From August 1st, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie will sit amongst their iconic bush imagery at Carrick Hill’s Close To Nature: May Gibbs and Australian Botanical Art, an exhibition of original and rarely viewed artworks by iconic Australian author and illustrator, May Gibbs.
Offering the opportunity to experience one of Australia’s most remarkable children’s authors and illustrators, this exhibition of Gibbs’ works will highlight her life’s practise both within the comforts of the Carrick Hill gallery and the newly established May Gibbs Garden in the Children’s Storybook Trail
An Australian who inspired generations, Gibbs created a unique Australian idiom that continues to inspire new and emerging writers and illustrators. Her love of nature and deep understanding of the Australian bush inspired Gibbs to create beautiful works of art.
Gibbs cherished and longed for the natural Australian surrounds and was a strong advocate for the preservation of the fast vanishing native flora.
Carrick Hill Curator, Anna Jug, has brought the collection to life and is excited to see people rediscover their childhood memories at Carrick Hill this August.
“This exhibition explores Gibbs’ work as an author, illustrator, artist and environmental campaigner, through the lens of the Australian native flora which so greatly inspired her highly successful 20th-century children’s books,” Said Ms Jug
“Botanical illustration as we know it has a long history, some of the earliest examples can be found in in16th-century manuscripts. May Gibbs is one exciting Australian artist following a long line of tradition. This exhibition presents her work alongside some of Australia’s most inspired botanical artists, from the colonial era right through to artists practising today.”
“Although, for most adult visitors to Carrick Hill who enjoyed the tales of May Gibbs as children, to see her paintings and drawings exhibited in all their glory will bring a new appreciation for her art.”
Close To Nature: May Gibbs and Australian Botanical Art, will be set alongside the celebration of the recently established May Gibbs Garden, part of the family favourite Carrick Hill Children’s Storybook Trail.
Designed to enable children to explore and discover the natural world, the Carrick Hill Story Book Trail, a short walk of discovery through Carrick Hill’s parkland, uses classic children’s tales to encourage the imagination. Including classics such as Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Frances Hodgson’s The Secret Garden, and Rudyard Kipling’s, The Jungle Book,
The Carrick Hill garden team, led by Head Gardener Neil Waters, has developed a unique garden experience that is quintessentially Gibbs, a trail that is home to a stunning collection of flora including Xanthorrhoea Glauca’s, for which Carrick Hill is home to two aged at approximately 700 years old and 500 years old, Banksias, Correas, Boronias, Acacias, and Geraldton Wax amongst other.
May Gibbs Exhibition Opening
Thursday 9 August 2018, 5.30pm
May Gibbs Garden Opening
Friday 10 August 2018,4pm
Carrick Hill
46 Carrick Hill Drive, Springfield SA 5062
carrickhill.sa.gov.au – facebook.com/carrickhilladelaide
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