Classic meets modern in ‘After Fairweather’ exhibition

Published 15 July 2022

After Fairweather

Bribie Island might be known to visitors as a quiet beach holiday destination, but many locals will know it was once home to one of Australia’s most interesting and prolific painters of the 20th Century.

After Fairweather at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery is a new exhibition that examines the life and legacy of Ian Fairweather, the man who famously sailed a homemade raft from Darwin to Indonesia and lived out the remaining years of his life in a small beach shack on Bribie Island painting his iconic artworks.

The exhibition reflects on Fairweather’s legacy by contemporary Australian artists and includes three new commissions, loans and a number of works from Council’s collection from a range of artists.

Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Peter Flannery urged locals and visitors to take advantage of this spectacular free exhibition between 25 June and 3 September at the Caboolture Regional Art Gallery.

“Ian Fairweather has many claims across the world, but it was on Bribie Island where he eventually chose to settle and live out the rest of his life in a beachside shack that he built himself, and paint many brilliant artworks ,” he said.

“Many locals would be familiar with Ian Fairweather’s life story and his artwork, but this exhibition captures the voices and interpretations of his life through the work of many incredible modern artists.

“When you see the exhibition, you’ll realise the profound impact his legacy has had on the works of the next generations of artists who’ve used his artworks as a starting point to reflect and represent the Australian arts landscape as it stands today.

“Whether you’re a history buff, a lover of classic or contemporary art, or just culturally curious there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy and marvel at in this exhibition.”

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a new commission made especially for Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, from acclaimed Filipino Australian artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan.

Exhibition Curator Hamish Sawyer said this new work, Island: Project Another Country (2022), references Fairweather’s visit to the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines in 1934. The architecture he saw there went on to inform the structure of Fairweather’s future home on Bribie Island.

“The large sculpture made from cardboard, wooden pallets and existing sculptures from the Aquilizans duo captures your attention as soon as you walk through the gallery doors,” said Mr Sawyer.

“The pair have also designed an interactive space where children and adults can reflect on the installation and make their own cardboard structure which they can either take home or leave at the gallery as part of a growing display.

“Those structures left will then be collected by the artists and combined into a future project.”

After Fairweather is on at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery from 25 June-3 September 2022. Entry to the gallery is free. Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturdays, 10am-4pm.

To find out more about the exhibition or associated events visit https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Galleries-Museums/Home