Jill Paynter-O'Meehan
Artist
MIX Artists
MIX Artists Inc is a membership based association for contemporary artists in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The groups objectives are to foster contemporary art practice through the sharing of information, knowledge and ideas, and to promote contemporary artists of the region.
Refugium Exhibition
Anigozanthos rufa is my contribution to the MIX Artists exhibition held at the WA Museum of the Great Southern - Albany. April 2021
Refugium (plural=refugia), Latin for "refuge" or "hideaway". Refuge is a sanctuary, safe hold, ark. For us as humans, the planet is our refugium – our home – the place where we can flourish as a species. In this exhibition, twenty artists from the Great Southern investigate themes related to global and local environmental issues. The concept of refugium applies to the resilience of both the natural and human environment. The combined forces of a viral pandemic and overwhelming climate disasters have tested our ability to adapt and survive on many levels. Our attention has been drawn increasingly towards the devastating loss of species and habitat occurring on a planetary scale.
The native species that have flourished in the Stirling Ranges in the blackened and barren landscape after an intense fire show how well nature can restore itself. I have used crochet and blind drawing techniques to explore the flora regrowth from the refuge within the biodiversity and landscape of the Stirling Ranges. These handcraft techniques have also been a refuge for myself during recent years, a form of slow meditation and growth. Image credit - Bo Wong.
Alternative Archive Exhibition
The Alternative Archive is a pioneering series of 14 unique - yet interconnected - exhibitions celebrating the role of artists as recorders of social history across regional Western Australia. Alternative Archive is part of a state wide Connect to the Creative Grid project. A unique collaborative of over 40 regional Western Australian artists & arts organisations working together to empower and enliven their communities. 32 local communities are engaged in an exciting series of interconnected and enriching arts experiences that enhance social, cultural and economic vibrancy over an 18 month long program.
Medium: Ceramics, yarn, organic matter and found objects.
Micro and macro view of the landscape between my home and the Stirling Ranges. March 2019.
The activity of collecting is a constant practice in my daily life. Organic material found on the ground that I collect is quite often a discarded, or decaying object in the process of returning into the soil of our landscape. I find these forms and this process quite beautiful. I am inspired and fascinated by the natural world and organic forms of all sizes.
Death, preservation and symbolism of vanitas, memento mori, museum display and scientific examination are practices that allow mindfulness and cause for wonder in our thought processes. By immersing ourselves within a microscopic or macro view of these objects, I invite the viewer to contemplate not only this area between my house and the northern side of the Stirling Ranges, but also the larger and very small places within our world.
Reservoir Exhibition
"Fractal Reflection" an installation of water, mirrors and light as my contribution to the groups Reservoir Exhibition held at Albany Town Hall, Feb 2018 and at Artgeo Gallery Busselton, April 2018.
Square Exhibition
Twenty two artists explored the theme of SQUARE in a diverse range of media, including sculpture, painting, photography, textiles, installation and video at the Albany Town Square, Feb 2016. "Slipped Skin" is my contribution to this collaboration of Artists from the Great Southern region.
