There is a history of people from the larger centres of culture visiting islands to get away from it all to a place of respite, however for the people who live on islands, that is the place for coping with the everyday problems others wish to escape from.
The artistic and philosophical movement Romanticism tended toward representing the isolated individual struggling with internal conflicts against a backdrop of sublime wilderness. The isolation of the individual is highlighted and it provides the sense of longing that gives the romantic hero the desire to overcome their separation and unite with the thing they feel divided from. The separation of the island from the larger landmass sets it up as a site primed for a romantic experience of isolation followed by union. There is a tension that exists between academic notions and a popular understanding of the ‘romantic’. Dis-covery plays on this tension.
Itinerary: Salamanca Arts Centre 25/3/11-1/5/11, Devonport Regional Gallery 14/5/11-196/11, Goulburn Regional Gallery 23/7/11-27/8/11, Tamworth Regional Gallery 13/3/11-13/4/11
Various
Dis-covery presents an exhibition of artwork that broaches three ideas – island life, artistic romanticism and romantic ideas of islands and island culture.
The artists have all lived on islands and have made artwork that reveals how they have experienced something beyond the brief island experience of the tourist/visitor. The exhibition will present both new and existing artworks.
The curatorial premise for Dis-covery is that popular ideas of islands and island culture tend to romanticise them in ways that avoid reality in favour of satisfying superficial ideals. Islands are defined by their geographic isolation from larger landmasses and also, in most cases, by their separation from dominant centres of culture.
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