Water: presence & absence

Curator: Rilka Oakley

BLUE MOUNTAINS CULTURAL CENTRE KATOOMBA

‘Confluence’ artists: Rochelle Summerfield with Tracy Pateman and Will Rodgers

Rochelle Summerfield, 2.5m x 3.5m drawings and wall paintings (River sediment, mud, gouache, and pencil) and wall paintings (gouache graphitie)
Tracy Pateman, Silversmith and small metal works.
Will Rodgers, Acoustic Ecologist and musician, site specific recordings and editing.
https://hopefuldisruptions.bandcamp.com/album/confluence

‘Confluence’ is an installation that was a part of Water: presence & absence, curator Rilka Oakley, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre and the photos are courtesy of BMCC and photo credit is to silversalt.

From 10 December 2022 to 29 January 2023, curator Rilka Oakley curated the exhibition titled WATER: presence & absence at the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery. This project was an important expose on the urgent need for awareness around our most precious resources, Water. It featured significant works by local and national artists including voices of First Nations, custodians and creatives focusing on the cultural significance and meanings of Water and included works by Judy Watson, Leanne Tobin, Haines & Hinterding, Yvonne Koolmatrie among others. ‘Confluence’ was an installation in this show with the work of Rochelle Summerfield (drawings and paintings), Tracy Pateman (small metals) and Will Rodgers (sound artist).

Rochelle Summerfield’s work in Confluence was an important part of the show and used traditional media in exciting ways. Using Summerfield’s large-scale Tree portraits (2.5-4.2m) from three locations along the Clarence River, the artists created a dynamic installation that combined large works on paper, drawing, river sediment, small metal sculptures, wall paintings and sound. Summerfield executed the wall paintings in the gallery showing her technical ability to work spontaneously and directly with gouache. Including Tracy Pateman’s wire elements, this installation created an intricate and subtle form of low relief.  The sound works from three speakers were recorded and edited from specific sites up and downstream along the Clarence River by Will Rodgers creating an immersive installation. Images courtesy of the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery and photographed by silversalt.