Cooking up a Baker’s Dozen

Who:  A Baker’s Dozen local artists What: Music Heard Visually exhibition opening When: Opening Friday 17 August 6 – 8pm, Continuing 18 – 26 August, Thursdays – Sundays 12-4 pm Where: Backspace Gallery, Huyghue House, 15 Camp Street at Alfred Deakin Place

Music Heard Visually is an exploration into the correlation between music and visual art.

Music Heard Visually is curated by local Ballarat visual artist Melinda Muscat, who is also a musician and has a passion for music as do the artists in this exhibition. 

Some of the key artists in Music Heard Visually are Len Hyatt, Cameron Ross, Cake Industries, Paloma White, Chris Pendlebury, Peter Kennedy, Kiri Smart, Shane Van Den Akker, Catherine Ratcliffe and Ronnie McKegan.

Artist Paloma White has drawn swaying, swirling figures inspired by the ancient Cretan sound of Xylouris White while Len Hyatt has painted tributes to Blondie, Keith Moon and others whilst his punchy textured abstract backgrounds come to life as the music.

Ronnie McKegan has painted abstracts which have been referred to as a stained-glass window, the contrast between light and dark represent the multitude of ideas that you filter through when writing a song, while Peter Kennedy’s serene surfaces echo melodies of ambient notes.

But Music Heard Visually is not restricted to two-dimensional works. Renowned Cake Industries will be pushing the boundaries of sculpture, with their video collage evoking silent movies while Cameron Ross describes his piece ‘Panache de Nimbus’ as “…a factory of sorts standing loftily on legs, as more of an echo chamber for sound and memories, whilst it’s hexagonal steel gramophone horn protrudes outward emitting French sounds.”

No matter what your musical tastes might be or your visual preferences, this exhibition is for those who want to feel the connection between what we hear and what we see. It will excite, engage and draw you closer to both mediums.

Backspace Gallery is an initiative of the City of Ballarat dedicated to supporting local and regional artists by exhibiting quality contemporary visual art, design and craft.

 Backspace Gallery is free to the public, and open Thursday – Sunday, 12-4pm.