A Coastal Homage at Narra Bululla

Margaret Hogan is busy mixing ground pigments into wondrous shades of blue and green: cerulean, teal and aqua as she explains her love of the far south coast.

The painter and her husband Stephen, a sculptor who has exhibited large-scale works at Sculpture Bermagui, have been camping in the Beowa and Mimosa Rocks national parks for over 20 years.

Margaret is this year’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) at Narra Bukulla, a private property situated amidst the spotted gum forests near Bithry Inlet.

Despite living in the the central west city of Bathurst for over 30 years, Hogan says she has always been drawn to painting coastal country.

“I grew up on the Central Coast and as the author Elif Shafak says, “the places where we are born are the shape of our lives, even when we are far away from them.” So, when the opportunity to apply for this residency came up, I thought this is the one.”

Property owner Marina Ely takes joy in seeing her long-held vision evolve, as the annual AIR program flourishes, enriched and shaped by the creativity of each participating artist.

She founded the AIR, supported by Sculpture Bermagui, guided by her commitment to community-minded facilitation and a lifelong passion for the Arts – fostered in part by her upbringing amidst the work of her parents: the late architect and sculptor Marr Grounds, creator of the property’s sustainable infrastructure and art collection, and the distinguished artist Dr Bonita Ely.

In the spacious, high-ceilinged studio that she will use for two months, Margaret shows me the en plein air gouaches she has created, taking inspiration from the waterways of the area.

Her love of colour, atmosphere and sense of place is evident as she mixes the pigments, working to find the colours she wants to apply to her works-in-progress, colours that capture the ever-changing shades of the coastline and bush.

Margaret, who describes the AIR as a rare gift, says it’s also been one of the “most challenging things I’ve done in my life” that has pushed her in new ways.

“It takes time to know a landscape. And there is a degree of pressure that comes with that when time is limited and you’re sharing work that might not yet be resolved. Having the intimacy and immediacy with the landscape. Being able to go out and reference it and re-reference it, on overcast and sunny days, that’s been the difference of the residency.”

Margaret says she’s gone down some different paths as the time has unfolded and has now “turned some works to the wall” to pursue the process she has decided upon.
“The thing that has struck me is the vastness of the coastal landscape. What is sea, what is sky – does it really matter? When you’re standing on the headland that sense of space is amplified, especially when you’re tackling it alone.”

Margaret isn’t trying to create a visual replica of what she sees but capture the atmosphere, the feelings and create a visceral response in the viewer, a reminder of memory or emotion.

Alongside her creative practice, Margaret is initiating conversations to establish a month-long residency exchange between the Arts OutWest (AOW) region and South East Arts — an exchange model AOW will launch with Outback Arts and West Darling Arts.

“Both the central west and the south east regions have extraordinary creative talent and traditions, and it would be wonderful to build stronger links between the two.”

The proposal formed part of Margaret’s residency application, and Marina Ely is strongly supportive of the initiative and eager to help bring it to life.

Narra Bukulla will hold an Open Studio event at 3pm on Saturday 13 December to showcase the work-in-progress of Margaret Hogan.