Smoke Signals

"Smoke Signals"

a solo exhibition by local artist

Sandra Rubbo

is on view in Gallery 1 from the 14th to the 27th October 2015.

The opening celebration will take place on Saturday 17th October 2015, 5-7pm.

"Smoke Signals" is a commentary on contemporary issues that Sandra Robbo feels strongly about.

She is a recent SCU Visual Arts graduate, and is mostly concerned about environmental degradation.

 “However,” Sandra says, “everything environmental is now also a political, social and economical issue

that needs to be communicated and kept in the forefront of public consciousness.”

For most of these works, Sandra captures smoke residue

on to paper, a method she is continuing to experiment with.

Artist Statement

- Sandra Rubbo, October 2015

"Smoke Signals" is a result of an exploration in the medium of smoke residue

onto paper. The subject is largely environmental and our relationship with it

as our cultural heritage. Though I am profoundly aware of large corporate environmentally detrimental activities, I found myself focusing on small-scale environmental damage that often occurs at a more personal intersection.

Many of our cultural 'habits' that have developed unquestioned such as collecting/removing things from from their surroundings now becomes

questionable as we are asked to scrutinize our behaviour closely.

Possibly our nature loving selves may be the perpetrators leading to

a degradation of some degree. This scrutiny has become necessary

from massive loss of habitat. I see it as a symptom of our culture dominance, which may be an innate compulsion in all of us? Though it is unfortunate, impossible and ridiculous to segregate our human race

from natural environments, as they are so important for us, as the strong compulsion to carry pieces around with us and adorn our lives with it.

I am a recent graduate of SCU visual arts, majoring in print.

"Smoke Signals" is my first solo outing.

The use of smoke as a medium is for me wonderfully poetic with many metaphors. The gentleness of which the smoke contacts the paper is like a breath imbued

with pigments that layer themselves giving a quality that is unlike any other.

There is an element of unpredictability that I (mostly) welcome.

'Celebration 1'

smoke residue on paper

'Celebration 2'

smoke residue on paper

'Cohabit, Lismore'

smoke residue on paper

'Centre Thing'

smoke residue on paper

'Empty Vessels With Long Shadows'

smoke residue, ink & graphite on paper

'Coxen's Fig - Parrot'

smoke residue on paper

'Fledgling'

smoke residue, needle marks & watercolour collage

'Momento - Coastal Holiday 2015'

smoke residue, pencil & graphite on paper

'Subject's Gaze, found'

smoke residue on paper

'Rose Red'

smoke residue & dye on paper

'Tarsus'

smoke residue, needle marks & ink on paper

'The Chase'

smoke residue on paper

'Eight Forest Doofs I Have Been To'

smoke residue & sparkler char on paper

'Eco-terrorist'

graphite & acrylic on paper

'The Twirl'

smoke residue on paper (detail below)

'Dear (former) Minister for Women’s Affairs (off with his head)'

smoke residue, wax, needle marks and pencil on paper (detail right)

'Dominate, culture'

triptych - smoke residue, ink & graphite on paper

'Take Home Wild Flower'

smoke residue & pencil on paper

'Wild Flowers In Vase'

smoke residue & pencil on paper