Renowned Surf Coast artist and musician Jeff Raglus will hold his own solo exhibition, Balancing Act, at Boom Gallery through late April and May.
Two years in the making, the show explores the challenges of climate change in the modern era, using “bulbous and sometimes amorphic shapes” and abstract pop landscapes to depict the increasingly wild fire and flood cycles experienced locally and abroad.
The exhibition will be hung from April 27-May 21 at Big Boom, with the official opening to be held Saturday, May 6 from 1pm-3pm.
Raglus, who has worked as a visual artist for Mambo and Swatch and performed in original bands with some of Australia’s premier musicians, said his personal style of pop art sprang from his love of cartoons as a child.
“When I was a kid I just really loved the cartoons that were on TV, and that’s kind of my starting point,” he said.
“There’s still an element of that cartoony thing there, but as I’ve gone along it’s become more like fine art. You can see it in nearly all of them, but it might be quite subtle.
“I think my work’s quite humorous, too; people kind of get a laugh out of my work, it makes them feel good, so that’s been a good thing.
“Also, people see things that I might not have meant, and I think that’s kind of good. Rather than me saying, no, it’s supposed to be blah blah blah, it can be whatever they want it to be.”
Raglus and wife Vicki Gaye Philipp will also perform at Big Boom at 1pm on Saturday, May 13 as Victoriana Gaye, a project they describe as “a combination of psych-folk with new wave pop, but performed in singer-songwriter style”.
Raglus said Big Boom was the perfect venue for both the exhibition and the gig.
“I’ve been with (Boom Gallery) right since the very start, I was in the first batch of shows they ever had,” he said.
“It’s the big room this time, it’s a big old factory space. I quite like the industrial look at the old factories, so I think it’s going to look good in the space.”
For more information visit boomgallery.com.au/pages/exhibitions.
