Art-tastic!

Toowoomba is hosting its first ever independent arts and culture festival - The Range Festival (November 1 - 9) so that people can come and see what all the fuss is about! The brainchild of founder and creative director Ashleigh Bunter, the festival is nine sweet days of exhibitions, performances and film screenings, creative parties, networking evenings, gigs, workshops and forums to showcase the rich and diverse creative community here in Toowoomba.

And most importantly, the whole festival is kickstarted this Thursday, 1st November at 7pm, with The Range Opening Night and Creative Showcase, featuring 'Darlings of the Downs', a one night only exhibition and auction of the work of a select number of contemporary emerging artists to come out of Toowoomba (of whom, I am included - Thanks Ash!). This is followed by an after-party at the Spotted Cow where all 'Rangers' can enjoy the tunes of Ball Park Music as they tour their new album Museum.

It is set to be a great night and an equally fun week! For more details and a brochure of the event, click here.

THANK YOU

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to George and Ron Adams and the MOP Projects team for all of their hard work and assistance in making my first Sydney exhibition a success! It was such a pleasure and an honour to be a part of MOP's exhibition schedule for 2012 and it was wonderful to exhibit my ongoing project Adventure Samplers in Gallery 2.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with this important Artist-Run-Initiative (ARI), MOP Projects has been running for nearly a decade. In that time MOP's volunteer committee have fostered a space that not only launches artists' careers but also provides a forum that supports artists whose conceptual, experimental and alternative practices sit outside of traditional gallery contexts. Their contribution to contemporary Australian art and culture is priceless and I wish them continuing success for the future.

I also thank Matthew Allen, Marisa Purcell and Maria Gorton, whose exhibition 'Painting as Presence' in Gallery 1, certainly lived up to its name. Their works demonstrate that painting is more than a pictorial image or a material embodiment of process, and transcend these historical approaches by drawing attention to what we often overlook as viewers - that our perception is not just visual but tangibly felt.

Last, I would like to thank all the people who were able to come and see my work, I enjoyed speaking with everyone I met. For those of you who were unable to make it, here are some images of the show, or check out Fleur MacDonald's video tour of the exhibition opening night (Thanks Fleur!). Stay tuned for images of all of my Adventure Samplers (so far).

It was fun and you are awesome guys! xx

THE HORIZON IS A FICTION

For those of you in Sydney, check out my latest solo exhibition, 'The Horizon is a Fiction' which showcases a site specific installation of my ongoing project - Adventure Samplers. These works investigate the potential of the photographic collection as a site of counter memory, and continues my interest in archival failure, aspects of nostalgia and the aesthetics of superfluity.

The exhibition will be on until the 21st October 2012 at MOP Projects, 2/39 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale. Gallery hours are 1 - 6pm Thurs - Sun.

 www.mop.org.au