After a well-visited opening in Bathurst last month the contemporary art exhibition While the World Waits opened at Grenfell Art Gallery on Thursday, April 28, running until June 2.
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The Arts OutWest curated exhibition showcases some of the region's most exciting visual artists as they each respond to original music reflecting on the challenging and changing times over the past two years.
"Last year Arts OutWest commissioned 15 Central West songwriters to each write a track reflecting their experiences of 2020. We created a compilation album of original music titled While the World Waits," said exhibition curator, Arts OutWest's Steven Cavanagh. "Then we opened the conversation up to visual artists to see what they were feeling."
This second leg of the 12 stop, 12 month regional tour opened with a special performance by Grenfell band BC and the Foot Falcons - who feature on the original While the World Waits music album with a track 'Better Deal'.
Grenfell photographer Helen Carpenter is one of the featured visual artists in the exhibition with a series of large photographs face mounted on aluminium called 'Dogs and Dust'.
Helen says of her inspiration for these works: "One afternoon whilst out walking the dogs with one of my sons, I took one of my cameras and started to walk up the track. As the sun began to set over the mountain range, it produced an orange-red colour due to the stubble fires. Our dogs started to run, play and kick up the dust. I bent down and looked through the dust. The image I saw through the viewfinder was what I was looking to achieve. I began capturing a series of images around the dogs running, playing, and kicking up the dust. These images captured the light, mood and environment and were a true reflection of my life and daily activities. Dogs and Dust was shot during the 2021 lockdown. I was looking for inspiration and a new direction."
Cowra artist Shani Nottingham also has work in the exhibition. Her sculptural made from melted bread tags that look like painted china plates got a lot of interest while the exhibition was in Bathurst.
The exhibition will showcase work from across all mediums. You will see painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, moving image, animation, photography, glass and textiles.
Artists featured are: Bridget Thomas (Bathurst), Cate McCarthy (Yetholme), Gemma Clipsham (Bathurst), Gus Armstrong (Rylstone), Harrie Fasher (Portland), Heather Dunn (Bathurst), Heather Vallance (Orange), Helen Carpenter (Grenfell), Hugh McKinnon (orange), Jane Tonks (Orange), Laura Baker (Blayney), Lise Edwards (Lithgow), Henry Simmons and the River Yarners (Bathurst), Robert Hirschmann (Portland), Shani Nottingham (Cowra), Stephan de Wit (Parkes), Timothy Seager (Bathurst), Aleshia Lonsdale (Mudgee), Steven Cavanagh (Hill End), Christine McMillan (Kandos).
The exhibition will be open at Grenfell art Gallery until June 2 before moving to Lithgow. The exhibition comes to Cowra Civic Centre in September and on to other venues across Blayney, Cabonne, Forbes, Lachlan, Lithgow, Mid-Western Region, Oberon, Orange and Parkes LGAs over the next 12 months.