Sharon West
Scenic Lookout
25 May - 3 June 2023
As Sharon West’s family legend would have it, when out on a family excursion, (the Sunday drive of another era) her father would only rarely pass-up the invitation to pull over when ever he saw a Country Roads Board sign announcing “Scenic Lookout Ahead”.
This memory has stayed with Sharon, who has for decades now, presented us with both true and fabulous tales as if viewed through a microscope, but also from some distant vantage point – all at one and the same time.
How is this simultaneity possible?
These marvellous, invented worlds not only contain the “Scenic Lookout” of the title, but are also invested with Sharon’s distinctive Outlook; on everything from colonial and present day exploitations, both natural and unnatural histories, urban, suburban and rural myths, tales of bunyips and the Giant Squid, to the weird Australian fascination with public edifices such as The Big Merino/Banana/Crayfish (insert what you like) to everyday subjects such as over-priced op-shop Tupperware.
With eloquent command of her chosen materials, nothing is off-limits as Sharon provides probing pictorial commentary - not only about all manner of things that you may have turned your mind to– but also – some things you’ve never even dreamt of.
This, Sharon West does with sensitivity, charm and above all – a strikingly sharp wit.
