Two new exhibitions explore human impacts and environmental accountability

Maleny artist Shannon Garson - known for her intricately decorated, thrown porcelain vessels - presents more than 40 new works in her new exhibition crafted specifically for Noosa Regional Gallery. 

Shannon Garson, O Horizon Moon Vases, various sizes. Image courtesy of the artist.

Aptly titled Shimmering World, Garson’s intense observation and intricate drawings of the unique beauty of the sub-tropical rainforest and river’s edge, underpins her fascinating new body of work.

“Garson’s installation of ceramic forms and mirrored drawings are intended to create both an aesthetic and philosophical connection to our view of natural places,” says Gallery Director Michael Brennan.

Garson explores the boundaries of what it is to be human in what she enthusiastically describes as a “shimmering, changeable and dazzling world”.

Garson’s work asks us to take a closer look at the delicate minutiae of our environment and by extension, to be more mindful of the way we might impact it.

Similarly, local artist Yanni Van Zijl also considers the human experience and environmental accountability in her new sensory installation Casuistry, also at Noosa Regional Gallery.

The artist is synonymous with environmental activism through art, so it’s no wonder Van Zijl’s arresting new exhibition infers the relationship between human actions and the consequential events that follow.

Van Zijl, who explores the intersection between art and environmental issues through sculpture, installation, film and performance, says, “sadly there is no shortage of material to make work regarding human impact on the planet.”

“Nature offers wonder, excitement, beauty and intellect. How can I not make work in defence of preserving what in essence preserves us?”

Shannon Garson: Shimmering World and Yanni Van Zijl: Casuistry are showing at Noosa Regional Gallery until March 21, 2021.