Constance ARI

Paintings on beer bottle tops and plastic explore ideas about 'home' found is the first opportunity for Amanda Davies (Hobart) and Waratah Lahy (Canberra) to exhibit their idiosyncratic styles of painting together. found features paintings dramatically different in scale: Davies' work is a single enamel on plastic painting measuring 2.4 x 3.2m, while Lahy's work is a series of miniature paintings on beer bottle tops, each measuring 2.5cm in diameter. Davies' work is a response to the shifting feeling of being and not being 'at home'. She is interested in how our idea of 'self' is reflected in our interior settings and how the boundaries between 'self' and 'other' are represented. Davies will be exhibiting a painting on plastic of a woman placing a cover on a doona. The painting appears vacuum-sealed, with little room for the viewer to enter the picture plane. With this style of painting there exists no opportunity to rework the image as it is painted front to back. For Lahy found is a series of beach shacks painted, in oil, on old beer bottle tops. The bottle tops function as throwaway mementos, the scarred and rusting metal surface restored by an intricately detailed painting. The scale and detail of the work transforms both the object and the image into something that requires close attention and scrutiny. Conversely, the size also reflects how easily such things can be lost or ignored. Amanda Davies recently completed Honours in Fine Art at the Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania. She has previously exhibited at Dick Bett Gallery (Hbt), Canberra Contemporary Art Space, INFLIGHT Gallery (Hbt) and the UTAS Fine Arts Gallery (Hbt). Waratah Lahy is currently undertaking a PhD in Visual Arts at the Australian National University, School of Art, Canberra. She has previously exhibited at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts (Melb), West Space (Melb) and Carnegie Gallery (Hbt).