Sue Anderson

SUE ANDERSON Closer to Ocean 9 – 28 February 2021

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE

Invites you to the opening

SUE ANDERSON Closer to Ocean Tuesday 9 February 2021 6pm – 8pm 35 Derby Street Collingwood VIC 3066 Current until Sunday 28 February 2021 Open 7 days 10am to 6pm T 03 9417 4303 melbourne@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au

Photography: Ross Bird Photography Front cover: Moonah way to The Heads (detail) 2020 oil on linen 81 x 200 cm

Closer to Ocean is a group of paintings responding to the coastal environment of Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff. There are many thresholds, between land and sea, ocean and bay, sea and sky, past and present. Land of the Wadawurrung, this area is witness to our history, bearer of our climate, surrounded by horizons of hope for the future.

Artist in studio, 2020

Artist statement These landscape paintings from the area around Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff are responses to a full immersion into a new environment. A coastal area surrounded by massive expanses of water, ocean and bay, of dunes covered with Moonah and Tea Tree, of cliffs and rock pools and enormous skies, these works are the beginning of a new artistic relationship with a place. During a year of hard realities including bushfires and a worldwide pandemic it was a time to be grateful to be alive in such a beautiful and stimulating landscape. Days were spent walking, observing the coastline, from the sandy shore, or in the water, on a board, or a boat. Looking out from piers and under a lighthouse or the prow of a vessel, there were many horizons of endless possibilities to create.

The tides, the winds, the sounds of the waves, the smells of the sea all push and pull your senses until you yourself are absorbed into it and become part of it.

The constantly changing dynamic of the plant life on the dune, and in the rock pools, revealing varieties of seaweeds, grasses and shellfish are always a surprise and delight to witness. Many questions arise as you walk along this coastline. The Wadawurrung people who flourished here for thousands of years would have watched the sails of the colonisers come into view from these dunes. These people are company on the walks, prodding you with questions on how to acknowledge their ownership, and their understanding of their country. The harsh history of colonisation, the experiences of early seafarers, the immigrants and refugees coming in by boat, modern ships of commerce travelling in and out of The Heads, the extremities of weather and climate change, surround you. All are evident and calling for your response.

Looking out to sea from the dune or the dappled shade of Moonah and Tea Tree there are infinite mysteries, and possibilities. Beginning a new relationship with a place takes time and a slow considerate observing and absorbing.

Many days are spent looking at ancient cliffs and shifting sand, exposed rocks one day that disappear the next.

New birdcalls are heard, attention is given to small details of remnant seaweeds laid out in different patterns each day according to the weather and seasons, the tide and winds. Changing perspectives and views are noticed as you walk, or float on a boat in swinging currents in the waters between Queenscliff and Sorrento. There are many stories and histories to learn, as massive tankers cruise past. Underneath the swirling waters are ancient fossil forests of where the land once joined.

There is so much to observe and discover in this environment. The challenge is how to release and communicate these new and vivid experiences into paintings and artworks. These are my interpretations and responses. – Sue Anderson, January 2021

Higher tide 2020 oil on linen 121 x 200 cm

Windy walk with escaped gardens 2020 oil on linen 90 x 110 cm

Moonah way to The Heads 2020 oil on linen 81 x 200 cm

Before Queenscliff 2020 oil on linen 172 x 139 cm

Spring dune 2020 oil on linen 163 x 138 cm

Ocean road 2020 oil on linen 163 x 138 cm

Kunuwarra, black swans of Queenscliff 2020 oil on linen 110 x 90 cm

Moonah breeze 2020 oil on linen 110 x 90 cm

Tidal pools 2020 oil on linen 110 x 90 cm

Full moon nesting with pigface 2020 oil on linen 110 x 90 cm

Current changes 2021 oil on linen 161 x 101 cm

Lines in the sand 2021 oil on linen 161 x 138 cm

SUE ANDERSON

Back beach dune 2021 hand built raku ceramic vessel 49 x 20 x 20 cm

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S MELBOURNE: Derby Street 03 9417 4303 Stock Rooms 03 9417 2422 SYDNEY: Roylston Street 02 9360 5177 enquiries@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au Design and Production by Publishing