Gabrielle Collins and Sandra McMahon will open an exhibition of new works inspired by Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, on Saturday 18 June, 2022.
'Having grown up in Sydney and used its environs as a resource for a number of exhibitions it was exciting to spend time again on Cockatoo Island and produce a body of work with fellow artist and friend Sandra McMahon.
Working from different ends of the art spectrum we have exhibited together before and always find a commonality of colour and form which enhances each other’s work.
Cockatoo Island’s rich history from penal settlement to shipping yards along with its position in the middle of Sydney Harbour offered many visual contrasts.
While largely figurative my work aims through experimentation with tone, form and mark making to evoke a feeling of being somewhere at a particular moment in time, not necessarily an exact record of place'.
- Gabrielle Collins
'This body of work continues my interest in constructed spaces; spaces to live, work and the division of space within a given parameter. I am also interested in our response to colour and the emotional effect colour can have on space.
There is so much to tempt the eye when visiting Cockatoo Island, the location affords amazing harbour views, and the island itself has so much history to discover. As I walked around it was the variety of buildings, their patterns, textures, shapes and the repetition of these elements in the windows and doors that inspired this body of work'.
- Sandra McMahon
