SUN IS SHINING

Storm Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

 

Queensland has been under seige over the last week.  Cyclone Oswald turned into a massive, prolonged and destructive weather system that has caused vast ares of flooding and continued flooding. Some communities are experiencing their second or third flood event in 2-2.5 years. After days of grey clouds, rain dumps and wild winds the sun is shining here in Brisbane today. The Brisbane River is flooding, but nowhere as badly as early 2011.

 

The destruction of property and loss of life are dreadful. For those who have been pounded for the second or third time, their spirits are understandable very low. Recovery, of all kinds, takes a long time and a heavy toll.

 

The dreadful flooding is ocurring at the same time as wild bush fires continue to play havoc in southern states. Australia is certainly a land of extremes.

 

 

COSMOLOGY UPDATE

 

Doors open tomorrow Wednesday 30 January 11 am

 

For all the details please check out my COSMOLOGY webpage by clicking HERE

 

Also if you have not read my short story:

 

A Not So Impossible Dream:

A short story about Earth and the Universe

Please click HERE

 

AND

 

To read the terrific article

 

Cosmology – Art as a Conduit between Science and Humanity

 

in

The Culture Concept Circle online publication

Please click HERE

 

 

I am working on a new painting. Here's a detail of the work in progress. I have ideas floating through my head...and a title will bubble up I am sure. But, until then it is not titled.

 

Detail: Untitled painting oil on linen work in progress Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

A NOT SO IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: A Short Story About Earth and The Universe.

On The Edge Gouache on paper 43.5 x 53.5 2001

On the edge of the Universe, watching and listening, a magnificent and graceful being ponders her production. The close and far distances of endless horizons wink and twinkle, erupt and explode before her. The cosmic energy reflects in her eyes of light. This entity, which will be called Mother Nature, feels each stroke and blast, stirring her endless life systems, compelling her continual potency. She watches as the Universe seemingly feeds itself in an endless cycle of cannibalistic consumption and growth. Not an orgy, but a gleeful desire to know itself in a ritual of constant self renewal.

The Quiet Fierceness Of Light Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2012

Ouroborus Oil on linen 122 x 153 cm 2012

Out of the corner of her eye Mother Nature spies a small planet in the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy of billions of stars and planets, situated within the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. She's kept her eye on this particular planet for some time. Earth. It troubles her. The human beings which inhabit Earth have evolved over eons, but they are in trouble, which both upsets and angers Mother Nature. She had thought her modelling of cyclical consumption and renewal was clear and apparent for all to see. But, many Earthlings consume gluttonously without much thought of renewal. They are stuck, but even worse many do not look beyond immediate horizons to see, and be reflected in, the light of Mother Nature's wisdom. They have lost sight of their place within the cosmic tree-of-life matrix. They have lost connection.

Galaxial Landscape Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2010

This loss of perspective worries Mother Nature. She is concerned and feels compassion for those who do not see the light. She fans her furnace ensuring that the light shines brightly, willing Earthlings to attempt to look beyond, as their Ancients did. With constant use of so many gadgets and gizmos, and fashion's incessant seduction, Mother Nature has noticed that increasing numbers of Earthlings have reduced their line of sight to immediate and shallow distances of space and time. They cannot see the light.

Yet there is hope, there are some whose dexterous vision and imaginative powers enables them to quickly change their line of sight from close to far distances. There is even a small number whose sight, both literal and metaphoric, can see multi-perspectives simultaneously. Mother Nature knows this is a particularly handy tool to have in a Universe of so many dimensions. She knows because she is the essence of Universal perspective. She has watched as Earthling scientists have explored the close and far distances of the Universe. She has felt them too. They probe, explore, postulate, theorise, equate, argue, debate and vision. Mother Nature marvels at the scope of their wonder and application. She is proud.

Galactic Horizons and Beyond Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012

She has also watched as science's companion, the arts, attempt to reconnect with the kind of awe and wonder demonstrated by science's marvelous dance with discovery. Somewhere and somehow, as slippery fashion and transient fads easily seduced those with diminished sight, this connection became weak and vulnerable. Mother Nature's wisdom and light, which she'd infused into age-old symbols for humanity's eternal inspiration and sustenance, were obscured. The tools and energy for symbolic articulation between the arts and sciences were seemingly lost. But, the 21st century has brought a glimmer of hope. Mother Nature has happily noticed that there is a strong and powerful calling... a song... a yearning to see the light and reconnect.

Mother Nature's not so impossible dream is that humanity, dancing with wonder and imagination in a shared rhythm across its planet and history, understands its place within the Universal close and far distances of time and space...and more. She knows that this understanding will provide humanity with an important perspective... that planet Earth is its only home, for the foreseeable, and most likely unforeseeable future. Looking after its home is humanity's sacred quest. Understanding its Universal environment is humanity's challenge. The arts and sciences are humanity's lungs. With each inhale and exhale they gift humanity knowledge, understanding, the light of wisdom and a way to vision.

On the edge of the Universe Mother Nature ponders her cosmic production. She wonders how all her other Universes are going. But, that's another story.

Eternity's Breath Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012.

Multiverse Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2010

...................................................................................................................................................................

COSMOLOGY

The doors to my next solo exhibition open Wednesday 30 January at 11 am.

Exhibition Dates: 30 January - 16 February.

