Stratigraphy // a group exhibition at Council House, City of Perth

ARTISTS
Merrick Belyea | Sarah Elson | Brad Rimmer | Susan Roux

Art Collective WA partners with the City of Perth to present a group exhibition that looks at our relationships with the vast landscapes, harsh contrasts, stunning colour, and unique flora of the Western Australian environment.

These four artists interact with and respond to their environs in distinctive ways, trying to make sense of our expansive layered vistas. Their individual fascination in the contrasting nature of familiar landscapes is perhaps a romance, one that unites them for this exhibition.

Merrick Belyea paints the outskirts and edges of suburbia, as urban developments continuously expand further into the bush. He scratches into the surface of his paintings, mimicking the destruction and scarification, uncovering the fragility of surface.

Sarah Elson casts native seed casings and flowers in recycled metal. Capturing the resilience and elaborate complexity of Western Australian flora they are the reclaimed jewels of crown land – precious, luxuriant and sensual.

Brad Rimmer photographs rural WA, in particular the Wheatbelt where he grew up, and the people who strive to live there. This series of atmospheric landscapes are taken in the Geraldton hinterlands.

Susan Roux stitches, pleats, smocks and punctures photographic surfaces. For this installation, Susan has responded to the history and industries of Geraldton’s port. Her repetitive process of disrupting the surface obscures the photograph underneath, forcing the viewer to look beyond.


Art Collective WA at Council House, City of Perth (Corner St George's Terrace and Barrack Street, across the road from St George's Cathedral and the Art Collective WA gallery). Open Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm. Free entry