17 October - 5 November 2013
about the exhibition
Wendy Teakel is a painter and sculptor whose work expresses a strong connection to the history and sense of place of rural landscapes. In this exhibition, her paintings and sculptures focus on first hand impressions of visiting the Lake Mungo heritage site in New South Wales. Wendy’s aim with Mungo Traces “is to acknowledge this landscape as a significant Australian place and to record my own experience and wonder of it through spending time there. The works explore time, erosion and the trace of human and animal.” The changing landscape of the Willandra lakes allowed Wendy to create representations of both the natural rhythms and patterns of the sands and clays, as well as the Indigenous culture that has been recorded through time. Wendy has continued to employ her technique of scorch marks and pokerwork on plywood for her paintings, whilst her sculptures also continue to incorporate natural materials and rural implements.Also included in this exhibition are handwoven pure wool rugs designed by Wendy and skilfully and beautifully translated by weavers in Nepal. Available in an edition of five, each rug is a fair trade certified artist carpet.
Wendy Teakel completed her postgraduate studies in sculpture at the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University in 1985. She remained at the art school as a lecturer and, in 2008, became Head of the Sculpture Workshop. Wendy has a growing profile in Southeast Asia, established during her Asialink residencies in Thailand in 1996 and 2001. She has received many awards including the Sovereign Asian Art Prize (2009), and the Country Energy Art Prize (2010). Her work has been acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, Australian National University, Chiang Mai University (Thailand), Australian Embassy in Bangkok and various regional galleries across Australia.
