MORE THAN ALL THE LITTLE PEARLY SHELLS
More Than All The Little Pearly Shells features the work of Adolf Gustav Plate, a late 19th Century European painter and Phillip Juster, a Brisbane born artist influenced by the Pop Art of the seventies.
Together they provide approximately 76 artworks, which are set in a yin-and-yang like juxtaposition around the walls as the sounds of waves and wind swish in the background. Additionally, a small collection of shells and stamps circles the middle of the gallery, while Pacific traditional headdresses, made by self-taught artist Tito Schmidt-Stowers, loom above various parts of the exhibition.
Plate’s work, done mostly in watercolour and oil, depict ocean harbours, landscapes, people and sometimes, the daily rituals of Fiji, New Zealand and Indonesia in the late 1800s. While his technique seems crude and rustic, somehow Plate’s scenes are intricate and lively; his muted yet natural tones reflecting the major hallmarks of realism.
The pieces by Juster were created in the late 90s in a series of works, which all utilise an acrylic and collage ensemble. In each work, a patchwork story is told, a mishmash of drawings or photos, and then set against brash reds, baby blues and bright oranges. The result is loud, asymmetrical and provocative; a postmodernist pastiche against the inner workings of colonialism.
At first glance, it’s not clear what these two artists, separated by 100 years and differing mediums and aesthetics, have in common? And furthermore, why they’ve been placed in an exhibition together? But it is no accident. In fact, combined they create a dialogue between colonialism and post-colonialism, revealing the legacy of the former on the latter and how these differing perspectives were shaped by the dominant modes of thought at the time.
While the work of both artists is visually pleasing and overall, the exhibition is polished and thought-provoking due its design and political subject matter, I’m not sure it is that interesting enough to warrant the trip. It’s a planes, trains and automobiles (well ok, minus the planes) adventure to get to this gallery and if you’re not up to scratch on the tenets of post-colonialism or interested in realism or the Pacific region, it might be all a bit lost on you.
Until Jan 29, Penrith Regional Gallery, 86 River Rd, Emu Plains, free, 4735 1100, penrithregionalgallery.org