PURGATORY ARTSPACE

170 Abbottsford St, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

PH: 61 3 9329 1860

E: purgatoryartspace@gmail.com  

*Private Viewing/Meet The Artist Saturday 9 February 2-4pm

 Please check out my COSMOLOGY page HERE
 

Check out this article
Cosmology- Art as a Conduit Between Science and Humanity

 The paintings above,

Ouroboros, Galactic Horizons and Beyond and Eternity's Breath

will be in COSMOLOGY

Cheers,

Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox

STORMY WEATHER: WHERE?

 Stormy Weather: Where? Oil on linen 120 x 150 cm 2013

Recently I have been painting lightning, storms, rain...the weather. But, is it Earth's weather or is it from somewhere else? My answer; up to you! Is it literal or metaphoric weather...or both? My answer is both. 'Storms' brew within us, deep inside our emotions, our psyches. Sometimes they are small skirmishes, sometimes they are wild and apocalyptic. Storms, whether literal or not, urge...beg...for change to happen.

Here in Brisbane, late last year, we experienced some wild storms, showcasing nature's elements of wind, rain, lightning, dark clouds, hail and more. I painted a couple of paintings inspired by these stormy experiences which also triggered memories of storms across the flat black soil plain of my childhood home. Please check out STORM and NIGHT TIME ELECTRIC STORM

In more recent weeks Australia has been burning. Bush fires dot the country, threatening homes, businesses, livestock, natural flora and fauna and more. There are many reports of ferocious flames licking skies and fire fronts bellowed by hot winds. Many farmers lament the difficulties in gaining licenses to back burn abundant, but dried off, fuel across bush and grass lands. Back burning during cooler months, particularly after good wet seasons which produce glorious growth, is something farmers have historically undertaken with care. The Aborigines also back/controlled burned for eons. Check out this article and this article  as introductions to the burn off debate.

The drastic and sad thing is....a number of the recent fires have been ignited by lighting strikes. During wild and windy, but rain-less storms, lightning can easily ignite dried off vegetation and bush detritus. The ensuing change is dramatic and fierce.

STORMY WEATHER: WHERE?
I put the WHERE? in the title to provoke questions. Some may ask, 'Is the storm in Queensland?' or 'Is it a storm out west? Others may ask, 'Kathryn, what planet are you on with this one?' Yet, how many would ask questions about the psyche? What emotional 'storms' affect you as an individual? What 'storms' affect humanity as a whole? Paradigm shifting...maybe?!

I suggest that all these questions [and more] and their many answers, mediate assumed notions of what 'landscape' really is. Please check out my previous post WHEN IT RAINED ON MARS?  and UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE: REVOLUTIONARY?

In a recent conversation my brother Wilfred Brimblecombe  also suggested to me that the human body, from cells to organs, is a mass of ongoing 'storms'...impulses, surges, energy bursts, thumping and pumping...even while we sleep. Indeed, the 'cosmos' within propels us in life, in a dance with the cosmos beyond. Please check out previous post BODY AS SITE

In STORMY WEATHER: WHERE? a flash of lighting lights up a dark and turbulent night sky. The lightning strikes the ground emitting a red potency through the 'landscape'. In the distance, on the right, a strip of rain falls. This rain is red, like blood...like fire...life giving and renewing. On the left a small red tree rises from the potent vein. Regular readers will identify the tree as my much loved age-old trans-cultural/religious tree-of-life. For me this symbol 'speaks' of all life throughout all history...and that includes pre and post human history...beyond humanity's collective egocentric reach.

In the aftermath of fire, rain falls, small seedlings emerge...life.

COSMOLOGY

@ Purgatory Artspace

Exhibition 30 January - 16 February

I have created a COSMOLOGY page: It has all the details and more images 

Please check it out HERE 

My paintings for COSMOLOGY left this morning. They are on their way to Melbourne. 

Packed paintings for COSMOLOGY ready to go to Melbourne

SUMMER IN BRISBANE 

For readers who have never been to Brisbane I found this BLOG which features a post 'Sub Tropical Summer' of photographs showcasing our glorious colour, vegetation, skies and more.  

TASMANIAN HOLIDAY ANYONE?

Friends of mine own and run Bicheno By The Bay holiday resort. Bicheno was very close to the devastating fires that blazed through Tasmania last week. Thankfully the small seaside town avoided the firestorm. If you want a lovely, low key, natural, relaxed holiday think of Bicheno By The Bay. I plan to get down there sometime this summer or next. One of my children has been there twice and loves it. Below is a photo of the resort taken from the air. Looks great don't you think!!!!

Cheers,

Kathryn

COSMOLOGY AT PURGATORY ARTSPACE

Eternity's Breath Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

Today is the 8th January 2013 and in 3 weeks time my exhibition COSMOLOGY will open to the public! 

So, on Wednesday 30th January 11am at Purgatory Artspace, North Melbourne Eternity's Breath [above] and about another 5-7 more paintings will be hung for you to see. 

On Saturday 9th February 2-4 pm there will be Meet-The-Artist/Private Viewing event.

And, Saturday 16th February is the last day of the exhibition.

Purgatory Artspace, 170 Abbottsford St, North Melbourne  

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am - 5pm

See more paintings HERE

COSMOLOGY STATEMENT

Using age-old transcultural/religious symbols, predominantly the tree-of-life, I explore the close and far distances of the Universe. I visually interpret the tree with 21st century eyes, untethering it from historical interpretations to tease out the messages it holds for us today. After all, age-old symbols have 'spoken' to many past generations. Why, should they not 'speak' to us? Are we indeed listening?

