Exhibitions

	‘Left of Centre’ Exhibition & Activities featuring Lysbeth Gould & Wanda Bennett Lagoons Gallery and Cafe 18 January – 26 February 2012 Lysbeth Gould and Wanda Bennett are two textile artists working with plant fibres in different disciplines. Lysbeth, a paper artist and Wanda a creative weaver have joined forces to display a range of exciting works made from natural materials. They both strongly believe that art should be interactive and to this end enjoy conducting activities in public places where observers have the opportunity to ‘have a go’. Both artists will be demonstrating in the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens on Saturday 11th February 2012 from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. Visitors to the Gardens are invited to take part. Featured artwork is 'Red Nest' by Wanda Bennett The Lagoons Gallery and Cafe is open Wednesday to Friday - 10am to 3pm, Weekends 9am to 4pm. Cost Free Contact Botanic Gardens 49527300 or email botanic@mackay.qld.gov.au for more information.
	‘A Perfect Blend’: A joint exhibition by Karen Hurford, Natalie Field and Cheryl Eagers. Lagoons Gallery and Café 29th February - 1st April 2012 A Perfect Blend: This is an exhibition with a unique flavour that brings together the artwork of Karen Hurford, Natalie Field and Cheryl Eagers. This exhibition reflects the sharing of excitement, despair and triumph through both tears and laughter over many cups of tea, whilst the trio completed their Masters in Contemporary Arts. The sharing of tea has a strong social and historical context; it can be a grand ceremony or a simple matter of boiling the kettle. The vast array of pure and blended teas adds another layer to the tradition of the sharing of a cuppa. Virtual strangers at the beginning, the three artists express the forging of a friendship through photographic artistry. Come along, grab yourself a friend and a cuppa and enjoy the celebration of artwork, including photography, lino –cut prints and hand-coloured dry-point etchings on display. We like to think our art is as different as the varieties of teas that can be found. Featured Artwork is "Tres La Di Dah" a hand coloured dry-point etching by Karen Hurford. Lagoons Gallery and Café, open Wednesday to Friday - 10am to 3pm and Weekends 9am to 4pm. Exhibition Cost: Free Contact Botanic Gardens 49527300 or email botanic@mackay.qld.gov.au for more information.
	Information Overload: Digital Art Exhibition. A graphic exploration into the visual information exchange of my everyday life by Jodie Connolly. Lagoons Gallery and Cafe 4th April – 29th April 2012 Jodie is particularly fascinated with the revolutionary changes taking place in our lives due to new media and digital technology and the way in which we interact with the ever-increasing amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basis. Her work seeks to explore the relevance and meaning of the information we are exposed to as we go about our daily life and question's society on the impact of the information revolution currently taking place. Her interest in this topic came about due to an increasing personal awareness of how much unsolicited information she was exposed to (in particular - visual information), and her personal frustration while dealing with this seemingly useless information. Jodie’s digital designs are based on the information exchange she experienced and collated during the course of the Masters project. Stripped of any colour information, the designs for this exhibition include high contrast montages that were assembled using digital software such as Photoshop and Illustrator and portray a personal interpretation of an information landscape, information pollution, information consumption, information recycling and new media information infiltration. The exhibition 'Information Overload" displays a number of artworks produced during Jodie’s study of the UTAS Master of Contemporary Arts 2011 (Digital Design Specialisation) Featured Artwork is Information Overload. Information Overload Digital Art Exhibition Opening Night: Wednesday 4th April; 6.00pm Lagoons Gallery and Cafe Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens. RSVP before 28 March 2012. Contact Jodie; Phone 0409155223 or email JODIE_CONNOLLY@YAHOO.COM.AU Exhibition Cost; Free Contact Botanic Gardens 49527300 or email botanic@mackay.qld.gov.au for more information.
	Exhibit your artwork at the Lagoons Gallery The Lagoons Gallery, located at the main entrance of the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens, features art exhibitions and displays with environmental and cultural themes. The Botanic Gardens provides you or your group with the opportunity to exhibit your artwork or display at the Lagoons Gallery, which is accessed by a growing number of Mackay residents and visitors in a unique garden/gallery/cafe setting. It's simple to apply, simply complete the exhibition proposal and submit it to Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens.