The debut solo exhibition by emerging Tasmanian artist Nick Hills.
Breathe pushes the themes of life and decay in the natural world to a new level. It’s a menagerie of characters and emotional states, everything from spiders tangled upon melting limbs to whimsically psychedelic animal portraits.
Originally inspired by a need to break through some mental health barriers, Nick’s work is a great insight into the artists mind and the 3-year journey involved in coming out of a difficult time and building up a whole new perspective on life.
Coming from a background in mountain biking and a love of hard metal music (the pieces are named after lyrics from Nick’s favorite bands and musicians), Nick’s unique style is both dark and brightly energetic.
All works are archival inkjet printed on 100% cotton rag museum grade paper by Papermill Printhouse (Melbourne) and Full Gamut (Hobart) and are all framed by Hobart’s finest Wagner Framemakers. All prints are available for purchase. Merchandise, stickers and other accessories are also available for sale down in Spacebar Gallery.
Nick Hills. Mind Over Matter.
Nick Hills. Fade Away.
Nick Hills. Grind your teeth.
Photo by Stu Gibson.
Nick Hills
Nick Hills is an emerging artist based on Tasmania. Nick specialises in digital illustration, creating colourful thought-provoking works.
The Annual Exhibition is the highlight of the Art Society of Tasmania calendar. Artists submit work created in the last 12 months to be judged for prizes from sponsors. Artworks include representation of all mediums and genres, and showcase the skill, talent and imagination of local artists.
Haetaek Choi. Untitled 1 (2022). Oil on canvas. 40cm x 40cm
New abstract works by Haetaek Choi comprising of a combination of Automatism, Serendipitous, coincidental expression and Eastern calligraphy.
Automatism Through subconscious, automatic acts of creativity, l strive to express how one is able to visually put to canvas the subconscious visual reality that comes to mind without meticulous planning. Through brush strokes, this instant interpretation of the chaotic unconscious world explores the concept of automatism.
Serendipitous, coincidental expressionism A coincidence is contrary to logos-centred rational thinking. This form of expression combined with automatism produces surprisingly serendipitous artistic results. Although I commence my artwork with a certain image or purpose in mind, I can’t help but accept the end result because it is a result of the convergence between the intentional and unintended.
Eastern calligraphy Amongst the oriental style of brushstrokes, the calligraphy handwriting, which is called chaucer, is a tool where one communicates a clear linguistic message. The varied strength of the brushwork on the canvas however, results in an amazing pictorial image that can be left to further creative interpretation.
“When the three visual elements of Automatism, Serendipity and Eastern calligraphy are combined, I float colours, blend and permeate the paint on canvas, which draws out the contrast between primary and complementary colours.” – Haetaek Choi, Hobart, September 2022
Haetaek Choi. Untitled 2 (detail) (2022). Oil on canvas. 40cm x 50cm.
Haetaek Choi. Untitled 4 (detail) (2022). Oil on canvas. 90cm x 160cm.
Haetaek Choi. Untitled 3 (detail) (2022). Oil on canvas. 60cm x 60cm.
Proudly presented by Salamanca Arts Centre.
Come and hear some of Hobart’s finest Gypsy Jazz artists play a ‘session’ like you have never heard before! Curated and hosted by award winning virtuoso violinist Charlie McCarthy, members of the musical community are encouraged to join in, just like they did back in the day. Expect to be wowed by the music of the 1930’s Parisian Belle Epoque’ (Beautiful Era). This is the music that Monet, Renoir, Degas, Picasso, and Van Gogh listened to when they were out and about on their adventures.
Everyone is welcome!
Want to play along too?
If you are interested in participating in these sessions, then please register your interest below and Charlie will put your name on the list, and make sure there is a seat available for you.
Hosted by award winning virtuoso violinist Charlie McCarthy and featuring local and travelling musicians of the highest calibre, the Salamanca Gypsy Jazz Sessions differ from a regular musical performance in a few key ways.
This Gypsy Jazz Jam is based on how the genre was originally encountered in the 1930’s Parisian social scene, around a campfire fire/table or in a bar or even backstage during a gig where the musicians were formally booked to play for dances and would jam backstage for fun.
The Musicians will be seated in a circle facing each other, unrehearsed but with common repertoire and familiar calls/instructions/signals for on-the-spot arrangement decisions. All tunes are played from memory, no charts, just a list of common songs and everyone leads the song they nominate. Musicians can take a break whenever they like but the music is pretty much continuous and other musicians and even members of the audience are encouraged to join in and participate also! BYO instrument!
The audience is invited to be close to the music, and can move around the musicians, with the option of changing location at any time, go to the bar and enjoy a drink, chat and interact with friends, get in close to the musician you want to observe the most.
This session will not be amplified so move up close to hear the music as loud as you like.
The main goal being more fun for all.
Why these sessions are so special The musicians are more relaxed and will be more communicative and adaptable to variation in the moment, they will play uninhibited and take musical risks to the enjoyment of all.
The audience engages with the musicians directly. Chats between tunes, observing the interactions first hand and even getting involved if you bring your instrument.
