25 March - 13 April 2010
about the exhibition
For over thirty years the Australian landscape has been at the heart of Anita McIntyre’s ceramics. Her porcelain paper clay forms and vessels evoke a true sense of place as she continues to explore narratives of travelling through space and time. First hand observation and memories of certain landscapes are combined with historic and topographic references, allowing Anita to visually express her own very personal relationship with the land. This relationship is always underpinned by a quiet acknowledgment of the deeply spiritual connection between the land and its indigenous owners. Anita’s recent work metaphorically positions her in the middle of a compass, with the directions of north, south, east and west transformed into her personal points of reference: “Canada will be my north; China will be east; the Kimberley, [my] Heart Country, my west; and the limestone plains [my] Home Country, my south”. Her connection with the landscape, history and culture of these locations is depicted via an abstract language of text, markings evocative of meandering rivers and mountain ranges, and symbols depicting culturally recognisable motifs and patterns. In effect, both a physical and spiritual connection to these landscapes emanate from her ceramics, creating a distinct and profound impression of her journeys and experiences.
Anita McIntyre studied ceramics at the Canberra School of Art, graduating in 1976. She has travelled extensively across outback Australia and overseas, continually finding inspiration for her work. Anita has been a long and active member of various arts boards and committees, including Craft ACT, National Ceramic Award Committee, Strathnairn Arts Association and the Belconnen Arts Centre. Anita McIntyre exhibits widely in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally, and her work is represented in collections throughout Australia, including the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Anita is currently a visiting fellow and lecturer in Ceramics at the Australian National University, where she has taught for thirty years.
