Hill End Residency

My month-long stay in Murray's Cottage (November, 2015), as part of the Bathurst Regional Gallery Hill End Artist in Residence program, was an incredibly inspiring and productive experience! Working both in the Murray's studio and outdoors in Golden Gully, it was a great period of artistic growth and experimentation. I immersed myself in getting to know a landscape that has been painted many times in Australian Art History, a landscape that I found deeply wounded (by colonial mining and continued erosion), yet ultimately transcendent and endlessly intriguing. I am very grateful to Bathurst Regional Gallery for the opportunity, to ArtsACT for their Out-Of-Round Funding support, and to the community of Hill End for welcoming me with open arms! Scroll on down to see a few photos and some images of the work that I created (click to enlarge):

 <<--- Fallen Sentinels, 2015, pencil in concertina book, 21cm x 221cm --->>

Sheffield International Artist's Book Prize

It's wonderful to have Thunder-Rush, my artist's book of sketches and poetry from the Franklin River, included as part of the 2015 Sheffield International Artist's Book Prize currently on display at Bank Street Arts in Sheffield, England. The exhibition is the inspiration and centrepiece for the Opening Up the Book festival and showcases over 200 books from nearly 400 individual entries from 42 different countries. The exhibition runs from the 7th - 31st October, but I'm pleased that Thunder-Rush will remain in England afterwards as part of the Bank Street Arts Permanent Collection.

Thunder-Rush Rapid, concertina book with clamshell box (digital print with archival pigment inks, cover features hand printed woodcut), 12cm x 16cm x 3cm (dimensions of box), 2015, edition of 10

Sketches from Fiji

Shards of sky grasped by shivering Palms

First star pierces blue-grey twilight

Thin trunks sway with elastic rhythm

 

A howling crescendo

Cuts through velvet black

Tent shells rattle and resound

 

Come morning

Trade winds roll on the backs of breakers

Erratic gusts fling up sheets of spray

 

Countless beads of liquid reflect

A fleeting flash, a heartbeat

A rainbow shattering into the sea

 

Annika Romeyn

14th -24th June 2015: a truly amazing journey - kayaking, camping and snorkeling our way along the Yasawa Island chain in Fiji. Thanks Mum, Dad, Judd, Aporosa, Wanita and Terry!

CORE: Australian Printmakers Invitational, N.Z.

It was an absolute pleasure to participate in CORE: Australian Printmakers Invitational exhibition at Waiheke Community Art Gallery (New Zealand) curated by Katherine Kennedy (July 17th-August 17th, 2015). I made two new lithographs responding to the 'core' theme and was honoured to exhibit alongside artists Ben Rak, Kyoko Imazu, Linda Swinfield, Olivia Willson,Tanya Crothers, Jet James, Michael Kempson, Rew Hanks, Rafael Butron, Dale Harding, Vernon Ah Kee, Elisabeth Cummings, Chris O’Doherty aka Reg Mombassa, and Katherine Kennedy. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit New Zealand, explore the beautiful surrounding environment of Waiheke Island (40min ferry ride from Auckland) and attend a fabulous exhibition opening!

With my lithographs Flux (top) and Spiral (bottom) at the exhibition opening

Wandering around Waiheke Island - what an amazing location for an art exhibition!

Passage Solo Exhibition & Artist Talk

ARTIST TALK, Flinders Lane Gallery:
"Join Annika as she discusses the development of her arts practice which spans drawing, printmaking and painting processes, the natural landscape that inspires her so greatly, and her debut solo exhibition, 'Passage.' Held at FLG on Saturday 21st March 2015."

Many thanks to Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne for a great experience - I look forward to more exhibitions as a represented artist at FLG. Thanks also to Canberra Arts Patrons Organisation for assisting with the creation of new work for this exhibition (via the 2014 McGrath Emerging Artist Award) and to Arjen Romeyn for his assistance and support (especially with the Thunder-Rush Rapid concertina book construction). I really appreciated everyone taking the time to visit/enjoy the exhibition in person and/or online! Here are some photos of the work on display:

Passage, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne, 2015 (install photos by Dean Butters)