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Courage by Rani Brown is showing at Platform from 19 July - 5 August. Below is a selection of works included in the exhibition - click to expand and see full image. Please contact the gallery for all sales enquiries on 02 4742 0047 or via email. Read our interview with Rani about her artwork and process here. Of The Tarot by Marley Myles is showing in Platform Out Back from 19 July - 5 August. Below are the artworks included in the exhibition - click to expand and see full image. Please contact the gallery for all sales enquiries on 02 4742 0047 or via email. Translating the symbolism and themes within the major Arcana into embroidered works combines artist Marley Myles' love of these mediums as a way to connect with and share collective experiences. Embroidery has long been a form of recording stories and symbology. Melding embroidery with the mysteries and lessons of the Tarot, Marley is deepening her understanding whilst creating hand stitched pieces to inspire others to explore self, emotional wisdom and experience within the framework of the major Arcana.  Ambitious Bitch by Ailie Banks 9 – 26 August 2019 Join us at the exhibition opening Friday 9 August at 6.30pm Ailie Banks’ decision to be a DIY working illustrator and author is one of the most "rewarding, frustrating, scary, joyful and often lonely things" she’s undertaken. Created in the digital world, colourful graphic illustrations and axiomatic text portray Ailie’s lived experience and the experiences of the people she has intimate conversation with both on and off line. "Art has made me feel strong and brave," says Ailie. "The women I draw are the women I am and want to be. I want them to make others feel seen and validated and empowered in the same way I feel when I create them." "Their creation has liberated me into opportunities I could only dream of, art has been the vehicle for deep connection in my life and a way for me to process difficult emotions and experiences." These women have found their way into Ailie's newly published book, The Book of Bitch. To celebrate the book's release, Platform Gallery will be exhibiting large scale illustrations from the book, from Ambitious Bitch to Zealous Bitch, and all the bitches in between.  Outspoken Bitch by Ailie Banks Ailie was inspired to make this body of work during a time of deep self-reflection and analysis after entering full time therapy.
"I had been reflecting on my childhood and adolescence and realised the word bitch had been a constant in my life. The idea of being a bitch seemed so all-encompassing I knew I had to explore the topic and reassess what being labelled as a bitch means to me now.” She will be talking about The Book of Bitch and her exhibition, in conversation with Bri Lee (author of Eggshell Skull) as part of the Blue Mountains Writers' Festival here in the gallery on Friday 23 August. Bookings here. And join us for the blockbuster opening of Ailie's exhibition here at the gallery from 6.30pm on Friday 9th August.  Oil on canvas work by Rani Brown 19 July – 5 August 2019 Join us at the opening of Courage on Friday 19 July 5.30pm. Artist and filmmaker Rani Brown documents social movements that are evolving in response to environmental concerns. In this exhibition of painting, still and moving image, she traces the interconnecting threads of personal and environmental grief, and the stories of those advocating for change. “As a film maker, independent story telling is key to my work and an antidote to the monopoly of main stream media.” Courage For The Long Haul (Frogmouth Films, 14 min 2018) shares insights from two women who have been key players within a dynamic social movement in the Northern Rivers NSW. They discuss processes that united a community beyond political affiliation to help protect our life support systems on Earth. They talk about their roles within a movement of untold thousands and what sustains them for the long haul against global corporations and governments who are doing their bidding. It screened at Melbourne Environmental Film Festival 2018 and at Byron Bay All Shorts Film Festival (2019) where it won the People’s Choice award. Knitting Nannas (Frogmouth Films, 21 min 2013) is the story of a dynamic group of women who productively and peacefully protest against the coal seam gas industry in Northern NSW. The film premiered at Flickerfest International Film Festival in 2014, where it received a Highly Commended award and Byron Bay All Shorts International Film Festival, 2014 where it received the People’s Choice Award. It has since screened across Australia and internationally.  Knitting Nannas (still) by Rani Brown Walking (home) (Frogmouth Films, 3 min 2018) is a series of vignettes of moments in wild spaces in the Blue Mountains, NSW. The work was begun during a period of personal grief and embodies an ongoing cycle of healing and returning. It considers Solastalgia: the environmental grief of our time.
