Gallery 4

Gummamagic

Edward Barns

Gummamagic is the second solo exhibition and first Sydney presentation by multidisciplinary contemporary artist Edward Barns. Drawing from photographs captured by his mother, Donna, this body of work sees Ed painting the animals that surround their home in Gumma on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Wallabies with cheeky grins, chickens with wobbly mohawks, and fruit bats hanging upside down are just some of the characters brought to life through Ed’s lens.

Ed’s interpretations of familiar Australian wildlife, alongside the endangered and obscure, offer an insight into the serene world that surrounds him. For the first time, the exhibition also incorporates an immersive soundscape, created in collaboration with Donna. If you listen closely, you may hear bird calls, bees humming, wind moving through the grass, and beetles bugging in the background.

Ed and Donna describe their relationship with the animals around them as one of coexistence. Rather than seeing the wildlife as visitors to their property, they see themselves as living within the animals’ environment, approaching them with care, respect, and a daily greeting.

This body of work has also become a catalyst for a new chapter in Ed’s practice, inspiring him to work from home in the garden and establish a home studio for the first time.