The Paper Life Boat exhibition at the Town Hall Gallery (Boroondara), curated by Bernard Caleo and Jo Waite, is well worth a wander through. I just got back from perusing its delights.

Without wanting to name all the artists, it's always fascinating to see original artwork displayed like this. Reading comics on the wall is a different kind of experience - something of a journey. Also, it was great to see the range of techniques and working methods employed - I was surprised to see the inclusion of colour tones on the original pages by Andrew Fulton and the greys on Jase Harper's piece (recently printed in Fist Full of Comics). It's really pleasing to see these organic approaches to comic art creation still at work in so many different styles.

I really enjoyed Jo Waite's piece for the upcoming "Love and War" and particularly liked the accompanying watercolour picture - beautiful work! The margin notes on where artwork was created were a bonus. Bernard Caleo's striking standalone panels were well complemented by an accompanying nightmarish picture by Joseph Ross Bamford Caleo (a nice inter-generational touch).

I liked the whole "paper boat" thing. A special treat was seeing my yeti-sloths turning up in the offcuts from the last Tango and in some of the folded boats - those guys just seem to have taken on a life of their own, particularly with yet another upcoming appearance in the near future.

This exhibition finishes in a couple of days, so be quick if you want to catch it!

Labels: Australian comics