A SHED WITH ATTITUDE

East Loddon Woolshed, Serpentine.

Vincent Casey, Jeremy Forbes, Chloe Neath, Andre Sardone, Paul Turbitt, Amanda Western

Take the road out of Serpentine, turn down Longs Road, and there, almost like a mirage in the landscape, you’ll see the mighty East Loddon Woolshed. Constructed in 1871 from 100,000s of bricks handmade on the property by a father and son, this Vahland-designed ambitious building still functions as a shearing shed, but offers, too, a fabulous venue for weddings and events. So, for the very first time, Arts Trail heads to the Shed with Attitude. Sculptures that make a statement. Paintings that are direct responses to the unique vernacular of Australian buildings. Works of art that capture the eerie beauty and elusive meaning of places in the landscape. You can book a midday tour with owners Anthony and Emily, and the Bears Lagoon Serpentine Football Netball Club will be there around lunchtime each day for food and drink options. If you want to see how art transforms a space, and how a space welcomes art with surprising results, then make a date with the Shed with Attitude. Memories are made of this.

TOURS (noon each day) Bookings required

Vincent Casey is a painter and designer based in Newstead, Central Victoria. Originally from Ireland, he draws parallels between the rugged landscapes of rural Victoria and the west of Ireland, translating those environments into spare, atmospheric oil paintings. His work explores the visual rhythm of land — paddocks, roadside ruins, fences, scrub and stone — observing how human traces sit quietly within natural settings. There’s a deliberate slowness in his process, informed by his background in design and a deep connection to place.

Jeremy Forbes is the founder of HALT – Hope Assistance Local Tradies – a mental health and suicide prevention charity. Based in Castlemaine, he is an artist with an interest in nostalgia, boardgames and colour, as well as sheds, which inspire his “shedism” series of paintings.

Chloe Neath is a Newstead artist who works in charcoal to create impressive portraits. She has collaborated on projects including a drawing and time-lapse film, as well as The Laudanum Project, which included a book (The Baby Farmer), an exhibition and a play. Her portraits have been shown in two solo exhibitions in Bendigo. Usually done on thick brown craft paper the drawings are typically large-scale works, occasionally with the addiction of gold or silver leaf and pastels.

Andre Sardone: Living in the Mandurang Valley in Central Victoria and nestled in the inspiring landscape of the Australian bush, Andre creates unique sculptures from a variety of materials, including steel, copper, brass, stainless steel, and local hardwoods. His work is influenced by the natural environment where he lives, with his works displaying an organic aesthetic and his recent explorations involve the learning of innovative techniques for joining and manipulating metals, as well as expanding his knowledge of machining on lathes and milling machines.

Paul Turbitt: To visit Paul Turbitt’s studio home in Strangways, you enter a place that has surprises wherever you look. He collects, sorts, and creates with all manner of discarded things, tools, wood, stones, metal and fibres. His sculptures allow the eye to follow a graceful curve, to enjoy a pattern that is organic and precise. You can see the strength of the slow careful process behind each work, which nevertheless leaves room for both experiment and the pleasure of the unexpected. Paul’s original and beautiful work is particularly striking when installed in interesting spaces so the Woolshed provides a magnificent backdrop for his sculptures.

Amanda Western is a visual artist/linocut printmaker based in Ballarat.  She has a passion for permaculture, having obtained a Permaculture Design Certificate from Geoff Lawson, and she aims to use my art to raise awareness about environmental conservation, habitat restoration and wildlife protection.