We are proud to be holding exhibition of Inala artists, After the Rain running from the end of November until January 7 at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.

‘After the Rain’ is a powerful collection of works that highlight the resilience and creativity of our participants. The theme of water as a symbol of hope and rebirth is beautifully woven throughout artworks.

The exhibition features a diverse group of people living with disabilities who showcase an extraordinary range of visual talent. Their works, much like the rain, serve as harbingers of hope in the heart of what is clearly not a geographical or cultural desert of our continent.

Con Christodoulou’s Lady in Hat directly references Drysdale’s The Drover’s Wife as an example of this theme. Richard Mezrani’s Turquoise Waters depicts sheets of water falling on a parched desert background, while his Red Forest shows dry burnt trees below a dark blue, rain-bearing sky.

Many works in the exhibition utilise this blue as a symbol of water replenishing the land. The ovoid shapes of Chris Kendall’s works represent seed pods ready to hatch out after fire and rain. The Renaissance was about the rebirth of ideas, based upon a dispassionate observation of nature, so these artists reference the necessity of water for the rebirth of plants, ideas, culture, and meaning.

While we must congratulate all the Inala staff whose belief and work has facilitated this exhibition, our admiration must go to the artists themselves for producing, in the face of many difficulties, works of extraordinary power, beauty, and cultural significance.

After the Rain will be open until January 7 to see opening hours during the festive season click here and to purchase artworks from the collection click here

Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf is located
548 New South Head Road, Double Bay

Photo courtesy of Antje Sonntag and Woollahra Council.