Address: Sidespace Gallery

Daily opening times:
29 November – 12 December, 2023 (Sidespace Gallery)
10am – 4pm

14 December, 2023 – 28 January, 2024 (Studio Gallery)
10am – 4pm

Pivotal.  Definition;  big moments and little moments of clarity that provide us with new perspectives and opportunities for change.

PIVOTAL, big moments and little moments of clarity that provide us with new perspectives and opportunities for change.

Works in watercolour, gouache and graphite featuring the everyday, a feather, a bird’s nest, to the rare and uncommon, the tiny Tasmanian Red Handfish.

We take much for granted and in doing so, we devalue it.  This response is not necessarily intentional, but life is busy, and there is an assumption, an acceptance what we view about us will always be there.

We live in pivotal times.  Do we need to reconnect; do we need to find ‘enchantment’ in the simple and uncomplicated to rediscover balance?  I think so.  

As Author Katherine May writes in her latest publication ‘Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age’ – ‘Our sense of enchantment is not triggered only by grand things; the sublime is not hiding in distant landscapes. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention. It becomes valuable when we value it’.

Daily opening times:
25 January – 12 February, 2024
10am – 4pm

Tasmanian Totems is a timely reminder that life is a beautiful but ultimately fragile endeavor and memento mori. Kitsch but never vulgar, this collection will focus your mind on one universal truth: that all shall pass eventually, with beauty as the epicentre. In a philosophically way: death doesn’t exist.

Greta Diaz Ortiz has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the Polytechnical University of Valencia (2011), traveling extensively since to satisfy her intense interest in the natural world and the cultural fabric it supports.

Paying her peripatetic way for over a decade as a tattoo artist she landed in Tasmania in 2020 and immediately responded to the immense natural beauty of her new home. After participating in a number of art collaborations in Hobart she decided to create her first solo exhibition in Tasmania with a focus on her passions: art and nature.

Being disconnected from nature damages the human soul. Bringing pieces of nature to your intimate place evokes bucolic feelings while stimulating renewed connections. These pieces demand veneration for the natural world by emphasizing the dichotomy of perfect imperfection: perfection does not exist in nature, no matter how much we strive for it.

Totems historically are pieces of nature which connect individuals with their raison d’etre. Humans appreciate the spiritual significance, bringing totems to their ancestor’s memories. We believe and behave as though the earth belongs to us when in reality the equation is the other way around.

Tasmanian Totems as a collection seeks to stimulate your subconscious and reconnect you with your senses and spirituality.

The artist mixes media to create pieces which are unique and yet related. Visitors are invited on an organic journey through hidden memories to our tribal instincts via works forged from the elemental to stimulate the senses. Reflections of life and death await, with beauty existing in both phases. Beauty is the connection in this idiosyncrasy, the world is always full of beauty and even if we cannot appreciate it is stills there, the never ending love of Nature.

Manifesting her influences through repurposed discharged animal bones, sponges, feathers, wood, sand and diverse recycled material from across Tasmania affords these natural remnants a second life; beauty renewed.

Creating pieces which allow pure nature airs and graces befitting their existence, some of Greta’s important influences include: animism, shamanism, mysticism and the occult. Greta’s passion for nature springs from an exaltation of the elements: water meets earth meets air meets metal.

Flamboyant representations of the natural world in settings spannin the realm of fortune from majestic to morbid. To conjure reflections on the essence of life.

Daily opening times:
3 – 13 November, 2023
10am – 4pm

Variation to opening times:

On Monday 6 November, the exhibition will open from 1pm to 4pm.

On Thursday 9 November, the exhibition will be open from 12 noon to 4pm.

Uninnocent Landscapes is a research-based photographic investigation into the impact of invasion and dispossession on the landscape of Lutruwita/Tasmania, and the artist’s standing as a non-Indigenous person on this colonised land.

Uninnocent landscapes is a research-based photographic investigation into the impact of invasion, colonisation and dispossession on the landscape of Lutruwita/Tasmania. Without invasion and the near destruction of Lutruwita’s First People, I would not have had the opportunity to lead the rich and fulfilling life I have experienced on this island. This is a reality that, as much as we might try to ignore it, non-Indigenous Tasmanians cannot escape. How do we come to terms with our privilege and its Janus face, the violent and continuing dispossession of Palawa and Pakana.

