Rainforest-inspired works on show at Uki café-post office

A LOCAL artist is drawing on the Gondwana rainforest for a new exhibition showing at Bastion Lane Espresso Bar in Uki.

Brenda Bryant’s exhibition, Shadows and Light, features eight paintings inspired by rainforest landscapes and is on display at the café-post office until February 25.

The exhibition marks Bryant’s second showing at the venue, also known as Art Post, which has become a regular exhibition space for local artists.

Bryant said the Gondwana rainforest and the remnants of the Big Scrub had long influenced her work.

A series of paintings reference the Big Scrub, a World Heritage-listed rainforest that once covered about 75,000 hectares of the Northern Rivers but now remains at about one per cent of its original size.

Bryant said her work aimed to reflect both the beauty of the forest and its disappearance.

“I try to capture the morning atmosphere of a rainforest, and the uplifting sense of wonder you receive from it,” she said.

“The dampness and the curious tranquillity of the forest are what I want to evoke.”

She works primarily with oils and pastels to create what she described as a soft, misty effect and sometimes includes fantastical elements inspired by her interest in Tolkien.

“I sometimes add mysterious eyes to my paintings to encourage a sense of fantasy,” Bryant said.

Bastion Lane Espresso Bar owner Gary Wall said Art Post was designed to provide an accessible exhibition space outside traditional galleries.

“Galleries can feel a bit out of reach at times, but here artists can show their work in a space people already use and enjoy,” Wall said.

Shadows and Light is the 66th exhibition hosted by Art Post, which has supported local artists for eight years.