Mparntwe - A solo Exhibition by Darcy Shilton

 Darcy Shilton is a Melbourne based artist and furniture maker.  He works with a number of mediums, ranging from acrylic and oil paintings inspired by Australia’s natural landscape, to designing and fabricating interactive objects and spaces made from natural and recycled materials.   

His upbringing in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) instilled a deep connection with the natural environment and through his work aims to promote environmental conservation and sustainable living practices.

Mparntwe in the artists own words:

 “I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land I visited and captured for this exhibition, the Arrernte people, and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land this exhibition is being held on, the Wurundjeri people. All the actions that I undertook to put this exhibition together occurred on stolen land. Sovereignty was never ceded.”

 “Mparntwe is a series of landscape paintings and drawings exploring the natural country that surrounds my home town of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Accessing this ancient landscape and re-accessing it through painting, drawing and photography was an important means for me to explore and process trauma. Immersing myself in this brutal and stunning environment had a profound healing effect. Being surrounded by the vastness of the land, to focusing on the minute natural details offered me internal space from my pain. It gave me room to step away from it, to assess it and eventually feel and process it. Many of the works explore these aspects ranging from the expansive landscapes and open sky’s, to the focused detail of a single rock face, to the abstracted details that are so fine they merge together to become a whole cohesive pattern.”

 “I would also like to acknowledge that my connection to this land, despite its personal importance to me, is insignificant when compared to the connection the traditional owners have to their country. Their connection spans countless generations and has levels of complexity that I can never understand.”

 All works have been created and framed from recycled materials.

30% of artwork sales will be donated to Women’s Safety Services of Central Australia

 Supporting Darcy on Opening night are special musical guests Aunty Blue and Georgia Knight.

 This event is sponsored by our friends and supporters of the arts: Bodriggy Brewing Company!

 Doors at 7pm

Music from 8pm

$15 to support local musicians

www.shiltondesign.com @shilton.design

The Old Bar Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which The Old Bar resides.