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​Under the radar

10/10/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
By Catherine Watson

​THERE’S nothing “cultured” about the poster for a new exhibition opening in Wonthaggi next week. A punter lines up his next dart, a tailor-made clenched between his teeth, while a pot of beer, almost certainly Carlton draught, awaits on the bar table next to him.  


Undercurrent – “a contemporary art exhibition" – is the flip side of the Bass Coast art scene, the one that‘s not often on view. No coastal panoramas or hills here; rather shades of the ‘70s and the days of Mambo art.

The exhibition, at the Coffee Collective from October 18, features the names of several younger artists you probably haven’t heard of and some you probably have, including Wonthaggi artist and exhibition curator Tom Murry White.

It came out of The Drawing Room, a studio space White runs for young artists. It started with three local artists, Christian Hefferman, Paul  Greenhalgh and Darren Marks (who designed the poster), and gradually widened as others asked to be involved.

White says he wanted to show work by the kinds of artists who don’t feature in the usual art shows and exhibitions in Wonthaggi, Inverloch and Cowes.

“I stopped showing in the gallery spaces. There are cultural issues. It’s kind of a niche audience. In a gallery, people put on their art caps. But in a café or alleyway anyone can come across a work. They might see it differently when they’re sitting there having a coffee.”

He says art is too crowded in many galleries, and there are too many words. “You don’t need to explain art. People don’t have to understand.

“I wanted people to have a chance to see some of the artists who weren’t entering the competitions but were doing interesting things.”

The artists are also challenging themselves to go outside their usual art practice for this show. “Ge Warburton does beautiful flowers. I’ve asked her to do something she wouldn’t normally do. And Darren Marks is well known on Phillip Island for doing a lot of surf posters but this is his first art show.

“I’m deliberately doing something different. I’ve finished one piece and I’m thinking of doing a kind of piss take on conceptual art.”

White expressed his thanks to Coffee Collective owner James Archibald for the chance to use the venue. A bonus: Undercurrent includes some of Archibald’s fine black and white photographs.
​
The official launch is next Friday, October 18, between 5-7pm, with local duo The Tone Rangers providing the soundtrack for an evening of culture with a difference. The exhibition runs until November. 
2 Comments
Frank W Schooneveldt link
11/10/2019 08:34:46 pm

Tom,
It will be good to see something original and creative.

Reply
Karen link
18/10/2019 09:22:11 pm

Great leadership Tom. Making space for the new, for what is uncomfortable, forgotten, unknown. Congrats to all in the show too!

Reply



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