melissa smith — sounds of silence
Silence is golden in the beautiful prints of Melissa Smith’s latest offering, where depiction of nature goes Beyond Thought.
In her upcoming exhibition, Melissa explores the silence of the bush and how it allows us to go ‘beyond’ the boundaries of our busy everyday lives.
“I have always been drawn to places that are quiet. Places that offer you a chance for self-reflection and awareness, where you have the chance to clear your mind and go beyond thought in that silence.”
In this exhibition Melissa takes us to two different bodies of water that are enveloped in stillness and tranquility.
Most of the delicate prints in Beyond Thought were completed during a recent project to capture the bio-diversity around the Manly-Dam Reserve in Sydney. But, there are also scenes from Lake Sorell in Tasmania’s isolated Central Highlands.
Stillness may reign, but Melissa’s prints are a complex layering of trees, rocks, wildflowers and water in a wash of blue. A handful are fleshy-pink reflecting the colour on gum trees at Lake Sorell where the bark has been torn away.
Ironically, the beautiful silence of Melissa’s exhibition comes at a time when the covid-19 pandemic has shut down our busy lives.
“We are living in a very quiet world at the moment. It is giving us a chance to slow down and take a deep breath,” Melissa concludes.