Community
5 September, 2024
Collaboration with late artist set for Colour Festival
A POSTHUMOUS collaboration featuring the work of one of the south west’s most mysterious artists is set to be unveiled when the Colour Terang Festival returns this month.
The works of late artist John Whitlock will be back on display at this year’s Colour Terang Festival by popular demand.
As Western District Newspapers has previously reported, when the recluse Terang-based artist died (July 2023) he left his collection of works to the Terang Community Op Shop with the bequest it be used to benefit the community through sales and proceeds from exhibition.
The works were passed on to local arts group Arts.Comm, which proudly displayed his work at the Colour Terang Festival last year.
The works will return again this year through the John Whitlock Symposium; however, this year will feature collaborations from around 25 artists across the district in addition to this display of hundreds of pieces from local students.
“We’ve involved local artists in adding to John’s work, making it more thematic,” Arts.Comm member Jo Kenna said.
“John’s work was colourful expressionism but that’s something not everyone can relate to.
“There are around 25 artists involved in the collaboration, which includes more than 50 pieces.
“The schools have also been working with weaving to create mobiles, and they’ve created hundreds of beautiful works which will be on display.”
While the act of painting over another artist’s work can be considered taboo, it is a practice Mr Whitlock did not shy away from.
He was known for painting over his own work, with remnants of different colours bordering the canvas suggesting the process was both common and could occur multiple times with each piece.
Among the artists working on the collaboration is Karen Mather, who said she had found inspiration in bringing clarity to the intangible nature of Mr Whitlock’s work.
“His work is so abstract that you have to create something out of what was already created,” she said.
“What inspired me was the background, which had darker lines running through the piece.
“The lines almost looked like sticks, so I added leaves to create a tree line.”
Since showcasing Mr Whitlock’s art to the wider community as part of the last Colour Terang Festival, Mrs Kenna has also began piecing together more information as to who he was.
When Western District Newspapers published the story last December on Mr Whitlock’s death and bequest of his artwork, word of mouth spread to a man named Kim, who had known Mr Whitlock since the early 1970s.
He reached out to Western District Newspapers and was put in contact with Mrs Kenna.
“Kim who had been trying to call Mr Whitlock was worried when he couldn’t get an answer,” she said.
“He was so excited to talk about John, a dear friend who had died and he didn’t get to say goodbye.”
Word also reached the outskirts of Melbourne, where Mr Whitlock’s daughter, Izzy, lives.
“She had only found out a few months after his death that he had died,” Mrs Kenna said.
“She doesn’t know much about her dad but she loves what we’re doing.
“I’m planning to meet with her this year and give her around eight of her father’s pieces.
“Kim is also planning to fly his new helicopter to meet her, and she’s excited to learn more about her father.”
Works from the collaboration will be for sale through a silent auction, with proceeds from the sales going straight back in to the Terang community.
“The proceeds will go to the Colour Terang Festival to build funds for future events,” Mrs Kenna said.
The symposium will be hosted at the former Guide Hall on The Promenade, beside the Terang Senior Citizens Centre, when the Colour Terang Festival returns on Friday, September 27.
The hall has recently been leased as a hub for the Terang Progress Association and Arts.Comm, with plans to this year include it as part of the festival designed to create a better viewing experience of the art while also easing the workload for volunteers.
“We’ve got the space and it has a lot of natural light. The Civic Hall is darker and not the best space to exhibit artwork,” Mrs Kenna said.
“We can build the exhibition ahead of time too, whereas at the Civic it has to be set up and taken down quite quickly.
“We’re very excited to display this work.”