THE Swan Hill branch of the Fight Cancer Foundation opened its new 9×5 exhibition last Friday at the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery.
Many came out to see the display of the 69 artworks that have gone to auction to raise money for FCF.
FCF Swan Hill branch president Steve Pentreath was pleased with the number of people who attended the opening, and said the idea to create 9×5 artworks came from learning about what artists used to do in the 1880s.
“They were painting smaller paintings so that they could actually sell them at cheaper prices,” he told The Guardian.
“It’s just something different for artists to concentrate on, and something different for Swan Hill.”
Among the local artists in the exhibition are some high-profile names, including FCF patrons Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness.
“They are great supporters of the Fight Cancer Foundation, so they have come on board with some paintings,” Mr Pentreath said.
Swan Hill District Health’s executive director of clinical services Chloe Keogh said she was honoured to be able to open the exhibition.
“Cancer is a little bit like a 9×5 (inch) picture – we only know and see just a snapshot of how cancer might affect a person, and same with the artwork, you only see a little bit,” Ms Keogh said.
“Underneath that there are other layers. There has been thought, there has been emotion, there’s been that cup of coffee that accidentally got spilled, the scrubbing out, the restart – all these complexities is what has happened in a 9×5 are similar to what happens on a person’s cancer journey.
“It’s a little glimpse of an artist’s soul, through which we get a chance to see the world through their eyes.”
The pieces from the exhibition are now available to bid on online through the Graeme Hayes website.
Also opened on Friday night was Australian artist Zanny Begg’s exhibition, These Stories Will Be Different.
“This is a really important exhibition and she is a very important Australian artist,” Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery director Ian Tully said.
The exhibition, which is a selection of videos, brings together a fascinating series of works that reimagine a medieval feminist utopia, probe the unsolved murder of a high-profile anti-gentrification campaigner and explore the connections between love, loss and language in migrant communities across Australia.
“We have a selection of films here, five in fact, that address real world social issues – from economic logistics to The Beehive, which is a political documentary of the events leading to the disappearance of Juanita Nielsen,” Mr Tully said.
An interesting part of Begg’s work is that is not presented linearly, but rather uses a randomised algorithm to refocus and reposition scenes. So in The Beehive, there are 1344 possible versions of the film that can be viewed.
“She pushes the boundaries in concept, social comment and questioning, as well as visually and technically,” Mr Tully said.
Both exhibitions will run until June 12.
To view and bid for the artworks in the 9×5 collection, visit auctions.ghrealestate.com.au
