Narratives: An Artist Book Exhibition
Friday 4 October to Sunday 20 October 2024
Opening event Friday 4 October 4-6pm
Open Friday-Sunday 10am-4pm
From Friday 4 October to Sunday 20 October 2024, The Little Red Cottage in Maleny hosted the first Narratives exhibition, introducing local audiences to the rich and engaging world of artist books.
Bringing together 15 book artists from the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, and Brisbane, Narratives celebrated storytelling through handmade works that invited visitors to look closely, turn pages, and experience art in a more personal way. Timed to coincide with the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Writers Festival, the exhibition created a natural meeting point between visual art and literary culture.
Artist books offer something quite different from traditional wall-based or sculptural work. They use sequence, structure, text, image, and material to shape meaning, often asking the viewer to slow down and engage more intimately. Through Narratives, visitors were able to encounter this artform firsthand and discover the many ways stories can be told through books as objects of art.
The exhibition featured works by artists including Fiona Dempster of Maleny, Judy Barrass of Noosa, and Michelle Vandermeer of Brisbane. Across the exhibition, themes ranged from personal memory to imagined worlds, with each artist bringing a distinct voice and approach to the form.
Narratives also extended beyond the exhibition itself. On Sunday 13 October, two small group bookmaking workshops gave participants the chance to explore the craft more directly under the guidance of exhibiting artists and tutors Kim Herringe and Suzie Haddock.
As one of the featured artists, Kim Herringe described artist books as offering a deeply personal storytelling experience, inviting viewers to interact with the artwork in a way that feels quite different from viewing paintings or sculpture.
The first Narratives exhibition marked the beginning of what has since become a valued annual event at The Little Red Cottage, opening up new conversations between art, books, and storytelling in the Hinterland.
Participating artists
Bart Hart, Fiona Dempster, Judy Barrass, Karen Shaw, Kathy Sheehan, Katie White, Ken Munsie, Kim Herringe, Liz Farrell, Lynne Saunders, Michelle Vandermeer, Noela Mills, Sandra Pearce, Solveig Gillis, Suzie Haddock