Touring Exhibitions
Nature Personified
The art of Helen Leitch
Now Touring
Acclaimed Australian artist Helen Leitch has worked closely with the staff
at the South Australian Museum in the development of this original
exhibition about biodiversity, which is now touring Australia.
Her delicate and detailed watercolours interpret the amazing symbiotic
relationships between insects, animals, plants and their environment.
Helen’s
work highlights the various clever, weird and wonderful mechanisms they
employ to survive.
Using pencil, watercolour and a fertile imagination Helen captures
the audience and the delivers a message of importance. Her accurate
scientific observation and representation, her sense of humour
and whimsical animation
of the fauna attracts our attention to the diversity of life.
Helen says, “Working on this exhibition has made me more aware of
the amazingly complex chain of interactions which have to take place to
sustain the life cycle of each individual species.”
“
I am intrigued by the individual ‘mannerisms’ and ‘characteristics’ in
each species and use this observation to help people relate to the unique
world of nature and its diversity”, she said.
All the artworks exhibited in “Nature Personified” will be for
sale providing a rare opportunity to own an original Helen Leitch.
The exhibition is also accompanied by a book “Its and Bits of Nature – A-Z
of Biodiversity” by Helen Leitch and Janeen Brian, a book for all
ages.
Tour Dates
LaTrobe Regional Gallery - 13/12/03 - 25/01/04
Port Pirie Regional Gallery - 31/01/04 - 29/02/04
Hamilton Regional Gallery - 10/03/04 - 04/04/04
Naracoorte Regional Gallery - 12/04/04 - 02/05/04
 
Boomerang
Curated by Dr Philip Jones, South Australian Museum
'Boomerang' has been designed as a robust but elegant exhibition
with a strong visual appeal. Its central theme is, of course,
the boomerang itself – an icon of Aboriginal Australia which has
often been reduced to a stereotype. The exhibition confronts that
idea, so that the visitor understands that this object (and Aboriginal
culture generally), is complex and fascinating. The exhibition
is designed to show the visitor the many forms and shapes which
the boomerang takes, and to introduce the boomerang's varying
functions and significance across Aboriginal Australia. In a sense,
the exhibition represents a 'boomerang tour' across the continent.
The Boomerang exhibition comprises these main elements:
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20 large, framed wooden panels (each measuring 1.8 x 1.2
metres), each carrying 12-15 traditional boomerangs from
particular regions of Australia, accompanied by small
key maps and captions covering the regions, and the individual
boomerangs.
-
A number of framed historical photographs of boomerangs
in use, with captions, together with other, contemporary
images including boomerang-throwing competitions.
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A cd-rom: 'Boomerang: Echoes of Australia', produced in
1996 to accompany the exhibition. The cd-rom features
all aspects of the boomerang, including archival film
footage, photographs of Australian regions, ethnographic
detail and symbolism, its manufacture, use, the mystery
behind its flight, and its sporting and historical associations.
Details of the 250 boomerangs in the exhibition are also
included, together with information about their collection.
-
A 134 page, fully illustrated book, featuring the boomerangs
in the exhibition, entitled 'Boomerang: Behind an Australian
Icon' written by Dr Philip Jones (1996, Wakefield Press).
Display Dimensions: up to 300 sq metres for comfortable
viewing. The full exhibition fits into three purpose-built travelling
crates.
Number of Items: 250 boomerangs
Rental Fee: Negotiable
Contact: Belinda Bocson, SA Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide,
SA 5000
Tel: (+61 8) 82077431, Fax: (+61 8) 82077643
Email: bocson.belinda@saugov.sa.gov.au
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