Unnatural History: The Tower Hill Project commemorates over 160 years since Australian artist Eugene von Guérard painted Tower Hill VIC (1855). In this exhibition Hobie Porter interrogates the environmental impacts that colonial settlement has had on this special place. Guided by von Guérard’s painting, a major revegetation program began in the 1960s to restore the flora and fauna native to the region. Porter’s depiction of Tower Hill celebrates this renewed state, while also alluding to the complexities of the restoration program.
Porter’s sublime panoramic landscapes are overlaid with configurations of the minutiae that the artist discovered while exploring these sites. Feathers, leaves, flowers, botanical specimens, ceramic shards and beach shells (often used to represent Aboriginal midden shells) – forge meaningful connections between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
This exhibition has been developed by Warrnambool Art Gallery in conjunction with the artist.
