Event Type: Free

Presented by Henrietta Manning

An installation of paintings and text exploring the meaning, connections and value that can be placed on an object. Shoes.  From ancient superstition, fantasy and Cinderella, shoe fetishism and fashion, shoes mean many things to many people. Shoes hold memories, reflecting back moments in time of our footprints on earth.

References to shoes and feet permeate our language. To ‘’start off on the right foot’’ has come to mean to make a good start at something, but go back further and you will discover it was considered unlucky to put on your left shoe first. The phenomenon of shoes hidden in fireplaces, walls, under floors and in roof spaces is documented, if not fully explained. A practice thought to ward off evil or possibly to ensure fertility and happiness. The oldest shoe was found in Winchester Cathedral dating to 1308 and many are in private homes. These superstitions were brought to Australia by immigrants and the artist has worked from shoes loaned to her and even found under her properties historic apple packing shed.

A shoe can be practical, or an expression of stature, an extension of personality and individuality. A well-worn shoe carries the imprint of its owner. From your first to your last shoe, they can connect you to memories of places, times and people. The shoes of the deceased can be highly emotive and difficult to part with. ‘Cynthia I’ was painted in memory of the artists mother in the expectation she would then be able to let go of her mother’s shoes, she still has them!

It is both fascinating and horrifying the obsession and money spent on shoes, from Imelda Marcos’s personal collection, brand trainers, to collectors of the shoes of the famous or the excess of the 2018 Passion Diamond Shoes (USD 17 million made from diamonds and gold). Paintings from life of those hidden dark dusty mysterious shoes found secreted in and under buildings will contrast with the bright and shiny footwear abandoned in opportunity shops with which some have tortured their feet. When considering the ramifications of our footprint/lifestyle on the planet it would be pertinent to consider the waste generated by the fashion industry.

What do shoes mean to you?

Presented by Salamanca Arts Centre

Dates and times:

Wednesday 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th November, 2023 – 4pm – 9pm

WRITE YOUR NOVEL THIS NOVEMBER AT SALAMANCA ARTS
CENTRE, AS PART OF GLOBAL NANOWRIMO PROGRAM

Salamanca Arts Centre is opening its doors to writers from 4pm-9pm every Wednesday
throughout November, as part of the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)
program.

Writers are invited to bring their laptops, notebooks and ideas to Salamanca Arts Centre, away
from the kitchen table and the distractions of home and write their novels.

Tap and scrawl quietly in the company of other writers working on their novels, or
discuss challenges and work through blockages. Everyone is welcome and participation is free.

Every November since 1999, NaNoWriMo has seen writers around the globe embark upon a
month-long writing marathon to complete a first draft of their novel. NaNoWriMo also offers
support and practical advice through their extensive resource hub and numerous online forums.

Participating in NaNoWriMo means being part of a global community of writers all working
towards a common deadline of 30th November 2023.

To help us estimate numbers for our venue, you are invited to register at:
https://events.humanitix.com/nanowrimo-salamanca

Presented by Tasmanian Ceramics Association

A snapshot of ceramicist the late John Watson (d.2017), revealing his distinctive architectural style of handbuilt and  slipcast sculptural forms, often raku fired.

The Tasmanian Ceramics Association’s concurrent exhibition in Off Centre’s Microgallery  (featuring John’s forms) is to establish a legacy fund in John’s name.

John Watson was a builder in various guises for much of his adult life, only taking up ceramics in his 60’s.

A fair amount of mudbrick building led him to clay. A two-year Ceramics Diploma course in Canberra (2000/2001) and – on his return to Tasmania – a part-time job as the ceramics technician for TAFE & Adult Education.

As John honed his slip-casting and hand-building skills, he developed a unique style and began selling a range of work through the artists’ cooperative, Off Centre.

John’s keen interest in ceramics manifested itself in many volunteer roles. He was a much valued and committed member of the TCA, serving as President for a time and the driving force behind many activities – especially his popular raku workshops.

John’s strong architectural forms revealed his keen sense of design, winning him many awards at TCA exhibitions, and a dedicated fan base.

John was a much loved and well-respected teacher and colleague who gave his knowledge and time generously. John’s sudden passing in 2017 was a huge blow to the ceramic’s community.

The LIGHTBOX exhibition is a tribute to John, showcasing a collection of his work, photographs of him in the studio, at workshops, and his creations.

Following John’s death, the TCA committee decided to create a legacy fund to commemorate John’s significant contribution to Tasmanian ceramics. A programme of workshops was developed whereby students and colleagues who’d worked alongside John were given the opportunity to work with casts of his iconic forms. Several new and vibrant sculptures emerged – prompted by his architectural forms. Participants were encouraged think differently and experiment with unfamiliar materials and techniques. John’s touch is present in each of the art works created. Amazing echoes reverberate through the exhibits as familiar elements are reimagined and made new.

