MEDIA RELEASE - 24 November 1995
New Exhibition: Desert River - The Story of Rosy Dock
The magnificent work of Australian multimedia artist Jeannie Baker Desert River: The Story of Rosy Dock is opening at the National Library of Australia on 30 November.
The Story of Rosy Dock comprises three major components: a full colour picture book, a ten minute animated film, and an exhibition of original artworks. Wollongong City Gallery coordinated the exhibition's two year national tour which began at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney in June 1995. The exhibition will be at the NLA until 19 February 1996.
The exhibition, Desert River: The Story of Rosy Dock, is a stunning visual experience as well as educative in its presentation of the Australian desert environment. As with Jeannie Baker s previous exhibitions, it will appeal to both children and adults alike. The exhibition consists of 21 collage constructions created in the artist s studio.
Jeannie Baker 's work reflects her awareness of the delicate environment surrounding us and the precarious state we have placed it in. In this latest work she turns her attention to one of the oldest rivers in the world, the Finke, and the beautiful landscape of this part of central Australia. Jeannie uses this setting to once again touch on the potential of our ill-considered actions to cause enormous change to the natural environment.
In researching The Story of Rosy Dock Jeannie made four field trips to the area, exploring the landscape and collecting materials for the project. She spent a while at Hermannsburg, on Aboriginal land near the source of the Finke. Another highlight was camping alone in the Simpson Desert wilderness at the point were one of the last dry fingers of the Finke disappears into the sand.
Jeannie returned from the desert with clays, sand, twigs, feathers, dry grasses and vegetation, rocks, bark, and ochres, to combine with more usual artists materials to achieve a wonderful illusion of three dimensions and a wealth of rich textures. From the hand-woven straw hat, the iron roof faithfully hand corrugated of tin, through to the carefully twisted wire of the gate, each work is distinctively Jeannie Baker.
Jeannie Baker said:
"I should have been prepared for Central Australia ... I'd seen so many paintings and photographs of the country, but I'd never quite believed that the sand could be such an electric orange/red colour and the sky so intensely blue ... I had to see it for myself to believe it".
Jeannie will be in Canberra on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 December and is available for interview then. The exhibition will be available for filming from Thursday 30 November.
For further information or interviews please contact:
Gay Woods, Public Affairs Manager
Telephone: (06) 2621252
Facsimile: (06) 2735483
E-mail: gwoods@nla.gov.au
| About This Site | Copyright | Privacy | Accessibility | Site Map | Site Search | Content A-Z | Contact Us |