Wood carved

Christopher Zanko
Navigating Necessities

Christopher Zanko is an artist based in the Illawarra/Dharawal region of the New South Wales south coast. Taking great inspiration from the architecture, culture and history of his hometown and influenced heavily by Japanese woodblock carving and wood-relief printing, Zanko has configured a practice using these principles, but has importantly brought it to life through his own lens and lived experience.

About this series Zanko states: "I started making this body of work during the time my parents were selling my grandparents' old house in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne. This place was a constant throughout my life: school holidays spent exploring, and as I grew older, a sanctuary to escape to and reset... By carving these scenes into permanency, I create space to unpack and reflect on the memory of place, symbolising change through depictions of spring and autumn gardens, as well as the surrounding bush landscape. The process allows me to hold onto the ephemeral and transform the fleeting moments and feelings into something tactile, enduring."

Janet Laurence
Garden for an alchemist

“The force that through the green fuse drives the flower” (Dylan Thomas, 1933)

Janet Laurence is a prominent Sydney-based artist whose work is exhibited nationally and internationally. Her practice explores the complex and often conflicting relationship between humans and the natural world, particularly in the face of environmental challenges like climate change. Laurence creates immersive environments that investigate the interconnections between organic elements and natural systems, blending themes of ecological healing, communal loss, and the search for a deeper connection with the life forces of nature.

Pictyred: Janet Laurence in her Sydney studio for an interview with Vogue, 2019, photography by Jacquie Manning

Hugo Michell Gallery are proud to partner with Bird in Hand Winery for this opening event.

Hugo Michell Gallery acknowledges the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region, and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

Please join us in celebrating the launch of these two exhibitions!