The Cat Street Gallery presents Janet Laurence’s second solo show with the gallery. A long time favourite of the gallery, Australian artist Janet Laurence is one of the most established and respected artists of her generation. For over forty years she has been examining the complex relationship between the natural world with its organic phenomena, and the man-made world with its constructions that impose, constrict and manipulate that former – but which ultimately rely upon it in order to build itself.

Laurence comments about her upcoming show: "My work is about our relationship to the natural environment and the being of nature. Rather than looking at it, this is an environmental approach that explores an intimate relationship of the elements, matter and species that make up the landscape, in particular its fragility".

Laurence frequently employs screens and veils in her artwork which act as metaphors for memory and history. Their transparent quality recalls the passing of time and the constantly changing status of the natural world. Whether creating massive installations referencing greenhouses or small handheld photographic works, the use of translucent layers lend the pieces meditative reflections and contemplative shadows. Laurence displays a deep ecological understanding of the environment and the precarious place of humans within it, ultimately inspiring awe in the viewer when presented with the magnitude of the natural world.

Image: © Janet Laurence, The Cat Street Gallery