Author: Carrie McCarthy

In the words of every teacher I ever had, "she's got potential, if only she'd use it."
Visual Arts WritingLeave a comment

Waddell and Winton, the Painter and the Scribe.

Carrie McCarthy

Gazing across the choppy vistas of Craig Waddell’s most recent show, I can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Headlands, with its craggy outcrops and deep dark blues, is full of places I’ve seen before but can’t quite think where. Places I know I’ve returned to time and again, yet struggle to find a location for in the old memory map. It isn’t until a friend sidles up beside me and whispers in my ear “far out, this reminds me of a Tim Winton book” that I realise it’s somewhere I’ve only ever visited in the pages of … Continue reading Waddell and Winton, the Painter and the Scribe.

Visual Arts Writing2 Comments

Take a Running Jump, Nikky Morgan-Smith!

Carrie McCarthy

Sitting on Nikky Morgan-Smith’s back deck overlooking the hinterland of Northern NSW, it’s hard not to imagine yourself taking flight and soaring out over this beautiful part of the world. Tucked down a bumpy old goat track in an area west of Byron Bay, the home is a bohemian hideaway situated in one of Australia’s most pristine regions. Veiled by the bush on all sides, it is typical of the bush retreats in the area. It has its quirks, as most places in Northern NSW do. Real estate agents would describe it as a renovator’s dream or as having a … Continue reading Take a Running Jump, Nikky Morgan-Smith!

Visual Arts WritingLeave a comment

Hans Silvester, and the plight of the Omo River Valley Tribespeople

Carrie McCarthy

Those of us who love the arts know that the thought of life without art is a pitiful one. Some of us, myself included, would even go so far as to say that our lives depend on its inclusion. Likewise the need to reconnect regularly with nature in order to give our minds and bodies a rest, and provide the energy we need to keep going. The importance of art and environment is something we refer to time and again as we plead our case to the wider community for recognition, funding and protection. For the people of Ethiopia’s remote Omo River Valley however, the central role of art and nature to wellbeing is … Continue reading Hans Silvester, and the plight of the Omo River Valley Tribespeople

Visual Arts Writing1 Comment

Beautiful Mourning

Carrie McCarthy

About six years ago, my mother and I were lunching in a restaurant in London’s Primrose Hill when an unbelievably beautiful funeral procession came past. Two dappled grey horses with black feathery plumes on their heads pulled a shiny black carriage with glass windows, through which we could see a white coffin covered in flowers. The attendants atop the carriage were in full mourning attire, with top hats and grey striped cravats, the effect like something out of a Dickens novel. It was an odd sight in the middle of 21st century London, and had mum not been there too I’d … Continue reading Beautiful Mourning

Visual Arts Writing1 Comment

Julian Meagher, sensitive masculinity.    

Carrie McCarthy

​In one of life’s more curious turns, I ended up owning a cocktail bar about six years ago. Me, the chick with no hospitality experience, who’d never waited tables, never pulled a beer and didn’t know the difference between an ale and a lager, was suddenly having to work out how to change a beer keg and what the hell people meant when they asked for a “CC and dry.” To say it was a steep learning curve is an understatement. It was a world away from my previous life in writing and interior design. But the patrons and I survived the rocky … Continue reading Julian Meagher, sensitive masculinity.    

Visual Arts WritingLeave a comment

Christian Flynn: An Index of Possibilities

Carrie McCarthy

There’s been a proliferation of ‘blink and you’ll miss them’ art shows in Brisbane over the last month, all of them adding to the buzz and vitality of the city’s art scene at the moment.  For three days only, the Hold Artspace in West End was given over to the work of local artist Christian Flynn, whose geometric abstractions are a study in colour, form and intent. A Heiser Gallery off-sight exhibition, ‘An Index of Possibilities’ continued Flynn’s exploration of abstract and non-objective painting, inspired by his interest in science fiction and the function of life. There is a friction … Continue reading Christian Flynn: An Index of Possibilities

Exhibition & Catalogue Essays, Visual Arts Writing1 Comment

Amanda van Gils: E-Motions

Carrie McCarthy

Long car trips along great stretches of highway…tree after tree flashing past…blue skies turning orange as the day ends…whispery white streaks of cloud…bugs on the windscreen, wipers flicking them off again…the first glimpse of ocean as you come around the headland…the purple and green of the mountain ranges…damp old rain-forests…burnt out landscapes where bush-fires have torn through…steam rising off the bitumen…dozing in the passenger seat, fresh air from an open window to keep you awake in the drivers seat… The romanticism attached to road trips has never really fallen away, even now those things so particular to road trips – … Continue reading Amanda van Gils: E-Motions

Visual Arts WritingLeave a comment

Through a Glass Darkly: the art of Belinda Sinclair and Clairy Laurence

Carrie McCarthy

It was short and sweet and over so quickly I almost missed seeing it altogether, but fate intervened and thus it came about that I made it in to Jugglers Art Space for Through a Glass Darkly just before the show began bumping out. A joint show by local artists Belinda Sinclair and Clairy Laurence, walking in to Through a Glass Darkly was a little like stepping in to Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, which was a bit weird given I’d been writing about it not half an hour earlier. With the monochromatic intaglio prints of Sinclair providing the perfect relief for the … Continue reading Through a Glass Darkly: the art of Belinda Sinclair and Clairy Laurence

Visual Arts WritingLeave a comment

William Bustard: Painting With Light

Carrie McCarthy

“I can only say that I am captivated by the rich contrasts, beautiful skies, trees and clear light of this great land, and I am happy to say that I find countless people who respond in a similar way; and consequently derive great enjoyment from the never ending beauty of the Australian country side.”  William Bustard, 1955 You need only have driven any of the roads winding through the Sunshine Coast hinterland or Northern NSW to recognise the effect of sunlight on the landscapes in William Bustard’s paintings. Dappled leaves, shimmering rivers, a fishing line glistening as it moves with … Continue reading William Bustard: Painting With Light

Visual Arts Writing1 Comment

Controlled Chaos

Carrie McCarthy

“It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order – and yet, deep inside the chaos, lurks an even eerier type of order.” Douglas Hofstadter Let’s talk about chaos and control. Specifically, let’s talk about the chaos and control currently on display in the Amber Wallis/Ari Athans joint show at Edwina Corlette Gallery. At first glance, the respective art practices of Wallis and Athans don’t appear to have a great deal in common. Wallis, based in Byron Bay, is a free-spirited painter of busy, emotional compositions full of bright colour and expansive brushstrokes. … Continue reading Controlled Chaos