Sue Lovegrove, The Invisible Lake no. 581, 2022. Acrylic and ink on archival board, framed, 61 x 91.4cm. Courtesy: the artist and Bett Gallery, Hobart.

Bett Gallery presents an exhibition of work by artist Sue Lovegrove.

“When Lake Pedder was flooded in 1972 to create a hydro dam, it was a devastating loss to both the environment and to the community of conservation minded people who value and care deeply for our natural heritage. 50 years on, the lake is still very present in our imaginations. The extraordinary thing is that the lake still exists lying intact beneath the current water level, the pinkish/white quartz sandy beaches and the winding Serpentine River are still there, just as they were before.

For me, the idea of an invisible lake lying hidden beneath the surface of the water is both a compelling and contradictory image to imagine. It is a body of water that is also concealed by water. In the act of concealing something, its presence becomes so much more profound and significant. In this way Lake Pedder continues to exist in our memory, at the edge of perception and at the same time tantalisingly present as an invisible lake.

These paintings are intended as a meditation on the idea of transience embodied in the lake. I hope to draw the viewer into an intimate and poetic contemplation of the elemental qualities of place: the shifting light on water, the stillness in the shadows at the edge, the sounds of life and the enigmatic, mysterious and abstract worlds both above and below the surface of the water. These paintings are an expression of our collective grief and loss for a lake and hopefully provide a space for memory to rest. In the abstraction of movement within and beneath, time collapses.

Floating mountains

Waiting” – Sue Lovegrove, 2022.

Opening Event: Friday 2 September 5:30 – 7:30pm.

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