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Solastalgia
An exhibition offering solace
FEBRUARY – MARCH 2020
“A stunningly moving, heart wrenching exhibition. Thank you.”
Long before the fires occurred, Fabrik had scheduled an exhibition curated for the 2020 Fringe Festival by Jo Wilmont, titled Solastalgia.
The exhibition was intended to offer artist perspectives on the loss of environment due to climate change. While the topic was painfully relevant in what was becoming a “Black Summer” across the country, all involved in the exhibition were concerned that the content may trigger additional trauma for fire affected residents. The artists decided the exhibition would be adapted to offer a place of solace for visitors, and the title was extended to Solastalgia: An Antidote to express this.
Reference to fire was minimised, and an installation by Evette Sunset incorporated lush, green grass, growing in the heart of the exhibition, to give respite from the blackened landscape outside.
The only visual reference to fire was a drawing, made directly onto the surface of the wall by Lobethal resident and artist Belinda Broughton. Depicting her block of land, before, during and after the fires, Belinda depicted her personal devastation using charcoal collected from the burnt remains of her family home.
This exhibition was an incredibly powerful experience for visitors, with many finding the artworks created a way for their own expression of grief and loss.
Liz Butler
Deb Cantrill
Louise Feneley
Gaynor Hartvigsen
Melissa Hellwig
Heidi Kenyon
Aaron Poole
Evette Sunset
Laura Wills
Jo Wilmot (curator)
“Drawing gives my disastrous loss a purpose”
Belinda Broughton
