16 February – 6 March 2011

Exhibitions to be opened by Julie Baird, Curator, Newcastle Regional Museum, at 7 pm on Thursday 17 February

RAILWAY MANIA
David Hampton

Welcome to the lost world of metal leviathans and reckless engineers, time machines and ghost stories, shipwrecks, lighthouses, clockwork toys, whales, cephalopods and machines that thunder through the dark with a burning furnace for a heart and lymphatic blood boiling through their veins.  David Hampton

 

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I GOT THE RED HAIR, HE GOT THE CYSTIC FIBROSIS
Katrina Coleman

This exhibition explores my depiction and deconstructed view of my personal space with the use of the pinhole camera. It is also a part of a larger body of work, which includes my documentary photography exploring the relationship between my brother and myself. My pinhole photography encompasses the realm of the domestic in which I take hold of spaces in which I exist daily, and I utilise them as a stage in a theatrical sense in which I place my own body in front of the camera.  I am in a sense performing within the extended time in which it takes to capture a pinhole image in a dark internal place. The second part of the project photographed digitally documents the days after my brother underwent lung transplant surgery and my time with him in the hospital ward, offering my interpretation of his experience. In these two bodies of work I’m exploring identity, family, siblings, and genes. Katrina Coleman

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ON LOVE AND LOSS
Breony Delforce

A reflection on the loss of loved ones through print and installation. Breony Delforce

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I DO CAKE U
Kylie Moore

I Do Cake U is a celebration of all things that bring me happiness,  love, art, cake and above all – FUN !  I have created a series of novelty wedding cakes that each represent the shared interests that bring couples together.  As much ceremony is placed on the cutting of the cake at a wedding, I played with the idea that the cake should be more personal to the couple and also have a personality of its own. For the purpose of the exhibition I have built these cakes with fondant icing on sculpted styrofoam but normally my cake art is entirely edible. Kylie Moore

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HARRY POTTER vs JESUS ?
Laurel Parker

A prophecy foretold, an auspicious birth, the gathering of disciples, the performance of magic and miracles, the enemy of evil, a sacrificial death, a glorious rebirth. No, it’s not Jesus Christ, but together with the fatherly/all knowing figure of Dumbledore and the wearing of the stigmata, Harry Potter’s life bears an uncanny resemblance to that of our Lord and saviour. Since its release, J.K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series has provoked violent opposition particularly from within conservative Christian communities. The magical themes within the novels are seen to be promoting sorcery and Wicca which has led to the books being banned in some areas and burned in others. If one were to momentarily take a step back from the magical décor, however, and review the major themes of the series, strongest of all is the idea of ‘good vs. evil’ and the saviour/hero. C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings have been widely recognized as containing, despite their magical and fantasy content, strong Christian themes and it is my purpose in this exhibition to highlight the Christian themes within the Harry Potter series, and the similarities between Jesus Christ and Harry Potter. Laurel Parker