Wonthella Bushland Reserve on-site exhibition open for two days only

Nine local artists will display their artwork in a gallery of a different kind this week — in a bushland setting — as part of an exhibition to signify movement inside WA’s open borders.

The Open Borders exhibition launches at the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery on Friday night, with a second outdoor exhibition relating to the works available to view in the Wonthella Bushland Reserve on Saturday morning.

The exhibition examines the nature of borders and their social, political and economic impact on the WA community. The artwork set up in the “bush” will link back to the gallery exhibition.

Artist Jodie Groves said the area was unique and contained lots of plants that were quite unique to the area, and her artwork looked at movement of the tree branches at the site, and the movement between open borders.

“To tie in with maps I went with the topographic maps of the area, and they certainly give movement in their own way. The lines address the branches and the lines they create,” she said.

Artist Emmaline James said her piece ‘United (On Our Way to Being)‘ was inspired from working on Yamatji Country.

“It talks about cross-cultural collaboration and how together in that space that acts as an open border, and can become a safe space for sharing of knowledge and skills and ideas,” she said.

“During COVID a lot of people were fearful, I posed the question of whether working in that space together was an antidote for making a stronger community.”

The outdoor display will start on Saturday at 10am with a Chinese dance performance to welcome guests. The exhibition will be available to view until Sunday, July 10 at 4pm.

To register to attend the GRAG exhibition opening night visit Eventbrite.