Community & Business
23 August, 2024
Local artist more than ‘just a sheila’
AN internationally-renowned artist from Tolga, who has showcased her work in galleries all around the world, will be presenting her new exhibition next week in the heart of Melbourne.
Josie Lowerson has been living in Tolga for over two decades now and has showcased her art in galleries in New York, Paris, Florence, Barcelona, Rotterdam, Naples, Sicily and Capri, as well as local and interstate galleries.
Josie will be travelling to Melbourne next week where she will showcase her new solo exhibition “Just a Sheila” at a gallery on Flinders Street.
The exhibition will consist of mostly life-sized timber sculptures and a series of large mixed media drawings that display a personal outlook on social and domestic experiences viewed from a female perspective.
Overall, 25 artworks have been transported almost 3,000km to the gallery on Flinders Street.
Josie uses recycled Australian hardwoods that are often physically demanding and time consuming to work with. A combination of techniques involving resins, metal, found objects, stenciling and paint are also incorporated into the sculptures.
Her artistic path has also included being part of the first group of females in Australia to gain a bachelor’s degree to teach wood or metal works in high schools.
When explaining how the name of “Just a Sheila” came about for her latest solo exhibition, she said it was from a specific moment in her life that happened several years ago.
“As the new woodwork teacher, I wanted to impress my Year 10 class of teenage boys with my knowledge and ability in that area,” she recalls.
“I talked to them for a while about my experiences and gave them my expectations for the next semester and as the class fell silent, I asked if there were any questions and one hand rose and the boy said, ‘but you’re just a sheila’, and I threw my head back in frustration and that’s where the name for one of the sculptures came from.
“It was a very chauvinistic time in the 1980s and being a female woodwork teacher in a very male domain was not easy.”.
Josie first began her artistic journey at a young age but only learned how to properly work with wood to create sculptures after she left high school.
“I’ve always loved art since I was little and always loved making things. I think the inspiration behind it typically is, life in general and life experiences, as well as, social and cultural things that have happened,” she said.
“It’s really important for me to get this gallery because I feel these days it’s a lot harder to get into them because they prioritise certain styles and have less freedom for other artists who may be different.”
Josie’s “Just A Sheila” exhibition begins on 27 August at the Fourtyfivedownstairs Gallery in Melbourne.
