rick amor

went to check out the Rick Amor show I Cover the Waterfront at the SLV yesterday.

the works were all done outdoors, in one session; they show a dark city, the dirty golden light behind the clouds, a neglected bay and waterfront hovering halfway between natural and manufactured, water and land.



at the same time, the Cowen Gallery has a special set of works up to celebrate the city's 175th birthday. I found the canvas view of the city from 1836 by Hofmann fascinating: the way the little huts and tents were set in amongst trees, and the fact that every structure could be listed on a key of 25 notes.

the hills of the city loomed behind the buildings more than they probably really did. something in there about the unknown, the smallness and fragility of the nascent village. and as in many such early works, the south bank of the Yarra was the site of an idyllic-looking Aboriginal camp....