Familiar sights of cane fields and farming activities are given new perspective through the eyes of three of the region’s artists in their exhibition, ‘Harvest and Heritage’, now on show at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery.
Maggie Spenceley, Carmel Birchley and Colleen Helmore have a shared interest in the region’s agriculture and history which has inspired the artworks in the exhibition.
Both Carmel and Colleen were brought up in cane farming families, while Maggie’s interest is in botanical specimens.
“When Carmel brought up the idea with Maggie, I thought it was great because, like Carmel, coming from a cane farming background, there’s so much involved that people drive past and don’t see,” Colleen said.
“And it does give you a different feeling for what farmers have to cope with.
“I felt it was a really good excuse to highlight what they do and highlight the dramas of what they’re facing and the costs, and probably give them a pat on the back at the same time.”
Included in the exhibition are Carmel’s photographs which have informed her artworks.
“I now, for the past 30 odd years, am back living amongst cane land without any responsibility for it,” Carmel said.
“So, I have all the chances to go and photograph and watch what they do and appreciate the work they put into it and the heartache they have.
“[I am] trying to bring a focus on the importance of our agricultural land and honour our heritage.”
Coming from a botanical background, Maggie said she was drawn to the crops grown in the Bundaberg Region.
“I focussed more on the actual crops and looked at how the crops grew, what they look like when you’re just driving past and seeing leaves,” Maggie said.
“And then looking at some of the problems that are associated with farming, like the pests and the diseases.
“Coming from a teaching background, a lot of it was education about the surroundings of here, what you’re driving past every day, what you’re seeing every day.
“I was really conscious of the fact that so much of our good agricultural land is being taken over by housing, so that was a starting point.”
The three artists have exhibited together previously and enjoy similarities and differences in their artistic creations.
“We all paint in a realistic manner and we’re a similar age so we see things probably different to young people,” Colleen said.
“Different things we’ve experienced so of course we can enjoy painting those things.”
Maggie added that, as they painted in different mediums, each piece in the exhibition provided a different perspective.
“Colleen does watercolour almost exclusively, I do a bit of graphite, colour pencil, a bit of acrylic and ink work, and Carmel does almost everything in pastel.”
The exhibition is grouped into themes reflecting the artists’ interests, from heritage and traditional crops through to modern practices and growing industries.
“We’ve got, in one room, the historical way they did cane harvesting and through to the current way they harvest cane,” Carmel said.
“And more of the different crops that have taken over due to different reasons why the different crops are taking over the land,” Colleen said.
“Farmers have had to be remarkably resilient over the years.”
Each artist will present an artist demonstration on their chosen technique throughout the exhibition period.
Carmel demonstrated the art of scraper board on the exhibition opening weekend, Colleen will demonstrate watercolour on Saturday 7 November and Maggie will present her demonstration on Saturday 14 November.
‘Harvest and Heritage’ is on display at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery until 28 November.
