FORGET portraits, landscapes and still life, Griffith art lovers were treated to something quite unique last Friday night.
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Local artist Kim Gibbs held her first NSW solo exhibition at Griffith Regional Art Gallery.
Hers is a collection of sculptures – not just any sculptures but a collection of animal characters from her world, her travels and her adventures over the countryside, all created from corrugated iron.
“I’ve always done art since before I can remember,” Ms Gibbs said.
“Getting into corrugated iron was simply a case of being in the right spot at the right time.
“I was commissioned to create something for an exterior wall. It had to live outside.”
Corrugated iron had taken Ms Gibbs’ eye several years before and she’d had a hankering to try her hand at it and now she travels around the countryside selling at markets.
The exhibition is her way of taking her art to the next level.
There are over 20 pieces included in the show, with an overflow on display at the Bidgee Studio (former Cottage Gallery) from this week, and they are all for sale.
“All of the pieces are individually named which makes them very hard to part with,” Ms Gibbs said.
“It gives them character.
“I create them all anatomically correct to make them instantly recognisable.”
Each piece is labelled, including the animal’s name and where the corrugated iron was sourced.
Ms Gibbs said creating with corrugated iron was time consuming, especially considering each piece was individually hand crafted.
“Corrugated iron is a very unforgiving material,” Ms Gibbs said.
“I’ve worked out how it works and no longer have to have shares in the band aid companies.
“I wear out a lot of gloves.
“I bloody love it. I love cutting things up, like a crappy old roof, and making it beautiful again.”
Ms Gibbs admitted she tended to become attached to her smaller market pieces because she travels around with them.