The Thursday Post. Chillin’ & art at Victa.

Today’s post comes from the balcony of the Grosvenor hotel at Victa. Victa is what we South Aussie call the lovely town of Victor Harbour. I’m sitting in the afternoon Sun, writing this and am hoping to have a very relaxing weekend.

Jelina and I are down this way because Jelina has some of her incredible artwork in the ‘I am Here‘ exhibition at the Coral Street Artspace. I’m along as driver, general dogsbody and to have a break from things in general so that I can go back refreshed and start working properly on our upcoming books. While I’m in ‘down mode’ I’m also getting into Bookchin’s ‘The Ecology of Freedom’ and hitting all of the second hand bookshops looking for 70’s scifi and more contemporary solar punk works.

Before she was an academic, Jelina was a well known textile artist, specialising in felting and garnered followers and collectors from around the world. Her weaving work with Aunty Ellen Trevorrow is in collections and museums around the globe and their partnership continues to create thought provoking takes on the traditional Ngarrindjeri weaving style.

This exhibit, which opens on the 14th of August has two of Jelina’s exciting felt pieces and, as an exciting bonus for us, showcases a much older work.

That older work is a series of hand made panels created at Camp Coorong and other places almost 11 years ago. When combined, the panels show the Bight that spans SA and features human use and abuse of the ocean from the pristine past through to the industrial present.

What made Jelina and I happiest is that this is the first time that the panels have been hung and lit properly. Their length has made them difficult to hang in the past but the gallery has custom made a rail specifically to hang them and presenting them on a curve is something that Jelina has only dreamed of being able to do. Needless to say, she is beaming.

These panels were made way back when we were active with the Wilderness Society and activists used to come to our house at Willaston to create art fitting for their campaigns. These panels were made for the ‘Save the Bight’ campaign and many of the other artworks created at that time are still around. The panels are a real piece of South Australian environmental activism history.

Come along the the I am Here exhibition between Aug 14th and Sept 27th to check out the artwork of Jelina Haines and seven other artists.