the sh*t we deal with on a daily basis - exhibition in corowa, nsw

by georgie james - victoria based media stringer

Susie Scott and Bec Kos are New South Wales Southern Riverina based artists. They are also neighbours and exceptionally good friends. Their exhibition was held at Wacky Bird Gallery in Corowa, New South Wales. The exhibition opening night was on the twenty eighth of May and it ran through the weekend until the thirtieth.

The exhibition was titled “The Sh#t We Deal With On A Daily Basis “and it delivered just that!

With only three weeks to organise an exhibition there was not a lot of time to produce and create new work, additionally the women are mothers to a combined total of seven children and live on busy farms. However, despite the challenges the artists created something incredibly interesting and important - they created art from their lives. They romanticised banal everyday life and by doing so squeezed the hurt out of that which has been painful. When I walked through the gallery, I could feel that catharsis of it.

The exhibition explored the theme through a diverse range of artistic mediums including photography, illustration, painting, sculpture and interactive art. The content spanned from the annoying humble house fly to the devastating effects of mouse plagues, weather and so much more. Among the hopelessness and helplessness there were moments of pure joy, humour, beauty in nature, family and connectivity.

As the city country divide widens it’s vital that experiences like these can be seen by everyone, everywhere so rural people can be understood and have their experiences mirrored by others in similar situations, and so those in the cities can try to understand the real country experience.

At a deeper level the exhibition delves into rural mental health. It considers the way rural life can trigger mental health issues in a way that makes the highs and lows frequent and extreme. However, it also considered that the extreme hardship can also bring moments of joy into a much clearer focus, especially for rural woman who have long been represented as strong, stoic and silent. One only has to read Henry Lawson’s, “The Drovers Wife”, written in 1892, to understand the context of this perception. Susie and Bec’s exhibition smashes the idea that the country woman needs to be silent in her suffering - it gives women permission to be vulnerable, empowers them to share their troubles, cry, laugh and say, “we know, we know!”

It is a new kind of brave.