Salt, Sky and Dust: a Wimmera palette

Salt, sky and dust, an exhibition drawn entirely from the Horsham Regional Art Gallery's expansive collection, enables us to view the iconic Wimmera region through rose-coloured glasses. Known well for its expansive and challenging landscape, dryland farming, vast areas of scrub and iconic mountain ranges, the Wimmera region covers up to one-tenth of the Victorian landscape and has long been a challenging environment for those who work it. Yet, in this exhibition, the harshness of drought, dust, and labour is tempered by the gentle, soft blush or striking contrast of the colour: pink. Consistently, artists have utilised this colour when capturing the Australian landscape and in particular the Wimmera. These works from the collection, which include paintings, photography, sculpture, ceramics and printmaking, expand our understanding of this oft-misconstrued hue. Pink can be rugged, crystalline and ageless, and yet simultaneously delicate, soft and fleeting. Capable of capturing the sky at sunset, a dry landscape, a blush of flora or the vibrancy of our unique communities – is it through the unassuming power of pink we are provided a powerful lens through which to understand both the Wimmera and its people. Featuring artists including, Dagmar Cyrulla, Neil Douglas, Troy Emery, Honey Long and Prue Stent, and Kate Rhode, this exhibition traverses modern and contemporary works to celebrate the power of pink.