The Working Shed – 2020 Exhibition – Christine Porter

A NOTE FROM THE ARTIST

When this exhibition was touted a year ago, as a direct result of the Radio National interview with Ed Ayers, it seemed that everything would go along as planned. This is my 39th solo show, it should have been straight forward. In fact, the systems in place, and the experience of the team at the Gympie Regional Gallery, made the preparation for this show one of the easiest ever.

I didn’t, however, anticipate suffering an eye injury late January, right at the time allocated for a new body of work about the current gender equality in the sheds. Paintings and drawings of a female shearer and shed-hands were curated out before they were even created.

Nor, like the rest of the world, did I anticipate the Coronavirus. The exhibition was hung the week before the Australia closed down. I am grateful to everyone at Gympie Regional Gallery for the attention to detail that meant that the exhibition is sitting there, perfectly presented, doing the Marie Celeste tango, all alone.

Hence this page.

If you didn’t get to Gympie, and I know so many of you wanted to, then you can see it here. It’s not going to have the same impact as a hands-on gallery visit, nor as many bubbles as an official opening. But I wanted to share it with you anyway. Perhaps this way more people will see it? Perhaps the stories this show has to tell needed a wider audience than simply those who could get there in person?

For whatever reason, here it is. Enjoy.

THANKYOU
My thanks to the current owners of several of the works in the exhibition who have lent them back for the duration. Likewise my thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Gympie Regional Gallery for all your excellent work.

Christine, Lismore, March 24, 2020

Welcome

The Gallery Installation

The Artwork

Which Shearing Shed is That?
Paintings in this exhibition are from recent series about sheds on the New England, and Queensland. They include: Timber Built about the “Boorolong” shed, near Armidale, The Hundredth Shearing Shed (“Deeargee”, Gostwyk, Uralla), Painting “Newstead” (“Newstead” Inverell), Formerly “Belah” (“Bundanoon” Texas), and The Deepwater Project, which includes Sheep of the New England.

Colour Variations
The paintings on this page were photographed at different times so there are variations in the quality and colour cast of the photos. If you’d like to see different files of any painting contact me.

Framing
The paintings are framed traditionally or presented in artist-made Perspex boxed frames. Either can be kept as is, or your framer can easily take them apart to be framed differently. I’m happy to take artwork from frame and ship it matted. However, we’d need to talk on the phone to change price. Approx difference for large frames is $200 (small $50), for perspex $50 (small $20).

How to Buy an Artwork
Most of the work in this exhibition is still available. Until Anzac Day the gallery will be organising any sales. We will be working together so if you’d like to check on anything, to purchase, or organise a laybye, contact either of us by phone or email. Gympie Regional Gallery: 0754810733 email contact or Christine Porter: 0407170471 email contact

Download the exhibition room-sheet catalogue or read the artist statement at the end of this page.

Large Works

A full sheet sheet of watercolour paper is 76x56cm. Work in this series is close to this full sheet size, as well as variations on half sheet strongly horizontal, which is one of my preferred formats. There is only one vertical painting in this exhibition, which is about on a par. All the large works are framed in white or lime-washed timber frames.

Click on any image to open slideshow.

Photo of Christine Porter's exhibition at the Gympie Regional Gallery in March2020, showing a large painting of the interior of a shearing shed, and other paintings off into the distance.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing, in its frame, the interior of a shearing shed with an old earrego press and a new red electric press — This is not the best photo of this painting. Contact me if you’d like to see some other files of this.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Deeargee", near Uralla: a large octagonally shaped woolroom with other parts of the building showing in the distance.

Photo of Christine Porter's exhibition at the Gympie Regional Gallery in March2020, showing a large painting of two shearing shed exteriors, framed hanging on the wall

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Bundanoon" near Texas. A corrugated iron roof, some sheep yards, in the bush.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Newstead" near Inverell: Showing the old trees around the dark interior visible at the top of the hill on a hot day.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale showing the pens at the western end of the shed interior. Lots of timber posts and beams

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale showing the interior of the shed, looking west, over a single gate along the edge of the main section of the shed. Lots of posts and beams.

