helene weeding ― home and away

Vivid desert colours – deep blue skies, rich red earth and vibrant wildflowers – present a striking contrast to Tasmania’s soft palette in Helene Weeding’s Home and Away exhibition.

These wonderful new landscape paintings give us a glimpse into Helene’s life both here and far away. We follow her adventures on a recent 3-month trek across Australia’s far north with the wildflowers in full bloom. “The desert is such a harsh landscape but there was so much beauty everywhere. Especially the colours which were so mind-blowing, particularly at dawn and dusk when the sun lights up the earth.”

Swathes of purple and pink wildflowers as far as the eye can see are a visual feast in one work. In another, Salmon Gums glow golden in the late afternoon as the moon begins its ascent. Helene also treats us to a “myriad of colours” as we stumble upon a gorge of blue water in the bright desert sands. Back home in Northern Tasmania, these vivid landscapes are far removed from the softness and muted views Helen presents in paintings of Sisters Beach and the Tamar Valley.

But, Helene also bravely reveals her “very private self”. Since the early 90’s journaling has been a daily ritual, and this exhibition also includes the small paintings she did every day during her far northern adventure. “All art is a revelation of a private part of your life. Every time you put on an exhibition you are revealing something intensely private.”

Helene Weeding’s Home and Away exhibition runs from June 2 – 26