Stratigraphy // Regional Tour at Geraldton Regional Art Gallery

MERRICK BELYEA | BRAD RIMMER | SUSAN ROUX | SARAH ELSON

Western Australians have a complex relationship with the state’s environment – vast landscapes, harsh contrasts, stunning colour and unique flora. These four artists interact with and respond to their environs in their own distinctive ways, trying to make sense of our expansive layered vistas.

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.

Brad Rimmer’s new series of photographs are taken in the Geraldton hinterlands. These romantic and atmospheric landscapes continue his investigation into rural WA and the people that live there.

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

Susan Roux’s site-specific sculpture responds to the history and industries of Geraldton’s port. Her repetitive process of stitching, pleating and smocking obscures the photograph underneath forcing the viewer to look beyond.

This fascination in the contrasting nature of our familiar landscapes is perhaps a romance, one that unites the artists in the exhibition.


Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, 24 Chapman Road.