Seizui - The Opening

I'd dearly love to thank all of you for your wonderful response, support, and feed back regarding 'Seizui' - the exhibition in the Long Gallery at Montsalvat which ran through the month of August.

The opening evening was over and beyond my expectation with around one hundred in attendance. A warm and heartfelt thank you to Rob Hauser, the CEO at Montsalvat and Shane Pugh from the Dunmoochin Foundation for your warm opening words.

                                                          (Photos : Amanda Gibson)

Here is an excerpt from Shane Pugh's speech,

.... "Good art to me is a medium that gives me room to bring my imagination, memories and fantasy's too. Nerina's artworks are very evocative. I am inspired by these delightful artworks.
The Haiku poetry / of few words, expressing so much for the imagination of the reader to play with. Nerina's artwork is a reflection of her passion and skill in creating Haiku in a visual medium, for you to bring your imagination to.
Nerina is asking you to feel your response to her imagery; she has created beautiful images stories, full of symbolism colour and texture.
Nerina's skill with metallic's and mediums give enhancement depth and perspective to her visual stories.
Nerina's work is delightful and inspirational. Nerina's personality and approach to her art is absolutely genuine. Her work comes through her passion, imagination and quest of life.
I find her work very accessible, I enjoy where the images take me, the poetry adds another dimension to my visual journey.As a director of, and on behalf of the Dunmoochin Foundation, where Nerina is currently an artist in residence, I commend her dedication to her arts practice, her participation and co-ordination of the Open Studio's program and her community arts participation. It is artists like nerina that fulfil the Foundation's purpose as evidenced in her artwork"

Shane Pugh



And thank you yet again to the lovely Jeanette Davison has also written up a lovely blog article in ISIIAD regarding the exhibition. In her post titled, 'The Essence of Nerina' she spent several hours interviewing me with regards to the exhibition and my creative process in the studio.The following is a small excerpt from her blog. (text and photography by Jeanette Davison)


Click on the image to read more...

'Seizui - Essence' - Montsalvat

SEIZUI6 - 8pm Thursday 1st September 2011Exhibition runs until October 2nd

In September 2011 I was simply delighted to have had the opportunity to exhibit a completely new exhibition of paintings at Montsalvat.

 

Lying down on my back
the Spring sunshine
filled my mouth
SEIBI

The title of this exhibition ‘Seizui’ (Japanese for ‘Essence’)
Each of the 14 works in this exhibition have been inspired after the reading and contemplation of a series of Haiku poems by the Japanese masters. For each poem chosen, I have endeavoured to extract the ‘essence’ and bring the inherent imagery to life through a visual interpretation.
The haiku is an evocative Japanese verse, which embodies a direct intuitive penetration into nature, and life, which offers insight, joy and truth to readers. A simple verse encapsulates a multi-sensory experience of one’s environment.
In the case of Zen Haiku, language becomes a painting, a drawing, a story, a song. Form and formless melt together, so that the poem is experienced, the reader may enter a timeless moment- a space of stillness or meditation. When contemplating the haiku, a deeper presence of life and nature maybe felt beneath the human mental and physical constructs of form.

Lightening flash
flying toward the darkness
heron's voice
BASHO

Through the combination of both Haiku and painting, traditionally termed ‘Haiga’ the aim is to invite the viewer to perhaps experience a similar ‘timeless moment’ or to experience a ‘deeper presence of life’
Japanese masters such as Basho, Issa, Shikki and Buson, have written countless haiku poems portraying their experience of nature and life in Japan. And similarly, monks and artists of ancient Japan painted with a poetic reverence beautiful depictions of their natural world; the seasons, flora and fauna.

After having been living at Dunmoochin for over a year now, one simply cannot help being influenced by the beauty and magic of the Australian bush which encouraged my to translate some of these Japanese haiku using imagery which is more local to this region; including red box and long leaf box eucalypts.

click on image to view online article

SEIZUI - THE PAINTINGS

Long Gallery, Montsalvat, 7 Hillcrest Ave. Eltham (Mel. 22A8)
Contact - (03) 9439 7712