December 11, 2015
An art exhibition that dazzled crowds for two months at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery will go on tour around Queensland.
“A Sense Of Wonder” by Tingoora artist Robyn Dower and her sister, Kay Gorring from Brisbane, has been awarded a $14,980 grant from the South Burnett Regional Council’s RADF Fund.
The grant will help meet half the costs of touring the exhibition to Gympie, Bundaberg, Chinchilla, Biloela and Tambo from April 2016 to October 2017.
This is the first time the RADF Committee has funded a touring exhibition by a South Burnett artist, and the sisters propose to use it to help promote the region and its arts culture through the Wide Bay-Burnett and central western Queensland.
They are working with the council’s Tourism Development Officer to distribute South Burnett information kits wherever they go.
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“A Sense Of Wonder” is a multimedia installation artwork that recreates the interior of a fictional house called Grandma Kate’s Cottage.
The heart-warming story of the house and its occupants is told in an introductory poem that visitors are asked to read before they enter.
Once inside, they can then explore the “house” to find clues about how the story ends.
The exhibition is full of quirky oddities – papier mache mice and farm animals, paintings, sculptures, quilts and flowers – that all recreate aspects of the story.
It even features a large double bed which has something asleep and breathing heavily under the blankets.
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Robyn and Kay worked for three years to prepare “A Sense Of Wonder”, and it debuted to a large crowd at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery in December last year.
Curator Elaine Madill described it as the most unique exhibition the Gallery had ever hosted, and during its two month run it drew record attendances.
Since then, Robyn and Kay have continued to develop the project and have fielded a growing pile of fan letters and emails from viewers who’ve enthused over the show.
“Many people have told us the exhibition gave them warm feelings no other exhibition has ever done,” Robyn said.
“A few have even told us they broke out in tears when they were viewing it.
“That’s wonderful, because that’s what we wanted to do – to convey a good feeling, a good impression that reached out and really touched people.”
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At present, the exhibition is on display at Maryborough’s Customs House, in conjunction with the Maryborough Art Gallery – the first time an art exhibition has ever been held inside the heritage-listed building.
“A Sense Of Wonder” went on display there in early September and was included as part of this year’s Maryborough Open House Festival.
It will remain at the Customs House until the end of January.
After this, it will travel to:
- The Banana Shire Art Gallery at Biloela – April 6 to May 29, 2016
- The Bundaberg Shire Art Gallery – July 19 to September 18, 2016
- The Gympie Regional Art Gallery – January 2017
- The White Gums Gallery at Chinchilla – March 25 to May 3, 2017
- The Grasslands Art Gallery in Tambo – early September to late October 2017
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