Braided : SW Tafe Diploma of Visual Arts

  1. Heather Barker and Jane Bear (collaboration)

Title: For the love of a lake

Statement: Life began in water. It is our responsibility to care for our waterways and wetlands so that they continue to harbour and nurture the myriad visible and invisible life forms that exist there. This work is recognition of, and a tribute to, our beautiful lakes and the water that is essential for life.

2. Heather Barker

Title: Pandora's Box

Statement: Malcolm Fraser famously said that "life wasn't meant to be easy". This was not a new realisation. The Greek myth of Pandora's Box attempts to explain why there are things like disease, hate and war in the world. When Pandora opened the box and out came disease, poverty, misery, sadness and death. Only hope was left in the box.

3. Chrissy LoRicco

Title: Linton Wings

Statement:There is a tenuous relationship between life and death. During the evening of 2 December 1998 two CFA tankers became trapped by fire. One successfully took survival action. The other was lost, engulfed and destroyed. Five volunteer firefighters died in their fire truck in the Linton bushfire in Victoria 22 years ago, lives were changed forever. The story of these brave angels is weaved into the wings, honoring my brother, one of five Geelong West firefighters who died after becoming entrapped by a wildfire after a change in wind direction on 2 December 1998.

4. Jan Virgo

Title: And the Bat said

Statement: Symbolising and highlighting the role of bats (“the flying-fox; a keystone species, a long distance, nocturnal; high canopy pollinator and seed disperser) their significance within our ecosystem; the relationship between the “koala & bat”

And the bat said….. “NO ME… NO TREE”

And the koala said…. “NO TREE… NO ME”

5. Jan Virgo

Title: The Ironbark Tree

Statement: An interpretation of the connection of a eucalyptus “Ironbark Tree” and its importance in our ecosystem. Because it flowers in winter when not many others do; symbolising and highlighting the significance between “bats & trees”; their vitally important roles; the tree providing food and blossom and the bat providing pollination; co-existing & creating a flow-on affect providing food & habitat “a place day and night” for many other animal species that rely on trees for their survival, now and into the future.. The “ironbark tree” and the “flying-foxes” are both classified as “keystone species”.

6. Chrissy LoRicco

Title: Rock Stars David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse.

Statement: Music gives me life, my soundtrack is wildly varied. Learning to sew and listening to their music, inspired me to create intuitively and channel my mood into bringing to life a series of Machine Embroidered portraits that documents and celebrates the most famous, flamboyant and larger than life greats of our music history. To this day their iconic status captures their image, style and stage presence, forever unique and instantly recognisable. Their music plays on long into decades and generations to come. Chrissy's first experience using a sewing machine was in September 2019.

7. Jenny Grenfell

Title: Woman

I interrogate the female form and ideas relating to the human condition. Exploring the image surface, I move from exterior to interior forms: the skin and body organs. What interests me is the manner in which the embroidered forms introduce another layer of information, establishing new relationships with the drawn image.

8. Heather Barker

Title: Water Triptych -Water 1, Water 2, Water 3

Statement: 'To see a World in a Grain of Sand' ... or, in this case, three drops of water. Based on microscope slides of water, these drawings are a whimsical look at life in a drop of pond water, river water and sea water. They celebrate my belief that fact is stranger than fiction.

9. Angela Baldwin

Title: The Rocks Between

Statement: Small works on paper are a contemporary representation of the volcanic lava activity and the composition and disposition of the basalt rocks that shaped the landscape of the Western District. Like the origin of cells, the origin of the rocks and life on Earth millions of years ago is unfathomable to imagine and one of life’s enigmas.

10. Janet McGaw

Title: Unstable forces and regulating lines

Artist statement: This piece explores three registers of time that intersect in Victoria’s western plains: the momentary fluctuations of the weather; the regulating lines of two and a half centuries of colonisation of the land; and the deep time of geological forces that have shaped the earth for millennia

11. Angela Baldwin

Title: Cells Celebration

Statement: A microscopic abstract interpretation of a living plant cell - some alive and some in the process of decay. Cells are the story of the birth of life on Earth and are surrounded by complexity and mystery. ‘Cell Celebration’ has been created to remind us of the special magical properties and infinite pleasures cells bring to our lives.