Creations from these workshops are presently on show in Off Centre’s Microgallery, in two parts – October 6th-19th and the 20th October until November 2nd.

Thanks to all the artists who have generously donated their time and artworks. The proceeds of sales will go towards funding future projects in John Watson’s name.

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 The Colour Circle

5 – 10 October 2023

OPENING NIGHT

Oct 5, 2023 – 6.30pm

Opened by the Lord Mayor, Anna Reynolds

OPENING HOURS

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Variations to Daily Opening Times :

10 Oct – Closing at 1pm

Join The Colour Circle as we explore the connections we make through creating and engaging in art. We share our artwork, sketchbooks and inspiration.

Kaleidoscope –  Art connections

An exhibition by members and tutors of The Colour Circle

This exhibition addresses the connections that individuals build through engaging in art. The exhibition explores several degrees of connection within an open subject theme.

1. The connection between the artist and their chosen medium and subject.

Artworks are grouped by similar media and subject to allow the viewer to see the different ways that artists approach the same subject and manipulate the same medium. There will be a full range of media represented including watercolour, soft pastels, oils, acrylics, printmaking, drawing and mixed media. Traditional, contemporary, impressionist, graphic, botanic and abstract styles are all represented.

Brief written comments by the artist will accompany some artworks to share insights into their connection to the subject, style and medium.

2. The connection between mentor and student.

This connection is demonstrated to the wider community as visitors to the Long Gallery experience The Colour Circle tutors creating artwork live in a variety of media.

The Tutors will take questions, provide advice and discuss how their artwork develops and what inspires and informs their creativity as well as the methods they use to transfer knowledge and skills to students and guide them to finding their own artistic voice. These will be interactive sessions allowing for public input.

The Colour Circle tutor faculty is made up of a highly professional and talented team of artists  including:

Joan Humble OAM, Traditional Oils

Amber Koroluk-Stephenson, Contemporary Oils and Acrylics

Lynne Brown and Tony White , Watercolours

Lindy Whitton, Pastels and Collagraphs

Denise Hallett and Angela Cooper, Printmaking

Tanya Scharaschkin, Botanic Drawing

Mel Hills, Drawing and Plein Air

Felicity Lovett, Life Drawing

Engaging in art is a very therapeutic practice with many benefits to individuals and communities and this part of the exhibition is aimed at fostering an interest in engaging in art.

3. The connection between the artist and the wider community.

Meeting and talking with an artist can add another dimension of understanding and interest to an exhibition and gives greater insight to the wider community about how art impacts on individuals.

Throughout the exhibition member artists will be on the floor sharing their insights, working methods and art appreciation with interested visitors.

There will be QR codes next to some art works for viewers to scan and view a  video by the artist. These will range from a brief comment about the art inspiration, a look through the sketchbook of the artist to a timelapse video of the painting process.

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.

Opening event: October 13, 5pm

Daily opening times:
5 – 24 October, 2023
Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm / Saturdays 11am-3pm / Sundays CLOSED

Phillip England explores the nature of the photograph as image object using the arcane, wet plate collodion tintype photographic process, which draws attention to its own materiality as much as it does to the subject in front of the lens.

In IMAGE / OBJECT Phillip England explores the nature of the photograph as image object, using a medium that draws attention to the physical photograph itself as much as it does to the photographic subject, subverting our tendency to confuse the two.

The tintype, also called the ferrotype or melainotype, was invented in 1856. It consists of a thin layer of photographic emulsion (traditionally collodion) coated onto a blackened sheet of metal. This plate is exposed directly in the camera and developed immediately while still wet. The resulting negative image appears positive against the black support.

The tintype greatly democratised photography because it facilitated, for the first time since the invention of photography, the production of cheap and durable photographic portraits and scenes.

The 21st century revival of the wetplate collodion tintype technique exemplifies a reaction to the digital, high-tech “perfection” of contemporary photography and represents a return to authentic, hand crafted, analogue image making. The beguiling materiality of a tintype is rarely encountered in modern photography.

The arcane, antique chemical process of tintypes renders contemporary subjects with an altered psychology of space. Tintype portraits in particular have an arresting power that haunts. The long exposure times Phillip uses force the sitter to concentrate on their own stillness and gaze, investing the photo portrait with gravitas and an ineffable aura.

With the works in this exhibition, Phillip investigates the potential of analogue photographic techniques, which once were so potent, precious and ceremonial, to say something new, important and alchemical in an age of ubiquitous digital and infinitely computer-manipulatable imagery.

The works comprising IMAGE / OBJECT span the eight years the artist has been practicing this technique and include still lifes, landscapes and portraits.