The tree-of-life evokes concepts of systems, all types of systems; vascular, water, cross sections of internal organs, invisible energies driving universal forces and more. Two paintings in Cosmology [Ouroboros and Cosmic Ouroboros] see the tree-of-life coupled with another transcultural/religious symbol, the ouroboros [snake eating its own tail]. The ouroboros has been used by modern cosmologists to visually describe the relationship between the cosmic and quantum worlds. In my paintings I have painted the snake's body with the tree-of-life. The snake eating its own tail also forms a circle, symbolic of the continuance of life, but also suggesting entities such as portals…literal and metaphoric.

The tree-of-life has taken me on a journey where new perspectives have appeared. My investigations of perspective, both literal and metaphoric, have suggested to me that developing skills in 'seeing' multi-perspectives, even simultaneously, will assist humanity in its ageless quest for physical, emotional and spiritual survival. As modern scientific research delves deeper into the vast and the quantum worlds of our universe, how does humanity envision its place within the cosmic matrix? I suggest that new perspectives, seen and taken bravely and confidently, will assist in a compassionate response...after-all it is still apparent that Earth is our only home.

I am inspired by husband and wife team Prof. Joel Primack and Nancy Abrams. Prof Primack is a Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Nancy Abrams is a lawyer, and has a BA in History and the Philosophy of Science. They are passionate about the importance of visioning our place within the environment, not only our local and global ones, but also those beyond. They advocate for art's capacity to provide conduits between science and humanity's identity. Here is a quote from a 2001 paper Cosmology and the 21st Century witten by Primack and Abrams.

All possibilities are still open because the meaning of this new cosmology is not implicit in the science. Scientific cosmology, unlike traditional cosmologies, makes no attempt to link the story of the cosmos to how human beings should behave. It is the job of scholars, artists, and other creative people to try to understand the scientific picture and to perceive and express human meanings in it.^‡ A living cosmology for 21st-century culture will emerge when the scientific nature of the universe becomes enlightening for human beings.

Check out Prof. Primack and Nancy Abrams site The View From The Center of The Universe

Cheers,

Kathryn

1977: HER MAJESTY, QUEEN ELIZABETH 11, SILVER JUBILEE

                                                    

                                      

SILVER JUBILEE ART AWARD: Me receiving my award from Queen Elizabeth 11 in 1977 at Queensland Government House. The Silber Jubilee Art Award was for school-aged children in Queensland. There were about 4-5 sections, and I won the senior section.

The man with his back to the photographer is the then Director General for Education [don't know his name]. My painting Family Conversation is top left. 

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 1976-77
During the Christmas school holidays of 1976-77 I decided to enter an art competition which was being held to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. I was home from boarding school and painted a couple of paintings inspired by the theme of the competition, the family. This theme had been chosen by the Queen herself.

I painted a few images of my family; Mum, Dad, and my two younger brothers. With my Mum's help I chose the painting below as the one to enter the competition. My Mum did not wear glasses a lot back then, but she was studying a Masters Degree [research thesis] remotely from the University of Queensland, and the glasses must have made an impact on me. I posted [snail mail kind back then] the painting and it won the Senior Section prize! This was long before digital image art prize pre-selection processes!

By the time the award was announced I had returned to boarding school for my senior year. I remember I was sitting in a class when I received a request from the principal's office to immediately see her. A sudden thought pounced into my mind...I had won the art competition! And no..... I did not think I was in trouble...as my school friends, even over 30 years later say...I was a bit of a boring studious goodie goodie. 

So, I went to the office and people were smiling broadly. I was told my Dad wanted to speak to me on the phone. Oh! I picked up the phone and he told me that my painting Family Conversation [below] had won, and that the award would be presented by the Queen at a reception at Queensland Government House. Mum and Dad were allowed to attend too. We would be given various protocols prior to the event. I was very excited! Whether a you are a monarchist or not, at age 16 the prospect of meeting the Queen was pretty damn exciting.

 Family Conversation Acrylic on Paper 37 x 53 cm  1976-77

Family Conversation Acrylic on paper 37 x 53 cm

So, as you know from reading above, the painting is my family, inspired by the theme of the family, which was chosen by the Queen. I am in profile against my Dad's face, then there is Mum, with glasses. My youngest brother, Douglas, is on the far right beside Mum, and my other brother, Wilfred, is on the left behind me. I used a palette knife and brush to create Family Conversation. It was painted at the kitchen table.

OFF TO BRISBANE AND GOVERNMENT HOUSE
Some short time later learning I had won the art prize , my parents and my two younger brothers picked me up from school in Toowoomba and we drove to Brisbane, where we stayed is a swish hotel...well it was back then. My brothers were to stay in the hotel room while my parents and I attended the function at Government House. A bit boring for them... but no! They found a wad of money hidden behind the curtain rod. Very exciting for two teenage boys [goodness knows what they had been doing when they found the money]. We reported it to the hotel management, who made attempts to find the owner. Luckily for my brothers, they did not trace the owner, and the money was given to them. It must not have been a large enough amount of money to warrant further investigation...and who knows how long it had been there?

