Dreams and memories are a constant source of grist for the mill for artists.  Whilst to her, 'Home is where the Heart is', Janelle Barnes' works also evoke a longing to be somewhere else - close to the sea.

Far from the ocean on a farm high in the hills of Collie south of Perth, Janelle weaves a magic carpet with her vibrant works on paper.  With brilliant blues and ochres, traces of stitchery, actual and implied, the naive and often Eastern symbols of Janelle's home, perched high on a hillside, represent the paradox between dreams and reality.  Places yearned for midst the grounding of where she is at present.

A Gathering of Dreamers is just one of the twenty-three pieces highlighting this longing, simultaneously demonstrating the artist's solid background in textiles.  The layered use of fabrics in some pieces reference memories of places already seen, whilst threads and stitches anchor those memories firmly in place.

The ocean is depicted in many of the works, as is the sky, in a swirling wash of colour.  In Reach for the Dream there is a reminiscence of Van Gogh with small threads knotted into the swirls.  The stylized 'home' is on stilts, stretching towards the (unattainable) sky.  Text, partially submerged beneath the hillside also reveals the artist's deep affinity with 'home' and what differentiates it from 'house'.

Barnes' curious mix of Byzantine and mid European art is both complex and contemplative.  DAY DREAMS  NIGHT DREAMS embodies this artist's determination to progress beyond the confines of pure textiles, eliminating embellishment for its own sake, and move into the realms of a more painterly narrative.