Artist Michelle Giblett brings evocative new works to Barkly Street laneway
A new exhibition by local artist Michelle Giblett is now open in the Barkly Street laneway in Ararat’s CBD, transforming the outdoor space with a series of atmospheric works that explore memory, belonging, and the emotional charge of everyday places. The installation has been delivered by Ararat Gallery TAMA as part of its ongoing program of exhibitions in the laneway and community wall.
Recently relocated to the Grampians region, Giblett works across painting and mixed media to combine familiar Australian landscapes with suburban imagery and subtle surreal elements. Her works draw on paddocks, rocky outcrops, and brick-veneer streets, inviting viewers to reflect on how ordinary settings carry personal histories and quiet mythologies.
The exhibition includes works such as Rumble On (photocollage on board), Down the Hill at Home (oil and metal leaf on board), Life's Rich, Brown Tapestry (plants, wool, feathers, and photo canvas print on metal leaf on board), and Awaiting You, Relics (oil, acrylic, ink, wood, bottles, rocks, and relics on metal leaf on board). Through these combinations of materials, Giblett’s practice highlights the way textures and objects from everyday life can resonate with memory and place.
Ararat Rural City Council Mayor, Cr Bob Sanders, said the laneway exhibition was another positive step in bringing art into the heart of the city.
“Art should be something you can stumble across on your way to get a coffee or do the shopping, and that is exactly what this laneway offers,” Cr Sanders said. “Michelle’s work speaks to the landscape and streets many of us know well, and it gives people a fresh way of looking at the place we call home.”
“We are proud of the way Ararat Gallery TAMA continues to back local and regional artists, and we invite everyone to take a few minutes next time they are in town to walk through the laneway and experience this exhibition for themselves.”
Giblett has also acknowledged the significance of Bunjil’s Shelter, noting that she has drawn on its imagery in the construction of some of her work.
The Barkly Street laneway exhibition space was created through the Victorian Government’s COVID Safe Outdoor Activation Fund 2021, which supported councils to activate outdoor areas for community use. The space continues to provide opportunities for artists to present work in the centre of Ararat, encouraging locals and visitors to experience art in the open air.
