Some Kind of Peace - Donna Lougher
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Olafur Arnalds album “some kind of peace” states inspiration which reflects the attitude that we can’t control everything in the world, only how we react to what life gives us. His work is very much about letting go. Introspective making against a backdrop of a chaotic world. ‘ Daring to be alive’. Arnalds also states: embrace all that life throws at you and find your own kind of peace.
In the windowsill, an array of potted plants (Australian natives) backlit against the architecture of the city. Views from the artists window inspired from a romantic genre – landscape and architecture. Potted plants symbolise the different stages of growth. The window faces towards the light. After a year life-altering for many of us, life in the city is returning again. From the 10th floor studio I see City science – building science : size, shape, scale, density, patterns. For me today, these lights are the perfect metaphor for flashes of life in the middle of the dark, or joy in difficult times. Donna Lougher Hobart 2021 |
| In her new exhibition Some Kind of Peace, Donna Lougher documents life returning to
Hobart after the world-altering events of 2020. From her 10th floor studio, Donna was witness to the tentative steps made as we returned to the physical environment of the city. The familiar skyline, the brick and sandstone of Hobart’s streets ground us in a world before COVID19. Yet dots on the pavement and gaps between people are a reminder the world is not the same and we must adjust to new ways of moving about the city and interacting with each other. Staying in one place, watching and waiting was the only option for most of us during a year of profound upheaval. It was also a time tinged with grief. Grief for the way we used to live before the pandemic. Grief for loved ones out of reach. In her view from above, Donna has captured the isolation so many of us felt. Yet moving from night time views into the bright of day there are twinkling spots of hope on the horizon in Donna’s work – early morning light on kunanyi, plants growing on window sills and rooftops, the high-vis of construction returning, life persisting. Kate Lansell |
