Bush Exchange’s inaugural exhibition, Heart of the Bush, in conjunction with Goondiwindi Art Space, sets out to highlight the deep love of regional Australia through expressive paintings, drawings, and photography.
Alisha Reading, Retired Thrones, 2022. Courtesy the artist and Bush Exchange
Heart of the Bush features three non-acquisitive art prizes: the Heart of the Bush Major Prize 2023 – $5000; the Bush Artist Encouragement Prize – $1000; and the Bush Photographer Encouragement Prize – $1000. The prizes are judged by Carly Le Cerf, award-winning artist; Jessica Howard, writer and photographer, editor of Bush Journal, co-founder of Beauty in the Bush Collective; Emma-Kate Wilson, art and design writer; and Bridget Coulton, host and owner of Bush Exchange.
A range of styles can be seen throughout the twenty-plus artist finalists, from figurative, landscape, and abstract. With an array of artistic representation, the exhibition explores the beating hum that vibrates throughout the landscape. The everchanging trees, rocks, and colours of the sky; captured by the artists who feel the energy and life, bringing their own depiction and emotions into the vivid and textural compositions.
Patrick Oates, You’ll find me there, always, 2022. Courtesy the artist and Bush Exchange
For each one of the photographer finalists, the usual landscapes appear, though they are captured with unique and distinctive voices, joined by heartfelt portraits and a bush-inspired still life. From the low-lying eagle that flies over a dramatic rock structure at sunset – the sky alive with those pink hues – to the two men sinking into a pulled-out bus seat in a shed somewhere in Australia, their faces posed in a moment of rest.
As Bush Exchange reveal, Heart of the Bush “promotes a deeper connection between the city and the country through our shared love and appreciation of the Australian bush and its lifestyle.”
Rory O’Chee, Inner Peace, 2022. Courtesy the artist and Bush Exchange
Goondiwindi Civic Centre
18 January to 21 February 2023
Queensland
