‘Totem’ is coming to Ocean Grove to explore the spirituality in Australia’s trees and landscape through a collection of paintings.
The exhibition by Gordon Lingard will be held at The Hive Gallery from Saturday, February 8, with white or black bold lines being a central theme within the artworks.
Mr Lingard said his paintings were an “abstract representation of memories” from his trips around the country.
“I have a real love for the gum trees, hills, and water. You’ll see that emphasised a lot in the paintings and Totem really is about those places,” he said.
“You’ll see black lines in my paintings, and they’re like stained glass…with black lines that border certain colours in my paintings that make us focus on particular parts.
“The texture of the paint, being creative and seeing something emerge is fantastic. It’s often a surprise as I can look at the painting after I finished it and question who painted it.
“I really love putting paint on canvas and seeing where it takes me. Often, the paintings dictate to me what’s going to happen rather than me having a solid plan of what’s going to happen. It’ll often emerge and develop as a process.”
Mr Lingard said he also wanted to acknowledge the first peoples of the land and that he hoped his paintings drew respect for them.
Totem will be Mr Lingard’s first exhibition at The Hive Gallery after previously exhibiting at Geelong’s Boom Gallery.
Mr Lingard was the Geelong Grammar chaplain for many years before retiring and moving to Ocean Grove by the beach, where he embraced a new phase of life, which included painting as a highlight.
By Jena Carr
