This fortnight (until the 19th of February) I have an installation in the window of the M-arts Precinct in Murwillumbah.

The installation takes some of the works from my previous exhibition Nature Portraits and reconfigures them in a new place and new context. I was aiming to present the paintings in a way that would enhance the conceptual basis behind the work. My art practice is generally about exploring the intersections and relationships between humanity and nature.

 

One of my favourite comments from the Nature Portraits exhibition was that in the beautiful white room with big old style windows it looked a bit like a Greenhouse. I was playing on that idea with this installation. The works are hung low and presented from the same vantage point we often view pot plants. The light is a fluro, but may have associations with a growing light. The fluro light, along with the industrial shelving, is also used to add something of the cultural and artificial to the space, and to contrast with the organic looking works.

The painting themselves are subdued but also busy and odd plantlike entities. They are a little bit like misfits trying to fit into their cultural environments. A little bit like how many of us might sometimes feel under the fluro at the office or in the supermarket.

The other reason to use the industrial shelf is that it is ‘cool’ and I like the way the yellowish metal sets of the blue grey paintings. Also the fluro light reminds me of every second installation I saw at art school in the early 2000’s. It’s a kind of symbol of a very formulative time in my art making history.

I hope people appreciate the installation in their own way. If you have any reflections or opinions about it do let me know!