Solo Exhibition of the 2021 Eramboo Artist in Residence

When: 11th – 21st November 2021
Open afternoon: Sunday 14th November 2021, 2 – 4pm
Times: 10am – 4:00pm
Location: Eramboo Artist Environment, 304 McCarrs Creek Rd, Terrey Hills

The 2021 Northern Beaches Artist in Residence at Eramboo, fibre artist Catriona Pollard’s seventh solo exhibition ‘The Volume of Hope’ explores the relationship between nature
and hope.

The Artist in Residence at Eramboo is a program run in partnership between Eramboo and Northern Beaches Council. The residency program provides an opportunity for mid-career artists to immerse themselves in a unique natural environment and develop their practice while connecting with the local community.

Running from 11th – 21st November 2021 at Eramboo Artist Environment, Terrey Hills, the new body of work is the culmination of six months immersed in nature and is a meditation on the natural world, exploring its ability to generate hope.

By sharing the dialogue with natural materials and allowing them to inform the narrative, the artworks address humans’ relationship with nature and its tangible impact on hope, with the ultimate aim of moving people closer to hope for the wellbeing of all – both human and the more than human world.

It includes sculptures using traditional basketry techniques with foraged and discarded plant material, recycled copper, paper and moving image.

“It’s the wonder of nature which people flocked to during the COVID lockdown seeking that powerful link between hope and nature. It seems like never before has it been so necessary to search out and rely on hope,” Ms Pollard said.

“Encountering nature – listening to the wind in the trees, smelling the earth, tasting the rain, watching an ant walk across a rock – increases hope directly as it intrinsically demonstrates the interconnectedness of all things.”

“This sense of connectedness and appreciation of the more than human world is an essential source of hope. It links us to future possibilities and to the greater living world around us and the sense of wonder and joy that only nature can provide.”

“Hope also inspires responsibility for conserving the more than human world and recognising the interdependence between the welfare of humans and the natural world,” said Ms Pollard.

Ms Pollard has established a reputation as a distinctive fibre artist who uses traditional basketry techniques to transform foraged plant fibres into sculptural works. She uses the process of observing nature to inspire her, and the work offers glimpses of shapeshifting natural forms, from unnoticed branches, leaves and seedpods into shapes that celebrate the abundance of nature.

By transforming organic material into sculptures, she is investigating the battle humans have between controlling nature and seeing themselves in harmony with it.

Ms Pollard was awarded the 2021 Northern Beaches Artist in Residency, has exhibited extensively in selected and group exhibitions and has been shortlisted in art awards including Northern Beaches Environmental Art and Design Prize, Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize, Emerging Artist of the Year Craft NSW, Northern Beaches Art Prize, North Sydney Art Prize, Warringah Art Prize, Little Things Art Prize and Mosman Art Gallery.

More information about Catriona and her artwork at: www.theartofweaving.com.au