RECEPTION
The reception at Government House was reasonably informal. Although we had received various edicts about what to wear ie: hat, gloves etc, at the last minute we were told we did not have to wear either. I defiantly did not wear my school uniform, which my school's headmistress had wanted me to wear. I decided that because I had been on school holidays when I painted the painting, plus I had found the entry forms etc on my own, I would wear my own dress. I was also pretty disappointed with the art education I was receiving at my school and felt the school did not deserve any accolades! I had gone to boarding school for the last two years of my secondary schooling after previously attending the local state high school in Dalby where the art education was fantastic. I did love boarding school though, and the other subjects were taught well [Biology particularly well with a wonderful teacher].

At Government House we were ushered into a smallish reception room. The 4-5 age group winning paintings, plus runners' up, were displayed on screens. Each of the winners had to stand with their painting. The disconcerting thing was that a huge number of journalists and photographers were also in the room, grouped in front of us. They nudged and jostled each other, and flash lights flashed. When the Queen entered the room the flash lights went into overdrive, like a strobe! She spoke for a few minutes to each of the winners, presenting us with our awards. I shook her hand, which felt like a fleeting butterfly. I had been told she does this to protect her hand from being constantly squeezed or squashed. You can imagine the kind of repetitive strain that shaking hundreds to thousands of hands might cause! 

PARENTS: The winners' parents were not supposed to meet Queen Elizabeth, but because so many journalists and photographers packed into the room, as the Queen turned from the last winner, the line of parents was very close to her. All the parents met her. My parents are the two on the far end of the line, near the doorway. 

THE ART OF SHAKING HANDS AND THE CORONATION
Shaking hands is an art! I imagine if one was a Queen, or some other major dignitary, that you would have to think about protecting your fingers and hand from constant squeezing. But, there is another problem for those of us who shake hands off and on, and that is, having your fingers squashed, so much so that you feel a lot of pain. 

I was taught how to shake hands without having my fingers squashed by my Mum. She'd been shown a trick by my paternal grandfather, Wilfred J Brimblecombe CBE, who apart from being  a successful farmer, had also been a federal member of the Australian  Parliament...and had to shake the odd hand or two. He was the member 1951-1966 representing Maranoa, the largest electorate in Queensland straddling approx 731,297 sq km. He and my grandmother had also attended the Queen's coronation in June 1953, as one of Australia's official representatives. As a child I remember my grandmother telling me what it was like in Westminster Abbey. They had to arrive very early, but they also had a view of the entire coronation ceremony. My grandmother also had to get ball gowns made for the trip. As a young child I loved seeing these gowns. I remember she showed me a dark blue silk fitted one. All hazy memories now.

BACK TO GOVERNMENT HOUSE
As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, I wore my own dress - a bright red one. I also wore high heeled sandals that made me even taller than my normal 180cm. The Queen is quite short and I felt gargantuan beside her, but I seem quite happy in this photo! We spoke for a few minutes about my painting and my inspiration before she moved on to the very excited young boy next to me. The whole experience was great and certainly very memorable.

Cheers,

Kathryn

GRABBING MY ATTENTION

I spent Christmas with my parents and family, and have not done any artwork of my own since I finished Storm. But, that's ok because I invite you to take a trip through my BLOG to see recent work [and older work] or you can visit my website

Also here's the invitation to my solo exhibition in Melbourne Jan/Feb 2013

 

COSMOLOGY

 

Please click HERE to see some of the paintings

 

The painting on the invitation is Ad Infinitum Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm

QAGOMA VISIT

Just before Christmas I spent nearly a day at QAGOMA ie: Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. For overseas readers, Queensland's State Institutional Art Gallery has two buildings both overlooking the Brisbane River, but separated by a boulevard-like area. The Queensland State Library sits in the middle of the two gallery buildings. Here's a site plan for you.

APT7

Currently, QAGOMA is exhibiting the APT7 ie: Asia Pacific Triennial. Every three years since 1993 the gallery mounts this 'flagship contemporary art event' which reveals and exhibits art from the Asia/Pacific region. It is a unique triennial and has placed QAGOMA on a very sure international cultural footing.

This mammoth exhibition has some fascinating art and in this BLOG post I thought I'd write about some of the exhibits that really grabbed my attention in various ways and for various reasons. If you live in or near Brisbane definitely go along to see APT7. If you are going to be visiting Brisbane between now and 14 April 2013 put the APT7 on your list of things to do.

Takahiro Iwasaki
When I walked around a corner in GOMA and saw Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki's Reflection Model [Perfect Bliss] [2010-12] I felt my heart miss a beat. It really is beautiful and monumental, even though not oversized. This work is a model of the Houdo [Phoenix Pavilion] built in 1053 near Kyoto in Japan. But, there is a twist. The viewer sees a building as if reflecting itself like a conjoined twin. The pale wooden [cyprus] meticulously built structure hangs from the gallery ceiling, like some kind of hovering spaceship emitting history. It's monumentality lies in its sense of presence. It seems to take hold of time.

An-My Le
The Events Ashore [2005-2008] series of photographs by Vietnamese born An-My Le are quietly arresting. That probably sounds contradictory. I will explain. I initially walked past the set of photographs just glancing at them, but something pulled me back. I was compelled to look more closely. The images of American soldiers, sometimes with other people, were not taken at moments of catastrophic terror or in a bloody aftermath. Instead Le captures incidental moments, replete with emotions that quietly draw the viewer into the ongoing saga of military involvement and activity. This saga, as Le visually suggests, includes non-combative moments and activities. Each image provokes questions. In attempting to answer these questions it becomes apparent that there may be no answers or a need for them, because the very act of questioning embraces the rawness of humanity and reminds us that we are all connected.

