2024 Gunyah Artists Announcement

 



There was a record number of quality applications this year, thank you to all the artists who applied. And thanks also to our selection panel: Vanessa Berry, previous Gunyah artist-in-residence; and Kath Fries, Gunyah AIR director. 

 

Congratulations to the selected artists! 


 




Gunyah Artists-in-Residence 2024:


Lou Smith 

Bronwyn Rennex

Karlina Mitchell and Lee Mitchell


Claire Paul, Anna Seymour and Charli Rose Gerry


The Darkroom Social: Isobel Markus-Dunworth and Remi Siciliano

Obscura Deaf: Irene Holub, Sofya Gollan, Angie Goto and Riona Twomey Tindal






Follow @gunyahartists on Instagram to see posts from their residencies during the year.





Image credits from top:

Kath Fries, Sunrise view from Gunyah deck, 2023

Kath Fries, The old Gunyah house sign, 2020




Gunyah artists-in-residence program is located on Gathang Country, the ancestral lands of the Worimi people. We acknowledge them as the traditional custodians for this place, land, sky, and waters. When artists come to the Gunyah to develop and share their own creativity, learning, skills and cultural practices, we respect the knowledge embedded forever within the First Nations Custodianship of Country.

2024 Gunyah residency applications now open!

 

2024 Call Out Gunyah AiR applications! 
Background photo: Blake Lawrence, Gunyah residency 2022


I'm delighted to annouce that the owners of Gunyah are continuing the Gunyah Artists-in-Residence program, and applications are now open for 2024!

Since 2011, the Gunyah AiR program has been providing low cost accommodation for short term self-directed residencies for solo, collaborative, family and group projects. 

Applications are now open for visual artists, writers, curators, composers, musicians, performers, designers, arts administrators, new media artists and other creators, to apply for a residency at Gunyah in 2024. 

In 2024, each residency will run for ten days. There will be one per month from May to October.

Please read ABOUT GUNYAH before applying and see the APPLY page for more info about applying. 
Applications close 29 Feb 2024.

Residency report: Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard, Gunyah residency October 2023


I went to Gunyah looking for a creative space to start developing ideas for my next body of work. As soon as I walked into the house I felt the joy and creativity of that space. 

Catriona Pollard, Gunyah residency October 2023


 I hadn't planned on weaving anything as I was recovering from a sprained wrist, so I took paints and ink to just play. It was an ideal place for me as my art practice embraces the concept that nature is a part of us with meaning and spirit. And nature is essentially all there is at Gunyah.


Catriona Pollard, Gunyah residency October 2023

The forms I weave tell stories relating to emotions, concepts, energy and experiences. They are about truly seeing the extraordinary in everyday moments. For me, it’s about being still, and letting the beauty surface. I sat in contemplation on the verandah overlooking the tree tops and water glimpses and spent hours and hours on the jetty. Jumping into the water, tracing elements and just lying watching the water move and reflect the sun. 


Catriona Pollard, Gunyah residency October 2023 

Every day I walked through the bush trails and created ephemeral works and ended up finding Smilax vine by the side of the road. My rest and contemplation turned into weaving quite hard and complex forms, and gifting one as thanks to the nature and creativity of Gunyah.


Gunyah residency report, October 2023
Catriona Pollard

Upcoming artist-in-residence: Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard

Catriona Pollard is a contemporary artist who lives on Cammeraygal and Borogegal Land. She uses traditional basketry techniques to transform foraged plant fibres into organic sculptural works. Catriona's unique sculptural work offers glimpses of shapeshifting natural forms, from unnoticed branches, leaves and vines into works that investigate human’s personal connection with the natural world. Engaging audiences to build creative connection with the natural world is a fundamental part of her art practice. By transforming organic material into sculptures, Catriona presents an opportunity to be enchanted by the natural world aiming to reignite people’s relationship with nature for the wellbeing of all.

Catriona Pollard, 'Hidden Deep in the Forest the Faeries Sleep', 2021. 

Muehlenbeckia vine, 201 x 40 x 40 cm.



During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to start a new body of work to explore how the invisible, non-material realm can uncover the psyche of human’s place in the landscape and uncover the concept that the disconnection between spirit and nature has led to the climate crisis which threatens our very sense of self and society.


