SPEARWOOD resident Julie Fowell’s latest body of work will go on display in the City tonight.
Islands’ and Birds’ Lost Paradises evolved in two stages.
Islands’ grew from travel sketches she had made of planes and ships during her travels to Asia and the Pacific.
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READ NOWHer focus on placing exotic birds in artificial settings was partly inspired by a chat with her friend, a Japanese professor, who said her work reminded him of the local style.
“The process of painting these island-scapes from extracted memory, the drawing as a guide and reference material, allowed freedom of interpretation,” she said.
“Therefore, the analogy became lost paradises, devoid of human interaction or interference, isolated and mysterious and somehow surreal.”
Ms Fowell said painting birds against an artificial environment was a challenge, but reflected her take on society.
“I wanted to raise awareness about changes to our environment,” she said.
“We’re losing so much habitat to mining and development. I wanted to draw attention to that, but not in a dramatic way.”
Ms Fowell’s 35 paintings will go on display at North Metro Tafe’s Showcase Gallery on Aberdeen Street tonight, from 5pm.
The exhibition will run until June 4.