By Callum Ludwig
A multi-faceted exhibition is still on show in the Warburton Arts Centre till the end of July, with a closing event set to bring another element to close out the display.
‘Whispering Land’ by Antonia Green has been on display since June and will be joined by Ms Green and her band The Wandering Arc on Saturday 27 July from 2.30pm to 4pm.
Ms Green said the exhibition is a response to the local landscape, going as far out as the Cathedral Ranges, though most of it is from within the Yarra Ranges.
“A lot of the places are around Mount Donna Buang and Mount Boobyalla which is next to it along the range and some of the places in the paintings depicted are of the bush block where I live as well, which I’ve been going to since I was a really young child and then we moved in there as a family about nine years ago,” she said.
“I started out just wanting to go to places, be immersed in those places and be prompted from that but it ended up being more of an internal journey as well.”
Ms Green said she was also inspired by the spiritual practice of dadirri from the Indigenous people of the Daly River region considered a deep listening to the ‘spring’ inside of yourself.
Ms Green said she’s quite a sensitive person and feels as though she has a deep relationship with the land.
“It’s a documentary of the relationship that I have with the land, going into wild places in the area as well as going to some places that are scarred as well from the actions of the early settlers who my family were part of,” she said.
“It’s telling that story from my own perspective and maybe even being the first person in my bloodline to be looking at things with a bit more of a broader perspective, taking into account Indigenous Australian perspectives and what’s happened to those people and wanting to make a deeper inquiry.”
The exhibition combines poetry, paintings and printmaking as Ms Green explored her connection and appreciation of the land, while she was also being adding the musical element of her band to the closing event.
Ms Green said she thinks the different art forms bring out different parts of her personal creative expression.
“They provide different access points for people to enter into the story that I’m telling and uncovering and it’s not really what usually happens in galleries,but it’s just what’s been happening in my creative life,” she said.
“I’m giving myself permission to let all the different types of creative expression come together to bring out this deep longing to talk about something that’s really difficult or uncomfortable to talk about,”
“I’m not making a really strong statement, I’msharing something that’s really personal, I feel like my relationship with the bush block where I live is quite a personal and beautiful relationship and something that’s really close to my heart.”
To book a free spot during the closing event, visit yarraranges.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/133674.
