As an artist who works primarily with paper, it would be remiss of me not to take a trip to view the 2013 'Art on Paper' award at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery. Its only my second trip to the gallery and I had forgotten what a gem of a space it is with its beautiful gardens and buzzing weekend throng of people.
Maxx in front of his favourite work
The variety of works was inspiring with some recognisable artists work on display. Among my favourites were a collection of modest charcoal drawings by Peter Sharp, a painterly oil on paper work by John R Walker and a series of painted Japanese labels by Sarah Goffman.
By far, the piece I returned to over & over again was by Ken & Julia Yonetani titled 'Senkaku (se no Kaku) : The tides of History'. (see pictured-detail). This vast pencil on paper work is a testament in perseverance and a meditation on the drawn line.
“Ironically Senkaku, the Japanese name given to the islands currently strongly disputed between Japan, China and Taiwan in the East China Sea, has the same pronunciation in Japanese as to draw a line (sen o kaku). Playing on the dual meaning of this term, the work is composed from approximately three kilometres of continuous line. From afar, the lines make up more than an interesting pattern, perhaps reminiscent of ocean waves. Close up, the viewer comes to recognise a sea of over 25 000 people, separate and yet joined together, the same and yet each different- the tides of history.”