By Karina Devine
There are a growing number of graduates living on the Southern Downs who have achieved multiple qualifications in the visual arts. This injection of critical thinking and expertise is adding dynamism to the visual art scene across the region.
Warwick Art Gallery is proud to present an exhibition by Amelia Wilmer who received a Griffith University
Award for Academic Excellence when she graduated from the Queensland College of Art in 2016.
Amelia’s field of study was painting under the tutelage of highly regarded Queensland practitioners
Professor Mostyn Bramley-Moore, Dr Miles Hall, Joe Furlonger, Jenny Watson and Dr Julie Fragar.
Amelia, with her husband Brian, moved to Emu Vale a little over a year ago. Their tree change was
inspired by their ambition to find a home with a view and land for Brian’s horses. What they found was a
property with space and a consummate view east towards Mount Misery and, from the moment Amelia
saw that view, she knew she had found the perfect inspiration for a new exhibition.
The exhibition Proximities invites us to consider the space around us, space that is distant and space
that we hardly notice as it is so familiar to us. Amelia is passionate about understanding the relationship
between contemporary society, evolution, science and the mystery of the universe. This curiosity
manifests in her paintings.
“In my work I consider how our assessment of space and distance determines our emotional experience
of objects – whether that is awe at the sight of a supernova exploding in the far reaches of the universe, or alarm at a discarded plastic bag floating in the ocean just metres from an unsuspecting turtle,” says Amelia.
“I find the incongruity of things like a herd of cattle grazing against the improbable backdrop of
Surfers Paradise skyscrapers amusing”
Visitors to Proximities will experience works that explore the broadest concept of space – that it is
something both far away and intimate.
The exhibition contains a narrative that links groups of works together. Several dramatic paintings begin
the exhibition which were inspired by images taken from the Hubble Telescope. Another series of works
considers the ocean as the place where organisms evolved and moved onto dry land. Finally the
landscape takes centre stage where the paintings pay tribute to the beauty of the countryside and
nature.
Proximities opens on Thursday 26 August and concludes on Saturday 2 October. The exhibition
will be officially opened by Dr Julie Fragar Senior Lecturer at Queensland College of Art on
Saturday 28 August at 10.30 am. Amelia will also present an illustrated lecture “What Makes a
Good Painting” on Saturday 18 September at 10.30am.