Sheila Makhijani
I loved Indian artist Sheila Makhijani's paintings. Two of them are Touch Down 2012 and More Or Less Like This 2012, both oil on canvas.  Up close and from a distance Makhijani's paintings sang a vision to me. This may sound strange because the paintings are abstract with no representational elements. The vision was something that I sensed, as if all my faculties were stirred. That's probably why I felt compelled to write 'sang a vision to me' as if I 'heard' and saw the vision simultaneously, without sensory division. In fact, her paintings have that quality, which I strive for...to be both vast and intimate at the same time...a sense of simultaneousness. Makhijani's use of paint is luscious, confident and sensual.

Parastou Forouhar
Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar's installation Written Room [1999 ongoing] was another work that  transported me. Farouhar has written Farsi calligraphy in black paint, on floor and walls, in a large white space in GOMA. Upon entering the room I felt immediately destablised, but whilst it was noticeable it did not trouble me, because I also felt beauty and its accompanying pathos. I wished I knew what the words meant, but I learnt that the script is made up of partial phrases and broken words, so presumably even if you could read Farsi, literal meaning would still slip away; the trap of prosaic didacticism beautifully ignored and avoided. I almost had to hold my arms tightly around me because I felt like dancing, twirling and whirling in this space of words I did not know, as if in the dizziness of dance visual and sentient elements would coalesce and I would understand. If I was a child maybe I would not have let propriety take hold!

*Please check out the Queensland Art Gallery's FLIKR stream of images taken of Paratou Forouhar creating her APT7 Written Room

Daniel Boyd
Another work I really enjoyed was young Aboriginal artist Daniel Boyd's multi channel video A Darker Shade Of Dark [2012]. Upon entering the darkened room I was enveloped by the cosmos! Regular readers will know how much I would have loved that and why! The multi screens swathed the room in fuidly moving light and dark glimpses of colourful pulsing stars and celestial bodies. Boyd has used dots to create this really amazing experience. And, it really is an experience rather than something the viewer observes. It is an experience because the viewer is no longer an observer, but a star too and very much part of the cosmic glow. I really felt embraced and included by Boyd's A Darker Shade Of Dark knowing that I, like all of you, am part of the Universal cosmic dust.

Edwin Roseno
Edwin Roseno's Green Hypermarket [2011-12] consisting of 150 round photographs varyiously sized, dominates a major wall in the Queensland Art Gallery. It demands attention, even without you knowing its message critiquing consumerism. It is visually stunning. So much so, that from a distance I thought the images of plants in cans were real objects placed like a sculptural montage installation.

Almagul Menlibayeva
In a section of the APT7 called 'Traversing West Asia' Kazakhstani born artist Almagul Menlibayeva's video Kurchatov 22 [2012] tells us about Cold War Russian atomic bomb testing in northern Kazakhstan. It is a disturbing video and a departure from the more raptuous, subtle and lyrical works I've already written about. It held my attention. I also learnt something and because the intent to tell the viewer about the atrociousness of the atomic bomb testing is honest and direct from the very beginning, I welcomed the lesson. The delivery, via a five channel projection, variously portrayed scenes of a desolate landscape or townscape, people recounting in documentary style their memories of bomb blasts, and performative images. Watching Kurchatov 22 at a time when war, violence and mindless massacres continue around the world left me feeling angry at humanity's continuing lack of compassion. Surely we can do better! I've included Kurchatov in my list of work I enjoyed, and grabbed my attention, because despite feeling angry this work has continued, even days later, to make me think. In Menlibayeva's own words the 'romantic punk shamanism' is working!

So, if you visit APT7 enjoy it! There are 75 artists and artist groups from 27 countries across the broad Asia/Pacific region, so there is plenty to see! I will definitely be returning for more visits.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

STORM

Storm Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

 

If you read my last post Back On Earth you will see from this new painting Storm that I have stayed on Earth...well maybe! Storm, is a bit more ambiguous than another recent painting Night Time Electric Storm

 

Whilst Storm is inspired by memories of my childhood, growing up on my parent's grain farm on the flat treeless Pirrinuan Plain, between Dalby and Jimbour on Queensland's fertile Darling Downs, it also evokes a sense of other-worldness. And, this other-worldness could be in the depths of pre-human history, when wild and tempestuous elements collided to form what would become our home, Earth. It could also be in some far distant post-human future when wild and tempestuous elements collide to see the annihilation of what has been our home, Earth. Yet, Storm could be a landscape of a compeletely different planet! With robotic probes on Mars and exploratory craft swinging their way around the galaxy, it's fun to imagine all kinds of landscape! That's why I advocate un-tethering notions of landscape from being Earth-bound.

 

UNIVERSAL ENVIRONMENT

We live in an era where research has vastly stretched our understanding of both the quantum and cosmic worlds. Surely we can stretch our imaginations to 'landscapes' which suggest we have an appreciation of an environment that is universal. In my last post Back on Earth I have noted a couple of links to previous posts about untethering landscape.  I suggest that untethering landscape from Earth, provides the opportunity for new perspectives. One of these is to look back at Earth literally and metaphorically. In doing this I suggest it becomes clearly apparent that all humanity must be mindful of sustainable practices because we only have one real home....Earth.

