OUTDOOR GALLERY

Natures Showcase - various artists

The Lyrebirds - Wade Marynowsky

Sweet Alcaic Meters - Mike Terry and Dr Alana Blackburn 

Overhead and Underneath - Joanne Stead, Jodie Herden, Jody White and Karen Balsar 

This event will feature live musical performance and include presentation from the artists and light refreshments 

Friday 26 June 2026, dusk till 10pm

Projection art from Wade Marynowsky, Mike Terry and Dr Alana Blackburn (Armidale) and Joanne Stead, Jodie Herden, Jody White and Karen Balsar (Tamworth). All of these works respond to our natural environment.

The evening will start with a live musical piece is titled 'Yma (Here)' All contributors (and content of the work) are from the New England area. 

Alana Blackburn - Recorder, Camilla Tafra - Cello, Steve Thorneycroft - Guitar (and composer of Yma), Sarah Lawrence - narrator 

This will be followed by the projection of three short films. The event will feature light refreshments. If you have any questions about this Outdoor Gallery event or any programming, please contact the friendly Gallery Staff. gallery@tamworth.nsw.gov.au or phone 67 67 5247.

Mike Terry and Dr Alana Blackburn

Sweet Alcaic Meters
2023 Single channel video, 1080p, 14 mins.

Sweet Alcaic Meters is a 14 minute audiovisual work produced for the ‘Regional Futures’ project in 2023. The creators, Alana Blackburn (Sound) and Mike Terry (Image) were asked to respond to the prompt ‘what does the future look like in your region?’ and were encouraged to engage with experts and members of the community to develop a creative response.

This audiovisual project began by exploring historical creative responses to changes in the environment through the writings and poetry of Judith Wright, followed by discussions with soil scientists, engineers, and station owners to capture the use, misuse and underuse of natural and civic resources within the New England North West area of New South Wales.

This project is an example of qualitative arts-based research combining both arts-informed and arts informing inquiries as a representation and response to an issue or situation. The locations explored are presented as chapters of ecological, agricultural, historic, civic, and cultural value.

Wade Marynowsky

The Lyrebirds, 
2021 Single channel video, 1080p, 2 mins 55 sec.

Artist Statement

In Unruly Times, like many of us, I have experienced two significant stand-out events, the devastating bushfires of 2019- 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, my focus has been on reconnecting with the natural world by closely observing local Superb Lyrebirds, documenting their unique behaviours, vocalizations, and dance.

As the field of deep fake algorithms continues to evolve, their ability to convincingly simulate the visual appearance and acoustic characteristics of real individuals becomes increasingly advanced. Interestingly, the Australian Lyrebird has been a master of mimicry since ancient times, mimicking birds within its environment and more recently, chainsaws and cameras. Inspired by this natural and artificial phenomenon of mimicry, this project explores the intricate dynamics of representation, perception, and

The video features a sequence of slowly animated hybrid creatures, that are morphed together. Created using genetic algorithms trained on millions of images, new images were created by crossbreeding multiple image genes. These morphing entities exist in a synthesised latent space, created by the artist, the community, and algorithms, challenging notions of abstraction, representation, and authorship. 

By blurring the boundaries between these seemingly separate domains, I invite viewers to contemplate the interplay between the enigmatic aspects of nature, our conceptual understanding of representation and perception, the potential dangers of hyper-realistic fakes, and the potential futures of virtual characters embodied with animal behaviours.

Artist biography

Wade Marynowsky, is an interdisciplinary artist working across sculpture, robotics, immersiveperformance, installation, music and video. His practice spans nearly three decades, beginning in 1998,and is defined by a sustained engagement with technology as both medium and subject. Marynowsky uses humour and aesthetic devices to critique the systems he works with, exploring automation,surveillance, environmental degradation and the uncanny relationship between humans and machines.

His work has been presented in major festivals, biennales, and survey exhibitions including, TheInternational Triennial of New Media Art, Beijing, The International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Poland, Siggraph Tokyo, Japan and The Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney. His mid-career survey exhibition was held at the National Gallery of Victoria in2014. Marynowsky’s work is held in the collections of The National Gallery of Victoria, Artbank  Australia, UTS Art Collection, Bundanon Trust Collection, Wollongong Art Gallery and private collections internationally,

Joanne Stead, Jodie Herden, Jody White and Karen Balsar 

Overhead and Underneath

Overhead and Underneath was an exhibition held at the Tamworth Regional Gallery in June 2025. Taking the time to look overhead or underneath your feet can be a centring experience that makes one appreciate that exact moment in time. With this exhibition theme, Tamworth Regional Gallery engaged 23 regionally based artists from Kamilaroi Gamilaroi Gomeroi country in the Tamworth region and Wiradjuri country near Albury. The exhibition invites the viewer to slow down, take time and look, observe and marvel at the world we exist in. Four of these artists, Joanne Stead, Jodie Herden, Jody White and Karen Balsar prepared work featuring their art for this projection. 

The Overhead and Underneath video brings together four perspectives that explore the visible and hidden systems sustaining life. Jo Stead’s Surface Tension reflects the fragile interplay of light on water, where shifting patterns echo the delicate balance of ecosystems. The use of tenpins becomes a quiet metaphor for interdependence—each element connected, each disturbance carrying consequences across the whole.

Jodie Herden’s Gunii-ma / Mother Earth deepens this dialogue through eco-dyed fabric, where water, Country, and ancestral knowledge flow together. Created with materials gathered respectfully from the land, the work carries nature’s imprint—its colours, textures, and stories. Water emerges as both lifeblood and storyteller, connecting generations and inviting stillness, reflection, and care for the natural world.

Karen Balsar’s Soundness reveals what lies beneath: the intricate architecture of roots, decay, and renewal. Through finely worked corten steel, she captures the quiet transformation of leaf litter into new ecosystems, evoking both structural resilience and sensory experience.

Together, these works trace a continuum from surface to soil, from reflection to regeneration, reminding us of the profound interconnectedness and enduring vitality of the natural world

Outdoor Gallery

The Tamworth Regional Gallery is excited to deliver digital artwork onto the Outdoor Gallery in Fitzroy St until December 2027. 

Each month you can experience a different large-scale art installation created by regional artists and local groups. This project helps celebrate our legacy as the city of light and showcases some of the regional talent we have. More information can be found on the Outdoor Gallery section of our website.