A creative collaboration born from a shared love of nature and the desire to bring meaningful and sustainable objects into the home, New Zealand artist Meg Gallagher is bringing to life the concept of ‘home’ in a solo exhibition to be held at the Totem Road Gallery, opening Thursday 23 February.
‘Home’ to Gallagher is ōtepoti, New Zealand just a few hours away from where Totem Road founder, Don Garvan grew up however No Place Like Home is less about one particular place and more of an exploration of what home means within.
A series of textural paintings on offcuts of denim, No Place Like Home explores the interplay between the ocean, the land and the sky, the wide open spaces that have carried Meg throughout her life. Together, the collection tells the story of Meg and Don's connection to New Zealand, their shared love of nature and their desire to care for mother earth throughout this life and the next.
“Meg has captured effortlessly the concept of home – which we believe is tied intrinsically to nature," says Don.
Meg’s process begins with offcuts of denim that would otherwise make their way to landfill. A flow of washing, soaking and dyeing the denim then brings to life wild organic textures and for this collection, Meg then brought calm into the composition by layering paint in palettes of sienna and terre verte, reflective of the sweeping lines of nature.
“With such a connection to nature, it’s only natural that I take a sustainable approach to my work. I had a lot of fun using natural pigments for this collection, derived from the land on which I live,” says Meg.
While No Place Like Home indicates a personal connection between Meg and Don and their homeland, it also suggest a collective sentiment, to find grounding and clarity in nature, to come home to nature.
No Place Like Home
by Meg Gallagher
Opening Thursday 23 February
Totem Road Gallery
3/188 Oxford St
Paddington, NSW
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Photography by Emily Cannan.