Opening night at Broken Hill Art Gallery
It was a pleasure to be invited to Broken Hill City Art Gallery to open Adam Norton’s The Mars Project.
This show is a result of one of M&G’s Copyright Agency Limited funded artist in residence grants. Broken Hill and surrounds provided the perfect backdrop for Adam’s latest project, which views the outback through the eyes of a space traveller presenting the region as a Martian analogue landscape.
'Things that look familiar to locals can look completely different through the eyes of a stranger – to me it actually looks as if I've landed on another planet’.
Some months earlier Adam had undertaken his residency, spending several weeks in and around NSW’s most famous outback town. “I’ve just got myself in front of the orange and red sand, black rocks, sort of running at a slow pace as if I’m on another planet – exploring another world and it’s been surprisingly easy to do” he said.
“Things that look familiar to locals can look completely different through the eyes of a stranger – to me it actually looks as if I’ve landed on another planet”!
The assembled crowd offered a warm enthusiasm for the show. They also expressed to me a real appreciation for the work done by the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery and Broken Hill Historical Society towards maintaining a cultural and heritage profile within the town. Mayor Wincen Cuy and Council General Manager Therese Manns clearly understood the attachment locals have to their gallery and appreciate the social and economic contribution.
It was a great night which also saw the launch of local photographer Robin Sellick’s ROIDS exhibition of selected Polaroid photos. Sellick is widely regarded as Australia’s leading celebrity portrait photographer, having worked with Annie Leibovitz and being regularly published in magazines such as Vogue and Rolling Stone. The crowd kicked on to enjoy a meal at the now world famous Palace Hotel, best known for featuring in the drag road movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
As they say… ‘only in Broken Hill’, congratulations to all.
Michael Rolfe
CEO, M&G NSW
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