Ten years in conception, Uninnocent Landscapes is the result of two years combining landscape photography and historical enquiry, seeking answers to the myriad questions that I found myself asking as I traced the path of George Augustus Robinson’s 1831 Big River Mission. Robinson’s ‘missions’ resulted in the removal of Lutruwita’s First People to exile at Wybalenna on Flinders Island. The questions I found myself asking included: What memories to the landscapes of Lutruwita hold? What stories are embedded in the rocks, the trees and grasses, the waters of rivers and lakes? What could the landscape tell me about invasion and the attempted destruction of First Peoples life and culture? What could it tell us about our own lives here on this island?

With Chelsea Watego’s observation that ‘on any given day, in any given place, you can guarantee that most if not all colonisers have no idea whose land they are walking, working or talking on’ (Another Day in the Colony, UQP, 2021) in mind, I sought to know this island and its First Peoples more deeply, to acknowledge their story of tens of thousands of years on this land. I do not attempt to provide a Palawa history of Lutruwita – that would be both inappropriate and impossible. Rather, the project uses monochrome photography paired with quotes from Robinson’s journals to tell one truth of our shared history and documents one of its impact on the land.

All proceeds from this exhibition and the accompanying book will be donated to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania’s Giving Land Back fund. Giving Land Back, or donating to the fund, is one way everyone can help, knowing that land will be owned by the whole Aboriginal Community in perpetuity. You can find the Giving Land Back Program at https://www.givinglandback.org/ 

Presented by Sean O’Connell

Daily opening times:

October 6 – 15, 2023

11am – 6pm

An exploration of hidden realms within the Central Plateau, as experienced by electrons moving through the internal structure of matter, revealed in image and sound.

Portals explores hidden energies and pathways within the humble materials that make up the grand landscape of Tasmania’s Central Plateau. Using electricity as the conduit, an alternate understanding of the environment is unfolded, energetically, from within the intimate interior realms of matter. These elements include dolerite rock brought to the surface and worn by wind and ice, limbs of snow gum slowly grown in the rocky ground, pale clumps of forking branched lichen, vials of cool clear tarn water, and decaying fragments and remnants from past human habitation.

The exhibition explores these samples, through electricity, in backlit images on analog photographic film, in collected samples from the environment, and in small sonic oscillators that use these same materials within their electronic circuitry. This exploration opens up alternate possibilities, and suggests an understanding of something unknown, as matter and electricity converse, to reveal hidden pathways within the mysterious highland landscape.

Presented by Anna Brooks

Daily opening times:

September 21 – October 2, 2023

9.30am – 5pm
Closing at 2pm on October 2

This exhibition explores the impact of bushfire on vegetation and landscapes and aims to evoke a sense of ecological distress.

I have tried to distil my own experiences of being in burnt areas… charred trunks, blackened soils, smoke-laden air, and the ground naked of vegetation so that the rocks and geology show more definitively.  For me, burned landscapes evoke a sense of loss and sadness, of unease at the known world made unfamiliar, and empathy for the burned and maimed trees.

Australia is one of the most bushfire-prone continents and bushfires are culturally and environmentally significant.  In south-eastern Australia, the frequency and intensity of fires has increased since the 1950s and scientists predict this increase will continue due to climate change.  News stories focus on the effect of fires on people.  However, frequent and severe bushfires also seriously alter natural ecosystems, and will likely contribute to loss of species, and reduced genetic diversity.

Daily opening times:
1 – 30 September, 2023
10am – 4pm

A contemplative journey of abstract landscape paintings by Hannah Blackmore.

In the hustle and bustle of our modern lives, we often find ourselves yearning for moments of serenity, for a chance to pause, and simply breathe. In Breathe, my upcoming exhibition of contemplative landscapes, I draw inspiration from the principles of minimalism, embracing the notion of creating space by shedding the superfluous and embracing what truly matters.

Within the canvas, I strive to capture the essence of calmness, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in a tranquil world where simplicity reigns supreme. Through my exploration of landscapes and seascapes, I seek to liberate the viewer’s mind by introducing ample white space, providing room for contemplation and introspection.

Warm, neutral tones and pristine whites become the focal point of my latest body of work, as I embark on a journey away from vivid blues. I eagerly delve into new techniques, refining my palette knife work to create textural intricacies and employing pencils to introduce delicate linear marks that dance across the surface.

Every stroke, every shade is carefully orchestrated to evoke a profound emotional connection with the audience, guiding them towards an oasis of inner peace. The absence of explicit geographical references allows each viewer to weave their own narrative, transcending physical locations to reach a realm of pure emotion and self-reflection.

As I draw inspiration from the ethereal Tasmanian light that has captivated my senses since my arrival, the paintings radiate with a subtle familiarity, an echo of the tranquillity that resides in the depths of nature. Organic shapes and layered compositions, constructed through thin washes of paint, form the foundation of each piece. Gradually, the paintings unfold into areas of thicker palette knife work, beckoning the viewer to embark on a journey of intrigue and exploration.

