Yarra is now open at Cambridge Studio Gallery in Collingwood until the 26th of March. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12-5pm.
Here is an excerpt from the curator Susan:
Not everything is always as it seems
Contemplative and reflective, Clair Brenner’s images are inspired by nature, bringing the outside in. She captures the essence of a landscape, stylizing it and making it her own. She employs colour, pattern and repetition to portray the layers of foliage and vegetation that can be seen within the landscape.
Her inspiration comes from the Upper Yarra river catchment area. The Yarra River is an icon of Melbourne, it winds its way through the city and is often described as disgusting, dirty and poisoned. However, Clair’s images tell us a different story. Travelling just over an hour out of Melbourne and into the Yarra Valley we find an entirely different picture. Here the river is clean, picturesque and beautiful.
“This is the Yarra that I see every day, a river that I want people to experience. It has a pristine, untouched beauty to it that is a total contrast to the polluted murky Yarra that we see closer to Melbourne.”
Clair’s work is a celebration of this unlikely aspect of the Yarra. She shines a light on a vibrant, verdant Yarra. Her images are surprising and beguiling. They remind us that not everything is always as it seems.
