Impressions of

Arts

Impressions of Papua New Guinea

Fiji-based artist Penelope Lee Casey is one of three women artists to be represented in the “Impressions of Papua New Guinea: An Exhibition by Three Women Artists” to be held in Brisbane, Australia from June 9 -16.

The exhibition brings together the rich ly diverse work of three women who have spent significant periods of their lives in Papua New Guinea.

Penny Casey was born in Goroka, PNG in 1972 and spent her childhood growing up in PNG on coffee, copra, tobacco and cocoa estates. Her grandparents were expatriate pioneers to the country in the 19405.

The family now lives in Suva where Penny’s father, Tim, runs the Southern Development Company’s tobacco estates and where Penny has her own art gallery.

Although just 22 years old, Penny has had many exhibitions and constantly receives commissions throughout the Pacific.

As a child, Penny was fascinated with

, , , . - . c drawings and colours. The isolation of growing up on a plantation encouraged her * 0 l ° ok to nature > animals and nurse mai s a ° m j? a P!P nS ! P ' WaS ’ S e sa Yf > an * IC c . l 00 ' . e „ m PJ' e^ slor J s ° apua ew Gumea exhibition focuses on Penelope s P a * n ’ n^ S ° f a^ a e , W uint j an aces.

I have often thought that the reasons wh Y 1 started to P aint Pa P ua New Guinean faces was because I believe that ones e Y es ar <- a pathway to one s soul. I was privileged to spend a free childhood * n New Guinea and through my child h°°d into W teens I painted for the love of the country and the love of the people. -ru c c ■ a a The faces of )°Y and sorrow and the expressions which surrounded me became the subjects for my work, she

explains .

As ™ ell as Penel °pe s distinct faces, he exhibition features the work of Kathy

Golski and Jacqueline Johnston (Ottley).

Kathy Golski spent two years in a

remote area of the New Guinea Highlands a decade ago with her anthro pologist husband and children. Kathy now lives in Paddington, Sydney with her family. Her work has been represented in numerous exhibitions and features in sig nificant private collections.

Jacqueline Johnson (Ottley) went to Papua New Guinea in 1950 when she married the patrol officer, Jim Sinclair.

She later remarried and stayed in PNG where her children were born, becoming one of the country’s best known land scape artists. Her work has been collect ed by Sir Robert Menzies, the Earl Mountbatten and Prince Charles. Since returning to live in Sydney in the mid-70s, she has been back to her former home in Mt Hagen several times on painting expe ditions.

“Impressions of Papua New Guinea” has been organised by Meg Taylor, until recently Papua New Guinea’s ambassador to Washington and now resident in Port Moresby and Goroka, and Robyn Watts, who grew up in Papua New Guinea and is a senior executive in the Australian film industry. Robyn and Meg have been friends since childhood.

“While their work is very different, each of the artists has captured a particular essence of life in Papua New Guinea,”

Meg Taylor said. “Robyn and I are child hood friends from Papua New Guinea and we wanted people to be able to see the strength and the beauty of the place we grew up in. There are problems here, problems which are development issues, but there is a real spirit in this country and incredible beauty in the people and in the landscapes.”