At STUR Gallery ‘Flip It and Reverse It’ opened with new photographic work by Kelly Sturgiss on Friday evening.
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Kelly says “The source photographs are all Braidwood landscapes, some urban and some rural. This local landscape is an ongoing theme informing my work perhaps because this is the country where I grew up and continue to live. It talks to my relationship with my ancestry and my deep feelings of connection to the land. I am interested in translating the landscape experimentally, which strangely in this case I have done by utilising a technique that creates symmetry and organisation.”
By manipulating the images something quite new is created.
Kelly says “At first these images appear to be reflections in water. Landscapes on the edge of dams or waterholes. On closer inspection, some anomalies become apparent. Impossible cloud formations, peculiar foliage, unfamiliar creatures, hidden faces.
“The technique used here is similar to the mathematical formula slide, flip, turn also used in the creation of Oriental rug designs, Hindu/Buddhist mandalas, and Navajo textiles.”
In contrast, in the exhibition opened at Altenburg & Co – “A Walk in the Forest” ceramics by Gwenna Green – there is no maths involved. The hand built pots and small sculptures bear all the marks of their making, and softly portray the bush surroundings of her home.
With loose brushwork decoration, the works hark back to mid-century Australiana ceramics without venturing into the twee. Kangaroos and foliage emerge from the group of works, assembled at shoulder height to resemble a walk through by viewers.