Julie Stoneman - Granite Eyes 4

Granite Eyes 4

Julie Stoneman

acrylic on canvas

framed
61 x 61cm

larapuna light - February 01 - 28, 2023

Solo Exhibition : Julie Stoneman

Artist Statement

In June 2022 I spent two weeks living and working in one of the lighthouse cottages at larapuna (Eddystone Point) on the far North East coast of Tasmania. I was curious to explore the iconic east coast Devonian granites beyond the surface...to look deep into the myriad of crystals that form huge geological structures that stretch South from Flinders Island, to the north east of Tasmania. 

Layers of crystalized minerals formed when molten minerals slowly cooled under the surface of the earth and over the eons these granites have been witness to countless changes.   Geological polarized micrographs (microscopic images) of the granite allow me to look deeply into the hidden world of colour refracted through complex layers of interleaved crystal plates.

I have simplified and stylized the myriad of shapes within the geological samples, amplifying their qualities in order to take viewers within the Eyes of Granite that witness the passage of deep time from the past and into the future.  

The lighthouse buildings where I stayed were built from granite quarried from the larapuna beach, and the walls sparkled with refracted light from the crystal structures within the rock.  

Every morning before sunrise I would walk in the gloaming, up the coastal track, to circle the lighthouse. The red light from my lighthouse is a metaphor, a warning that climate change threatens our oceans, and with-it our future. In the evenings my readings of ‘On Time and Water’ by Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason made me reflect on the fragility of life and the interconnectedness of all matter.

What will the Eyes of Granite see within our efforts to restore our planet to health? 

Will we succeed…or not?

Acknowledgements

Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council  

Arts Tasmania

Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife

Tasmanian Mineral Resources

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