Central Coast artist Minka Gillian is set to open her solo exhibition, Super Bloom, at Gosford Regional Gallery on Friday, June 2.
The Point Clare resident has been a full-time artist since 2004, specialising in textile techniques and having exhibited her work both in Australia and Japan.
“I like to use unusual materials in my work,” she said.
“They might be found objects – materials and household items people might normally throw out such as net fruit bags, cables, electrical wire and even fishing line.
“I also use a lot of second-hand haberdashery and am a frequent visitor to The Sewing Basket at Kincumber.”
For Gillian, the period of COVID lockdowns was an artistic boon.
“It was a depressing time, but art is something that really helped me through that,” she said.
“I found that the time where we all had to stay at home and think about our lives during the pandemic was actually a very fruitful time for me.
“The normal everyday routine was changed and I started being more playful, with some of the pressure off.
“I experimented a lot more and took up painting more seriously.
“I found it very freeing.”
The result is Super Bloom – an exciting mix of sculptures, installations and paintings.
The name comes from a rare phenomenon where wildflowers in the desert bloom all at once after a long period of drought.
It is also the name of one of the featured pieces, which includes all manner of materials including some which were given to Gillian after one of her friends passed away from COVID.
“He was a bower bird and a fashion designer and had collected all sorts of things like the plastic rings you find around jars,” she said.
“I have included some of those in my sculpture as a nod to him.”
Also included in the exhibition is Mind Garden, an installation of more than 80 hanging sculptures which work together as a whole.
“It is a glimpse into my mind and some of my thoughts and feelings,” Gillian said.
“I have exhibited it previously but each time it changes and grows with new sculptures.
“I plan to keep adding to it through my lifetime, evolving it constantly.”
Super Bloom, in the gallery foyer space, will open at 6pm on Friday, June 2, and remain on show until July 18.
Terry Collins