Watery Places
by Shady Arts

24 October to 7 November at Tactile Arts

Tactile Arts presents Watery Places, an exhibition by Shady Arts, a group of artists brought together by a shared love of the outdoors and the natural landscapes of northern Australia, particularly the Darwin region.

Shady Arts began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when university supervisors and postgraduate students started meeting outdoors to paint en plein air and share conversations. What began as a way to connect has grown into a regular Friday painting group, bringing together local and visiting artists who share a connection to Darwin. While many members enjoy the immediacy of watercolour, their practice extends to drawing, printmaking and sculpture.

In Watery Places, the artists explore their individual relationships with the land, water and living things that shape life in the Top End. Working across a range of mediums, they capture the details, changes and quiet moments of being outdoors. Their works reflect different ways of seeing and experiencing the same environment, inviting us to slow down and look a little closer at the places we share.

For the artists, these connections go beyond what we see. Their work is also shaped by a concern for the health of our waterways and the wider ecosystems that sustain us. Made on the unceded lands of the Larrakia and Limilngan-Wulna peoples, the exhibition encourages us to consider our own relationship with the natural world, from the plants and animals around us to the simple comfort of sitting in the shade and taking in our surroundings.

Watery Places offers an opportunity to pause, reflect and share our own thoughts and feelings about the landscapes we call home.

On display 24 October – 7 November, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–2pm, at Tactile Arts, 19 Conacher Street, The Gardens.

Opening event Friday 23 October from 5:30pm.