Essays on Earth is a collaboration between multidisciplinary artist Brodie Ellis, painter and printmaker John Wolseley and poet Paul Kane, uniting the work of three leading artists of the Bendigo region. Across three gallery spaces, Ellis and Wolseley’s focused observations of the natural world, expressed through photography, sculpture, painting and moving image, are arranged in dialogue with the elemental themes and poetic reflections of Kane’s recent series of ‘verse essays’, titled Earth, Air, Water, Fire (2022). 

Ellis’ sculptural field studies and digitally hand-coloured experiments in botanical and mineral microscopy focus on local ecologies, magnifying the strange beauty of natural forms, including seed pods, and cross-sections of rocks and plants. In contrasting scale, Wolseley’s paintings and woodcut prints, populated with plants and animals, carbon traces and geological rubbings, capture the pulse of vibrant and sprawling ecosystems in diverse landscapes across Australia. Employing a combination of scientific processes and artistic exploration, each artist immerses themselves in the landscape, engaging directly with the features and materials that embody the energies and stories of their chosen sites.

At the heart of the exhibition is an expansive video installation inviting deep listening and reflection. Fusing poetry and image, Ellis’ experimental microscopy and macro photography of Wolseley’s paintings unfold across the gallery in a meditative flow, united by the resonant tones of Paul Kane reciting his elemental poem. Grounded in a deep ecological awareness, Essays on Earth conjures complex systems of nature and their interconnectedness with human experience, inspiring wonder and appreciation for the delicate beauty and mysteries of the natural world from the minuscule to the vast. 
 

Brodie Ellis, Gravity Wave 2023, digital print. Courtesy of the artist

Artwork information

Scroll down to find out more about artworks in the exhibition.

Download exhibition wall text

Download the exhibition wall text to your device and adjust to suit your viewing needs.

Gallery map

Locate Essays on Earth on our Gallery map.

Plan your visit

This exhibition unfolds across three gallery spaces and features a range of artforms including photography, sculpture, painting and moving image. The moving image installation is a durational artwork presented in five verses connected by a soundscape. The duration of each verse is approximately 30 minutes. The full cycle is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. Each verse reflects on an element in the following order – Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Aether. This work will be on an endless loop throughout the course of the exhibition. It can be experienced in its entirety or in parts. You are welcome to come and go from the space where it is displayed or settle in for the full contemplative experience.

Artist biographies 

Brodie Ellis (born 1979, Lismore) is a multidisciplinary artist living and working on Dja Dja Wurrung Country, Castlemaine. Attending to contemporary ecological concerns between science and ethics, her interest in social and environmental issues is applied to site-specific explorations, resulting in works that question the use of natural resources and pursuit of technological progress at the expense of the environment. Ellis has exhibited in public and commercial spaces across Australia and internationally and her work is held in public and private art collections including MONA, Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. 

Click here to visit Brodie Ellis’ website for more information.

Paul Kane (born 1950, Cobleskill, New York, USA) is a celebrated American poet, critic, and scholar dividing his time between central Victoria, Australia and upstate New York. He is the author and editor of more than 20 books and has had a long involvement with the Australian arts, supporting poets and writers in various ways including as Artistic Director of the Mildura Writers Festival. In 2021 Kane was recognised with the Order of Australia for service to Australian literature. He has collaborated on a number of projects with artists, photographers, musicians and other poets.  

John Wolseley (born 1938, Somerset, UK) moved from the UK to Australia in 1978, living and working across the continent until settling in the Whipstick Forest near Bendigo. His work has been acknowledged and celebrated through numerous exhibitions, grants and commissions. In 2005, he received an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Macquarie University and the Australian Council Visual Arts Emeritus Award. In 2016 the National Gallery of Victoria presented a major solo exhibition, John Wolseley: Heartlands and Headwaters. He has been curated into important group exhibitions, including the 8th Biennale of Sydney (2012) and most recently, The National (2021) at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and Still Life (2022) at Buxton Contemporary. In 2016 the National Museum, Canberra staged Midawarr Harvest, which was the culmination of Wolseley’s decade-long collaboration with the celebrated Yolŋgu artist Mulkun Wirrpanda. 

Click here to visit John Wolseley’s website for more information.

Explore the artworks in the exhibition

Bendigo Art Gallery supporting local artists