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| Ararat Regional Art Gallery |
This afternoon Shane and I attended the lively opening of the exhibition Not Born Digital - Goldfields Printmakers at Ararat Regional Art Gallery. The works were originally shown in an open folio presentation at IMPACT 9, the international printmaking conference at Hangzhou, China in September. This is their Australian debut. My works Memory #1 and Memory #2, the first digital prints I’ve ever made (but as it’s turned out, certainly not the last) are part of the show.
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| My digital prints Memory #1 and Memory #2 |
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| Pictured with my first ever digital prints (I've since made at least 20) |
The exhibition was launched by Dr. Loris Button, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Education and Arts, Federation University Australia - and fellow Goldfields Printmaker. (Loris also has two works in the show).
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| Jimmy Pasakos (foreground right) filming Anthony Camm, Director of Ararat Regional Art Gallery, who is introducing Dr Loris Button prior to her opening address |
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| From left: James Pasakos, Rosemary Eagle (centre) Melissa Proposch and Carole Wilson |
I had some great chats with some of some of my fellow Goldfields Printmakers:
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Pictured above, back row, from left: Director of Ararat Regional Gallery Anthony Camm with
Goldfields Printmakers Loris Button, Melissa Proposch, Anne Langdon and David Pudney
Front row: Goldfields Printmakers Leonie Auhl, Rosemarie Eagle and Jimmy Pasakos
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The
following is from ARAG’s press release:
Not Born
Digital – Goldfields Printmakers
22
October – 6 December 2015
Ararat
Regional Art Gallery
The
Goldfields Printmakers is a group of artists based in the Ballarat and Central
Highlands (or Goldfields) region of Victoria, which includes Ararat, who share
a specialization in printmaking. The group is facilitated by artist, James Pasakos
of the Arts Academy, Federation University, Ballarat. Artists belonging
to the Goldfields Printmakers have considerable empathy, respect and
appreciation of the impact and influence of history in the region. The current
practice of printmaking in this region of Victoria relates very strongly to its
past in the Goldfields. Artists have embraced contemporary methods as new
stories are created using both old and new printmaking techniques in the
post-print age. This exhibition considers the heritage of printmaking dating
from the mid-nineteenth century, with reference to different cultural contexts
in and around the Goldfields region. An outcome of this and other research will
result in an exhibition of prints that ties in with the International Conference
IMPACT9 Hangzhou, China in September 2015. Ararat is notable as the only
Australian city founded by Chinese migrants who discovered gold at the Canton
Lead in 1857. The site of this discovery is now home to the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre. Some of the work created for the exhibition will provide a
link to this history of Chinese settlement in Ararat and elsewhere in this part
of Victoria.
Ararat Regional Art
Gallery
Town
Hall,
Vincent
Street,
Ararat,
Victoria
T:
(03) 5352 2836
E:
gallery@ararat.vic.gov.au
Opening
Hours: Monday to Friday 10am - 4.30pm
Weekends
and public holidays 12pm-4pm
Closed
Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day
I took a number of installation views of the exhibition, but unfortunately they didn't do it justice. For those who can't make it to the show, individual works are best viewed in the Not Born Digital catalogue, which can be downloaded HERE.