Through intricately detailed drawing, Kim Anderson explores the inextricable link between humanity and the ecosystem, interweaving themes of interdependency, accountability, and vulnerability. Inspired by Wendell Berry’s poem ‘The Peace of Wild Things’, Anderson’s drawings focus on hope, resilience, empathy and solace, offering a salve to our collective grief and anxiety as we navigate these tumultuous, uncertain times.
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water,and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
- Wendell Berry
Exhibition Essay by Kate McAuley In the modern tumult of existence, where despair for the world's future often gnaws at our minds, the refuge of nature becomes a sanctuary. In the heart of the chaos, we find solace in the serenity of the wild, as expressed eloquently in Wendell Berry's poem that lends its name to this exhibition, ‘The Peace of Wild Things.’ The artist Kim Anderson, too, seeks comfort and tranquillity amidst the turbulence. Her delicate and intricate drawings capture the essence of this search, portraying the human figure intertwined in harmonious coexistence with the natural world.
Having spent 17 years as a ballet dancer, Anderson's background informs her artistic approach. Her deliberate placement of herself as muse within the frame echoes the physical expression of internal emotions. Before embarking on her meticulous and methodical work in the studio, she immerses herself in nature, absorbing its freedom and grace, providing a poignant contrast to the complex detail her pieces require. The lines and spaces she meticulously crafts breathe life into her artwork, allowing it to flourish.
Notably, where the human form is absent, it is still alluded to. In ‘Embrace’, for example, fabric is nestled next to the branches of an ancient tree, perhaps as an expression of our transience and nature's persistence. This evocative repetition underscores the undeniable connection between us and the enduring rhythms of the natural world, inviting contemplation on the interplay between impermanence and the eternal.
In this collection, Anderson endeavours to bridge the chasm between humans and our environment. These pieces highlight nature as a place of solace and contemplation, mirroring her surrender to the environment – a reflection of the parched salt lakes and river gums of Mildura, the ancestral lands of the Latje Latje and Barkindji peoples where she conducted her initial studies. An intriguing piece, "Waiting for the Birds," encapsulates the essence of this concept. Blindfolded, a figure stands resolute yet with dwindling hope, tree branches held against her head by the fabric covering her eyes, symbolizing a blindness to the profound interdependence between us and our world.
Visually, the drawings weave intricate themes, portraying branches as the extensions of limb and the might of the trees scaled against the human form. Anderson’s imagery emphasizes the shared essence between humanity and nature, revealing our symbiotic connection while acknowledging our profound impact. The portrayal of the struggle between our influence and our detachment from the very ecosystem that nurtures us prompts introspection and a repeated call to action.
The closing line of Berry's poem, ‘for a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free,’ lies at the heart of this exhibition. Kim Anderson's artwork embodies this sentiment, inviting viewers to bask in the tranquillity of the outdoors and the profound connection it offers. Through her art, she beckons us to embrace humility, recognize our place within the complex web of life, and aspire to find our own peace in the wild.
ARTIST BIO:Kim Anderson completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the University of Ballarat in 2003 and was awarded a scholarship to study a Master of Fine Art at the University of Dundee in Scotland in 2007. Over the course of her career she has created and curated a number of projects facilitated via funding support from the Australia Council, Arts Victoria, City of Melbourne, and Regional Arts Victoria. She has undertaken numerous residencies around the world including an Australia Council Studio Residency at theBritish School in Rome, Australia House in Echigo-Tsumari, Japan, Hospitalfield House in Arbroath, Scotland, Murray’s Cottage in Hill End, the University of Tasmania, Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston, The Art Vault in Mildura, and DRAWinternational in Caylus, France, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, the Copyright Agency Creative Industries Career Fund, and Creative Partnerships Australia. Most recently Anderson was the recipient of a three-month Jon Schueler Scholarship Artist-in-Residence at the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, National Centre for Gaelic Language, Culture and the Arts, Isle of Skye, Scotland (2019).
She has been a finalist in numerous national awards including the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize (2023), Muswellbrook Art Prize (2022), the Kedumba Drawing Award (2022, 2020), the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (2022, 2020), theGrace Cossington Smith Award (2021), WAMA Art Prize (2021), Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize(2021), National Works on Paper Award(2020), Wyndham Art Prize(2020), the Swan Hill Drawing Prize (2020), the Lyn McCrea Memorial Drawing Prize (Winner of the People's Choice Award 2019), Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize (Winner of the Peoples Choice Award 2019), Paul Guest Award(2018, 2016), and the Rick Amor Drawing Prize (2016). Along with more traditional works on paper, Anderson also creates ephemeral installation projects involving site-specific drawing and projection. Projects includeThe Space Between, a visual/sound installation at the inaugural White Night Ballarat in March 2017 which subsequently travelled to the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart. In 2018 Anderson held a major solo exhibition To Live Alone in a World of Wounds at the Art Gallery of Ballaratand in 2020 exhibited in the group exhibition Mutual Realities: Finding Common Ground in Uncertain Times also at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
She has exhibited both in Australia and abroad with solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Mildura, Bendigo, Bathurst, Ballarat, Launceston, Hobart and Japan. Her work is held in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Damascus College, Ballarat, Loretto College, Ballarat and the Ballarat Arts Foundation.
