SWAN Hill Regional Art Gallery celebrated the opening of three impressive exhibitions – Changed Forever: Legacies of Conflict, Centric, and 9 x 5.
Gathered outside the gallery on a pleasant autumn evening last week, gallery director Ian Tully told a crowd he was excited to see so many people come to see the “pretty special” exhibitions.
“I think one thing that’s worth noting about these three exhibitions is that there are a couple of threads that sort of linked these all together,” Mr Tully said.
“Health, mental health, social wellbeing, all those things.”
Changed Forever: Legacies of Conflict, an exhibition from the Shrine of Remembrance, is based on a collection of oral histories from Australian Defence Force veterans of recent conflicts and peacekeeping operations, and migrants who have come to Australia because of conflict.
Co-curator of the exhibition Sue Burgess says it explores the impact of conflict on civilians and veterans in intersecting ways that “we had really considered before”.
“For me, the thing that really stood out was just the shared humanity,” Ms Burgess said.
“We all want the same things, we all want to have a safe place to live, we want to have a warm bed to sleep in, we want good things for our children,” she said.
“They are simple things, and we all share those, and that’s really what came through in the exhibition.”
As a touring exhibition, the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery is just one of the stops the display will make.
“The Shrine has a strong commitment to regional communities and bringing the stories that we share at the Shrine out to regional areas in Victoria,” Ms Burgess said. “It’s something that we’re very passionate about.”
For the works in Centric, local artist Emma Samin, used a fine-liner and a protractor to create intricate little flowers and symbols in a mandala format, a process that takes many hours to complete.
“A lot of people think I use a computer or use stamps or something, but I actually draw them,” she said.
“I see (the artworks) as sort of a utopian vision of society where we are all equal, we’re all different, but if we all sort of came together, we could work better together.”
Samin said the inspiration for her artwork stems from her childhood.
“Initially my mum was a quilter, and I grew up with her patchwork books,” she said.
“I hate sowing, but I grew up with this love of geometrical shapes.”
The process of creating the artwork is a mindfulness tool Samin uses to help overcome anxiety and depression brought about by debilitating health issues.
“I would encourage anyone who has stresses in their life, or just want to relax, the mandala is a great form of artwork,” Samin said.
“You can do anything, and it starts with a circle.”
To find more of her work, view Samin’s Instagram account, @emmasamin1974.
The 9 x 5 exhibition features more than 60 paintings by Australian artists to be exhibited and then auctioned to raise funds by the Fight Cancer Foundation (FCF).
The Swan Hill branch of the FCF was formed in 1993 by locals with a passion to help people suffering with leukaemia. Since then, they have held a number of fundraisers and contributing about $100,000 to various FCF causes.
All the artworks available for auction measure nine inches by five, hence the name.
To bid on an artwork from the collection, go to the Graeme Hayes Real Estate website and follow the link to clearing sales, where you can register as a user to view the collection and make and track bids.
All three exhibitions will run until May 15.
