BEEing (Julie Bartholomew + Mahala Hill) and Confluence 2021 Artist-in-Residence (Harriet Schwarzrock + Valerie Kirk AM). At CraftACT until 17 August
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![Julie Bartholomew, Prototype For Habitat 3, 2022. Picture: Ashley Mackevicius Julie Bartholomew, Prototype For Habitat 3, 2022. Picture: Ashley Mackevicius](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Z4Q6sUEHdcmw72MBPYgZkU/516803cf-cacd-46e5-a887-af78e2d363b5.png/r718_271_3359_2128_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
BEEing and Confluence are two separate exhibitions yet they have in common a deep involvement with the natural world. Julie Bartholomew and Mahala Hill are concerned about the survival of the world's bee population and its biodiversity. Harriet Schwarzrock and Valerie Kirk spent time as artists-in-residence at Namadgi National Park in 2021 and their work in this exhibition reflects their deep immersion in the natural environment around them.
In BEEing, Bartholomew has investigated the potential development of beehives through a series of exploratory ceramic earthenware forms that question their structures and function. Over these forms are dripped a rich caramel glaze appropriately known as a honey glaze. The open aperture of one of these "hives" holds natural honeycomb whose sweet honey aroma sets a context for both artists' pertinent dialogue.
![Mahala Hill, Mutated Hive II, 2022. Picture: Courtesy of artist Mahala Hill, Mutated Hive II, 2022. Picture: Courtesy of artist](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Z4Q6sUEHdcmw72MBPYgZkU/d83298b1-7d6b-4b8a-af99-5c1260e9d981.jpg/r0_0_4912_5165_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The vulnerability of these bees and their future potential to undergo strange mutations is well conveyed by Hill's delicate portrayal of fragile insect-like structures (Corrupted Growth i-iii) constructed in white porcelain placed on coloured multi-layered ceramic bases. By creating this tension between the white pure ghostlike forms and the jarring note of their discordant coloured and roughly wrought bases, the artist questions the survival of natural bees in a future changed habitat.
In tandem with the 2021 artist residencies in Namadgi, both Schwarzrock and Kirk had access to the Australian Geoscience archives where they studied fossils and geological specimens. The results are apparent in this impressive exhibition that charts the individual and fruitful creative journey of each artist.
Kirk's awareness of every subtle nuance of line, colour and texture of the landscape is present in her small intimate studies, in a variety of media, of rocks, plants and fossils.
![Harriet Schwarzrock, Transitory. Picture: Brenton McGeachie
Harriet Schwarzrock, Transitory. Picture: Brenton McGeachie](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Z4Q6sUEHdcmw72MBPYgZkU/add3f6c8-1823-45ea-ad10-df48e3dafe87.jpg/r0_144_2953_1804_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Her major tapestry works have developed from her immersion in the Namadgi landscape. The largest and most impressive tapestry, Namadgi-Plant Fossils, is a schematic section of the landscape inspired by vintage educational charts. Fossils form the bottom design then the earth and the distant mountains. This is a sophisticated work well able to convey a complex theme in an imaginative and aesthetically attractive way. Other tapestries reveal Kirk's clear powers of observation. They depict the rhythms of the landscape and its natural rock formations and convey a deep sense of the artist's sense of the "immensity" of time.
Schwarzrock is also a careful observer of her environment. Her work reflects her study of the complex structure of plants and the scientific makeup of the Namadgi rocks and the way they are changed by bushfires and extreme weather. Well known as a glass artist, Schwarzrock shows another side to her creativity with her beautiful little wire sculptures (Frayed 1-11), based on plant structures, that gather in a delicate dance on one wall of the gallery. On another wall is an intimate series of tiny partially frosted mirrors ornamented with tiny wires fashioned into fragments of grasses and seeds. (Interception 1-11).
Schwarzrock's series of three elongated pink oval glass forms, Transitory, Impermanence and Tenuous, are balanced delicately - their interior neon lettering each spelling out their message of the fragility of existence. A link perhaps to the series of her watercolours called Of holding breath and rain. These works appear to reflect the artist's interest in "cycles of breathing" which is a continuum of interest that she has explored in her art practice.
We do not often have the privilege of seeing the processes behind an artist's creative work. Invited to follow such a journey is a rare pleasure and perhaps is the true joy of this exhibition.