Catherine Stringer

28 September – 8 October 2023


Opening event:

Friday 29 September – 5:30pm-7:30pm

Catherine’s exhibition will be opened by Seán Kelly. 

Seán is a Curator, Arts Writer and Re-emerging Artist.

Daily Opening Times :

9.30am – 5pm daily (Closing at 4pm on the final day)

Ocean Windows presents a series of luminous seaweed paper artworks inspired by the traditional rose windows of Gothic cathedrals and the universal symbolism of the circle.

‘Ocean Windows’ combines the delicate translucent textures of seaweed paper with the timeless appeal of traditional stained glass windows. Inspiration is drawn from the ornate rose windows that adorn European Gothic cathedrals, and the universal symbolism of the circle.

Tasmanian artist Catherine Stringer has been researching the making of paper from seaweed for over 10 years. This series represents a significant progression in her seaweed papermaking practice, with the development of new techniques and themes.

The artworks in ‘Ocean Windows’ are all circular in design and depict various marine themes. Each one is constructed from many different seaweed papers, handmade from a wide range of Tasmanian seaweeds. They are framed and displayed in a manner which allows light to filter though from behind, illuminating and enlivening the images.

The circle’s symbolic significance has traversed diverse cultures and religions throughout history, embodying themes of unity, wholeness and the cyclical nature of existence. It is evident in prehistoric petroglyphs and megalithic structures, the Eastern Yin-Yang symbol, the Native American medicine wheel, Celtic knots, and in the religious mandalas of Hinduism and Buddhism.

More recently, Jungian psychology recognises the circle as a powerful archetype originating in the collective unconscious. Jung saw mandalas as portals to the inner world, and manifestations of the psyche’s efforts to integrate and balance the conscious and unconscious aspects of the self. Meditating on mandalas was thought to promote self-discovery, healing and personal transformation.

The intricate stained glass panels within the awe inspiring rose windows of Christian cathedrals often depict spiritual themes and religious teachings. However the geometrical design and powerful radiant light mediate a profound effect on the viewer which transcends words. They can be viewed as metaphorical gateways between earthly and heavenly realms and expressions of humankind’s highest aspirations towards wholeness and coherence. They continue to resonate with viewers today, surpassing cultural boundaries and speaking to the deepest aspects of human experience and spirituality.

The seaweed paper artworks in ‘Ocean Windows’ meld organic materials with spiritual inspiration, tradition with innovation. Although not of the scale or grandeur of the Gothic rose windows they share their luminosity and circular design. Similarly, these ‘windows to the deep’ may allude to things that are ‘beneath the surface’ or usually hidden from view, but the ethereal evocative imagery promotes an initial visceral or intuitive response and invites contemplation and reflection.

Andrea Jordan & Sallee Warner

15 – 25 September 2023


Opening event:

September 15 – 5pm

Daily Opening Times :

Weekdays 10 – 4pm
Saturday 9.30am -4.00pm
Sunday 10am – 4.00pm
Monday 25th September 10.00 am – 4.00pm

STILL is an exhibition by Andrea Jordan, painter and Sallee Warner, ceramicist, revealing the humanity and beauty found in the simple objects of everyday life.

STILL

    Andrea Jordan Painting

    Sallee Warner Ceramics

This exhibition is a collaboration between two good friends: a painter, Andrea Jordan and a ceramicist, Sallee Warner, exploring a common approach in our separate disciplines. We share a love of art that is quiet and dignified, with intrinsic humanity and beauty. These qualities are reflected in the work that we each bring to this exhibition.

    Andrea:

The paintings are intended to be calm, quiet and contemplative – a still life, investigating the intrinsic value of everyday objects and celebrating the human touch. I have long admired that quality in Sallee’s ceramics, some of which can be found in my paintings.

I surround myself in the studio with my paintings and other collections, taking pleasure in composing the subjects and exploring the contribution of their shadows, seeking balance and harmony in the conversations between subject, lighting and shadow.

I have developed the techniques employed in these paintings over many years, based originally on those of the master painters of the Renaissance.

The simplicity of subject matter in these paintings and the calming, muted colour palette allow the objects to speak quietly of their worth.

    Sallee:

“Something beautiful to behold in the form of an object you can use.”

My work is about making purposeful pots, using soft clay thrown on the pottery wheel, enhancing the throwing lines and ridges that reside in the memory of the making.

The simplicity of the form engages you not only in the function of the vessel, but in the unique textural quality of being handmade.

Things, things that we use every day surround us. By bringing this concept to the table and experiencing the contact of living with and using hand made pots we can elevate the ordinariness.

While using hand made pots you may notice a signature, maybe a shell imprint, subtle contours and character of forms. Traces of knowing it has been considered and thought through.

You may even know the maker, bringing a little bit of joy into your day.

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.