Heat Shimmer
Solo exhibition at Backwoods Gallery
2019, Collingwood, VIC

Minna’s work is inspired by the unique beauty and feeling across a vast array of native Australian landscapes - all the way from the dry sclerophyll forests of the Strathbogie ranges, to the tangled mangroves and thick rainforests of Cape York. ‘Heat Shimmer’ is a continued dedication to and celebration of these landscapes, with a particular focus on ‘big red desert feeling’ - that is, the unique spirit and life-force of the central Australian desert.

By introducing vivid shades of orange and adopting an organic, playful approach to aesthetics, this new collection of original works evokes a sense of wildness, connection to country and dry desert heat. Minna’s stylised representations of Australian natives are both good humoured and devilish in their identities, traversing the line between a sense of danger and joy… and in doing so, reflecting the artists own perception and experience of the natural world - as something that both gives life and takes it away, both destroys and heals. A mysterious and powerful force to be observed, felt and listened to.

Since colonisation, hundreds of species have already become extinct in Australia. And now, as the sixth mass species extinction rapidly accelerates as a result of human activity, we are at risk of losing over 310 more creatures and 1180 plants forever. With reference to this somber reality, Minna’s aim for this collection and her enduring aim as an artist more broadly, is to draw attention to the unique magic and stand-alone value of this country, and to foster a sense of love and respect for the native Australian environment and its creatures - at a time where fragile ecosystems need our care and protection more than ever.