FOYER GALLERY
Off the Grid
Warwick Art Gallery Yarntopians
18 July to 24 August 2019
This installation is the work of many team members over many months and thousands of hours.
Off the Grid incorporates some special pieces from the Warwick Art Gallery collection that have been created by some of our very talented tree jumper artists in the past. Our pumpkin vine was created by Kate and Doreen Smith, the magpies by Diggers Garden Club, and the crocheted tree by Jessica Thompson.
MAIN GALLERY
Wanton, Wild and Unimagined
Alison McDonald
4 July to 17 August 2019
Wanton, Wild and Unimagined is a playful exhibition of sculptured recycled plastics that stirs the imagination and evokes environmental reflection.
Townsville environmental artist, Alison McDonald has spent many hours manipulating the humble plastic bottle, and collecting thousands of lids to make a variety of unimagined and impossible creations inspired by plants, oceans and by John Wyndham’s book, The Day of the Triffids.
“Humans have long had a love affair with plastic, believing it to be the answer to our eco-prayers. My artworks reuse plastic materials in an attempt to raise questions about the relationship we have with plastic, and about its supposed sustainability,” says McDonald about the touring exhibition.
According to curator, Ross Searle, McDonald is “greatly influenced by her location in the tropical north of Queensland, the material that most dominates her sculpture is plastic; and plastic makes up the majority of marine debris not only seen on northern shorelines but floating in oceans worldwide. Whilst the work draws attention to cynical and apathetic consumer culture…there is also great humour in the way these playful transformations engage our senses.”
“The exhibition has generated much interest and will be shown in 12 galleries throughout Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria,” Dr McBurnie, Director of Umbrella Studio, said. “It is bound to fascinate adults and children alike, inviting close encounters with the work, which is kooky, imaginative and, most of all, fun”.
“There are lots of talented artists based in North Queensland that we want to share with the rest of Australia. Umbrella Studio has been working closely with Alison McDonald for the last seven years encouraging her development as an artist, and we are proud to be seeing one of our members mount a national tour”
Wanton, Wild & Unimagined is a travelling exhibition organised by Umbrella Studio contemporary arts, toured by Museums & Galleries Queensland. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program; and supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments.
Image: R.R.R. Alison McDonald 2012-2015 Individually hand cut and coloured recycled PET plastic rings 68 x 20 x 38 cm Image Credit: Aaron Ashley
ORANGE WALL GALLERY
In Sight 2
Warwick State High School Students
15 August to 28 September 2019
Student artworks on display are the result of in school tasks.
Yr 9 Art students commence their art studies with some foundation drawing skills and complete a realistic self-portrait before progressing into semi-abstract ceramic portraits and then animation.
YR 10 Art students create multi-colour reduction relief prints based on ‘Pop’ imagery of today, stylised ceramic figures and landscape paintings in acrylic.
In YR 11 Visual Art the focus is on the exploration of various media and processes in order to become familiar with their qualities and characteristics as they explore objects and ideas through the lens of contemporary art.
Students who study Yr 12 Visual Art are responsible for devising their own focus in response to the concept ‘Exploring Humanity’. They decide what they would like to communicate about their focus, what media and processes they will use and what their artwork will look like. The works are student directed and give an ‘InSight’ into what is important to them at this stage of their lives.
Students who study Yr 11 and 12 Visual Arts in Practice focus more upon developing a range of skills relating to media. Two of the main areas we have studied this year have been ceramics (Yr 11) and sculpture (Yr 12). The works you see are their responses to tasks set in class to which they apply skills they have learnt.
Image: "Stag" by Teal Stumkat with Year 9 self portraits in the background
