Janna Hayes, I Can Be My Own Hero – exhibition at Weswal Gallery, Tamworth

People

4 Jun

Janna Hayes’ first gallery solo show is on now at Weswal Gallery, Tamworth and we – are – pumped. Be sure to head along to opening night this Saturday 8 June, 5pm.

I Can Be My Own Hero sees Janna Hayes continue her exploration into the landscape in the New England region, each piece an emotional reaction to the land she calls home. But unlike her earlier works that reflected a deeply personal journey, this show contemplates the value the land has in forging collective identity.

So, what can you expect to discover? You’ll find a mix of landscapes on round boards finished with epoxy, as well as framed works on paper. Janna uses a high-grade epoxy that is UV stabilised and won’t yellow with time – something she loves for its dramatic impact on the colours (they practically bounce off the board). All the works are painted in bitumen and oils with finishing touches in oil stick and oil pastels.

Alongside the landscapes there will be a fibre installation, depicting Mary Ann Bugg. Most often referred to as ‘Thunderbolt's Lady’, Mary Ann was a bushranger in her own right and by many accounts was the driving force behind Thunderbolt’s Robin Hood persona. Thunderbolt was caught and killed not long after the pair split. This is Janna’s first real foray into working with wool, a material so important in the New England region, something she hopes to continue into the second half of this year.

Here, Janna shares more of Mary Ann’s backstory.

“Mary Ann had a total of 15 children, five by the time she met Thunderbolt. Born to a Worimi mother and an ex-convict father, Mary Ann had both a deep understanding of the land as well as a western education. She taught Thunderbolt to read and is credited with successfully hiding their gang in the depths of the rather unforgiving New England landscape. Once she evaded arrest by feigning labour, police officers dropped her off at a nearby town to avoid dealing with a woman giving birth. It is thought that she purposefully presented as a Maori woman, to avoid her children becoming a part of the Stolen Generations and when she was wrongfully arrested for stealing 12 yards of fabric, Mary Ann wrote letters to Sydney newspapers and drummed up such a groundswell of public support for her cause that the charges were dropped. I imagine her as someone who was incredibly clever, resourceful and strategic, with a huge capacity for caring. Many thought she died alongside Thunderbolt, possibly another myth of her own making, but in reality Mary Ann lived the rest of her long life as a nurse.

“I’m interested in the role art plays in modern folklore and how this is bound up in our relationship with the land and identity. I’m particularly interested in Australia’s celebration of the larrikin, or people who choose to defy social conventions because on the whole we are actually a fairly conservative culture and it’s an odd few who get celebrated for stepping outside of the box. I am fascinated by the courage, imagination and drive that women like Mary Ann Bugg show. I hope one day she will have a statue to rival those of Thunderbolt.”