Catriona Pollard, 'Light of Silence', 2022, 

Foraged vine, recycled electrical copper wire, charcoal, 156 x 89 x 9 cm


To find out more about Catriona Pollard's practice, visit her website theartofweaving.com.au and follow her on Instagram @CatrionaPollard

Residency Report: Aaron Aryadharma Matheson

Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, Gunyah AIR September 2023


I loved being at The Gunyah, I treated it as a bit of a solo retreat, both getting respite from my busy life in urban Sydney, and from having to think beyond the limitations of my own disability and M.S., as I normally live with three others in a Buddhist community. To have everything I needed right there, in such a beautiful natural setting, just the sound of lapping water, birds, my materials, and my thoughts. There was a deepening of absorption and clarity around certain ideas such as what I ‘think is expected of me’ and what I want to do, (... there's nothing like getting away to get that clear!) and an experience of being free from expectations, which I feel everyone should feel occasionally. 


Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023


I also gained some clarity and insights into my topic of the Cosmos as seen through the James Webb telescope, and into mythology and art in general:
"Galaxies are unthinkable, but they have at their core principles that I can connect with, presence and mystery. They are just there, factually vast, unimaginable - that means beyond what we can imagine- but I personally feel I need to try… Not to contain and control my conception, but to embiggen it (it’s actually a word from the late 19th century popularised by the Simpson’s). The edge of the swirling galaxy of the world picks me up in and carries me in reflection to another place."

Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023


I'm so grateful to the selectors and the committee, hope one day to come again, although I wonder how accessible I will find it in the future - this time it was heavenly.

Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023


Gunyah residency report, September 2023
Aaron Aryadharma Matheson

Residency report: Cara Johnson

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

Gunyah really gave me a place to rest and reflect. I feel so fortunate that I was able to bring my family with me, I haven’t spent time away from my young daughter and this residency made me feel so welcomed and supported as an artist, and a mum. 

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

Butcherbirds have my favourite song, and they called to each other in the trees while I worked.

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

It was interesting for me to see sweet pittosporum in the bushland looking beautiful - where I live in Victoria’s southwest is way outside of its natural range and considered a terrible weed due to its threat to plant diversity. I’m used to pulling out seedlings that I come across on walks, but here I let them be while I enjoyed discovering unfamiliar acacia seed pods. I found larger versions of familiar orchids and think they must thrive in the warmer climate.

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

Dolphins and bandicoots, kites, pelicans, albatross and musk lorikeets. I was nervous about ticks (something also unfamiliar) and did get one on the last day and it was not even close to as bad as I’d imagined! Leeches are much worse, and live close to home, stretching out towards legs from the ends of bracken. 

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

I had some new insights during my time away and can see them making their way into work. I’m very grateful to Kath and everyone connected to Gunyah. 

Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

Gunyah residency report, August 2023

Cara Johnson


Cara Johnson, Gunyah artist-in-residence August 2023

Upcoming artist-in-residence: Aaron Aryadharma Matheson

Aaron Aryadharma Matheson


Aaron Aryadharma Matheson is an artist who lives and works on Gadigal Wangal Land in the inner west of Sydney. He has been a finalist in the Mosman, Waverley and Waterhouse prizes, and awarded the Richard Ford travel award. He completed a year’s postgraduate diploma in drawing at the Prince’s Drawing School in London in 2007, and a Masters in Fine Art in 2018 at the National Art School, Sydney. Aaron is represented by Liverpool St Gallery, Sydney.


Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, 'Nursery of Stars' 2022, 

acrylic and mica pigment on canvas, 187 x 126.5 cm



" ... I paint in order to see myself more clearly, and to make sense of life. I use earth, metal, or mica pigments with acrylic binder. Applying paint to a surface, extends awareness (mind) into the liquid paint and the world beyond me. There is also an ‘archaeological’ process of rubbing back into the painting. I’m interested in the awareness and clarity that persists despite the presence of the paint, drips and slashes. ... "



Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, 'Galaxy', 2021,
acrylic paint and pale gold pigment on canvas, 187 x 152cm



" ... During my residency at Gunyah, I intend to make many small studies for two large-scale paintings: 120 x 170cm in acrylic. The process will begin with meditation and small studies which move through a process of linking up thinking and sensation, working with both mindfulness, the space, and current reflections on indigenous astronomy and quantum mechanics. ..." 

You can see more of Aaron Aryadharma Matheson's work on his website aaronmatheson.com and instagram @aryadharmamatheson