12. Janet McGaw

This series of assemblages explores the intersecting temporalities of human-mineral relations

13. Jenny Grenfell

References our propensity to collect objects that celebrate lived experience and events that have personal meaning. Memories, collected objects and family memorabilia: children’s toys, beads, fragments of porcelain dolls, wallpaper, fabrics and braids construct an assemblage that integrates both 3D and 2D forms. Remove the lid to reveal a memory scroll.

14. Jenny Grenfell

References the concept of body organs and the topology of landscape as the source of Life. I explore ideas of the body as an outer shell, concealing organs linked by arteries and muscular structures. In mother earth, mounds, valleys, caves, rivers and lakes prevail. Body as Landscape explores and integrates these ideas in 3D form

South West Tafe Diploma of Visual Arts Exhibition (Colac Textile Students) 6 November-22 November. 224 Timor St, Warrnambool VIC 3280, Australia.

Views from the West: Kathryn Ryan & Harley Manifold

Views from the West: Kathryn Ryan & Harley Manifold

August 18- September 13

Contact The F Project for private viewings during these dates.

Western Victoria, the traditional lands of the Maar Nation, and the birthplace of colonial Victoria. It’s a complex land, comprised of deep geological and historical layers. To call it home is to acknowledge that you are shaped by these layers and that you are, in some ways, defined by their potential.

For artists growing up in the Western District, it establishes a particular vision, grants them an eye well suited to expansive landscapes. As Kathryn Ryan notes, ‘My  way of seeing, viewpoint, what captures my eye and inspiration has been moulded by this landscape, the space we inhabit, the vast skies and attention to the layout of the land. The quality of light, ever changing with the shifting clouds and weather patterns emitting a glow of light from dark moody skies, reiterates that I am in my home landscape’. Kathryn’s eye searches for honesty in its portrayal of the landscape – misty and vast, crisp and cold, lit softly by a sun that hugs the horizon.

Views From the West finds two Western District artists exploring the relationship that they have with their home, and the relationship that their home has with the City. Harley Manifold recounts ‘the first time traveling to the city, the view of the Melbourne skyline, pointed out by Mum and Dad in the front, framed by them and their seats. A distant great towering set of grey teeth – awe inducing, terrifying, captivating. From that first sighting it was only natural that I had to keep going back, yet the experience was always overwhelming and overstimulating’. For someone from the West, there is a tension within the city that is evident right from the first visit. For Harley, that became an important aspect of his work.

The two artists have created a very special show here. The monolithic forms of Kathryn’s farm trees mirror the towering concrete pillars of Harley’s urban landscapes to great effect. Where we often think of cities as being distinctly separate to the country, this exhibition encourages us to look again.

Exhibition by Artists - Kathryn Ryan & Harley Manifold. 224 Timor St, Warrnambool VIC 3280, Australia.

Jane Downing : Connected

Connected by Jane Downing

July & August 2020

At a time when many of us are feeling new degrees of isolation, Jane Downing is interested in the ways in which we remain connected to each other. Through family, friendships, interactions, or just being on this planet together, Jane is interested in exploring new forms of connection.

Technology can sometimes create barriers between traditional forms of human engagement, yet also provides new forms of interaction. Jane feels that all living things are connected one way or another, “dependent, reliant and loved”.

Jane’s optimistic paintings showcase her love of colour and express her exploration into the essence of connection through art. Jane states that by “painting from within, I harness my emotions and life experiences”.

Her aim is to provoke thought, gratitude, nurture and caring for each other through her paintings in this exhibition.

janedowningart.com   Instagram    Facebook

New paintings by artist Jane Downing. 224 Timor St, Warrnambool VIC 3280, Australia.