Rani has contributed camera work to various organisations and individuals involved in environmental protest work including: The Bentley Effect (94min Half Smile Productions 2016) documents the highs and lows of the battle to keep a unique part of Australia gasfield-free and was filmed over five years. Undermining Australia: Coal vs Communities (35 mins, Lock the Gate Alliance 2013) reveals the threat to Sydney's water supply from underground longwall coal mining in the Sydney water catchment. Rani has been involved with environmental protest work for all her adult life through blockading, working with NGOs, community groups and through documentary photography and film. “When we can recognise what is at stake: bio-diversities lost, dispossessed peoples, extinctions and climate change; when we have the courage to really arrive in how it is right now in our world, we open to creativity and to intelligence. The interconnecting threads of grief can connect us with the wider ecological crisis and from an authentic space we can make choices about how we bring forth actions to protect our world. When we open to how things are, we open to creative possibilities.” Join us for the opening celebration of ‘Courage’ in the main gallery at Platform Gallery, together with the opening of Marley Myles’ exhibition ‘Of the Tarot’ in Platform Out Back at 5.30pm on Friday 19 July 2019. Hush and Hold by Cate Dudley is showing at Platform Gallery from 7 - 24 June. Read our interview with Cate about her process and inspiration for this exhibition. Please contact Curator Kelly Heylen on kelly@platformgallery.co or 02 4742 0047 for all sales enquiries. Platform Gallery is a partner of Art Money, who offer interest-free art loans over 10 months to make art buying more accessible for everyone, and we are very happy to discuss this option with you.  28 June - 15 July
Join us for the opening Friday 5.30pm 28 June. Blue Mountains’ artist Glenice Ware is inspired by the strength and fragility of the Australian landscape. ‘To me the land is an amazing, naturally formed work of art, then we come along and make marks and changes in order to control, understand and make relevant.’ Ware often immerses herself in landscape to begin the art process - drawing, painting, using sticks, red earth, mud, rusty iron and paint to mark paper and fabric. In the studio, she continues the work ‘defining and redefining the story of (her) environment with marks, symbols, colour and materials.’ Residencies in the Broken Hill region, Capertee Valley and Bundanon, near Nowra, have informed her current work. For her exhibition at Platform Gallery, Ware made a conscious decision not to make any ‘new’ work, preferring to refine and repurpose existing work and give it new life. She has been digging into her drawers of ideas, finished and unfinished works – mapping a deeper layer of her wanderings to create two- and three- dimensional works. Join us at the exhibition opening to celebrate Glenice's beautiful collection of textiles, painting and sculpture. Interview by Margot Turner.  Kindness for the beast by Cate Dudley 7 – 24 June 2019
Join us for the opening Friday 7 June at 5.30pm. Blue Mountains’ artist Cate Dudley has been sharing her work with us for over thirty years. Cate portrays herself in nature and domestic settings with friends, creatures, and beasts, exploring themes of courage, gratitude, compassion, kindness, friendship. Her intrinsically personal works can be perceived as a metaphor for the human condition: “an exploration of what it is to be human with all the beauty, vulnerabilities and paradoxes,” according to Cate. To prepare for her upcoming exhibition at Platform Gallery, Cate explored fragments of previous life, through collage and reuse of etchings. You will still find her walking through blue mountains landscapes, embracing earth and bathing in waterholes; and interacting with the beasts - bathing them, juggling them and dancing on them. “This body of work is my visual vaccination against the malady of wanting to have more, do more, be more,” says Cate. “It’s an honouring of the hush and hold moments of the artistic process and life - everyday moments of love, humour, pain and tenderness.” “Drawing, for me, is a direct way of making sense of what I’m seeing, feeling and thinking. From a drawing, I might make a dry-point by scratching into a surface, inking it up and putting it through the etching process. The process of printmaking adds unexpected contributions to an image. The process of painting is a little different - it seems to be more of a conversation about where things need to go”. Join us for the exhibition opening at Platform Gallery at 5.30pm on Friday 7 June 2019. Interview by Margot Turner.  A mono print of an orchid just after sunset, by Freedom Wilson 17 May - 3 June
