On the Edge
The nine Creativity Cluster artists presented the exhibition On the Edge from 2-31 October 2019. It was held at the Library at the Dock in Docklands, Melbourne.
The artists’ works are described below. Some of the works may still be available for sale. For enquiries, contact the Creativity Cluster facilitator by using the form on the contact page.
Luna Cameron-Parrish (Amethyst Moon)
Feed Your Head, ceramics, handmade polymer clay pieces, glass, wood, metal and found objects. Created from ceramic, handmade polymer clay pieces, glass, wood, metal and found objects and inspired by the song White Rabbit by Grace Slick, 1967. Despite referencing Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, many consider the song to be about the 1960’s psychedelic drug culture. Grace, as part of the rock group Jefferson Airplane, sang the song at Woodstock in August 1969. The video has been viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube. A book called Go Ask Alice, published a few years later in 1971, was a tale of a teenager’s battle with drug addiction. Both the song and the book still seem relevant today. Although this piece is not a commentary about drugs per se, it poses many questions about our perception of reality and how this can quite easily be altered. The final lines of the song, “Feed your head” are a reminder that Knowledge is Power!
Pat Duncan
Lorne Beach, oil on canvas. A beautiful area on the surf coast of Victoria.
Ocean Grove Beach, oil on canvas. At low tide.
Lindsay Hussey
As plants will take root in any tiny pocket of soil, humans will squeeze their homes and settlements in every possible location.
Between the Oasis and the Desert, textile collage. This is an aerial view of part the Ziz Valley Oasis in Morocco. The harsh Moroccan desert stretches for many, many kilometres both sides of the narrow Ziz Valley. Farmers build their homes on the edge of the oasis, not wasting any of the scarce and precious arable land.
Between the Lake and the Mountains, textile collage. Lake Como in northern Italy is surrounded by mountains, sometimes almost down to the water. People have taken advantage of any strip of flatish land to build towns and villages right on the edge of the lake. Some even making homes right up in the mountains themselves.
Nancy D Lane
(NancyDee Sculptures)
Cityscape on the Edge 2: Night Desert, found object assemblage on veneer. I loved the brown and pink painted board at first sight, when I found it in a car park in Vientiane, Laos. Despite finding it during monsoon season, the brown ‘sand’ and pink ‘sky’ evoked a desert. Slowly, as I collected more pieces of metal – including watch bands and nail clippers – for ‘buildings’, the scene began to radiate the essence of evening, so I added a ‘moon’ and a few battery ‘stars’. Ironically, however, as the work evolved, the brown sand and pink sky became the pink sand and brown sky.
Cityscape on the Edge 1: River Bend, found object assemblage on metal. This is an artwork I created for the exhibition while I was working as a volunteer in Laos. Although all the pieces are from Vientiane, the result is a scene that reminds me of Melbourne – perhaps I was getting homesick
Nancy D Lane with Julia Zöllner
Legacy of Fire 2, acrylic on board, found object assemblage, $150.
On the edge of good luck or bad luck, depending on your perspective, where the bushfire ends and the town begins.
City Shadows, acrylic on plywood, found object assemblage. On the edge, the outskirts, from which the city is but blue shadows on the skyline.
Boat Harbour, acrylic on veneer, found object assemblage. The city’s edge or the harbour’s edge: the perspective of the banker or the sailor?
Deidre Ogilvie
On the Edge of the Day, oil on canvas.
Beginnings and endings of the edge of the day.
Waiting for the night to recede and the dawn to break through.
The edge of night and day before the world waits to play.
Market on the Edge of the Footpath, oil on canvas. “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.” Fish for sale on the edge of the path, fresher than this you cannot get.
On the Edge of the Rocks, oil on canvas. The daisies bloom from the crevasses of the rocks, with the promise of spring and new life.
Penny Sharples
Horizon, acrylic on board. I was in Turkey during the run-up to the 2015 election, observing the rising nationalism and tension between democracy and religion. This painting depicts the two lands of Turkey, the European side on the left in black and the Asian side on the right in white, in a band of red representing the Turkish Flag. Below is the churning Mediterranean Sea and above the thunder clouds depicting troubled time ahead.
Three Balconies, acrylic on canvas. Inspired by my time in Verona, Italy, I strolled through the streets and observed how the recent rain and afternoon sunlight emphasised the building’s colours and balconies.
Bay Sunset, acrylic on canvas. This work was inspired by the joy and awe of watching sunsets and the way light plays with the colours of clouds, land and sea, producing breathtaking beauty.
Mardie Whitla
Nothing Ventured, ceramic. On the edge of a promising career, she seized the opportunity and instead capitulated to her Italian dream.
Dubrovnik’s Leaf, ceramic and mixed media. On the edge of Dubrovnik’s medieval defensive wall, a Platanus acerifolia took my eye and inspired me. Whilst walking around this ancient city in August this year, I took a leaf from an overhanging branch of the tree, which is now hanging inside the art work, with an additional five leaves made from clay, each one a replica of the original green leaf.
Starlight, ceramic. On the edge of darkness, a small candle will throw a delicate light upon the evening.