Heartland refers to the central most important part of a country, area or field of activity. Just like the multidimensional nature of the word’s meaning, the ‘Heartland’ solo exhibition by Gina Kalabishis is a charming ode to the many facets that make up her identity, as well as the national identity of Australia and its landscape.
The conceptual emphasis behind the works of Kalabishis in the ‘Heartland’ exhibition, combined with the works’ aesthetic, refer to imagined past and future landscapes of Australia, concepts about Australian national identity through placement and selection of colour, and the Greek Australian identity of Kalabishis herself, as the pieces play a unifying role for Kalabishis’ loved ones.
Ultimately, the exhibition stands as an artistic reflection upon what Kalabishis perceives to be the heartland of these concepts.
Australia is a country that lives and breathes its beautifully diverse landscape like no other in the world. With a neverendingly diverse range of natural terrain, Australia has seen the progression of some and the transgression of other natural landscapes across the country. Through ‘Heartland’, Gina Kalabishis reflects upon the idea of imagined past and future Australian landscapes, whilst also paying respect to the ‘gloom’ of Australian early colonial art.
Kalabishis’ aesthetic combines details from iconic paintings by heroes of Australian art such as Eugene von Guerard, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin. The sharp detail of the botanical subjects in ‘Heartland’ contrast with the out of light focus of the landscapes in the background, making the pieces in their entirety mythological, surreal and ethereal. These components bring personal imagination to life and spark thoughts about Australia’s natural environment and how it is under common threat from the agencies of humanity.
The pieces in ‘Heartland’ also raise notions about identity, in particular that of Australia’s national identity and Kalabishis’ own identity. By living in Australia with a Greek heritage, and thus with loved ones all over the world, ‘Heartland’ has been described as a place where all Kalabishis’ loved ones can gather. Here, loved ones of all cultures can unite just as Kalabishis has united the different fronds of native plants, bound by a common placing. The differing colours in which Australian native plants are shown in ‘Heartland’ also pay homage to the culturally diverse identity of Australia.
Native Australian plants are shown in monochrome, incorporating dark, mid and light tones. Ultimately, through use of colour and aesthetic, the subjects of Kalabishis’ pieces hold hybrid subjects and stand as artistic reflections upon the fusion of culture that comprises true contemporary Australian identity.
Through this exhibition, Gina Kalabishis further establishes her ground as one of Australia’s most essential artists by consistently paying homage to the most important facets of the true Australian heart and doing so through precise artistic skill.
The ‘Heartland’ exhibition will take place between 18 April and 2 May at the Flinders Lane Gallery, in the heart of Melbourne CBD. The Flinders Lane gallery describes ‘Heartland’ as an exploration of “the feeling of love in all its permutations” through a body of beautifully painted works, that have been “embedded into a mythological heartland of Australian flora” – making Kalabishis’ 2015 solo exhibition one not to be missed.
‘Heartland’ will be showing at Flinders Lane Gallery between 18 April and 2 May.