Iso Prints by Bob Emeny

by Bob Emeny

June & July 2020

Iso Prints is a collection of print works undertaken by the artist in his Terang shed studio during the Covid-19 pandemic isolation period.

Bob Emeny’s first solo exhibition was at The F Project Gallery just over two years ago in January 2018. The exhibition ‘Head Lines’ comprised mainly of prints of heads, large woodcuts, carved into scrap wood, smaller  etchings and some figurative sculptures.

Two years on and in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, Bob has been working in isolation in his shed continuing exploring his fascination with the medium of printmaking and the human figure with a focus on faces.

Explore Artist Bob Emeny's exhibition at the 'F project Art Gallery'. 224 Timor St, Warrnambool VIC 3280, Australia.

Iuventus

by Connor Ovenden-Shaw

April 29 to May 24 , 2020

Iuventus is the second solo exhibition by local queer artist Connor Ovenden-Shaw. 

Carrying on from Connor’s solo exhibition Lineage at Warrnambool Art Gallery in 2017, which explored how femininity had interweaved and shaped his upbringing through the use of strong female figures he had surrounding him, Iuventus is a further exploration of his youth through similar themes ,femininity ,sexuality, loss , and family breakdown. Iuventus is less subtle and more light-hearted in its approach of hard hitting moments in Connor’s life in a bid for the viewer to connect his  past experiences with that of their own upbringing or family trials. These mixed media works touch on youth, sexuality, gender and growing up in rural Australia through the use of family photographs.

F project exhibition by artist - Connor Ovenden-Shaw. 224 Timor Street, Warrnambool, Victoria, 3280, Australia.

Virtual Gallery Tour of 'Milieu' by Julie Keating and Ali McIntosh

You can now tour the F Project gallery and walk right up to artworks. If you hover over the pins, you can see details about each artwork and see an interview with F Project curator, Gareth. If you’d like to enquire about artworks, please get in touch with us via email.

An exhibition of paintings by Alison McIntosh and Julie Keating. 224 Timor Street, Warrnambool, VIC, 3280, Australia.

Milieu by Julie Keating and Alison McIntosh

Milieu Is a joint exhibition by regional artists, Julie Keating and Alison McIntosh. While their work is quite different and they work in isolation, they share an interest in their rural environment.

Julie’s work is a direct response to the catastrophic fires that have swept through so much of the country. Living in the Otways she did not have to travel far to witness first hand the bleak and  blackened landscape, the strange silence of what was once lush forest. But Julie’s work inspires optimism, appearing in this monochromatic world, life appears, in all its beauty of colour and detail.

Alison’s work is based on stories told, and observations of people and animals.” Milieu” provides an opportunity to explore the relationships between animals, people and their environment. Living in the country this connection is evident in so many situations. At times there is a co-dependency with animals and at other times we are simply the observer.  Through her colourful play of rich oils and glazes, shapes and textures, Alison attempts to give voice to a language which is wordless.

Collage, Photography & the Body

by Steve Tierney & Tanja Bruckner

February 6 to March 1, 2020

Steve Tierney is a mixed media artist and designer known for his striking, minimalist collages assembled using images cut from vintage magazines of the 40's and 50's. Tanja Bruckner has made a name creating avant-garde and theatrical photography for the commercial fashion industry, and regularly exhibiting her own portrait & landscape photography.  

Growing up as teenage friends in Sydney, the two lost contact for many years. During this time they each found themselves exploring themes of representation, gender and popular culture. They connected again recently when Tierney approached Bruckner with the desire to create his own source material by working directly with a photographer, and the two developed their ideas into their current practice of using large scale imagery and non-traditional materials.

Collage, Photography & the Body is part introduction, retrospective, and teaser. The artists will present works spanning ten years of practise, hinting at what audiences can expect from their next major piece - Reflection, a large scale art installation presented by the Port Fairy Winter Weekends Festival in 2020.