 

LANDSCAPE AS METAPHOR

As I was painting Storm I was also thinking about landscape as metaphor. I have previously written about landscape, and its elements, as metaphors for the human psyche eg: mountains are a metaphor for overcoming adversity. Here are a few previous posts for you!  Mountains , The Moon , To Grok Landscape , Horizons 

 

So, if landscape and its elements can be metaphors for the psyche, what human conditions or states can a 'storm' be a metaphor for? I am sure you have lots of thoughts about this one! Firstly, I'd suggest that as a collective [ie: all humanity] the concept of  'storm' is immediately understandable. As I write this, it is the end of 2012 and the world is still affected by the Global Financial Crisis, a massive 'storm' severely compromising individual, national and global economic wealth and sustainability. Violence and civil unrest continues in various places around the world, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka etc. Environmental sustainability is on a tightrope. National domestic violence, where dreadful acts are perpetrated against fellow countrymen have erupted in the USA seeing very young children massacred at school. Let's not go on...its too awful. Yet, each one of these forces humanity [the collective] to reflect. But, reflection is not enough...where's the affective action that forces change at mass, collective levels?

 

The concept of 'storm' is also understandable from an individual point of view. Our inner lives are a constant 'play' between calm and stormy waters. Funny how water is a symbol of the subconscious!

 

I suspect, as in nature, the ebb and flow of calm and stormy waters, is an intrinsic part of being human. I also suspect that there may well be a spiral or evolutionary path shaping how we deal with 'stormy weather'. Maybe if we feel things are particularly stormy we know we are being challenged with a pivotal moment where affective action can make massive differences. Are we game to meet the challenge?

 

STORM

This takes me to my new painting. Yes, as I sit or stand in front of my easel in my studio...hang on there...my garage....I think about all sorts of things. I love what I do and I love where my thoughts take me.

 

The lightning lights up the stormy night sky garnering universal energy and dispersing it through the land. I love the way the lightning appears like the roots of a tree or an upside down tree...I also love the red network of tree-like branches pulsing energy through the land. Regular readers will know of my obsession, yes I admit it, with the age-old transcultural/religious tree of life symbol. Here it is again: that sense of energy, the pulse of life offering hope, yet challenging us to find a branch, or even a twig, to help us pass through the storm.

 

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MY BROTHER'S BLOG

 

Please check out my brother, Wilfred Brimblecombe's, new BLOG Photography, Stories, Ephemera Future and Past. Lots of great photographs from his and my childhood farm environment and more. He is a camera enthusiast so writes about the tech stuff too. He works in the IT world which has included super computing, which I think is pretty impressive!

 

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ANYWHERE THEATRE FESTIVAL

 

My other brother Douglas Brimblecombe is Chairman of Board for the Anywhere Theatre Festival,

which is about performance any place but a theatre. Great innovative concept, taking off here in Brisbane. Performances in back yards, trains, virtual, unused lots and more. They are asking for submissions NOW.

 

Here's a quote from the Anywhere Theatre Festival staff and baord page:

 

Paul Osuch is the Founder and Volunteer Artistic Director of Anywhere Theatre Festival Ltd, a festival for performance anywhere but a theatre. In two years, the festival has grown to be a major community based fringe festival with more performances than the major Brisbane Festival run by volunteers.

 

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COSMOLOGY

My next solo exhibition

COSMOLOGY
AT PURGATORY ARTSPACE

Dates: Wednesday 30 January - Saturday 17 February
Opening Function: Saturday 9 February 2-4 pm: I will be there!
Address: 1st Floor 170 Abbotsford St, Nth Melbourne.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am - 5pm
PH: 03 9329 1860
Purgatory Artspace is the project space attached to Gallery Smith.

I've made a 'Cosmology Gallery' on my website with some of the paintings that may be in COSMOLOGY

 

Cheers,

Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

BACK ON EARTH

Childhood Memory Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2001-02

Why did I call this post Back On Earth? Well...because some of my more recent paintings have delved into the vast reaches of outer space, leaving the 'safe' shores of Earth's environment. Please check out recent post When It Rained On Mars and Cosmic Ouroborus. Indeed my forthcoming exhibition at Purgatory Artspace in North Melbourne is called Cosmology!

I have a great interest in untethering ideas of 'landscape' from Earth bound notions. Why? Because, as contemporary cosmological research reveals, our environment is not only bound by Earth's dimensions. Our 'environment' is one of accelerating universal antimonies ie: quantum intimacies and vast, almost unbelievable, horizons. For us to appreciate and gain perspective of our universal 'place' I suggest we need to visualise beyond the safety of Earth's immediate horizons. Launching oneself, imaginatively, to a place where perspective reveals new insights into sustaining life on Earth...after all, currently, it is our [all of us] only home. I have previously written about Untethering Landscape and Untethering Landscape [Revolutionary?]

In this post I am reflecting upon some of my past Earth-bound landscapes with an eye on a very new Earth-bound painting Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] which is below. In this new painting, which I wrote about in the BLOG post just prior to this one, I have returned to Earth! I feel I have returned on the electric conduits from 'Heaven'...yes...the lightening!

Childhood Memory Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm
The painting above Childhood Memory is over ten years older than Night Time Electric Storm, yet the flat horizon of my childhood home persists. Both paintings recall a landscape that provided a vastness of space for imagining and wondering. I had not realised, until I was searching through my images, how similar the two paintings are, even though they 'speak' about totally different conditions. Childhood Memory recalls a fine weather day, clear skies and heat. Night Time Electric Storm recalls how the quietness of space can be transformed into a virulent play of light and dark.

