Art about farming, farming as an art

The daily experience of tending a tract of land in the south-east of South Australia is the raw material of artist–farmer James Darling. The land which comprises Duck Island is watercourse country where sand, water, salt and native vegetation are the elements from which, over decades of passionate attention, he and his partner Lesley Forwood have developed a farm which includes a special salt-tolerant grass for their cattle. His exhibition, Define the Country, at Riddoch Art Gallery in Mount Gambier is a response to this farmed landscape.

Published 01 September 1995

Plant a Yam, Paint a Yam

Explores the relationship between food and its representation in the northeast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Remember, dangerous themes make dangerous art.

Published March 1995

The Struggle for LESS Interesting Pictures

Beth Field is a farmer and a photographer in the WA wheatbelt facing a curious loss, one she is happy to accept - the dramatic colours of sunsets reflected in the salt lakes which she used to photograph may soon be hard to find as revegetation reclaims the soil. She recounts the changes she has seen in the last decade.

Published March 1995

David Bromfield on Sculpture

Exhibition review The Games Room
Stuart Elliott at Lawrence Wilson Art Galley
University of Western Australia
21 October - 4 December 1994
Death of a Myth
Michelle H Elliot at Gomboc Galleries and Sculpture Park
6 - 27 November 1994

Published March 1995

Rice on the Terrace

The artist grew up in Baguio, which looks to be quite close to Ifugao on the map, and although I was taught that the rice terraces of this region of the Philippines were the eighth wonder of the world it was many years before he was able to see them.

Published March 1995

Paul Hay Diary

Exhibition review Four Point Bearing: Simon Barley, Paul Hay, Ian Parry and James Smeaton
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
26 December 1994 - 25 February 1995
Artist's journal by Paul Hay

Published March 1995

Portrait of the Farmer as a Mature Potato

"As with everything else, the country that I have been talking about is frequently regarded as a commodity, be it in relation to yields of primary produce or to spectacles and hypothetical experiences marketed for tourist consumption. Here's the main thing to understand: this commodification is entirely at odds with the appreciation of landscape that I've been trying to tell you about."

Published March 1995

Cultivated anatomy: Fiona Hall's Garden of Earthly Delights

Published 01 March 1995

Culture/Agriculture

Agriculture and culture go back a long way. The fact that they actually meet and marry in the word 'cultivation' makes this clear....when it comes to direct experience, city and country are more distinct in Australia than in many countries.

Published March 1995

Living with the Land

If there is a contemporary issue for landscape artist to engage with, it must be the process of developing a relationship with the landscape, even if it is at the level of s sustain[able] failure, a low level antagonism or an uneasy peace. It is as difficult and as complex as any other issue, and it ultimately speaks of the human condition.

Published March 1995

A Piece of EcoCity

The Halifax EcoCity Project is not just the seed for a future ecological Adelaide; it is the embodiment of a new paradigm that is sweeping the planet.

Published March 1995

Maggie Baxter on High Fibre Diet

Exhibition review High Fibre Diet
Fremantle Arts Centre
Western Australia
29 October - 4 December 1994

Published March 1995