Bonnie Porter Greene
All The Observations
Oct 22 - Nov 22, 2021
Exhibition views by Ashley Mackevicius
Bonnie Porter Greene
b.1978, Australia
Lives and works in Shoalhaven, NSW
Bonnie Porter Greene is a multi-disclipinary creative - born, residing and creating in the Shoalhaven. She explores her love of the landscape - both built and natural, through reflective studio practise, en plein air excursions resulting in direct and honest painted memories of the landscape. Always displaying a large element of connection and concern for the environment in Bonnie’s intuitive gestural mark, she rarely fails to conjure a creative response to the landscape or events that have impacted significantly upon her.
Bonnie Porter Greene, All That’s Left (Trees On A Hillside), 2021, oil on found board, 80 x 80cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, The Rain We Were All Hoping For, 2021, oil on found board, 120 x 90cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Dockrillia Explosion, 2021, oil on board, 80 x 80cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Hardenbergia Explosion, 2021, oil on board, 80 x 80cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Wattle Explosion, 2021, oil on board, 80 x 80cm
“I wander out into the bush in Budgong, hoping to find a billabong mum has told me about. I don’t, but instead a sandy trail exploding in purple and green, the Hardenbergia is in full bloom, something I’ve never seen before en masse. The 2019/20 bushfires have stripped all the trees, so the light pours in, allowing the Hardenbergia to swamp the destroyed landscape. I focus on this. It gives me hope. I make pattern on the board to try and convey the feeling of the plant taking over.”
Bonnie Porter Greene, 2021
Grotto Lichen #1-8,
All works 2021, oil on board, 20.5 x 20.5cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Mixed Up Walks, 2021, oil on board, 80 x 80cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Grotto Winter Sunsets, 2021, oil on board, 30 x 30cm
Bonnie Porter Greene, Three Bridges Over The Shoalhaven River, 2021, oil and hand-stitching on canvas with found fabric, linen tea towel, 150 x 128cm
“There’s a 3rd bridge being built over the Shoalhaven River, less than a kilometre from my house. I can hear the drilling at times in my studio and it makes my mind wander to the wonder that is the engineering of the building of bridges. It moves me to create a surface for a stretcher I’ve got laying around, but there’s not enough canvas so I create a bigger one from fabric I’ve got laying around, a big thick piece of textured cotton, and a linen souvenir tea towel. I quickly lay it out, pin it and whip it up on the sewing machine. It just fits (I never measure anything). I spend months and layers and layers working on this one, finishing it with upholstery thread and needle by hand on the loose flaps of fabric, and a few big bold stripes as I picture the bridge spanning the river alongside the other two existing bridges. I wonder how the landscape of the River will change, and how quickly we will get used to it.”
Bonnie Porter Greene, 2021
