Perth-based fine artist, James Giddy has his brush and oil paints aimed 293 odd kilometres south at the Western Australian town of Manjimup. Known for its forests, food, wine and fertile soils, the town with a population of roughly 4350 residents would seem like an odd place to spill some paint.
However, Giddy is known for his landscape and fauna portraitures, often infusing the two to create artworks that capture the essence of rural life. In 2017, Giddy set off into the Wheatbelt of south-western Western Australia where he painted subject matter specific to each area on the walls of water tanks, that otherwise sat idle; camping beside the open air canvases until the artworks were completed.
The possibility of a project in Manjimup became a topic of conversation when in June this year, after Giddy completed a Donnelly Verandah Residence in Donnelly River Village, he thought to venture 30km’s south east to the town of Manjimup, where he took it upon himself to ask the local shire and businesses if they would like some colour added to their walls.
“I thought I’d reach out to the surrounding areas while I was there,” Giddy told The West Australian, and went on to explain that, “Manjimup stood out with a few blank walls and a larger community so I felt it would be a good place to bring in public art … painting in these towns really resonates with me as the sense of community engagement, and the impact of the artwork, is immediately noticeable, where in the city it is sometimes lost amongst all of the other noise.”
Giddy is no stranger to the public arts sphere, as he went on to say, “To use the streets as a public gallery removes any stigma and allows for conversation and colour to reach a wider audience.”