Helen McCullagh
Meagan Jacobs
Land Of Many Islands
‘Land Of Many Islands’ is a series of paintings, small landscapes created before the world changed.
My intention was to have many more paintings completed though as ambitious as I predicted, unfortunately when life as we know it shifted I found myself floundering momentarily.
Painted on the veranda during the peak of a Central Desert summer these paintings are imagined landscapes inspired through vividly recalling the surrounding country (Warlpirri Country) the land that greatly impacts my life.
Intentionally keeping the surface small and manageable due to the heat, the challenge was to allow the flat surface to give way and open up a wide open space, pulling the viewer into my world. Particular landscapes have the power to conjure up vessels full of mixed emotion. Massive antiquated sandstone deposits speak of timelessness and strength while the breathtaking beauty of a distant vista whispers infinity and freedom. Solitude, loneliness, melancholy all brood around the shadows of a black mountain foreboding a sense of danger while the opposing shimmering light of a quartz outcrop can be overwhelming positive.
During this period of painting, my weeks where spent working with the talented artists at Warlukurlangu Aboriginal Art Centre, a privileged position. The art centre is a thriving creative hub situated in Yuendumu (385km north west of Alice Springs on the Tanami Track). At the time of writing this the art centre has now temporarily closed to artists for safety reasons, I remain.
Working alongside the talented artists of Yuendumu and experiencing many cultural differences has seen my own artistic practice morph into a much more focused direction allowing conventional ideas of the perfect painting to slip away and concentrate on creating from a much deeper place within.
We are all a ‘Land Of Many Islands’.
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40 x 50 cm Oil on Board $950
40 x 50 cm Oil on Board $1500
35 x 50 cm Oil on Board $850
20 x 30 cm Oil on Board $650
20 x 30 cm Oil on Board $650
40 x 50 cm Oil on Board $950
30 x 40 cm Oil on Board $1100
30 x 40 cm Oil on Board $750
35 x 50 cm Oil on Board $850
40 x 50 cm Oil on Board $1500
30 x 40 cm Oil on Board $750
30 x 40 cm Oil on Board $750
30 x 40 cm Oil on Board $750
40 x 50 cm Oil on Board $950
40 x 40 cm Oil on Board $1300
40 x 40 cm Oil on Board $1300
Individual Exhibitions:
2018 'Shadow Place' Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2017 'Shadow Dog' Manse Studio Milton
2017 'Sunday Road' Gallery East Clovelly
2016 'Heart Land' Tallwood – Mollymook
2016 'Walking Thru The Land' Gallery East Clovelly
2015 'Desert, Dogs & Dust – Cupitts Winery
2014 'Unearth III' - Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2012 'Unearth' Ulladulla Guest House Gallery
2011 'Round a Lazy Bend' Ulladulla Guest House Gallery
2010 'Imagining Ruby' Ulladulla Guest House Gallery
2009 'Embellish' Ulladulla Guest House Gallery
2007 'My Space' Shoalhaven City Art Centre
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2020 ‘Small Works’ - Fenton & Fenton Melbourne
2019 'Modern Love' AK Bellinger Gallery Inverell
2018 '20 Year Anniversary' Gallery East Clovelly
2017 'Summer Group Show' Gallery East Clovelly
2016 'Interconnected' Form Gallery Queanbeyan
2014 'Lost in Waste' Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2014 'Reading the Land' Ulladulla
2013 Broken Hill Solar Powered Film Festival
2012 'Eight Shades of Red' Alley Gallery Ulladulla
2012 'COA Award' Alley Gallery Ulladulla
2011 'Summer on the Coast' Alley Gallery Ulladulla
2011 'Alley Archies' Alley Gallery Ulladulla
2010 'Black & White' Alley Gallery Ulladulla
2009 'Uke & Art' King Studio Milton
2009 'La Vita Artistica' Salmon Gallery McMahons Point
2009 12th Meroogal Womens Art Prize touring exhibition - selected
2009 Meroogal Womens Art Prize Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2009 'Playful Art' Salmon Galleries McMahons Point
2008 'Scissors Paper Rock' Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2008 'From the Ground Up' Coast Gallery Milton
2008 Meroogal Womens Art Prize Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2008 'Group Show' Michael Commerford Art Gallery - Rushcutters Bay
2007 'Mountains to the Sea' Coast Gallery Milton
2007 'Global' Coast Gallery Milton 2006 "Abstraction" Global Gallery Paddington
2006 Meroogal Womens Art Prize Shoalhaven Regional Gallery
2006 'Spring' Green House Gallery Milton
2003 'Group Show' Salmon Galleries McMahons point
2002 'Blend' Tabula Rasa Contemporary Art Festival