I’m Thinking About You
A group show with Mahala Magins, Sarah Darling & Ben Havenaar

28 September - 19 October

Artist statement from Mahala Magins

I was gifted a photo book around 6 years ago from my late grandmother, titled: RIGA. The book is a series of post war imagery of the city of Riga from the late 1950’s and after not perusing it for a few years, it has recently come into my rotation of looking and reading, leaving me with questions to ponder. 

My Grandfather was a Latvian immigrant, in 1949 he found his way to the Mediterranean Sea and boarded a ship to Australia. Though before this he was forced into the German infantry and was firstly assigned to the Russian front. This is the simple story. Though, like many, his time in the war wasnot that simple. Neither are my paintings; my ideas and imagery have come from personal photographs, writings, stories [re-told by my dad] and the forementioned book. 

These paintings are a part of a larger series of works that show my first marks and layers, the scraped back and worked over; relaying my interpretation of how maybe my grandfather navigated the atrocities of war, and its ever-changing landscape. 

About Sarah Darling

Born in Wollongong, Sarah Darling now lives and works in Lismore in the Northern Rivers. Sarah graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor in Interior and Spatial Design (UTS) and then in 2019 completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (SCU and COFA) where she majored in painting and sculpture. Her painting practice involves working with colour and abstract forms, often in large scale works. 

Sarah creates intuitively and her projects are often material led. They are as much about process as they are about outside inspiration. Sarah enjoys creating conversations between colours and mixing colours in unconventional ways. 

Artist statement from Ben Havenaar

At the core of my work is a meditative study of the continuous metamorphosis of all things and a fascination with light. Light - always in a constant state of flux - illuminates that which it shines on and conceals where it does not. In these paintings many translucent layers merge together as one, highlighting the interconnectedness of all things — Illuminating and concealing experiences close to my heart.