Photo of Christine Porter's exhibition at the Gympie Regional Gallery in March2020, showing a large painting of shearing shed, and other paintings off into the distance. a

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Srmidlae. showing the slab walls, and corrugated iron roof. In the disance is a dark sky. in the foreground, more greas than was actually there at that time

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale. A timber and corrugated iron old shearing shed, showing the loading ramp, rank and gable of the woolroom, on the top of a hill

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale , looking down on the old shed corrugated iron room. and in the distance landcsape of hills and trees showing in the distance.

A watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale, showing the exterior timber wall, with dark gaps under and into the shed.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Boorolong" near Armidale showing the interior of the shed with the focus being a small gate in the main pen area. In this painting we see the slotted floor, timber beams going off into the distance — This was the painting chosen as the invitation image for this exhibition.

A watercolour painting by Christine Porter of a collection fo 9 small paintings, presented in a grid, of various doors, windows and openings in timber and corruguated iron shed.

Photo of Christine Porter's exhibition at the Gympie Regional Gallery in March2020, showing a large painting of a collection of woolstencils as well as a few other small paintings installed. — This is the best photo I have of this painting. It shows the frame, which is silvery, rather than white. If you’d like to see a different file, contact me.

A watercolour painting by Christine Porter of the shearing shed at "Valley View" in the middle of shearing. Showing the view from the woolroom looking through the bins, some half full of wool, to the classing table and board.

Square works

I like working square, and I like working small. For many artists, even the work in this section would be considered “small work”. For me, I start by drawing up most to fit in a mat 20cm square. Often the image makes other decisions though. The paintings in this series are one of three main sizes – 20x20cm, 25x25cm, 27x29cm, 16x16cm, and one or two ring-ins. Most of these paintings are framed in the custom Perspex frame.

Click on any image to open slideshow.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the intreior of a shearing shed, from near the roof. looking down on an empty woolroom with a central post, beam and old red woolpress. — Currently framed in white timber frame

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the interior of a slab shed. slatted woolshed flooring, pens made of pine poles and slab walls — Currently framed in white timber frame

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a small mob of shorn sheep in a pen outside a shearing shed. The yards are made of red steel. The shearing shed is corrugated iron. — “Off Shear”, 2018. watercolour, 29x27cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the built in box cupboard known in shearing sheds as the "Expert's boxes" . A grid of boxes going through to the other side of the wall, 4x3 with small numbered tins in them. blue with red numbering — Presented in artist-made perspex box frame

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearing board in a big shearing shed, with sunlight from the doorways at each stand, and the downtube and ropes of the shearing tools. — This is the famous shed at “Deeargee” Gostwyck, Uralla.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a man sweeping up bits of wool from the floor near an electric wool press. near =him is a full woolbake and other bits and pieces in the woolroom.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a single shearer bent over a sheep, shearing.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer in a yellow shirt shearing a ewe as viewed from the pens behind him. In the distance in the woolroom, a woman is classing wool at a wooltable

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer dragging a sheep from the pens behind his stand into his place on the board. — “The First Step”, 2018. watercolour, 20x20cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a yellow D4D tractor in front of a corrugated iron shed and beyond that, bush.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a woolstencil handing from a corner timber post. The roof is gone, so there's sunlight letting the S of the stencil case a shadow onto the post.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the shearing shed at "Deeargee" as seen from the quarters. The 1901 brick woolroom is at the centre of th apitning and ther est of the building obvios too. The bottom half of the painting is all grass.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a rad going through a gate and in the distance the shed at "Deeargee" Uralla.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing some overhead shearing gear, red, with the starting rope hooked over the wheel. behind it the roof is dark corrugated iron, and the windows that light the stand are open.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a tied together fence of slabs being a low wall in a weather shed in an old shearing shed

