I mentioned in an earlier post that Gallery 34 was to open on 30 July. And it did indeed open,packing so many humans into its space that I thought I’d turned up to a Guinness record attempt by accident. That was a great joke right there but unfortunately I couldn’t share it because on the night I had no voice to speak with. Only a voice to squeak with,as my unsympathetic compadres noted with chortling good humour. I’d played a brave acoustic set at the Alexandra Library for their “Acoustica”series of fourth-Friday lunchtime concerts. It was the audience who was brave,not me:I’d woken with the scratchiest of voices but decided to press on regardless. Actually I enjoyed the session nothwithstanding the dodgy pipes,because I got to tell some stories behind the songs and generally relax into a slower pace of playing.
Ivan,Leone and Olivia at the launch
Notwithstanding my going easy on the singing,by about an hour after the session I found I’d completely lost my voice. So when I elbowed my way into the packed Gallery 34 and realised what a sterling networking opportunity it was,I ended up playing a sad Harpo Marx for the evening. The gallery’s owner,Olivia Lawson,looked like a deer in the headlights. I was thrilled for her –there’s nothing better than having a lot of people turn up to your opening! Even though bodies were packed in like sardines,it was easy to see that the space is fresh and airy with good lighting –an excellent backdrop for Leone Gabrielle’s dreamlike naive paintings. Leone’s work has deepened in recent years with her personal explorations set against scenes gleaned from her northerly travels both within Australia and to Indonesia.
The gathering was upbeat,the champagne was plentiful,Ivan Durrant’s opening speech was succinct and entirely suited to the moment. Although I was feeling poorly,the mood of the evening lifted my spirits and refreshed my confidence that Yea is destined to become a destination for interesting art.