You hear the true sound of the instrument directly from the instrument, no amplification, no feedback, so that when identical instruments are soloing you can clearly see/hear who is doing what. These instruments have been around for hundreds of years and are already the perfect volume for this kind of music.
The Salamanca Gypsy Jazz Sessions are presented by Salamanca Arts Centre as part of its Live Music Program, which is supported by the Commonwealth Government’s Live Music Fund.
Salamanca Art Centre’s 2022 programs are supported by the Commonwealth Government’s Office of the Arts via the RISE Fund.
Huon Valley (detail) (2022). Oil on canvas. 90 x 200 cm
Quietitude. A state of stillness, calmness and quiet in a person or place.
An exhibition of paintings by Salamanca Arts Centre Resident Artist Jane Flowers. In 2021, Jane Flowers completed a two-week Residency in the Short Term Studio (Space 238).
Opening Event Friday 9 September 2022, 4:30pm – 6:30pm
“A love of nature permeates my work. I endeavour to find stillness and a sense of tranquility in landscape and seascape and convert moments in time and space to canvas. Bringing the outside in if you like. Installing a quiet state of repose and serenity to the viewer.
During my Residency in 2021, one of the first things I did was head to Seven Mile, one of my favourite beaches. To clear my head for my residency. I love its vast expanses of tide washed sands; endless skies and expansive views to horizon. Beach combing for visual treasures and walking quiets and resets my mind.
Though I’ve visited Tassie many times, I hadn’t before visited the far reaches of the Huon, and was much taken with the beauty of the waterways. A beauty on the surface that I sadly discovered is being systematically eroded I discovered on reading Richard Flanagan’s Toxic at the end of my Residency. Ironically too – clearing a hillside and or putting through a road cutting allows a better view of the iconic shapes of Tassie’s tall timber.
In this exhibition I’ve explored both the vignette and the wide expanse. Subtle colours distinctive palettes and sheer beauty of southern Tassie’s coastline and hillsides. Previous studies in graphic design encourage my artist eye and the ability to see the landscape in its simplest form. To distill its qualities.
Themes I developed and explored in this show include sunlight on water, delights of beachcombing, the wonder of being at sea, gazing at skies and hillsides, the shape of a sail on the horizon, wind and water, sea and sky, the wonder of treescapes.” – Jane Flowers, August 2022
Mermaid’s Lair (2022). Oil on canvas. 61 x 61 cm.
Cloud-break (2022). Oil on canvas. 91 x 86 cm
Off Fleurty’s Point (2022) . Oil on canvas. 51 x 61 cm
Jane Flowers
Jane Flowers is an award winning Australian artist who specialises in dramatic oils on canvas of nature, the ocean and the outback. Her unique interpretations create striking artwork that have gained a strong following among art lovers, collectors and interior designers. The landscapes and seascapes that Flowers creates have the ability to make a room come to life by subtlely transforming the natural beauty of the outdoors into a stunning interior space. Flowers draws inspiration from her regular travels to capture the essence of a time and place. A keen yachtswoman, diver, beachcomber and adventurer, Flowers is passionate about the beauty of nature and the natural environment. She has been a professional artist for 30 years following careers in teaching, advertising and graphic design.
This event is part of Winter Light 2022 and is presented by Salamanca Arts Centre
Witness the power of fusion with two of Hobart’s up and coming rappers blending language, culture and classic hip hop beats to tell stories in a new way.
RC40 RC40 is Tasmania’s first Hindi rapper. Drawing on his personal stories and challenges in life, RC40 collaborates with local artists producers in Hobart and in June 2022 his song “I.M BORN” became the first Hindi rap song releaser by Tasmanian Hip Hop Collective.
Adonay Tsegezeab (marra dona) Blending his mother tongue, Tigrinya, and English, Adonay makes powerful music that maps his journey to lutruwita (Tasmania) from Eritrea, through Ethiopia and lifts people up with strong messages.
Curated by Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie
Friday 19 August 2022 6pm – 7pm
Photo: supplied by the artist
Raj Chopra (RC40)
RC40 – Hindi Rapper based in Hobart is involved in music since 2020. The name RC40 is initials derived from his full name Raj Chopra. His rap is inspired by his own stories and challenges in life. Raj writes his own songs and composes them after finding local producers. Few months back Raj collaborated with another local rapper Zeke to release the first Hindi-English collab song in the history of Tasmania – “Guilty”.
Photo: supplied by the artist
Adonay Tsegezeab (marra dona) Blending his mother tongue, Tigrinya, and English, Adonay makes powerful music that maps his journey to lutruwita (Tasmania) from Eritrea, through Ethiopia and lifts people up with strong messages.
Justine Wake. Pedros Garden (detail) (2022). Acrylic on Canvas. 68cm x 48cm
Opening Event Friday 22 July 2022 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Paintings, drawings and assemblages from Justine Wake’s recent Arts Residency at Salamanca Arts Centre. The exhibition includes one of Justine’s ‘busking walls’ for people to interact and purchase from, with offerings of their choice.
