Art exhibition: When Stillness Dances - Lilaea van der See
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Where: Mechanics Institute, Page Street, Moruya
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 10am – 3pm. Friday 10am to 5pm. Saturday 9am to 5pm. Sunday 9am to 3pm.
Opening event: Saturday 29 August, 4 to 8pm
When Stillness Dances invites visitors into a contemplative space of connection, remembrance and becoming.
Through earth-infused fibres, imagery, sound, light and immersive installation, the exhibition unfolds as a sanctuary for wandering, reflection and deep listening. Ethereal lengths of cloth, imbued with the imprint and memory of Indigenous flora, drift gently through space, where stillness and movement meet in a quiet, ongoing dialogue.
The exhibition is grounded in a remembrance that we are held within, and woven through, the living presence of Country. The words 'Born of this land, we are this land' were shared with me by Minmia, a Wiradjuri Elder and teacher, who reminds us that we are one.
Working with reclaimed natural materials, I am drawn to the stories already held within each piece. Once worn, used, and forgotten, these textiles are transformed and given new presence. The artisanal art of botanical printing transfers the forms and pigments of flora directly onto the fabrics, creating layered surfaces that carry echoes of memory, landscape and time. Photography extends this visual language, capturing fleeting encounters with beauty, impermanence and wonder.
There are moments when something long forgotten gently returns to our awareness. Moments of recognition in which we find the timeless space to encounter ourselves. This stillness is not the destination, although perhaps it is the place from which the dance begins.
Emergence sits at the heart of this exhibition. Like the imprint of a leaf slowly revealing itself upon cloth, the work speaks to an unfolding, a gentle awakening to what has always been present. Not something to be discovered, but something remembered, offering a place where mystery is welcomed and the threads that return us to ourselves may whisper themselves into being.
This is When Stillness Dances…
Awarded through the 2025 River of Art Prize, this supported solo exhibition is presented with the support of the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre.
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