Acclaimed artists exhibits at the Old Ambulance Station

From left, Bec Mac from Popsart and artist Mona Ryder.

Mona Ryder’s work is a feast for the eyes and a treat for the soul and it’ll be all eyes on Nambour as this internationally acclaimed Australian artist presents her Fragile Gardens exhibition at the Old Ambulance Station from 13 March–17 April.

The exhibition is part of Sunshine Coast Councils’ fabric slow fashion artful living program – a three-year Regional Arts Development Fund project celebrating the extraordinary talents of our region’s artists, designers and change-makers.

Mona said her work weaved in and out of the past and present, often referencing previous exhibitions both conceptually and physically. A quick google search will bring forth the most sumptuous images of Mona’s work and this exhibition is no exception.

“Fragile Gardens is an installation of an unknown future, anxious anticipations, rites of passage and dreamlike rituals,” Ms Ryder said.

“I invite you to enter an enigmatic setting that seems as though it may have the possibility to come alive – certainly nothing is as it seems or should be.

“I find materials fascinating, especially recycled or found objects that bring with them their own history.

“That’s particularly relevant as exhibiting here (on the sunshine coast?) is like revisiting my childhood, having spent many precious childhood years here.”

Artfully Art Curator Beth Jackson said she recalled seeing the exhibition ‘Mona Ryder: A Survey’ curated by Dr Nancy Underhill at the University Art Museum, University of Queensland back in 1984.

“I was just a student studying art history and this show made a deep impression on me. It was the first exhibition I had seen that I could describe as feminist – expressing a woman’s embodied voice in a bold materiality,” Ms Jackson said.

“The painted wooden ironing boards and other sculptural assemblages that incorporated domestic items were radical.

“This was before the rise of installation art and these strange forms that spoke of home life, child rearing, sexuality, interpersonal politics and emotional work were just amazing.

“Of course I had seen Judy Chicago’s ‘Dinner Party’ and Georgia O’Keefe’s magnificent flower paintings in books, but this was right here in Brisbane ... truly inspirational to this young woman and budding feminist.”