In the forest … by the sea – photographs, prints and paintings

An exhibition of works by Anh-Thu and Roger Stuart at Shop7 ArtSpace, Bermagui Wharf is on display from 20 March to 7 April.

We live south of Bermagui, on the Far South Coast of New South Wales, a place where spotted gum forest meets the sea. This place and its surrounding region have inspired our photography, printmaking and painting.

Outside our studios, spotted gums, with their understory of cycads, pittosporums and lomandras, appear like works of art that change with the seasons. In spring, the trees shed their bark and rain brings out the many colours and patterns of trunks in a display of almost psychedelic colours revealing fantastical figures. Other trees remind us more of the Impressionists’ subtle colours.

At night, and especially in the moonlight, the forest becomes mysterious and enchanting. Its nocturnal inhabitants emerge: possums, wallabies, bandicoots, feather-tailed gliders … When the next day breaks, birds of all hues flit in and out of our bird baths in a mesmerising spectacle.

The sea is always present too, glittering through the forest’s foliage in the morning and providing a soundtrack to our days. The beach and headlands provide a different sort of inspiration. The colour and brightness of the water change with the weather and time of day. Occasionally, a big sea or atmospheric change will transform the forest with clouds of sea mist. Storms create huge waves and erode beaches, revealing rocks that have been buried for years. These surges can close the local lake’s entrance and, occasionally, push right up to a much-loved wooden bridge, as much a part of the landscape as nature itself.

Ahn-Thu and Roger Stuart

Photos: (Top right) After the Rain, photograph by Roger Stuart, (Above) Looking Out, linocut by Anh-Tu Stuart.