Back to the tall timber

Exhibition organiser, Jeminah Reidy and contributing artist Matt de Boer work on the set-up of Tall Trees and Tributaries last week. 141615_01 Picture: KATH GANNAWAY

By KATH GANNAWAY

TALL Trees and Tributaries is returning to its roots.
If you missed the Tall Trees and Tributaries event at Fed Square and Birrarung Marr in Melbourne in April this year, there is another opportunity to view the artworks and elements of the performance that were a part of what was an outstanding cultural event.
The event represents a year-long project highlighting the forest and waterways of the Yarra Valley as part of Jeminah Reidy’s epic Scenes on the Yarra projects.
It brings back to Warburton the artworks that were created for the Melbourne exhibition.
“My Scenes on the Yarra started at Warburton and finished at Williamstown,” Ms Reidy explained.
“Tall Trees and Tributaries is much more based on what’s happening in our forests.”
Ms Reidy said 10 local artists were invited to develop, over a year, a creative response to a visit to the forests around Healesville and Upper Yarra.
The exhibition, which opened on Friday at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre as part of Yarra Ranges Council’s Creative Tracks Series, includes costume pieces, lantern birds made by Healesville schoolchildren, charred wood installations, photographic images, masks and a slide show of the Melbourne performance.
It is an opportunity also to hear the stories as told by local storyteller, Simon Oats, that captivated the Melbourne audience.
Tall Trees and Tributaries is at Warburton until 4 August.