Working away from home, with kunanyi mountain in sight, Justine Wake’s exhibition focuses on the small things and the very big things of life, using painting, drawing and assemblage. Justine’s exhibitions often incorporate a playful and interactive body of work and in this exhibition there is a ‘busking wall’ taking up an entire wall of the gallery. The wall is covered in paintings and drawings of all sizes and mediums, giving you the chance to spend time considering what stands out and whether any of the works might have a use or meaning for you. If a work ‘lands’, just as a busking musician’s music might ‘land’, the work can be taken home at a price of your own choosing. Works on the busking wall can be marked with a red dot for collection later or removed and taken home on the day.
Justine is a family woman and psychotherapist who has been working in mental health for 22 years and in the field of art psychotherapy for over a decade. Justine has practised as a painter for even longer. The last seven years have seen a more focussed approach to art making for Justine with a number of residencies and solo exhibitions in Meanjin/Brisbane and in Naarm/Melbourne.
Justine Wake. Red tree. Acrylic on canvas!. 20cm x 30cm.
Justine Wake. Busking wall (detail) (2022). Multiple works.
Justine Wake. Kisses (2022). Mixed media assemblage. 8cm x 10cm.
Photo by Kate Atkinson.
Justine Wake
Justine Wake is from Meanjin, Queensland and her recent Arts Residency at Salamanca Arts Centre has focussed on harvesting the crops grown from seeds planted over the past few years of her family life and work as a psychotherapist.
The majority of Justine’s art making is a response to ideas and experiences that run through her mind as she goes about daily life. In these reflections, she is often interested in the experience of being ‘betwixt and between’ – who do we become when we are in a space that has no context or a space that exists only due to being between two different states.
“I am in middle age now, an interesting kind of in between time. As a psychotherapist I also spend a lot of my working life in this space with people- supporting emergence from unwelcome or uncomfortable places in between. I am intuitively and also professionally comfortable inhabiting this realm. To explore this in my imagery, I am drawn to the metaphorical richness of colour, the botanical world, animals and the elements.” – Justine Wake
Various materials, Radiant Pavilion pieces by Jane Hodgetts , Anna Weber, Emma Bugg, Gabbee Stolp. Photo: Emma Bugg
State of Flux Workshop operates from Salamanca Arts Centre as a contemporary jewellery and object gallery and workshop.
State of Flux Workshop strives to create a greater connection with mainland peers and instil themselves in the national and global conversation of contemporary jewellery and objects.
In September 2021, State of Flux Workshop was successful in their bid to exhibit in Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne’s Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennial.
The revolving selection of pieces displayed in the Lightbox demonstrate some of the techniques, tools and prototype workings of pieces before they are complete.
Pieces reflecting themes by each of the four individual members of State of Flux Workshop will be on display, alongside slow motion video documentation, giving a closer look at processes behind how things are made.
Free but registration essential This event is for current TATA members only
11am – 12pm Curator + Artist Floor Talk Long Gallery Salamanca Arts Centre The panel will consist of artists Kate Tucker, Eloise Kirk, Grant Nimmo and curator, Daine Singer discussing their work in the exhibition, O Horizon
12.15pm -1.15pm Break for lunch Grab a bite to eat at the Salamanca Markets or bring along your packed lunch to relax nearby.
1.30pm – 2.30pm Artist Talk with Meg Walch Bett Gallery Join artist Dr Meg Walch as she discusses her new exhibition, Uncanny.
2.45pm – 3:45pm Curator talk with Lisa Campbell-Smith Contemporary Arts Tasmania BioGym by Mary Maggic and Grace Gamage Presented by Contemporary Art Tasmania and Dark Mofo 2022 Explore the boundaries between biology and culture, with an introduction from Curator, Lisa Campbell-Smith
Transport Available While registered guests may choose to drive for the gallery hop, TATA have booked a bus for those registered, although this has limited capacity of up to 40 passengers. First in, best dressed. This is a complimentary offering. For those taking the bus, passengers are asked to wear a face mask throughout.
1:15PM Departure, Salamanca The bus will depart from Salamanca, out the front of IMAS, 20 Castray Esplanade, after the allocated lunch break. We ask passengers to please be mindful of time and not to be late.
3:35pm Return Contemporary Art Tasmania-Salamanca precinct The bus will depart CAT after the final session and return to Salamanca for a final drop off.
Infliction defines itself between a reconstructed ruin and a reclamation of culture, archives, and materiality. In re-forming these structures that have been lost, the works looks forward, constructing staunch architectural forms that have never existed within lutruwita.
These roughcast structures fulfill the duty of representing my place, my family storyline, and serve as a residence for everything ‘inherent’. Further these constructions have become a beacon for unknown ancestors to gather, a landmark for dialogue around losses of indigenous origin and place, and an expression of transgenerational emotions that are rooted in the dark and violent past of Tasmania’s colonisation.
Artist
Jordan Cowan
Jordan Cowen is an indigenous multi-disciplinary contemporary artist/designer based on Muwinina Country. His artistic expressions over time have become grunge yet direct in aesthetics. Jordan composes works through processes of construction, destruction, decay, and reclamation. His practice has expanded from a continuous inspiration of ruins, archives, street art, and nipaluna’s urban environments. Grasping on topics that connect/concern culture, displacement, and temporality of place.
