Exhibition on nature

FROM September, Bendigo Art Gallery will host an art and poetry exhibition showcasing three artists’ love and observations of the natural world.

Essays on Earth will feature work by John Wolseley and Brodie Ellis, and poetic reflections from Paul Kane’s 2022 collection Earth, Air, Water, Fire.

Collectively, the artists aim to draw attention to the details which make up broader ecological systems.

Wolesley is presenting a selection of nature paintings and woodcuts, including an almost 10-metre scenic painting, commissioned by the National Museum of Victoria, of a detailed landscape of East Arnhem Land.

Ellis lives in Castlemaine and channels her interest in science and ethics into work examining the use of natural resources for technological ambitions.

Part of Ellis’ contribution to the showcase involves sculptural field studies cast in bronze and impressed into clay, and digitally hand-coloured photography experiments in botanical and mineral microscopy.

Her work has been delivered across public and commercial spaces throughout the nation and overseas, and in collections such as at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart.

Kane, who divides his time between his native New York and central Victoria, is the author and editor of more than 20 books and has been involved in Australian arts for a long time.

He was recognised for his service to Australian literature with the Order of Australia in 2021 and has been director of the Mildura Writers Festival.

Essays on Earth will be on exhibition from Saturday 9 September to Sunday 14 January and was curated with Clare Needham.