In conjunction with the organisers of Dark MOFO, Clarence City Council has staged a new exhibition at Rosny Farm’s heritage venue. The exhibition showing at The Barn from June 6 to 29 is entitled Memoriam and will showcase freeze-dried animal art, using taxidermy and sculpture.

Memoriam: exhibition by Amelia Rowe (poster supplied)

Clarence Memoriam: Dark MOFO

The work of Tasmanian artist Amelia Rowe, Memoriam will be a unique and possibly confronting exhibition, ultimately offering visitors a moving experience.

Thanks to an article by Len Langan following West Tamar’s Artentwine Festival, Think Tasmania’s long-term readers have already been introduced to Amelia Rowe’s work. A recipient of the Academic Excellence Medal from the University of Tasmania, Amelia has been the artist-in-residence at the University’s Paris studio.

Work by Amelia Rowe (photos supplied)

According to organisers, the Memoriam exhibition is “challenging, delicate and reverent, capturing the fragility of existence and the ways our species has honoured the dead over the ages.” Visitors will be reminded of mortality, in particular the mortality of the animals around us.

Work by Amelia Rowe (photos supplied)

Amelia Rowe’s Memoriam: Emotional Art

There’s no doubt pets enrich our lives, regardless of the type of animal chosen as a companion. The death of a beloved pet, often part of the family and a faithful friend, conjures enormous emotion. We revealed as much in our story about adopting a dog from Dogs’ Homes of Tasmania.

Max, our beloved pet dog

Damien Quilliam, Curator of Contemporary Australian Art at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery had this to say about Memoriam:

“The subjects of this exhibition have been handled with respect, there is a real feeling of emotion in these pieces, the way they have been handled with care and nurtured like family members. They sit now in an imagined state loaded with memory and emotion, asking us to discover the narrative that each work portrays.”

Mayor Doug Chipman was pleased to see the renewal of the partnership between MONA and Clarence City Council for this year’s Dark Mofo Festival. “MONA continues to challenge us with emotive and compelling events and exhibitions and Rowe’s Memoriam continues in this vein,” he said.

Dane Hunnerup (Program Officer Arts & Events, Clarence City Council) has registered The Barn as a member of Think Tasmania. Call (03) 6245 8740 for details, or follow Clarence Events on Facebook. Amelia Rowe’s Memoriam exhibition will be open from June 6 to 29 at The Barn, Rosny Farm (Rosny Hill Road).

Clarence City Council: The Barn, Rosny Farm

The Barn: heritage venue for Memoriam

Map: Rosny Farm, Clarence Tasmania…