Women artists of Townsville
Curated by Sylvia Ditchburn, Plenty features the work of eleven women artists of Townsville. The exhibition sets out to show a representative overview of the range of contemporary art styles, techniques and practices in the Townsville region, the aim, to celebrate the creative vision and significant contribution to art made by women of Townsville. Ditchburn states that "I wanted to illustrate the innovative strategies and the richness of work created here ... I welcomed the chance to provide much needed research [the documentation of women artists working in the region] as a foundation for ongoing documentation of artists working in the area" (exhibition press release). Ditchburn did not conduct investigative research in order to select the artists. This was deemed unnecessary as she already knew all of the artists practising in the Townsville area. As a result, Plenty illustrates a lack of vision and awareness towards new and innovative work and current art practice within the region. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue promotes the work of a selection of friends and colleagues and emphasises the hierarchical system present within small communities.
It is difficult to comprehend the critical agenda for Plenty. It is virtually impossible to engage in any form of dialogue with the works. Plenty is a disparate collection of women artists' work. Craft, fashion and jewellery are exhibited in the same context as fine art, painting, and sculpture. Professionals artists with a track record such as Anneke Silver and Margaret Massey Wilson, whose work is already extensively documented, are exhibited alongside artists whose works do not have the capacity to engage; ill informed, naive, and cliched. The so called diversity of the visual media and subjects represented has