This exhibition brings together local artists Deborah Malor and Shirley Tier in an exploration of landscape beyond the visible order imposed by maps: the strictures and structures of human habitation. 

What lies beneath the grids, boundaries and the imposed straight-jacket of colonial aspirations?  Starting with a series of twelve shared works as a springboard for collaboration, the artists establish a dialogue—then diverge, each pursuing their own visual language, exchanging insights along the journey. 

Artists’ statement:

As individuals — and artists — we have aimed to unmap the landscape and, in the process, to re-map it in terms of our individual experiences. We are led by materials, memories and observations — rather than formal maps — in our encounters with landscapes.

As we share particular methods — collage, water-based media, mark-making– our process for this exhibition began in collaboration and then developed along individual stylistic lines. Although the work of both artists is essentially abstract, references to universally-understood maps and plans abound, sign-posting what are otherwise personal experiences of places, stories, small things.

Throughout the process, the aim is always to unmap the imposed cartography, to bring in to focus instead our own direct experiences of the land. 

For more information please visit: https://armidaleartgallery.com/tracks-and-traces/