sea stories:  Collected work from: Karin Beaumont, Michaye Boulter, Sally Brown, Linda Fredheim

Curated by Helen Norrie

On this island, stories from and of the sea are shared and pervasive.

In 2010, 4 artists were invited to collaborate and develop work for the Alcorso Foundation. Despite diverse practices and different backgrounds, the ensuing conversations, experimentation and shared ideas enabled them to explore new directions.

sea stories is the progression and extension of the initial project – a waypoint in an ongoing exchange.

Each of the artists have had a long association with the sea: from the distant Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans, to local bays of Bruny Island and closer estuarine environs, in the margins where the land and sea meet. The experience of the ocean/sea/river leaves visceral traces that underpin their work in a range of ways, and this exhibition provides a platform to explore and expand this sphere of influence.

sea stories is a collection of overlapping ideas, objects, materials, forms and memories.

sea stories can be understood variously as the process of conversation and sharing ideas, techniques and inspiration; the generative ideas that inspired work; and the associations that may be ‘read’ by the viewer.

The exhibition resembles a wunderkammern or cabinet of curiosities, an assortment of objects that are valued both collectively and individually for the stories they embody or the knowledge gained through their making. There is no distinction between precious/non-precious, finished/unfinished as each is part of on on-going experiment of boundless possibilities. While the significance of each piece is particular to its maker, displaying each in the company of others they take on a new life, allowing the observer to actively engage with the dynamic possibilities of meaning and association.

Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, opening 18 October, 6pm. Continues until 25 November 2012.