Exhibition: 11 April – 10 May 2025
Opening event: 12 April, 5 – 7pm RSVP
Gallery Walk Through
Shifting Sands of Land and Memory features a new series of acrylic paintings by Magan-djin/Brisbane-based artist Paula Payne. Drawing inspiration from recent time spent as Artist in Residence at the Broken Hill Art Exchange—located on Wilyakali Country in far-west New South Wales—this new series captures the emotive resonance of the surrounding landscapes. Payne’s abstracted recollections reflect her travels through the Menindee Lakes in Kinchega National Park and the long drive through the desert from Mildura to Adelaide.
Undoubtedly, the notion of time is posited through multiple lenses within this body of work through subtle nuances of colour, incongruous structures and abstracted forms. These elements provide a framework that reflect Payne’s ongoing exploration of the land’s essence and its relationship to time within an historical, colonial, and archaeological context. She suggests that her practice is “to listen to and observe the land, to sense the echoes of deep time that exist in open spaces and littoral zones, and [to] consider the notion that land is deeply rooted in time and archaeological and human history”. The artist’s deep engagement with observing and listening to the landscape fosters a mood of melancholy, rooted in her awareness of Australia’s colonial history and her reverence for the natural world.
Image: Louis Lim. Courtesy of the artist and Onespace.