Western College Art Prize will be held at WPCC. This acquisitive art prize is open to artists in the Dubbo area and features a general award, an Indigenous prize and a student prize. The theme this year is ‘Inclusion’ and selected artists will be judged on this theme. The Western College Art Prize was established with the intention of exhibiting emerging artists in the region.