Within these contemplative landscapes, a profound sense of solitude beckons, inviting the viewer to stand in that space, peer into the horizon, and connect with their own inner stillness. Each artwork becomes a portal to escape the relentless cacophony of the outside world, offering solace and an opportunity to reconnect with the essence of existence.

Breathe is an invitation to let go, to release the burdens that weigh us down, and to immerse ourselves in the purity of simplicity. It is a reminder that amidst the chaotic hum of life, we can always find moments of tranquillity if we pause, take a breath, and embrace the space within.

Join me on this contemplative journey through abstract landscapes, and together, let us find solace in the art of breathing.

Presented by Rick Crossland

Daily opening times:

September 7 – 18, 2023

9am – 6pm

“A diverse collection of images that suddenly caught my eye, that I found beautiful, transformed by the light and atmosphere at that time. The scene can change ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ but in my paintings I try to catch an impression, a memory of time and place.”

Whilst trying my luck at fishing on a family holiday on Flinders Island I caught sight of the late afternoon light on the waves. It was breathtaking. I dropped the rod and ran to the car to grab my easel and painting gear to record the image before the light changed. I had to work fast as the sun dropped behind the dunes at the back of the beach. ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ the scene had changed but luckily, I had caught an impression, a memory, a feeling of that particular time and place.

This exhibition is a collection of plein air work done over the year at various places, coastal, rural and urban in Tasmania, including Flinders Island. Despite the many challenges of plein air painting – fickle weather, tides that can’t be controlled, light that is always changing and curious passers-by, I prefer to paint in front of my subject. All the answers are there in front of you, you see people and stuff you just can’t invent. It’s always about the effects of light. I must work fast to capture the image before the conditions change and for that reason, most of my paintings in the exhibition will be small. However, some of the collection will be larger paintings that required repeat visits to the same location, when the conditions were similar.

The subjects are diverse, images that suddenly caught my eye, that I found beautiful, transformed by the light and atmosphere at that time. I want to convey to the viewer the real colours, mood and feeling of the place or object. The way I paint is very challenging. However, I love it and get tremendous joy when others connect with my paintings and ‘see’.

Presented by Margaret Skowronski

Daily opening times:

August 24 – September 4, 2023

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

In this exhibition I show a variety of calligraphy images in Sumi ink (2014 – 2023) full of suggestions, hints of nature, animals and human forms – often elusive, partly revealed, but mostly concealed so that they just tug at the viewer`s imagination.

Inspired by travelling to Japan and China I present my unique way of exploring art calligraphy with freedom of expression and subconscious artistic interpretation of feelings emerging in my soul in response to unrest in the world and the ever-changing Universe.

Presented by Resource Work Cooperative

22 – 30 July 2023 | 10am-5pm

Opening event: July 21st, 6pm

Since 1995 Art from Trash has helped highlight the vast amount of usable resources sent to landfill through artistic endeavours and shown the beauty that can be found in what is traditionally thought of as waste.

Since 1995, Art from Trash’s goal has been to encourage a deeper discussion about reuse and the negative outcomes of our consumer driven society and how to reduce the vast amounts of usable items sent to landfill every day.

Artists and makers both established and emerging, schools, community groups and everyone in between are invited to explore all types of materials through creative reuse. A horse made from salvaged wire? A sculpture made from crockery? Clothes created from old photographs? Almost anything is possible and probable when, instead of thinking outside the box, we use the box to create something completely new.

Art from Trash is one of the only exhibitions where you could see all these plus a cornucopia of other amazing works all created from something someone else thought was waste.

Resource Work Co-operative is proud to present Art from Trash 2023 at the Long Gallery from July 22 to July 30 2323 and would like to thank our partners the City of Hobart and Salamanca Arts Centre.

Presented by Tasmanian Ceramics Association

Opening Event:

Aug 3, 2023 – 6pm

Daily opening times:

Aug 3, 2023 – Aug 21, 2023

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Variations to Daily Opening Times :

21st August closing at 1pm

To evolve – to develop gradually by a natural process.

Over time ceramics has seen a phenomenal evolution – from the simplest of forms used in

functional vessels by our earliest ancestors to the modern-day interpretations of

contemporary art. Today we use much the same processes to turn earth into baked clay.

Evolved – the 2023 TCA 51 st Annual Members Exhibition, encourages its members to take

inspiration from all areas of ceramics – sculptural, imaginative, and functional, to showcase

the extensive and diverse methods that today’s ceramicist uses to express creativity across

our island.