I am working on a new painting which also, and again, explores the virulence of stormy weather across a flat plain. Seems like I am staying on Earth for just a tad longer!

Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2012

I thought I'd upload some of my other Earth-bound landscapes.

Space and Time Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2001

 

Space and Time [above] a multi-horizoned landscape, marked by the energy held within the land and sky, heralds my interest in launching myself off the planet! Please note the strips of rain falling from two horizons. Regular readers will know that I paint strips of rain on distant horizons, sometimes even with small $ signs, to indicate and question how we 'value' natural resources. Regular readers will also know that recently I painted a Martian 'landscape' where strips of rain fall from a red sky. See When It Rained On Mars at the bottom of the post.

 

When I Painted The Wind oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2001

 

I really like When I Painted The Wind because again it is a memory of childhood, lying in the soft green clover, before the bindies appeared, watching the sky and feeling the wind or breeze brushing across my face, tickling and flirting with my unruly hair. What interests me now is the red energy connecting land and sky, seemingly travelling beyond the sky to the vastness of Space.

 

 

Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2005

 

I ask you to check out the photo just below and compare it with my work on paper At Close Distance [just above]. The photo was taken in 1981 by my brother Wilfred Brimblecombe It is a photo of a sunset across the Pirrinuan flat plain where we grew up. You can tell we have been both very influenced by our childhood home and the amazing space and vastness it revelled in!! I had not seen this photo until he uploaded it to a recent post on his BLOG called Pirrinuan Sunset. It is also interesting to compare it with my painting Childhood Memory.

 

Wilfred's new BLOG is well worth keeping an eye on!

 

 

Pirrinuan Sunset Wilfred Brimblecombe 1981

Watching Gouache on paper 30 x 42 [unframed] 2003

 

I remember when I painted Watching. I was thinking about how farmers watch the sky. They watch it, during drought, hoping for rain. The watch it even when it does rain, because too much rain can be a disaster. Even a little rain, especially at harvest time, can cause great anxiety. I've seen my Father, his fellow farmers, and those I knew when I lived in Goondiwindi gaze at the sky, reading its signs and signals with appreciation or fear depending on the circumstance.

 

It seems I was influenced by this gaze upwards towards the sky!  Yet, Watching suggests that perhaps I was already above the clouds, flying and looking down onto land ploughed and prepared for planting. Maybe? What I like is the possibility of multi perspectives.

 

And, that takes me...and you...to Mars!

When It Rained On Mars oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012

 

 

If you are interested in any of these paintings please contact me. Childhood Memory has sold.

 

COSMOLOGY

AT PURGATORY ARTSPACE

My next solo exhibition

Dates: Wednesday 30 January - Saturday 17 February

Opening Function: Saturday 9 February 2-4 pm: I will be there!

Address: 1st Floor 170 Abbotsford St, Nth Melbourne.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am - 5pm

PH: 03 9329 1860

Purgatory Artspace is the project space attached to Gallery Smith.

I've made a 'Cosmology Gallery' on my website with some of the paintings that may be in COSMOLOGY

 

 

FRESHLY BAKED GALLERY

Virtual gallery Freshly Baked Gallery currently has their Launch Collection 'showing' and I am one of the 35 artists from around the world in this exhibition. Please check it out HERE

 

                              

My painting Gate on the 'wall' at Freshly Baked Gallery Launch Collection exhibition

Click HERE to be taken directly to my 'wall'

 

 

CHRISTMAS IDEAS!!!

Small Oil on Linen Paintings Under $1,000 click HERE

Works on Paper Under $1000 click HERE

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

NIGHT TIME ELECTRIC STORM

Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

 

In recent weeks wild electric storms have sparked their way across Queensland. A couple of weeks ago, around mid-day, I was caught in a wild storm as I was driving along the very busy Coronation Drive, here in Brisbane. I, and many other drivers, had to stop, turn on our warning lights and sit out the storm. We had to stop because the rain was so heavy there was no visibility. The wind played havoc with nearby trees and anything laying loose on the ground. Thankfully only small hail stones fell from the sky crashing harmlessly into my car. Much larger ones apparently pummelled properties, gardens and cars in neighbouring suburbs. I was lucky.

 

Again a couple of weeks ago I was caught in another storm, but managed to shelter under a service station's roof. This time it was dusk. As the night sky enveloped, lightning spectacularly lit up the sky. From my safe haven, I marvelled at nature's electric 'personality'. 

 

For readers from overseas, summer-time storms are common in Queensland and Australia. Often they do not produce much rain, but they certainly provide a spectacle and unfortunately they also often cause major damage. If there is rain, it can fall very heavily, causing flash flooding in both city and country.

 

These recent spectacular storms have reminded me of the storms I witnessesed and experienced as a child on my parent's farm on the flat treeless Pirrinuan Plain, betweeen Dalby and Jimbour, on Queensland's fertile Darling Downs. My childhood environ was often referred to 'God's own country' because the rich deep black soil could grow anything.

 

The flatness of the landscape, with its endless horizons [regular readers will know I have written about these before] provided a broad canvas for nature's displays. These included relentless blue skies with wisps of white clouds floating playfully, greenish coloured clouds menacingly promising hail and causing my Father distress about potential crop damage, and night time magic whispering from the twinkling Milky Way.  

