Seeking Ludwig

Ludwig Becker was the artist and naturalist attached to the Burke and Wills expedition. Born in Darmstadt, Germany, Becker arrived in Australia in 1851, and soon became a prominent figure in Melbourne’s scientific and artistic circles.

Beckers brief for the infamous expedition included the observation of natural phenomena, production of sketches and maps, keep a diary and collect specimens.

This exhibition through sculpture, photography, and painting, looks at the harsh climatic conditions and the loneliness and isolation of the land. 

Linked Landscapes

Linked Landscapes is a selection of works by Anneke Silver, one of North Queensland’s most highly regarded landscape artists. The exhibition demonstrates contemporary engagement with ancient Antipodean landscapes.
Linked Landscapes enjoys the landscape in its entirety; the crevices and trickling water of the gorge; dusty rocks and windy shadows of grasslands; silhouetted mountains, rain bearing clouds and the river’s reflection of submerged tree trucks. With a gentle lyricism, Linked Landscapes speaks of the powerful connectedness of nature on canvas.

Say it with Flowers

Flowers have long been a part of our important cultural ceremonies, and our unique flora are bound to our sense of national identity. Say it with Flowers is an exhibition that aims to engage the viewer in questions about the environment and our relationship with it.

In Say it with Flowers, artist Linelle Stepto, has replicated iconic Australian flowers, such as the waratah and the gum, in the skins of animals feral to Australia, such as the cane toad - raising questions about globilisation and the threatened loss of the local and the unique.
 

View the Interview with Linelle Stepto transcript

Landscapes

Every city has its rubbish; we produce waste in every part of out daily lives. It is what we do with this waste which is the crucial point. Do we recycle, reuse, renew or just toss it.

Over 5 days, artists Julie Collins and Derek John will re- create the Bundaberg landscape using rubbish collected on Clean up Australia day. Landscapes aims to draw attention to the amount of waste  we produce as a society – creating something beautiful out of something so ugly, making us question our personal actions.

Trans-located

New Zealand born artist Julie Krone explores the interaction between Indigenous and European cultures in trans-located. Krone’s work centres around timber building blocks that present examples of culturally specific language and ornamentation.  By incorporating images and ideas of both Maori and Pakeha influences from her youth, she is shifting the boundaries of what is perceived to be meaningful and what may be seen as decorative. This is an area of ambiguity and conflict where different cultures are often mutually misunderstood.

Showing Their Bits: BRAG Volunteers on Show

They are the people with extensive knowledge, they are they ones that snap up the collectable artworks, and artistic talents from constant exposure to the arts. Showing Their Bits: BRAG Volunteers is an exhibition of artworks by and artworks collected by the volunteers working at BRAG.

Crossing all mediums this exhibition will highlight the important and key roles that volunteers play in the visual arts, from artists to administration, design to installation.

Industry

Industry is a series of sculptural installations by Toowoomba artist Maria Richardson. In this exhibition, Maria explores whether our ideas about traditional “women’s work” have really changed. Has the “liberation” of women from traditional roles and expectations actually happened? Or is it society’s assumption that the continuation of the unpaid work of homemaking remains a feminine responsibility with the additional expectation of also participating in the paid workforce?

Staging the Object

Artist Len Watson explores the legacy of minimal art and the effects created such as reflections, and shadows, with an emphasis on materials. In Staging the Object, Len Watson examines the use of sugar as a material and will make reference to Bundaberg’s historical relationship with the sugar industry and it’s importance in global sugar production.

Namatijira to Now

The great Albert Namatjira’s adoption of the European medium of watercolour for his landscape paintings remains an inspiration to contemporary artists from Ntaria (Hermannsburg) and surrounding regions of Central Australia. Since the 1930s, artists there have been producing vibrant and highly regarded art that has made their country celebrated throughout Australia.

This Queensland Art Gallery traveling exhibition will highlight work by Indigenous Australian artists from the Hermannsburg School and will include watercolours (from the original and subsequent generations). Ceramics and acrylic paintings on canvas.
 

Caverns of Magic

Caves, caverns and grottoes have been utilised for many functions throughout history including shelter, protection, storage and ceremonial occasions and hold an important place in art history -  with cave paintings considered to be the earliest forms of art. Caverns of Magic is comprised of a contemporary collection of carved, sponge sculptures housed within cavities in the walls. Stalagmites and stalactites descend from the ceiling and rise up from the ground constructed from sponge sink plugs each representing a single drops of water.