Botanicals by Tarn McLean

Botanicals by Tarn McLean

'BOTANICALS by Tarn McLean is a month-long exhibition made up of a series of over 30 paintings, a collection of 22 fabric designs, a video installation, and an animation celebrating visual storytelling and community events within the gallery. The works address concepts of identity, reflected through various representations of botanicals native to Australia as well as the seven continents.

This exhibition is supported by the Toowoomba Regional Council and is a part of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers calendar.

SANDALWOOD COLLABORATION
The Sandalwood painting and video is the collaborative work between non-First Nations artist Tarn McLean and First Nation Gomeroi Woman, Melanie Waters. The project boldly repositions two cultures to exemplify the 'coming together', finding equilibrium in the third space. Sandalwood carries culturally significant meanings to First Nations people’s way beyond its European botanical representation, a key element used for ceremonial purposes that was, and still remains, informed by an age-old practice since the time of immemorial. For Tarn, the work signifies acknowledgment of First Nations culture through painting and visual story telling. - Melanie Waters, 2022.
The proceeds of the sale of this painting will fund the youth art prize ‘Futures in the Third Space’. A collaborative project founded by Melanie Waters and Dr Tarn McLean, this prize is an initiation for future co-existence between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples. Igniting identity for future generations.