Beneath the Canopies photographic exhibition captures love of trees
Published on 23 May 2022
It’s often said that a picture speaks a thousand words.
Visual artist Kerrie Warren has inspired a tree loving photographic collaboration with colleagues Kurnai artist and co-author, Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison, and professional cinematographer, Darryl Whitaker.
Their artistic collaboration has resulted in the stunning Beneath the Canopies exhibition, which is on now at Frankston Arts Centre.
Ms Warren said: “Each artist has a history of embracing trees as both subject matter and backdrop for visual story and creative exploration in their otherwise diverse practices.
“The images aim to inspire visitors to the Frankston Arts Centre to stop and take a moment to enjoy a breath of fresh air generated through art inspired by nature.”
Ms Warren added that she found ‘solace’ in the bush tracks behind her studio throughout lockdown and discovered a ‘need to walk, go bush and ground (herself) among the trees’.
Later connecting with collaborating artists Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison and Darryl Whitaker, it “(seemed) a natural course of events to continue on and bring our diverse practices and perspectives together in an artistic project”.
“Like Individual trees we come together to form a canopy, to create a sheltered place for others to stop and wonder,” she said.
Ms Warren received an Artist Project Grant from Frankston City Council. She is excited to bring Beneath the Canopies to the Frankston community and encourages viewers to ‘stop and behold’ the sense of being among trees.
Although born in Melbourne, Ms Warren’s family relocated regularly, so her childhood memories are a collage of loosely linked impressions that criss-cross the landscapes of Australia’s south and south east.
With studios across Victoria and having exhibited her artwork across the world from China to New York, her works explore humanity’s relationship with nature through large scale pieces using techniques of abstract expressionism.
Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison was born at Lake Tyers Mission Station ‘Bung Yarnda’. A Kurnai woman, she is a talented visual artist and highly respected Elder.
Her paintings reflect her deep connection to country, to her ancestors, family and the Dreamtime. Aunty Eileen participated in Regional Arts Victoria Possum Skin Cloak Making Project and she proudly wore a cloak in the 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne. Co-author of Black Swan, A Koori Woman’s Life, she shares her personal story.
Exhibitions include Connections to Country, at the Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale 2018 and Two Strong Sisters Connected at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Melbourne Museum 2020.
Darryl Whitaker has been a professional cinematographer since 1990. He has produced television commercials for the Prime network and a wide range of corporate and nature based productions for Parks Victoria and DELWP.
He bought his first DSLR in 2007 and joined the Latrobe Valley Camera Club of which he is now President. Still photography was the perfect accompaniment to cinematography and gave him all the excuses he ever needed to spend more time in the high country photographing snow gums, a subject he wishes to put into book in the near future. His first book, Gippsland - A Photographer’s Guide, was released in 2015.
Beneath the Canopies is on exhibition at Frankston Arts Centre until June 25. For more information, please visit https://artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au/