Rockpools: Amanda Hocking’s Pareidolia exhibition. Photos: David Stradling
If you have stopped in at Milestone Cafe in Kialla recently, you may have noticed the artwork adorning the walls.
Timeless sands by Amanda Hocking.
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A lack of commercial gallery space and the empty walls of Shepparton businesses inspired a mutually-beneficial relationship between the Milestone Cafe owners and Kialla artist Amanda Hocking.
The Dancers by Amanda Hocking.
The new cafe is hosting an art exhibition titled Pareidolia by Ms Hocking, exhibiting a collection of selected works that she completed during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020.
Tumbling by Amanda Hocking.
“Milestone Cafe is very close to my studio and when it first opened, I was delighted to see the lovely white walls they had chosen as decor,’’ Ms Hocking said.
“I immediately thought, ‘what an amazing space to show art’, and the lovely garden setting will lend itself to sculptures and 3D installations.”
Involving by Amanda Hocking.
Ms Hocking asked the staff what they were planning on doing with the wall space and it turned out keen art enthusiast and cafe proprietor Kristofer Bech Howley and partner Chia-Hua (Dino) Lee had purposely designed the interiors of the cafe space as a place to display art and wanted to support local artists who wish to promote their work.
Ms Hocking said wall space in commercial premises were often under utilised and she would like to see businesses with austere walls and local artists struggling to find gallery space to team up.
A Critical Juncture by Amanda Hocking.
“We are very limited in Shepparton. We have no commercial gallery in a town this size,” she said.
Pareidolia explores the tendency people have to see specific often meaningful images, in random or ambiguous patterns, Ms Hocking said.
Still waters by Amanda Hocking.
“Think of the “man in the moon”, cloud formations or the Rorschach inkblot test,’’ she said.
“As a more figurative artist this body of work represents a new direction for me.
Atumnal by Amanda Hocking.
“During the stresses and anxiety of COVID-19 I found a lot of joy from developing a more abstract and emotional way of painting and this new exhibition allows the viewers to enjoy and create their own pareidolia.”
The exhibition is open until June 8, from 8am to 3pm, seven days a week.
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