Art Space shines for sensory seekers

VISUAL artist Emily Van Der Molen calls herself a sponge.

“I take in all the energy from the world around me, and I can transform it into artworks,” she said.

That idea was the premise for the works she’s presenting as part of Neuroalchemy, her exhibition at Art Space Ballarat on Lydiard Street.

Van Der Molen also has a “huge garden” which inspired the “floral vibe” of the mixed media pieces throughout the show, made in recent months. Each of these features all the vibrant colours of the rainbow, bar brown.

“I’d describe myself as a visual sensory-seeker, so when it comes to colour, I can’t get enough of it.

“Sometimes I challenge myself to be subtle, but I just have to keep adding more and more, making a piece brighter and brighter, and adding sparkle through glitter and shiny things. I’m a bit of a magpie,” she said.

“Colour makes me feel alive and calms me. It’s good for my soul, and I hope when people come into the exhibition, they get a similar sensory experience.”

Recycling and repurposing materials, including dried paint on palettes leftover from the creation of other works, is a staple of Van Der Molen’s process.

“Anything that feels like it could work, I hoard. There’s probably six or seven layers within a work, with craft materials like polystyrene balls, and bits of rubbish like soft drink bottles, for example.”

Neuroalchemy is open Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm.