Vin Ryan, Prickly Pear, Sunshine, 2012, pencil on paper, 124 x 146cm
Vin Ryan’s new solo exhibition explores the urban environment of Melbourne suburbia. Intrigued by the dialogue which is created between nature and culture, Ryan highlights the mundane, minor details of everyday life. Following on from his Tree Game series in which nature is presented as a succession of discrete found objects, his new series moves along a similar juxtaposed vein, illuminating the habitual and common place around us. Arcadian Summer presents a series of small drawings of urban environments, street signs and common plants alluding to mock botanical studies. His deliberate use of red and blue ink on paper is a reference to the extent of which our environment is the result of administrative processes, declaring a victory over nature.
