Colourful collab goes face-to-face with public

CAN you picture one hundred unique, vibrant faces framed by one shop window?

A new art exhibition launching this weekend at Sturt Street’s Playing in the Attic, will feature exactly this idea, curated by store owner, Trudy McLauchlan.

“There’s going to be 100 faces staring at anyone who walks past my shop,” she said.

“I’ve got 29 local artists doing 100 paintings, or portraits, in all different mediums… Oils, acrylics, graphite, textiles, and even tattooed leather.

“There’s a real mix of subjects as well, from dogs, to people, the moon, made up characters and local personalities.”

The expressive collaboration, including work by Anna Placidi, Margie Balazic, Deborah Klein, Bren Luke and Maggie Dannatt, was inspired by McLauchlan’s own creative passion for painting faces.

“I thought, what if I got the community involved and invited all the artists I know, and friends of friends, to create a grid of 100 paintings, 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres, just looking out onto the street and filling the width of the little window.

“I just said, here’s your canvas, do me a face. I’ve had an amazing response from a broad mix of artists, whether totally professional or first-time exhibitors. They’re all very cool,” she said.

McLauchlan’s window show has a simple aim, to boost Ballarat’s visual arts community and inspire residents.

“I wanted to do something else in relation to local artists, and during the Winter Festival period. I’m always supporting them in my shop, but this was a chance to do something bigger.

“The timing is perfect. Everyone is probably feeling a bit down, drab and uninspired, but when they walk past, they’ll see this burst of colourful faces and stop in their tracks,” she said.

This Saturday, June 27, One Hundred Faces launches. A 2pm official opening was planned but has been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The exhibition will be up until Sunday, 19 July.