A stunning new exhibition by West Australian artist Nadine Bastow is set to give Melbourne art-lovers a welcome winter dose of warmth, heat and dazzling natural light.
‘What Lies Beneath’, on show from July 18-30, will be the first interstate exhibition hosted by Glimmer Gallery in Caulfield and the first time Melbourne audiences can see first-hand the artist’s richly layered renderings of a landscape steeped in personal and cultural history – Moore River (Yued Noongar country).
Bastow, an artist and art teacher of more than 30 years’ experience including exhibitions internationally, said bringing her latest collection of 20 works to Melbourne was the fulfilment of a long-held dream.
“Melbourne is the cultural epicentre of our country and so being able to step into that space artistically is a really exciting opportunity,” she said. “Exhibiting there in the heart of a Melbourne winter, with pieces full of the land’s inner fire, stark white dunes against rich pthalo blue skies, is a lovely juxtaposition too.”
Bastow said she was drawn to Glimmer Gallery by the energy and passion of its owner, Jodi Webb.
“Jodi has created something very special with this gallery – it’s a beautiful space in a wonderful location and it really evokes a love of visual art in all its forms and complexity,” she said.
The majority of Bastow’s new exhibition pays homage to the Moore River region (also known as Gabbadah) where she spent so much time as a young girl and in the years since.
“For me, that’s a 50-year connection to these dunes and waterways. I am a grateful visitor and my time is fleeting in terms of the region’s full history.
“This land was inhabited by the Yued people for hundreds of thousands of years before us, and to me Gabbadah feels ancient,” she said.
“The river is like an ancient goddess, winding her way through vast areas, rich with diversity fed by ground springs, as she holds the contents of all that happens and exists up river in her swelling belly until it can’t be held any more, violently expelling water into the ocean regularly, inviting all fish life to come and enjoy the spoils.”
