At Orange Regional Gallery, the late Alan Sisley vigorously pursued a policy of showing meaningful and evocative art, art that would engage the public and challenge any viewer to see the world in a different way.
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Mr Sisley often referred to John Berger’s formulation, Ways of Seeing, which Berger articulated in both books and films, and as a curator I have certainly been influenced by this approach.
Mr Sisley commissioned me to produce a trilogy of survey exhibitions and books on the great artists who led the teaching of art at TAFE Western (namely Neil Cuthbert, Victor Gordon and Tim Winters) during his time as director.
The poetry of Space – the art of Tim Winters is the final instalment, if you like, of this project.
Working with Mr Winters (a great designer in his own right) and Martin Wale, the long-time exhibition designer at The State Library, Lisa Loader has assembled a team that has produced a truly wonderful exhibition now on display in the Alan Sisley Gallery. Indeed, the floor talk by Mr Winters at the opening, last Friday, smashed all attendance records at the gallery and is a tribute to the stature of this highly respected and versatile artist.
The survey follows an artistic journey that spans 37 years and covers the genres of his diverse practice: paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and collaborative ceramics.
One of the great things about presenting art in a substantial gallery space is giving the viewer the wonderful opportunity of reflection, of engaging with art in a personal stillness, away from distortion and noise. Mr Berger emphasised this in discussing the corridor of engagement between the viewer’s eye and the work on the gallery wall.
The Poetry of Space is an exhibition that invites the viewer to acclimatise to, and reflect upon, a unique way of seeing the world.
Mr Winters is both an artist and a poet, and part of the experience of studying his work is to come to appreciate how his visual language reflects his lyrical and emotional engagement with the land. In one private corner of the gallery, for example, we have juxtaposed one of his lyrical texts with a painting of the same title, Stony Creek Muddy Waters (2012). The very rhythms and markings of weather and nature are echoed in both the painting and the poem.
“… Stony Creek Muddy Waters … after the rains, between storms; dark clouds chasing the rolling thunder over the strangely illuminated tree speckled hills, the sound of the clear water coursing over the rocks, settling in muddy pools, once clear, now obscure, with shards of light skipping over the surface … stones, twigs, grasses, mud, stuff …”
Mr Winters views the landscape from a deep perspective - an immersive perspective, if you like. He leaves the comfort of the road and sees the land from within, feels the weather and weathering, embeds his experiences in his memory, and revisualises them in his art.
In Landscape and Memory, Simon Schama wrote that if his work is indeed “a book of memories, it is a journey through spaces and places, eyes wide open, that may help us keep faith with a future on this tough, lovely old planet.”
In her address at Mr Winters’ opening, Lis Bastian spoke about his special connection with the land and expressed very similar sentiments about the effect of his paintings as those Schama expressed about his own work: the hope that exposing us to different, insightful ways of seeing might indeed engender a greater sensitivity to, and respect for, our land.
In gallery two, Victor Gordon’s thought-provoking installation, memorate.com.au, challenges viewers not only to reflect on the horror and tragedy of war but also to examine the myths that have had such an impact on the development of modern Australian identities. Although Mr Gordon’s focus is on remembering “the lives of the men from Orange and district, the volunteer soldiers who died on active service during the First World War,” his visual, symbolic language reflects another way of seeing the world and its political history.
In this installation, there is a poignant portrait of Private Ernest Lachlan Powter, who was, as Mr Gordon puts it: “the youngest volunteer from Orange to die in WWI. Being born on March 9, 1900, he was 15 when he lied about his age to go to the war and was dead by the time he was 16”.
The painting is taken from a photograph, but the markings on the wall, indicating the height Mr Powter was at different times in his childhood, draw attention to the fact that here was a child, only starting his life’s journey, but dressing up to die.
This device, used before by Victor in his painting, Suffer Little Children (2008), which I have discussed in Sun Shining - Blood Everywhere: the art of Victor Gordon (and available at the gallery), is powerful symbolism indeed.
The major piece in the installation is a large scale nine metre long panelled painting, which takes up the north wall of the gallery.
As Victor states: “The painting sets the stage by [re]presenting the industrial-scale magnitude of tombstone production to meet the demand of the War Graves Commission.”
Entry to the gallery is free, but Mr Gordon’s exhibition is entering its final two weeks. And while you’re checking your diary, on July 9 at the gallery, I will give a short talk to contextualise Tim Winters’ place in modern art before engaging the artist himself in a discussion of his work. For more information please call 02 6393 8136, or visit www.org.nsw.gov.au Gallery open every day 9am - 5pm (except Christmas Day).