 

Another night time sky was a totally black one. Totally black because storm clouds swamped the glitter of stars and suffocated moon shine. However, storms accompanied by electic lightning, provided a 'show' unlike any other. Flashes of stark white light seemingly from Heaven struck the ground with a shocking immediacy that both terrified and astonished. Momentary silhouettes of familiar landmarks and shapes transformed the landscape into a beautiful but almost night marish setting.

 

As a child, I was never really scared during these wild storms, yet I knew people [and animals] who were/are. Dogs particularly hate wild electric storms of lightening and thunder! I've owned a number of dogs who vigourously welcome being allowed inside during a storm.

 

Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

My new painting Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] is inspired by my childhood memories and recent storm events here in Brisbane. It is also triggered by photographs my brother Wilfred Brimblecombe has uploaded onto his new BLOG  particularly those he uploaded on posts dated December 1 and 2 [Pirrinuan Tornado]. These photographs are of our childhood landscape and they stir sentient memories of the open space and endless horizons, that embraced those who lived there in an ongoing performance, which demanded 'audience' participation. Without barriers, such as hills and mountains, bushland and forests the open space enveloped us.

There was and is no escape. No hiding.

 

In Night Time Electric Storm [Across The Flat Plain] I have painted a wild electric storm that lights up a night sky, revealing a silhouette of existence on a distant horizon. The silos on the right, a sign of human productivity, yet seemingly insignificant aganst electrically charged nature. Anyone who has exerienced nature's 'whiplash' through storm, hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, volcano, earth quake is humbled. The weaving red line, which I was compelled to paint, suggests potency, fertility, fury, passion. It tells us that underlying energy forces exist. It also draws us into the scene inviting us to be part of nature's passion.

 

I like the way the lightning appears like upside down trees...regular readers will know why. The age-old trancultural/religious tree-of-life symbol is a major visual guide in my work. The lightning seems to re-energise life at the same time as tantalisingly revealing life's core secrets [momentarily].

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 



WHEN IT RAINED ON MARS?

  When It Rained On Mars? Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

My new painting When It Rained On Mars? is a fanciful one! However, it is based on a proposition that billions of years ago Mars may have had the kind of atmosphere and temperature range that allowed for rain. This proposition was also mentioned in a fascinating presentation Saturday Night 'Live' which I recently attended at the Thomas Brisbane Planetarium 

Scientists base the proposition on various elements including geographical formations and geochemical analysis of Martian soils. However, the question whether rain fell or not, is still in the realms of the 'what if?' Here's a small selection of some interesting articles which discuss questions about water, rain and Mars. I'll leave it to you to do more research. There's a lot out there.

The Case Of The Missing Mar's Water Nasa Science 

Asteroids Comets may Have Caused Mar's Rain NASA

Scientists: It ONce Rained On Mars [Wired Science]

'WHEN IT RAINED ON MARS?' Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

Now to my painting. Yes, it is a landscape! But, not an Earth bound one! The predominant redness is simply because Mars is called  the 'Red Planet' due to its reddish appearance in the night sky. The ancient Egyptians called it Har decher, which means 'Red One'. Even the name Mars [God of War] references the colour as one symbolic of strength, battles, blood, violence. But, apparently the colour is due to a thin dusty layer of iron oxide rust. Check out Why Mars is Called The Red Planet by John Carl Villanueva in Universe Today for  more information and further links.   

I've used my much loved age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life to create the multi layered land formation and to indicate the universal and celestial connections that 'speak' of all life across the vast distances of time and space.

Strips of colourful 'rain' fall from the vibrantly red sky. I've painted these strips in varying colours because who knows what rain on Mars looked like! Who knows what affects light reflecting off water droplets falling through rusty red dust might look like! Who knows? But, it is great to imagine!

I've painted the strips of rain like I have painted strips of rain in my more obviously Earth bound landscapes. Why? Well, I grew up on a flat treeless plain outside Dalby, on the fertile Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. I then spent 18 years living further west in a place called Goondiwindi. I've spent many hours driving west, into the vast Australian landscape, witnessing the fall of rain as strips on distant horizons. I now live in the city, but strips of rain on the horizon stir my memories! Memories of hope and fear. Below are a couple of my Earth bound landscapes depicting strips of rain.

GLOBAL ISSUES OF WATER

Given global issues regarding to water, fresh water, I believe the notion of water on Mars, or anywhere else for that matter, strikes our imaginations making us feel less alone. Earth and the human body are %70 water. Yes, we are mostly water! There must be some kind of attraction, pull, urge, lure, magnetism between us and water, even hypothetical water! Our imaginations, or is it our will to survive, draws us towards water..the sustenance of life. Water equates with hope, which is the suggestion in the painting Hope In The Distance below. Issues of water also engender fear...fear of not having enough, fear of contamination, fear of dying.

 Hope In The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2010 SOLD

$oils Ain't $oils Anymore! Oil on linen 70 x 100 cm 2010 

COSMOLOGY

AT PURGATORY ARTSPACE

My next solo exhibition

Dates: Wednesday 30 January - Saturday 17 February
Opening Function: Saturday 9 February 2-4 pm: I will be there!
Address: 1st Floor 170 Abbotsford St, Nth Melbourne.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 11am - 5pm
PH: 03 9329 1860

Purgatory Artspace is the project space attached to Gallery Smith.

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com