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the roof and walls of a weathershed in an old shearing shed. the roof is red corrrugated iron, the walls are tied together short slabs and also there's mroe tin on the front of that.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing the inside of a large shearing shed, with the subject being a small gte. The floor boards and roof beams are behind it.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a woolly ere standing in a dark shed looking pensive. — “Ewe waiting”, 2018. watercolour, 25x25cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing two woolly ewes in a dark shed. One is looking forwards, the other staring at the audience. — “Under the Southern Cross”, 2018. watercolour 25x25cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a single young eye looking at the audience. in the darkness behind her there is vague shapes of other sheep. — Christine Porter “Ewe Watching”, 2018. watercolour, 25x25cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a man walking beside the wooltable skirting a fleece. behind him is the raised board and we are looking at him from the woolroom, through a bin empty of wool

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer in a black shirt and pants bending over a sheep shearing. Behind him more woolly sheep are milling. — “The End Shearer”, 2018. watercolour, 16x16cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer in a yellow shirt and blue sheaers' pants shearing a large ram who's face is turned to us.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer with tattoos bending towards us shearing a large ewe. Behind him is the white painted posts of his stand, and dark shadows.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a shearer's handpiece sitting on a piece of yellow paper. other bits of machinery are lying there too. — Note – the painting in the current exhibition is this cropped differently. Please contact me for a more up to date version.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a small gate and a small wooltable. the gate has patterened tops the wooltable is connected to the low wall beside the gate. Behind it the clerestory of the pen area is visible.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a mob of woolly ewes yarded up in some red metal years in front of a corrugated iron shed. It's dusk. — “Woollies at Sunset”, 2018. watercolour, 16x16cm.

Watercolour painting by Christine Porter showing a single woolly horned Merino ram. in a crowd but the others are not visible. — “Merino Ram”, 2018. watercolour, 25x25cm.

Small Works

These paintings are all 10x10cm, presented in artist-made Perspex frames measuring 19.5 x 21 x 2.3cm.
Click on any image to open slideshow.

Artist Statement

My paintings are about the architecture, and how the buildings relate to the landscape: buildings that are purpose built for activity. During shearing it’s a bustling, efficient place. There are people, machinery, dogs and sheep all rattling around noisily, at top speed.

However, even in their absence, when the sheds are silent, there’s an echo of those who’ve worked there before.

Many of the sheds I visit are old, so my practice has an historical element. Much about sheep and shearing is similar to the golden years when Australia’s wool warmed the world. People working the sheds in 2020, aren’t just carrying on a tradition for tradition’s sake. They are part of a vital, energetic, current industry that is continuing to move forward.

Sheep and wool production has evolved. Selective breeding has resulted in sheep with different characteristics, needing different handling. Sports shearing celebrates the athleticism in an industry still dependent on the strength of a shearer’s back. Women, once banned from the board, now represent close to half the workers in the sheds.

Every shearing shed painting I’ve ever created is about those who’ve peopled it, even if they weren’t in that picture at that time. Every shed I make artwork about is a working shed, even those now in disuse.

Thank you

Thank you to the Gympie Regional Gallery for all their hard work getting this show here. The installation photos on this page are theirs, used with their permission. Thank you to my framers – Moree Frame and Art in Moree, and Armistead’s Framing in Lismore. Thank you to my Lismore back up team – you know who you are – I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to my out-of-town back up team – those phone calls and texts were lifesavers.

We are living in unusual times, so thanks to all of you who continue to follow my work, and include me in your lives. Some of you have been with me since that first exhibition at Gunya Crafts back in 1990. Who would have thought, back then, that this would be what the art world would look like now.

I look forward to seeing you all out there in the real world soon. Until then, stay safe, and enjoy having a good long look at what I’ve made for you. Take care.
Christine