Murrayville’s photographs, memories and stories have been given new life in A Woven History of Murrayville, a community exhibition opening at Workspace 3496 + Gallery in Red Cliffs on Sunday 6 September.

 

Opening from 9am to coincide with The Red Cliffs Country Market, the exhibition transforms historical photographs of Murrayville and the surrounding district into intricate contemporary artworks.

 

Photographs have been reprinted, cut into strips and carefully woven back together, creating new interpretations of familiar people, places and landscapes.

 

Workspace 3496 + Gallery Director Rohan Morris said bringing the exhibition to Red Cliffs reflected the gallery’s commitment to supporting and providing opportunities for creatives from across the Mallee.

 

“Some really exciting creative work is happening in our smaller communities across the Mallee, and I want Workspace to be a place where that work can be seen, shared and celebrated,” Mr Morris said.

 

“This is a great community arts project. It brings together creativity, local history, storytelling and community participation, and I’ve loved being able to bring it from Murrayville to Red Cliffs and share it with a new audience.”

 

At the heart of the project is the idea that a single strand has little strength or structure on its own, but when woven together with others it becomes something stronger. The same can be said of community.

 

Local residents were invited to contribute photographs from Murrayville’s past. As the images were gathered, so too were stories and memories about people, families, farming and life in the district.

 

Historical skies, paddocks, buildings and faces are interrupted by the patterns of the weave. Rather than simply reproducing the past, the works encourage viewers to look at familiar images differently and consider how memories and stories are carried from one generation to the next.