OPENING EVENT - 14th October, 2-4pm

Local established artist Tarli Glover makes no secret of her love of the Western Victorian plains. The simple act of traversing the countryside reveals her sensitivity to the colour blocks and the shape-shifting of tones. Her latest exhibition, LAND, is set to open at The Lost Ones Contemporary Art Gallery in Ballarat Central on 14th October.

To those who know the region, the Western Victorian plains are home to big agriculture as well as smaller family-operated makers and crafters. The landscape is scarred by the seasons and the farming methods, often leaving a barren beauty matched with big skies. In response, the official proceedings will be overseen by representatives from the Victorian Farmers Federation, in recognition of the beauty of agricultural land.

Tarli admits she is deeply affected by the vistas. The cypress tree windbreaks become islands in a sea of flowering canola. The dirt roads dividing the landscape become scratchmarks, detailing just how insignificant our humanity is against the vast expanse.

But this is a landscape that has been forever changed by human hands. There is a disquiet in Tarli's beautiful works that suggest loss of ecosystems and complex native environments. The natural hunting territory of the wedge tailed eagle, for example, has been pushed away, further and further, leaving this extensive and every-growing patchwork of farmland.

In this series of new and recent works, LAND celebrates the changing seasons, the subtle tones of response from the landscape to the loss of water, or the chilling cold. These colours are ones a farmer would recognise, noting the time to plant or harvest or appreciating that it's time to protect from fire. They also reveal a deep love and respect.

LAND is a collection of works that are simultaneously beautiful as well as thought provoking.