A Sense of Place
A Sense of Place installation view. Imants Tillers Spirit of Place 1983, synthetic polymer paint on canvas board, 142 x 240 cm, Acquired 2003, TarraWarra Museum of Art collection
7 November 2004 - 22 May 2005
This exhibition considered the insistence of landscape in the history of Australian visual art, and explored the meaning of place in our lives. Including paintings from the TWMA collection together with selected works from private collections, A Sense of Place presented a wide array of cultural and social issues such as history, politics, economics and around the idea of the land and ranges from early twentieth century experiences to more current relationships with both natural and constructed environments.
A number of works in the exhibition explored not only how we individually relate to particular kinds of places and spaces, but also how our perception of identity is highlighted through the depiction of the figure in the landscape; it offers, in turn, a real and idealised account of Australia. Other works also explored memory associated with specific places and how experiences or relationships with the land serve to enrich understanding of ourselves, our communities, our country and the world in general. Included work by Imants Tillers, Peter Booth, Jeffrey Smart, Rosalie Gascoigne, Sam Fullbrook, Louise Hearman, Brett Whiteley and many others.