This June and July, Gabrielle is journeying to Penang and Manila to complete the second draft of her first novel. When she returns, she will be hanging a new work entitled Angophora Dream made in collaboration with artist Kassandra Bossell for the North Sydney Art Prize.
Created with Kassandra in a pop-up studio at Chrissie Cotter Gallery just four days before leaving for Penang, Angophora Dream is a response to the historic, architectural and natural features of The Coal Loader and Balls Head Reserve. Using existing council footprints of the site as a start-point, the work has undergone a series of physical interventions; wood carving, blow-torch drawing, wax inlay and painted angophora resin (collected from the site). In the manner of a palimpsest, the site’s features and textures are echoed and transformed through a ritualistic process of destruction and re-enlivening; referencing the peninsula’s considerable transformation since 1788. The process refers to a shifting awareness and taking of action that sways our current trajectory toward a more sustainable future.
The exhibition of selected works will be held at The Coal Loader Gallery in Waverton and a number of other sites in the greater North Sydney precinct from July 27th.