Art exhibition explores Victorian food and wine region
Published on 07 February 2025
Art exhibition explores Victorian food and wine region through a different lens
An exhibition responding to the unique food and wine scene of North East Victoria by Brisbane-based artist Elizabeth Willing opens at Wangaratta Art Gallery this February.
The exhibition, Crystalline, explores the interconnected qualities of sugar and alcohol, particularly wine, and is the outcome of research undertaken by Willing in the region during a residency in early 2024. In her three-week stay the artist spent time working with and observing wine makers and food producers in the King Valley, Beechworth, and Rutherglen.
Working across textiles, sculpture and installation Elizabeth Willing’s works are performative and often participatory explorations of food as both concept and material. Her practice reflects on the biological and cultural importance of food, hospitality, and digestion. For Crystalline, Willing explores how alcohol and sugar are not essential for our survival but are a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. Chemically connected through fermentation and production, both sugar and alcohol are associated with ritual, celebration, class, and disease.
The exhibition will feature a large textile piece titled Rootstock exploring the impact grape seeds have on the flavour of wine, and the parasitic mistletoe which grows abundantly across the region.
Wangaratta Art Gallery Director, Rachel Arndt says:
We're delighted to present Elizabeth’s latest works, following her residency here in February 2024. During her visit, Elizabeth immersed herself in the unique food and wine history of Wangaratta and the surrounding region. Inspired by Wangaratta's rich food and wine heritage, Elizabeth has beautifully captured elements of our wine-growing district in her particular visual style.
Whilst in the region, the artist stayed at the Mécène Residency in Beechworth, thanks to the generosity of owners who are keen supporters of the arts.
Rachel Arndt added that:
As an artist that works across food, sculpture, installation and textiles, there are so many synergies and I’m confident that her work will resonate with local audiences and visitors alike, bringing new perspectives to how we understand our relationship with sugar and alcohol.
Willing explains how one of her works - rolls of vibrant wallpaper with images of just some of the numerous influences on wine flavour during production - was a result of her research into Australian winegrowers:
I was trying to understand and articulate the diversity of influences on wine flavour. In the process I developed a wallpaper design which features drawings of some of these influences. Grape seeds, for example, if crushed too much release bitterness into the wine. While beneficial bugs amongst the vines such as the Green Lacewing wasp naturally improve the health and therefore quality of the grapes without the addition of chemicals. This is just a limited snapshot of the complex interactions between natural and human interventions in the winemaking process.
One of Willing’s works consists of glass tubes shaped like the human intestine and colon, these are filled with cordial from Billson’s Brewery which has been operating in Beechworth since 1865.
The exhibition has an accompanying publication of the same name Crystalline, with an essay titled Sugar Hit, by Samantha Littley - Curator of Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art.
Crystalline will be opened by Professor David Watson, ecologist and ornithologist and a specialist on the parasitic mistletoe on Friday 21 February from 5.30pm at Wangaratta Art Gallery. All welcome. To book your free ticket, please visit: www.wangarattaartgallery.com.au
Also opening in Gallery 2, on Friday 21 February: Barra, by Juanita McLauchlan.
Artist talk by Juanita McLauchlan at 5pm, prior to the launch of both exhibitions at 5.30pm.
Crystalline
22 February to 18 May 2025
Gallery 1, Wangaratta Art Gallery, 56 Ovens Street, Wangaratta.
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am - 4pm.
Elizabeth Willing Workshop
Saturday 22 February from 10.30am.
More information and bookings: https://www.wangarattaartgallery.com.au/Programs/Workshop-Face-collages-with-Elizabeth-Willing