By Renee Wood
YAVA and Yarra Ranges Council are joining together to deliver a three month program at the Warburton Arts Centre.
YAVA CEO Kate Baker said it’s a great opportunity for council to collaborate with a community group, allowing YAVA to expand its reach greater than the hub gallery.
“Because we have a gallery in Healesville often it feels very Healesville centered, whereas actually we do represent the broader Yarra Valley and beyond,” Ms Baker said.
“So it’s great for us to have a space here which pulls us back into the Upper Yarra which is fabulous.”
The opportunity presented itself due to Covid-19 programming changes, with the take over to have three different exhibits.
“I wanted to come up with three different ideas that would actually bring in people in different ways throughout that three months.”
Artist Felicity Priest is the first residency to take place in ‘The Studio’ which opened on Saturday 23 April.
Ms Priest is an award winning portrait artist who recently moved to Warburton to be closer to family after living in New Zealand for 14 years.
The exhibit highlights five decades of Ms Priest’s work, which are highlighted through several themes.
“This work actually covers something like five decades and what is interesting is by putting your work up, you have a chance to really review it and I see the same issues,” Ms Priest said.
“It’s come full circle since the 60s and 70s, for example, submarines were very topical at the time when I first made those prints and now here we are in an international situation with submarine fleets getting bigger and bigger.”
While working in the space on the Saturdays, Ms Priest will be looking to explore ecology and maritime warfare, discussing how submarines affect whales.
“I find when I’m getting interested in subject if I paint through it, I learn by painting it – of course there’s research, which comes from other sources – but I’ve really learned about the world through my work.”
Another theme within Ms Priest’s work is the idea of wounded masculinity and wounded femininity – something that’s discussed through to main artworks that explore the Fisher King myth and the Handless Maiden.
This theme will be the focus of a feature performance marked for Sunday 22 May with Hemi Titokowarou, a performing artist who sings countertenor.
“Because of the emotional range that I can interpret, and there’s no barriers for me to do that so I can get straight in there and get into the pain, but the pain is beautiful,” Mr Titokowarou said.
“That’s one of the things that brings out the qualities of the countertenor is the classical uses of the voice range so I can explore that story.”
Choreographer and filmmaker Christos Linou has been commissioned to produce films that will feature in the performance.
“I’ve been closely associated with his work for decades. In fact, he introduced me into the realm of performance 35 years ago, to give him credit for introducing me to performance and music
“And because of that relationship, there’s a very strong bond with those featurettes that are going to be used so it’s going to be an exciting afternoon.”
The rest of the three month program will be released in time to come.
“Each space has its own merits, but I love the idea of it’s quite a big and welcoming space that it means that you could have little workshops in the middle of the space and you have the beautiful walls,” Ms Baker said.
“It feels very flexible and might be different from what we might want to put in at YAVA and from our perspective it extends the number of artists that can be exposed and have opportunities.”
Felicity Priest’s exhibit is open Saturday and Sundays and tickets will be available for the ‘Pear, Sword & Fish’ event at www.yava.org.au/events
