Post-op ponder 'round Tender

I visited the exhibition Tender at Ngununggula Regional Gallery just 48 hours after my vasectomy.

Tender is/was a group exhibition tucked inside a light-filled beautifully renovated dairy shed. The exhibition featured various works from seven female artists: Sally Anderson, Sarah Drinan, Laura Jones, India Mark, Dionisia Salas, Julia Trybala, and Amber Wallis. Could my tenderness lead to a more profound experience?

I couldn't help but connect with the works by Amber Wallis. Her large scale dream-like washes of colour with shapes and stories rising up from the subconscious: breasts, mountains, sphinxes, mythical symbols, desire. They also have a quiet, humble, and almost (dare I say) "decorative" quality.

It was through their abstraction and stories that I felt settled. I forgot about my own tenderness for a few moments. Lost in the story.

My favourite of Wallis's was Robed Women and Blue Sphinx with Breasts. (I mean… what a title.) It stages a kind of ancient riddle: a robed women disguised as a volcanic force, there's mystery and exposure, there's tenderness and power.

In my opinion, the power of Amber's work lies in how she captivates you in the ambiguity. There's just enough clarity to do some good guessing but plenty of room for individual projection and then for the art nerds reflection.

And that’s what the exhibition as a whole was asking for—reflection. Tender wasn't a proclamation but a prompt for viewers to converse with.

My reflection was that I have been labelling tender/ness as a synonym for soft, fragile, and weak. These labels have been clouding my willingness to identify with the emotion/feeling. I came to think that tender/ness can exist as neither a 'good' nor 'bad' feeling. And this is a good think because I hope that when the time comes to feel tender/ness I can do so more completely and presently.

In short, I'm happy I pondered Tender.

Thanks to all the artists who exhibited and gallery staff and volunteers for your dedication to creation.