Join us for the opening night on Friday 17 May at 5.30pm. In a tribute to wilderness areas in NSW, Kanangra Nights and Autumn Orchids explores light and darkness in these magnificent places, and orchid species that flower in autumn. Local artist and printmaker Freedom Wilson, of the renowned Laughing Bird Studios, has created a body of work inspired by on-location drawings throughout March and April 2019 in the Kanangra Boyd National Park. Hiking is a large part of Freedom’s creative practice. In response to the experience and beauty of Australia’s National Parks, she draws, designs, and silk screen prints onto best quality papers and linens to create accessible art and heirloom textiles. Freedom calls herself a ‘forager, collector of natural found objects, a drawer, printmaker and raw textile lover’ who is ‘enamoured by the beautiful Australian bush.’ Join us for Freedom’s latest exhibition Kanangra Nights and Autumn Orchids, featuring silkscreen prints, mono prints and drawings inspired by local nature.  The Daily Lama Visits Rapunzel by Carmel Gold 26 April – 13 May Join us for the exhibition opening at 5.30pm on Friday 26 April. “My art is about the alchemy of change and reinvention,” says Blue Mountains artist, Carmel Gold. “I create works that examine both our individual journeys and our collective humanity.” “My work also explores the complexity of our relationship with the natural world. I gather materials that are often discarded or seen as useless, and I trawl through these amazing bits until something starts to come together with something else. I aim to have minimal impact on the objects in order to retain the story within the history of any given piece.” Carmel creates sculpture and assemblage from the found objects, which include wood, metal, toys, figurines and lights. The artworks often take on a human, animal or totemic form, or are a visual representation of a journey, with each object serving as metaphor.  The Weight of History by Carmel Gold Carmel’s artworks make a powerful comment on our relationship with the natural and spiritual world. Through her construction of new objects from old, she works to uncover the essence of humanity.
“By juxtaposing the objects in an irrational way, I submit my process to chance to reveal the possibilities of the self and beauty,” says Carmel. “I often infuse an element of whimsy into a piece that both invites and correlates an identification with the past and a deep shared knowing.” Join us for the opening of Carmel’s meditative and beautiful exhibition, Alchemy, on Friday 26 April at 5.30pm.  Excerpt from "The Great Map of Freedom" by Emma Magenta: drawing on pages from the King James Bible 5 - 22 April Join us for the exhibition opening at 5.30pm, Friday 5 April. “How do we find genuine connection, healing and love in a system designed to commodify even the workings of the heart?” asks artist, writer and filmmaker Emma Magenta. Emma attempts to answer this question in her exhibition, Love in the Time of Capitalism. This collection of works and writing deal with the struggles and victories of the heart in an era where human misery is exploited for profit. “I am interested in the fracturing of the human psyche, such as with our masculine and feminine selves, and how this translates into the selling of idealistic romance to trap the human heart into a cycle of disillusionment,” says Emma.  "Thanks For Surviving Capitalism With Me" by Emma Magenta: drawing and collage on a brown paper shopping bag. "This exhibition is the culmination of the writings, artworks and investigations I created for my ABC-funded film, Remembering Agatha. Love in the Time of Capitalism is piecing the fragments into a whole.”
The artworks are generally created on up-cycled materials such as beer boxes, shopping bags, and government penalty notices. It features printed personalised panic attack bags, as well as screenings of Emma’s film, Remembering Agatha. Join us for the opening as we bring together Emma’s profound and beautiful writings, artworks and film for the first time in the Blue Mountains. We look forward to seeing you here. |
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Platform Gallery Pty Ltd
ABN 80 617 217 759 194 Katoomba St Katoomba NSW 2780 |
Get in touch:
02 4742 0047 hello@platformgallery.co |
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