Two new exhibitions, On Belonging(s) and Threads of Childhoods Past, at the Devonport Regional Gallery will officially be opened by the poet Kristen Lang on Friday 2 August at 6pm.
On Belonging(s) is an exhibition by four contemporary Tasmanian artists – Alex Davern, Liam James, Amber Koroluk -Stephenson and Jessie Pangas.
Alex Davern is a Hobart based visual artist, who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2012. Primarily a painter, Davern’s practice has now expanded to installation and video art.
Launceston-based artist Liam James completed his Bachelor of Contemporary Art at the University of Tasmania in 2010 with Honours from the Australian National University in Canberra in 2012.
Hobart-based Amber Koroluk-Stephenson’s practice examines intersections between natural and manmade environments to explore structures of facade, and paradoxes of taming or staging the landscape.
Jessie Pangas is a North-West Coast based visual artist whose uses installation and archival based processes to explore place and presence in the neglected fringes of the regional urban landscapes. Jessie Pangas completed a Bachelor of Contemporary Art in 2018 with First Class Honours at the University of Tasmania.
In their works the artists explore how objects are used in representing ourselves individually and communally. The exhibition has been curated by Erin Wilson.
“The title of the exhibition is a play on the double meaning of the word belonging, as both possession and as the way in which we construct our identity and connect to place and engage with our possessions. This is of interest when we consider the role belongings play in our sense of belonging,” Erin said.
Jessie Pangas’ work is a quiet reflection on the nostalgic significance of the possessions that commonly surround us in the home.
Liam James positions the European vase as a receptacle signifying the possession and control of the invaded Australian landscape, while exploring this family collectable’s role in reconciling a sense of place in this landscape.
Amber Koroluk-Stephenson explores the experience and tensions of migration, and the role of objects as signifiers of place and identity
Finally, Alex Davern focuses on items that are acquired and consumed through our everyday lives, and the role the routines surrounding these objects play in developing our sense of identity.
As part of the Gallery’s Little Gallery program, artists Jennifer (Jen) Frost and Jan Larcombe have combined their forces and created a joint exhibition Threads of Childhoods Past. Jennifer and Jan had a shared childhood growing up in the remote area of Trowutta in the far North West of Tasmania in the 1950s and early 1960s. A remote place with one road in and out, it was the place of their childhood that nurtured imaginations and provided scope for adventures.
An avid collector of small things kept in jars and matchboxes, Jennifer has maintained this passion her entire life. In this exhibition she has combined elements of these collections with her strong ties to family and people of the area.
Playing with brothers and cousins in an endless exploration in the landscape framed Jan’s childhood. Following the threadlines of her childhood in both natural and constructed environments was an obvious choice to create works focussed on the sensory and experiential nature of place.
A strong connection to family, place and values are embedded in the exhibition pieces using a range of media including combinations of printmaking, photography, painting, drawing, collage and sculptural 3D works.
It is intended that these works will invite viewers to engage with fragments and pieces of their own childhood memories and there is opportunity for visitors to create and add small works to the exhibition.
The Little Gallery Project space is available to emerging and early career contemporary Tasmanian artists and promotes experimentation in 2D and 3D art, critical thinking and engaging concepts.
Exhibition Dates: Little Gallery: Threads of Childhoods Past: 27 July – 1 September
Main Gallery: On Belonging(s): 3 August – 22 September
Opening: Friday 2 August, 6pm
Pre-opening talk: On Belonging(s): Friday 2 August, 5pm with the artists and curator
Workshop – Threads of Childhoods Past: Thursday 8 August, 6 – 8pm. With the artists at the Creative Space. Numbers are limited and booking is a must.
MAIN IMAGE: Amber Koroluk-Stephenson, Southern Reach, 2019, oil on canvas
Image; Jan Larcombe, Hide away, 2019, monoprint with copper leaf
Image; Jennifer Frost, Family Album 1, 2019, nickel silver and glass
ENDS
Media Contact:
Nigel Tapp
Media & Communications Officer
DEVONPORT CITY COUNCIL
P: (03) 6424 0562 | M: 0427 132 972