Baillie Lodges’ multi-award-winning flagship property, Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, has launched its inaugural artists-in-residence program this summer, welcoming the island’s most revered and diverse artists to the lodge for dedicated residencies over the next few months.
Running until March next year, the program invites artists to stay at the lodge one at a time, offering an occasion for them to paint, draw, sculpt and be inspired by Kangaroo Island’s wildly beautiful coastline, its abundant native wildlife and the vast Southern Ocean which stretches uninterrupted towards the horizon.
There’s a chance for guests to chat to the artists and learn about their craft and experience the landscape through a new, artistic lens. The program is complimentary for guests, offered as a ‘surprise and delight’ element of their stay.
The initiative closely resembles the much-loved artists-in-residence program at sister property Longitude 131°, where First Nations Anangu artists from the Ernabella Arts Community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands travel to Uluru to paint at the luxury lodge.
The Southern Ocean Lodge program lineup includes Kangaroo Island assemblage artist Janine Macintosh, whose distinctive local leaf mandalas line the sandstone walls of the lodge’s restaurant and are also a feature in each guest suite. Also set to visit the lodge are photographer and storyteller Linda Irwin, and silversmith and jeweller of found copper Patti Blucher, whose wearable jewellery and paintings are available via her online gallery By Blu.
Artist Maggie Welz works with silk, watercolours and ink to tell the stories of the changing landscape, flora and fauna, while artist Jane Louise Evans works across a variety of media from her home and studio at the island’s remote enclave overlooking Nepean Bay. Jane uses soft and painterly intaglio, bold and graphic relief printmaking techniques, painting, collage and drawing, etching lino- and screen-printing to depict kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas as well as local endangered beach nesting birds: Hooded Plovers, Pied Oystercatchers, White Bellied Sea Eagles and the treasured Boobook Owl.
Sculptor Dave Clarke uses bronze and copper to represent South Australia’s unique flora and fauna, with a focus on the ocean’s smallest and most elusive creatures, amplifying their scale and accentuating their beauty to give them a sense of presence and wonder.
Multidisciplinary artist Peter Hastwell’s commitment to caring for the island’s natural environment is creatively expressed in his printworks, paintings and photography, while globally represented local artist Jennifer Macauley draws inspiration from the natural beauty of her island home. Jennifer works in watercolour, gouache, acrylic and oils to evoke the shifting light of sea, sky, and landforms.
Baillie Lodges Chief Operating Officer Craig Bradbery said he was delighted to bring such a stellar group of Kangaroo Island artists to create their works at Southern Ocean Lodge in its first ever artist-in-residence program.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming these inspiring local artists to Southern Ocean Lodge over the coming months. It’s a special opportunity for guests to see artists at work and experience their creative interpretation of this extraordinary landscape,” Mr Bradbery said.
“As the first program of its kind at Southern Ocean Lodge, we look forward to continuing the artists-in-residence initiative in the years ahead,” he said.
