And now, the shipping news

February 14, 2005

There's nothing like having a barbie in the park on the Newport foreshore, watching the big container ships slide out of the mouth of the Yarra as the sausages sizzle. The ships are like industrial architecture: are they ugly or beautiful? Either way, they're fascinating to watch.

Melbourne artist Julian Twigg agrees. He saw potential in the procession of ships gliding past the window of his Middle Park studio and started painting them, focusing on tugs, tankers and container vessels. Not for him the graceful sails and masts of a Brett Whiteley work; instead, Twigg's paintings emphasise the blocky shapes of commercial craft.

His images appear toy-like and massive at the same time. Sluggish seas and undistinguished skies underline the power of the ships. Nature is not the star in these paintings, but rather a supporting act for the starring vessel.

The Shipping Lane is Twigg's fourth solo exhibition, and his first in Melbourne since a Sydney showing last year. For that show, Harbour Traffic, he worked around the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the coves used by larger vessels. Back in Melbourne, he's returned his gaze to Port Phillip Bay.

He's still working from Middle Park, but also uses a boat shed in Sorrento and a vantage point at Arthurs Seat. The Arthurs Seat paintings stand out because of their higher and closer perspective. In these, the ships are seen from above and the landscape sometimes appears. By contrast, the Middle Park works usually feature a vessel balanced finely on a distant horizon.

Twigg's quick brushstrokes and simplified forms produce uncomplicated, impressionistic paintings.

The surfaces are coarse and unrefined.

"The depth and texture is very important," says Twigg. "I really attack it like a game of footy; that's how I do it. I enjoy seeing it like that, rather than the surface being pristine."

His paintings cut to the chase, conveying the feel of being on the high seas, the massive vessels coexisting with dormant but mighty natural forces. You can imagine the sense of control the captains of these great ships must feel. They're not graceful, but there's something calming about their confident, unhurried passage through the bay and the heads.

WHERE: Australian Galleries, Collingwood
WHEN: Today until March 10 (Tuesday-Sunday)
DETAILS: or 9417 4303