University Art Gallery

From the Waters Edge

From the Waters Edge was an exhibition of paintings by Sydney based artist, Marilyn Walters. These paintings were created between 1999 to 2005 and reflect the artist's preoccupation with two landscapes, these being Iron Cove, Sydney (where the artist lives) and that of the megalithic tombs of the Boyne Valley, in County Meath, just north of Dublin, Ireland. In a sense Walters, had followed the tradition of other Australian artists who have returned to an ancestral landscape. 
 
Both sites lie on the banks of an important river and both contain mysterious carvings and tombs. The markings which make up the visual language of these paintings are derived from those marks made upon "Men's Scryfy's" the written stones of Celtic antiquity, mysterious and precious records of identity and desire, stories of migration and the measurement of light and time, the worship of water and the cycles of life.
 
The waters edge, the well and the river were sacred places to ancient Celts. Water was of course of vital importance to the first white settlers in New South Wales and the Parramatta River. Iron Cove was not only an important source of food for both white and indigenous cultures, but also the first means of transportation and exploration of the colony. 
 
The artist gave a floor talk in the gallery on Monday, 3rd April, 2006.