Al Lane
Komorebi
17 - 28 July 2024
G3
Opening Night
Friday 19 July | 6 - 8pm
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‘Komorebi’ is a Japanese word that means the dance of sunlight filtered through tree leaves.
This collection of paintings is based on a series of abstract photographs Al has taken hiking around Victoria, mainly at Mt Donna Buang. These paintings show the joy, colour and beauty of nature, and how wonderful it is to be among the trees, feeling the sunlight streaming through the leaves and warming your skin.
They are a representation of light and the spirit of nature that is always waiting for us, if we are open to listening to it. Nature reminds us of our true way of being, if we are willing to pay attention. Nature is effortless and when we immerse our senses in it, we too become effortless, we let go of our resistances and certainties, and allow life to flow. Trauma and grief have visited Al from a young age and nature has always been a peaceful return to home.
The feeling of being in solitude in nature, away from technology, sharp edges, loud noises, flashing lights, and crowded spaces allow you to become yourself. To put down any masks you are wearing, any filters that are obscuring your view. In nature there is no need to perform for anyone, worry about your appearance, exhaust yourself, or improve yourself, nature has no expectations of you and you are allowed to simply be. You can tread outside of your frantic world and witness a vastness, feel unity with the world and let yourself slip from your memory. Nature is always teaching us to be still, to be patient, and showing us how to transform.
In contrast with the rest of the Komorebi collection, the final piece Komorebi in paint no.10 is violent, burning, and suffering - there is no peace here. Hopefully one day the children of Palestine can watch the sunlight streaming through tree leaves instead of bombs streaming from the sky.
Artist Bio
AL is a contemporary artist who has studied visual art and photography. She was a finalist in the 2023 Bluethumb art prize. Her abstract expressionist paintings are best known for their interplay of movement and stillness. Her gestural style gives viewers the sense of witnessing a sliver of a fever dream or dance - thick bold brushstrokes, delicate drips and mesmeric washes of colour culminate in pieces that invite the viewer to contemplate their relationship to themselves and the wider world.
AL’s paintings explore the personal and the political, the organic and the artificial. She uses her work to explore personal issues, where paint becomes a visible language for the unutterable and unnamed. Her process is highly immersive and movement-based, and the final works are somewhat akin to a snapshot of a dancer, frozen in fevered motion.
Contact
Phone : (03) 9482 3550
mail@redgallery.com.au
Address
157 St Georges Rd
Fitzroy North, Victoria, 3068
Map
How to get here
Tram: route 11
Stop 21 just north of Edinburgh Gardens
Melway ref: 30B12
Parking in nearby streets
Bus: 504 (Reid Street)
